This week’s prompt is a Halloween freebie! Since Halloween for me is more about Wyatt these days, my post this week is spooky middle grade books that I want to read. Going to the library with Wyatt I see all these fun looking middle grade books that I want to read too! I usually end up with one for myself every time we go. I grew up reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Mary Downing Hahn, and Betty Ren Wright, all of which scared my socks off as a kid and made me sleep with the blankets pulled way up over my head. I haven’t changed too much!
The Vanishing of Aveline Jones – This is the third in the series, and I just read the first two this fall. It is really well done series, with just enough freak out factor even as an adult. I would have definitely loved this series as a kid!
The Legend of the Skeleton Man – I really enjoy Joseph Bruchac, and I think this one would be one that makes you want to sleep with the lights on.
Scary Stories for Young Foxes – Ok, I don’t know much about this one other than I love foxes and there are foxes. Sometimes that is all it takes for me!
Ghost Book had me at its comparison to Studio Ghibli and Coco. ( Can any adult watch Coco without crying?)
Small Spaces is by the author of The Bear and the Nightingale and I feel like I have to know how she writes for middle grade! I loved The Bear and the Nightingale.
Wyatt and I read a picture book a few years ago that was super cute about the jumbies – I don’t think that the middle grade of The Jumbies will be so cute however. It looks pretty scary to me! And I just learned that they were both written by Tracey Baptiste. Well, now I really have to read it!
That cover of Evangeline of the Bayou – it is just so full of rich color and it feels…mossy. And damp. You can feel that cover. And it takes place in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities!
The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange. Honestly, all of Lucy Strange’s books have been on my TBR for ages and ages. I really need to read them.
Doesn’t this name just sound good when you say it? The Clackity. The Clackity.
And then one reread!
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright. This book scared the heck out of me as a kid, and I sort of think it still might. Dolls scare me in general and the idea that they could move while I was sleeping or something is absolutely horrifying.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well today! I am tired this morning but doing pretty good otherwise. It’s a morning I am grateful for coffee that is for sure.
This is a short post from me today!
Read Last Week:
I loved both of these books! The Haunting of Aveline Jones was a fun Middle Grade, that was actually pretty spooky. It was extremely atmospheric and young Aveline reminds me of a young me. Lol. A Dark and Secret Magic was such a good read as well. I think it is the perfect Halloween read, with lots of autumn goodness tucked in as well as witches and ghosts and a big bad villain, and a romantic hero. Yep, I loved it.
Reading This Week:
Version 1.0.0
This week I am settling in with an old comfort read of mine, Witch by Barbara Michaels, and a new to me author, Bee Littlefield. I won a giveaway on Instagram for this book from Bee, and it came with some cute stickers, tea, a journal, and coffee as well! I am looking forward to both of these reads this week.
Nothing too different or exciting here, other than our movies for Comfy Cozy Cinema that I am doing with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. We watched Dial M for Murder last week which was amazing, and this week we are watching Practical Magic. The post goes up Thursday! If you are watching or following along and posting, this week is wild card week – so free choice of movie, or you can watch Practical Magic as well! I wanted to add too, that our last movie is Chocolat, and we will be doing a “watch party” – basically we will all hit play at the same time, and chat on discord. (so you don’t have to worry about being on video in your jammies!)
Billy and I have also been watching What We Do In the Shadows which cracks us up, as well as The Great Pottery Throw Down. Now I am trying to convince Billy to build a kiln in the backyard. Who will win? Lol.
Hello everyone! Today’s prompt is about how my reading habits have changed through the years. I am not sure I will get to ten but we will see how I do!
First, probably the biggest change of all – the number of books I read a week. Before I had Wyatt, I could read 2 or 3 books a week. Now I am lucky if I can read 1! I would spend whole weekends reading all day sometimes.
Second, the amount of books I would buy for myself has changed as well since before and after motherhood. Now I buy way more books for Wyatt, and maybe one a month for myself. I always used the library like crazy, but now the majority of the books that I read come from the library first. Then if I love it I buy it or add it to my wishlist. I used to buy a lot more books for myself a month. I don’t mind though honestly, I feel like now when I do buy a book I appreciate it more.
What I read has changed through the years too. I used to read more fantasy, romantasy , historical fiction, and horror, while now I read more thriller, mystery, and middle grade. I still read every the other genres that I used to, but just less of those and more of others. I feel like I cycle through phases of reading and what I like to read. Does everyone do this?
Hmm what else..
Oh! I used to read right before bed, sometimes for hours. I can’t do that now, I will just fall asleep immediately!
I still take a book with me wherever I go – now though I usually have my book and Wyatt’s book too. He loves books just as much as I do.
I also listen to audiobooks occasionally now, which I never really did. I like to listen while I stitch or clean.
I have also started annotating and highlighting and underlining in my books. I have my little setup next to my bed, and have a highlighter and one of my favorite fine point cat pens in my purse, along with some book tag things for when I am out as well. I like to match the stickers to the cover too.
I loan my books out more freely now too. Before they were all my precious and now I feel like passing them on so others can read them is more important to me.
And I think that is it! How have your reading habits changed?
This week’s prompt is: Books I Was Assigned to Read in School
This is a fun look back at high school and college!
The Jungle and Animal Farm were both assigned in high school and they both were pretty mind-blowing to my 16 year old self. The Jungle actually turned me into a vegetarian, from like 18 until recently. So it is safe to say it made a huge impact on me!
Frankenstein was a college read, and probably one of my favorites. I absolutely loved it, and found it so very sad as well, the loneliness of the monster.
The Great Gatsby took me to wild parties, the glitz and glam of the roaring twenties, dancing, and what looks like freedom and happiness. But the reader begins to see through this to the classism and lack of compassion and caring. It is still a favorite classic of mine. I am going to stop saying this because I feel like I will just keep repeating myself.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is an amazing book where we watch the main character learn to find herself and her voice. And the book that made me terrified of rabies. Plus there is a character named Tea Cake which I loved when I first read it in college. His character was not the greatest but his name was.
Beloved is a story that haunts you, and I am not trying to make a joke. I think this book and story is one that stays with you, the trauma and fear of the characters in a world of slavery that drives people to do things they would not do under normal circumstances.
Annie on My Mind is a book I read way back when in college, in my children’s lit class. It stands out as the very first LGTBQ book I have ever read, and also because it introduced the Cloisters to me.
The Metamorphosis by Kafka is one I feel like I read in high school and in college, and I liked it both times. It was so crazy but it is possibly the only existential book I really understood in school.
In high school I was introduced to The Canterbury Tales, and I just loved them. I loved discovering all the characters stories. Another one I should go back and reread.
I had to take sooo many Shakespeare classes in school, and of all the plays that I read, Hamlet was my favorite.
And that wraps it up for me today! What were you assigned in school that stood out to you?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Last week was so fun! We took a little mini-trip to Cleveland/Cuyahoga Valley National Park and we had a blast! I can’t wait to tell you about it all this week! As I suspected, I didn’t read – like at all. Except for maybe 10 pages before breakfast yesterday. I plan on making up for it this week though!
Read Last Week:
This book was lovely. It is so full of life, the good and the bad, the sad and the happy, and I really felt like I was living in this little community, sharing in their lives.
Reading This Week:
So, my post looks the same as last week. I did start Berries and Bones, and wow is it heavy on the cozy right away. This old bear has a pretty good setup! I am looking forward to reading more of it today.
Listening:
Last week, I wasn’t sure I liked this story. This week, I am here to tell you that I am really enjoying it! I am glad that I stuck with it. It is so cute and very fall vibes.
We are still watching The Pottery Throw Down. I admit, I am addicted. I am learning so much though from it! We went to the Cleveland Art Museum yesterday and as we wandered through, reading about some of the items that were ceramic or china or what have you, I understood the process that went into making them. It was amazing to see pots made in the 700s, and realize that the same processes (more or less) created them. The same shapes still exist. Billy and I were marveling at all the pieces with our newfound knowledge.
We of course are watching our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies that we are watching with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, and Deb from Readerbuzz is also participating with us! Yay! Last week we watched and posted about Kiki’s Delivery Service; this week we are watching the 1945 version of Blithe Spirit and will post about it Thursday! We are also having a giveaway – you can enter here if you are interested!
And that is about it from here! I hope you are all doing well!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! It’s been slow around here, which was fine by me. I hope though that everyone who had to face down Helene has minimal damage. She was fierce looking.
Read Last Week:
Last week I read The Girl in White which was actually a little spooky for a kids book! This one was spookier than the other I have read by Currie, What Lives in the Woods. It was a good read for the season (without actually being too scary).
I also started Twilight Garden on Friday morning. I had forgotten I wanted to read this until I saw it on Rebecca’s TBR! Darn it. My TBR is just too crazy. Like everyone’s is, I am sure. Lol.
Reading This Week:
I will finish up The Twilight Garden, and then start another from my list. Right now I am not sure which direction I will pivot, but I feel I am leaning towards light and easy. Perhaps Berries and Bones, it look so deliciously fall. I also plan on starting The Whisperwicks, which is my book club book for the Patreon group I am part of for Alexandra Roselyn.
We are going away this weekend and so I hope to have some good reading time. It’s like that old saying though, “No one is more optimistic than a mother who takes books on the family vacation”.
I am also listening to an audiobook while I embroider. Right now I am listening to The Pumpkin Spice Cafe to see what all the hype is about. It has been compared to Stars Hollow and the Gilmore Girls which I love and have watched a million times over – and unpopular opinion coming, but I am not too excited about this book so far. It is too much like Gilmore Girls. I haven’t listened to much but it seems more like it is really just Lorelai Gilmore all over but this time she runs a cafe. The character talks a lot and talks fast, she drinks a lot of coffee – I don’t know. I guess I wanted the feel and or even a reimagining, but this is too on the nose. Does that make sense?
We are busily watching our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies; last week was Ladies in Lavender, and tonight’s feature is Kiki’s Delivery Service. Comfy Cozy Cinema is something Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I started together and every year is so much fun! You are all invited to watch and post along with us.
Billy and I are also watching What We Do in the Shadows, as well as The Great Pottery Throwdown.
Also – I wanted to add that Lisa and I will be posting about our Comfy Cozy Care Package giveaway on Wednesday! We have lots of goodies we will be sending to someone to get all cozy with this fall!
And that is about it from here! I hope you are all doing well!
Hello everyone! I am one tired mama this morning! I keep telling myself I can rest after such and such – and then something else comes up! Lol. Oh well – all too soon we will be deep into winter and not doing anything at all really, so it’s best to get out there and let Wyatt experience as much as possible while we can (and have some myself too)
Last Friday, we kicked off our school season with a field trip to The Henry Ford Museum. Wyatt is starting a big prehistoric unit in science this fall, and I love to try to find a field trip at the beginning of the year that correlates with something we are going to learn about. Lucky for me, we were able to squeak in under the wire for the Dinosaurs exhibit at the museum, two days before it was set to end. I am glad we made it, because we both had a really good time.
The artist who created these, John Payne, welded the metal and steel together to create these huge sculptures. Wyatt and I also talked about this, how art doesn’t have to just be paintings or sketches, it can be these enormous dinosaurs made out of steel, fire and heat. The exhibit is called Dinosaurs in Motion, and it is interactive. Half of the dinosaurs could be moved and manipulated using old fashioned pulley systems, and we could pull ropes, levers, spin wheels -there were all sorts of different ways to activate the pulleys. And let me tell you, those dinosaurs were heavy! Wyatt and I would be pulling or pushing together and sometimes I had to put my whole weight behind it. There was just one dinosaur I couldn’t really budge, and a young twentysomething man asked if we needed some extra oomph! I said yes and he helped Wyatt get that dinosaur really moving!
The other half of the dinosaurs were activated by computer, and you can see Wyatt at the controls in the one photo. All of they exhibits you could press buttons and make the dinosaurs roar, and flash lights like lightning and play storm sound effects; the computer versions you could do that plus use controls to move them around. It was really really cool, and I felt like we were in the movie Jurassic Park. Wyatt could not get over how big that T-Rex was, and kept giving it the side eye. He was a little skeptical of it at first.
The exhibit was a fantastic way to kick off school and I was so glad that we went.
On Saturday, Wyatt had like the perfect Wyatt day. Billy and I also very much enjoyed ourselves, especially the autumn weather that we were having! We took a drive out to Grosse Pointe Park, to a children’s bookstore named Coreanders. It was so whimsical, adorable, and I wanted to spend hours in there. It was not very big, but just big enough. The walls are covered in beautiful murals, including the entire elevator shaft. The elevator to the second floor has a window in the door, so that as you go up or down, you can view a mural on the way. It is spectacularly done. I was also so happy that they were wheelchair accessible!
There is also a cafe/ice cream shop in the back, and we of course had to pop in for coffee and cookies which we ate in the courtyard. It felt like we were in New Orleans, with the wrought iron, the brickwork, the garden. Tucked in and hidden about the garden were little garden statuary, little animals reading or just hiding, and we enjoyed looking at them all and picking our favorites. Also – the cookie was delicious, and was made at a nearby boulangerie, name LeRouge. Wyatt picked out a book, I picked out a book, and also grabbed a few cute bookmarks. I love them – they are designed by Ingrid Press and they are beautiful! I should never have looked up that website because now I want everything!
We walked around the cute little area, wandered through a farmers market that was just closing up but I still managed to buy a bag of loose tea from Outer Realm teas. I bought the Royal Tea and we are going to brew a pot up over the weekend.
When we went home, we painted as we had not managed to fit art in over during the week. Wyatt is studying Charley Harper for a few weeks and I wanted to fit in the first lesson. Then we had game night! I think all three of us crashed out that night!
Sunday was much more relaxed. I went to church in the morning, then we hung out at home for the afternoon, just relaxing and doing whatever. Dinner was an adventure though. We were planning on watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for Comfy Cozy Cinema that evening, so we thought it would be fun to get Indian food as well. And goodness, I am so glad that we did. It was fantastic. We ordered from a place called Charminar Biryani House in Detroit and it was delicious. We couldn’t decide what to get, everything looked amazing, so we ordered Butter Chicken and Tandoori chicken, and split it with some buttered naan bread (Wyatt had a different dinner although he seriously missed out).
Needless to say, it was a very packed weekend. This week though, is a much slower pace right now. School, and finishing up some errands and projects for scouts tomorrow night – it will be our first meeting! I am super nervous about it! Tonight I still need to make game paddles for a game we are playing, and put together the little beaded keychain kits for every kit, that they are going to make while learning about the pack laws. (Be kind, etc) Wish us luck everyone!
Here are a few photos from the roll!
And that is it from me today! I hope you all have a wonderful day and do something today that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! It’s crazy to think we are eleven days into August already. This summer is flying by! I can feel autumn in the air this weekend; we had the windows open all day yesterday and it was wonderful. It has just been so muggy all summer that we haven’t really been able to do that, so it was nice to air everything all out!
I didn’t read much last week. I spent a lot of the week working on school or Cub Scout stuff. We are getting so close to September and then it will be go time! When I finally took a break I usually worked on my embroidery. I finished my cat and plants piece, and started a new one for fall! Wyatt’s been playing from sun up until sundown these days too, which is good. I love to see him getting involved in things and playing. I can’t wait for Billy to finish the wheelchair ramp so that we can have easier access to outside!
Reading This Week:
I did start both of these last week and I am enjoying them both quite a bit! I am hoping to finish them this week.
We are watching The Great British Sewing Bee at night when we finally collapse into bed. It is one of those calming shows, just like the Bake-Off. I usually watch a bit of YouTube too, when I first get into bed and start sewing. The people in my rotation these days are Randi Lynn Reed, Kristina at With Love, Kristina , and Ahya’s Cottage. So many online accounts everywhere are already introducing fall content which seems premature to me, but I get it. I am ready for the coziness of fall too.
And that’s it from me today! Enjoy your week everyone!
Hello everyone!! Last week when I wrote this post I didn’t have any coffee – only instant packs that Billy had taken camping! Now thankfully we have a full pot brewing in the kitchen, and I have a steaming cup next to me.
It’s been hot and muggy out there this week. Disgustingly humid. Wyatt and I have been hanging out at home most of the time, but we have ventured out a few times.
Saturday we hung out with my brother and his family for a small fire, which was nice. It was before the really gross weather moved in and it was a nice preview of fall and fires. I can’t wait. The kiddos were all just doing their thing, and my littlest niece Wild Child was having fun playing with the portable fan I had bought Wyatt. (Thanks for the suggestion Captain, we take it everywhere!) It was just a nice relaxing evening, hanging out.
Sunday we spent in our shady spot at the park, under the trees. Wyatt absolutely loves this so we try to do it whenever we can. On the way there though we passed a local rotary club having a little to-do at the fire station. They had demonstrations shooting off the fire hose, and also had some free ice cream from the Good Humor woman. We spent a nice time at the park afterwards, full of ice cream, just drawing, enjoying the breeze under the trees, the singing of birds, and reading. (me lol)
Later that evening, we had game night, which is Wyatt’s favorite. This time we played a game we had checked out from the library called What’s Next. It was really fun! It is sort of a choose your own adventure/rpg type game. There are three stories you can choose from, and each card has either an event or a choice you need to make or do. There are little side challenges as well, and a tower of peril! It really was a lot of fun, and we are definitely adding it to the wish list!
The rest of the week we have been home, with one journey to the library to check out more books, and to collect Wyatt’s summer reading National Parks Card and cryptid card that he earned. Next week he gets to shop the library “shop” with the book bucks he earned with all the reading we have been doing.
I have been working on getting our school plans together for next year. I absolutely love doing it honestly, putting together the plans and then finding fun tie-ins. Fall looks like it is going to be a lot of fun, with reading adventures like Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth, Indigenous history of Michigan, dinosaurs, and artists like Charley Harper! I am just starting to construct my Charley Harper art study for Wyatt, and I am having to taper things down because there is just so much we can do – too many ideas and not enough time. I think Harper will be a really fun artist to start off the year!
Hello everyone! Welcome to my little post about a few books that I have read lately! I am not the greatest book reviewer in the world; mine are sort of haphazard and probably don’t include much depth or insight, but … I just like to share my thoughts and what I liked about the book and how it made me feel.
When I first started reading this one, I was a little unsure if I was going to like it. The main character Yuki was so whiny and immature, and that was reflected in the voice of his character, who is the narrator of this book. It is written as a journal type book, but without journal entries, from Yuki’s perspective so we see everything through his eyes and filter. When the book begins, he suddenly finds himself transported from the city life he is used to, the mountain woodlands of Kaumsari. His family has arranged an apprenticeship and he is very unhappy about this. But as he gets more used to life in Kamusari, the people, their ways, his job, he grows in all ways. It is a real coming of age story and I ended up absolutely loving it. I am hoping to read the sequel this fall.
In the spring I went to a huge used book sale at a local library, and they had grab bags of cozy mysteries for a dollar! I bought a few of the bags, and each bag had like five or ten books in them. As soon as I opened the bag when I got home and saw this one, I knew it would be the first one I would read. I LOVE a lodge setting in the mountains, and a white fluffy kitty? I am so there. I did enjoy this first book in the series, but I did feel at times there was not enough investigating by the main character, if that makes sense. I feel like she got most of her info from the actual police department, as the deputy would just spill all the beans to her. It was interesting though and I am going to definitely read the next in the series as well.
I absolutely loved this book! I don’t usually read romances but this one got my attention because that main character is a snail scientist, and I love snails. Sometimes that is all it takes. Anyway, I absolutely adored it. I loved the journey that Christa’s character went through, and it was handled very well. For those who like a clean romance, this was not a closed door book and there was some swearing for those who dislike that as well. There are some trigger warnings though, for SA. It is brief and not graphic but still upsetting.
I was absolutely glued to this book! Like, I can’t read Riley Sager all the time because everything in my life gets neglected so that I can read. (well not the living people or animals but don’t look at the laundry or dishes while I have one of his books in my clutches) This one was insane. I loved the crumbling house being set against the unraveling of the mystery.. it was just very well done, that idea that everything, the house and secrets were just falling down around the characters in the story. I loved it so much that I immediately ordered a copy for my mom to read. I have to say, I am pretty good at figuring books out and this one, I didn’t see that ending coming!!
Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 