Book Review: The Dutch House

I am a sucker for an interesting book cover, so it was not really a surprise that the arresting portrait of a dark-haired girl unapologetically staring back at me caught my attention whilst I was browsing books at Barnes and Noble recently. To be honest, I’m not sure I could have just walked away from…

Buy the Book

A few years ago, I came across Bookshop.org. This online book retailer sources its stock from local bookstores, some of which don’t have the means to maintain their own online storefronts or might not have the ubiquitous reach that mega retailers have. Beyond the benevolent idea that my shopping would benefit small-to-medium sized businesses, I…

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

I love an end of the year reflection post. I also love a song lyric that feels so relevant to a moment in time it’s as if the lyricist wrote it just for me (thank you Jack Johnson, circa 2005). So, here I am at the end of 2024—sitting, waiting, wishing only good things for…

Book Review: Wintering

In mid-November, a friend of mine randomly said, “I have a book I think you’d like.” If you’ve ever been the recipient of that kind of statement, you may understand the slight bristling that I initially experienced. How does she know what kind of book I like to read? I thought, while also gamely writing…

Garden Party

Hosting is a skill that I feel I have tried to cultivate over the years after observing the masterful care that others have demonstrated in welcoming me to their spaces. To host someone well doesn’t mean that you meet every condition that Miss Manners expounded upon. A full set of silverware isn’t necessary, nor is…

Bright

The brightness of a grey winter sky is blinding.I can hardly manage a glance out of the window—not sure I want to anyway.The bleak greyness spreads its somber shadowson the brown grass and tangled yard clippingsI failed to discard at the end of summer. Yet for all the neutral colors of a seasonin its twilight,there’s…

Book Review: The Wednesday Wars

I have been listing The Wednesday Wars as a comparative title when I query literary agents for my own novel for the past year. However, until recently, I had not actually read the book. I was just going off of the recommendations of my mom, who taught the book as a middle grade gifted teacher….

Seasons: Rest

The fragment of weak light just barely revealsa moment of hope buried within me—tucked away ‘til spring pushes forth the earth.Bits of green disrupt the barren ground, forbeneath the surface, growth was happening.We just couldn’t see what we alreadyknew to be true: the best is yet to come. A season of slumber must cover the…