The August Edit

After a steamy Off-Campus session at Briar U, might you want a break from the heat with a bit of cozy-core? Try this college offshoot of the super successful Mistletoe Murders. In season one, Violet (Anna Cathcart) was enjoying a typical college freshman year, bonding with roommates and majoring in solving murders. Now a sophomore, she is still puzzled by the sly ways of her forensics professor (voiced by the delightful Eric McCormack), but she’s become fanatical about football thanks to a cute player and an unsolved mystery involving the team. Listen with a pumpkin-spiced latte in hand for that first blast of sweater-weather.

This memoir is a rage-inducing reminder of the chaos and subjugation of Afghan women for the past 40 years. Born into a loving home, Foroozan’s life changes dramatically after the Taliban seizes power in the early 1990s. Married off to a man while still a child herself, she is battered, abused, and barely allowed outside for the next decade. But when her husband attempts to molest their child, she picks up a shovel and kills him. When she’s convicted of murder, her second prison brings unexpected relief, with the ability to attend classes, build self-confidence, and eventually win a pardon for self-defense. But all too soon another series of world events threatens her happiness, forcing her to flee as the US withdraws and the vengeance-seeking Taliban stream into Kabul. Every step of the way, Foroozan fights to give her daughters the liberties she never fully enjoyed. You will be awed by her determination (and the networks of good people who help her) yet haunted by the thought of millions of more women still longing to break free.

Since falling hard for Days at the Morisaki Book Shop, I am always on the hunt for what publishing wags call “healing fiction.” Cat Lady has all the sweet-tart charm of that genre but with rich performances to boot. The snobbish and misanthropic Sir Cat (the posh Richard E. Grant) is fleeing his master, only to leap into the life of jittery bride-to-be Laura (Jessie Buckley, with just enough woe in her voice) as she reluctantly prepares to drive herself to her own wedding. (Suffice it to say, hauling cases of her fiancé’s finely crafted mead is involved.) The last thing Sir Cat wants is a people-pleaser getting in the way of his secret mission. The last thing Laura needs is a cat. But their unexpected collision is destined to change both of them for the better.

Audible’s Bedtime Stories work in daylight, too. This one, about a lighthouse keeper and narrated by Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), conjures up images of rugged coasts and cooler days dawning. And something else. As Arthur goes about keeping the light on for boats beyond the coastline, it's hard to ignore how his livelihood no longer exists, and how so many people's are now being threatened by the squall of technology. Hearing Arthur's tasks described in such specific detail might sound tiring to some—though that is the promise of a sleep story—but I appreciated the poignancy of his life and work. A worthy narrative as we celebrate Labor Day.