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[Not a review by STELLA.] Anticipation is a good thing. I’m currently reading Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait, but you’ll have to wait for the review as I’m still mid-stride. When the craziness of the next week is over, I’ll be looking to my stack of books — the ones I didn’t quite get to in 2022 — as well as some fresh tomes. On the pile and waiting:  Roni Horn’s Island Zombie: Iceland writings. This was a gift back in March — it’s too good to rush, so hence it’s been waiting for a few days of uninterrupted reading. Anne Carson’s H of H Playbook. Ditto. Books I’ve had my eye on and will be adding to my pile: Stories of the Sahara by Sanmao, and The Mirror and The Palette by Jennifer Higgie. And fiction! There’s always so many to choose from, but here are two that will make good summer companions: Harrow by Joy Williams and Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott. If, like many, you found yourself bereft of reading time this year, here are some titles that you might have missed and should be finding their way to your reading pile tout suite: The amazing Ali Smith — read anything and everything by her! — Companion Piece is her latest. Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House — so on-target, Worn: A people's history of clothing by Sofi Thanhauser — is fascinating, and Olga Ravn's The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century — inventive and thought-provoking.