Category: books

Posted on

The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 1

Linus Baker is a solitary man who lives with his cat and enjoys old records. He works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and is sent to observe and report on one of the orphanages run by the department. This classified assignment is unique because this orphanage is home to six dangerous children and an enigmatic caretaker named Arthur Parnassus.What follows is a delightful tale of discovery and understanding.

This book is just the sort of thing I would have loved as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 50-something adult. I especially identified with Linus and his longing for beauty and connection, but all of the characters were wonderfully drawn and the story is enchanting. The social commentary is on point but not overdone as well.

I highly recommend this book and am already reading the sequel.

Posted on

Author Spotlight: Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is an author who never disappoints. I always enjoy her books – they are full of colorful characters and heartwarming stories with both humor and a bit of social commentary mixed in. Her Southern charm shines through all of her work.

She is most famous for her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and for writing the award-winning screenplay for the film adaptation, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” I can’t actually remember whether I read the book or saw the movie first; either way, I am glad I came across her and have been able to enjoy her books over the years. I have read all of them except the short stories published last year.

Flagg has written eleven books to date:

Whistle Stop Series

  • Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987)
  • The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop (2020)

Elmwood Springs Series

  • Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! (1998)
  • Standing in the Rainbow (2002)
  • Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven (2006)
  • The Whole Town’s Talking (2016)

Standalone Novels

  • Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man (1981)
  • A Redbird Christmas (2004)
  • I Still Dream About You (2010)
  • The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion (2013)

Short Stories

  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions (2025)
Posted on

ICYMI: Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig

ICYMI: my quest to highlight books you may have missed

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig contains twelve books, which were published between 2004 and 2015. I learned about the series in 2013 from my former college roommate and quickly became enamored with them.

The series starts out with present day doctoral student Eloise Kelly, who travels from America to England to study the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, two spies from the Napoleonic Wars. As she digs into her research, she discovers the secret history of the Pink Carnation, an elusive spy who saved England from Napoleon. From there, the story focuses on the intrigues of the Pink Carnation, occasionally coming back to the present to follow Eloise’s journey. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this series with its mix of mystery and romance. Highly recommend checking it out!

Posted on

Butterfly Inn

Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth is the first book in her new series, Butterfly Lane. It is set in the same location as the Bella Beach series she just wrapped up and includes many of the same characters as that series. 

I enjoyed the book; it was a fun, quick read. I did feel that she spent a lot of time setting things up and explaining who everyone was, but that’s not unexpected when starting a series.

Posted on

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon is book 1 of The Deed of Paksenarrion and was published in 1988. I originally read this as a teenager shortly after it first came out, so this was a reread for me, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

If you enjoy high fantasy, this book would be a great choice for you. Moon wrote it after playing Dungeons & Dragons, and it reads like the best D&D campaign you could want to be involved with. 

One thing that really caught my attention was that the main character, who goes by Paks for short, is asexual and aromantic. I don’t remember hearing those terms back then, but her orientation is very clear in the book and is understood and accepted by the other characters.

I am so glad I decided to reread this one, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Posted on

What I’m Reading – February 2026

What I’m Reading Now

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles #1) – I have seen this book around a lot and decided to give it a try.

How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy by Terran Williams – Good book but pretty dry. I keep avoiding going back to it, so I may have to skim the rest.

What I Recently Finished

  • The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey (Elemental Masters #18)
  • Christmas Wedding at Bella Beach by Kate Wentworth (Bella Beach #8)
  • The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms
  • Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das
  • The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg
  • The Dandelion and the Thistle by Pip Dolyn
  • Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #1)
  • Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth (Butterfly Lane #1)

What I Added to my TBR

  • Driving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison
  • Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin
  • Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Fury in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death #63)
  • The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain
  • Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg
  • Chasing the Clouds Away by Debbie Macomber
  • Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
  • Book Club at Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth (Butterfly Lane #2)
  • Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #2)
  • Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion #3)
  • Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
  • This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kay Mills

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 184 books on my TBR. Of these, 7 are nonfiction and 177 are fiction.
  • I have read 8 books so far in 2026. My goal is 100.
  • I have not finished any nonfiction books so far in 2026. My goal is 6.
  • I am still on my 3-month free trial of Kindle Unlimited. I have read 12 books on KU so far and have 2 currently borrowed. I only have 1 more book planned to borrow, so I should be able to cancel before the free trial is over.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
Posted on

Bookish Question: DNF

Bookish Question: How do you decide when to DNF a book?

I ask this because I recently had my first DNF of 2026. It was women’s fiction, which is normally right up my alley, but I picked it up twice and both times just felt stressed out by it. 

I am not going to name the book, but I will say that I found the situation the main character was in to be very stressful and I also thought the book was kind of dated. When I checked my progress in the Libby app, I was only at 10%, but I just decided to be done with it. I have plenty of other books on my TBR.

I feel a mild sense of guilt about this, although I will say that is a vast improvement over where I was a decade ago when I wouldn’t have considered not finishing a book. So that makes me curious how other people decide when and why to DNF a book.

Posted on

The Dandelion & The Thistle

The Dandelion & The Thistle by Pip Dolyn

Most of the time these days I read in short bursts, usually while I am having a meal, but I could not put this book down. I was so invested in the friendship and possible romance between Addison and Colin that I just had to keep reading until I got to the end.

Addison and Colin meet at Makers Market, a monthly market for local artists. Addison has been there forever and is the go-to person for anyone who needs anything, and Colin is a new vendor who is trying to make ceramics his full time job. Over time, they become friends and explore the potential for a romantic relationship.

This book has its share of lighthearted fun, but there are also a lot of serious topics raised as the two share their stories with each other and learn how to navigate around each other’s unique characteristics and past trauma. The author has a note at the beginning of the book listing the sensitive topics so you can decide whether you are comfortable reading it. It is also an open-door romance.

I felt like Addison was autistic-coded, but I don’t want to read anything into the story that wasn’t there, so I will just say I could relate to them in a lot of ways.

One neat thing about the ebook is the inclusion of several song playlists Colin makes for Addison. There are links to them for both Apple Music and Spotify so you can listen to them yourself, which is really cool.

Posted on

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers, and I really enjoy her short stories. She has a way of telling (mostly) women’s stories that brings out the deeper truths behind our mundane lives. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation is a collection of thirteen stories, with one bonus story in the edition I read. Several of them, as you might guess from the title of the book, are about our relationship with food.

My favorite story was “How to Make An Apple Pie,” which is a letter from an older woman named Flo to Ruthie, a neighbor’s daughter who has moved away. Ruthie’s mother has asked Flo to send her recipe for apple pie, and Flo does so in the form of a meandering letter filled with memories of their times together and a lot of exposition on the making of the recipe. I would love to have Flo as my neighbor lady. The bonus story was another letter from Flo to Ruthie entitled “P.S.” where she talks about how to have a dinner party without being a nervous wreck. So good!

One of the quotes that really spoke to me was from “Sin City,” about a woman named Rita who takes a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas: 

“But time does not hold still, and Rita thinks now that it’s a blessing, she thinks that what it means is that your life is free to make or unmake every day.”

To go along with that quote, Berg shares this in the Reader’s Guide: “I like to celebrate the things in life that make it worth plowing through each day.”

I love books like this that allow me to reflect on my life in comparison to what is going on in each of the characters’ lives and that affirm the choice to keep pushing forward and make new decisions when we need to. Highly recommend!

Posted on

Never Meant to Stay

Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das is a romantic comedy set in Delhi, and I loved it! I especially loved everything about the female main character, Samara. She is capable and kind and fun, and I wish I had her ability to make people feel cared for and encouraged. Sharav, the male main character, is a good man who has been carrying the burden of leading his family since his father died. In an effort to be responsible, he has found a suitable woman and gotten engaged.

When Samara needs a place to stay before returning to New York, she comes to live with Sharav’s family for a while. Finding them all still grieving their husband and father in different ways, she looks for ways to help them through it. 

I am so glad I picked up this book. The characters were well developed and interesting, and I enjoyed the setting and culture. The story was fun and warm, and I thought the romantic aspect of it was well done.