By Golly, Ollie!

Good Reads

  • Five Picture Books About Winter We Are Reading This Week

    Five Picture Books About Winter We Are Reading This Week

    Winter is officially here! Although, the weekly forecast might have you wondering if Jack Frost is taking a vacation this year. I can’t believe it was in the 50s on Christmas day here in Michigan! Normally, I love freezing temperatures and plush snowbanks, especially now that I don’t have to drive in inclement weather. It… Read more

  • Five Picture Books About Christmas We Are Reading This Week

    Five Picture Books About Christmas We Are Reading This Week

    Fact: Motherhood has ruined me, and I started listening to Christmas songs on November 1st. I think our Christmas tree went up the following week. In lieu of homemade Christmas cookies, because Oliver has an egg allergy, I stirred up a batch of rice crispy treats in which I dyed the marshmallow fluff green and… Read more

  • The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

    The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

    Years ago, I read Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and what I remember most about it is how mediocre I thought the story was, and after reading through summaries of her other novels, largely formulaic: Girl experiences some kind of hardship and withdraws from the world Girl falls in with a new crowd Girl meets… Read more

  • Murder in the Mystery Suite Book Review

    There is something so delightfully tacky about the book covers for cozy mystery novels. I especially love the book covers that have a beautifully illustrated background but then have other elements from the novel (say, books, a cat, a bicycle) photoshopped in from what I assume are stock photographs. They remind me of the hidden… Read more

  • Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

    Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is one of those books that have been on my TBR list for ages, but I couldn’t remember why. That happens you know – forgetting why I put a book on my wish list? Or that I even put a book on my wish list at all. That started happening… Read more

  • Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

    Warning: this post contains spoilers. Dark Companion by Marta Acosta is book #2 in my READ ALL THE LIBRARY BOOKS challenge, and like my initial reaction to Sign Language by Amy Ackley, when I pulled Dark Companion from the shelf, I was once again disappointed. In fact, I hadn’t even openly declared that I was… Read more

About BGO

Hello, my name is Jackie. I’m a thirty-something mother of a rambunctious toddler from a small town in Michigan. When I’m not toddler-wrangling, I’m often seeking refuge from life’s most chaotic moments in a cup of hot tea. I also love getting lost in stories—both in books and virtually. I enjoy speculative fiction the most, and I am especially eager to read fantasy novels and horror novels. When I’m feeling especially indulgent (usually after everyone in the house has gone to sleep), I like to dive into video games and explore the sprawling worlds in Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect.

Five Star Reads

Lately on IG

Sipping the Rohini First Flush Darjeeling from @mastersteas (gifted). It’s as gorgeous as the springtime sunshine 😌 #tea #instatea #teastagram #teasofinstagram #teablogger #teagram #teapet #gaiwan #gongfucha #totoro #adagioteas #darjeelingtea May was mostly for coffee, but occasionally tea. Like today’s River Red from West China Tea, which reminds me of the way my mom’s purse smelled when I was a kid— like leather and tobacco.⁣ Here is the latest stack of library loot. (Paired with some rather old long jing). Aside from Monsters by Claire Dederer, I’m not ~*excited*~ about anything I picked out 😅. I went in totally unprepared, not thinking my kiddo could keep himself entertained long enough for me to peruse the book stacks. I found myself almost overwhelmed by choices. I think what I want (but didn’t not pick out) is something Summery but NOT something that is romance or a heartfelt contemporary. Or literary fiction because I don’t want to think too hard 😆. I don’t know what that leaves me with though. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them! #tea #teastagram #teasofinstagram #teablogger #booksandtea #gaiwan #greentea #bookstagram #library #librarybooks #bookcommunity Jazzing up some matcha that’s been sitting in my fridge since mid-2020 with some white chocolate raspberry coffee creamer. *chef’s kiss* #tea #instatea #teastagram #teasofinstagram #teablogger #matcha #matchalatte And We Rise⁣ I’ve had the pleasure to taste the Rohini First Flush Darjeeling the past few years, and once more, @mastersteas so graciously sent a free sample my way. It’s always a lovely treat to mark the changing of the seasons.⁣ #currentlyreading | This weekend, I’ve mostly been bouncing back and forth between the House in the Cerulean Sea and the Geography of Nowhere (non-fiction critique of the American suburbs). Also, currently sipping River Red from West China tea, which tastes a bit like the burnt topping on crème brûlée. #teastagram #teasofinstagram #bookstagram #nonfiction #nonfictionbooks #librarybooks It’s blue skies for days! Actually, it’s blue skies just for today followed by six days of rain, but I’m okay with that. We are finally seeing signs of Spring in the village like clusters of tulips in flower beds and pink blossoms on trees. I’ve started to shift away from cozy spiced chai or malty Assam teas and toward anything that begs to be cold brewed— Darjeeling black teas especially. Like this Risheehat Summer Black tea, which is crisp and refreshing and tastes like it’s dripping with honey and fruit 🍯 #tea #instatea #teasofinstagram #darjeelingtea 80 degrees and clear skies beg for jade snail and messy gaiwan pours on the back porch because I suck at brewing up green teas today, and the drama makes it taste better 🙃 #tea #teatime #instatea #teastagram #teasofinstagram #teablogger #teadrinker #teaphotography #teagram #gongfucha #teaoutdoors #greentea

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