@Caitlin – excellent suggestions! I might check out some syllabi because, yes, those would have interesting ideas for themes. It is entirely possible to read while raising children. Like anything else, you have to decide to make it a priority.

If you are looking for nonfiction, you might enjoy Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life by Julia Briggs or A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf by Emily Midorikawa.

For personal recommendations, it seems like you enjoy literary fiction–two I finished recently and enjoyed were Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Also, I’m nearly finished Off the Clock and one line that struck me as delightful was “…realizing I had the freedom to read like a graduate student as the working mother of four children was absolutely liberating.” It made me think that you might consider looking up some syllabi (for graduate or undergraduate students of literature) and pulling some book ideas from there as well. It also delighted me because I am expecting my first child and while I know my reading time will shrink, it’s nice to hear a voice of reason that it won’t be nonexistent. (As a public librarian, reading is something I love but also somewhat part of my job, although almost always outside of my working hours.)

I’m currently reading (and enjoying) Sweet Bean Paste, by Durian Sukegawa. I’m not too far into it yet, but it’s billed as a story of redemption and friendship.

@Lauren – just ordered this one and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the suggestion!