Read With Us: The Fall 2026 Announcement

It’s time to announce our next Read With Us selection, and I’m particularly excited about this one! Kym, Bonny, and I have chosen Partita by Barbara Kingsolver. I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy, but the good news is that today is publication day so you can get your hands on it immediately.

Partita tells the story of Livia Cable, whose settled life is disrupted by an unexpected phone call from a former lover. Moving between her past and present, the novel explores the ambitions and relationships of her youth and the ways those experiences continue to shape her life. Music is central to Livia’s story, connecting the young woman she was with the woman she has become.

There’s so much here for us to discuss: lost love, the consequences of our choices, the things we give up, and the resilience it takes to build a life when things don’t go as planned. I loved the way Kingsolver gradually revealed Livia’s story. The past and present blend together beautifully, and the piano and classical music added another layer that I especially appreciated given that I took classical piano lessons for many, many years.

One of my favorite things about Read With Us is thinking about our discussion as I’m reading the book and I was able to do that with this one. I want to talk about it all with you immediately, of course, but we will have to wait until January 5th for our Zoon meet up. I’m very curious to see how you’ll respond to Livia and her story.

Whether you’re a regular Read With Us participant or you’ve been thinking about joining us, we hope you’ll read along. We’ll share more posts about the book as we get closer, but for now, put Partita on your reading list and join Kym, Bonny, and me for our next book conversation!