It's late April and I'm deep into orders for handmade graduation and Father's Day gifts. It's a good time to take a break and share some of the things that I've been enjoying ... and that you might like, too!
1. Comfort and Joy cookbook
I'm fascinated by small batch cookbooks because I don't like having lots of leftovers. I haven't cooked anything yet from Comfort and Joy: Cooking for Two by Christina Lane, but the recipes look easy and delicious with ingredients that I either already have or can easily get. I love the idea of making lasagna for two or just a batch of four muffins.
2. Extra large bookmarks
Last year I kept getting requests for handstamped bookmarks with extra long quotes, so this year I'm prepared! These are twice as wide as my custom copper bookmarks, so I can not only fit longer quotes, but use larger fonts as shown in the "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams ..." bookmark.
3. Flowering trees
Normally all the fruit trees flower and then we get a big snow that wipes out all the blossoms. That hasn't happened this year, so it's felt like spring for more than a single week.
4. Funny animal drawings
I've started following a lot of cute animal illustrators on Instagram and was inspired to check out the book Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals by Carla Sonheim. This is a fun book with ideas on how to draw animals from blobs of paint or other random sources.
5. Rain
Colorado is not a rainy place, so it's always nice to get the occasional rainy day to stay inside and cozy up with a book and a cup of chai. (My limit for rain seems to be about 2 or 3 days and then I need to see a little sun!)
6. Unicorn reviews
No, I haven't tried the pink-and-blue Unicorn Frappuccino at Starbucks, but I have enjoyed reading some of the funny reviews about it, including this one by a 61-year-old British man in USA Today.
7. Sherlock Holmes
If you follow me on social media, you probably know that I've been obsessed with Sherlock Holmes this year. I'm finally watching the TV show Elementary with Lucy Liu as Watson and I've been reading all the Mary Russell books by Laurie R. King in order. (The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first book in the series.)
8. Stationary bike
I've been wanting to ride my bike more, but I don't like riding it when the weather is bad. I now have a little stand that turns my bike into a stationary bike so I can ride it inside. It's sturdy, but not permanent, so I'll be able to undo it when the weather is nicer. I love that I can listen to podcasts while I ride inside.
Hope you're having a wonderful spring!
My 8 Favorite Things This Spring
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April Genre Challenge: Thrillers and Suspense
April Genre Challenge: Thrillers and Suspense
If you love the feeling of suspense, anxiety, and tension in your books, this is the genre for you! April's theme in the 12 genres in 12 months reading challenge is thrillers and suspense. I read a limited number of books in this genre, mostly because I can only read them in the middle of the day with lots of sun coming in the windows!
I didn't realize until writing this blog post that I've heard two of the three authors (Laura Lippmann and J. A. Jance) speak in person. Both are excellent speakers and I'd recommend you see them if you get a chance.
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
Two sisters disappear. One claims to return. Is it really her?
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
A student falls to her death from the top of her school building. What really happened that day?
I also have read a number of suspense novels by J.A. Jance. She writes at least four different series. Her later books seem to be more in the suspense genre; some of her earlier books would be classified as mysteries.
What I Might Read
Here are the few books that made my short list:
Possibility #1: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Why this interests me: There are an astonishing 56,000+ Amazon reviews on this book! I'm feeling a little pressured to read it because it's so overwhelmingly popular. (And no, I haven't seen the movie.)
Recommended by: 41 of the Most Suspenseful Books You'll Ever Read
Possibility #2: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
Why it interests me: This book is supposed to have a unique plot structure and I'm always interested in a new ways of telling stories.
Recommended by: The 22 Biggest Psychological Thrillers of 2016
Possibility #3: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Why it interests me: This book always appears on lists of best classic literature, but I've never read it. It feels like a serious omission on my part, especially for someone with a degree in English Literature!.
Recommended by: 41 of the Most Suspenseful Books You'll Ever Read
I'll be reading one (or possibly more) of these books this month.
For other book ideas, check out my Book Recommendations board on Pinterest. I'll be adding book lists throughout the year as I come across intriguing ones.
Next Month (May): Historical Fiction.
If you enjoyed this blog post, sign up to get new ones by email. It's free and fun! As a bonus, email subscribers will get her What to Read Next guide, a list of 30+ books she's enjoyed over the last few years. Thanks for reading!
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