Header image stating "Foxtrot Firefly: History, Tea, and Books" with images of hot tea on either side.

Upcoming Book Releases

New to the Bookshop page is a list of upcoming releases – including the Louise Penny! I was going through and realizing that a lot of my favorite authors have books coming out soon. Yes, that does mean a lot of romance novels – but you should know that if you’ve been following my page. On the list on the page I have included their expected release date and have organized them by that date. ALSO: If you’ve been following my Instagram, Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn was my September Book of […]

Returning from Maternity Leave

So I am back at my computer, finally with a quiet moment without a baby on my lap, to add a few tweaks to my blog and to catch you all up on what I’ve been reading since my last post. That is one of the nice things about maternity leave – lots of time to either sit and listen to a book, or read it on an e-reader. (No physical books for me at the moment, sadly. I don’t have enough hands.) That being said, while I started A Promised Land by Barack Obama […]

November BOTM

In a twist of fate – particularly after last month’s Book of the Month post – this past weekend was warm. Like, unseasonably warm for November. This was excellent for our tour program at work (since we’re somewhat reliant on outdoor tours in these COVID days). But still, completely unexpected. That didn’t stop me from choosing a book for my November Book of the Month that the judge reviewed as being “a hug in book form”. And if you follow me on Instagram you already know which book that is. This Time Next Year by […]

October BOTM

Happy Fall! If you haven’t had the joy of pulling out a sweater, brewing a cup of tea, or order a pumpkin spice latte yet – no worries! It is here! I have been watching the colors changing at my office and on our yearly fall camping trips! September is such a weird month because it always feels like the weather can’t quite make up its mind. Should it let go of summer? No, not yet… Maybe? No, definitely time to be chilly. Except for when remembering what chilly is and decide that no, summer […]

Book of the Month: April Pick

They’re here, they’re here – TWO DAYS EARLY! (By the time this post publishes, it will be April 3rd and therefore no longer early. But since I’m ahead of the game here, I’m still two days early.) Five Book of the Month picks to choose from as usual, and yet I was so torn I almost picked THREE! Caught between the 1920s, World War II, and romance, I ended up going with The Paris Hours by Alex George. A bit of romance, a bit of Paris, a bit of 1920s Paris society, I couldn’t resist. […]

Book Review: Things in Jars

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd was intriguing. It was not quite what I was expecting, and the ghost element didn’t really seem to have too much tie in to the plot. But otherwise, I liked the book overall. The combination of pseudo-science, the history of the resurrectionists, and the mystical was a quality that worked really well together in this book. The mermaid aspect was not quite what one would expect. Definitely edged more toward the creepy end of the fairy tale spectrum – but then, this book is no fairy tale.

Book of the Month: March Picks

Happy Super Tuesday! If you’re in a Super Tuesday state – go vote! This blog post will still be here when you get back. Or you can read it while in line at the polls. Now on to the rest of the post. Our two top selling books in the gift shop where I work (at least, until the new Little Women movie was released this past December) are Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey and Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City. The most commented on book in our gift shop? […]

BOTM: January 2020

How do we start the year off on the right foot? With new books of course! For the month of January I have two books from Book of the Month! Because I’m a Book of the Month BFF, I get one of the finalists for Book of the Year in my January box – so I went with A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. While I’m intrigued by the Book of the Year winner – Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I also have to admit that it also doesn’t […]

Book Review: The Glittering Hour

This one was a bit heart-wrenching. The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey is the kind of book you pick up thinking that it is going to be sweet – and it is on a number of levels. Most of the story is told through the perspective of Alice, daughter of one of the “Bright Young Things” that everyone talked about in the 1920s. And certainly, it starts off sweetly enough. Alice’s mother has put together a treasure hunt for her. A treasure hunt to explain how Alice came to be. And then you find yourself […]

Book Review: Red, White, and Royal Blue

Woah. I had no idea what to expect out of this book, but it was clearly written in the time around the 2016 election. There was so much hope in this book. Hope and fear and feeling and wishing for this alternate universe in some form or another. This was the book I was expecting, but also not at all the book I was expecting. Casey, you wonderful, wonderful human being – thank you for this! Interestingly, what comes to mind about this book is a quote I heard this morning from Kate DiCamillo in […]