Category: books and reading

Mini Book Reviews: A Death in Door County, Under Loch and Key, The Healing Season of Pottery

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading16 Comments

It’s time for another round up of mini-reviews!

Let’s start with A Death in Door County.

A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan: A Death in Door County is about a whole different lake and set of waters than I usually see here on my side of Michigan, this one on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan, and Morgan, a cryptozoologist has been hired to find out if there is something lurking beneath the waters after a few tourists end up dead. It was an interesting read, full of fun trivia about folklore, a bookstore with some other interesting items for sale, and some eccentric characters – and of course, good dog Newt. For the first in a series it was pretty interesting, and I enjoyed it.

This book has:

🌲 Small towns
🌲 Independent heroines
🌲 Loch Ness vibes
🌲 Good dogs

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson: So, I figured I might as well just jump right in to another Loch Ness book. I do enjoy cryptid lore and tales and the Loch Ness is one of my favorites – thank you Scooby Doo for forming a lifelong interest. (does anyone else remember that episode?) Anyone, back to this book. This story is very cute in itself. Key travels to Scotland to connect with her grandparents, whom she has never met, after her father passes away. She meets the annoying, handsome Lachlan, who works for her grandparents. He is a grump, and not only that, but a grump with some pretty big secrets. So, like I said, that whole storyline is interesting and their interactions are funny. Key is a plain speaker, and I like that. She is open and just says what she is thinking and feeling rather than being sulky or playing games. I like her burgeoning relationship with her grandparents, especially her grandfather. I also liked the whole back story, mystery, magic, and family stuff.

Now, let us discuss the spice. I don’t read many romances, and this is definitely an open door book. I would put this at level way high spice, with graphic language as well. I ended up skipping those scenes as I read through the book. However, a YouTuber I watch, the Plant Based Bride, revealed that there is a scene (that she also skipped) that also has a bit of monster transformation spice situation too, so be aware that is in there as well. No judgement here, I guess just know it in case you like it or you don’t like it. I just wanted to put that in here.

This book has:

🌲 Open door
🌲 Family Mysteries and Secrets
🌲 Loch Ness vibes
🌲 Paranormal romance

The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin: “The reason our coffee tastes good, even when we make it with mediocre beans, is because of the cups.” I believe this, that using a piece that has been handmade with love and care lends a different feeling to what you are eating or drinking or enjoying. That feeling carries through each sip of coffee, each bite of cake eaten from a beautiful plate, echoes in a bowl filled with homemade soup. I may love pottery, btw. And I absolutely loved this book.

Jungmin has been in a cave of her own desire and making since quitting her broadcast writing job, barely setting foot outside for months. One day, dressed completely wrong for the weather, showing just how off balance Jungmin is, how out of season of her life, she stumbles into a pottery studio, thinking it is a cafe. This mistake changes her life. She finds herself enchanted by the pottery, the women who are there, and begins to take lessons. Slowly, slowly, carefully, Jungmin builds a new community for herself, friendships, literally rebuilds herself as she builds objects from clay. Clay has to be tested by fire in order to survive and become something beautiful or practical or useful, and Jungmin learns everyone has a story and fires that they have faced. This was a wonderful book full of found family and the rebuilding of a life.

Have you read any of these?

New Book Release: Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree by Lisa R. Howeler

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading5 Comments

Today is launch day for Lisa’s newest book in the Gladwynn Grant series, Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree!

I will be honest – Lisa is my good friend. However, I would not promote her books the way I do if I did not honestly enjoy them and think they were good. But they are. They really are. (and she had better listen to my not so subtle comments about who Gladwynn should be romantically involved with…not really, but yeah)

Description:

Working as a small-town newspaper reporter and trying to keep up with her grandmother, Lucinda, has kept Gladwynn Grant busy, but, otherwise, life has been quiet.

Everything changes, though, when her older, aloof sister, Sheena, shows up unannounced at the front door.

As if that isn’t enough to deal with, she finds one of her interview subjects dead.

Once again, she’ll have to deal with State Police Detective Tanner Kinney and his stiff-upper-lip-attitude while doing her best to avoid Pastor Luke Callahan who she accused of murder the year before.

When it looks like Sheena is somehow mixed up with a suspect in the murder, Gladwynn’s stress levels rise to an all time high.

Will Gladwynn be able to help solve the murder and find out why her sister has shown up after not visiting for the last six years? And who wrote a stack of love letters stashed in a storage area under her grandmother’s stairs?

Join Gladwynn, Lucinda, Tanner, and Luke Callahan for another modern mystery with a vintage feel.

I absolutely can’t wait to read this one! I think that it is really cool that Lisa is involving a bit of family history in this one, because I think we are all a little curious about what is hidden in the branches of our family trees. I know that my family has little quirks and secrets. I have my family bible, and in it, my great-grandfather wrote, “No more drink for me. June 8 1937” I never met him, but I have heard stories about him, a tiny little Scotsman from Galway, who did have a bit of a penchant for drink. I bet there is a big story behind this, but everyone who could fill in those blanks is gone. And now, I also want to know who wrote that stack of love letters that were stashed under Gladwynn’s grandma’s stairs, gosh darn it!

I have been a faithful reader of this series since it first came out. I love Gladwynn and I love her vintage style. If I had the courage, I would totally dress 1940s all the time. But like, 1940s English land girl. Or like Helen Alderson from All Creatures Great and Small. And sometimes, I do my best honestly, to recreate that. So I love that Gladwynn has so much fun with her fashion, in addition to being a good granddaughter, a curious journalist who needs to get to the bottom of every mystery and every story, and is just the tiniest little pain in the butt to law enforcement. I also really like Gladwynn’s coffee barista homeschool mom friend, and her eccentric grandmother!

This is a fun series, and is a perfect read to cozy up with.

And if you don’t want to believe me, then check out this early reader review from Bettie G.

Captivating cozy mystery!

I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in Lisa’s cozy mystery series about Gladwynn Grant. This time around Gladwynn is up to her usual shenanigans even tho she expressed midway through the story that she wondered “When was she going to learn to be a little less Nancy Drew and a little more Elizabeth Bennet?”

Personally, I preferred this insight into her character offered by one of Gladynnn’s friends: “maybe it is because God knows how deeply you care for people. By you being there when their bodies are found, God knows you will seek out the justice they deserve.”

Even in the midst of a fun cozy mystery series, I appreciate the way that Lisa drops nuggets of wisdom that make us pause and examine ourselves. Her stories keep our attention, and her characters touch our hearts. I highly recommend this new book in the Gladwynn Grant series. -Bettie G

You can find this book on Amazon in ebook and paperback!

Links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DW1VCWDD

You can find Lisa and the first in the series, Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing here: https://lisahoweler.com/gladwynn-grant-mysteries/

What Wyatt’s Been Reading – Winter Edition

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading13 Comments

Hello everyone! I thought it would be fun to share some of the books Wyatt and I have been reading over here together!

Let me start with books we are reading in school!

Sign of the Beaver || The End of the Beginning

We are reading The Sign of the Beaver for history as we are doing Early America right now. I feel like Wyatt really gets a much better picture of life during this time through books.

For our language arts, we are reading The End of the Beginning by Avi. I love Avi, so unfortunately for Wyatt, that means he gets a lot of Avi books when I go off curriculum. I knew he would like this one about a snail who loves to read though!

The Littlest Voyageur || The Courage of Sarah Noble || My Side of the Mountain

These three are books we just finished in school. We both absolutely loved The Littlest Voyageur. It was just so well done and gave such a clear picture of the fur trade – from a furry little squirrel’s point of view, which was a much more gentle way to approach this topic. We then moved on to The Courage of Sarah Noble, which was a super fast read, and brought us forward a bit in history. Then in language arts we read My Side of the Mountain. This one was… interesting. I found it wonderfully written, with some adorable little woodland creature supporting characters like Frightful and the The Baron Weasel, but I also found it a little strange. From the perspective of a mother of a young child in 2025, it was hard to imagine just allowing my child to live in the woods alone. Wyatt on the other hand thought some things were cool – living in a tree, a falcon for a pet – but was not enthused about eating acorn pancakes or living without electricity and wifi. It was however a great book to read together, one that promoted quite a few discussions!

Wyatt has his own little TBR shelf of books! I of course love it. And lately he has wanted me to take photos of his books or of him and his books – much like I do my books…. lol. You will notice some of them follow a particular theme…

Old Wolf by Avi || Lone Wolf || The Wolves of Greycoat Hall

What can I say, my kid loves wolves! I really need to do a post just on the wolf book collection our house has. For now, I will just focus on these. These three are all on his TBR shelf. I think they all look pretty good! When we get to Lone Wolf though, that one is going to hit me hard I think, since Lone Wolf has a twisted paw, and is left by his mother to die in the woods – there can be no weakness in the pack. However, he survives. And that is where the story begins I guess. I am going to be teary, I am sure.

The Treehouse Library || Between Flowers and Bones || The Royal Rabbits of London

The Royal Rabbits of London is the current read. We read together, because he still needs some help but he is getting there! The motivation is for sure huge right now, and we are making up for a lost two years but he is chugging along, making good progress! Anyway, The Royal Rabbits is adorable so far in my opinion, although for Wyatt it is more about the intrigue. And the occasional potty humor.

The other two are on his TBR. After the Royal Rabbits, the next up is The Wolves of Greycoat Hall.

However, before bed we usually snuggle up with a quicker read. Right now we are both addicted to Cynthia Rylant’s higher level beginner readers, specifically Mr. Putter and Tabby.

Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish|| Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book || Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup

We are both in love with this duo. These books are just so cozy and sweet and they are perfect for that right before bedtime read. We are making our way through all twenty-five. I will be sad when we are done!

We have been switching them off with another series by Rylant, Henry and Mudge, although neither of us like them as much. That surprised me a bit, I thought Wyatt would like Henry and Mudge better, but he likes his little elderly man and cat books. My sweet little soul of a child.

Have your children read any of these, or have you?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading35 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

It seems like there are so many good books coming out! Honestly, I found a lot of these through other bloggers on these Tuesday posts!

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson looks so good!! Bletchley Park, dark academia, dragons… I can’t wait! And do I have to? No, because this came out Jan. 2nd! I just need to get it!

The Baby Dragon Cafe by A.T. Qureshim. I know I have mentioned this one, and I think I actually saw it the first on another Top Ten Tuesday. It just looks so adorable!!

The Rainfall Market – that cover is just gorgeous.

The Green Kingdom: I love the plot of this story, where the main character needs to figure out botanical riddles!

Whale Eyes: This memoir comes out in March, and I am very much excited to read it. It is “told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.” I have been trying to read more and more books that give voice to the disabled community, as my son is a part of it. I want him to read and see books that reflect this representation, because books are mirrors as well as windows.

The Secrets of Underhill: This one is a fantasy middle grade, and the main character is the daughter of a traveling arborist who treats magical trees.

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen: I can’t wait, it just sounds so darn good. It also sounds like one that might me cry, but that is ok.

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man): I loved Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice to Murderers and I am looking forward to this next installment of her shenanigans.

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales: I love love this cover! Little snail!!! Ok, and I love this series too.

And finally, the last one for this post.

Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill: Growing up, I love all books about faeries, and I remember just poring over the Brian Froud books over and over again, and reading the different tales of the magical creatures – like Jenny Greenteeth. I am excited to read this version about Jenny.

And that is it from me today my friends! I can’t wait to read everyone else’s posts and no doubt add a “ton of books” (as my son would say) to my list!

A Few Short Book Reviews

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading11 Comments

Hello all! I am so far behind on book reviews, and now that the weather is turning cool and we are not running around as much, it feels like a good time to get caught up. Not all in one post though, that would be crazy.

Let’s see… let’s start with the most recent book that I read.

Clueless at the Coffee Station is a book that I won in a giveaway on Instagram and I am so happy that I did! I have been in a bit of a reading slump for a few weeks, and I was finally able to settle into a book with this one. It was the perfect book to read right now, as the weather in Michigan begins to change to cooler days and chilly nights. The book is set in Michigan as well, which was a fun little bonus for me as I read.

The book is about barista Betti, a woman who enjoys her simple life serving coffee, even though her sister thinks she should be doing something different with her career. When a theft occurs during Open Mic night while Betti is behind the counter, she finds her job and lifestyle at risk and puts on the best sleuth outfit she can find at the thrift shop and begins to investigate…

I found Betti to be earnest, entertaining, and just as awkward as I am. I did enjoy the little bits and pieces of zen she found in her day, the little glimmer moments, such as the coffee shop before it opens and she has Main Street to herself, and a pot percolating behind her. Or a text from a potential love interest that reads “If you are up for cinnamon tea and midnight donuts, I know a place.” That would be a huge green flag for me. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and can’t wait for the next one!

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden: Ooo this was such a good one! It is a middle grade by the author of The Bear and the Nightingale and I was so excited to see how she writes for kids – and let me tell you, it is just as good as her adult writing! (although of course, at a children’s reading level and interest) I absolutely loved the main character’s father, who is very quirky , artistic, creative, and loves to bake. However, her mother has passed away and Ollie is still dealing with this emotionally, as one would expect. Her mother also sounds like she was a very interesting person, with an adventurous spirit, and Ollie is reeling from her loss.

However, the book takes a very spooky turn soon after Ollie encounters a strange woman at the pond. It actually had parts that made me want to look over my shoulder for creepy smiling faces…

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and I plan on reading the second in the series sometime over the winter.

A Dark and Secret Magic is one of my favorite reads this year. It was the perfect fall read, and had so many cozy elements to it. A small cottage in the woods with a fire, a cat, delicious meals that sounded so good yet so simple, magic, romance, ghosts, pumpkin patches and fall festivals.. I could go on and on but I won’t because there is a lot to this book that I don’t want to give away. I will just say that if you like autumn and witchy reads, then you need to read this book. And when you do, make sure you have set some serious reading time aside because you will not want to put it down!

And that is where I will wrap it up today! I hope you are all reading something good today!

Weekend Getaway: Pt. 1 Books and Baked Goods

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading, travel16 Comments

Hello everyone!! We had the most fun on our little trip. It wasn’t anything big or fancy, none of our trips are, but we had a very good time. We had a bit of a crazy start though to our journey!

I planned this trip because I was looking for a train ride that wasn’t too short or too long. Wyatt loves trains and it seemed our options were the train at Greenfield Village, which is like 15 minutes of train ride, or taking a train to Chicago, which seemed much too long of a ride for Wyatt to stay seated the whole time. Like most travel and wheelchairs, once you are in your seat, that is it. No getting up! (as an aside, did you know that airplane bathrooms are not even wheelchair accessible?) So when I found the train that runs through Cuyahoga National Park, which is a two hour round trip journey, I knew it was perfect. The Akron area is about two and a half hours from our home, so not even a bad drive. I booked an Airbnb in Parma, which was a nice distance between both Akron and Cleveland, giving us plenty of options for other things to do as well.

Thursday morning we loaded up the car, and I plugged the directions into my phone – for Columbus. Not Cleveland. Our first stop was supposed to be the Cleveland Museum of Natural History – unfortunately, I set our GPS to the Columbus Museum of Natural History. We had driven about an hour and some change before we realized the mistake, and reset the directions, which put us an hour behind schedule! We weren’t in a hurry but it was still a bummer.

Then at a stop at the gas station for a fuel up and provisions, Wyatt gagged on a gummi bear and you guessed it, threw up. Yay. I happened to be in the back with him and was totally freaking out as I do, but everything was fine really. But, we had to get him cleaned up and changed, putting us more behind. Although, I was infinitely more grateful that Wyatt was ok. Obviously.

We hit the road again, this time in the right direction, with a freshly changed kiddo who was forbidden anymore gummi bears and made it to our Airbnb, about two hours behind when we had anticipated arriving. We decided it was too late to try to hit a museum so we settled into the house for about half an hour or so, and then got back in the car, although none of us wanted to, so that we could find somewhere to eat and something to do. Wyatt was all about shopping and wanted to get a book, so I googled bookstores nearby and found one about twenty minutes away.

First though, we stopped in at this little old Polish bakery and take out restaurant called Rudy’s Strudel Shop, and sort of went bonkers since we were hungry wolves, as Wyatt says.

We did try to show a little restraint. We managed to get out of there with only an apple strudel for our breakfast the next few days, a loaf of butter crust bread, a small bag of sprinkle cookies for Wyatt, and a chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie for the three of us to share. (it was huge)

We drove through steelyards and neighborhoods and found our way to the very magical bookstore called Loganberry Books, in the Larchmere neighborhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio. From the front, it seemed like a small, quirky bookstore.

However, once you enter it is like it magically becomes much much larger. Like a Tardis. Or one of those tents from Harry Potter. It just keeps going and going, with room after room of books. They sell both new and used books, and had so many cool looking vintage books and beautiful architectural details!

Wyatt and I might have picked up a few books.

We walked up and down the streets of the little neighborhood, poking our heads into different stores and then strolling around the Fiddlehead Gallery. The two (I am assuming) owners were the nicest people! They gave us so much good information about the Cleveland area, and it was nice to chat with them. We purchased two mugs, because we might have a mug addiction, and left knowing a bit more about the area, which was nice. When we finally piled back into the car, we were all running out of steam a bit. So we nixed our plans to go out to eat and to go grocery shopping and picked up burgers on the way back to house. And that was the end of our adventure for the night! It was good we had an early night anyway, because the next day was our train ride and we had to be up early!

And I will post about that tomorrow! I just have too many photos of the next few days to put it all in one post.

A Few Mini Book Reviews

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading11 Comments

It’s about time to catch up on some book reviews! I guess they are not really reviews per se, but more my thoughts and feelings on the book. Anyway, I have a few that I would like to talk about today!

I loved this book. It is definitely one of my top favorite books that I have read this year. Can I just say, Valancy is such a kick butt heroine? I love her character’s growth, although it wasn’t a slow steady growth, just a one day out of the blue, I’m done with this crap growth. The scene with her family at the table had me cracking up. She just didn’t give a darn at that point and let them know! And she wasn’t just purely rebellious to be rebellious. She had a mission, and a good one. When she heard that a friend of hers, that she admittedly hadn’t seen or spoken with in a very long time, was ill and that no one was “doing for her” she took matters into her own hands, and moved right in, not giving one hoot about any damage to her reputation. Because what kind of Christian folk would allow someone to lay dying without any help? Like I said, she was awesome. She decided to live life and was going for it. I mean, she did have a bit of a reason to throw all caution to the wind, but I don’t want to reveal it, or reveal anything that happens afterward.

So much of the description was otherworldly, whimsical, ethereal, making me want to see these forests and hollows and swamps and just everything there is to see.

“Frogs, little green wizards of swamp and pool, singing everywhere in the long twilights and long into the nights; islands fairy-like in a green haze; the evanescent beauty of wild young trees in early leaf; frost-like loveliness of the new foliage of juniper trees…”

Doesn’t it just sound so magical?

You guys, this was so adorable! Vera Wong is full of mischief and shenanigans, pokes her nose into things that are not her business, makes food that can change the mind of the strongest holdout, and has really good instincts. This book is full of new and budding friendships that bloom into a found family, that just filled me with goodness and warmth and happy feelings, almost like Vera had prepared one of her specialty teas just for me. She is a bit of a miracle worker, Vera is, and I can’t wait for the next book.

This book had a completely different feel. It was a slow read, introspective, thoughtful. In Korea the genre of this book is “healing fiction” and is meant to be read slowly, and usually centers around one main gathering place – such as the bookshop in this book. Every character we meet in this story is undergoing some sort of change, a moment in their lives that involves them making decisions to improve their lives. It was a book that made me think, and I took my time with it. Also, it talks a lot about coffee, so be prepared to be craving a nice warm cup of your favorite blend while reading!

This was a crazy, twisty, dark and creepy read – and I loved it!! It had some big folk horror vibes, which is one of my favorite subgenres, and had so much intrigue and so many twists and turns that I almost never knew what was coming next. There were so many secrets, so many things to hide. I read way past my bedtime with this one. It is the perfect time of year to read this too, as the book takes place at the end of the summer at a posh resort that had once been a private residence made of stone that towered over the rest of the village. If you have been thinking of reading this, I highly recommend grabbing a copy now!

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated New Releases During the Second Half of 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading48 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Hello everyone!! This week’s top ten Tuesday is all about which books I am most excited about that release in this second half of the year.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea || A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

These are probably the two books I am the most excited about. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches so these two cannot come out soon enough for me!

The Life Impossible || The Spellshop

I don’t have to wait too much long for The Spellshop, which this cover oh my gosh. I want to live in that house! I am hoping to read this one and The Honey Witch around the same time. The Life Impossible comes out in September and it just sounds so amazing. I am all about settings and the setting for this book gives me all the feels.

The Healing Season of Pottery || We’ll Prescribe You a Cat

Don’t these sound wonderful! I am all about Asian fiction right now, and both of these sound just so calm and like a warm safe place to visit. I can’t wait to curl up with both of these during the cold months.

The Teller of Small Fortunes || The Full Moon Coffee

And more books with cats on the cover! These two both have such a whimsy to them and I am all about whimsy. And cats. And coffee. And probably cozy little traveling caravans! I am so excited!

And that’s it. I can’t get to ten, although I am sure that after visiting everyone’s blogs today I will find quite a few more to add to this list!

My Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading11 Comments

So, the clouds outside are gathering and dark, the wind is picking up, and storms are on the way. Chores are done for the night, I have some Ginger Turmeric Tea next to me on the table (although tonight I wish it was wine!) and I thought this would be the perfect time to write this post!

I’ve seen this around on BookTube and by other book content creators and thought it sounded fun!

Is it just me or does it sort of remind you of those senior superlatives in high school?

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2024

Hands down, the best book that I have read so far this year.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024

This book was such a fantastic follow up to the first in the series, Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by Lisa Howeler. I love Gladwynn and her vintage style, as well as the homeschooling mom who is also the barista. Such a fun series!

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to.

I love this series set in Northern Michigan in one of my favorite places in my home state, the Traverse City area. I need to pick it up – it looks like the perfect summer read!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I absolutely loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and I can’t wait for this new book to come out! And I have to wait all the way until December!!

5. Biggest disappointment.

The Darling Buds of May. Loved the show, did not like the book. At all. That has never happened to me before! I do love this cover though.

6. Biggest surprise.

I received The Magic All Around from the publisher and I didn’t know much about it prior to reading it. However, once I picked it up I could barely put it down. It was so good, I could not stop reading it.

7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)

I am late to the party on Sager, and I wish I had picked up his books sooner! I just finished The Last Time I Lied today and again, it was another book I could not stop reading. It was crazy good, and had so many twists and turns! I can’t wait to read another of his books!

8. Newest fictional crush.

I wouldn’t say crush but I would definitely like to hang out with Tress and talk about her adventures and see her cups.

9. Newest favorite character.

See above.

10. Book that made you cry.

Of course it is a middle grade. I loved this book! I had never heard of it honestly when I picked it up at a used book sale, I just thought it looked neat, with that cute little house and the tree. And it was a cute little book…with the exception of the part that made me cry!! It was the loss of an animal friend that did it, of course.

11. Book that made you happy.

Another middle grade! I one hundred percent adored this book, and while it gave me some anxiety, it ended up all working out and just left me with the warm fuzzies.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

It’s a tie for me on this one. I just love love love that cover of Watership Down and I was so happy that Billy and Wyatt got it for me, but then that cover of Tress is fire.

And there you have it! My Mid-Year Book Freakout. How would you answer some of these questions?

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading27 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone!! We have been getting so much rain here! It is like bouts of rainy dreary clouds/then a few hours of sun and humidity. I was finally able to get out and weed yesterday morning, before the rain/humidity cycle started back up again. The garden (and weeds) are really enjoying this weather!

Read Last Week:

I am not quite done with The Living Great Lakes but I am so close! It is excellent, and I am so glad that I picked it up to read. It was a good balance to The Cloisters, which was so well done and well written, but it was also very dark and left me feeling very unsettled.

Reading This Week:

After The Cloisters I needed something lighter! I am diving into the world of cozy mysteries, starting with this magical bookshop series by Amanda Flower, then moving on to Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing.

Posted Last Week:

Summer Shark Watch: Jaws!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I have been watching Death in Paradise still, and mixing it up with The Mayfair Witches. I read the heck out of Anne Rice as a teen/new adult and the Mayfair Witches was my absolute favorite by her. I loved the whole family history that was practically half of the book. Billy has been wanting to watch the show, and while I am watching it, I can’t help but compare it to the book. I will just keep telling myself it is in the spirit of the book and be happy with that. I had a real thing for New Orleans back then, and watching the show is sort of nostalgic for me, and rekindling that love. (Reading the Karen White books set there is also fueling that fire!) We visited about 6 times, the last time the week before Katrina, when she was still at sea. Far enough out that no one knew what was coming and too early for any evacuation warnings, just kind of out there, and weather forecasters knew about her. But to be there as a tourist right before then watch that devastation was … I can’t describe it. Tragically surreal. We haven’t been back but now I am thinking I need to go again.

Billy and I are also starting a summer shark watch – not real sharks although I have heard they are unusually active this summer – but movie sharks. We watched the all important Jaws on the fourth to kick us off, and next up is Deep Blue Sea.

As for listening, I had been listening to The Living Great Lakes but I had to return the audio book through Libby and now I am reading it.

And that is it from my corner of the world! How are you all doing?