Author Spotlight
Maria Semple
Before I ever set foot in the Pacific Northwest, Maria Semple showed it to me. Where’d You Go, Bernadette was one of the books that got me back into reading in my mid-twenties — and it’s also one of the books I think of when I think about why I moved here. It’s funny and sharp and moves fast, but underneath all of it there’s something genuinely serious: about what happens to women who are too much, who get quieter over time, who disappear not all at once but slowly. I didn’t fully clock that on the first read. I just knew I couldn’t put it down.
I’ve since read Today Will Be Different and This One Is Mine, though neither landed for me the way Bernadette did — after Today Will Be Different went over my head, I didn’t feel pulled to go further back into her catalog. But I’m not writing her off. Her new book, Go Gentle, just came out and I bought a signed copy the moment I could. Everything I’ve heard says it carries the same energy as Bernadette — light in tone, heavy in what it’s actually saying. I’m very excited to get to it.
2012
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Bernadette Fox is a genius architect turned reclusive Seattle mom who has stopped making things and started disappearing — into errands, into resentment, into herself. Then she actually disappears. Her daughter Bee pieces it together through emails, therapy transcripts, and FBI documents. It’s hilarious until it isn’t. One of the best portraits I’ve encountered of a woman who was brilliant and got smaller anyway — and one of the books that pulled me back into reading.
2025 · Haven’t read yet
Go Gentle
I bought a signed copy the moment I could. Everything I’ve heard says it carries the same energy as Bernadette — funny and propulsive on the surface, heavier underneath. I’ll update this page with a full take once I’ve read it.
2016
Today Will Be Different
Honest take: this one went over my head. I didn’t connect with it the way I did with Bernadette — the humor felt more manic, the protagonist harder to settle into. I don’t think it’s a bad book, I think I wasn’t the right reader for it at the time. Worth trying if you loved Bernadette and want more, but don’t start here.
2008
This One Is Mine
Her debut, and honestly — after Today Will Be Different didn’t land for me, I didn’t feel pulled to go back further. I’m including it here for completeness. If you’re a completionist who loved Bernadette, it’s there. But it’s not where I’d send you.
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Marin Robinson 