Cabin in the City

Books, cats and midwestern charm.

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What I Read // April 2024

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It’s been a really trying month. My mom is gone. I’ve spent a lot of time feeling empty and trying to fill days with low-effort, benign entertainment. Reading often counts. So does Antiques Roadshow.

Nora by Nuala O’Connor • ★★★★☆

Michael and I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in a pretty low-key way: We ate homemade brown bread, shepherd’s pie, and shared a Guinness. We also listened to the Significant Others podcast on Nora Barnacle, James Joyce’s wife. The historian on the show recommended this book, and I figured it was the perfect way to enjoy the rest of the holiday.

From what I understand, not a ton is known about Nora Barnacle. Joyce’s letters to her have survived (and they are absolutely batshit), but her correspondences have been lost. O’Connor does a good job at pasting what is known about Nora together in this rather lengthy book.

A lot of what I’ve read about Nora is that she was uneducated and kind of a bumpkin. O’Connor shows that this certainly couldn’t be true. She portrays Nora as being savvy, smart and stubborn. While Joyce runs around Trieste, Zurich and Paris with his cronies, Nora keeps their life as stable as she can and gives Joyce the space to write.

I think this is a must-read for James Joyce folks.

Death and Croissants by Ian Moore • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

Immediately after my mom died, I needed mental respite. This took form as reruns of Superstore and The Great British Bake Off. It also meant reaching for a genre that I find entertaining but not taxing: a cozy mystery.

Death and Croissants is set in the Loire Valley, a part of France I visited last year. It was enough for me to bite. This little mystery was funny and absolutely full. How Moore managed to fit a chicken-loving innkeeper, nudist swingers, bounty hunters and mafia members into a short book is beyond me; but he did it and it was the respite I needed.

Fever by Mary Beth Keane • ★★★★☆

I’ve read and learned about Typhoid Mary in the past. The way the story goes is that Mary Mallon, an Irish cook and asymptomatic typhoid carrier, went from home to home cooking for families, always leaving death in her wake.

This typical telling makes Mary out to be calculating and cruel. Fever flips this narrative on its head. In Fever, Mary cooks so she can earn a better living than she ever could as a laundress or maid. She cares for the families she works for. When her employers fall ill, she’s saddened but moves on to wherever she’s needed next so she can keep a roof over her head.

This perspective is one I never really thought of. Even Keane’s telling of how Mary continued to cook despite knowing her diagnosis was sympathetic. I think Mary Mallon is due this sort of story.

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand • ★★★★☆

Elizabeth Hand’s Wylding Hall is one of the best-ever moody, spooky reads. I knew that A Haunting on the Hill, a riff on The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, would hit all the right notes.

A Haunting on the Hill had the slow, creepy build that makes so many books and movies perfectly spine-tingling. A woman on vacation comes across the infamous Hill House while on vacation. She is immediately taken with the home, and convinces her girlfriend and a small crew of actors to join as she workshops her upcoming play.

Personal dramas, secrets from the past and general eeriness all start to seep into the rehearsals, and it’s wonderfully spooky. This is a great vacation read — if typical light beach reads aren’t your thing.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // March 2023

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This month, I needed books for escape and support. Here’s what I managed to read and listen to.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell • ★★★★☆

In January, I read Romantic Comedy which is set around an SNL-like show. This month, I read The Golden Spoon which riffs of The Great British Bake-Off. Sometimes these obvious parallels are tedious but not so with either. Instead, they provide a sort of shorthand for the set-up.

In this instance, a handful of bakers arrive at the Grafton estate for a reality competition. From the jump, the show is off: There’s a new host, one baker uses salt instead of sugar and another has a total meltdown over a secret ingredient. And then someone turns up dead. Oh, and all this is on top of maybe another mystery?

I read this in a flash. It was the equivalent of binging five eps of GBBO or inhaling a pretty good chocolate croissant.

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd • ★★★★☆

I read The Club by Lloyd back in 2022. She proved in that book and in her newest outing that she’s a master at slowly revealing the rotten insides of fame and influence.

In People Like Her, Lloyd explores the world of “you do you, mama!” parenting influencer Emmy. Emmy shares her rise to fame from magazine editor to diaper-shilling Instamum. Meanwhile, her husband is disillusioned by her phony stories and perpetually sharing their lives. And a follow or two seem to have it out for her. I couldn’t put this one down.

This book is not for everyone. It deals with a lot of really sensitive and triggering issues like infertility, death and postpartum depression.

The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

I’ve had some trouble lately with books (or movies or TV) that hit a little too close to home. I gave up on a holiday rom-com a few months ago because a character was dealing with memory loss. I pressed pause on TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door because it was discussing the afterlife.

By that logic, The In-Between, a book written by a hospice nurse about her experience with end-of-life care, is the last possible book I should be listening to. But The In-Between didn’t repel me; instead, it made me meditate on lives well lived and what may come next.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I have mixed feelings about this one. I picked up Done and Dusted because I needed something different than what I’d been reading lately. I’ve read a lot nonfiction (at least for me) this year and some heavier novels. The inverse of that to me was a cowboy romance.

In some ways, I really enjoyed Done and Dusted. I appreciated the fact that the MC, Emmy, had ADHD. That experience was woven into Emmy’s experience and how her loved ones cared for her. I found that to be very thoughtful.

But some of the specifics of the characters’ romantic relationship were a little iffy and uncomfortable to me.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // February 2024

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February was a slower month for me in terms of reading and just at-home activities. I’ve pressed pause on a lot of hobbies like sewing and stitching and puzzles. Instead I’ve been watching The Great British Bake Off‘s early seasons on the Roku Channel (who knew?), playing Hogwarts Legacy and listening to podcasts (I’ve really been enjoying Queers Gone By).

This all being said, I did get through three books this month (and part of another before I decided that I did not want to listen to another six hours about professional wrestling).

Empire of the Wild by Cherie Dimaline • ★★★★☆

My favorite way to enjoy books is via the library. It’s free, it’s supporting an invaluable institution. It also means that sometimes a book you put on hold becomes available when you’re not quite in the mood for it. That was the case with this book. But within just a few pages Dimaline changed my mind.

In Empire of the Wild, Joan mourns her husband who disappeared a year earlier. However, when she stumbles upon a revival tent, she finds that the preacher looks just like her husband but the man doesn’t recognize her. WILD.

This book has such a wonderful sense of mystery and urgency. I loved it and how it wove in Metis lore as well.

Wintering by Katherine May • 🎧• ★★☆☆☆

This book has been on my radar for a minute. I felt like the timing was right. It’s February and I am going through literal and figurative winter. It sucks. I thought this book might give me some insight. The online description bills it as “An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down,” and “Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times.”

With that description in mind, I downloaded this book hoping to learn about nature, about dealing with loss, about embracing slow times. Instead, Wintering was more memoir than anything. May focuses nearly exclusively on herself (fine if it’s a memoir, not so fine if the book promises more sweeping perspectives).

Listening to this book was tedious (nothing against the wonderful narrator) and unhelpful. I wish I hadn’t spent the time with this one. It left me feeling worse than when I started.

Matrix by Lauren Groff • ★★★★★

While Wintering was a flop, I knew I could count on Lauren Groff to turn this month of reading around. Groff is one of my favorite authors; her writing is beautiful and each book is so different from the next. Even though I first read it 15 years ago, her short story collection Delicate Edible Birds still has a hold on me.

Matrix takes place in one of my least favorite settings for historical fiction: medieval England. But Groff won me over in an instant. Marie, a low-tier French royal, is sent off to a convent in England to where the nuns are dying to either help turn it around or to perish herself.

Marie thrives in this environment. She turns the convent around, she fortifies its nuns, she builds a damn labyrinth to confuse enemies and, when the town priests die in a fire, she starts saying Mass herself.

Matrix is sweeping and wonderful. It’s heretical and delightful. It’s majestic and real. Everything that Groff does best.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // January 2024

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I kicked off this year fairly strong with reading. I tackled four books this month—including two non-fiction works. Who am I? My goal this year is to hit 40 books (50 is my stretch goal) and I’m already 10% there. Let’s get started!

Dolls of Our Lives by Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I am an American Girl person. When I was 6, I got Samantha for Christmas. From that moment on, I was sold. The books, the doll outfits, the magazine, the catalog—I was in.

So it’s no surprise that I picked up Dolls of Our Lives, though it is surprising to me that I’d never heard of or listened to the authors’ podcast of the same name.

Perhaps if I had listened to the podcast first, I might have skipped the book. While I enjoyed reminiscing about the dolls and the books, I felt like the authors missed a few big tricks here.

First, they never interviewed Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl, claiming they never wanted to meet their heroes. I am fortunate enough to have met Rowland when she visited one of my classes in college. She was better than I ever hoped. I feel like neglecting to talk with the founder of the company was a big miss for Mahoney and Horrocks (and their loss!).

Also, I felt like the perspective was a bit limiting. The authors focused exclusively on the original dolls (that’s Felicity, Kirsten, Molly, Addy, Samantha and Josefina) and their stories. Mahoney and Horrocks made some great points about the problematic nature (and woeful whiteness) of some of the American Girl books and the perspectives they shared (and neglected). These critiques are completely fair and warranted.

However, since the brand’s early days in the ’80s and ’90s, it’s done a lot to expand the stories they tell and to do it right (at least as far as I can discern). For example, American Girl spent the better part of a decade creating the Kaya doll. The brand assembled a committee of Nez Perce elders, teachers and more to ensure every detail—from the textiles to the hair color to the storyline—was accurate. I think that’s very cool. Similarly, the brand did some solid homework in creating Claudie, a girl growing up in Harlem in 1922. Designers took clothing inspiration from a children’s magazine headed by W.E.B. Du Bois and recruited author and AG superfan Brit Bennett to write the Claudie books.

So, in some ways, I enjoyed the nostalgia of the book, but I also felt like it was incomplete. This is such a serious review for a book about dolls, but I am forever about hot takes with low stakes.

The Unidentified by Colin Dickey • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I read Ghostland by Colin Dickey several years ago, and while I love the idea of ghosts and ghouls, I also enjoyed how he dismantled a lot of legends. I was expecting the same of The Unidentified but for cryptids, UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.

In some ways, Dickey accomplished this. His analysis of how UFO and alien encounters exploded in the Cold War era was very interesting. And I had never heard of Lemuria, an Atlantis-like lost continent.

But I don’t think that Dickey did service to indigenous communities and their relationships to what many would consider cryptids.

Overall, this was a mixed bag. I’m not sure I’d even recommend it. Should I demote to two stars? Does it matter?

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne • ★★★★☆

Wintertime is Romanov time. When temps drop, I pick up stories set around the Russian Revolution. You can blame the 1997 animated masterpiece Anastasia for this specific and long-lasting interest.

I really enjoyed this book from John Boyne. I’ve read a few of his books in the past, and I think this is my favorite. In The House of Special Purpose (that was the name given to the home where the Romanovs were kept in exile before their execution), a young man from rural Russia is brought to St. Petersburg to be guard and companion to the the tsar’s son.

Does this guard later fall in love with Anastasia? YOU BET. That’s why this book was so good to me—and the lovely writing as well.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld • ★★★★☆

I haven’t picked up a Curtis Sittenfeld book in an age. I read Prep while in high school where it was the talk of the school library.

Romantic Comedy is obviously a departure from Prep, and it was a really fun listen. The book turns the trope of average-looking comedians landing model gorgeous partners on its head all within the setup of an SNL-like show. As an SNL fan, this was a fun read.

And I didn’t even mind that it was partially set during the pandemic. In fact, it reminded me of the speck of goodness that came out of those early days of staying in one place and being still. Highly recommend.

Keep up with what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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A Year in Books: 2023

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2023 was a good year for reading. I smashed my reading goal of 40 books. By the end of the year, I racked up a whopping 58 books! In the end that was more than 10 full days of listening and nearly 10,000 pages of reading. Thank you to the Milwaukee Public Library for the major assist (also, please follow their phenomenal socials).

According to Goodreads, my average book score for the year was a measly 3.2 stars. Three stars isn’t a bad review, in my opinion, but nothing that I’d go out of my way to recommend.

But I would recommend a few reads off my 2023 list. Here are my top picks of the year—the ones that earned four or five stars. I suggest you add to your TBR for the year ahead.

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

I read a good amount of romance this year—more than a dozen titles—but One Night on the Island is my favorite of the bunch. It’s by Josie Silver, author of one of the best holiday romances of all time: One Day in December (I named it a top Christmas read last month).

This book has all you could ask for in a cozy read: a burnt-out woman taking a break from publishing (hey, that was me!) and heading off to Ireland (also me!). The ending wasn’t how I’d write it, but it was still a good one that will make you smile.

The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford

In 2023, I went on a bit of a country kick. I spent weeks listening to Tammy Wynette. I visited Nashville and loved every second. I even asked myself if my outfit was yee-haw enough before going to the Grand Ole Opry (it wasn’t).

The Farewell Tour spoke so much to this phase of my year, but it was so much more. This book followed an artist in the same vein as Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn and how she rose to fame—even later in life. But The Farewell Tour was about so much more than fame. It was about reckoning with your past, forging your own path and facing the future—even if it’s uncertain. I loved every second and think it deserves all five stars.

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis does such a wonderful job portraying women. In every novel of hers, she paints brilliant portraits of complicated fictional people in equally complicated (though very much real) times.

In The Chelsea Girls, Davis manages to transform a part of history I don’t find particularly appealing—the Cold War and the Red Scare—into a riveting tale of talent and friendship. This is a must for any historical fiction fanatic.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

I love a gothic thriller, and I am forever on the hunt for one that hits all the marks for me: gloomy atmosphere, characters with mysterious pasts, supernatural (or supernatural-seeming) elements and a vaguely unsettling feel. The Only One Left managed to tick all the boxes.

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith

This book was a slow burn. I’ll admit, it took me a moment to warm to it, but as the drama developed—and later took an entirely different path—I couldn’t stop listening to it.

What starts as a family drama of one type soon unfurls into something much bigger and profound. And the ending is superb.

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu does historical fiction-turned-scary so well. She takes parts of history that we think we know, like the sinking of the Titanic in The Deep and the Donner Party in The Hunger, and turns them into something that’s somehow more eerie.

She does the same in The Fervor. This book of Katsu’s is perhaps the most affecting as it bends and twists the already horrific story of the Japanese internment camps in the US. It sounds dark—and it is—but it’s hauntingly readable.

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What I Read // December 2023

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I finished December out strong with a total of six books—three of which were holiday-themed and two of which were very wintry. I’ll be here soon with a recap of my favorite reads, but take a peek here. I found two four-star reads that are worth picking up.

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict • ★★★☆☆

I don’t read many mysteries; in fact, this is only the second true mystery novel I’ve ever read. But I knew I wanted to try a holiday book this year that wasn’t a fun rom-com.

The Christmas Murder Game fit the bill. In this mystery, Lily is beckoned back to her family home with all her cousins. Over the Twelve Days of Christmas, her and her kin work to solve riddles. Whoever solves the puzzle at large, inherits the house.

Day one, there’s a snowstorm that traps everyone inside. Then as the days progress, cousins are picked off one by one.

It is, by my estimation, a pretty standard mystery set up, but one that I enjoyed. This is by no means a must-read, but it’s a nice way to get some subtle Christmas feelings when you’re not quite ready to go full One Day in December (one of my Christmas faves).

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I read Maggie Knox’s first book, The Holiday Swap back in December 2021. I also gave that read three stars.

This book is very cute—and it hit the marks with nods to Nashville (I’ve been on a country kick and I visited Nashville earlier this year) and Milwaukee. But there was a lot of back and forth. It could have been tightened up a bit. Like, I don’t want to read about how someone is on their way to the studio and someone else is checking up on their progress for 20 pages. This all being said, though, it was a nice listen and well performed (even if the Wisconsin accent verged more on Minnesota—A+ to the narrator for trying!).

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

I’ve read every one of Jenny Bayliss’s books, and they are always a treat (The Twelve Dates of Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas books of all time). I like to pick them up not just because they are not only heartwarming and cozy, but because they encourage me to slow down during a frantic holiday season.

In Bayliss’s latest, three sisters are called together after their father’s death to stage a Yule festival, a long-forgotten tradition in their English town.

I loved how this book focused on Yule! It wasn’t in a witchy way, but it was a nice nod to old traditions. Also as one of three sisters, this book spoke to me.

The Resort by Sarah Goodwin • ★★★☆☆

This book caught my attention right away at the library. A woman and her husband are off to attend her sister’s wedding in the Alps. Along the way, the car breaks down and there’s no choice but to shelter in an abandoned village. Soon Mila finds herself alone in this ghost town and with diminishing resources.

Despite being entirely different from All I Want for Christmas, I had a similar complaint with this book: so much back and forth. How many times do I have to read about Mila walking out in the cold to find nothing and coming back inside?

It was a bit tedious to me, but not terrible.

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards • ★★☆☆☆

No, I did not realize this was young adult fiction when I rented it from the library. Maybe that’s why I disliked it so much? Also, as a Wisconsin driver, I don’t need any more snowy road drama that I already get.

The gist here is that Mira’s connecting flight home gets canceled on Christmas Eve. In an effort to get home in time for the holiday, she catches a ride with a few college students from her fight. Because of the snowy weather, this trip is harrowing—and someone in the car is making sure they won’t make it home in time.

Like The Resort, there was a lot of back and forth in Five Total Strangers. Lots of turning the car around, lots of checking on a phone battery, lots of stopping at gas stations. Overall, this snowy race to Christmas book was too repetitive.

The Wager by David Grann • 🎧 • ★★★★☆

At the end of the month, I found myself in a bit of a reading funk. I didn’t feel like finishing another rom-com or seasonal book, wasn’t intrigued by any thrillers and found myself bored by historical fiction.

That’s how I knew it was time to find a good piece of non-fiction. I don’t like to read non-fiction, but I really enjoy it as a listen; it’s like a very long podcast.

The Wager, a true maritime disaster story, popped up on a few best-of lists, including critics’ favorites on NPR (I, unsurprisingly, love NPR), and it deserves its place there.

I’ll be back in a few days to share my favorite reads and listens of 2023. Until then, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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My Favorite Holiday + Christmas Reads

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When the tree goes up in my house, it’s finally time to embrace cozy Christmastime reading. To me, there’s not much better this time of year than snuggling up with a cup of coffee and a good book beside the glow of our trees.

Without further ado, here are my favorite lighthearted reads for the holidays.

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

This was the first cozy rom-com I ever read, and it converted me to the genre.

In The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living, city gal and pastry chef Olivia moves to rural Vermont after a spectacular falling out at her country club job. During her tenure at the Sugar Maple Inn, Olivia settles into country life, endears herself to her curmudgeonly new boss and even meets a boomerang beau (a guy who lived in the country, tried life in Seattle and then returned home to care for his father).

At first blush, this book sounds like a Hallmark movie pressed between covers and bound, but I assure you it’s so much better than any of those made-for-TV movies.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

In this Christmas book, Laurie catches the eye of a handsome man through the window of a bus. Somehow, she knows this guy is someone she wants to pursue.

Over the years, Laurie looks for her mystery man and is unsuccessful—until her friend introduces Laurie to her new boyfriend at a party. This boyfriend is, of course, bus boy.

One Day in December plays out over the course of years (and does take a second to settle into), but it does keep you ensconced in the characters through every turn.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

This just might be my gold standard of cozy holiday reading! Is it slightly predictable? Sure! But that in no way takes away from enjoying this Christmas book.

So what’s the setup here? Well, Kate reluctantly agrees to participate in a series of blind dates—12 of them—to find a connection before the holidays hit. Over the course of the dates, there are hits, misses and plenty of seasonal activities. Delightful!

I recommend this one as an audiobook to listen to while you wrap gifts or bake Christmas cookies.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

Is the premise of this book absolutely inconceivable? Yes! But so is the plot of 1998’s The Parent Trap, and that is a masterpiece.

Now, Kiss Her Once for Me isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a great holiday read. In this infectious rom-com barista (and one-time animator) Ellie agrees to marry her cafe’s landlord, Andrew, so he can gain access to his trust fund—and give her a small portion.

Of course, they have to do the whole fake dating thing. The catch here isn’t that they catch feels necessarily; it’s that during a family getaway with her faux fiance’s family, Ellie discovers that she once had a super intense (though short-lived) connection with his sibling Jac. What’s a gal to do during the holidays?

The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake

Full admission: I didn’t even remember there was a romance element to this book until I reread the summary—and I think that’s part of the charm of The Hygge Holiday.

In this book, Danish ex-pat Klara settles into a small English town. While she thinks her stay will be temporary, Klara soon makes it her to reinvent the town’s small toy shop. With lots of nods to slowness, coziness and overall hygge vibes, this book satisfies and reminds you to take it easy—even during this busy season.

A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

I think this book (yes, another by Jenny Bayliss) is the perfect read for that lazy stretch of time between Christmas and New Year’s.

In A Season for Second Chances, Annie heads off to the countryside to recoup after splitting from her husband. She’s happy to find a job as a caretaker for a small cafe for the wintertime. Of course, Annie can’t just let the cafe sit there (it looks sad!), so with the blessing of the wonder (a charming old woman) she decides to give the space new life and embrace living in a quaint small town—book club and all.

Now, does the charming old woman’s nephew like this plan? Of course not! But over the chapters, feelings shift, and Annie finds that her seaside stay might become home.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // November 2023

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November wasn’t a big reading month for me. It was a big month for all sorts of other things, though, like accepting a new job offer, tying up loose ends at Taste of Home, selling hoops and readying our home for the holidays. However, I did squeeze in four books between all the hoopla.

The Haar by David Sondergren • ★★★☆☆

I found myself craving a change of pace after reading several rom-coms and domestic thrillers last month or so. I was craving something new. I picked up The Haar after seeing it recommended on BookTok a while back, and I blitzed through it in just three days.

Muriel’s small Scottish village of Witchhaven is being taken over by a greedy American investor hoping to build a golf course. She’s one of the few remaining residents refusing to give up her home. Because the rich are often evil, the investor starts taking drastic and sometimes violent measures to intimidate the folks who refuse to budge—including Muriel. Well, things change when she finds—for lack of a better term—a glob on the beach.

It’s The Fog meets The Shape of Water. I enjoyed it—especially for the $2.99 price, however, it’s likely not for everyone.

Back in a Spell by Lana Harper • ★★★☆☆

This is the third installment in the Witches of Thistle Grove series. Back in a Spell is all about Nina Blackmoore.

The previous installments all painted the Blackmoore family as being a clan of villains, but I appreciated how Back in a Spell made a distinction between the actually evil family members and the younger generation. It gave the family—and the universe this takes place in—a bit more depth.

And unlike the previous two books in this series—Payback’s a Witch and From Bad to Cursed—this was very much about the protagonist and their internal struggles rather than some outside issue to be tackled. That switch makes me feel like the installments to come in this series will continue to be varied.

My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska? by Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

Did you know Spotify has audiobooks now? I’m pretty impressed with the selection thus far—especially for newer reads. For example, Lessons in Chemistry has a six-month wait at my library. I can get it right away on Spotify! (This is in no way a dig at the library—I love MPL!)

Despite the ability to listen to these hot releases right away with Spotify, I decided to kick off my listening on the platform with Alaska’s memoir.

It was honestly delightful, and that’s in large part due to their performance of the book. If you’re a Drag Race fan, this is a good one to pick up.

Lease on Love by Falon Ballard • 🎧 • ★★☆☆☆

I try to time my reads right for the year. That means all the spooky reads in early fall and plenty of Christmasy romances in December. I picked up Lease on Love based on a Buzzfeed list of Thanksgiving-adjacent books.

I sort of wish I would have just skipped ahead to holiday romance mode. The characters in Lease on Love were just so flat to me, and the protagonist, Sadie, was unlikeable. Sadie’s inner monologue was all about knowing how hot she was and how much she loved vanilla lattes and how nerdy her roommate was for liking Lord of the Rings.

Also, if I have to read or hear the phrase “kitchen peninsula” one more time, I’ll scream. Why did this architectural feature get mentioned multiple times per chapter?

If this wasn’t an audiobook I could power through during craft fair prep, I would have stopped midway.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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What I Read // October 2023

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October begs for spooky and scary reads, and I managed to sneak some in—including an absolute classic!

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I think Twilight tainted vampire romances for too long! Thank you to Jenna Levine for giving new life to this genre by mixing it with the light and airy rom-coms I’ve grown to enjoy.

Now, is My Roommate Is a Vampire a perfect read? No. But the setup was very fun. Cassie finds a dream apartment listing in a high-end Chicago neighborhood. The catch? Her roomie is a vampire looking to catch up on what’s happened in the world over the past 100 years.

The final conflict of this book kind of flopped for me. And there’s always the issue of human-vampire relationships—Does that person stay human? Do they get changed? So it’s a solid three stars and a great light Halloween read.

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin • ★★★☆☆

The description of this book was giving Amityville vibes, so I bit. A wellness influencer moves into a home with a disturbing past in a ritzy Australian town. She soon finds she’s not welcome—and that there’s something up with the house.

In the end, this book ended up being more domestic thriller than horror. There’s nothing wrong with that! But I also saw a lot of the twists and kinks coming. And a few of the plot devices weren’t woven in as seamlessly as I would have liked.

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper • ★★★☆☆

This is the sequel to Payback’s a Witch, a witchy romance I read last year (it’s also a Halloween read I recommend!).

It’s, of course, in the same vein. This time Isadora Avramov (a witch with necromantic tendencies) has to team up with Rowan Thorn, a witch whose strengths lie with nature and healing. Opposites attract as always. And yes, a demon is involved (and properly banished).

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby • ★★★★☆

I have loved every single one of Samantha Irby’s essay collections. I reliably laugh out loud and cry at various points throughout each of her books, including this one.

One of my favorite essays is about defending your taste with a simple phrase: I like it!

You can use “I like it!” (the exclamation point is necessary) any time some freak questions a regular-ass thing you enjoy, and it’ll swipe their legs out from under them every single time, and you can stand over their quivering body with your subpar tastes and laugh your face off.

—Samatha Irby

I will be using this now until the end of time. A grocery store jimmie square is a trash treat? Well, I like it! You think that taco place is overrated? Well, I like it! The witchy rom-com genre is lame? Well, I like it!

Dracula by Bram Stoker • 🎧 • ★★★☆☆

I’ve dabbled with the idea of reading Dracula since I was about 12 when I bought a copy via a Scholastic book order. But this is the year I finally took the plunge. I think visiting Clontarf (the part of Dublin where Bram Stoker grew up) was what I finally needed to get started.

To work through this book, I downloaded the Audible version narrated by Tim Curry and Alan Cumming, both of whom performed it beautifully.

I enjoyed the opening chapters of Dracula immensely. They were so awesomely atmospheric. But the story dragged for a good while before picking up in the last quarter. I say this as a reader in 2023. I’m sure if I read this in 1897, my mind would have been positively blown and I would have been a Bram stan big time.

As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.

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My Favorite Halloween Reads

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It’s October and spooky reading season is officially here (though I like a good witchy read any time). To celebrate, I thought I’d share the best Halloween reads on my shelf.

A few words before I dive into my picks: These are by no means the limit of my scary, gothic, spooky book recommendations. They are, however, particularly suitable for this time of year. The vibes are right. So head to your local library, get on Libby or check out Libro.fm and start your next spooky chapter!

And before you start: Instead of giving you my star ratings (they’re all good ones!), I wanted to give you a hint to the *~vibes~* with a few emojis.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay • 🧙🏼‍♀️🫖🐈‍⬛

This book sat untouched in my Kindle for years until I could enjoy it at the exact right moment. For me, that was returning home from Salem on an October evening.

In The Witches of New York, two women (also witches) run a tea shop (and more) in New York during the Golden Age. I, of course, instantly want to live in this world. I bet you all do too.

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand • ✨🏚🎶

In 150 pages, Elizabeth Hand manages to weave a tale that haunts in all new ways. In Wylding Hall a folk band camps out at an old manor to record their next album. During their stay, an unexpected visitor arrives and the frontman disappears without a trace. How is this not a movie yet?

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper • 🔮💜🐈‍⬛

There are so many witchy rom-coms out there. I should know—I’ve read a half dozen or more! But I have to say that Lana Harper’s Thistle Grove series is my favorite.

Payback’s a Witch is the first in the series, and it’s not only incredibly charming but also all about baddie witches taking revenge on the real baddies

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill • 🪦👻🪦

Think you know this story because you saw the Daniel Radcliffe movie? Think again! The original novel is absolutely spellbinding. It haunts, it chills, it makes you keep looking over your shoulder. Oh, and yes, it’s set in 19th-century London—perhaps the scariest setting of all time.

And the ending is perfection. This is a short read (160 pages), so don’t hesitate to pick it up.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova • 📚🧛🏻‍♂️🗺

From the very jump, The Historian grabbed me. In just a few pages, I was absolutely wrapped up in the atmosphere and the world Elizabeth Kostova created.

As a professor digs into the history of a book that mysteriously appeared on his desk, you are absorbed in his cross-continental spooky search.

Now, this book is 700 pages long, but when the nights are long and the days are gloomy, there’s not much more I love than a moody vampire story.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix • ✏️👻💖

I’ve enjoyed every Grady Hendrix book I’ve ever read, but I have to say that this one is my favorite. It’s wonderfully funny and still scary. It also really highlights the power and value of friendship. Aw!

Plus, with the back-to-school vibes, My Best Friend’s Exorcism really is such a good fall read.

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey • 💀📓👻

I picked this book up ages ago, but it’s one I think about often. In Ghostland Colin Dickey carefully dismantles the supposedly spooky history of popular American haunts like the House of Seven Gables and the Winchester Mystery House.

Even though I love to believe in all the scariness associated with these places, I found it interesting to learn about the true origins of these tales.

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike • 🏢👻🪦

I cruised through The Graveyard Apartment in a single weekend. This book is different than most American and British horror, and that’s part of what makes it so satisfying. It’s claustrophobic, spinetingling and absolutely eerie.

Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson • 🖤😘🦇

Elvira’s book is everything you’d expect: cheeky, campy and impossible to resist. She details her rise to fame, namedropping every chance she gets. I don’t hold that against her, though. Elvira forged her own spooky-meets-sexy path, and I’m here for it.

You can keep up with my reading over on Goodreads! Also, if you’re an audiobook fan, I encourage you to try Libro.fm—you can support your favorite small bookstore while downloading your next listen.