Posts

Showing posts from November, 2023

Bicycling with Butterflies Review

Image
Just like the last book I reviewed on here, you don't know how long I've been wanting to get around to this book. Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman is a memoir about the author's true story of how she charted and followed the migration paths of monarch butterflies from Mexico to Canada and back to Mexico again. She completed the whole journey via biking! Every chapter of the book recounts every place Dykman biked through and stopped at. She found lots of monarchs, but all sorts of other wildlife too, most important of them all being milkweed, which is what monarch butterflies need to lay their eggs. She also talked about how and where she would find places to camp out in her tent for the nights she was on the road. It wasn't always easy! During her journey she would sometimes go to schools and universities to talk about her journey and scientific research and facts she knew about monarch butterflies. She also talked about all of the people she met along the way

My Life in France by Julia Child Review

Image
  You have no idea how long I've wanted to read this memoir. I finally got to read it this past month! My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme is Julia Child's memoir. It is her story on how she got into cooking after she and her husband Paul Child moved to Paris, France. They moved there because of Paul's job at the US Embassy there. In her first few years in France, Julia learned to cook all sorts of French dishes and desserts at a world famous cooking school, and she met two of her long-time collaborators there: Simone Beck (nicknamed Simca) and Louisette Betholle. Julia then got the idea of making a cookbook with French recipes, but for an American audience. Aside from talking about her everyday life in France, she also gets into details on how she, Simca, and Louisette wrote there first and most famous cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking . It was not an easy process! But their book became super-successful overseas (in the United States), to

A Books and Music Tag (Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS Album Edition)

  I was tagged to do this by @books.below.stars over on my Instagram. I will be posting my answers here too. The prompts are based on songs on Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS Album. As always, feel free to do this tag if you see it! 1. all american b*tch (an underrated book) The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill 2. bad idea right (a book you missed sleep for) None. I always read during the day. I care about sleeping enough. 😉 3. vampire (a book that broke you) Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech 4. lacy (a book with an envious character) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (character in question is Prince Lir) 5. ballad of a homeschooled girl (a book that you like that other people don't) Well, the book is more divided than widely disliked, but I'll have to go with Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. 6. logical (a book with a red flag love interest) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (the character in question is Maxim de Winter) 7. get him back! (A book you have mixed feelings for) Nick

Underrated Books Part 5

  I am back with another installment of the underrated books series. I love making these. Here are 4 more books that I love that I barely see anyone talking about online. Hopefully you might read these too! 1. Jane of Lantern Hill by LM Montgomery -Jane Stuart lives with her kindly mother and harsh grandmother in a giant mansion in Toronto. Jane obviously does not get along well with her grandmother, and unfortunately doesn't get along well with the the other members of her mother's extended family, either. She also is unpopular at her school. The only friend she has is her next door neighbor, a girl around her age named Jody. One day, Jane receives news that her father who she thought was dead is actually alive--and she gets a letter in the mail from him asking her to visit him on Prince Edward Island for the summer. She's reluctant at first, but Jane goes to PEI and ends up having a wonderful summer with her dad and new friends. Jane also finds out more reasons on why her

I STARTED READING THE NEVERMOOR SERIES!!!

Image
Why aren't more people talking about this book?! It was soooo good! Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend is a middle grade fantasy book about Morrigan Crow, an 11 year old girl who was born on Eventide, which is considered a very unlucky day. She is supposedly cursed and is always gets blamed for bad things that happen in her community, and the curse also dooms her to die at midnight on her 11th birthday.  But as the children in her community are being chosen to become apprentices for the different influential adults in the community, Morrigan gets chosen by an eccentric man named Jupiter North to become his apprentice, something she could never imagine for herself. Morrigan does not die on her birthday because Jupiter shows up to her house and whisks her away to the city of Nevermoor, where she is enrolled to become a member of the Wunderous Society, which is a society for people with (usually magical) gifts. Jupiter is a part of it himself. To join the Wund

The Last Cherry Blossom Review

Image
Hey look! Another all time favorite! And that bookmark that matches the book was signed by the author herself.  The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw is a historical fiction book about Yuriko Ishikawa, a 12-year old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan during WW2. The story follows her daily life and other surprises before the city gets bombed, and the aftermath of said bombing. A lot of the "daily life" stuff in this book mostly centers around Yuriko and her family. She grew up living with her single father, and then one day her single aunt Kimiko and cousin Genji start living with them, shaking up the house dynamic, which Yuriko doesn't like. She also doesn't get along with with aunt Kimiko and Genji. Yuriko's father also starts dating another woman named Sumiyo. Aunt Kimiko also starts dating a guy named Akira. The adults then get engaged and have a double wedding. Luckily, Yuriko gets along well with her new stepmom and step-uncle.  Yuriko is also not pop

October Wrap Up

  Well, I only read 4 books this month, compared to last months 15 books, but all 4 books got a high rating from me! So it was a great reading month. I'll have links to reviews when necessary. 1. The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill . A wonderful, magical, and emotional story of two children, Ned and Aine, who meet each other in unusual circumstances to protect the magic of their world and their two kingdoms. 4.5 stars . 2. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty -a historical fantasy book of an eccentric girl and the nephew of Cornelius Vanderbilt trying to solve the mystery of the scary man in magical black cloak who is making children in and around the Biltmore Estate disappear. 5 stars . 3. One Piece Volumes 8 and 9 by Eichiro Oda . Still continuing with my One Piece journey! Both 5 stars .  What books did you read in October? How many did you like?