By Golly, Ollie!

  • I’m Nervous About Starting This Book

    I’m Nervous About Starting This Book

    A dense fog has sunk into mid-Michigan this week. It’s made my new, 30-mile commute dreadful and the woods across the street from my house particularly spooky. Perhaps the ominous atmosphere is what drove me to pluck Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris from the library shelf on Saturday. Or, perhaps it was the glitter on the book cover. Regardless the reason, now that I’ve sat down to read the novel, I find myself nervous to open the book. This is what I know about the Sookie Stackhouse series:

    1. It’s wildly popular. They even turned it into a TV show.
    2. It’s a pretty steamy series.
    3. There is a vampire in it (multiple vampires?), which immediately increases the probability that I will loathe the book.

    So, here I am procrastinating by blogging and drinking tea that tastes more like the sweet clovers I tasted in late Springtime in Ohio when I was a child than something that should accompany a novel about vampires. Even if said novel has glitter on the front cover.

    doomni-summer-oolong

    Today I drink Doomni Summer Oolong from Teabox Tea, which is from the Assam region, an area known for its malty, black tea rather than its Oolong. The dry leaves are a beautiful blend of dark green, rusty-brown, and taupe, and they smell creamy, sweet, and soft. The flavor of the tea is reminiscent of the red clover flowers that I used to taste growing up in Ohio– slightly vegetal and slightly honeyed sweet. I also pick up a very subtle floral flavor– jasmine, maybe? The package mentions there should also be some minty notes, but I do not taste it. Basically, Doomni Summer Oolong tastes like Springtime, and it seems to cut through the fog wrapped around soggy tree trunks. This tea is best sipped hot, but if you’re going to nurse it, you can add some honey to cut the bitterness that surfaces as it cools.

    Have you ever been so nervous to start a new book that you found yourself procrastinating?

  • My New Library Still Rubber Stamps the Due Dates On All of the Books

    My New Library Still Rubber Stamps the Due Dates On All of the Books

    I think the thing that surprised me most about my local library was how many people were there. Then again, in a village of about 3,000 people, what else is there to do on a Saturday morning in the middle of January? This particular Saturday was “balmy”– overcast and nearly 50 degrees. I would have pried open windows, as Michiganders are wont to do during brief spells of unseasonably warm weather, but all of my windows are missing screens. So…I decided to walk to the library instead, which happens to be a short zig-zag away from my house. I mean, it probably took me a whole minute to walk there.

    Now, the library I used to visit in the capital city was a big, brand new building with high ceilings, couches, and a fireplace, and you could easily maneuver the stacks without bumping into anyone. My new library is a small brick building tucked beside the fire department. The front lawn is decorated with some awkward scarecrow made out of white fence pieces and a blow-up snowman that looks tacky now that Christmas is a month behind us. Inside is cozy though, perhaps a little dark in some corners, and almost over-stuffed with books, if such a thing were possible. Patrons included a man with a scraggly beard playing on the computers, an elderly woman, who has traced her ancestry back to the 1400s so far, and a middle-aged woman, who had just won $40 on a scratch-off lottery ticket, and the first thing she thought to do with the money was pay her library fine so she could borrow books again.

    Even though the selection of books isn’t nearly as vast as my old library, I still managed to spend an hour perusing the stacks. This weekend’s library loot includes:

    • Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison — I read this over ten years ago when I was still in high school; I wonder if it’s still as funny as I remember.
    • Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel — a sci-fi novel told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles. I’ve not had any luck with epistolary novels lately, but we’ll see if this one is different.
    • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz — because it’s about time I catch up with the rest of the book blogosphere!
    • Dead Until Dark: Sookie Stackhouse #1 by Charlain Harris — because it’s about time I catch up with the rest of the world!
    • the Mental Floss History of the World by Erik Sass and Steve Wiegand — because I’m a nerd.

    If you’re a library-goer, what are some of your favorite things about your library?

  • The Best of 2016
    ,

    The Best of 2016

    Yet another year passes, and I didn’t reach my goal of reading 52 books. How can I call myself a book blogger if I cannot even achieve such a minuscule goal? Surely there is a quota that must be met for this sort of thing. Still, I read some pretty incredible books this year. These books take the cake!

    The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson — I knew this hilarious travel narrative by one of my favorite writers would top the list before I even started reading.

    Open Road Summer by Emery Lord — This novel started out as a two-star read but shifted into a four-star read that changed my perspective on YA Contemporary novels.

    The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie — If you would have told me I was going to read and love this steamy romp through the palace of Versailles, I wouldn’t have believed you, but Sally Christie’s wit and storytelling abilities are irresistible. The final novel in this series, The Enemies of Versailles, is being released this year, and I cannot wait to read it!

    The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson — I still can’t find the words to accurately praise this novel. It is my absolute favorite read of 2016 though.

    The Art of Holding on and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz — This was a beautifully written novel about coping with grief and the healing powers of nature and rock climbing, and Lenz captured the essence of Michigan so perfectly (perhaps because she is a Michigander!).

    Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern — Halpern captures the voice of a fifteen year old girl so vividly in this hilarious contemporary novel about family, friendship, and Dungeons & Dragons.

    Pique Tea Crystals — It’s a toss-up between their Earl Grey and their Mint Sencha, but Pique Tea Crystals is perfect for brewing a cup of iced tea on the go.

    Lemon Soleil Tea from Adagio Teas — The bright and lemony black tea was, without a doubt, my absolute favorite tea to sip on in 2016!

    Reading Nook Blend by Plume Deluxe — Just as the name of the tea suggests, this floral scented tea is perfect for keeping cozy while reading.

    Charcoal-baked Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea from Tea Vivre — This is another dreamy, floral-flavored tea that makes me wish Springtime were right around the corner.

    Thai Chai Tea from Adagio Teas — this spicy and creamy blend of black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, dried coconut, cardamom, and lemon grass kept me warm this Autumn.

    What were some of your favorite Books & Tea in 2016?

  • Where Have I Been?

    Where Have I Been?

    I have been a very bad blogger these past few months, but gosh! the end of the year has been a whirlwind– Nay! A tornado! I could express my dismay for neglecting my blog, but who wants to read about that? Here is the juicy stuff:

    Jackie & Jon Get Hitched!

    Remember back in January when I announced that I baked delicious blackberry mini-pies and also got engaged? Well, Jon and I sealed the deal on October 22, 2016! We had a small outdoor wedding among crimson and golden mums and trees that were beginning to change color. The ceremony was short and sweet, which is a relief because I spent most of it crying in front of 60 of our closest friends and relatives. Plus, it was a bit chilly, but at least it didn’t rain! Or more impressively, at least it didn’t snow.

    Then we herded indoors to a warm room decorated with copper and teal to feast on lasagna (because I like to live dangerously in a white dress) and wedding pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company (because wedding cake is so overrated) while sipping apple cider.

    I also engaged in awkward conversation because I have as much social grace as a hermit crab.

    We moved!

    Back in September, Jon and I both took a step up in the company we work for. My manager left, so I am officially THE accountant. So far, I haven’t lost my mind entirely, but the first two months were a bit rocky. Jon transferred to another franchise about an hour away to take on the role of the Move Manager (and to put this in context, we work for a moving company). Needless to say, spending two hours each day commuting was becoming draining for him, so we plopped down right in the middle.

    We relocated from the state’s capital, which (only) had about 100,000 citizens, to a literal village of less than 3,000 citizens. But, I think life here will be more my speed (which is about 25 mph on most streets “in town”).

    We moved on New Years Eve day, rang in the New Years by sleeping through the ball drop, and then enjoyed a hearty breakfast at a diner called the Feed Bag, which is situated across the street from a grain elevator and a livestock feed depot. It’s the kind of restaurant that has customers that greet you when you walk through the door even if you’re a stranger. They order “the usual” and talk about how they’re eating early today because their husband has to teach both of the children’s’ church services that morning. The one waitress working joins in on conversations at the tables and even offers you a coffee to go before you even realized you wanted one. Perhaps most importantly, they have delicious sausage gravy.

    The unpacking process is moving slowly, so I do not have pictures yet. But, I’m happy to announce…I finally have bookshelves!

    I’ve missed you, dear readers! How did you ring in the New Year?

  • A Modern Adaptation of a Gothic Classic | The Turning by Francine Prose

    A Modern Adaptation of a Gothic Classic | The Turning by Francine Prose

    I am a slow reader. I mean, a slooooooooooow reader. I am also a distracted reader, so the fact that I even maintain a book blog is kind of a feat. Truly! I read about how other bloggers devour entire libraries in a year, and in five years, I could count the number of books I’ve read in a single day on one hand (The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, the Wrap-up List by Steven Arnston, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern, Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie). Well, I’m happy to say, I have one more book to add to this list. Er…sort of happy, anyway.

    the-turning-coverThe Turning by Francine Prose

    Released: September 2015
    Publisher: Harper Teen
    ★★☆☆☆
    Add to Goodreads

    Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

    Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn’t anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn’t crazy. . . . Or is he?

    From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes a mind-bending story that will leave you realizing how subtle the lines that separate reality, imagination, and insanity really are.

    The first thing you should know about the Turning by Francine Prose is that it is an adaptation of the gothic novella, The Turning of the Screw by Henry James (this was assigned reading in high school, but of course I read Sparknotes instead). The second thing you should know is The Turning is an epistolary novel told through an exchange of letters between Jack and his girlfriend. The third thing you should know is the Turning has an absolutely promising first half…and then it all falls apart (sort of like Jack’s sanity).

    What makes the first half of the novel so intriguing is the low-key creepy factor. Like the fact that Jack can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched. Or the children, whose behavior is just ever slightly abnormal, hid a photograph of the last baby sitter with her face scratched out, and this somehow makes the children scarier than Regan from The Exorcist. Or the feeling that their other caretaker isn’t being 100% honest about the island, the house, or the children.

    Eventually, the isolation of the island starts to drive Jack mad though. He becomes paranoid and accuses his girlfriend of cheating on him, which is annoying. Then he starts seeing the ghost of a young woman, and he falls in love with her. Aside from his madness being too over the top for me, I just didn’t buy into it. I mean, the story takes place in 21st century America, so that kind of isolation is far-fetched.

    Still, I managed to read this book in one sitting, so I feel like that says something, right? Or else it just means that 250 pages is just short enough that even a distracted reader like me can make it to the ending.

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.