Author: Jackie
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Books My Seven-Year-Old Son Has Enjoyed, Lately
My son reads above grade level, but he is ever the reluctant reader. It doesn’t matter how often I model the behavior I wish to see (which is quite often), he would just…rather do something other than read. The minute my son expresses any interest in a book though, I make a mental note to…
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Ohio on my Mind
The Kiddo spent Spring Break visiting grandparents in Ohio, and last Easter weekend, I drove down to pick him up. When I got into the car at our home in Michigan, it was 38 degrees. When I arrived at my family’s home in Ohio three hours later, it was 70 degrees! We then spent the…
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What I’ve Been Thinking About, Lately
I’ve been thinking about the marble that used to scroll across the top of my Expage back in 1999. I’ve been thinking about running. I’ve been thinking about hiking. Or rather turning myself into a hiker. I’ve been thinking about Antarctica. Both the continent and the one my son and I made from magic clay.…
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Teas to Sip While Reading A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong
I don’t know when or why this changed, but lately I struggle to read fiction novels. These days, it takes actual effort to read beyond 50 pages of most books. By the time I do, the library book is usually overdue. I can’t tell if I’ve suddenly become bad at choosing books or if reading…
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Lately in Books, Tea, & Geekery
I love the brevity of a month-in-review kind of post– the ones where bloggers share the podcasts/albums/books/events/video games they consumed recently but without an accompanying thousand-word analysis of the experience. I used to compose posts like this (read: Five March Favorites), but I am so, so terrible at sticking to structured content calendars. So, here…
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7 Graphic Novels I Can’t Stop Thinking About
A few years ago, I plucked an unsuspecting graphic novel from a shelf at the library–The Sacrifice of Darkness by Roxanne Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver, Rebecca Kirby, and James Fenner. I remember this graphic novel being solidly okay, but it encouraged me to actively seek out graphic novels going forward. Now I bring one home…
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Teas to Sip While Reading Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne by David Gaider
I am obsessed with the Dragon Age video game series. Like, replay-the-video-games-every-year obsessed. Like, check-for-Dreadwolf-updates-every-other-month-even-though-I-know-there-are-no-new-updates obsessed. Like, would-buy-all-the-Dragon-Age-collectibles-if-I-did’t-have-to-be-responsible-with-money obsessed. Dragon Age is a fantasy role-playing video game series that takes place on the continent of Thedas. The video games focus on the events that take place during the 100 years of the Dragon Age: Beyond…
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Teas to Sip While Reading Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
I used to be adamant about my distaste for Romance novels. I knew them as the Harlequin Romance novels my mom used to devour alongside Junior Mints on a quiet Sunday afternoon or the bodice rippers one of my friends used to have her nose buried in during high school lunches. I thought they were…
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Teas to Sip While Reading Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Like many folks, or at least like the folks in my liberal echo chamber of the internet, I spent a fair amount of 2020 in lockdown unlearning everything I was taught in U.S. History class. Then I was, at some point, struck with the desire to take a somewhat-chronological deep dive into U.S. History and…
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Finding Balance in a Cup of Phoenix Oolong from DAVIDsTEA
Somehow, 2021 has been a more challenging year than 2020. I feel guilty for saying that for obvious reasons, but 2021 has left me feeling languished and stretched too thin (“like butter scraped over too much bread” as Bilbo Baggins might say). However, amid Oliver’s recent recess from school, I finally found relief. Granted, I…
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By Golly, Ollie! 