Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized3 Comments

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

Hello everyone! It’s so cold and dreary here today, at least right now. It is supposed to warm up though this afternoon, to 76, but we will see. I am having a hard time believing it!

Books:

Over the last two weeks I read three books.

Heidi is a buddy read with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. We were going to stretch it out over the month but I accidentally read it all the other day. I think Lisa is pretty close to finishing it as well. I am so glad that we read it; I absolutely adored it!

Marigolds for Malice is part of the Enchanted Garden mystery series, and is book 3 of 3 according to Amazon. It was pretty good and I am bummed the author stopped writing this series. I feel like there was more to tell about Ellie and her garden and the town of Poppyville!

Finally, I finished up Stillmeadow Daybook by Gladys Taber. It is funny that Lisa and I both were reading this at the same time, and didn’t realize it! I loved this one even more than Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge which I read at the beginning of the year. I loved Taber’s voice, and perspective, and so many of her thoughts are valid still today. (although there were some outdated references and signs of this book being of its time) I had so many book tags sticking out of the library copy that I ended up buying my own. That is a sign to me I need to own it! I was lucky enough to find a copy it and also Amber: A Very Personal Cat being sold together for seven dollars on Ebay. They are paperback which is my preference, so even better!

This week, I am visiting my old friends, the rabbits of Watership Down. If I finish, I feel like it will be a good time to also start Raising Hare!

Screens:

Billy and I have been watching Young Sherlock. It took me an episode or two to get into it, but I am really enjoying it now.

I also subjected my family to the original cartoon movie of Watership Down the other day. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered? Wyatt was not traumatized either so I was relieved. Wyatt hasn’t watched much with violence in it, just How to Train Your Dragon and The Mummy, so I was nervous but he did good. He seemed more excited that he was watching a movie version of my favorite book.

In-Betweens:

Do you ever have weird coincidences happen, that are not algorithm related because we know that those are not actual coincidences, but where something pops up where you are not expecting it? This happened to me this week. I had just finished Stillmeadow Daybook, and started Marigolds for Malice, when I encountered a reference to Gladys Taber in the cozy mystery! It was so weird!

I have to agree, reading Taber always relaxes me with tales of her life.

My cousin’s daughter also got her first job! And I was excited to hear that it was at one of my favorite local shops. So of course I had to go and visit, and of course I had to buy something..

I found this distinguished gentleman for half off, and had to bring him home. He is actually a vase, so I need to buy a few flowers to pop into his little ears. Lol. I have named him Hazel. Of course.

Other random photos from the week:

And just a reminder:

Lisa of Boondock Ramblings and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea.  This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

And that is it from my corner of the world! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone! It is a sunny day with predicted temps in the 50s today. I have a cup of coffee, a kitten on my lap, and a little boy next to me. I am trying to stay centered and present right now these days. It’s been a heavy week, hasn’t it? It’s easy to feel lost and overwhelmed, and we need to do what we can in order to keep ourselves as sane as possible. Right now, I know I have responsibilities and the biggest one is Wyatt. I keep one eye and prayers on current events, and focus on Wyatt who needs me to keep things together here.

That being said, yesterday I just did just that, I kept my ear to the ground and went about my day. I prayed, I lamented, and I also took Wyatt to therapy, where he absolutely blew his therapist and I away. She put him in a gait trainer, which is like a walker but with more support, and he took off cruising, practically running. I couldn’t even get a video because I was so shocked honestly. Neither of us have ever seen him move quite like that! We have watched him use this gait trainer for a few weeks, building back up to it after his surgery last July, with some struggles, determination, and some drama as only Wyatt can provide. Yesterday though, he did it so easily. It all clicked and came together in one boy yesterday.

I also went to yoga for the first time in forever and ever. My friend Kelly and I went to a local class held in an building downtown in our city. It was her first time ever and I was proud of her too! I had to laugh though – we have been friends over thirty years and I have never once seen her sweats and a t-shirt. She is always meticulously dressed. It was so cathartic and restful, and my body and soul needed that. As we sat there, in the old auditorium with it’s wooden floors and antique lighting along the high ceiling, I just felt such peace for a moment. It felt good to be moving my body with such purpose again, feel its strengths (and weaknesses – ugh my core!), and then the final relaxing pose on the mat at the end. I left feeling very refreshed and so did Kelly. When I asked her how she felt she told me that she felt like she really needed that, and I understood exactly what she meant. I am hoping to go every Tuesday night now.

I popped by to see my mom afterwards and she was doing so well. They changed her meds last Friday, and they told us to expect her to be very sleepy over the weekend, which she was. So I was happy to see last night a bright eyed, happy mother. She was chatty and awake, and I saw some real improvement in her. For those who don’t know, my mom had a stroke last month, and she also has moderate dementia. She has some mobility issues as well, but I am hoping with the meds change, we can get her up and out more, at least out of bed. They were really making her very weak and not doing much to help her at all. I went home feeling pretty good about my corner of the world, for at least one day. And that is where I am at these days, one day at a time.

Last week Wyatt and I took some time off for a spring break. We didn’t do too much, mostly just hung out at home and read and played and things like that, lots of art happened, but we had one day out with Mermaid Girl. All three of us are book people, so I took Mermaid Girl with us on one of our bookstore and dessert days! I picked an awesome bookstore too, Coreanders in Grosse Pointe Park. It is designed for kids and is filled with storybook murals and a tall stalk with a sun at the top in the center of the store, shelves of books and cozy reading spots. It even has an ice cream shop and a secret garden. We kicked things off with McDonalds, and then once we were at the store, we spent two hours wandering around, choosing books, chatting, having ice cream. It was so fun.

One of the coolest things about Coreanders is that it is two floors and the elevator is even a mural, all the way up. The door has a glass window and on the wall of the elevator shaft is a mural that follows the path of the elevator, so you are treated to scenes from The Hobbit as you make your up and down. It is really cool.

I didn’t get many photos this time, the weather was gray and gross and the garden has not grown yet, plus I was too busy with two kids and being in the moment, so I will share some photos from the first time I visited.

It is very cool, and it was the perfect little day off. We all left happy and with books (or for me, a journal and some bookmarks) in our hands. The kids also enjoyed ice cream, which was only 3 dollars for two giant scoops! A deal!

Afterwards Mermaid Girl came over and played with Wyatt and Mouse and Max before her dad came to get her. It was a nice time!

We also finally finished up the Gold Rush in history! We celebrated with a “Gold Rush” dinner of beans, bacon, and homemade biscuits, and we sat on the floor in our den on a buffalo plaid blanket. We all decided while the dinner itself was not bad, we certainly wouldn’t want it too often, much less for every meal! Something fun I learned about the gold rush – I mean, Wyatt learned- a bath cost $10 dollars which would have been about $419 dollars today!! Then I read randomly in the Gladys Taber book I just read, Stillmeadow Daybook, that the boomtowns had a rodent issue, so a shipload of I think 3000 cats was sent to California, where they sold to those argonauts for $10- $20 a cat! They were also often stolen from their owners, as they were in high demand!

And with that little tidbit, I will say goodbye. I hope whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized44 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List

Oo I love this one! Now, how to narrow this down? *thinkthinkthink*

Iceland (Secret Nights and Northern Lights) has been a bucket list country for me for a long time. Knowing it is just a six hour flight from me, which doesn’t seem to bad, especially with no layovers, makes it seem slightly within reach? I would love to see the Northern Lights there. One reason I liked this book so much is that I feel like I learned along with the main character about places to see within the country.

The Giraffe Manor Hotel in Nairobi (Tea with Elephants): Talk about a dream!!! Ever since I learned this place existed I have wanted to go, but it is very expensive so I will have to just keep dreaming. While this book isn’t quite the same thing, it makes me think of a trip like that. And this series sounds really fun! I have this book on my potential Summer TBR.

Chincoteague: Technically, I have been here, but so briefly and I was so young that I don’t remember. So I want to “go back” and see it, and I want Wyatt to see it too. I have been saying it for years now, we just need to do it!

Peru (Secret of the Andes): I have never read this book, but I think about reading it all the time, especially with Wyatt. Lol. Maybe this summer. I feel like Peru is magical, with deserts, mountains, and a rainforest, and would just be so beautiful and diverse to visit, with so much to see and do.

Italy (Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies): I would love to go to Italy. Anywhere in Italy, just send me there!

Loch Ness (Nessie Quest): I love cryptids, and the Loch Ness Monster is my favorite! I don’t believe in them (or do I?) but I would love to visit Scotland, and while it would be neat to see my family who lives there and see where my grandma and her family came from, I would really like to visit Loch Ness. And Edinburgh, just throwing that in there too.

Cornwall (Rebecca): I have no idea why I want to go to Cornwall so badly. I just do. I think I love the whole seaside of it, the history of the smugglers and the coves, and I find myself drawn to books set there.

California/Sequoia National Park (Kildee House): Ok, this is a place I have been but it is a bucket list for me to take Wyatt there to see the giant redwoods. They are so awe inspiring and amazing to see, I know he would love it too! I loved Kildee House, even though it made me cry a few times!!!

Japan (The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen): I chose this book in particular because while Tokyo seems like it would be neat, I would not want to be there long. I would rather visit quieter, more rural areas.

The Shire (The Hobbit): I would like to visit the Shire. Or live there. I could very easily be a hobbit..

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

Mini Book Reviews: Trixie Belden, Nightshade for Warning, Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, and When Wanderers Cease to Roam

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized7 Comments

It’s time for mini book reviews again! I like to do them in groups of three, sometimes four.

Let’s start with Trixie!

Trixie Belden The Secret of the Mansion: I loved Trixie Belden growing up and when I picked this up at the used book store I had to take it home with me. I am cracking up reading it now as an adult – these kids either have the best luck or worst luck, I can’t tell! So far, a small boy was bit by a copperhead, Honey almost got run over by a truck, Trixie dove into a shallow part of the lake, hit her head and knocked herself unconscious (with no follow up care), Trixie was thrown from a horse, Jim fell off a ladder, and a stray dog charged them and then died suddenly at their feet, a small aircraft crashed on their land, and a house burned down. It was a crazy ride, but I loved it. I loved the fact that Trixie had chores on her farm but also lots of freedom to be a kid, I loved that balance of responsibility and then just being a kid. It was nice to revisit Trixie and her friends, and I will probably keep reading this series, all over again.

Next up, another mystery, Nightshade for Warning, part of the Enchanted Garden series.

Nightshade for Warning: This series is so fun! I am bummed that it appears there are only three in the series, and I am picking up number three today from the library. Don’t authors know we want to keep reading a series forever when we like it? Lol. Anyway, this was another light read, full of flowers and intrigue, and aromatherapy. Ellie gets embroiled in another murder mystery, this time not to save herself but to save her brother’s fiancee, who is the top suspect. And of course Dash and Nabokov make appearances as well! You can see Nabby the cat in the window, hiding there on the shelf.

Speaking of cats..

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter: I absolutely loved this book. It had cats, magic, cat welfare awareness, and it was set in 1920s Montreal. It was fantastic. In this world, average everyday people who are magicless don’t really care for those who are magical, believing them to be reckless. Agnes definitely is not a fan of magical wizards, so when she finds out that the Dark Lord himself is her landlord she is not thrilled. But she needs the space for her cats so she makes it work.

I loved Agnes’ character. She was a take charge, Type A personality, yet still quirky. Agnes likes things organized, loves a list (much like me lol), and loves her cats, all forty some of them, and worries about the ones still on the streets. Does she enter into a working relationship with the dreaded Dark Lord to help her cats? You will have to read to find out!

I was very involved in animal rescue for years before Wyatt was born, I helped start an organization, fostered, served on the board, volunteered at the shelter multiple nights a week, and I would like to add that from the perspective an animal rescuer, this book was spot on. The TNR efforts, all the little details involved, were perfect. Fawcett either has to be in animal rescue herself or did some thorough research!

I loved this book, and it is a definite five star for me!

When Wanderers Cease to Roam: I had been slowly savoring this book for a few months, diving in here and there when I needed a pick me up. I loved reading Swift’s memories, her snippets about cats and weather and nature and being cozy, the names she picked for each month. I loved her illustrations as well. This book is a treat for the soul. Thank you Jeanie at Marmalade Gypsy for sharing about it on your blog!

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

Hello April!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

“She began to look forward eagerly to the spring, when warm winds would melt the snow and all the blue and yellow flowers would bloom again.”

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

I feel the same way. I know it is technically spring, but winter and spring are still battling it out here in Michigan. We have warm days then cold ones – and today is a cold gray day. I am ready for warm winds and yellow flowers as well!

Wyatt and I planted some seeds on the first day of spring, which was a beautiful day here, and now we have little seedlings that are getting a little leggy reaching for the sun. They want more sun too! I am going to have to transplant them soon, and put them in Billy’s little makeshift greenhouse area in the basement. Right now they are all vegetables but we are going to start flowers too, maybe in a week or two. April showers bring May flowers, or at least maybe consistently warmer temps in Michigan!

This is the month of the full pink moon, and actually, that might be tonight? I need to check! It’s named the pink moon because of the pink phlox wildflower, which is an early spring bloomer in some parts of the United States. I’ve read it is the Peony Moon in China, so more flower associations.

I love this time of renewal, of that new hope. Of emerging out from a cold and dark winter, into this wonderful sunlit world of color. New life, birds building their nests and singing away, letting us know that the sun is rising. I have read that robins are the first birds to sing in the morning, that they are designed that way, their eyes more sensitive to light so that they can detect it before other birds and they start off the morning chorus, one of my favorite parts of spring. The first buds appearing on trees promise color and flowers and maybe just maybe some apples too. Soon the scent of lilacs will be filling the neighborhoods, blowing in on a breeze, making me stop in my tracks to find out which direction it is coming from.

I love to take my coffee out in the mornings, and sit and soak up a little morning sun and bird song, no matter how cold it is once April rolls around. (I don’t do this if it is raining though obviously) I have this in common with the author of the book I am reading, Gladys Tabor and her book Stillmeadow Daybook, who talks of her love of eating breakfast outdoors, even if she has to wear a sweater. I am the same this time of year. I also love to do this in the summer, sit outside alone in the dark late in the evening, for a completely different feeling and listening to a completely different orchestra.

I’m looking forward to lighter meals, more fresh vegetables and fruit, hopefully even some from our own garden again. It’s been a while since we had a garden and I am excited to start one. It was always too hard before, but now that Wyatt has his deck and ramp, it is possible again. We will be out there soon enough, getting the area ready. I am trying not to go crazy in deciding what to plant, but I will probably go overboard because that is how I roll. Tomatoes and radish and basil and dill and beets and lettuces, sugar snap peas and raspberries and cucumbers and watermelon and pumpkins, a garden that takes us all the way to fall. I want to plant milkweed for the monarchs again, since our patch was dug up when we added the deck, and also plants for other butterflies and moths native to Michigan. Maybe this year I can even convince a toad to settle in our yard.

The other day was a windy day, and I had the windows open wide, airing out the house from winter and letting spring in. The kittens were racing about, zooming all over, hopping from window to window, and I realized, this is their first spring! The smells they must have been catching on the wind could have been brand new to them, exciting, curious. The new sounds. What will they think as spring continues, with more open window days, when flowers begin to bloom, and birds are more plentiful around us? How exciting for us too, to experience this with them.

And I had better get a move on, quit my daydreaming for the moment, and think about what to make for dinner. As ready as I am for light salads, today is still a mucky swamp day, that calls for something warm in our bellies. Pretty soon though. It’s coming. As Frog and Toad say, it is just around the corner!

My Monthly Wrap Up and Faves

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone!! I want to start doing these at the end of the month. I always do one in my book journal so it makes sense for me to make one here in this space as well!

This month, I read 7 books, that were a mix of genres.

I read two nonfiction, one poetry book, two cozy mysteries, a cozy fantasy, and a middle grade. I also had on DNF, sadly.

I was able to add the nonfiction books to my nonfiction challenge goal of Nonfiction Nibbler in Shelleyrae’s Nonfiction Reading Challenge. I seem to be stuck on memoirs but that is ok, this is the most nonfiction that I have read in a while.

As for settings, I visited rural France, 1920s Montreal, California, the Hudson Valley NY, and Long Island.

Faves:

Of course it was. Magic and cats and cat rescue and Montreal and the 1920s. It was such a great book! I will be reviewing it soon.

I am a cohost with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, who thought of the monthly bookish linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things book, not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of!

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. )

Here are my four favorites from this past month!

A First for the Blog Marsha at Marsha in the Middle’s Wuthering Heights post. She mainly posts about her life and fashion so it was so cool to hear from her about her favorite book.

A Curated Reading List to “Savor” in 2026 I loved this list of books to read and enjoy from Paula at Between the Bookends

The Strawberry House Marg at Intrepid Reader shared her review of The Strawberry House by Rachel Burton and I have to say it sounds amazing!

From My Children’s Book Cabinet – Finchen I love when Cat shares about vintage books in her collection!


And for some non-book related faves….

Covergirl Bliss You Berry Lip Balm – if you are not really a lipstick person but still want some color, this is the answer.

My newly short(er) hair

Getting happy mail from pen pals

Homemade pancakes with fresh from the farm syrup

Spotting snow drops and rabbits on walks

Journaling

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


Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

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

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! We had a pretty quiet week around here last week, which was nice!

Books:

Last week I read Trixie Belden, which was a blast from my past, and it was a crazy ride. I enjoyed returning to the world of Trixie and Honey!

I also read the second in the Enchanted Garden series. This series is just what I am needing right now; it is light and easy, keeps my attention, and makes me think spring with all of the garden and flower talk.

This week I am planning on starting two books, maybe three if the third in the Enchanted Garden series comes in for me at the library.

I plan on starting these The Sugar Rush by Peter Gregg, and Heidi. I am reading Heidi as a buddy read with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I am looking forward to it. I haven’t read it before! I missed this one in my childhood somehow.

Screens:

Not too much here on the tv/movie front, again. I have been going to visit my mom in the evenings, so I don’t get home until later and by the time Billy and I sit down to watch tv together we are pretty tired out. This usually means we watch a comfort show, and we are revisiting Brokenwood. I love that show so it is not a hardship.

I did post a few times last week.

Springtime Book Tag

Top Ten Tuesday: My Spring TBR

Coffee Catch Up

Also, just a reminder that Lisa and I cohost a link up, A Good Book and a Cup of Tea, for bookish links all month long. Anything book and reading goes! You can find it up in my header area.

In-Betweens:

We had a mostly quiet week last week, but we did go out yesterday to the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor. We had a great time, ate some fry bread, shopped a bit, and watched some of the dances and the grand entrance.

Today we have a birthday party for the Hurricane. She is turning three! It was supposed to be last weekend, but illness just keeps getting in the way these days. My dad and stepmom can’t make it today actually, because they have Covid!

And I will leave you with just a few photos from my roll before I leave.

And with that I will end here! I hope that you are all doing well, and that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Friday/Saturday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized6 Comments

Catch up. That is what I feel like I have been doing for weeks now, catching up. On bills, on school, on therapy, on emails and phone calls, on blogging, just about anything that I need to maintain. However, today is the first day of our spring break! I am so excited – it is the reset that we need.

Today I think we are going to do some baking and independent art/project time. We are also going to start the Oregon Trail strain of sourdough that I sent away for! It is from 1847, and I just thought it was so cool that we could have this actual, physical connection to the Oregon Trail. Now, we just need to revive it, and keep it alive…. one of my projects for today and I am looking forward to it.

I don’t know what else I want to make. Chocolate chip cookies? Or sugar cookies shaped like snails? I am thinking whimsy might win. Today is supposed to be cold and snowy, so it might be a nice reminder that hopefully soon we will have good weather again.

Last Friday was actually beautiful, 68 degrees, sunny, breezy. It was perfect. It was also the first day of spring and I had to acknowledge it somehow. Something I did, just out of the blue and randomly, was cut like 5 inches off of my hair. I just felt like it was weighing me down, and I needed the freedom of a shorter cut. I need to get it sort of shaped, since now I look like Roseanna Roseanna Danna but I am still enjoying the ease of it, and the lightness. It is so bouncy and swishy!

Wyatt and I also started some seeds in honor of the first day of spring. Right now they are living in their starter cells in my office since we have a cold snap again. (It will go back and forth like this for a bit while spring and winter duke it out here in Michigan. ) I dragged out my container of seeds and we went through and chose some that we were able to actually start indoors. Some early season seeds needed direct planting and the ground was still a bit frozen so we had to wait on those. We planted way more than we are going to need: 3 types of tomatoes,  2 types of radish, beets, luffa fours, tigger melons, and orange watermelon. When the ground is soft enough, I promised Wyatt that this year would be the year he could plant watermelon and pumpkins. I am sure they will all be eaten by the squirrels and birds by fall, but we can try!

We also finished up the whole process of enrolling Wyatt in Little League teeball. He is on a special needs team with two of his friends, and is getting pretty excited! In therapy the other day, his therapist switched up her plans for the day and instead of his normal exercises and walking, she and Wyatt worked on hitting a ball off of a tee. We were both surprised at how well he did “right off the bat”. His hand-eye coordination was darn good for never doing anything like that.

His first game is in May. He gets a uniform and a photos on a baseball card and I am really looking forward to it as well.

** Ok – I stepped away for a minute and it turned into the rest of the day. So I am finishing up now. Lol **

This morning we are heading to a Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor. I went in college once, and I think it would be a great event for Wyatt to experience. They welcome everyone as a guest, and encourage cultural learning and connection. I think it is good for everyone to experience different cultures authentically and respectfully, which is what I hope Wyatt learns today from me, and I also want him to have fun as well, which I am sure he will.

After I will probably go sit with my mom for a bit, then head home for a family game night.

I also am trying to line up some activities for next week’s spring break. I want to take it easy, reset, but we also need to do some things or Wyatt will be bouncing off the walls! We just renewed our Detroit Zoo membership and our Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village membership, so either of those should work in a pinch. (although the village isn’t open yet. That will happen sometime in April.)

Annnnd I think that is it for now. I am going to get ready soon for our outing, but first I want to finish this cup of coffee.

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

Springtime Book Tag

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized13 Comments

Hello everyone! I saw this book tag on Heather at Bookables Youtube channel and it just seemed fun! I copied the questions from her YouTube channel.

Flowers: All the flowers we remember are blooming again. Pick a book that’s a fresh take on a retelling.

Heather Fawcett’s The Grace of the Wild Things. This is just such a fun, different take on Anne of Green Gables. I loved it! My review here.

Cadbury Mini Eggs: Obviously the superior springtime candy of choice. Pick a book that you consider to be a sweet treat.

Ok, I am not a super fan of Cadbury Mini Eggs. To me the springtime candy of choice is a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg or Starbust Jellybeans. For my book however, I am choosing one set somewhere that is supposed to smell like marshmallows.

This is one of my all time favorite books. I just love it! I love everything about it. I also love that my dad read it and said the main character reminded him of me! What a nice thing to say. My review here.

Allergies: Seasonal allergies often make your eyes water. Pick a book that made you cry.

This book made me a soggy tissue. I just cried and cried and cried. I loved it though. My review here.

Spring Cleaning: Out with the old and in with the new. Pick a book to unhaul.

I have had this on my shelf forever and I don’t think I am ever going to read it. It seems too sad every time I start it. I should just donate this one and free up a little space, especially since this is a chunker.

Spring Break: It’s the perfect time for an adventure. Pick a book involving a road trip.

This is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it.

Rainbows: I just feel like Spring is made of freaking rainbows. Pick a book featuring an LGBTQ+ character(s).

This book is a fun read, and is perfect for spring! My review here.

Spring Awakening:. Pick a book that’s also filled with completely dysfunctional characters.

I had a hard time with this prompt. I think this one works though!

In like a lion, out like a lamb: Pick a book series that didn’t get better as it progressed.

This is a blast from my past. I loved these first books so much, and then, whoa. They went absolutely insane. If you know you know. I often don’t read all the books in a series anymore, maybe this series is the reason why?

Fun in the Sun: Tag some Friends!

If any of you want to do this feel free!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2026 To-Read List

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized53 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

March 24:  Books on my 2026 Spring TBR

Hello everyone! Another Tuesday, another list! I love a list, and I love books, so this is doubly fun for me. Lol.

So. The books on my Spring TBR! I thought a lot about what I wanted to read, and I came up with too many books, but that is ok. I guess I dream big. Let’s start with the nonfiction books on my list!

Stillmeadow Daybook || Raising Hare || The Sugar Rush || The Sheep’s Tale

Earlier this year I read Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge and I loved it. Now I am planning to read this one, which is also a book that is divided by months of the year. I seem to read these type of books a lot! This one begins in April, so I will read it in April as well!

Raising Hare: I love rabbits and hares! That is all. Enough said.

The Sugar Rush: After seeing this process in person the other day, I thought this might be an interesting read.

The Sheep’s Tale: Another John Lewis-Stempel. Billy always buys me a few for Christmas, and I am looking forward to Lewis-Stempel’s thoughts on this farmyard animal.

I have a few middle grade and YA on my list this spring as well.

Heidi || Trixie Belden The Secret of the Mansion || The Faraway Inn

I am planning on reading Heidi as a buddy read this April with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. I am pretty excited!

I picked up this copy of Trixie Belden at a used bookstore a few weeks ago and I have just started it. I loved these books as a kid and I am looking forward to revisiting at least this one!

Finally, The Faraway Inn! I love Sarah Beth Durst and this just sounds so fun!!!

Hens Dancing || An Escape Goat || Statue of Limitations

I saw Hens Dancing recently on a vlog and I can’t for the life of me remember which one. However, it sounded charming and I love the title so, on my list it goes.

An Escape Goat was also another add from a vlogger. I learned of this from watching Amy Marie. I also apparently seem to be on some sort of farm animal/farm book/rural life vibe. Lol. Anyway, it sounds super cute!

Statue of Limitations is one I had on my top ten Tuesday freebie list a few weeks ago, about cozy mysteries with a gardening theme. I am intrigued by the raccoon friend and that it is set in Michigan!