Probably 99% of the books I read are from the library, but sometimes, I just want to have my own copy. Usually this is because it looks like a book that will really resonate with me, one that I will reread, and one that I will just be enchanted by for a long time. These are the books that have made that list of books that are currently on my wish list!
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa || Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery || The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
The Travelling Cat Chronicles – I have been super into Japanese fiction this year and this one just sounds wonderful.
Jane of Lantern Hill – I have been wanting to branch out into other Montgomery characters and books, besides the beloved Anne. Jane seems like a great place to start!
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters || The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink || English Pastoral by James Rebanks
The Berry Pickers – I am very intrigued by this book! I feel like it could be a slow read for me, one to really take my time with and digest. Same with English Pastoral, which reminds me of John Lewis-Stempel, who is one of my favorite authors.
The Pink Hotel – I collect Carol Ryrie Brink books and this one just really appeals to me! I love books set in motels and I love the kitschy look of this cover!
The Mermaid in the Millpond by Lucy Strange || A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal || Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone!! I feel like I am draggin’ wagon today. I blame this weather, all overcast this morning. I have to get ready for church soon but I am procrastinating big time. I’ll have another cup of coffee and finish this post then I will get ready.
We had a pretty good week last week. Not anything exciting or noteworthy, just everyday life things. We did set up a fish tank for my kiddo who has wanted a fish, so that was our big event of the week. Wyatt is loving his fish Moon and his snail Sunny.
Read Last Week:
I had started listening to Tress last summer but then stopped because after listening I realized it was a book that I wanted to read, not listen to. And I am glad that I made that choice, because I loved Tress! Brandon Sanderson was inspired to write it after he and his family watched The Princess Bride (one of my all time favorite movies) during lockdown. His wife brought up a question about Buttercup and he started thinking about what it would be like if Buttercup went in search of Wesley rather than accepting that he was dead. And Tress was born. I absolutely loved it although I did find some parts a bit slow moving.
I started reading You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight as part of the Camp Spooky Readathon hosted by the Midnight Book Club on Instagram, and it was such a fast read that I finished it the same day I started. And it was a very busy day too! It was just one of those books that you could not put down and also was a quick read too. It was so good! Kaylnn Bayron said that she was a fan of those 80s slasher movies as a kid (just like me) and wanted to write her own homage to them. So she did! Very good read, not super gory.
Both of my books were inspired by movies! I just realized that.
Reading This Week:
Version 1.0.0
In keeping with my trend of reading vintage or older middle age books, I picked up Dandelion Cottage from the library the other day. I am excited to read it! The author grew up in Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior, and the Dandelion Cottage is apparently a real cottage that is still there. I think I am also going to start At the Pond this week as well.
Billy and I have been watching a few different things. My favorite that we have been watching is the newest season of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I just love that series so much. We are also watching When Calls the Heart and Palm Royale. I love the way Palm Royale looks and the cast is fire, but ooh it is hard for me to watch sometimes because of secondhand embarrassment and cringe. But the set and the costumes and the colors are just beautiful so that makes it worth it so far. This article is about the costumes if you want to read more.
We also watched The Fall Guy! I had been waiting for this movie to go to streaming and I was so excited. Now, I know this movie was panned but I loved it, and so did Billy. We both loved the tv show with Lee Majors as kids, and there were so many references and throwbacks to the 80s. We were so excited every time we caught one. We also think that the character Tom Ryder based his characters mannerisms and speech pattern after Matthew McConaughey, who I love. We both thought it was a lot of fun. I think people wanted nonstop action and this movie had a bit of a plot and a love story to boot.
And that is it from me today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!
This week is all about our favorite book quotes! I have more quotes than books; some books just needed more space on here I guess.
First up is Watership Down, with multiple quotes. My favorite book of all time!
“Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it.” ― Richard Adams, Watership Down
“To come to the end of a time of anxiety and fear! To feel the cloud that hung over us lift and disperse—the cloud that dulled the heart and made happiness no more than a memory! This at least is one joy that must have been known by almost every living creature.” ― Richard Adams, Watership Down
“Men will never rest till they’ve spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.” ― Richard Adams, Watership Down
Ok, I will move on now.
“So we dream on. Thus we invent our lives. We give ourselves a sainted mother, we make our father a hero; and someone’s older brother and someone’s older sister – they become our heroes too. We invent what we love and what we fear. There is always a brave lost brother – and a little lost sister, too. We dream on and on: the best hotel, the perfect family, the resort life. And our dreams escape us almost as vividly as we can imagine them… That’s what happens, like it or not. And because that’s what happens, this is what we need: we need a good, smart bear… Coach Bob knew it all along: you’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows.” ― John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire
“This place has atmosphere, different from a bookshop with just new books. In here you sense the weight of time, stretching way back to the past.” ― Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking for is in the Library
“Hate is loud, but I think you’ll learn it’s because it’s only a few people shouting, desperate to be heard. You might not ever be able to change their minds, but so long as you remember you’re not alone, you will overcome.” – TJ Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea
“When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time—the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers. Gradually, you accumulate the parts of her that are gone. Just when the day comes—when there’s a particular missing part that overwhelms you with the feeling that she’s gone, forever—there comes another day, and another specifically missing part.” ― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
I am adding some in from The Last Unicorn as I am reading and annotating this book right now. I have always loved the book and the movie, ever since seeing it as a child.
“Unicorns are immortal. It is their nature to live alone in one place: usually a forest where there is a pool clear enough for them to see themselves-for they are a little vain, knowing themselves to be the most beautiful creatures in all the world, and magic besides. They mate very rarely, and no place is more enchanted than one where a unicorn has been born. The last time she had seen another unicorn the young virgins who still came seeking her now and then had called to her in a different tongue; but then, she had no idea of months and years and centuries, or even of seasons. It was always spring in her forest, because she lived there, and she wandered all day among the great beech trees, keeping watch over the animals that lived in the ground and under bushes, in nests and caves, earths and treetops. Generation after generation, wolves and rabbits alike, they hunted and loved and had children and died, and as the unicorn did none of these things, she never grew tired of watching them.” ― Peter S. Beagle , The Last Unicorn
“Farewell,’ she said. ‘I hope you hear many more songs’ – which was the best way she could think of to say good-bye to a butterfly.” ― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
“The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventures, nor can the boy knock on the witch’s door when she is already away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found out and foiled before he does something wicked. Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.” ― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
I wouldn’t say these quotes (except for the Watership Down ones) are my top ten favorites of all time, but these are the ones I was feeling this week. Have you read any of these books? Are you an annotator? It is something I just started doing and I am really enjoying it.
Happy day everybody! I am so grateful for coffee this morning. Yesterday was ROUGH – physically for Wyatt, emotionally for me. I fell into bed and just passed out last night, as did my kiddo.
Wyatt started the morning early, with physical therapy. Then we came home, he ate breakfast, we read a little, then he took a quick disco nap before we moved on to his next appointment – the dentist. My poor boyo had a cavity! The dentist gave us a few options, and we went with pulling the tooth since it is a baby tooth and would be a faster process for Wyatt to go through. Because Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, there were a few extra hoops we had to jump through first. We needed medical clearance from one of Wyatt’s doctors and I spent last week nailing that down. Then after we had that we were able to schedule the extraction. The OG date they gave us was all the way in March but they had obviously underestimated my persistence in getting his form finished and the procedure done and over with.The dentist, who we absolutely love, the office staff and dental assistants and dentist, all are amazing, especially with kids with different needs. They had initially proposed strapping him to a board for the procedure which gave me a lot of anxiety. I knew he would hate that more than having his tooth actually pulled. In the end though they just had a bunch of staff members on hand for the shots in case it was needed (it wasn’t) then for the extraction the dentist did his job while the dental assistant and I held Wyatt still. He was excellent, although he did start shrieking and crying for about five minutes. We got to the car and I about collapsed from the emotion of it all. I hate watching him go through things like that. I think all parents do! He was still a bit sniffly, and since he refused to keep the gauze in his mouth, a little oozy too. I let him play with my phone all the way home (a treat he never ever gets to do) and that kept him busy and happier. (Thanks to my friend Kelly for that suggestion!) We had many friends and family sending us prayers and good vibes and I was appreciative of them all!
The staff were all charmed by little charmer. He was so happy and silly before the procedure, because that is Wyatt.
When we came home I discovered the front door to our house wide open. Not cracked, not ajar, wide open. I realized that in my anxiety I probably just never shut it when we left. Yay me. I need to carry Wyatt from the house to the car, and he is an armful these days! I more than likely carried him out, and then we just left, being in hyper-focused mode. But I didn’t want to just take him in after the house was open all that time! I listen to true crime ! So I locked Wyatt in my car, grabbed the gardening scissors off the porch, and entered the house, ready for anything! Miso had been sleeping on the couch and she woke up and stretched, so my first concern was immediately alleviated. Miso was ok. Phew. So then I searched the whole house and closets, including the basement, and when I felt it was all clear, went and got kiddo. Thank goodness for small houses! I didn’t have much to search and there are not many places to hide! We could go in and relax and have ice cream and nap and not worry about Michael Myers surprising us.
So yesterday was an adventure! We had a much better adventure last week. After occupational therapy last Thursday I decided the rainy gray day needed something special. So we went on a surprise, spur of the moment field trip to the Henry Ford Museum. I have a membership and it is so close to where we go for therapy so I was like, why not go for a bit?
I wanted to climb inside that cozy little geodisic dome and read. It was just so comfy looking! I refrained somehow though. We saw the chair Lincoln was in when he was shot, and George Washington’s special camp bed. Then Wyatt always loves the airplanes so we spent most of our time there. We had a really good time and I was glad that we changed up the day.
And we finally got some snow! Charles my squirrel friend was sort of amazed! I think it was his first snow.
I did not have time to do my homeschool recap yesterday so look for it tomorrow. I am excited to show you what we did – especially our artist of the week. Can you guess who it was?
How are you all doing this morning? What is in your cup? Has your week started off well?
It’s the holiday season, and I tend to go overboard with the holiday books every December. I am constantly at the library, picking up and returning huge piles of books. But, we both love books and it’s Christmas time and..why not?
This is a list of what we have read together so far…I feel a part two might be coming closer to Christmas…
It’s been fun reading for the most part! Gingerbread Baby and Tough Cookie we read during our week of gingerbread; of the two, we both liked Tough Cookie a bit more. And, I like gingerbread more than the story, I have decided – don’t you think the Gingerbread Boy is sort of obnoxious? Lol.
Finding Christmas is a sweet little tale of kindness, with the cutest little illustrations. Little Mole’s Christmas Gift is similar, with the idea of giving what you want to someone who is more in need. Plus, how adorable is that cover and mushroom? The whole book has spectacular illustrations.
Little Blue Truck is always a favorite of Wyatt, for years. And I have to admit, I think they are pretty darn cute too. In this one Little Blue Truck is trundling about delivering the perfect tree to each of his friends.
And on the subject of trees.. The Christmas Eve Tree. Hmm. What can I say about this one? Neither of us really liked it. Wyatt kept looking at me like “What are you reading to me Mom?”. I understand where this book was going and the point it was trying to make, but it was just depressing. Marguerite’s Christmas was actually a wonderful picture book, but I think the message is a bit deep for kids. I always preread Wyatt’s book, not with the intent to censor ever, but just so I am familiar. This one I ended up not reading to him – but I did give it to my mom to read. I thought it was a beautiful book but I thought the message would be lost on Wyatt a bit.
Norman the Slug Who Saved Christmas is a favorite around here. This was a gift to Wyatt from his aunt and uncle, and it is so darn cute. Maybe we are biased because we like all the creepy crawly things like snails and bugs, but this book is just so fun. Little Witch Hazel is one we are adding to our library. It contains four stories centered around the seasons, and is so enchanting. The illustrations are gorgeous and magical and the stories so sweet.
These last two were my personal favorites- Babushka and A Simple Christmas on the Farm. I think both of these are beautiful stories, of coming together, helping others, the beauty of Christmas. The illustrations in Babushka are amazing, colorful and whimsical, and the illustrations in A Simple Christmas on the Farm warm and cozy. These two were hands down my favorite. Little Blue Truck and Tough Cookie were Wyatt’s favorites, but he did like these two as well.
I’m still on the lookout for new and different titles to add to our holiday reading! It is only the 10th of December after all. We have two weeks of holiday reading still left to do! If you have a suggestion, let me know!
We are in the last few weeks of Kindergarten! It’s hard to believe honestly. While we finish up our regular curriculum, we are also going to do a month long unit about the ocean! Last month my dad and stepmom went to Florida for a few weeks and brought my son and niece back a bunch of books, shells, posters, and sea glass to go along with their lessons. They have enjoyed exploring their discovery table this week!
We started Tuesday with an introduction to the ocean and ocean layers. We made an ocean layer jar – well I did while I explained to the kids, a little demo – and I had to improvise as I did not have Karo syrup. I subbed molasses which didn’t quite work and the bottom layers were a bit muddled. But the kids got the main point of what I wanted to illustrate, so I am calling it a win. My dad also brought the kids back stuffed animal sharks that I surprised them with on our kick off day.
We also started off with small creatures this week, crabs and jellyfish and seahorses. I have to admit, I was pretty fascinated by some of the facts we learned about jellyfish. I can’t say I had read anything about them ever before, so it was kind of all new to me as well. Two things I learned – that jellyfish sort of float out of their mother’s mouths when they are born, and that they don’t have a brain. Since it was a short week and we had a lot to fit in, our craft project this week was a simple one, but both kids enjoyed it. Paper plate jellyfish! Well, my niece had a paper plate one, I yet again had to improvise. I apparently did not have my materials together this week! This time though, my improvisations turned out. I don’t have a picture of Dino Girl’s but it was super cute.
The weather is finally turning here after having almost summer like temperatures persisting well past their season. The mornings are colder, the evenings have a bite, and it all makes me want to get all snuggly and cozy in my home, like some little squirrel. I see our neighborhood squirrels hopping and digging and searching out their food stores, getting ready to snug down for the winter. And I am getting us all ready too, maybe not quite for winter yet, but definitely for autumn coziness.
Drinking: My husband remarked the other night as we were settling down for the evening that it was getting to be tea season, and he is totally right. Our iced teas become hot teas this time of year, and I usually start placing our tea orders to have a ready supply on hand for these chilly nights. I will pick stuff up when I am at the store of course, but we have some favorites that I like to keep around. I love the Breakfast in Paris tea with its lavender notes and the refreshing mint of Moroccan Mint from Stash, while Billy is all about the Earl Greyer from Republic of Tea. I think Wyatt is going to try tea this year too. My grandma used to give my cousin and I weak tea heaped with milk and sugar and I felt so special. Maybe I will try that too with him this year, just a little taste of tea. If we are out and about on the weekends, we like to treat ourselves to London Fog Lattes at Starbucks. So worth keeping as a treat! We splurged last weekend and picked two up before we went to the bat festival.
Wearing: Sweaters of course!! I usually hit up the thrift stores looking for their softest, most comfortable looking sweaters to lounge about in, but Target has a cardigan that looks super comfy that I plan on picking up on one of my next Target runs (embarrassingly I usually hit up Target once a week..) and Modcloth has a fox sweater that I absolutely need.. Although I do need help with leggings – I don’t really own any and maybe I need to get a pair? Any suggestions?
Using: Blankets! I have had to pull all of our extra blankets out of storage and get them ready to throw on when needed. We have our heirloom quilts that my great-grandmother and my friend’s great-grandmother made, in our bedroom for those afternoon naps, and a few random throw blankets we have picked up as the years have passed. We are such throw blanket people though that we are thinking of splurging on a blanket from Sackcloth and Ashes – although we are undecided between Camp Forest and Camp Lake. We still have our quilt that we use as a picnic blanket but I am thinking about getting one that is more all weather since the ground is a bit colder and I want to continue with some picnics into fall. We are also burning candles again. I don’t usually burn candles in spring and summer, but fall and winter call for candles. The glow of their light is as warming as the heat from the flame, and add to the ambiance of coziness. (and so very hygge, remember hygge? I still swear by its principles) I don’t have any particular brands that I stick with, I just pick them up as we are shopping (probably at Target! lol) but I go for woodsy or apple, cinnamon, or pumpkin scented ones. Yum! Wyatt loves to help me pick them and smells them all, wrinkling his little nose so cutely.
Reading: I am such a seasonal reader. It is so hard for me to read a book that doesn’t fit my mood or the season. So this time of year I read cozy mysteries like Barbara Michaels and the one I just read by Eva Gates, thrillers and scary books, non-fiction that feels like autumn to me. I also turn to comfort reads, like the Little House series and Harry Potter. I read to Wyatt Halloween and fall books, we talk about the leaves and pumpkins and animals and how they get cozy just like us, all snug in a bug and safe and sound.
Because isn’t that how cozy feels? Safe and sound and like being wrapped in a hug.
Hey all! I just wanted to share some short and quick thoughts on a few of the books I read this month!
First up, Ghostland. This book was not quite what I expected, but I still liked it. It was definitely as it says in the title, more about the history than the ghost story. I found some of Dickey’s insights very interesting, especially concerning the country’s turbulent history with race, and how he feels that even impacts ghost stories. It was definitely an interesting read, although it did feel a bit long.
City of Ghosts: This middle grade book was a delight to read! It was appropriately scary for the age level, and the book itself was pretty cool, even for me. I loved the whole premise, and definitely the location. I really liked that Schwab was able to work the definitions of the British/Scottish slang or language into the story without it being obtrusive. What a great idea for kids who read this book who may not be familiar with certain terms. (adults too!) Definitely a book I would have purchased for our library collection when I was working at the library. ( I used to work/run an elementary school library)
Spellbook of the Lost and Found : I loved this book. It was a quiet book, a slow burner of a book, that works on you bit by bit. It’s not splashy. And it was so good! There were some twists and turns that I never expected, and I wanted to just keep reading to find out what the heck was going on! I thought the premise was unique as well. Overall, I really liked this read.
I didn’t get as much reading done as I wanted to this month, but life throws curve balls sometimes doesn’t it. Lol. And tomorrow is Halloween already! My favorite holiday of the year! It looks like we will be homebound, as kiddo is just getting over a fierce cold as is my husband, but I also love handing out candy. They are predicting rain though, so..it might be a pretty slow trick or treat night. Good thing I bought candy that I like….
It’s a rainy, dreamy, dreary morning here, but I’ve got my coffee and I am ready to review!
Where the Fire Falls is a book I picked up because I loved the first in this Vintage National Park series so much. I am a huge fan of National Parks, the wilderness, and throw in the vintage aspect and I am there. This book did not disappoint either. Olivia looks and acts the part of the oh so glamorous flapper, a good time girl and artist trying to make it big. She gets the offer of a lifetime when she is sent to Yosemite to paint for a travel magazine – an offer she can’t really refuse, located in the one place she said she would never set foot. Practicality wins, and her trip to Yosemite turns out to be a life changer, especially after meeting rugged, handsome outdoorsman Clark – who also happens to be a former minister. If you are apprehensive about reading a book with a little bit of religion, this book is a good one for you. The religious aspects are very well done, not super in your face, and fit the book and the scenery, settled into the beauty and majesty that is Yosemite. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! And seriously, isn’t this cover awesome?
Since we are talking National Parks, let’s talk about Dear Bob and Sue. Can I just fangirl a second? I totally loved this book! It was chock full of real life moments, a real life relationship, adventure, laughter, and I learned lots of things along the way. Parts of the book made me laugh out loud, others made me think, and all of the time sparked my own wanderlust and desire to visit all of these parks as well! I learned so much, it inspired me to learn more about the places I read, and it certainly expanded my own to-do list. I highly recommend this book to anyone else who loves the outdoors and hiking and travel.
This is my favorite time of the year, where we wave goodbye to summer and ease our way into cooler weather, bonfires, apple orchards, pumpkins, cold weather clothes, and crunchy leaves. Oh yeah, and lets not forget yummy coffee drinks and hard cider! I simply love autumn and Halloween, and I am excited to participate in this challenge again!
The purpose is simple – read a book
or books from one of these types:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
And to have fun!
There are a few different ways to participate as well!
Peril the First: Read four books from the previously mentioned classifications.
Peril the Second: Read two books from the types.
Peril the Third: Read one book.
Peril of the Short Story: Read some spooky short stories – E.A. Poe or Shirley Jackson would do!
Peril on the Screen: Something on a screen large or small, a movie or a television show, that is seasonally appropriate!
Peril of the Review: Submit any short review that you have written
I intend to tackle Peril the First, and read four books and also Peril of the Screen, especially once October is here. I love a good spooky movie (or two or three..)
I am not positive yet on what books I will be reading for the whole challenge, but to start things off I will be reading these two this month for sure:
