The Berenstain Bears

 Hello Dear Readers! 

Today I am feeling a bit nostalgic and blessed. My work has been doing a 30 day emotional health challenge and one of todays prompts is to write down something I am grateful for. Today, I am grateful for my parents, for storage space and for the blessing of my kids actually both loving something I also loved. What am I talking about? Let me tell you. Growing up, we moved often with my dad's job. One of the constants I always had was my parents reading Berenstain Bear books to me at night, before tucking me in for adventures in the land of dream. We had quite the collection of Berenstain Bear books too! 

As I grew and switched to R.L. Stine and The Baby Sitters Club, all books that ended up in other peoples libraries, I had no idea that my mom had saved all our Berenstain Bear books for the future potential of grandchildren. When my first child was born, my parents brought the collection over to our house. I was so shocked and so excited! I couldn't believe with all our moves, this was one of the collections she had kept safe. When my daughter was old enough to enjoy and not destroy the books, I pulled out our first adventure down the sunny dirt road. My daughter loved it. A few years later, my son was born and unbelievably, he also loves them. 

We have continued to grow our collection of Berenstain Bear books and what's delightful is both kiddos can tell me when we find the books in the store, if we have that one already or not. I also love that we will go to a party or shopping or wherever, one of them might reference a book or moral or behavior correction from reading the books... especially when one of them gets the gimmies while shopping. 

Is there any books or series that you grew up loving you have been able to share and love all over again with your kids, cousins, nieces, nephews, whomever? 

Kate Morton's Homecoming

“Home is where the heart is, and the heart could be a dark and damaged place.” -Kate Morton

Homecoming brings current day secrets and past secrets colliding into a mystery of how the Turner family really died. The reader is cast into a small town in South Australia that takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s a story that starts with a shocking crime that leaves ripples and mysteries for decades to come. Morton does an amazing job leading the reader through the interviews, characters, and stories, casting shadows and theories at you until you get to the satisfying ending and all has been revealed. I will admit, I wasn’t sure until the very end that we would ever know the whole truth but rest assured, Morton doesn’t disappoint. 

On a personal note, I come from the West Coast in a location that has 4 seasons and usually months of snow, so thinking of Christmas time as hot weather was so crazy! 

I love Kate Morton’s stories and endeavor to read everything she writes: beautiful almost gothic settings, layered times in history for unfolding the story and mysteries set before us, & voices that suck you in as the joy of portable magic with words should.

The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

Hello Dear Readers, 

I just finished reading The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. This book seemed to be everywhere I looked at books. I decided to follow the hype on it and try reading it. The Housemaid definitely tugged me in and sparked my curiosity. Pretty soon it started getting really frustrating and causing anxiety because of the characters actions. I decided to pause my reading and not take it with me for my vacation. I was worried I would be on the plane, angry at the book, and no one wants that. When I got back home (from an amazing vacation!!) the book, or rather the face in the keyhole, stared at me from my nightstand, taunting me to pick it back up and finish it. I was over halfway through the novel and it was pretty dang good as things finally started being revealed (although the cover does tell you there will be a twist so read on until you get twisty). I was glad I fell back into the story for some much needed character closure but I won't read the next book in the series. I would also caution there are potential triggers in this book so know your comfort zones beyond wanting to try out a mystery thriller novel being buzzed about. 

The Expanded World of Jane Austen

 Hello Dear Readers,

Today I wanted to spill the tea chatting about the world of Jane Austen novels. Austen novels are one of my oldest and most steadfast loves. Like with all our favorite authors, we poor readers are left in sad dry spells when we realize we have read all our beloved authors novels! For Diana Gabaldon fans this is known as “Droughtlander.” LOL!  Never fear fellow Austenite fans! Today, I want to share my top 6 favorite novels by authors who have either continued a Jane Austen novel or wrote fun (usually spicier) tales around Ms. Austen’s world. I love reading books reimagining the characters she wrote. The wit, wisdom, and romance of Jane Austen is eternal.

Becky Banks' The Clan MacLaoch Curse Series Books 1 & 2!

I spent an amazing weekend reading these lovelies: book 1 is The Legend of Lady MacLaoch and Book 2 is The Legend of the Viking. Want to go on vacation but can't? Have you been to Scotland and want to remember all the luscious memories? Romance fan? Craving adventure and figuring out how to break curses? BOOM! Magic awaits you within these pages... this series has it all. Get ready to fall in love. Plus, Ms. Banks has other books you can read while we wait for book 3!

Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary & The London Séance Society

 Hello Dear Readers, 

Sarah Penner’s book covers are GORGEOUS. I was drawn to them immediately. Honestly, I wanted them in my To Be Read pile for their beauty alone. LOL! Guess what! I’ve read them and happy I did so! I’m justified in looking at them on my Read bookshelf now. Sarah Penner is not only a talented author, she is a historian who can weave fascinating stories to share her research into the arcane, magical, scientific and dubious pockets of potential women in history. I love English mysteries and throwing in some murder, mayhem, investigations and unexplainable twists, is an instant draw and celebrated success for a successful reading escape. 

           

I will say that I enjoyed The Lost Apothecary the most. I loved bouncing from 18th century London to present day and trying to figure out how the stories would be woven together. I knew there had to be a connecting point and it was fantastic. While I also enjoyed The London Séance Society, in the end, all I could think (and still do) was “No wonder Houdini hated these people and was haunted yet still drawn to them!”

Vacations and Books

 Hello Dear Readers, 

Vacations and books… How do you decide what books to bring? What genre, what author, how many?! If you are like me and know you will need more than one book, picking books for vacation can turn into its own separate packing list and challenge.

 I find when I have a vacation in the works, I start worrying and dreaming about what books I’ll bring, especially if I am traveling on an airplane. I know if I’m on an airplane I read paper books all the way. No one will tell me to close my book for takeoff and landing. Plus, I like to use my book to put my boarding passes in, receipts, ticket stubs, photos of my loved ones, brochures and maps of places we visit, etc. The book(s) turns into a type of treasure box for the here and now as well as in the future when your fingers dance across it on your shelves.

With my vacation coming closer, I start scouring my To Read pile at home, then my wish lists on Goodreads. I know, like packing outfits based on the weather and destination, my desire to read some books might change with my mood and experiences, especially, if my kids are with me, I need something I can jump in and out of but then also something I can dive into during moments I might find time to myself. Do I want new authors or tried and enjoyed authors? Rereads or new reads? And then genre’s?! So many options and questions to fuel a habit that brings you joy. As with any good dragon, I find a corner of my room turning into a hoarded stack of book treasure potentials.  

Then comes the test of timing, as the vacation draws near and is like 2 weeks away- what do I read?! What if I start a book and it is too long and I’m almost done, but *boom* it’s vacation time! I don’t want to carry around a book that will be done within hours of vacation reading time but do I really want to abandon that book at home? I also don’t want to try to sleep at night without my relaxing reading time…  What’s a girl to do!

All these thoughts lead me to my current vacation preparation mode. I’ve been scouring my To Read list and finally, I think, narrowed my books down to 6, see image. I have new authors, authors I know who shouldn’t disappoint me, I have a cross section of genres and a few to stretch me as a reader as any good vacation adventure might do. Now, I can pivot my focus to other packing lists and vacation to- do’s. Phew!

What is your vacation book mode?

Welcome Back! Sorry 2022...

 Hello Dear Readers! 

I fear I have been neglectful... clearly since there are no posts from 2022! I am so sorry. I promise I have been reading books and expanding my mind. I wanted to post about a book that was recommended by my local bookstore. It's an amazing book to just have for your book collection. The book is created to look like an older hardbound book complete with a dewy decimal system sticker for library organizational purposes. Inside is a treasure trove of information to take the reader on an immersive experience. It's tiered too! You have the novel to read, but then you have trinkets tucked into the pages from "other readers" as well as handwritten notes in the margins from two people trying to solve the mystery! It is epic! It also will take dedicated time to sit down, absorb, and unravel. I figure when my kids are in middle or high school I will get some time to sit and enjoy. While we, or rather while I, wait, I am going to try and add a short video I took of me flipping through my book so you can see how amazing it is! Fingers crossed the video works! 

The novel is called S by J.J. Abrams and it is about: 

"One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown.

THE BOOK: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V. M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

THE WRITER: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world’s greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumours that swirl around him.

THE READERS: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they’re willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears."

 

Dear Readers,

As 2021 comes to a close, how is everyone doing with their reading goals, if you made one? I am happy to share that I have met and exceeded my reading goal for 2021! I have been tracking it through the ever helpful and magnificent bibliophile life organizer: Goodreads. My 2021 reading goal was to read 70 books in any form: paper, eBook or audiobook. I am happy to gush I have read 100 books! Now I have to decide what to set as my 2022 reading goal…. I will likely go with the goal of reading 75 for 2022. Let me know what you pick! If you track differently, please share how you do, I would love to know.  

I wish you and yours a very happy new year! I pray you are safely snuggled in your homes with a cozy blanket, lights twinkling merrily around you, a yummy drink to sip and a book (hopefully it’s an amazing story to kick off the new year within) to disappear into.

Happy New Years!