This Week’s Prompt: Books Set in Another Time (These can be historical, futuristic, alternate universes, or even in a world where you’re not sure when it takes place you just know it’s not right now.)
I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to do this one! I decided to do a decade by decade book for each decade of the 1900s. The century that I was born in… lol. Most of these are books that I have read; a few are from my TBR.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is another TBR book. I had never heard of the Horseback Librarians until a few years ago when we went to a historical event at Greenfield Village near us and there was a woman dressed as one. She told Wyatt and I about these women and gave Wyatt a library card. It was really cute. Anyway, this book is set in 1936. I need to get to it.
City of Thieves is one of my favorite books ever. I recommend this book over and over and over again. It is is set in 1942 in Russia.
When Women Were Dragons is physically sitting on my shelf and I need to read it. Maybe I will this spring. It sounds amazing. It is set in 1955.
The Girls has been on my TBR for a long time. I really need to get to it eventually. It seems like a good summer book so maybe this summer. This book is set in the 1960s.
Joyland is another favorite of mine. I have found that my favorite books by Stephen King are sort of weird compared to other people lol. This is one of them. I just love the whole story- the new adultness, the summertime working at the amusement park, a haunting, a mystery, some supernatural things. It was fantastic. It is set in the 1970s.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism is such a creepy gross book! I loved it though. It is so 1980s that I had to list it here.
I am a Gen Xer and yes, so much of my young adulthood centered around the mall. I haven’t read this but it is on my TBR. It sounds like a good read! (if you have read it let me know what you thought!)
And there is my list! I am super excited to see where everyone else is taking us today!
Hello everyone! I am so out of sync this week. I don’t know what it happening but I feel like I am just over here spinning my wheels but getting nothing done. I think I need to make a list, and just start working through it, instead of whatever the ADHD I’ve got going on over here. I am just trying to do too much at once, as well all do from time to time! I am behind on everything – school, my house, calls I need to make, catching up reading blogs and comments, just everything. I will get there though.
We started off pretty well. We had a great weekend. On Saturday, we went to my dad’s for the day and hung out with him and my stepmom. It was a very nice, relaxing way to spend the day. Then Sunday, Billy and I took Wyatt to a children’s book reading and author signing. There were two authors there, Kristen Remenar, who wrote The Groundhog’s Dilemma, an adorable little picture book, and Vicky Lorencen, who wrote The Big Book of Barf. When I saw that The Caboose bookstore in Royal Oak, which is the children’s bookstore area of Sidetracks Books, was hosting this I knew that Wyatt would love it, especially the barf book. And of course he did. He was a little bashful when meeting the authors at the end, and having his books signed, but he had fun.
Then for some reason, the rest of my week went wonky. Not bad, just like I said, out of sync. It was just one of those weeks I guess. I have no idea what happened to Monday, Tuesday Wyatt’s medicine issues reared its head and he threw up, Wednesday, actually… Wednesday was pretty good.
Wednesday Wyatt had therapy, and he kicked butt! He walked so far and did an awesome job!
Then Wednesday evening I went to my friend Kelly’s, and we hung out just chatting and drinking tea.
I told her that I felt like I was hanging out in a British Museum, her house is so beautiful. (you can see Kelly in the background there, telling her kids to get ready for bed)
Then Thursday I was all in a kerfuffle. We were expecting a delivery of medical equipment for Wyatt, a special seat for his walker, and it totally threw me off! I decided to just give up and give in after that, and chalk this week up to just what it was. Weird. Next week will be weird too. I am attending an advocacy leadership training online for three half days in the morning, and I have two different grandparents and Billy lined up to do the Wyatt things while I am doing it. I made up “sub plans” for those mornings too! Wyatt’s grandmother is doing a Valentine’s craft project with him on her watch, Billy is doing some dinosaur STEM stuff (and math), and my Dad is going to some hands on history with Wyatt. My dad was a special education teacher, then a principal, before he retired so hopefully it is like old hat to him. If not they can all just hang out. I will do the rest of school in the afternoon.
I am excited but nervous about the training! It’s been a minute since I did anything like this. I do think I can make it through three half days of training, and I think it will be fun; I just need to feel a bit more confident in speaking in a group again!
And with all that being said, I should probably get a move on! Have a good one everyone, and try to do something today that makes you smile!
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Hello everyone! I am not great at review posting, and I am hoping to do a little better this year. I am going to try to post a mini-reviews post for every three books I read, and see how that works!
This book was my first book of the year, and it was absolutely perfect to begin with. It was mystical, magical, and full of mystery. The characters were so richly written, with so much insight and love, that they felt so real to me.
Carrie is a Morgan woman, and the Morgan women have always been able to harness the mountain and make it do their bidding. But for a price. Always a price. She left her small town in the mountains ten years before this story begins, and is returning, under the suspicious eyes of townsfolk. She has left people who loved her behind: Jess, her best friend; Cora, her great-aunt, and she has to face them as well as the town. She also meets the mysterious Matthieu.
This book feels so fey and atmospheric, with an edge of sadness and darkness. It is about love and sadness and friendship and sacrifice, and I felt so many things reading it.
One thing: One thing bothered me almost the entire book – I could not figure out where it was set! As an American reading it, it felt so Appalachian mountains region to me, but I knew that could not be right because the terminology was British, with takeaways and biscuits. Near the end I found something that pointed to it being set definitively in England and my brain settled down.
My first read, and my first five star of the year!
Dead Voices by Katherine Arden. I really enjoyed this one too! I am all about the snowed in trope, and this one that involved a haunted ski lodge/inn sounded right up my alley. This book is part of the Small Spaces series, and while it did have multiple points of view, the main character in this book was Coco. It was neat to see things from her perspective more this time, as the least brave of her trio of friends, comprised of herself, Ollie, and Brian.
This book was the perfect wintry read for January. I love a good ghost story, and this one had a few cool twists. Katherine Arden is a genius at creating an atmosphere and her middle grade is no exception. I could feel the cold creeping in at night, the darkness that comes all too quickly.
Great story that was a fun read on a chillingly cold day!
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates was my least favorite of the these three. It was not a bad book, but not quite the perfect thriller for me.
Let’s start with the good, because it did have a lot of good stuff. I felt like the characters were very interesting and well written, with fantastic back stories that all pulled in the way they were supposed to with the overall plot. The setup was really good too – a group of travelers on their way to a vacation, away from it all in the mountains, gets snowed in at a remote cabin – and then people start dying.
The not-so-good: Ok, skip this if you don’t want spoilers because it might be spoilery.
I figured out who the killer was almost immediately. Like within 50 pages. Then it felt like I was just following the clues through the book to confirm it, and to me the clues felt kind of obvious. I don’t say this like I am some great mystery solver either – I am no Miss Marple over here. The other thing was that the book sort of dragged out and became repetitive. It is pretty bad when gruesome murder feels repetitive but it did.
However, this book was not a terrible read. I really enjoyed the arc of the main character, as she navigates through what is happening. It just lacked a little subtlety, in my opinion.
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!
