Kiss, Marry or Kill: 68
THE BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2026. Plus, smell good on a budget, one tip to save $$ on your AC bill, and the Eldest Daughter in me acknowledges the Eldest Daughter in you (but please stop doing this).
This is my weekly series for subscribers only, where I’ll share things that caught my eye this week in a fun and flirty way (kiss), a sustainable way (marry), or a not-so-good way (kill). And yes, this trendy game is technically “f***, marry, or kill” but we run a family-friendly-ish show around here.
Kiss (things I like right now)
🎧 Good People, Patmina Sabit (<listen with your ears)
This is a 5-star listen that blows away all of my other 5-star audiobook reviews this year. I finished it two weeks ago and have thought about it every single day since.
I went into this audiobook with zero information about the story, and I’m so glad. I stumbled across it on a TikTok recounting her best listens of the year. (She had me at “full cast narration.”) I downloaded it immediately and could not stop listening. My dogs have never been so walked.
The story is about an Afghan family who immigrated to the United States during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. That is literally ALL I’m going to say about the storyline, and I beg of you to not read the summary or reviews. The story unfolds in a series of interviews with a wide variety of parties—some close to the family, and some from brief, passing encounters. If you’re a little lost in the beginning, that’s okay—just trust the process—and yes, the recurring voices will quickly start to become familiar. Aside: One of my favorite parts of this book was the Afghan phrasing and colloquialisms throughout.. You’ll see what I mean.
The book was brilliantly written, emotionally devastating, morally complex, and masterfully performed—and that’s all I’ll say because I REALLY WANT YOU TO JUST PRESS PLAY. Good People is nothing short of haunting, and you’ll definitely see it on my 2026 best book round-up come year-end.
👃 Smell amazing without trying too hard
You know when you want to smell good, but you can’t smell too good? You’re running errands, going to the gym, meeting a friend for coffee, and perfume seems too overdone, but you want a little zhuzh? That’s where these come in.