It seems like there are so many good books coming out! Honestly, I found a lot of these through other bloggers on these Tuesday posts!
A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson looks so good!! Bletchley Park, dark academia, dragons… I can’t wait! And do I have to? No, because this came out Jan. 2nd! I just need to get it!
The Baby Dragon Cafe by A.T. Qureshim. I know I have mentioned this one, and I think I actually saw it the first on another Top Ten Tuesday. It just looks so adorable!!
The Green Kingdom: I love the plot of this story, where the main character needs to figure out botanical riddles!
Whale Eyes: This memoir comes out in March, and I am very much excited to read it. It is “told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.” I have been trying to read more and more books that give voice to the disabled community, as my son is a part of it. I want him to read and see books that reflect this representation, because books are mirrors as well as windows.
The Secrets of Underhill: This one is a fantasy middle grade, and the main character is the daughter of a traveling arborist who treats magical trees.
Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill: Growing up, I love all books about faeries, and I remember just poring over the Brian Froud books over and over again, and reading the different tales of the magical creatures – like Jenny Greenteeth. I am excited to read this version about Jenny.
And that is it from me today my friends! I can’t wait to read everyone else’s posts and no doubt add a “ton of books” (as my son would say) to my list!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! It’s the first Sunday post of the new year!
The last few days we have been wrapping up the holidays, putting our house back to normal, and having a few last hurrahs before school starts tomorrow.
I also started the year out with two books I really enjoyed!
I got both of these for Christmas, and I was pretty excited about both of them! The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells was absolutely perfect for this time of year, and full of mystery and magic. I loved it. Dead Voices is from a middle grade series and this series is actually a little scary in parts. Lol. Maybe because the author also wrote The Bear and the Nightingale, which also sort of gave me the creeps in parts.
Reading This Week:
My intention this week is to read Dead of Winter. I just have a ton of books here to read – books from my birthday still, from Christmas, the library. I almost have too many to decide! However, this one finally came in for me from the library so I am hoping to begin with this one. And the weather here is not snowy, but it is super cold so I feel like it will be a perfect time to read it and really get wrapped up in the atmosphere.
Billy and I have been watching the American Ghosts the past few days, catching up on it. We also watched the newest season of McDonald and Dodds. It was really a spectacular season. As far as movies, we watched The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which made it under the wire as one of my favorite movies of 2024!
As for what we have been making, Billy has been working on some leatherworking projects, while I started a new embroidery with a unicorn and woodland animals. It is so cute.
And, Lisa at Boondock Rambling and I have our first Cozy Crafternoon this Saturday at 1pm EST. If you would like to sign up just send me an email at crackercrumblife@gmail.com, and I will add you to our Zoom! We are just hoping to break up these wintery days after Christmas and avoid the blahs. We will just chat and craft and color and do whatever!
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!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! We have had some pretty good days over here lately. I was hoping to go to the Zoo lights tonight but the weather is rainy and cold – I am hoping it stops before evening so we can go!
Read Last Week:
I just finished The Teller of Small Fortunes and it was just so warm and cozy. I love a found family trope, which this book had, and the whole vibe is just feel good. I will definitely be looking for more books by Leong in the future.
Reading This Week:
This week I am reading The Vanishing of Aveline Jones and hopefully A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry.
We are watching The Great British Bake Off, and also we are starting to watch all of our favorite Christmas movies! Last night we watched a new one though, The Red One starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans and, it was actually pretty good! Sometimes you just need an action movie and this one was really fun. We also watched Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and I cried a few times out of nostalgia and remembering watching it with my parents when I was little. Tonight we are going for another nostalgic movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas. I am hoping for some snow before we watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, and Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, but you never know! It could be a green Christmas this year.
Speakng of Christmas, Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I have our linky up for Comfy Cozy Christmas! You can find it at the top always, but this is the link! Feel free to post any seasonal fun! We are trying to keep up with commenting on everyone’s posts but y’all are having so much fun and have so many ideas that we are a bit behind! So we apologize if we haven’t gotten to you yet.
And that is it from here today! I hope you are all well, and that no matter what you do today, that you do one thing that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well, and that if you celebrate Thanksgiving, you have a good one, no matter what you do.
I haven’t been reading much lately. I don’t know what is going on, but I am in a bit of a slump which stinks because I have so many new books and I love them and I am excited to read them all. I just can’t sit still these days. Maybe after the holiday I will settle down.
I did read one book, just a little one.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this one. I am not really a sci-fi person, but if there was a book that was cozy sci-fi, it is this one. I found myself imagining the roads that Sibling Dex and Mosscap were taking, the slow days, the conversations and the tea, and I just fell in love with this book. It was different, it was thought-provoking, it was gentle, and it made me smile.
A few short quotes from a book that I saved so many from:
“No matter what I’m wonderful.”
“We don’t have to fall into the same category to be of equal value.”
This slim book is so filled with goodness. Even if this is not usually your jam, I say give it a whirl.
Reading This Week:
I picked this up over the weekend and immediately fell in love with it. Maybe my slump is over? Wyatt and I are having a whole week of hygge this week – no real school, just reading and art and baking, and this book seemed perfect for those curl up and read moments ahead.
We are all finished with Comfy Cozy Cinema and it feels weird to not have a Sunday movie all ready to go. Besides that, we are watching The Spiderwick Chronicles that star none other than my teenage celebrity crush, Christian Slater. I loved him so much as a teen. Lol. I can still probably quote Heathers and Pump Up the Volume. And, I have to say, as an adult maybe I still have a bit of a crush on adult him.
And that is it from around here! I hope you are all well!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Our week was full of school last week, and catching up on some things. It was a good busy. I loved getting caught up around home honestly. Getting things reorganized, moving stuff around. However, I went to bed at night exhausted and zonked out before I could even fathom reading.
I did finish one book though!
I had been very curious about Arden’s writing for kids, as I loved The Bear and the Nightingale. I have to say, I was just as much caught up in her middle grade as I was her adult fiction. I am looking forward to reading the next in this series, although that probably won’t be until January.
Reading This Week:
I just love this cover. And the sound of the book as well! I am reading in between stitching right now, when I get time. I am working on a few embroidered gifts, so I need to make sure I spend time on that as well. I just need two of me I think! Or, to be ok with never sleeping. Lol.
We are still watching the same old things here. The Great Pottery Throw Down and What We Do in the Shadows. We love them both!
We also only have two weeks left in our Comfy Cozy Cinema movie watching with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings! This week we are watching and talking about The Grand Budapest Hotel, and next week is our watch party for Chocolat! If you are interested the watch party and chat (all text on discord) in on November 17th at 7 pm EST. I plan on surrounding myself with some good chocolate candy to nibble on, some red wine, a comfy blanket, and my cozy bed for the watch.
And that is it from my corner of Michigan today! How are you all doing?
Today’s Prompt: Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.)
Hello everyone!! I had a hard choosing this week – foxes or rabbits? I love them both and knew I wanted to pick one of them. Rabbits won out in the end, since my favorite book is Watership Down.
And because of that, it will lead the list!
I love this edition of Watership Down! I actually am asking Billy for it for Christmas. It is a tradition that he buys me a new copy for either my birthday or Christmas and this is the one that my heart is set on this year.
I absolutely loved The White Hare by Jane Johnson. It really set me in mind of a book written by Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels, two of my favorites.
Our Crooked Hearts and Bunny were both bizarre and weird but I loved them both. Bunny especially felt like some crazy strange trip! Why are rabbits featured so heavily in horror novels and thrillers? Are they scary?
Speaking of horror and rabbits, I had to include Winterset Hollow. I never quite made it through this book but I need to try again. Although it is scary!!
Rabbit Hill I read a while ago, but I remember thinking it was a very good read and I am planning on reading it with Wyatt this spring, along with the next one on the list, The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow.
I could not make this list without including these three – The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Velveteen Rabbit, and The Penderwicks. I love all three of them! The Velveteen Rabbit though makes me sob, and it made me cry even as a little girl. I never wanted to make my toys feel bad after that. And can someone tell me what a Skin Horse is because it sounds terrifying.
And a bonus eleventh book!
I absolutely love John Lewis-Stempel and this book was no exception. Hands down, he is one of my favorite nature writers.
And there we have it! All of my favorite books with rabbits on the cover!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! We had a pretty good week last week – we love Halloween over here, especially Wyatt. I loved seeing him so happy and enjoying himself with his cousins! He wanted to be a snail this year, so Billy and I put on our thinking caps and made this kid a snail costume.
As for reading, it was dismal around here. I don’t think I read at all, all week, until yesterday when I got a chance to read for about fifteen minutes. This week, I am going with some easier reads, two middle grades from my November TBR. One is for my patreon book club that I am in and the other because it is written by the author of The Bear and the Nightingale and I am so curious about how she writes for kids.
Billy and I are deep in the world of pottery right now, watching The Great Pottery Throw Down. We are also watching What We Do in the Shadows as well. (Team Nandor!) We usually fall into bed wiped out at the end of the night, and I do embroidery while we are watching tv, so we have been sort of watching things that are easy to watch.
We are also watching our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies! We only have a few weeks left (then we start Comfy Cozy Christmas) and we watched a few Hitchcock films in October, then leveled off with Practical Magic. Now we are heading back into definite comfy cozy watches, with tonight’s movie Skylark. Then we just have the Grand Budapest Hotel, and our final watch Chocolat. We are actually having a watch party for Chocolat, where we all press Play together on November 17th and then chat over on our discord, The Dames. (no video chat so don’t worry about being in your pajamas!) Edit: Skylark wasn’t available streaming so we watched Bringing Up Baby!
And that is about it for today! I hope you are all doing well!!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 