A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

CALM CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR Book Review

Beth Kempton's Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy is a delightful holiday read. I’m always searching for Christmas books that are a little outside the box. Yes, I want something with more substance than a rom-com. However, I don't want someone dying or discovering they have cancer around the holidays, either. (Elin Hilderbrand's Winter Street Series, I'm looking at you.)  Even though I usually read fiction at...

GOING TO MAINE Book Review

Reading Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail was the most fun I’ve had in awhile from the easy, even-more-appreciated comfort of my couch.   What’s Going to Maine about? Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail is a memoir by Sally Chaffin Brooks that recounts when, at twenty-five years old, she decided to thru-hike (read: hike all the way through) the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine...

SLOW PRODUCTIVITY Book Review

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout is a book that 20-Something CJ wouldn't have looked twice at. Let's fast forward (quite) a few years to, well, now. CJ's in her early 40s (and apparently speaking in third person). She has a great career and several side hustles that she loves. And she's exhausted from trying to fit everything in.  So, you better believe she/I clicked Order on bookshop.org and tracked the...

SPARE Book Review

I knew I was going to love Spare before I even read it. In all honesty, I was predisposed to love it: I’m that girl who got up at 6am to watch Kate Middleton marry Prince William and risked being late for her train because I didn’t want to leave the house before she walked down the aisle. I’m that girl baked scones at 5am and donned a fascinator when Prince Harry married Megan Markle. I’ve seen every season of The Crown, and I’m...

HAPPY JOBS: DOING WHAT YOU LOVE FOR A LIVING Book Review

Happy 2024, Tartlets! I’m kicking off the new year with a book review I think many people could use: Happy Jobs: Doing What You Love for a Living. Truth time: Who here doesn’t like their day job? (Hiiiiiii.) Who here wishes they could do something else for a living, but you don’t know what that “something else” is? Who here does know what that “something else” is – but is afraid to venture down a new path since the one you’re...

Book Review of DECODING THE STARS: A Modern Astrology Guide to Discover Your Life’s Purpose

I don't usually read books like Decoding the Stars: A Modern Astrology Guide to Discover Your Life's Purpose. But, I’m so glad I broke out of my comfort zone with this one. As we bring 2023 to a close, I’m bringing you a dose of “woo woo” that'll knock your socks off.   How I discovered Decoding the Stars I actually met author Allison Scott before I'd even heard of Decoding the Stars. We hit it off and soon started talking about ghosts...

ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT Book Review

Confession: I've never read a Stephen King novel. Yes, even though I adore horror stories. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is the first work by this insanely famous author I've read.     A good writer always needs more writing advice I picked up On Writing because so many other writers, readers, agents, and editors have recommended it to me as a must-read for aspiring authors. I received a library copy in 2019 during The Great Concussion...

THE BABYSITTER Book Review

"To the Women." Author Liza Rodman dedicated her memoir, The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer, "to the women." I always read dedication pages, and when I saw this phrase at the beginning of the book, I thought the sentiment was sweet. But, that's about it. Because I didn't know yet. I didn't know what I was about to read. By the time I finished reading The Babysitter, the full impact of "to the women" hit me like a brick.  ...

WOW, NO THANK YOU Book Review

I knew I was going to enjoy Wow, No Thank You when I saw that author Samantha Irby also runs a blog called bitchesgottaeat.com. My enchantment with Irby only increased when I saw that she dedicated this book of essays to Wellbutrin, to which I, too, owe many a debt of gratitude. Obviously, Irby and I are kindred spirits.   Why I wanted to read Wow, No Thank You The reason I originally decided to read Wow, No Thank You is the...

COSY: THE BRITISH ART OF COMFORT Book Review

It just so happens that I cracked open Cosy: The British Art of Comfort on a cold winter night. The temp had dropped down below freezing, and gusty winds whipped around the corners of our little cottage in the snowy mountains. I was wrapped up in the colorful afghan my grandmother knitted for me, sipping hot cocoa topped with whipped cream from a hand-crafted clay mug, with a furry little cat snuggled up on my lap. In short, at that moment, I...