Tag: fiction

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Birthday Boy

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

Hello everyone! It is a sunshiney morning here today, although we do have some severe weather on the radar for tonight. We are also having Mermaid Girl over tonight! She is coming for dinner and then we are going to hang out – I am going to teach her embroidery. I think she is going to come over once a week for dinner, we have missed her! We will also work on our family tree some too, per her request. I am looking forward to it.

So the big thing around here lately has been Wyatt’s birthday! Double digits for this kid! It is so hard to believe sometimes – time has flown. I feel like it was yesterday he was born. I am planning to share our story about his birth this month. It just feels time, and maybe it will help someone who stumbles on my blog. March is also cerebral palsy awareness month, so it is all sort of fits.

Anyway, Wyatt turned ten Sunday! We had a celebration the three of us, and he is having a big party this weekend. We haven’t done a big party in years but we felt like we needed to this year, for many reasons. I am all nervous about it but it will be ok. However, Sunday was a blast! We had a slow morning, Wyatt opened a few little gifts (he is my kid – his favorite was the scented markers), and then around noonish we rolled out. We had a big day planned! We had originally planned to go to the zoo, but the temps stayed solidly in the teens, so we pivoted.

First stop, the Detroit Dye House! This is a tie dye place in Detroit, and my friend Kelly goes here all the time and has told me over and over to take Wyatt. Well, we did on Sunday. We did the drop in sessions, instead of a class, and it was so fun. The woman working was sweet and nice too – she explained what we needed to do, made sure the tub was low enough for Wyatt, and then it was time to begin!

That place was really cool. I want to go back and make something myself! They have a lot of different things to make, from tshirts to scarves to wraps to headbands. If you take a class, then you also make a pair of socks, that the Dye House provides, and then they donate the socks to the unhoused population in Detroit. They are having a peace sign design class in April that I want to go to. I want a headband and I don’t know what else.

Wyatt had a great time doing this, and so did Billy and I. He chose a spiral design because it reminded him of a snail. Of course.

After we finished here and had our saturated and wet shirt safely stowed in a special bag to take home with us, we headed to our next stop. We were all a little peckish so we stopped in at Mexicantown Bakery to choose a little something. Billy and I each got a ham and cheese empanada, Wyatt chose an M&M cookie, and then we picked up a few extras for the next day while we were at it. That big gigundo cookie tasted like a churro and was delicious! We ate it over the last few days.

We had reservations for an early dinner but we still had a few hours before it was time to go there, so we went to an old favorite – Belle Isle. And we hit all the attractions! They are all free to the public, so we just made our way around the island stopping at them all. It was a really fun way to spend those few hours!

We explored the Conservatory, which has recently reopened after being updated and restored, the Aquarium (the oldest one in the United States!). It was so refreshing to see all the green plants, and even the citrus trees with their oranges and lemons. It was jam packed in the conservatory since it recently reopened, and everyone is flocking there so we sort of were in the shuffle along and look mode with everyone there. but it was still nice. The aquarium was busy but not as full so that was a little better. They had a scavenger hunt for kids and at the end Wyatt got to pick a sticker. He chose an otter and then wanted me to wear it so I did.

After we visited these two, we went through the recently redone Nature Center. They have been doing a lot of work on the island and it shows. The nature center looks really cool! I actually didn’t get any pictures here, we were just busy looking around and playing with the exhibits.

By the time we left here, it was time to go to our reservation at JoJo’s Shake Bar, near Comerica. I was super excited about this place. It looked like it was going to be an awesome place for a kid, full of music and big giant shakes! I was so glad that we had made reservations, even at such an early time (4:00) because it was PACKED! Like literally parents and kids and strollers everywhere, out the door, inside… it was a bit overwhelming for me, who gets a bit of sensory overload! However, I knew that Wyatt was going to love it. And he did! Everything there was huge – the sandwiches, the shakes, the drinks – it was crazy. It is a bit pricey, but since everything was giant and we knew that we were all splitting a giant shake for dessert, Billy and I split a sandwich and Wyatt got a grilled cheese and fries. Billy and I split the Clevelander and it was freaking awesome! We also sort of shared an adult beverage. It was mostly mine though as he was driving. I saw it on the menu and I had to order it, out of nostalgia for the name. The Blueberry “Gin and Juice.” This place is crazy y’all. It is kid friendly but also, has drinks. It was also huge so I was nervous to drink it all, so I only drank about half, with Billy taking a few sips. It was delicious.

Then the grand finale! The shake, the whole reason I chose JoJo’s. Wyatt chose the Birthday shake, of course. This thing had a huge full size cookie, a giant cake ball, and cotton candy, in addition to cotton candy (he was not a fan). Even with the three of us sharing it (Billy again only having a bite or two) we couldn’t complete it, and we took the cookie and cake ball home, minus a few bites from Wyatt. It was fantastic though.

After this totally hedonistic type meal, we finally headed home. And we were all ready for it. We were exhausted by the time we rolled through the door! We all sort of found our little places in the den and decompressed. Wyatt was quietly drawing with his new markers, and Billy and I vegged on our phones. It was a very full, very fun day, in celebration of our little guy – who I guess is now a bit bigger guy.

And that is part one of Wyatt’s birthday story this week! Saturday is his party. Wish me luck!! Oh, I forgot to share a picture of his finished shirt! I think it looks really cool!

Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile my friends!

Hello March!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Today it is sunny and snowing – and this is so like March here in Michigan. It doesn’t know whether it is winter or spring and just throws everything at us at once.

I love March. Do I love it more than I love October? Probably, because something very special happened ten years ago in March. And as you probably have guessed, that something (someone) is Wyatt! Wyatt turns ten tomorrow! I can’t believe my tiny little peanut baby is now going to be double digits. He is growing up! I will probably be all weepy and emotional tomorrow; in fact, I guarantee it. We are going to the zoo to celebrate, because that is where we went on his first birthday together. Of course then he was in one of those babywearing carriers and in a cozy little full body bear coat thing that you tuck little kids in and he looked super adorable. He also shares a birthday with Dr. Seuss, which I think is perfect for a boy who loves books. We took him there for his birthday too, and look how giant Billy’s hand looks next to him!

March is also the birthday of three other very special children in my life – I have two cousins who had children in March, and then my brother’s youngest daughter, Hurricane, was born two years ago in March as well! Her birthday party is in a few weeks. We don’t usually do a big party for Wyatt, and after age like five I think, didn’t have a real party at all, preferring to go away for the weekend somewhere nature-ish. Last year we went to a dark sky park; the year before that we went to the wolf sanctuary. But we decided for number ten we would give the big old party. So Wyatt is having a wolf themed party at the nature center next weekend with most of his family in attendance, along with some friends as well. I am extremely nervous about getting everything perfect because I am a weirdo, and I am trying to remind myself that is not the important part.

I think March is so full of magic and wonder, don’t you? Here in Michigan, it is the turning point month usually. We have wild weather to start the month, cold and snowy somedays, warm other days. The day Wyatt was born it was the coldest day of the year, in the negative temps, and this year it is going to be 30 degrees. Other years it has been warmer – I think last year we were wearing sweatshirts and no coats up north on our trip. Spring bulbs might be starting to wiggle their way up to the surface. (and for other nature nerds, worms are as well) Birds are returning. Soon we will hear the spring peepers going crazy in the marshes and ponds, one of my favorite sounds of spring. On warmer days we might see a bee lazily bumbling around, maybe a bit confused about why she is awake. Spring ephemerals will soon be able to be spotted in the woods, adding a tiny bit of color. In short, the world here is waking up, and it always seems so magical. We are starting to emerge from our cozy winter cocoon as well.

It would be hard to ignore St. Patrick’s Day, with its leprechauns and rainbows. I love to visit the fairy tales and mythical creatures of Irish lore in March, and this year Wyatt and I are going to do a little study on them. I have books and stories lined up, from real life people like St. Patrick and Brigid, to people of myth and legend like Finn MacCool, and then scary little creatures such as pookas and water horses and banshees. I think it will be a fun little shake up for school.

It is funny because the book Wyatt and I are reading for school is a more fun book than anything else. We were supposed to be reading Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter for language arts but neither of us could get into it so I switched to one of Wyatt’s books, The Wolves of Greycoat Hall. Well anyway, this book takes place in Scotland so we are going to be learning a bit about Scotland as well.

Last year Billy and our friends and family built a ramp for Wyatt, so he can go outside into the yard and play. One of our friends convinced us to make it a little bit wider, so that he can also go outside and play on the deck itself, which we did. I am so grateful for this suggestion because Billy and I realized that without it, he would only have been able to play on the driveway as wheelchairs are not good on grass. We were so focused on the getting outside part that we neglected to think about what would happen next! Billy finished it up right as the weather was turning, so we didn’t get to get outside with him too much before it was too cold. But now with the weather turning, I am excited to get outside with him more. We have been coming up with different activities and items for him to do out there, from a basketball hoop to a mounted bow and arrow (for kids, not like real arrows, he would kill a neighbor accidentally) to a raised garden bed on legs that he can roll up to and plant things. I am excited, and I know he will be too.

I could go on and on today I think! I should probably wrap this up before it becomes a novel!

So, that being said, that is it from me today. Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!

Sunday Afternoon Coffee Catch Up – Tulips on the Window, Bowling, and Scouts

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP20 Comments

Hello everyone!! It’s been a wild week around here! It is always crazy to me how we can go from doing absolutely nothing and then have a week that is nonstop. But that is what happened to us this past week. It’s all been good but lots of things were happening!

After our super slow weekend last week, with the big snow and being stuck inside, we hit the ground running on Monday. Wyatt and I had a jam packed day of school, followed by our Cub Scouts meeting at the library, which was awesome. The kids were learning 3-D printing, and Curtis, the librarian in charge of this event, did a fantastic job setting things up for our scouts. He put a lot of thought and work into it! He even had some premade ideas in the program that the kids could customize, like key chains and bookmarks and Cub scout related items. It was very cool. He also surprised Wyatt with a Cub Scout statue with a snail on it, because he remembered Wyatt loves snails. The kids (and the parents) all had a great time!

Then the rest of the week we had therapy and equipment deliveries for Wyatt, a basketball for his cousin – the first he has ever been to, bowling in his new special needs kids league, and I had our blogger Zoom crafternoon event! We are having so much fun with our crafternoons and hanging out that we are going to continue them instead of ending this month as we had originally planned.

Friday we had so much fun in art too. I love when I find an artist that just resonates with us, and Maud Lewis seems to be one of them. I love her whimsical style and bright colors and Wyatt likes them as well. I didn’t know much about her myself before this study, but I am loving her story. She was a Canadian artist, living in Nova Scotia. She lived her life with a disability, one that caused her a lot of pain, as well as affecting her hands and legs and stature. But that didn’t stop her from seeing the joy around her and spreading that to everyone else. One of the videos we watched described her life as “the power of creativity and resilience” and I loved that. We read the book A Tulip in Winter together, and then Wyatt’s art project for the day was to recreate the Maud’s windows! She had brightly colored tulips painted in the windows of her small house, so Wyatt and I used window markers and did the same to our front window. We are both so happy with how it turned out, and every time I see them, it makes me smile. They are hard to see in this photo with how the sun was shining (yes the sun was shining!!) but they are so joyful, and reminds us that spring is on the way.

I spotted this online during my research for this art study, which will continue into March, and I think I need it.

I also learned something new this week! I learned that Japan has stationery awards! How did I not know this before? I have always loved pens and markers and stickers and paper and notebooks. I worked in an office supply store that sold fine pens and stationery and all that good stuff and it was like a dream. I own so many really nice pens from my time spent working there. And honestly, they just aren’t available like they used to be, it seems like. There are so many cool things! I love this little pouch for all of your writing materials!

Billy and I have been watching one of my favorite shows this week, The Great British Pottery Throw Down. This group seems to be very talented, and now I am really inspired to make some cool things with my MIL this spring or fall. She is going to teach me as she is a potter with her own kiln, and I of course have all these big ideas. LOL. I’ll be happy though even if I can only make something very basic. We also started the Gabby Petito documentary as well, and we only have one part left. I find myself getting so very angry while watching it.

Later today we have a family get together to celebrate both Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. It will be fun to hang out for a bit with everyone.

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

Talk to you later my friends!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized43 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

Hey everyone! Just a quick post today!

Read Last Week:

I found myself not having as much time to read last week as I anticipated, and honestly I’ve been way too distracted by the news to read, but I did finish my buddy read, Redwall, with Billy! We had a nice discussion about it on the way to my dad’s yesterday. It was a fun little read, and we both enjoyed it.

Reading This Week:

I am hoping to read more, sew more, and doomscroll less this week, and I think these two books will be perfect to help in my mission. Under Loch and Key looks adorable and I think that I could use some Korean healing fiction as well, with The Healing Season of Pottery.

Posted Last Week:

Top Ten Tuesday – New to me Authors I Discovered in 2024

What Wyatt’s Reading – Winter Edition

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching:

Billy and I have been watching Severance. It is super duper weird and it took me a few episodes to really get hooked, but now I am all in. I hate hate the design aesthetic though for inside Lumon however; I know that there is a reason for it, and it is not meant to make us feel good or be happy, and for me, it really does feel icky. The show though, I love. My friend Kelly and I were talking about this show the other day and she said if we were characters in the show, I would be Helly and she would be Mark, in terms of personality. Lol. She’s not wrong. Then we were having fun coming up with our Wellness Center “Your outie likes…” statements.

It’s just so very uncomfortable and plain and sterile. I do love green though.

Tonight we are supposed to watch a movie. I think we might skip it and watch Severance though!

And you guys, I am probably way behind on discovering this, but the website Bookshop.org is my new place to buy books, besides used book sites and local stores. The cool thing about Bookshop.org is that you can pick your local bookstore as your store, and a portion of the money you spend on Bookshop.org is given to your local bookstore! So you can still support your local small bookstore this way! I do have an affiliate account, but I don’t think you need to do that part to order and choose a store. However, if you don’t have a store to support, feel free to order through mine and support Brooks Books! They are my favorite local bookstore and they sell a mix of used and new books in the physical store. They also support other local businesses by giving smaller sellers space in their shop to sell things, as well as providing events and classes to the community.

And that is about it from me today! I hope that whatever you do, you do at least one small thing that makes you smile. Stay safe everyone!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized7 Comments

Hello everyone! Today is quite yucky out. Gray and rainy and damp. And cold. The absolute worst in weather. But, it is also Friday and pizza night and library day and art day as well. So all is not lost today. Plus, my coffee is hot and delicious.

We are having typical January weeks for Michigan, both in weather and in activity level. We are mostly indoors, working on school or our own little individual projects, reading… you guys get it. Cozy home things. We are deep into wintering over here.

I participated in our second Zoom crafternoon this weekend, and I had such a good time. It was so nice to chat with these women, while I stitched away at my embroidery. I think about how this is an activity that really spans decades and centuries, people, women, gathered together while they chat over their sewing or quilting or knitting, and I see why they did it. I know that it was done at times out of necessity, but I am sure it was also for the socialness of it. I feel like I might go down a rabbit hole soon reading about this. If anyone knows of a book that talks about this history let me know! Anyway, back to my own. It is just super casual, we bring what we want to the Zoom, we chat about all sorts of things, and honestly for a group of women who are more than likely mostly introverted, who have never officially “met”, conversation is easy. It has brightened these long gray January days to have these meetups. I am looking forward to our next one in February! I also enjoyed stitching on this bright bit of whimsy this January as well!

We also had another bright spot since I have last posted a catch up. Our scouts had a special program at a local nature center. It was awesome. It was in the evening last Friday, so it was twilight as we were all driving in, and the roadside was full of herds of deer. We saw at least 50 deer driving through the metropark back to the nature center, which was very cool. Some were so close to the road, or in the road, that we needed to very careful on our approach! We were the first to arrive, on purpose of course as the leaders, and while we waited Wyatt and our other early bird Eloise drew and etched animals. I stepped outside for a minute and was greeted by the hoots of two Great Horned Owls calling to each other. One was their resident owl, Radar, who was permanently injured by a car and now lives there, calling to a friend in the woods. It was really cool to hear. I was surrounded by the dark woods and listening and it just felt magical. Especially when you consider that Great Horned Owls have a territory of ten miles, so for me to hear that one when it was so close felt very special.

Once everyone arrived, we all headed in to the Up North room, which the interpreters had set up for our scouts, and even had a fire going in the woodstove. It was extremely cozy in there, and I really could have taken a nice nap. However, there was a program to listen to, so no naps. Billy and I have known these two interpreters for over twenty years, and have a friendship with them, and Wyatt knows them very well too. Wyatt was extremely excited about being there and about the program. The kids learned about the mammals and birds in our area, and had the chance to see and feel different fur pelts and skulls. It was really interesting and I think both kids and adults alike had a very good time. Afterwards we had hot chocolate and cookies and it was just a wonderful night.

We are also having Wyatt’s birthday party here as well in March. The very last big party he had was in 2020, the week before Covid really hit, and it was bittersweet, as it was the last time we saw some of our family and friends for a long time. But we were thankful that we had been all gathered and had the chance, without even knowing it. That party was also here at the Nature Center. We thought for Wyatt’s tenth, we would have another big party for him. I am in the middle of planning it now.

And to be honest, that is about it! We had game night where we played a new game that Wyatt got for Christmas, Junior Detectives, which I highly recommend. We visited a bakery in Detroit and picked up gargantuan baked good. And then, we wintered.

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

Top Ten Tuesday – New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized47 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024! When I went back and looked at the authors I read in 2024, I was surprised to learn that out of the 66 books that I read, 58 books were written by new to me authors. I had a big year of new to me authors! I had no idea honestly, that it was that high of a number.

So for this post, I am picking a few of the 58 that I haven’t talked about as much on here.

The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines || Sisters of the Lost Nation || The Berry Pickers

Last year I put a lot of effort into reading that had diverse representation. I was especially on the lookout for middle grade books that have casual inclusion of characters who use a wheelchair or have a disability, for my son. He doesn’t need to read about what it is like to have a disability – he already knows that. What he does need are stories that show these characters included in things and part of things.

I was so happy to find The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines! The main character is a wheelchair user, but she also fights monsters. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Sisters of the Lost Nation is a book written by and indigenous author, about indigenous characters. It was a horror story, and it was excellent. It not only has horror elements but also highlighted the invisibility of missing indigenous women in the world – how they disappear and their disappearances are not often as investigated as thoroughly as they should be, if at all.

The Berry Pickers also carries that theme, but in a very different way. Peters wrote such a heartwrenching novel with The Berry Pickers that I found myself tearing up frequently.

Clueless at the Coffee Station || Haunted Ever After || Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Clueless at the Coffee Station is a cozy mystery written by an independent author, who I learned about from Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, another independent author. Clueless was such a good book, and I loved that it is set in my own home state of Michigan! The author, who now lives in Japan, actually is originally from a Michigan town about ten miles away from me.

I love Halloween and this fall I went crazy reading all the fall/ghosts/spooky books I could – but I also wanted them to not be as scary as a straight up horror. DeLuca’s Haunted Ever After was absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to read another book set in Boneyard Key.

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is a book I picked up because the main character is a scientist (and we need to read about more female scientists!) who studies snails. I love snails! This book made me laugh out loud at times, but also had its more serious moments. It was the first Waxman book I have read and I will be reading more.

A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic || The Teller of Small Fortunes || Flowerheart

My favorite genre (sub-genre?) is cozy fantasy and I loved all three of these.

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is straight up a fantasy version of the Bake Off. I wanted to eat everything the characters were baking, and I just really enjoyed this cozy book.

The Teller of Small Fortunes is another cozy that is full of found family, one of my favorite tropes. I am hoping for another book from this author about these characters!

Flowerheart was just a fairy tale-esque cozy fantasy, that was the perfect read for spring.

The Only One Left || A Psalm for the Wild-Built

I finally hopped on the Sager train and was so happy that I did. I could not put this book down! I was sucked into this crazy story and when it was over all I wanted to do was talk about it with other people!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built is another book that I devoured and then wanted to talk about with everyone. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it but I really did. I read somewhere that it was “cozy sci-fi” and I agree. No wonder I liked it.

And those are my ten, plus a bonus for good measure!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized49 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! I hope you are all doing well. We had a week where we stayed very close to home this past week, and it was nice to stay all cozy and hunker down with school and reading and baking.

Read Last Week:

This one was pretty good! It is the first in the series and I feel it could have been honed a bit better, but it was still a good read. I am for sure going to read the next in the series as well! Interesting characters and premise, just a bit clunky in parts, which is ok for the first book in a series I think!

Reading This Week:

So I have two wildly different books I am choosing between this week.

I am not sure which I am in the mood for! I guess I will find out when I start reading.

I am also buddy reading a book with Billy! I love when we do this.

I am so excited!

Posted Last Week:

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to my TBR

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching:

Billy and I started a show called High Potential. It is entertaining but .. I am not 100% sold on it yet. It is based off a French show named HPI Haut Potentiel Intellectuel. It’s not a bad show but the main character can be a bit annoying, and some of the effects, etc that the show employs are just cheesy, and not in a good way, the way Murdoch is. However, I gave it a shot.

Tonight we are watching Argylle, starring one of my favorite actors, Sam Rockwell. Billy always knows he can get me to watch a movie I might be dragging my feet on if he mentions Sam Rockwell is in it. Argylle also stars Henry Cavill, another actor I really love.

And that is it from me this morning! Stay safe out there everyone!

My Favorite Reads of 2024

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized51 Comments

Hello everyone!!! I hope you are all doing well – and finding time to read!

Ok – I am calling it now. It is close enough and I don’t foresee a bunch of reading to happen between now and the new year!

I had a hard time deciding on my favorite reads this year. I feel like this year was all about trying new genres and new authors that I loved; I went through different reading phases and my read list this year is just a hodgepodge of titles and genres. I didn’t read nearly as many books as other people, I am just slower now that my lifestyle is different! Pre-Wyatt I read over 100 books a year – now I read nowhere near that, and that is ok. Wyatt and I are making memories together everyday, and more importantly, I have turned him into a giant bookworm and library lover just like me. The library loves when he comes in (or so they say!) because he is so excited about getting books and reading. His favorite this year was The Phantom Tollbooth.

I tracked my reading in a hand drawn little chart this year!

I also started making these little journal pages.

They are not anything fancy but they are fun to do.

And I have digressed enough! My favorites, in no particular order:

A Dark and Secret Magic || A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking || The Teller of Small Fortunes

A Dark and Secret Magic was just the perfect autumnal spooky season read. It had everything. The atmosphere, the setting, the characters, the traditions – I really loved it and I hope the author writes another one in this world with these characters. I have a feeling that she is going to.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking really surprised me with how much I absolutely loved it. I loved the message regarding heroes, which was a more serious message hidden within these rather whimsical and magical world. It also touched on intolerance as well, another serious message and theme. However, it was handled in such a way that it didn’t feel heavy – sort of like when people make the perfect bread. I loved the little gingerbread man and of course Bob. I have been telling my husband nearly every day since I read this to read it. So come on Billy, let’s get to it!

The Teller of Small Fortunes is just a small, easy little read but it was so heartwarming to me. I love found family stories, I love adventures, I love magical tales, and this book had it all. It had Wheel of Time vibes but low stakes and cozy instead of huge and world building.

The Blue Castle || Tress of the Emerald Sea || The Berry Pickers

The Blue Castle: Lisa from Boondock Ramblings gifted me this book this year and I absolutely loved it!!! The imagery, the nature writing, Valancy just kicking butt and becoming her own person and taking her life into her own hands. Just all of it. I also learned that there is more to Montgomery than the beloved Anne. (I love Anne too though)

Tress of the Emerald Sea: Another kickbutt heroine. I love Tress so much. Sanderson and his wife watched The Princess Bride on day together, and his wife wondered what the story would have been like had Buttercup just not given up on Wesley after she heard he was dead, and instead which searching for him. And then, this book was born.

The Berry Pickers: This book was not light and fluffy or cozy. In fact, it destroyed me for personal reasons but it was still such an amazing book. I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to give anything away, but I do highly recommend it.

Miracles on Maple Hill || Kildee House

I went through a time in February/March when I just wanted to read some wholesome, old fashioned kids books. So I did. These two were my favorites. Miracles on Maple Hill was a touching story of a family that was struggling through some issues and when they move to the country, find what they needed to make it through to the other side. Kildee House is also about someone moving to the country, and finding a whole new life that suits them much better. This one has wild animals that live in the house which I of course loved, but it also had some parts that made me sob so be prepared for that. I asked Billy if I could have some foxes and a possum for Christmas but he told me no. What a stick in the mud he is. Maybe just a possum then? Think I could sneak one in this new year?

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers || What You are Looking for is in the Library

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a cozy little mystery with found family and most of all, hope. I love the love in this book.

What You are Looking for in the Library really started me down the path of translated fiction/Asian fiction/healing fiction. I could read this book over and over again. Instead of a little synopsis, I am just linking my review here.

And that my friends is a wrap! I learned that I love cozy fantasy and translated fiction. I fell down the Riley Sagar and Lucy Foley rabbit holes (if there was an 11 and 12 on this list, they would be The Only One Left by Sagar, and The Midnight Feast by Foley). I gave myself permission to indulge in all the middle grade fiction I want. I also read a lot of books with absurdly long titles, but that is another story. Overall, it’s been a good year of reading!

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!

Top Ten Tuesday: Destination Titles

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt:  Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) (this was a topic Rachel @ Sunny Side came up with for a freebie week last year and has let me steal it!)

I had fun with this one, looking back at books that I have read and enjoyed with destinations in the title. I am a big settings reader, and will often pick up a book just because of where the book is set.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives || Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop || The Easy Life in Kamusari

I have been very into Japanese/Asian fiction this year, and these three were a few that I really enjoyed.

The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines || Miracles on Maple Hill || Greenglass House

It wouldn’t be one of my lists without some kids fiction. I read The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines because the main character uses a wheelchair and I like to look for books for Wyatt that have this representation. He deserves to see himself in literature, and not just as a character who is there to explain to others what it is like to use a wheelchair. Not all disabled characters need to be there to teach others about their experiences – they can have actual other roles in the book, and even be the main character who has their own adventures.

Miracles on Maple Hill was a wonderful, old fashioned read. I holed up this past winter with these type of wholesome books to make it through to spring and Miracles on Maple Hill was one of my favorites of the whole bunch that I read.

Greenglass House – I just love this world! I love this book, and I plan on reading the next in the series in December.

Shady Hollow || The House on Prytania || The Cloisters

It also wouldn’t be a list of mine without some anthropomorphic animals. Shady Hollow is my pick for this week! I still haven’t read the second book – maybe I should do that this month. It feels like a good time to read it.

The House on Prytania is set in New Orleans, one of my very favorite cities in the United States. There was a time in my life that I deliberately set out to read every book that took place there. And my first trip there was due to all of my reading and needing to finally walk the streets that I had read so much about.

So, The Cloisters. I actually did not like this book, but I loved the setting. I have always always always wanted to go there.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

A friend bought me this book this year, and it is easily one of my favorite reads of the whole year. I love that The Blue Castle is not only a fictional destination for this week’s topic, but also an imaginary one in the book as well. If you all need a pick me up book for whatever reason, I highly suggest this book.

And that my friends is my list for this week! I can’t wait to visit your posts and see what you have chosen!