Books, Bubbles & the Beautiful Sound of an Empty House
A Back-to-School Guide for Moms Who’ve Finally Earned a Few Quiet Hours (and Fully Intend to Spend Them Reading)
The backpacks are packed. The lunches are made. The permission slips have been signed, the water bottles located, and everyone has finally…**finally…**left the house.
And suddenly, it’s quiet.
No one is asking where their charger is. No one needs a ride. No one is standing directly in front of you asking a question while you’re doing some important Mom things.
This is not the time to clean the kitchen.
This is not the time to reorganize a closet.
This is your reward for surviving summer.
Welcome to the Bookaholic Back-to-School Reading Day: one excellent mystery, a few strategically chosen reading accessories, something delicious to drink, something sweet to eat, and a bathtub you have absolutely no intention of leaving anytime soon.
1. The Book: A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz
First things first: you need a book worthy of an empty house.
And for that, I’m going with one of my favorite authors, Anthony Horowitz.
A Deadly Episode is exactly the kind of book I want when I have several uninterrupted hours ahead of me: clever, twisty, sophisticated, and just complicated enough to make me suspicious of everyone.
Horowitz is particularly good at writing mysteries for people who actually read a lot of mysteries. He knows we’re looking for the clues. He knows we think we’ve figured it out.
And then he quietly moves the furniture while we aren’t looking.
So make the coffee, silence the phone, and settle in.
Bookaholic Rule #1: If someone texts asking what you’re doing, the correct response is, “I’m busy.”
You are.
You have a murder to solve.
2. The Reading Accessory You Didn’t Know You Needed
Now we get comfortable.
If you read on a Kindle, allow me to introduce one of those wonderfully unnecessary-until-you-own-it inventions: the Kindle remote page turner with stand.
Clip it onto your Kindle, prop the Kindle on a stand or pillow, get under a blanket and turn the pages without moving your hands.
Is this slightly ridiculous?
Perhaps.
Do I care?
Absolutely not.
Once you’ve experienced reading without repeatedly extracting an arm from underneath a warm blanket, you’ll understand.
This is especially useful later when we move this entire operation to the bathtub.
Consider it less of a gadget and more of a commitment to doing as little as humanly possible.
3. The Drink: English Garden Fizz
Every respectable reading day needs a drink.
Since we’re spending the afternoon with Anthony Horowitz, we’re going British—but we’re skipping the gin because we still need enough mental capacity to catch the murderer.
English Garden Fizz
You’ll need:
- ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
- 4–5 fresh mint leaves
- 1 ounce elderflower cordial
- ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
- Sparkling water
- Ice
- Cucumber ribbon or mint sprig for garnish
To make it:
Add the cucumber and mint to a glass and gently muddle.
Add the elderflower cordial, lemon juice and plenty of ice. Top with sparkling water and stir.
Garnish with cucumber or mint.
It’s crisp, slightly floral, very English-garden-on-a-sunny-afternoon—and considerably more sophisticated than the juice boxes you were handing out a few hours ago.
For a full book of British Cocktails Recipes try: London Cocktails: Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the Heart of Britannia
4. Something Sweet: Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake
We’re staying with the British theme because you cannot spend the afternoon reading Anthony Horowitz with a bag of stale pretzels.
Well, you can.
But we can do better.
Lemon drizzle cake is one of those very British cakes that sounds fancy but really isn’t. It’s bright, buttery, sweet and particularly good with tea.
Or eaten directly over the kitchen sink while reading another chapter.
No judgment here.
Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
For the drizzle:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup sugar
To make it:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Fold in the flour and baking powder, then add the lemon zest and juice.
Pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 40–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cake is still warm, mix the lemon juice and sugar for the drizzle. Poke several small holes in the top of the cake and spoon the mixture over it.
Let it cool just enough that eating it won’t result in an emergency-room visit.
Slice.
Return to book.
For more amazing cake recipes from Brittania go to The Great British Baking Show: The Big Book of Amazing Cakes
5. And Now We Move to the Bath
Eventually, you’re going to realize you’ve been sitting in the same spot for several hours.
Excellent.
Time for a change of scenery.
Run the bath.
Add an irresponsibly generous amount of bubble bath.
Dim the lights.
And bring the mystery with you.
This is where a bathtub tray or Kindle/tablet holder earns its keep. Set up your Kindle where you can read comfortably, attach that glorious little remote page turner, and keep your hands safely above the bubbles.
Add a candle if you’re feeling ambitious.
Bring the English Garden Fizz.
Maybe another piece of lemon cake.
Then lock the door.
Because inevitably, someone will come home and yell:
“Mom?”
Do not answer immediately.
You waited all summer for this.
They can wait five minutes.
Back-to-School Isn’t Just for the Kids
Back-to-school season gets marketed as planners, pencils, lunchboxes and fresh starts for children.
I’m proposing something different.
A fresh start for the person who spent the summer keeping everybody else entertained.
You don’t need an elaborate spa day. You don’t need reservations. And you definitely don’t need to spend your first quiet afternoon cleaning things that will be dirty again by tomorrow.
You need a good mystery.
Something cold to drink.
Something lemony to eat.
A few ridiculously comfortable reading accessories.
And several glorious hours in which nobody needs anything from you.
School is officially back in session.
Class dismissed.
I’m reading.
Want to Build Your Own Perfect Reading Day?
I’ve pulled together more of my favorite mystery and thriller reads, reading accessories, cozy essentials, gifts for mystery lovers, and other Bookaholic-approved finds in the Bookaholic Bookstore.
So if your idea of self-care involves a good murder mystery, a Kindle, something delicious, and several uninterrupted hours when nobody asks you what’s for dinner, you’ll feel right at home.
Visit the Bookaholic Bookstore
And while you’re there, take a look around. I’m constantly adding new books and finds for people who take their reading time very seriously—even if we take almost nothing else seriously.
Happy reading.
And remember: the laundry will still be there tomorrow.
The Bookaholic 