Hello everyone! I have a few mini reviews today, two scary books and one very much not.

First up, The Haunting of Paynes Hollow. This book was a surprise. I got it from Book of the Month last Octoberish and didn’t read it. Then this summer when I was having a hard time reading, I picked it up and could not put it down! I was sucked right in to this story that is part Sleepy Hollow, part folklore, and is full of family secrets. It was the perfect read for summer or end of summer, set at a lake cabin with lots of scary things happening. I absolutely loved it!

I got this one from NetGalley and it is another creepy can’t put it down read. This book sunk its teeth in me and did not let go. I had to keep reading. Two sisters with a dark secret find themselves back in the same situation, ten years later. It was dark, dank, ugly, filled with family secrets. A book of loyalty and love and sisterhood. It was desperate, feral, violent, humid and hot. The perfect Southern Gothic thriller for the end of summer.

Look for it Sept. 8th!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for chance to read and review!

It does come with a few trigger warnings:

Domestic Violence
Brief violence toward animals

And finally, one that is not scary, but uplifting and joyful.

The Smallest of Joys is just so lovely and delightful. I read it in the mornings with my coffee and took in Shiffer’s words. If you are not familiar, Diane Shiffer has a successful Instagram that is full of vintage linens and fashions, where she presents herself as a Nana figure to her audience and offers encouragement and acceptance. This book gave me peace at a time I needed some. She talks about setting happy traps for yourself, things that will make future you smile. Or allowing yourself time to sit and just be with your thoughts. (which coincidentally, Gladys Taber wrote about as well in her book Stillmeadow Calendar. I just read that passage last night). If you need a hug in book form, try The Smallest of Joys.

“But even on our worst days, there’s also joy and beauty and humor, amusement and love. They can coexist like two currents in a river. Pain insists we pay attention to her while beauty waits quietly until we notice her. Joy waits until we call her in. But that doesn’t mean that heartache is more important than joy. Sadness doesn’t make beauty less beautiful. In the midst of your hardest days, look for beauty.”

I have been doing this, and it is isn’t always easy. But it is there. Yesterday morning I woke up and remembered my mom, and had a little cry. Then I wiped my tears and still feeling sad, wandered out to the front of the house, looking out at the street and the day. And noticed something on my porch. A vase of beautiful flowers and a handmade card from a neighbor, giving me love and encouragement. A bit of kindness on a hard morning. And even if we don’t have that, there are small things. The way a butterfly floats through a ray of sun, or a purring cat on your lap. They are there.

And with that, I leave you my friends. I hope you all find something that makes you smile today!

August Link Up

Hello everyone. I hope you are all doing well! As for me, I am a bit of a mess at times but I am managing. I even read books last week! Two very wildly different books, but I am a mood reader so maybe that makes sense for right now, that I needed two crazy different reads.

Books:

The Smallest of Joys by Diane Shiffer: I found a lot of peace in this read. It is definitely a book to be read in bits and spurts, not cover to cover. I read it mainly in the mornings while drinking my coffee and underlined and marked passages throughout the whole book. It will be interesting to read again maybe in a year or so from now, to see what calls to me then. For now though, it was like a peaceful read during a time of such huge emotions.

We Already Dug the Grave by Emma C. Wells was wild. It is a Southern Gothic thriller and it was riveting. Nothing peaceful in these pages, that is for sure. I needed something that just grabbed me and this did the trick. I will post reviews later this week.

As for this week, I am not sure what I will end up reading. I do have plans to read Gladys Taber, this time Stillmeadow Calendar, as I love her Stillmeadow books.

Screens:

We started our Kevin Bacon Movie Binge this past weekend, and of course we started with the “classic” Tremors. It was just the silly campy movie we needed. It pays homage to the creature features of the 1950s, with giant monsters that live under the ground that can sense movement on the surface. And the cast is such a throwback too! Besides Kevin Bacon, this 1990 movie boasts a cast consisting of Reba McEntire, Michael Gross (both occupying roles you would never expect which makes it even better), Fred Ward (yep Remo Williams!), and the little girl from Jurassic Park. This is obviously where she sharpened those screaming skills!

In-Betweens:

On Saturday, a new bookstore near us opened its door, holding their grand opening, so of course we had to go and check it out.

They are off to a bit of a rough start. They had a power outage the day of the grand opening, and the store was so dark and black inside; I had to use my cell phone flashlight to read some of the book titles, especially in the children’s area. They don’t seem to have all of their stock in yet so they had a lot of empty shelves still as well. However, I am pulling for them! They have some good ideas. They want to turn the store into a third place, somewhere people can take a seat in front of the fire and read, where families can play board games, or just drink some coffee and play chess with a friend. Hopefully things come together for them, the community can use some additional third places.

And that is it from me! I wish you all peace and love today, and in your upcoming week.

Hello everyone. I have been keeping busy over here, but with plenty of quiet times in between too.

I find I get really anxious antsy around dinner and afterwards, because that was when I went to my mom’s almost everyday. So last week Billy kept me busy, taking us on rides. One ride in particular was beautiful, the metropark at twilight. It was all muggy out and everything was just so overgrown and lush and green. Wading birds and deer were in the marshes eating, swallows were winging their way through the air catching their dinner, and it was just peaceful.

We also had dinner that night at the A&W near the metropark. I don’t know if this is just a Michigan place, but it’s a drive up restaurant like in old movies, and honestly I don’t think the restaurants have changed much here since they were built 50 + years ago. It is a bit of nostalgia every time we go and is always a summer bucket list item. This time Wyatt tried his first frosty mug of root beer too, which was an experience. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not at first, but ended up really liking it. These mugs were huge and Wyatt and I didn’t finish ours but it was the perfect cold drink needed for the humid evening.

My friend Kelly has also been telling me for months that I needed to go to the reptile show that is held every month nearby. I felt like it was finally time. She goes every month, and while I don’t think I will do that, I may go again. I was very proud of myself for not bringing home a new friend! I think had we not been going all the way out to my dad’s right after (he lives 90 minutes away) for the day I may have but, I am giving myself credit here. So many adorable babies there! Vietnamese Mossy frogs, Dumpy frogs, DORMICE – these almost got me but I was unprepared for them and I had no idea what they needed. Baby turtles and albino garter snakes. Jumping spiders, dart frogs. Seriously, there was so much there.

Wyatt and I finally ventured back to the library. I knew it would be tough. I just have so many memories there with my mom when I was younger, with Wyatt and my mom. But, I needed a few books and so did Wyatt so I went. And I was right, I did cry but I am learning that it is ok.

Since I am having a hard time finding a book that is grabbing me, I did a book walk browse through the stacks, just grabbing everything that looked interesting. And if these don’t work, I will try again. I will say though, that like 80% (completely random made up statistic) of the books I picked up the blurb started with “After her mother passed away” or some variation. I think it goes to show just how important our moms are, that this is a topic in so many books. Middle grade, YA, adult fiction. It didn’t matter.

Last night I started Grief is Love, and I thought I would cry but I didn’t. So far I am finding the content to be soothing and validating. I also started That Which Feeds, but only read the author’s note at the beginning, which was fascinating and led me to wanting to read more. The author is native Hawaiian, and shares how there is a diaspora of Native Hawaiians due to being priced out of their homes. Billy’s grandmother, Malecca Kane, was Native Hawaiian, and so I try to read different histories, nonfiction and fiction, so that I can share it with Wyatt and have that lore for him.

Speaking of books, one of my friends dropped off a gift she rescued for me, along with some gooseberry jello, which was delicious. Aren’t these gorgeous? I also like that the writing style is unstuffy and stilted, and has almost poetic moments. “Sometimes in Turtle Mountain, in dead calm moonlight nights, each coyote gets up on his singing perch and pours out his loudest and finest notes.” These are also nice to flip through and a read a bit from at night.

I also got to take a nature walk alone the other day, and I feel like my mom was pebbling me with little trinkets along the way. I spotted a lone thistle, then a blue jay feather on the ground right in front of me, which I gathered up to bring home. I went off the path at one point, down a dry creek bed, and stumbled upon a rock someone had left on a mossy log, which I also pocketed. And finally, a weird mass of mushrooms that was not attractive but was very interesting. It could have been chicken of the woods but I left it alone.

I’ve also been working hard on school things, on planning for our upcoming Blackbirds meetings again, and working on other house related business. I want to paint our room without a name before school starts, I need to move one of my crested geckos to a new enclosure. We moved one already and she loves her new home. Unfortunately, now my two furry menaces love her in it too, as they can now see her more clearly. They have woken me up every night now around 2 am because I hear them trying to climb her terrarium, and I have to go chase them away. Applejack seems unfazed, and maybe even a bit taunting, as sometimes I find her at the bottom, on the glass within perfect eyesight of the cats. She doesn’t seem to care as they paw at the pane of glass separating them. Maybe she thinks they are friends. It won’t be as bad once I trim their claws and add more plants that hide Applejack this weekend.

And that is it from me today. I wish you all peace and love.

Talk to you all soon!

My mom passed away last Tuesday. She was calm and peaceful, and I was holding her hand. And my heart broke into a million pieces.

The night before, my brother and I spent the night in her room with her, mom in her bed, and Devin and I squished onto our own individual loveseats. Feet to feet, and we would sit up and talk and it was like we were in a boat. As I lay there, I thought about how the three of us were always together, and it seemed fitting that we were that night as well, all three of us together. I wondered as well when the last time the three of us had slept like that. A vacation when we were kids, maybe? My brother and I would try to sleep, and then we would talk, and then laugh at times because of something one of us would do, because if Billy calls me Calamity because of what I get myself into sometimes, then my brother is Calamity 2.0. I would say only my brother and I could have mishaps on such a night, but we apparently have followed in the footsteps of my mom and aunt Barb, who were also Calamity and Calamity 2.0.

And I am rambling.

I can’t say too much else, because I am made of tears right now. I do laundry, I cry. I make dinner, I cry. I cry in the shower. I cry in stores while shopping.

I will say everyone in my life has been very supportive and kind, and even those who I haven’t talked to in years and years having been sharing bits and pieces with me, small memories of my mom, things I didn’t remember or sometimes didn’t know. And it has been helping me, hearing these stories. I am also overwhelmed by the number of people who have commented and messaged me; my mother touched so many lives, in her quiet ways. So even while I am crying enough to fill the Great Lakes over again, I am also being buoyed up by those around me and online. I have very good friends and family, near and far. I am blessed in that way.

And I can’t write anymore today, but I will be back when I have healed a little. Thank you to all of you too, for your kind comments of support over the past few weeks.

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

Hello everyone! I hope that you all had a good week last week, full of books and movies and nature walks or whatever it is that makes you smile! We had a pretty ok week – Friday we even took a little road trip to the largest pet store in Michigan, which was amazing. I needed a little break and it was the perfect antidote.

Books:

Last week I read these two. I had no idea what I was going to read this time last week, and I plucked this one off the shelf where it has been sitting since October. I was immediately sucked in! Sleepy Hollow meets a summer camp vibe, with a family mystery and scandal too. I loved this book. I think it was a good example of the perfect book at the perfect time.

The Kindle Magic and Mystery series is out! I had been waiting for it because there are quite a few authors that I love who have short stories in this collection. I started of course with Sarah Beth Durst’s story, The Wednesday Witches Book Club. I loved it, and I really hope she uses this to start a new series with this premise. This story took about 20 minutes to read, it is just a shortie as I am sure they all are.

This week I have two I am thinking about.

And yeah, they look totally crazy right next to each other. They are both NetGalley reads and I am determined to do better this time around!! I even found my Kindle and dusted it all off and charged it and everything. Lol. I am also reading this one.

Screens:

Billy and I had been watching The Artful Dodger, but then season 2 wasn’t as good as season 1, so we switched over to Murdoch. Sometimes you just need some Murdoch in your life. I am sure we will finish The Artful Dodger but we needed a break.

We are also watching nostalgic 80s/90s movies with Wyatt this summer and last week we watched Camp Nowhere, which is a funny little movie! I am not sure what we are watching tonight yet but I had better pick one because Wyatt has been asking all weekend. Lol.

I also posted a few times last week.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Cape Cod

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Mini Book Reviews: A Cozy Mystery Series, The Haunting of Ashburn House and Sad Cypress

July Wrap Up

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:

Wyatt starts an online art camp this week, called Camp Cryptid. He is pretty excited about it, as the little art and spooky things lover that he is. Tomorrow is our first day, and the project is about the Loch Ness Monster. Today I need to make sure I have all of our supplies together for the week, and double check the details. We have never participated in anything like this before! They do have replays available too, which I like just in case anything comes up during the time it is supposed to happen. It also has a story element to it as well. I will keep you all posted!

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

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well. We are continuing our simple summer over here, although I am beginning to look ahead to the fall and specifically, our next homeschool year. It’s time to get organized and ready, so I have been working on plans here and there this past week. I have our history mapped out until December, and purchased the curriculum for science, nature, and art. Next week I will have my husband print all 714 pages out at work (he works for an industrial printer) and then I will dive in, reading it all over and seeing what I need to collect. Anyway, let us get to the wrap up!

The Books:

The Breakdown: I read six books and one short story. We were inside for a few weeks this month, due to weather warnings and air quality warnings, so I managed to read more than usual. I read a mix of cozy mysteries, classic mystery, horror, and cozy fantasy. July is summerween season, so I leaned into the scarier side of summer. I have also been in a place mentally where it is hard to read cozy gentle books. When I am feeling upset or anxious, I need books that are as jagged as my thoughts. The book settings took me a few places – a tourist town in Michigan next to Lake Michigan, upstate NY along Lake Ontario, England, and Long Island. Unfortunately, no nonfiction or translated fiction this month, so I didn’t add to my challenge numbers.

My favorite of the bunch ended up being The Haunting in Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong, which I enjoyed way more than I thought I would! I got this one back in October from Book of the Month, and felt sort of ambivalent about it when I got it. Now though? Loved it!! It was the perfect summer creepy read though. A cabin by the lake, a family mystery, and Sleepy Hollow vibes? I am so glad that I read it in the summer, it just made it all the better.

The Screens:

This summer we have been introducing Wyatt to old nostalgic favorites from the 80s and 90s, and this month his favorite was The Goonies. Of course. Although he did really enjoy The Great Outdoors as well! Billy and I revisited I Know What You Did Last Summer and dang that was still a good scary movie!

As for television, Billy and I watched Only Murders in the Building, The Artful Dodger, and Murdoch Mysteries. The Artful Dodger season 1 was awesome, season 2 is not as good, but it is like they forgot the show is about Jack! Jack Dawkins was like a minor character almost and it just wasn’t as good. I will still watch a season 3 though if there is one, and I will hope that it gets back on track!

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:

From My Children’s Book Cabinet by Cat – she always has the coolest old books in that cabinet! I feel like it would be magical to look through

Recommendations Across Genres by Lisa Notes – I am a big fan of reading alllll the genres

Book Recommendations: Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson by Lisa – I have seen this book everywhere lately and I loved this review. Lisa is always so thorough!

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

Moments with my mom, even if most of them are sad I am treasuring them

kites

seeing the Freedom Plane exhibit

long lazy days of reading

ice cream with friends

painting tutorials by Andrea Nelson

iced matcha lattes with vanilla and oatmilk

Wyatt doing so much walking with his gait trainer

art and books in general

And that is it from me today. Peace and love to all of you.

Hello everyone! It is a sunny morning here today and there is literally nothing on our agenda. Yay!

Last week we kept pretty busy! On Wednesday last week, Billy took the day off. I had tickets for the three of us for the Freedom Plane tour, which is a traveling exhibition by the National Archives. They did have a plane that carried the items between locations, but of course that was at the airport. It had stops at eight locations around the United States, and one of the stops was The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, near us. On display were nine of the original founding era documents, which was really cool. Wyatt loves history as much as Billy and I do, and he loved George Washington and Ben Franklin (and for some reason, their wigs). So it was neat to be able to take him so easily to see these documents!

Afterwards we went to lunch and walked around downtown. Our walk took us past The Whitney, which is a fancy pants restaurant and said to be haunted. The sign always cracks me up too.

It was a nice day out for all of us. Thursday I ended up going out for a few hours with my brother and my cousin Melissa, and that was a good time as well. I am pretty close with all of my cousins, but we don’t always get together often enough. Friday was another low key day, that ended with ice cream with friends. I was so happy to see Wyatt so interactive with them. Usually he is more quiet but on Friday he was all about talking and laughing with them. It was so good to see!

In the top two photos, one was taken in June 2025 (the first one), and the other last Friday. It is crazy to me how much Wyatt and Z. on the other end have grown! We also had a bit of drama. A. had hurt her leg at the playground before joining us for ice cream, and despite the band-aid kept bleeding. As a group of concerned moms, we of course had to devise a plan to get her home the easiest and quickest way. They had all walked up to the ice cream place since they lived closer than us, so Billy drove A. and her mom Nicole home, and I walked back with Shawnna and her son Z. Shawnna and Nicole live right down the street from each other, something they learned when they joined our Blackbirds group. A. and her leg were ok, but it was better to keep her off of it and not ride her bike home.

Saturday morning we took a family trip to Ikea first thing in the morning, and picked up a few things. I got new plates because I am obsessed with switching them out all of the time, a ridiculous mushroom stool top cover that I love, just little things like that. And chocolate. And Ligonberry jam. After Ikea we chilled out, then my brother and his daughters came over for pizza and to play. It was nice.

This week we have taken it easy for the most part, with the exception of yesterday but that was for an appointment. Wyatt had an appointment with his epileptologist first thing in the morning in Ann Arbor, so we had to get up really early and drive out there. I felt like I was tired all day! Lol. However, it was a really good appointment so that makes it all worth it. When we came home he just played and did Wyatt things all day and I worked on homeschool plans for next school year, which is something I will be doing for a while now.

And I think that is it for today! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Also, some random photos!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: I went rogue!

So, today’s prompt was about what books we absolutely had to have when they first came out but that we still haven’t read. However, I don’t buy books like that anymore, and sometimes the wait from the library can be long! So I pivoted, and started thinking about memorable summer vacations I have had, and one trip was to New England when I was in my early teens. I had such a great time, and I have never forgotten it. I hope to go back one day with Wyatt and Billy! (I have whale watching on my bucket list!)

My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber || Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau || Cape Code by William Martin

I have My Own Cape Cod on my dresser, waiting to be read right now. Maybe I will pick it up tonight, as I am feeling the pull of Cape Cod and New England.

I used to read and re-read Henry David Thoreau like crazy, mostly Walden but also Cape Cod. I have some very meaningfully marked up copies of both of them.

Cape Cod by William Martin is another one I used to read all the time – every fourth of July, actually. I love this book, although I haven’t read it for years. I can’t tell you if it is problematic or not anymore, but it is a story of two families whose histories are intertwined since the Mayflower to present day at the time of the book (the 90s I believe). I absolutely loved it but it is a chunker!

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman || Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver || Sandwich by Catherine Newman

I own two out of three of these books, Blackbird House and Why I Wake Early. I don’t remember too much about Blackbird House, but I do remember it is another multi-generational story told through time and flashes of who lived in the house.

Mary Oliver doesn’t need an explanation. She is just wonderful and I love her work so much. She was very inspired by the beauty of Cape Cod and it is reflected in this book of her poetry.

Sandwich is the only book of these three I haven’t read, but I am picking it up from the library tomorrow. I don’t know if I am emotionally ready to read it! I have read so many good things about it though.

Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany || The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill || Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day

I am on a bit of a cozy mystery binge right now, and these two by Day and Delaney are on my radar for next month. I actually have Murder on Cape Cod on my dresser, right next to that Gladys Taber!

The House of Now and Then sounds fantastic. It has some magical realism and full of thoughtfulness. Has anyone read it?

And finally, a book that has been on my TBR for a very long time it seems like.

The House on Nauset Marsh by Wyman Richardson. I love nature writing and this just sounds beautiful. Maybe I will make August a month of books set in Cape Cod. I feel like I have talked myself into it with this post! Lol.

And with that, I am off to see what you all posted about.

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! I had a crazy week last week and I think I want to use today to recover. It was just busy. Luckily, it might rain today and if it rains I am definitely declaring today a relax day.

Books:

I’ve been having a hard time settling down with a book lately. I tried a few different books last week and nothing was working so I went back to a series that I knew worked.

This series is just a lot of fun. I like Marlee and her feisty demeanor, and I love the setting. This one was also full of messy relationships and drama and I just really enjoyed it. It is the third book in the Berry Basket series.

This week. I have no idea. I have a few I am thinking about, but I might just wander the library tomorrow and pick something out that calls to me.

My ideas:

I am reading The Smallest of Joys already, just a little bit at a time. I am really loving it’s gentleness, which seems funny when juxtaposed next to those other books. I guess I need a little of everything right now.

Screens:

Billy and I are watching The Artful Dodger most nights, and when we don’t feel like like watching that we are catching up on Murdoch. Murdoch is just an easy show to watch, and is usually entertaining. We are still continuing on our quest to show Wyatt the movies we grew up watching, and tonight we are watching Camp Nowhere. I don’t think I have ever watched that one, so it will be new to me as well!

Last week I posted:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Live In My Head Rent Free

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Book Recommendations Based on Nostalgic Movies of the 80s and 90s

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!

Here is the link for July’s link up!

In-Betweens:

Yesterday we had a day of small projects, where we worked on some of the little things that we have been intending to do around the house. We worked on the new crested gecko tanks, which are really plant cabinets that Billy is converting to be crested gecko friendly. We have one done converted, one to go! Then we also started our gallery wall in the bedroom, of our artwork and needlework. Max got in on the job too – well, actually all of the jobs!

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

This summer, Billy and I are introducing Wyatt to the movies we grew up on. Movies that are nostalgic to us, that feel like summer or just fun. And of course, being me, while watching The Goonies the other night (Wyatt’s favorite so far) I started thinking about books that might feel like The Goonies. That feeling of found family and adventure. So I thought I might try to come up with books for all of the movies we have watched so far! I will admit that some of them were tough!

The first movie we watched was Little Shop of Horrors.

So for kids, I went with a less scary book, and more fantasy, and chose Growing Home by Beth Ferry. It does have sentient plants, but these plants are less scary and less bloodthirsty.

For the adult readers, I chose Mexican Gothic. I love this book and feel like it embraces the idea of flora that wants to consume you.

Next up, The Sandlot. Oh I love this movie. But finding books was difficult since I don’t read sports books! However, I think I did find two that sound like they would embody the feel of this movie, just old time baseball and the love of the game.

Three Strike Summer is actually one on my TBR. I want to preview it, as I am considering it for a book accompaniment to our history curriculum. It is about a young girl growing up in the 1930s during the Depression and amidst the Dustbowl, who wants to play on the secret peach farm team – but will they let a girl play? I have read great reviews for this one!

Beyond the Fence is a book I don’t know a thing about besides the Goodreads description, but if it doesn’t conjure of the feel of a small town baseball game, I don’t know what does.

Now we are at Now & Then, which is one I personally love. A movie of friendships and coming of age, of found family. I just love it. And if you have had friendships that stand the test of time, then you know you have been there for each other through all the good times and the hard times too. Sisterhood. Friends that are family, the family we choose.

For YA readers this time, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. These girls are all so different but are there for each other through good and bad. And so are those magical pants.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhoood is another book about friendships, and helping friends to pick up the pieces when things go sideways. It is definitely more intense read but very very good.

Now we road trip and have a comedic summer vacation with The Great Outdoors. This one was surprisingly difficult! I wanted to focus on a vacation full of hijinks on a family trip, and apparently I am not familiar with too many books like this!

For kids, I chose to focus on the crazy humorous shenanigans that can befall a family trip, and went with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway.

And for adults, I focused on family dynamics and chose Sandwich. I actually have not read this, it feels way too close to home for me right now. Lol. It’s been on my list though, and sounds fantastic. One day.

And finally The Goonies!

The Famous Five – Five on a Treasure Island just seemed like a fun fit. A group of kids having adventures, and in this one, looking for a treasure!

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is my pick for adults. I loved this book. It reminds me of The Westing Game, one of my favorite books, but I thought it would work for The Goonies too. 🙂

The other movies we watched already have kid’s books, since they are based on the book itself!

I would love to hear any other recommendations, whether they are for other movies to watch or books to accompany these!

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