Five things I’m digging on recently – unofficially brought to you by the milk chocolate malt balls from The Peanut Store in downtown Holland.
1. Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr
I've been waiting seven years for Anthony Doerr to write another book. It was worth the wait.
2. The Plot - Jean Korelitz
I don't like to guess the endings of books. I get so much enjoyment out of the reveal that I desperately try not to speculate on the whos and the hows and the whatnots. I just buckle up and enjoy the ride. But I accidentally guessed the ending of The Plot about halfway through and it oddly added to my enjoyment of the book. It was like watching a scary movie and screaming at the screen that the killer is RIGHT BEHIND YOU! (Or at least, that's what I hear is like. I'd much rather watch Air Bud IV: Seventh Inning Fetch.)
3. Vernors
I'm not a native Michigander so I've only recently stumbled upon Vernors. Sweet fancy nectar of the gods, y'all! They don't have this stuff down in Kentucky, but I'm making up for some serious lost time. (If you're ever driving through the beautiful Bluegrass State, grab yourself an Ale-8-One, a ginger-ale-esque soda that's the unofficial soft drink of Kentucky.)
4. Skunk and Badger - Amy Timberlake
I am on my third reading of Amy Timberlake's Skunk and Badger, a glorious short junior fiction book about a, you guessed it, skunk and badger. The book just puts me in a happy place. Laugh out loud funny. Sweet and endearing. And chickens. It's everything I look for in a book.
5. GBBO
There's a new season of The Great British Bake Off (The Great British Baking Show for us Americans) and my family eagerly counts down the days/minutes until a new episode is released on Netflix every Friday. (Jurgen has quickly climbed the ranks of all time favorite characters for us. And we're really perfecting our impressions of Freya. "Cappa-cheeena!") Did you know that past seasons of GBBO are available on DVD at ye olde favorite library? Well they are! Grab a Vernors, some malt balls, and a DVD of GBBO. That, my friends, is a good night. (Alternatively, if all the seasons are checked out - you should totally check out Air Bud IV: Seventh Inning Fetch.)
