By Golly, Ollie!

💾 a blog about books, tea, & geekery

Tag: lists

  • 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?

  • Tea Talk with Author Kristin Bartley Lenz

    Tea Talk with Author Kristin Bartley Lenz

    kbl
    Kristin Bartley Lenz, super awesome tea drinker and author of The Art of Holding On and Letting Go

    Yesterday, I wrote a rave review for The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz. It’s a wonderful debut novel about loss, the meaning of “home”, and the healing force of nature, rock climbing, and friendship. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene where the main character, Cara Jenkins, sips on peppermint tea to soothe her nerves before a rock climbing competition. It was such a small detail, but it was one that helped me connect with the character almost instantly. I’m a sucker for peppermint tea too! Although, while I do appreciate that it can have a calming affect, I actually tend to drink peppermint tea whenever I’m working on projects that require creativity (it gets those creative juices flowing!).

    As it turns out, Kristin Bartley Lenz is a tea drinker too, and to celebrate the release of her book, The Art of Holding On and Letting Go (WHICH IS OUT TODAY, SO GO GET IT NOW!), Books & Tea happily presents you a guest post by Kristin Bartley Lenz, which is about her discovery of loose leaf tea, some of her favorite types of tea, as well as a visit to a tea plantation… in China (so lucky!).

    I have always preferred tea over coffee. Sleepy Time and Good Earth were my first favorites, but I’m not sure I even knew loose leaf tea existed until I entered Far Leaves tea shop in Berkeley, CA in my late twenties. The shop was new, only a few blocks from my house, and I wandered in out of curiosity soon after they opened. The owner was preparing tea gaiwan style and offering tastes in tiny round cups. Green, white, and oolongs from China and Taiwan – I discovered a whole new world of tea beyond the little bags and boxes I had known.

    Here are my current 5 favorite teas:

    1. One of my everyday favorites is Wenshan Baozhong, an oolong that’s almost green from Taiwan. It’s a great tea for beginners because it doesn’t become terribly bitter if you oversteep it, and it lasts for multiple infusions in one day. It’s often described as light and sweet with hints of melon, elderflower, and grass.
    2. A few years ago, a doctor recommended I drink white tea because of its high antioxidant levels, and White Peony became a new everyday favorite, especially during the warmer spring and summer months. This Chinese tea is also known as Bai Mu Dan or Pai Mu Tan. There are no actual peony flowers in this tea, but it does have a slightly floral aroma. The Fragrant Leaf is one of my favorite online teashops and they have an inexpensive organic White Peony.
    3. My most recent favorite tea is Dragonwell or Longjing, a pan-fired green tea with distinctive flat leaves, and I was actually able to see these tea plants on a trip to China last year! My good friends, Monique and John, are on a two-year assignment for work in China, and their first stop was Hangzhou, a region known for Longjing tea. The tea wasn’t being harvested on the day I visited, but the tea fields were beautiful.
    4. I don’t drink as much Pearl Jasmine green tea as I used to, but it’s still a favorite to share with friends, especially if they’re just learning to like green tea. The fragrance is intoxicating, and it’s fun to watch the leaves unfurl from the tight pearls as it steeps.
    5. My favorite winter tea is this rooibos-based Herbal Chai. It brews to a gorgeous red hue and has a slight peppery kick, depending on how long you steep it. This is the only tea I drink with honey and milk, especially coconut milk – yum! Guaranteed to warm you up on a gloomy, frigid day.

    I know, I said five, but I can’t stop – one more! Silver Needle is a white tea that can be kind of meh, but I stumbled upon a wonderfully fragrant, rich version at an organic, biodynamic tea farm in Traverse City, Michigan. Yes, Michigan! I didn’t know it was possible to grow tea here. Their story is on their website, and their tea is expensive, but it’s truly a very special treat.

    Enjoy!

    Kristin Lenz

    Thank you so much to Kristin Bartley Lenz for writing this guest post (and for putting Light of Day in Traverse City, MI on my map!). I also have to say, the rooibos-based Herbal Chai sounds absolutely divine (and a must-have to get me through the impending winter months here in Michigan).

    the art of holding on and letting go book coverThe Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz is available September 12, 2016 — today! Snag your copy here:

    Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | IndieBound

    Connect with Kristin Bartley Lenz:

    Website | Goodread | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

  • Five Reasons Why You Should Read Ms Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

    Five Reasons Why You Should Read Ms Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

    Ms Marvel and Bat GirlA few years ago, I was invited to volunteer at Trunk or Treat with an old high school buddy of mine. The theme was “Superheroes”, so the gymnasium of her church was crawling with DC and Marvel characters. She was Batgirl, I was Ms Marvel, and there was even a special appearance by Superbaby. But, I have to admit, I felt like a fraud because I hadn’t actually read a Ms Marvel comic. Ever.

    I ended up purchasing and reading a copy of Ms Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson, and I was in total awe. She was this nerdy, Pakistani-American teenager grappling not only with her identity as an American and a person of color but also with her newly discovered super power. It was a more powerful story than I could have expected, and I so terribly wanted to read on in this comic series.

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  • Ten Ways to Avoid Being Productive on a Snow Day

    Snow Day

    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that snow days are still exciting even when one is an adult. Unless, of course, your employer is cruel and still makes you drive to work despite the foot of snow on the ground. I’ve been there too, and I feel for you. However, let me briefly boast that my employer is not cruel.

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  • Looking Back on Books in 2015

    Happy New Years(1)

    You know what? 2015 was a pretty great year. Aside from accomplishing some great leaps in terms of adulting (my own place, my own car, building up my savings account, and talking Jon into enrolling into 401(k)), it was also a great year for reading. Do you think one’s outlook on life influences the way the read and review books? Because I look back at my reviews between 2011 and 2014 (a rather dark period in my life), and all the books I reviewed were for the most part mediocre or sub par. However in 2015, I’ve given, for the most part, glowing reviews for the books I’ve read. Or, perhaps I’ve just gotten better at picking out books to read. Whatever the reason, it made my final post of the year quite a challenge because I had a hard time choosing my favorite books of the year.

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  • What I’m Really Doing When I’m Reading

    What I’m Really Doing When I’m Reading

    Aside from being a notorious book polygamist and a moody reader, I am also a distracted reader. This explains why I’m 17 books behind schedule for my Goodreads Reading Challenge. That and Dragon Age: Inquisition, other blogs, and the sudden desire to binge-watch episodes of Supernatural on Netflix every time my hand touches a book. Unlike many passionate readers though, I have a hard time getting sucked in to the world between the pages because I have an attention span of a gnat. This is what I’m really doing when I’m reading:

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  • Five Reasons Why Magical Cats are Awesome (and Five Reasons Why My Non-Magical Cat is Awesome)

    Five Reasons Why Magical Cats are Awesome (and Five Reasons Why My Non-Magical Cat is Awesome)

    In Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly, amateur sleuth, Kathleen Paulson, has two magical cats, Hercules and Owen; one can turn himself invisible, one can walk through walls and closed doors, and as you can imagine, this makes searching for clues easier. Not to mention, Hercules and Owen are such charismatic kitties, that I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have magical kitties myself

    Five Reasons Why Magical Cats are Awesome

    1. Magical cats can walk through doors and walls (kind of like a ghost), so they could get themselves out of locked up walk-in closets if they sneaked in there while I was getting ready for work. I lost count of how many times Fargo got himself locked up in my closet only to be let out after I got home from work.
    2. Magical cats could help me find important things that I’ve lost like my laundry card, my keys, or my chapstick.
    2. We could solve mysteries together…if I ever picked up sleuthing as a hobby.
    4. They could turn themselves invisible, so I wouldn’t have to pay pet fees at my apartment. Not sure how I would explain the litter box though…
    5. I could communicate with my magical cats. Kathleen swears her cats understand her; then again, she could just be a crazy cat lady.

    Five Reasons Why My Non-Magical Cat is Awesome

    1. He doesn’t have expensive taste. He prefers not to eat the expensive brand of cat food, and he is capable of entertaining himself with an ocassional stray gum wrapper.
    2. He is like a security system because he hates everyone but Jon and I, and he immediately starts growling and hissing when a stranger walks through the door.
    3. He makes me feel good about my cooking because he wants to eat everything I make I’m eating.
    4. He is the antithesis to a lap cat (and he doesn’t like to be pet), which makes the moments he curls up on my knees extra special. Granted, it’s usually in the wintertime, and he’s probably just a little chilled…
    5. He sits like this in the armchair, and I find that extremely amusing:

    Fargo Sitting

  • Favorite Reads of 2014

    Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, and poses the question “What was your favorite read from 2014?”

    exiled

    This is an easy answer because I read so few books in 2014. My resolution to read more in 2015 will be a breeze to attain! But, I digress. Of the books I reviewed in 2014, The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima was my favorite. It’s a rare occasion that I so eagerly pick up the second book in a series, but after finishing the Demon King back in 2013, I simply could not wait to start reading the Exiled Queen. The Seven Realms series makes high fantasy accessible to readers who have had poor experiences with the genre in the past because it is an action-packed story with the perfect blend of world building and character development. I already have the Grey Wolf Throne, and you better believe I will be reading that in 2015!

    The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz book cover

    The next of my favorite reads from 2014 does not show up on my blog, and that is The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz. This was a fluff book that I read back in May when Spring was holding tight to Michigan. It was one of the first warm days of the year, so I slathered on some sunscreen and sat out by the lake for a few hours. I devoured the book in one sitting because it was just one of those books that made you feel good about everything, and I did not want that feeling to end.

    writing in books

    I felt so inspired by The Summer I Saved the World that I ended up writing all over the inside of the front cover of the book. I wrote about the perfect day and the people floating by on boats and my fear of missed connections because that’s what this book was about in a way– missed connections. Or rather, it’s about a young girl who sees a community full of missed connections, so she decides to do random acts of kindness to bring that community back together. It’s hard to explain, but in a way, this book saved my world during summer of 2014. It’s a book that I will carry with me forever.

    What was your favorite read of 2014?

  • Top Ten Books I Read in 2011 (er…Top 8)

    1. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
    I haven’t posted a review of this book, but expect one soon. I think this book goes down as my favorite book of the year. It’s got so many things I love– strong female characters, steampunk themes, political unrest, and zombies.

    2. Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
    The book was full of beautiful language and the mystery kept me guessing all the way through. I devoured this book almost in a single sitting, so it’s a no-brainer for me to put this on my list. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book!

    3. Textual Healing by Eric Smith
    This book was filled with memorable characters, but it was the fact that this book actually made me laugh out loud like no other book has done that earned it a spot on this list.

    4. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maeberry
    This zombie story was unique to all others I’ve been introduced to. It’s not all about the blood and guts, and Maeberry successfully humanizes the flesh-eating monsters. Awesome characters like Nix and the Lost Girl also help!

    5. The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno
    This was the book that started it all. Kinda. It was the first book I ever reviewed here at B&T. Plus, I’ve not read a Joe Meno book yet that has let me down.

    6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
    This is another book I haven’t reviewed here at B&T, but the awesomeness of this book really goes without saying. I can’t believe I waited this long to read it!

    7.  The Candidates by Inara Scott
    Ohmygosh! I miss Dancia and Jack and the secrets of Delcroix Academy. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment.

    8. Any Witch Way by Annastaysia Savage
    The world created in Any Witch Way was wonderful, and I loved learning about all the magical creatures and all of the magical items. But, world building and back story didn’t outshine all of the wonderful characters. That’s what made this book such a wonderful fantasy novel.