Travel Reading Log: What I Read While I Was On Whidbey

Well, we're two months into the new year, and if there's any Resolution I've been totally delivering on, it's "Get out of the house more." Not necessarily by my own volition, but regardless: I'm nailing it. 

As for last weekend's excursion, the reasoning boils down to this: one of my younger siblings wanted the house all to themselves, in order to celebrate their birthday weekend with friends. My Mom jumped at the opportunity to get away for the weekend, and check out one of the many exciting vacation destinations around the Pacific Northwest. Originally we were planning a little Cannon Beach excursion down on the Oregon coast, but after VRBO prices proved prohibitive and my ceaseless begging to take a ferry ride won out, the date was settled: I packed a bag and some hiking boots, and scooted off to the Whidbey waterfront for a little island time. 

For those keeping score, this is actually the second vacation of my parents' that I've crashed so far this year: the three of us stayed an overnight in a haunted castle in Port Townsend back in January. (Which made for some pre-ferry-boarding shopping this time around, because we already knew which stores we liked best!)

This time, though, I was venturing off with an intention: there was no way I was getting out of this weekend without finishing at LEAST two reads under my belt! In particular, I wanted to wrap up a book I've been wandering through for a while, take out another from the Big Box of Paranormal Romance, and just generally get some reading time back that I've been missing out on for the past few weeks. 

Where We Went: Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island one of the longest, skinniest members of the San Juan Islands, and the largest overall island in Washington State. It is primarily accessible by way of several ferry systems through places like Port Townsend and Mukilteo, or driving around to Deception Pass at the Northern tip of the island. It's also home to several towns, including Langley, Oak Harbor, and Coupeville.

Whidbey seems to have something for just about every Birkenstock-and-sock-wearing PNW traveler. For instance, area farms produce plenty of produce, meat products, and more, and the island boasts a great many farmer's markets, which makes it a regular destination for locavores. It serves as a home to multiple wineries, breweries, and even a cider house, which is why it's considering an exciting tasting destination. Old growth forests, multiple protected state parks, and miles of coastline - each with their own diverse and exciting flora and fauna - make it a playground for nature lovers. It's waterfront views and friendly locals make it a great place to just get away from it all and relax. 

It's a popular destination during the summer for what are surely obvious reasons, but there was plenty to do during February, as well! Sure, the ice cream shops may still be shut up for another month, but we explored cool shops, dined at some truly lovely restaurants, and yes, of course, did an awful lot of reading. Or, at least, I did! 

A row of colorful stores in Langley, the view from the Coupeville wharf, and a Little Free Library we found while exploring!

What I Packed

The one I had to finish: Best American Food Writing 2020, ed. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

The next in my Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge: Bustin', Minda Webber

The one I want to pass on to my brother when I'm done: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker

and an extra romance novel on my Kindle for good measure, of course! 

Is it a lot of books? Yes. But should this have surprised anyone? In fact, it did the opposite, if you're my mom: in the car on the drive over, she and my Dad played a speed round of guessing "How Many Books Did Savannah Bring for This Weekend?" Not only did she immediately guess the correct number, but she even nailed my rationalization for bringing four books, as well, saying, "Well, one is for Friday night, and one is for Saturday morning, and one is for Saturday evening, and one is for Sunday, before we leave!" 

Did I manage to make it that far into my optimistic TBR? Not exactly. Still, I maintain that this is the appropriate number of books for a weekend excursion. 

What I Actually Ended Up Reading

I finally finished reading the second half of Best American Food Writing 2020 on Friday night, and immediately found some new all-time favorites. I've been a dedicated fan of the Food Writing series for a while now, and they make for some of my favorite secondhand or discount finds (that being said, I think I've exhausted almost all of my backlist resources now, and am two away from being fully caught up). 

This installment, in particular, made for some of the most compelling selections of the entire series so far: while the articles published within were all written within the 2019 food writing year, they were selected and organized at the top of the pandemic, and that divide - between who we were, and what would very quickly become important to us - makes for some seriously compelling subtext. I don't want to get too much into it before I publish an official review, but it made for some of my favorite food writing in recent memory. And that's not just because of the really stunning article about the questionable history of crab rangoon. 

I rocketed through Bustin' in just about one sitting, on Saturday afternoon. To be fair: the weather was incredibly cold, windy, and rainy for pretty much the full weekend - we are in February, in Washington, after all - which made it incredibly easy to curl up in front of the fire with a blanket and a good book for about a four-hour stretch.

The book itself was less easy, for reasons I'll get into later, when I officially review this read underneath the umbrella of my Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge. Not to tease you or anything, but this ended up being a much more cerebrally-tasking excursion than originally anticipated, and one that I pretty much subjected my parents to reading along with me, as I kept having to stop and incredulously read selections out loud. (I also ended up winging off several excerpts to my horrified brother via text.)

Due to various components of the novel itself, it took a lot longer to read than I had originally anticipated. It's a good thing that we were trapped inside because of that winter weather: being that I was caught between the February rain and a *ahem* hard place, the only thing keeping me going was with a strict reading schedule. 

I read halfway through Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City on Saturday night. 

Who would have thought that a relatively linear medieval-style alternative universe, wherein a walled city is being besieged by intelligent and unrelenting pirates, defended only by the various military strategies orchestrated by one ornery engineer, would make for such a compelling vacation read? 

After working so hard to get through Bustin' - and with the completion of Food Writing 2020 so recently on the backburner - I was already happy with the amount of reading I'd done for the weekend, but wanted to get at least a little of the way into a new one before heading out the following morning. Needless to say, one chapter turned to two, until it was 11pm and I was ready for bed, but not exactly ready to put the book down just yet. 

(Spoiler alert: in the time since, I haven't quite finished the novel, because I've spent a little too much time looking at Goodreads reviews for it... and I took a look at the final chapter, because I was getting anxious about how it all would end. Yes, yes, I can hear your booing from here! It was a series of total mistakes on my part, that have kind of stalled me in picking up again since then... but believe it or not, I'm still planning on finishing it!)

What Else We Did

I know I mentioned the amount of rain we got while on the island, but I truly believe that had we not spent so much time driving around beautiful trees, checking out tourist shops, and eating at such delicious restaurants, I might have been able to get even more reading done! 

My Dad bemoaned one morning this week, after we'd made it home, that sometimes, it feels like the vacations we take are really just food tourist weekends, and honestly, he's not that far off the mark (At least for me it is!). Unsurprisingly, there were a few restaurants we really loved on the island, that I would absolutely be willing to make a return trip to in the future. 

Saltwater, in Langley, is a higher-end dining establishment specializing in - you guessed it - seafood, and was our sought-after table for Friday night. They don't take reservations, so make sure you have someone in your party go in about a half-hour before you'd like to be seated, and use your waiting time to walk around some of the local shops, or snag a glass of wine or two at Ott & Hunter across the street.

It's definitely on the pricier side, but for me - someone who prizes seafood above all else, and rarely ever gets it - it was well worth it to splurge on the seafood tower, which came with a half-crab, the largest shrimp I'd ever seen, and twelve oysters (and you choose the variety). Split between three people, it made for delicious fare, that really made me get into the waterfront vibes that Whidbey is known for. 

The Braeburn Restaurant, also in Langley, boasts one of the highest-regarded breakfast+lunch+brunch lineups on the island. The overall vibe was bright and welcoming, and the drinkware was an eclectic mix of stylized water glasses and mugs that look like they were picked up at a nearby thrift store. 

The food is amply portioned and absolutely delicious: faves included the breakfast bread pudding, and the "Braeburn" sandwich, which consisted of a fried chicken breast suspended between two waffles, complete with bacon jam, goat cheese, and maple butter to go alongside. Definitely one of those places where you can't help checking out the plates being delivered to other diners as they walk through the dining room... one of my best friends calls it one of her favorite places to eat on the island! 

Of course, there are plenty of other local faves to check out for take-with-you goodies; most notably, delicious breakfast pastries, super-sweet truffles, and one of the best pies my parents have ever tasted. 

Little Red Hen Bakery, in Coupeville, has shelves upon shelves of delicious baked goods ready for pickup on a Saturday morning... literally. If you place an order by Thursday evening on their website, they'll have a full box of goodies ready for you to enjoy with your Saturday coffee, without having to battle it out against the rest of the island for the last kouign-amann or ham and cheese scone. We went into the store on Saturday afternoon - to procure any treats for our pre-ferry breakfast the following morning - and were surprised to see they were still pretty well-stocked, especially when it comes into their fragile-yet-delicious croissants (Both chocolate and almond are delicious). 

Greenbank Farm is heralded as the home of Whidbey Pies, which are known across the Puget Sound area for their flavorful, sturdy crusts, and fresh fruit fillings. In the summer, its grassy picnic areas, dog park, and solar farm probably make for a good afternoon's exploring; even in the rain, we still found time to drift through the wine tasting room, the cheese shop, and yes, pick up a pie. We'd recommend Loganberry: Greenbank Farms was once the largest loganberry farm in the world! (And we even picked up some loganberry dessert wine from the tasting shop, too.) 

Sweet Mona's Chocolates, in Langley, made for a seriously sweet outing, too. Tucked inside the colorful shop was a selection of delicious truffles, as well as other kinds of treats, like honeycomb, fudge, and more. We ended up putting together a box of twelve to take home, in flavors like cherry amaretto, banana, and more, and we've been using them as an afternoon pick-me-up all week! 

Of course, there are plenty of cool non-food-related things to do on the island, too. Local stores make for some low-key shopping destinations while you're in town. 

In particular, Coupeville was where I found some of my favorites: Kingfisher Bookstore is a gorgeous, well-organized bookstore, with plenty on offer for those interested in the history of the Puget Sound, as well as buzzy new releases, classic faves, and even displays created to celebrate local authors. 

For someone who's always on the hunt for their next great arts-and-craft supplies, Meet Market made for some very cool perusing, as well as some happy conversation with the person manning the front desk. Not only are there plenty of supplies to check out, but there's also a few tables set up with plenty of others, as a community art space! My Dad spent the time I dedicated to browsing making an origami frog out of some scrap paper, and left it as a thank you for such a wonderful space. I, of course, walked away with a new set of Tombow brush pens (in the "Retro" color collection), a pack of new pencils, a new white gelly roll pen, and some stickers for my siblings.

Soon enough, though, the weekend was over, and we headed on a ferry back to the mainland. I'm pretty stoked on how many books I managed to fit into our all-too-brief stay, but I'm honestly just as excited about all of the seafood, fresh air, and time next to the water we got, for all of that rain we had to contend with. I can't wait to make another return trip to Whidbey soon!

But there's a whole lot of other travel that has to take place before we get there again...

Have you spent much time on Whidbey Island? What are some of your favorite genres to pack on a weekend trip? Let me know, in the comments below!

Love Is Books: Speed-Dating My Kindle for Valentine's Day

It is Valentine's Day once again, and surprising no one, I am still single. (Trust me, it's better this way.) 

My solitary status has become, for me, as ubiquitous to the pink-and-red holiday as heart-shaped boxes of dubiously-flavored chocolates and small grocery-store teddy bears that still smell like plastic. And besides, my family routinely eschews any form of major holiday gesture thanks to the fact that it takes up a spot on the calendar also dedicated to the birthday of my second-youngest sibling, who doesn't always like to share. 

But as I bemoaned to said sibling recently, I do actually really enjoy Valentine's Day. 

Just not in the high-pressure-floral-arrangements and expensive-restaurant-reservation sense... though I'd never turn my nose up at a dinner out. I mean more like in the "everyone gets candy" sense. 

The kind where your teacher sent home lists of the names of everyone in your class so you knew how to spell them all correctly, and you spent at least an hour of class time painstakingly attempting to get more tissue paper stuck to your shoebox than your fingers. The kind with special snacks and pink cupcakes on heart-shaped plates delivered with love by the parents of kids who you otherwise barely tolerated on a daily basis, now suddenly on their best behavior. The kind where you agonized over the meager pickings at Fred Meyer in an attempt to procure the perfect card assortment, with the franchise of your choice on the front.

(Whether you deliberately picked-and-chose which cards went home with which friends was a secret that never made it into the classroom, if you were smart about it. After all, some friends get Belle and Jasmine cards, and some got Snow White. That's just how the world has to work... it's not like your mom was going to get you an extra box of 'em to even the playing field.) 

So, instead of bemoaning my personal romantic woes on February 14th, I typically like to celebrate the gooey stuff in my own way. Pink-and-white checkered tablecloths, the kinds of flowers that won't kill my cat, and a self-directed sort of baking with whatever I can scrounge out of the pantry. I also have maintained the habit of individual, hand-drawn Valentines for every member of my family for years now, but we don't need to get into my crafting habits. 

The point is, it's not totally out of the realm of reason that I've started a kind of annual bookish Valentine's tradition for myself, too. I like to date my books. 

You've seen it on here a couple of times before - including twice in 2020, in both March and April - but I really instituted it for the first time on, you guessed it, Valentine's Day 2017. (The blogpost didn't go up 'til a few days after, so sue me.) 

Here's a refresher to how the process works, exactly: 

1. First, you pick a stack of books you want to read from your shelves. I usually stick around 10 or so. 

2. You gather the rest of your materials: a notebook and something to write with, a timer (or your cell phone), and maybe a snack or something. A nice beverage for your troubles. 

3. Assemble the books in a stack, and set your timer for four minutes. 

4. When you start the timer, you pick up your first book, and read for the complete duration, until your timer goes off. 

5. Then, quickly jot down a couple of notes on how you think it went! Try to take approximately, so each book gets a total of five minutes of attention. Did you enjoy the style, the voice, the action, the characters?

6. At the end of your notes, write down whether you want to read it "Now," "Soon," or "Later." If "Later," try to specify when. Depending on how easygoing you are with sending away books, try to stretch yourself to add a fourth category, like "Delete," "Donate," or "Give Away." 

7. When you feel satisfied with your notes, start the timer again, pick up your next read, and repeat the process until the stack is finished! 

For this particular Valentine's Day round of speed-dating, I wanted to get a little more specific. 

Like I said, it's a practice I employ pretty darn regularly, especially when I'm having trouble really sinking into a good read. The problem is, when I decided to undertake this particular celebration, I'd already been experiencing an excellent recent track record: I've finished two books so far this month, am well on my way through a third, and have the next couple already lined up on my coffee table. 

Instead, I decided to find something a little more seasonably appropriate... one that I'd already been thinking about recently... thanks to another challenge that might sound a little familiar to you.

Back in 2021, the first time I did the self-inflicted Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge (with the help of my brother), one of the primary complaints that I had by the end of that year, was that I didn't actually end up reading all that many romance novels: because I'm very much a mood reader, and don't do well with reading a lot of the same genre in a row, I ended up pretty solidly narrowing my scope to singularly those that were in the challenge... after all, I figured that if I was going to read any of it at all, it might as well be productive (famous last words).

Meanwhile, the ranks of the romances on my Kindle continued to spiral upwards. 

The thing is - as we well know from my decisions this year to go on a Book-Buying Ban - I tend to have a bit of a hair-trigger when I see compelling ebooks up for grabs for $1.99 a piece. Which is why this past Summer, while beginning to catalog my sins from amongst my sagging bookshelves, I decided to make a Google doc with every single romance novel I owned on it, complete with author title and tropes involved. 

Ninety-five. I had somehow amassed over 95 titles of Romances on my Kindle, that I had yet to read. 

And by the end of 2022, a few months later? It was ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN.

So, that was my plan. Reading Romance novels? For Valentine's Day? Groundbreaking. But in the end, it was the right decision on all counts: by focusing on speed-dating my Romances off of my Kindle, it would help me continue to work through my TBR backlogs without eschewing them in favor of the all-too-alluring Paranormal Romances from my Challenge again. 

We love a theme, you know. 

And because - like a lot of things about my personal reading habits - this was all clearly my brother's fault, I made him select all of the mystery numbers in a draft-style reveal conducted over Zoom. 

So if you've got questions, you know, blame him.

#4. When a Scot Ties the Knot, Tessa Dare

A soon-to-be society deb throws off the attentions of the London ton in favor of inventing a fake sweetheart, with ten years of real letters sent to maintain the ruse. Now, there is a disarmingly handsome Highlander standing at her front door, claiming that he's the true Logan McKenzie... and that he's come to marry her. 

There's a reason why Tessa Dare was the first real Historical Romance I ever read... her novels are so dang user-friendly! It immediate launches into the plot, providing backstory without getting bogged down by details... her books are always easy to start and jump in with both feet. Could be a fun read as we start to head more towards Spring. 

#67. The Madness of Lord Ian McKenzie, Jennifer Ashley

A now-wealthy widow has decided to settle down with a proper Englishman, in the hopes of keeping her life drama-free forever. However, her fiancé's misdoings have attracted the interest of a stark raving Lord, whose fascination with porcelain is as well known as his intense romantic entanglements... and now his eye is on her.

Well, mission accomplished: Ian McKenzie certainly comes off mad as a hatter. Heroine Beth seems like she's alright, albeit forgettable, with very little personality to speak of beyond desiring peace and quiet. I've heard this one hyped up by people I trust, but I don't really feel like anything happened in the selection I read. At least, nothing I cared about. 

#39. The Bromance Book Club, Alyssa Kay Adams

A major league baseball player is sent reeling when his wife voices dissatisfaction about their bedroom activities. So, he freezes her out, leading to weeks of a tension-filled home with their two daughters, and is somehow surprised when she asks for a divorce. Now, his teammates have welcomed him into the ranks of a secret book club, where reading romance novels helps unearth secrets to romantic success... which Gavin hopes will show Thea he's not giving up on their marriage just yet. 

Out of all of the Romances I've tried so far, this is the one that feels the most loosely connected to even the concept of reality, in a genre that is not exactly known for its dedicated realism. On top of that, Gavin is all at once unbearably macho-leaning, while also being a little too pathetic... because his decision-making skill seem so appallingly lackluster, it's hard to position him as someone I'm interested in rooting for. I mean, the book literally opens with him being too drunk to function in a hotel room, then showing up at his house and impulsively kissing the woman who's told him to leave twice already. It's definitely easy to read, but doesn't feel like it would be all that personally edifying. Out of approximately seven minutes, I found myself 10% of the way into the book, so at the very least, it will be brief. 

#101. Hired, Zoey Castile

It's not easy being a male escort, ditched by his week-long client in a New Orleans hotel room. While waiting for her return, Aiden meets the sweet-and-sensitive Faith, and it seems like, for the first time in a while, his luck in the romance department may be changing. The catch? She doesn't actually know about his profession. And her mother is running for mayor. 

Another kind of not-so-appealing Hero with Aiden... he's introduced as having spent a little too much time and attention to the hotel bar over the course of two days, getting positively hammered because there's nothing better for him to do. Which begs another worthy question: why the heck did these two books both open with a sad sack Hero getting absolutely sloshed? Why is rampant drunkenness something that is so easy to find in Romance novels, especially in relation to the coping mechanisms of the Hero? Not attractive. Not to mention I managed to read a full 5% of the way into the book without meeting Faith at all, so what gives? We really needed that much more time with this guy getting hammered?

#27. Goalie Interference, Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn

Emmitt's just had his best hockey season yet, with a minor-leagues trophy in tow... only to learn that he's been traded. The good news is, it's on the professional level; the bad, he'll be playing for his rivals. He's determined to earn a spot on the team for good, but standing in his way, is the other player in line for the starting goalie position: the talented and competitive Ryu, who's a lot more distracting than Emmitt bargained for. In more ways than one. 

ANOTHER Drunk Guy opening! Are you kidding me? I mean, I'm not even exactly a teetotaler myself, but to have three books in a row all open with a hungover - or actively in the process of making himself sick from drinking - Hero, feels kind of wild. Other than that, this intro reads just fine... a kind of fratty-nerdy combo appears to be in the works, which is okay, especially within the scope of LGBT Romance. I'm not super driven to read Sports Romance - which is also alarmingly present within the ranks of my Kindle selections, for some reason - but maybe Hockey will be different. 

#73. Boss in the Bedsheets, Kate Canterbury

The micromanaging and detail-obsessed Ash is on the hunt for a new assistant, and after a frustrating morning at the airport, one nearly falls into his lap, due to a seating switcheroo: Zelda, a scattered, positive ball of energy, is determined to fill his business needs, as well as get him to loosen up a little. Will hot-and-cold combo find that opposites attract, or are they just too different? 

The Hero, Ash, angrily trips over a kid while rushing through the airport and only feels capable of regarding it as a personal nuisance. The Heroine, Zelda, is so absent-minded that she triggers an airport-wide bomb response, because she's incapable of neither minding her luggage or removing her headphones. I personally feel that they are both too unlikable to keep reading... which is hilarious, because apparently one of the themes of the book is looking beyond appearances. I am burdened by no such motivation.

#99. Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, Nancy Campbell Allen

Lucy's cousin Kate is in a predicament: the recent newlywed has fallen ill, and her new brother-in-law, Lord Miles, might have something to do with it. Lucy jumps on the next airship to join her, and finds herself staring down not only ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, but the unpredictable lord, too, who asks for help in determining the causes of death for his own recently-deceased bride, and his sister. Can Lucy solve what's behind these mysterious happenings... and Miles' heart? 

Somehow, some way, in the midst of the "let's read Romances that aren't Paranormal" exercise, I stumbled upon a Paranormal Romance. This one generated such an intense response from me, that I audibly said "No" and "Oh no" multiple times within the scope of approximately three minutes, and then dipped out of reading early because I was having such a hard time. I like Steampunk, honestly, but this one just fell a little too far outside of my interest range... and when you add vampires to the mix - let alone vampires that leave a "green vampire venom" residue on their victims, it just felt like too much. Do I really feel like reading just to see how Hot this Topic can get? 

#12. The Foxhole Court, Nora Sakavic

Neil is tired of running - unless its on the Exy field - so you'd think a scholarship from a college team would be a godsend. Instead, he feels more exposed than ever before: the increased visibility means a higher likelihood that his crime lord father will find him. Will his new team help him open up, or is he destined to lose the only people who made him feel like he belonged? 

Welcome to Angstville. It's like if a Mafia Romance met a Sports Romance and decided to have a tatted-and-sweatband-wearing baby. Neither of those are exactly my fave genres, unfortunately. However... the reason this was added to my Kindle in the first place, is because it came personally recommended from a friend back in college. Its legacy on Tumblr is vast and reaching... maybe worth a shot, due to fun nostalgia factors in regards to the mid 2010s? 

#81. One Good Earl Deserves a Lover, Sarah MacLean

The scientifically-minded Lady Phillipa is already engaged... but it wouldn't be in the spirit of scientific process if she didn't try exploring all of London's more scandalous parts before she ties the knot. She wants the experiences of ruination, without any of the social fallout, which is exactly why she recruits gaming hell owner Cross to do it. But can she handle the results of such experiments? 

Nearly died laughing when I thought the Hero of this story was 23... those are the kinds of numbers that even the Bachelor Franchise has the tendency to balk at. Thankfully, there was a time jump shortly thereafter, which makes him more worthy of a Romance novel mantle. Still, getting some Evie-and-Rick vibes from the two main characters, which is fun, even if I don't love the gaming hell setting (one of my least fave Historical tropes). Still, I'm a pretty confirmed fan of Sarah's. 

#69. How to Forget a Duke, Vivienne Lorret

Jacinda's independence is secured for her by marriage... just not her own. With her sisters, she runs a  matchmaking service, one that assists members of the London ton facilitate beneficial engagements. Her new client, the Duke of Rydstrom, isn't making it easy, however, as he's clearly hiding something. When Jacinda's meddling leads to her temporary amnesia, Rydstom might just realize the right person for him to marry is closer than he'd think. 

I am refreshed by the fact that instead of a naïve, nose-up debutante, the Heroine of this Romance, Jacinda, seems to be a bit of an unapologetic disaster of a human being. She's a snoop for both fun and money, and the Hero feels all kinds of shady, which is a great dynamic. I'm actually quite interested in this one. Plus, the cover is so beautifully done, that I almost owned a physical copy.

How it all shook out, you may ask? In the end, I not only knocked a tome out of the ranks of that 107-book-long TBR, I knocked out THREE. 

Two of them came down to straight-up deleting off of my Kindle: nothing about Boss in the Bedsheets or Beauty and the Clockwork Beast seemed like they were my cup of tea while reading, so I decided to send them on their way. 

I decided that I'll let five of them stick around for a little while in the "Later" category... honestly, it feels like an act of grace, because some of these Sports Romances are on thin ice with me, personally (which is fitting, because one of them is Hockey). The Madness of Lord Ian McKenzie, Hired, Goalie Interference, The Foxhole Court, and One Good Earl Deserves a Lover might make it onto my "Currently Reading" shelves some day... but not today. 

And to my "Soon" pile, I actually found two that I'm feeling pretty good about getting around to, for completely different reasons. How to Forget a Duke I'm genuinely pretty excited about reading, whether that's still within the month of February, or letting it hang out for a little longer. Bromance Book Club, on the other hand, I might just do another round of five-minute-reading cycles on, to keep evaluating whether the characters ever feel more grounded or relatable: the dialogue was compelling, and the speed with which I could blast through this feels pretty short, so maybe it's worth it anyways? No way to know but to keep reading. 

Of course, all of this means that my winner was, in fact, When a Scot Ties the Knot. I should have just used my Tessa Dare past as a guidepost, anyways: again, she's a great way to ease into the genre, and I needed something pretty relaxed to celebrate the lovey-dovey season with. 

Now, what I actually thought of reading this book? That's a tale for another time. ;) 

What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate Valentine's Day? Which of the selections from this list piqued your own interest? Did I make the right choice? Let me know, in the comments below!

All the Words I Googled While Reading Jane Eyre: an Argument for Learning Fun Words

I had made it approximately four chapters in, before I found myself stymied. Now this one, I know, I thought to myself, puzzling over the text, but I don't know if I really know it. Was it worth knowing something halfway, and moving on... or satisfying my curiosity, and getting into the specifics? 

Curiosity won out, and I put aside the book, to quickly Google what, exactly, "moiety" meant again. 

According to the search engine's first entry, a "moiety" is a noun, expressing a part or portion of a larger whole, and more specifically, the lesser share or value. Jane, unfortunately, was being robbed of the greater amount of her already meager portions of Lowood School's daily provisions, set upon by older students more used to Brocklehurst's stingy treatments, and being left with only a fraction. 

Had I known this, in a general sense? Yes. I mean, from context clues, you could probably have divined yourself a course towards the idea that only receiving a "moiety" was something bad. Could it have meant "crumbs," or "remains," or something similarly communicating the paltriness of the meal? Yes. But it wouldn't be the same.

One of the fun parts of learning new vocabulary, is the ability to get specific. 

acrimony (noun) - bitterness, resentment, scorn, or other form of persistent ill-feeling between parties.

ameliorate (verb) - to remedy a situation or circumstance; to make something bad, better. 

antipodes (noun) - referring to something's expressed or polar opposite. Because this book was written in England, the phrase was colloquially used to refer to allied places in the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Australia and New Zealand, as "The Antipodes." 

beldam (noun) - an old woman; in particular, an ugly, angry, or malicious one, like a witch. In an archaic sense, it originated with the French term of "belle dame" - or "beautiful woman" - but nowadays, it's mainly a reference to the true name of the Other Mother in Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

cicatrize (verb) - in reference to a wound, the process of healing by way of scar formation.

condole (verb) - to grieve along with someone, or to express sympathy in a more personal way. Like "console," which is confusing because it's only one letter off, but to be fair, it's the root word we get "condolences" from. 

contumacy (noun) - the rejection or refusal of instructions; stubbornly resisting or disobeying authority, especially in the legal sense, like a court order or summons. Later on in the book I also ended up Googling "contumelious," which shares the same root, and refers to someone who is insolent, scornful or insulting. 

So, in case you couldn't divine from the title of the blogpost: here is a list of every single word I had to search up while reading Charlotte Bronte's Gothic classic, Jane Eyre, about a month back in January. It truly, honestly, wasn't meant to be a list that was shared - and certainly not a blogpost - but the more comfortable I got with admitting personal defeat, and turning to the search engine, the more I began to like the idea of publishing this kind of an open rundown when it was all over. 

Why? Why not! Learning new vocabulary is a great time. It's as important a life skill as learning how to shuffle playing cards or perfecting your back handspring: it's fun to be able to trot this kind of impressive display out at parties. 

Chances are, you can think of at least one time in your life that you were having a conversation with someone, and they whipped out the kind of crossword-stumping diction that could make the clouds rain Scrabble tiles. Or maybe, you were having a hard time describing a feeling or situation that felt particular to you, and you experienced that eureka moment when you knew you had just the perfect, specific word to say. It's powerful stuff. 

The thing is, I think most of anyone's persistent negative feelings about looking up vocab are really just remnants of the days where such things could only be accomplished with a hefty dictionary in hand. However, thanks to the easy access of the Internet - and those rectangular space-age devices emitting radioactive waves in our pockets - those tomes are now used to press flowers, or are gaining dust on your very-impressive looking bookshelves. In 2023, you can look up any word, at any time... and depending on how easily your voice command function is able to interpret your speaking patterns, you really don't have to push that many buttons to do it.

You can do it while out at coffee with a friend, frantically tapping your screen under the table to figure out that new slang term you've never heard before. You could be sitting in your parked car, checking out a "Word a Day" app on your phone while picking your kid up from dance class. You could be lying down, using your arm as a temporary bookmark because you accidentally dropped your phone into that awkward crack between your bed and the wall again and you really need to know what the heck "rive" means (It's a verb, basically meaning "to rip apart violently," or to rend or tear or split or crack or break. Lots of options). 

Learning new vocab is more accessible now than it has ever been before. 

dross (noun) - something typically regarded as garbage, worthless, or something that should be thrown away. Specifically, this refers to the scum that forms a floating byproduct on the surface of molten metal, which is fun. 

etiolated (adjective) - having lost vigor or vitality; something withered and pale. I think it's specifically supposed to be about plants that haven't gotten a ton of sunlight, but it just makes me think of Hercules at the end of the Disney movie when he's floating around in the big pit of ghosts. 

halcyon (adjective) - referring to an idyllic or perfect time of the past, referencing a period of prosperity or peace. 

inexorable (adjective) - the quality of being unstoppable or impossible to prevent. If a person is being inexorable, they will stubbornly refuse to acquiesce to requests or prompting; if a large train is being inexorable, I recommend you run out of the way very fast. 

meretricious (adjective) - having the appearance of beauty or attractive qualities, but ultimately, having no value or integrity beyond it. In the archaic sense, it was specifically relating to or characteristic of a prostitute; in a more contemporary angle, it can refer to anything from airport souvenirs to those kinds of expensive desserts you see at cafes that all end up burning the back of your throat with too much sugar. 

mien (noun) - a person's general aspect or manner, especially appearance, giving more indication towards their character, mood, or behavior. 

palliate (verb) - to ease or alleviate the symptoms of something severe or detrimental, but without really relieving the cause. To soothe or moderate, or even disguise the impact of something, like how you can only take so many doses of ibuprofen before you decide you probably should just go see a doctor. 

Maybe it's those "options" - the fact that definitions themselves prove that you can actually use a great many other words you already know, rather than bothering to learn a whole new one - that make us feel like picking up vocab is something best relegated to the teenage, school-shackled set. But the thing is, approximate knowledge is good and all, but specific knowledge holds its own separate kind of power. 

I remember a particularly frustrating conversation, when I was much younger, where I was recounting a story to friends about time spent wandering a shopping center with my family. I explained that I had been "meandering through the aisles," when I was stopped by a sudden fit of laughter. "Meandering?" they said. "Why not just say walking, if that's what you mean?" I'm sure that at the time they thought that I was just trying to flex, but the reality was, I didn't say walking, because I didn't MEAN walking. I MEANT meandering. 

Walking could be anything, but meandering means a lazy, non-directional kind of wandering, like the kind you do at a shopping center. It connotes a sunny afternoon on vacation with my family, far better than just "walking" ever could. I was being specific, not deliberately pretentious, and whether or not my friends got the message, I was delivering it as clearly as I could. 

This story is something that floats to the top of my brain whenever I think about storytelling, and especially how much I hate certain authors who applaud themselves over their own rudimentary diction styles (*cough* Hemingway *cough*). Yes, there is absolutely argument to be made over accessible and straight-forward language... I was an English major, after all, and I hate reading particularly egregious academic articles as much as the next person. At the same time, there is also joy in the deliberation of a perfectly-chosen word, and the excitement that comes when we're given the opportunity to learn something new. 

Words aren't "one size fits all." Sometimes, it pays to get particular. 

paroxysm (noun) - a sudden attack or expression of a particular emotion or activity; an active demonstration of a feeling or impulse. Like if you suffered a paroxysm of weeping at a particularly moving Super Bowl commercial, or a paroxysm of laughter at a particularly funny Super Bowl commercial. 

piquant (adjective) - a distinctive pleasantly sharp taste or flavor... think aged white cheddar, peppery radishes, or pickled red onions. In more general terms, it can also mean something is pleasantly stimulating or exciting to experience. 

privation (noun) - a scarcity or lack of the sorts of things necessary for human survival or well-being, like shelter, food, or heat. Could also more generally refer to a quality or attribute of something that is normally true or present, but is now lacking. 

prurience (noun) - a strong interest in sexual matters, not necessarily just like in being lascivious or horny, but also like being a little too improper or snoopy in conversations; specifically expressing an interest in someone else's sexual behavior. 

repletion (noun) - eating until you're stuffed, beyond simple satisfaction. Can also refer to the condition of a location being filled up, or overcrowded, like a packed bar, or scribbles over the boundaries of a sheet of paper. 

But a specificity in word choice, also means having the conversational clout to back it up. It's a particular solecism - (noun) a slip-up in either expression or behavior; can refer to both a mistake in written or spoken language, as well as a breach in etiquette, or incorrect and awkward behavior - of the well-read individual, that chances are, we've attempted a word in real life that we'd only ever encountered on the page, to disastrous effect. 

I've had my tongue fixed firmly in my mouth for nearly thirty years now, but if that word in my brain only just got there yesterday, chances are that the two are going to tangle a little bit. 

Excellent news: Googling a word brings up not only the definition, but oftentimes, a little button right beside it that allows you to hear how the word is accurately spoken. Will I persist in pronouncing "mien" as a two-syllable word? Maybe. But I've heard how it's supposed to be said enough times that it's pretty solely my own fault in getting it wrong. I'll do my penance for the error by puzzling over how the word "halcyon" doesn't have a hard K sound in the middle of it, when I swear I've heard it that way before. 

The point is, when you learn a new word, it's important to look up how to say it. And then, use it in a sentence a couple of times to make sure you've got the whole operation down right. 

Using an SAT word in conversation makes you sound smart... but using an SAT word incorrectly in conversation makes it look like you're trying to sound smart, which is the kind of social offense that has nothing to do with actually wanting to learn new words. 

sagacity (noun) - the quality of being sagacious; wise, insightful, or astute in observation.

salubrious (adjective) - for something to be beneficial, healthy, or pleasant, especially in comparison to conditions that were not that beforehand.

sardonic (adjective) - sarcastic, grimly mocking, satirical, or cynical. When someone makes fun of you in a way that's meant to make you feel bad. I think this word was used to describe Mr. Edward Rochester upwards of ten times. 

syncope (noun) - fainting, or having a sudden loss of consciousness. 

torpid (adjective) - mentally or physically inactive, very sleepy or lazy, like the Lethargarians who live in the Doldrums in the Land Beyond the Tollbooth. Sometimes we are torpid because we are a hibernating bear, and sometimes we are torpid because we ate too much turkey at Thanksgiving. 

vicinage (noun) - another term for general area or location, like its other version, "vicinity." 

So, to recap: learning new words is fun, and super easy to do. It helps you impress your friends, and get specific about what you're trying to say. And as long as you remember to be deliberate about the ways you transition your newfound knowledge off the page and into conversations, it can be a really fun avenue for building a little more excitement into your diction on a regular basis. 

And just in case you haven't read Jane Eyre before... I highly recommend it. There's, like, a ton of fun words in there to play with. It's also a really great activity to undertake with friends, but furthermore, it's also cool to do on your own, at your own pace. The descriptions are all really pretty, and pretty much everyone in here is bonkers. It's a good time, and you should try it. 

It strikes me only just now that there is entirely the chance that someone doing an assignment on Jane Eyre for a high school English class might just stumble across this blogpost. After all, having to collect an assortment of vocabulary terms for a book report was exactly the sort of thing that I had to do while I was in school. In case you are a scholar, hello and welcome! 

Instead of just copy-pasting my words, why don't you take a different track instead: pass the link on to your teacher, or something. Maybe that way, you get a replacement activity that allows you to engage more with the material, instead... or a the very least, your instructor now views you as the kind of helpful, engaged person who can be trusted with the burden of an A. Maybe even an A+. Best of luck! 

And for the rest of us lifelong learners - the people who look for something new in every day, or at the very least, every other book - I hope you've taken away something just as valuable as a letter grade from this post, too. 

As a personal challenge, I think you should pick one of your favorites and use it in conversation today. 

(Just don't forget to search up the pronunciation, first.) 

Did you find a new favorite word on this list? Have you attempted Jane Eyre before? Let me know, in the comments below!