Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am a day late for the Sunday linkups but today still counts! We spent last week and the weekend catching up on everything post vacation. I am not sure how our short little quick trip caused such a disruption, but it did. However it was worth it. And now we are slowly rolling out our fall and Halloween plans and decorations. Yay!

Books:

In the past two weeks I have finished three books.

I read The Change in one weekend, a busy weekend at that. I was obsessed with this nearly 500 page book and could not put it down! It is a feminist revenge thriller with magical realism elements and I can’t recommend it enough.

Stillmeadow Calendar is a more gentle read, full of good food and memories and country landscapes and descriptions of a slow country life. I also really enjoyed this one!

And finally, Cold Clay. I am just getting back to this series but this one is perfect for early fall! I love a good cozy talking animal book. Lol.

This week, I am thinking about one of these.

I would have to buy the kindle book though of the Rollins book, and I have already bought two books this paycheck and we are just getting back from vacation. And the Kindle book is $6.99 and I hate paying that for a kindle book. So I might wait so I can buy the paperback of it. I do however have a copy of The Undead Fox because, well that was one of the two books I bought since Friday. Lol. So, I will probably end up reading the Undead Fox. Glad I worked that out just now.

Screens:

Billy and I have been watching Bookish, and episodes of the Great British Sewing Bee because sometimes we need something like that too. Wyatt has baseball on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 and our nights get so crazy afterwards that we just need something easy. We also started Murder She Wrote, swayed by Lisa at Boondock Ramblings love for it. I watched it with my brother as a kid, on nights that my mom was in school and I was in charge so I do have some warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia watching it. I used to make us nachos for dinner like the good responsible big sister that I am, and we would settle in and watch some Jessica Fletcher together. Then like the complete dorks that we are, when we saw our mom’s headlights as she pulled in, we would arrange ourselves around the living room like we had been murdered. She never fell for it and in fact was really good at just acting like nothing was wrong. It was hilarious.

We also watched Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost on Saturday with Wyatt.

Last week I posted a few times:

Louisville Part One – Louisville Slugger Museum and Troll Under the Bridge

Louisville Part Tw0 – Mega Cavern, Col. Sanders, and an All Horror Bookstore

Louisville Part Three – Churchill Downs

Sweater Weather Cinema: Wake Up Dead Man

And remember, I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of! You can find the link up for September here!

In-Betweens:

The other day I lived out a 1980s McDonalds commercial. My niece is in middle school now, her first year there, and she was assigned a lunch without any of her friends. She has been struggling a bit, she is pretty shy, and sad that she had to eat alone. She even texted me from her lunch one day. I decided that I would take her McDonalds for lunch that week, as a treat because if there is one thing I learned working in a school is that having a special lunch dropped off makes kids happy. So last Wednesday I got to McDonalds at 10:30 am, ordered her lunch plus two chocolate chip cookies. I thought if she felt inclined she could offer a cookie to another kid and make friends. Lol. Well, I don’t know if she did that but she DID talk to another little girl at lunch that day!

All it takes sometimes is a little McDonalds I guess. But doesn’t it sound like it could totally be a commercial from the 80s?

And that is all from me today! I hope that whatever you do today you do something that makes you smile!

Sweater Weather Cinema: Wake Up Dead Man

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone! We are all about fall over here, and of course, snuggling up with the perfect fall movies (for us) is part of our autumnal celebrations.

We usually watch movies on Sundays, and this past Sunday our movie pick was Wake Up Dead Man, which is part of the Knives Out Mystery movies. I loved the first two, and really didn’t think they could get better. Then, I watched this one, and in my opinion this one blew the others right out of the water.

Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc is always fun to watch, but dang if Josh O’Connor didn’t steal this movie in my opinion, with his performance. He played Larry in The Durrells, one of my favorite shows, and I was so happy to see him in this movie. He plays a rough and tumble priest, whose origin was in the boxing ring before turning to the Catholic Church. This background served him well after an altercation with a deacon sends him to a new parish, one in upstate New York. But you will have to watch it to find out why.

When Father Jud Duplenticy (O’Connor) arrives to this new parish, it feels and looks a bit…off. Monsignor Wicks (played brilliantly by Josh Brolin) is a hellfire and brimstone priest, literally raging from the pulpit which stands high above the parishioners, and looks a bit like the prow of a boat bringing to mind the Puritans. He believes we need to fight the world, rather than love it, which is the opposite of Father Jud’s belief. He has a devoted little following, who are distrustful of Father Jud, and are not particularly welcoming to the young priest. Martha, played by Glenn Close was amazing. It has been far too long since I have seen her in a movie and she can play crazed fanatic so well. Lol. Thomas Haden Church played the laid back groundskeeper, and Martha’s boyfriend, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, all round out the rest of the Wicks’ Ride or Dies.

This movie took the locked room mystery to a new level, and while the methods were slightly ridiculous (and on purpose I am sure, as part of the movie’s goal) it definitely made this movie very suspenseful and almost impossible to figure out. This movie never stopped, something was always happening, and the characters were both pitiable and mean. They have their own lore as well, with the mystery of a fortune gone missing when Wick’s grandfather, the former priest, dies without leaving a hint as to where it is. It was meant to go to his daughter, Grace, also known in the movie as the “Harlot Whore” yet when he died, his accounts were empty. So where is it? Where is this fortune?

Father Jud was endearing as a priest who was at odds with his Monsignor. Jud was about love and finding forgiveness and peace in God’s love, and here he was with a man who preached nothing but judgement and hate, who manipulated and played games. He was a tough guy, with the instincts of a fighter, but in his heart he wanted to help others find that love. One scene in particular stands out, where he and Benoit are in the middle of their investigation, which Jud completely stops so that he can help someone in need.

The setting itself was gorgeous and spooky, with a beautiful church and rectory, surrounded by an army of trees that engulf it all, making it seem like an isolated island in the middle of nowhere and added to the intenseness and suspense.

I loved this movie and I am very impatiently waiting for the next one to come out. Rian Johnson has said there will be more but as of yet there are none on the horizon. This one was a masterpiece, and had so many layers beyond what we see; as always, it was a poke at our culture and society, I also loved the references thrown in, including a few for one of my favorites, Father Brown.

This was definitely a sweater weather movie, and I am glad that I saved it for autumn movie watching!

Whatever you are watching this fall, drop your link here and let’s share our sweater weather cinema experiences!

Louisville Trip Part Three – Churchill Downs

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Our last morning in Louisville, and we were going out big! We had tickets to see the races at Churchill Downs before we hit the road for home.

This last adventure was my favorite and it was Billy’s favorite as well. We went to something called the Road to the Kentucky Derby, which was really affordable honestly, which is how we ended up going. When I was researching places to go, I thought we would just go see it but then I looked at ticket prices and lo and behold, they were $20 a ticket for reserved seating prices. I think tickets for a little better area were in the fifty dollar range, and then on up. They also had general admission tickets as well, which were $10 a person. I bought the $20 tickets, and got my guys up to the track casual dress code, which involved dress shorts, shirts with a collar, and fashion forward sneakers or loafers. I bought a linen dress from Amazon in an olive green and it was honestly a fantastic dress. I somehow did not get a full length photo of myself taken but I will say, it was extremely comfortable and flattering at the same time which for me is difficult. LOL. I was hoping the linen would keep me cooler in the mega humidity.

We got there early, and just walked around, taking it all in. There were people dressed like you see at the Kentucky Derby, and then people in jeans. And of course my little family looking like little prepsters. It was also so humid that I ended up pulling my hair up. Wyatt and I also were red faced because that is how we roll in the heat.

This was seriously so much fun. Billy placed $5 bets on three horses for us; we each picked a name we liked. Billy chose Excel Calculator, I picked Saltwater Cowboy, and Wyatt chose Dr. Storm. Billy and I also treated ourselves to an adult beverage each – a Mint Julep for him, and the “filly” version for me, an Oak Lily. We got to keep our glasses which made us super excited tourists.

We didn’t stay for the whole shebang. We couldn’t, between the humidity which is a negative for Wyatt and his epilepsy, and the five and a half hour drive ahead of us. But we stayed long enough, and we had so much fun. Just being there was really cool.

As an accessible place, it gets the lowest grade. Our seats were wheelchair accessible, and I purchased them for that reason. However, the staff working (who were all fabulous!) had a difficult time reaching the staff member who had the key to unlock the ADA lift for the stairs. I will say that the employees we encountered were all super helpful and extremely upset that the person who had the key was not answering the walkie talkie. It was not their fault, and they went out of their way a few times to help us, rubes that we were. My only suggestion to Churchill Downs is to maybe have more than one person available to do the wheelchair lift, and perhaps have them stationed near them? Billy ended up carrying Wyatt up the stairs, while the employees carried the wheelchair on our way to the seats since it was just taking too long and things were about to begin, and we couldn’t wait any longer especially since we were only staying for a race or two.

We had so much fun regardless, and we want to go back again one day, and stay for the whole event.

And that is a wrap! We left after two races and made the loooooooooonnnnngg drive home. I was so happy to see my cats and flop into my bed. Does anyone else miss their cats while they are gone?

I hope that whatever you guys do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Louisville Part Two: Mega Cavern, Col. Sanders, and an All Horror Bookstore

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Day two! More gray clouds and light rain, but our plan for the morning was to visit the Mega Cavern, so the rain wasn’t going to stop us!

I had bought tickets for the 10 am tram tour at the Mega Cavern before we left, and also called regarding accessibility for Wyatt as well. So when we got there, we noticed that they had the ADA tram all ready and waiting which was great! We had gotten there a bit early, so we hung out in the large cavern waiting room, that had the service counter, the gift shop and fake buildings on one side, tables and cornhole in the middle, and their ropes course at the other side. It was 9/11 and the tvs were on as well, so we were able to watch and listen to some of the memorial broadcasts while we waited.

The Mega Cavern is not a cave, technically. It is a man made cavern that was left behind after its prior life as a limestone quarry. However, it was close enough for Wyatt and that is what mattered to me. Natural caves are not exactly the most wheelchair accessible, so I was excited to find this place, with its tram tour.

Wyatt had so much fun on it. It was properly dark and cool and damp, and we were definitely underground. It doesn’t go too far underground anymore, as it has been filled in quite a bit for safety reasons. It had previously had pillars over 100 feet tall, with bands of shale, which are unstable. Now the place houses activities besides the tram tour, including an underground zip line and ropes course.

It has had an interesting history. A limestone quarry, a place for residents and businesses to leave fill dirt, and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was designated as a fallout shelter. It was supposed to house over 78,000 people and was by invite only. And if you told someone you got an invite, it was revoked! Yikes. Now it is an adventure type center, and also has drive through Christmas lights at the holidays.

This was Wyatt’s favorite adventure of our trip, and that just made me so happy. He even asked a question at the end! He asked whether they had ever seen a bear in the cave, which they have not, but they have seen deer, coyotes, and owls.

After we left, we missed the street we needed and ended up turning around in a cemetery. I decided to google really quickly if anyone famous was buried there (my cousin Brian visits lots of historic graves and I was inspired). And there were. We were at Cave Hill Cemetery, which is the final resting spot of Muhammad Ali and Col. Sanders. We found the grave of Col. Sanders but we couldn’t find Muhammad Ali. I was however drawn to a grave near Col. Sanders, that belonged to Harry Leon Collins, who had been a magician. It was a very ornate cemetery, with giant mausoleums that had stained glass, statues; it was pretty fancy and obviously for wealthier people. It was an interesting little detour before we continued on to our destination, an art store and book store.

That big tall grave and statue is for a man named Joseph Denunzio, who apparently was started a prosperous fruit trade, and became very wealthy. However, he was known for all of his good works, like donating fruit baskets to people in the hospital and contributing to many charity organizations.

Our actual stop was supposed to be in Germantown. Thanks to Tammy at Bones, Books and Buffy, I had learned that there was an all horror bookstore called Butcher Cabin Books. Wyatt also likes spooky books so it was perfect for us both. And it did not disappoint! It is both creepy yet welcoming, and seemed to do a good business, at least while we were there. It is owned and managed by Jenny Kiefer, author of Crafting for Sinners. She was not there the day we stopped by, but I did get a signed copy of her book!

We also ducked into a local art store, and an oddities store named Unorthodox. It was pretty cool too! Wyatt got a Kentucky Cryptids print for his room, and I picked up a bracelet made of buffalo bone for my friend’s daughter who is into things like that.

We were ready for a siesta by this point, and all that was left on our dance card for the day was dinner later in the evening. So we headed back to our hotel, hung out for a bit, before walking to dinner at Doc Crows.

It was another great day in Louisville, and our only full day there, but I still feel that we saw and did so much!

I have one more post to share with you tomorrow, all about our experience at Churchill Downs!

Louisville, Part One – Louisville Slugger Museum and Troll Under the Bridge

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, travel9 Comments

Louisville was one of those cities I always drove through on the way to somewhere or the way home from somewhere, but never visited. Well, last week we changed that and had a quick jam packed stay there.

It’s a five and a half hour drive from where we live in SE Michigan, which didn’t seem too bad, and it really wasn’t. We had intended to stay in an Airbnb originally, but I ended up cancelling that reservation because the parking didn’t look like it would work well for our situation. I am glad that I went with my instincts to change, because we ended up at an amazing hotel – the Cambria on Whiskey Row. The price was comparable to what we would have paid at the Airbnb, and the location was a million times better, as we we were within walking distance to Main St. which had tons to do, but for us the main draw on Main was the Louisville Slugger Museum.

Let’s not skip ahead though. The hotel was super friendly and welcoming. I had emailed prior to going about accessibility, as I like to know what to expect when we get there, and the front desk staff and manager were amazing. I mentioned that Wyatt was super excited about the trip and couldn’t stop talking about it, and when we got there, he had a surprise waiting in the room for him. They had left him fruit snacks and goldfish crackers, and a welcome card, like he was a tiny VIP and it was just so sweet. He was pretty tickled over it!

The room itself was massive, and very clean. It was also very quiet, which was my favorite thing. I hate a noisy hotel which is one reason we usually stay at an Airbnb. The other reason would be to give Wyatt more room to move around in, but we didn’t need to worry about that with the room we had in Louisville.

We had planned on walking to the museum and factory tour at the Slugger Museum but it was raining just hard enough that we had to drive. We didn’t have too difficult of a time finding a parking space, but we did go on Thursday afternoon just after school started for the year, so that may have had some impact on it. I had bought the tickets before we left so we didn’t have to stop and do that once we got there, we just showed our tickets and entered the museum, which was super cool!

Our favorite part of the museum was the area where you could “hold a piece of history”. In this case, the baseball bats used by famous major league baseball players, like Babe Ruth! We all held his bat, and also Alan Trammell’s since he was a Detroit Tiger, so represent. They have a bat handler who wears gloves, and then you have to make sure to only touch the bat on the rubber they have wrapped around the handle to protect it. (is handle the right word? Lol) Babe Ruth’s bat was super heavy; he apparently used a very big bat. I also enjoyed seeing the women’s baseball league represented, and also Little League!

After poking around in the museum, they called our group in for the factory tour. Billy loved this part way more than I did, although it was pretty neat to see how they make bats! I thought it was interesting that they place the logo in the strongest part of the bat, so that when the logo faces out, the ball is striking the strongest area so that the bat doesn’t break. They make bats for all the MLB teams in baseball, and if a player has a contract with them, they get their signature on the bat. If they don’t have a contract, their name is just printed on it. Also, they own a forest somewhere on the border of Pennsylvania and New York, and they plant more trees than they cut down. The trees are hand selected, and usually all have to be over 65 years old before being made into a bat. I would definitely recommend visiting the museum and taking the tour if you are in the area!

We stopped in the souvenir store because of course, and Wyatt picked out a tee shirt that says “You’re killing me Smalls!” which is perfect since we all just watched the Sandlot earlier this summer.

After the tour we walked down the street to the Troll Under the Bridge Pub, which had been recommended to us by both my cousin and one of my friends. At first I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to get in, as it is literally down a bunch of stairs underground, but they have an elevator available for those who need it. By the time we sat down and ate, we were all starving and thirsty. That lemonade I had was the best thing ever, and I am sure it was just normal lemonade. Louisville is extremely humid, like seriously swampy. We left revived enough to walk back to our car at the museum and return to the hotel, where I took a cool shower and got into my pajamas despite it being like 6 pm. Getting up at 5:30 am after being woken up by a very excited 11 year old had finally taken its toll. We watched tv and read and then that was day one done!

Sweater Weather Cinema: What is a Fall Movie?

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone!

So yesterday I posted about loving to watch fall movies in the fall, and a few people commented that they weren’t quite sure what a fall movie was. And I get it, not everyone views movies and books through a seasonal lens like I do. I tend to romanticize life in our different ways, around the seasons and events. And fall is my favorite so I go all out. I do all the fall things, like cider mills and decorating and all that, but also, watch movies and tv that evoke those autumnal feelings for me.

For me, that means movies with fall foliage, or a movie I can snuggle up with a cat to. Cozy and nostalgic, mysterious, then closer to Halloween, spooky and creepy. Alfred Hitchcock, or Meg Ryan movies. Cozy sweater movies, where the mood is maybe coffee involved, apples, football. Harvest and pumpkins. Small towns, big cities, it doesn’t matter, it’s about the cozy, the creepy, the feelings.

I am going to share some of the movies and shows that I would consider fall , and then I will share some videos from creators and a few other lists from around the webs, just in case you need some fall inspiration! And I am sure some of my ideas will overlap with the lists of others.

This one will hit differently this year, but Clue is one of my all time favorite movies to watch in the fall. A rainy, stormy night, murder, a big old house? Yes.

And following that line of thinking…

And this is going to take too long this way. I have too many movies to list one at a time.

These are just a few of the movies I would consider fall.

These YouTubers are fantastic at getting the vibes going!

And then here are a few links to other lists!

40 Great Autumn Films from the British Film Institute

40 Classic Films You Should Watch This Autumn

I hope this gives you all a bit of fall movie inspiration, or has added a few fun fall movies to your watchlist! Just make sure to grab snacks and cozy blankets as well!

And if you do find one or two to watch this season, feel free to link your post here!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized39 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone!! It is September and while it doesn’t feel like fall yet, I am hopeful that it will soon. I just wish it could be fall all year!

Last week we started homeschool back up again, and it was hard to get back into routine! I think I had a harder time than Wyatt did honestly. Lol. Still working on what the new normal will look like for this year, but we are off to a good start. Or, at least a start.

Books:

I finished Twig’s Traveling Tomes and it was absolutely adorable, a complete smile of a book. It was so cozy and sweet and just what I needed! The main character, Louella Twig, is a book witch who knows just what book you need. She has her quiet life, traveling to four different locations in her magic bookstore, her own treehouse fortress, and her books. Of course. Then her whole world goes topsy-turvy when charming thief Everett Sharp shows up, followed by her old wizard mentor, Feralorn. It was a fun, adventurous, cute story and I loved every bit of it. It will be out the 8th! I was very thankful to read this early via NetGalley!

So I am struggling through this 100 page book. Lol. This beginning is a slog. Blah. But because it is only 100 pages long, I am forcing myself to finish it. It was just hard to push through when I had Twig’s to read!

Screens:

Billy and I have started two shows, Anna Pigeon and Bookish. I was very excited about Anna Pigeon because I read the books years ago and really enjoyed them, and we were both excited about Bookish. They are both very good, although in different ways.

We also watched He-Man last weekend, instead of 9 to 5. Lol. And, as a generation who grew up on He-Man, we both agreed that it was a good movie rendition of it. And my favorite characters were still Cringer and Evil-Lyn. Alison Brie was awesome as Evil-Lyn!

I posted a few times last week as well.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Nationalities in the Title

Cozy Fall Reads for the Mystery Reader

Wrapping it Up August and Summer

Mini Book Reviews: Goats Just Wanna Have Fun, Pattern of Betrayal, Sunflower Season

And remember, I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of! You can find the link up for August here!

In-Betweens:

This week we are going away for a quick trip to Louisville! We have a few different things lined up to do, including the Louisville Slugger Factory tour and museum on the first day we arrive. I am looking forward to going. I think we all really need it!

And that is it from me today my friends. I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Mini Book Reviews: Goats Just Wanna Have Fun, Pattern of Betrayal, Sunflower Season

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review6 Comments

Hello everyone! I have a few mini reviews today! Two cozy mysteries and a romance!

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I would receive a small commission if you were to click and purchase something, at no extra cost to you.

Goats Just Wanna Have Fun by Janna Rollins: I love this cozy mystery series so much, and this one felt so perfect for the end of summer. Things are being harvested, farms are bursting with everything, jams have been made. Maybe I am just associating it with my own summer memories, and trips to the county fair every August, but this book really made me feel so nostalgic for those years.

Main character Callie runs a goat yoga studio out of her great aunt and uncle’s farm, and the relationship between the three of them is just so wholesome and loving. They seem so typical in some ways of older people, but also do some things that you might not expect. And there is always talk of all the good food that her great aunt makes.

And since this is a cozy mystery, you know there is going to be a murder. Callie, besides being a yogi, has become a bit of an amateur sleuth as well. So when a man turns out to be murdered, Callie finds herself roped into an investigation with her best friend and cousin Tristan, and local ice cream proprietor Pete. You will have to read the book to find out more! This is the second in the series and I love it. I plan on reading book three when the weather here turns to fall…

Pattern of Betrayal: So this book was not my favorite. It wasn’t bad, it just was sort of boring. Maybe it was just the mood I was in though. The writing was good, the characters, the setting – it had all the ingredients for a cozy read but it just lacked something.

Sunflower Season by Danica Nava: I love sunflowers. I love overalls. That is why I wanted to read this book. Lol. However, beyond that, I am happy to report that besides the great cover and the sunflowers and overalls, there is a great story as well. It is so wholesome, the reviving of a farm that has served a community for years, bringing back something that was a cornerstone of their town. It is a story of second chance romance and finding yourself, and found family. And goats. And sunflowers. This book does have some drama to it, and some trigger warnings as well, including the death of a parent.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, it was perfect for late summer and literally, sunflower season here in Michigan. Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to read this one!

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today that you do something that makes you smile.

August and Summer Wrap Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone! It is September, and with that all of the fun things that happen in the fall. But before we move too far forward, lets take a look back at this summer, and also at August.

The Books of August:

The Breakdown: I read five books in August, but didn’t complete any challenges. I read a self-improvement book that felt more like warm advice from a friend, a southern gothic, two cozy mysteries, and a romance. I thought it was funny how so many of my books were set in the south this time around. It must have been the weather, causing me to lean into that humid summer setting. The settings ranged from Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee to New Hampshire and NY. My favorite for August had to be Goats Just Wanna Have Fun. I enjoyed all of these (except one, I didn’t care for Pattern of Betrayal) but I just really enjoyed the wholesome easiness of Rollins book. I could 100% imagine being at our county fair reading it, the sounds, the smells (good and bad!), the general vibe from the crowds. It was nostalgic and of course, I love the goats. I wonder if I could hide a few in my yard?

A Good Book and a Cup of Tea favorites:

I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of! You can find the link up for August here!

We have decided we will be featuring our favorite posts from the month here. I do read all the posts even if I don’t comment. I only like to comment from my actual laptop and not from my phone, which is a problem sometimes when I read the post on my phone. ( I am working on more time to read and comment though. )

My favorites this month:

Olivia’s book review on The Woman with a Worm in her Head (I could never read this book or I would never leave the house- I have some contamination OCD that would be soooo triggered lol)

Lisa’s book review on Travels With Charley

And for some non-book related faves this month….

This was a hard hard August for me but there were still some good moments.

First, all of the people who have reached out to me through emails and letters and chats and in person.

Girls Night

Happy Mail

Acorns and chestnuts

And for the summer as a whole:

I read 17 books, and I don’t think many of them were originally on my summer hopefuls list either. Lol. Ok, I just looked at it; I read four from my original list.

I read books set in ten different states – WA, NY, ID, OH, MI, TN, Al, MO, NH, OK, and two countries, Ireland and England. And the genres I read were all over! I read nonfiction, middle grade, cozy mysteries. I read thrillers, fantasy, and horror. I read southern gothic, romance, classic mystery, and cozy fantasy. It was all over the place. My top favorite read was Dungeon Crawler Carl, it was just so fun and unexpected.

And I guess that is a wrap today!! I hope that whatever you do today that you do something that makes you smile!