Five Happy Things

Books That Feel Like a Warm Hug

In an effort to have fewer email providers chop my emails in half because they’re so dang long, I’m moving my inspirations (book recommendations, favorite recipes, and awesome artists) to their own newsletter every Wednesday. Think of it as a quick way to fill your cup in the middle of the week. 🥰

If you’d rather not receive these Wednesday emails you can turn them off and still receive the regular Monday news and Friday archives.

1. Click this link.

2. Scroll down to where it says Notifications.

3. Click off the button for Five Happy Things.

Easy peasy!

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Spread a little joy today! Pass this along to someone who’d love it. 🥰

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Two weeks of books in row! That wasn’t the plan, but I felt like it was needed.

First of all - thanks so much for all the generous donations to the Red Cross! You more than met our goal of $5000 in less than twenty-four hours and we’ve made our matching donation! The Red Cross provided water to a few of our family friends, and it was a Red Cross helicopter that delivered supplies to another friend’s son whose area is completely cut off. Friends have also reported receiving help from Mennonite Disaster Service so that’s another organization I can report is on the ground doing good things. An Ohio friend told me about how much they helped her family when they lost their home to a tornado, and we’ve been donating to them every year since.

Second - thanks for all the recommendations for books like Shards of Honor which I talked about last week. We visited a new-to-us sci fi bookstore here in Portland and found a bunch more Bujold - though not book 2 in the series, which is out of print. Drat! I bought some more of your recommendations at Powells, and got on the waiting list for others from my library. So many good books in my future!

***rubs hands together gleefully***

But first, my husband came home from a librarian conference in Tennessee with The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. I was already on the library waiting list for this one, based on a recommendation, so I snatched it up right away.

The story is exactly what you’d expect from that lovely cover. There’s a cozy cottage, lush flowers, winged cats, and the whole thing feels like it’s bathed in warm, glowy light. There’s also a sentient spider plant, mermaids and merhorses, and a singing apple tree. The main character is a librarian who escapes unrest in the capital city of her world, fleeing (with crates full of spellbooks) to one of the outer islands where she opens a jam shop.

If that sounds too sweet for you, it probably is. It is all-caps SWEET. But I really needed something sweet this week and this was perfect.

To fill out the rest of our Five Happy Things here are four more books that feel like a warm hug. . .

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Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

A battle-weary orc opens a coffee shop in a small city, building an unexpectedly warm and supportive community around her as she does. This is my favorite cozy fantasy.

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A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

This is my favorite cozy science fiction. Big events are happening in the background, but this book is about a handful of people on a small ship doing a small task. Most of the characters aren’t human, but this is one of the most human stories I’ve ever read. I adore it. I haven’t read the fourth companion book yet because I just don’t want it to end.

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Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I never read this book as a child. I have no idea why, but it never crossed my path. What a joy it was to discover it as an adult! My husband started to read it as research for a book he was writing. He got to the end of the first chapter and decided he must read it aloud to all of us. I’m so glad he did! Anne is the most delightful chatterbox I’ve ever encountered.

I have a confession. I’ve never finished this book. The why is a bit of a spoiler, so if you haven’t read it yet, skip to below the next dividing line. As Alan was nearing the end, it because very clear that something very sad was about to happen to Matthew. None of us could bear it, so we decided to stop reading and just leave them all preserved in amber in our minds. I’ve never done that with any other book before or since. I’m sure Montgomery handled the sadness beautifully, and a part of me feels bad about skipping over it, but I also kind of love having them all there in my mind forever, right before that moment. In a book - unlike in real life - we have the power to prevent someone we love from dying.

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I named my daughter Jo! Of course this book was going to be on this list!

My aunt and uncle gave me this book when I was eight years old and they were terribly disappointed when I gobbled it up in two days. They said they deliberately bought me the biggest book they could find so I wouldn’t fly through it so quickly! 😂 I told them it wasn’t a problem at all. I loved it and had already read it a second time and anticipated reading it many more times. And I have! If you haven’t read it as an adult - do! It’s wonderful.

So there you are - five books that feel like a warm hug. And if you need some hot cocoa while you read, this is my favorite recipe.

Enjoy!

Best,
Wendi
❤️