Eighth Day of Christmas: Hiddensee

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Abbie Lu

The 12 Book-Days of Christmas – Mini Beans to Fill you with Cheer!
Day 8 of 12:

“Luck and grace: an unmatching pair of boots with which to address
a long dusty road.”

For number 8 In the spirit of the new movie, I thought I would stray a little and try a new book, a twist on a classic:

Hiddensee
by Gregory Maguire
From the author of the beloved #1 New York Times bestseller Wicked, the magical story of a toymaker, a nutcracker, and a legend remade…

Gregory Maguire returns with an inventive novel inspired by a timeless holiday legend, intertwining the story of the famous Nutcracker with the life of the mysterious toy maker named Drosselmeier who carves him.

Rated: 3.8 on amazon.com

“Those who sit in the house of grief will someday sit in the garden.”
~Gregory Maguire, Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker

12 Drinks of Christmas:

Book Bean: HazelNogin Latte

A yummy frothy latte with spiced eggnog and hazelnut delights! Make a latte as usual but use half eggnog mixed in with milk of choice. stir in hazelnut sauce to taste. Sprinkle with nutmeg! You can make this a hot cocoa or mocha by using hazelnut chocolate tempered instead of or in addition to espresso. Get Crackin!

And here is something a little more simple and classic:

The Nutcracker
by Susan Jeffers
New York Times bestselling artist and Caldecott Honor winner Susan Jeffers has created a Nutcracker as only she can—with lavish illustrations, magnificent detail, and enchanting holiday scenes on every page. This is The Nutcracker as you’ve never seen it before!

Rated 4.6 on amazon.com

Behold the frightful Mouse King, the elegant Sugar Plum fairies, and the entire Land of Sweets in this dazzling, gorgeously illustrated holiday classic.

Fourth Day of Christmas: Miracle on 34th Street

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Abbie Lu

The 12 Book-Days of Christmas – Mini Beans to Fill you with Cheer!DAY 4 of 12

“Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.” …

Miracle on 34th Street
by Valentine Davies
You have probably all seen the movie, but it does not compare to the book (as usual.) I like the movie and actually the book is a nice extension of it. I was fortunate enough to have read it after the movie, which I think helps. It is a delightful book. The character of Kris Kringle is so enjoyable and jolly, you can’t help but love it. The story is wholesome and teaches us so many important lessons. If you have not read it, I urge you to do so, I think you will be happy you did.

Rated: 4.4 on amazon.com

“Well, this is the Imagination. And once you get there you can do almost anything you want.”

12 Drinks of Christmas:

Book Bean: Candy Cane Cream
In a sauce pan heat up milk and vanilla extract. Add white chocolate and candy cane pieces (or candy cane Hershey kisses work marvelously.) Whisk together until smooth.
Add mixture to blender and blend until frothy. Add in a dollop of whip and blend (you can also whip up your own whip cream which is double delicious.) Serve with a candy cane to swirl in extra yum.

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to,” he replied. “And you’ve just got too much common sense.”
~Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street

WISO: The Thanksgiving Visitor

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Abbie Lu

I thought I would share with you all what I’m sipping on today. It is a short story written by Truman Capote called “The Thanksgiving Visitor.” This story was included in a book I have with two other shorts “A Christmas Memory” and “One Christmas.”

(Click picture &/or title for more info.)

I have not finished this story yet, too much Holiday chatter and bustle. Not that I am complaining, I am so thankful for having a family and a place to chat and bustle about with. So far it is a delightful read. I am enjoying the characters and looking forward to seeing how it plays out. It’s old fashion but in the best way. I am also really looking forward to delving into the Christmas stories next! At the stroke of midnight of course 😉

The Thanksgiving Visitor
Book Bean: Black Coffee
Better to enjoy all the sweet treats with 🙂
I’m enjoying a smooth medium roast, with mild spice and roasty-sweet notes

I read the other two short stories and discovered that all three stories are linked. They have the same main character and supporting character. I thought they were a nice pleasant read. The main character was likable enough, but it was his friend Sook that I really enjoyed. I liked reading the stories out of order, because it left a bit of mystery to the story (which was later revealed.) I read “The Thanksgiving Visitor” first, then “A Christmas Memory,” and “One Christmas” last.

Fun Fact: Truman Capote also wrote “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Bootastic Blogger Books

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Abbie Lu

So here is a great list of scary tales, all suggested by your fellow blogger! They all sound fantastic and will make for a great Halloween experience. So light some candles, gather around the fire, and get your mugs filled, it’s time for some Ghost Stories!

Blogger favorites for Boostastically Scary Tales:

The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family’s past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler.

Rated 4.0 on amazon.com

Ghost Story
by Peter Straub
Questions arise concerning the connections between a strangely detached young girl’s captivity in a seedy Florida motel, a death that occurs at a party for a visiting actress, and a young California instructor’s obsession with one of his students.
A classic tale of horror, secrets, and the dangerous ghosts of the past…

Rated 4.1 on amazon.com

Thank You The Britchy One of bitchininthekitchen.org

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury

Few American novels written this century have endured in the heart and mind as has this one-Ray Bradbury’s incomparable masterwork of the dark fantastic. A carnival rolls in sometime after the midnight hour on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time.

Rated 4.1 on amazon.com

Thank you Tina of tinawilliamsblog.wordpress.com

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Read by Glenn Close
Washington Irving’s eerie tale of romantic rivalry along the Hudson pits new schoolmaster Ichabod
Crane against local hero and bully Brom Bones for the hand of Katrina Van Tassel.

The haunting drama climaxes with the appearance of a legendary ghost-the headless horseman.
Rated 4.0 on amazon.com

“ All these, however, were mere terrors of the night, phantoms of the mind that walk in darkness; …”
~Washington Irving

Thank you K.M. Sutton of liveinthenautical.com

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein
by Theodore Roszak

The passionate story of Elizabeth Lavenza, a girl rescued from poverty and raised by a remarkable noblewoman of Geneva, describes how the demise of her sensual bond with Victor Frankenstein sends him hurtling into a secret life, and along a path of destruction.
Rated 3.0 on amazon.com

The Innocents
Starring Deborah Kerr

An English governess believes that her two new charges are possessed by the spirits of the previous governess and her sadistic lover in this adaptation of Henry James’ “Turn of the Screw.”

Rated 4.3 on amazon.com

Thank you Fraser of frasersherman.com

The Moonstone
by Wilkie Collins

Heralded as the very first mystery novel. Collins, in this work, created the guidelines for the genre as we know it today: a fabulous diamond stolen, everyone in the house is suspected, three mysterious Indians sworn to protect the jewel at all costs, the upstairs/downstairs tension from the servants, and a brilliant detective who is eccentrically fond of roses.

Rated 4.1 on amazon.com

Thank you Kelsey of theressomethingaboutkm.com

The Woman in Black
by Susan Hill

Eel Marsh house stands alone, surveying the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Once, Mrs Alice Drablow lived here as a recluse. Now, Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend her funeral, unaware of the tragic and terrible secrets which lie behind the house’s shuttered windows. The classic ghost story from the author of The Mist in the Mirror: a chilling tale about a menacing spectre haunting a small English town.
Rated 4.1 on amazon.com

Thank you Paul Bowler of scifijubilee.wordpress.com

Book Bean: Midnight Madness
(A twist on Mulled)
Place 8 oz of water in a pan over high heat, add cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 2 slices of orange (thin) and a pinch of nutmeg, bring to boil. Stir in, 1/2 Tsp of brown sugar, 1 Tsp of honey, and 1/2 Tsp of butter (or use 2 Tsp of pre-made buttered rum😉) Remove from heat and stir in 2 oz of rum (or whiskey) with new cinnamon stick.

(make it fun, add a dollop of vanilla bean ice-cream!)

Pick your book fancy from the wonderful choices above or chose one of your own, and gather with friends and/or family for a fun night of spooky tales and cozy spirits!

Friday the 13th Feature

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Abbie Lu

TGIF everyone, since this Friday is Friday the 13th I have decide to feature another Blogger. One who is exceptionally skilled at the eerie, spooky, and less than savory.
MJ Gale has so many exceptional pieces,
I urge you, especially those that like a good thrill to check out ThePhantomRem!

The Road Untraveled
Standing in the middle of the dirt roadway, frozen solid. The air had gotten considerably colder…

Click here to read this and many other fantastic little tales!

In Memory of Maya Angelou

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Abbie Lu

Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014)
An acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou has had a broad career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood’s first female black director, but is most famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet. As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Throughout her illustrious career in letters, Maya Angelo gifted, healed, and inspired the world with her words. The beauty and spirit of those words live on in this new and complete collection of poetry that reflects and honors the writer’s remarkable life.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother.

Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou’s path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude”

Filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous people, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X, but perhaps most important is the story of Maya Angelou’s relationship with her son. Because this book chronicles, finally, the joys and the burdens of a black mother in America and how the son she had cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man.