Five Things to Tell You Vol. 14
Well, hello there! So happy to see you today! Settle in with your favorite snack and let’s dive in …
Last weekend I course-corrected my reading after being brought dangerously low from Parable of the Sower ~ I needed lighter and happier, and quick. These two reads were both amazing mood-lifters!
Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday was on my most anticipated list for the beginning of the year, and it did not disappoint. I LOVED this mature romance set at a Northern Minnesota arts camp. Characters in their late 30s, midlife reckonings, so much talk of cronehood, a male lead showing vulnerability. Hooray for grown up romance characters, a thick-thighed heroine, and summer camp relationships!
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison is the first in a new series and such a treat on audio! I love Borison’s Lovelight Farms series, and was excited but nervous about this new series starter ~ what if I didn’t like it as much? Thank goodness, my worries were quickly put to rest. This story is completely different from Lovelight, but equally stellar ~ this time around, Borison gives us a love letter to Baltimore, a single mother mechanic + radio show host pairing, and all around a refreshingly unique romance. I am excited to see what comes next in this series!
Speaking of romance, did you catch my inclusion in a recent Book Riot piece? If not, head on over and check out How Libraries and Librarians Support Romance now!
My friends, you're either going to love this one or hate it, and please don't bother picking up All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman if you require mother figures in your books to be well-behaved. I firmly fall into the LOVED IT camp and absolutely devoured this light mystery story in two sittings.
You need a sense of humor, a whole lot of empathy, and a willingness to just sit back and enjoy the ride with this one! If you liked Finlay Donovan in her first book but want more sex and drugs and fewer minivans, this is the mom-mystery story for you. Such a fun read!
The podcast I texted everyone about on Monday because I inhaled all six episodes straight through that morning … Scam Factory. I even paid for Wondery+ just to be able to listen to episodes 5 and 6 immediately.
My absolute podcast documentary catnip. My friends and family may laugh at me for being so emphatic about them NEEDING to listen to this immediately, but they are all now safe from human trafficking and text scams, thankyouverymuch. Seriously. Listen!
Last Sunday I had a very productive kitchen day, for the first time in a month. I made my favorite homemade granola, a huge batch of soft apples*, chia pudding** and a brand-new-to-me snickerdoodle recipe. Some days I can’t bear to even think about cooking, and some days I make everything at once!
*soft apples are simply chopped up apples (peels on!) simmered with a little bit of water, brown sugar and cinnamon until the apples are very soft, but still hold their shape. I adore these with a scoop of homemade granola, microwaved for about 45 seconds, and then topped with Cool-Whip. It’s basically apple crisp ~ yum!
**enough for first-breakfasts for the week! I just make the basic recipe here (found on the back of the chia seed package) using 1 part half and half and 2 parts skim milk, mostly because that’s what I had on hand. If I had whole milk I would have just used that! I use maple syrup for the sweetener and skip the cinnamon.
I am excited (relieved) to announce that I have made some adjustments to my news consumption lately, and I think that it is helping my political outlook and mindset stay a bit steadier. Rather than endlessly doomscrolling the headlines on the NYT and Guardian apps on my phone, I have shifted to making time to read the newsletters listed below on my computer, and only give myself 5ish minutes per day of headline scrolling. I am currently really appreciating coverage that is presenting a more level-headed and practical take on political events, with doses of humor and absurdity sprinkled in for good measure.
Current Political(ish) Newsletters
The Logoff (from Vox)
I also take the time to read and then do one of the action items every weekday from the Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter. I don’t know if it has made any difference in Washington, but it certainly has given me back a semblance of a sense of control. My elected representatives (or their assistants) are definitely going to get familiar with my name!
Also, have you seen We the Builders?
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading! Please feel free to reply to this email or use the link below to leave a comment to chime in about any of these things, or to share one of your own things ♡
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing those newsletters! I read the NYT Daily every morning but I like the idea of subscribing to one or two more that are more political. These seem great!
I just read First-Time Caller and ADORED it! As a Baltimorean, it was particularly fun so I'm glad to hear that someone who lives elsewhere seemed to enjoy it just as much. And I've added Into the Woods to my immediate TBR – you had me at "midlife reckonings" and "cronehood." I'm always here for a romance about people in their 30s and beyond.
Oh yay! I'm so happy to hear that First Time Caller represents Baltimore authentically - it's hard to know about cities I have never been to :-) I can't wait to hear what you think about Into the Woods!