Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of
Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)! This link up is for book and
reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies
based on books!).
1. For bloggers, you can link unlimited
posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer
posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books
you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading,
about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift. 2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a
specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older
posts that may need some love and attention, too. 3. Please visit at least two other
bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact!
Get some book recommendations. 4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts. 5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).
This is an overview of the books I have finished in a month (not necessarily started
in the same month) and those I have read to Gundel (marked with 😸). I
will be adding a short explanation why I chose a book or how I found it
and possibly if it's a re-read candidate, but I'm usually not
going to add real reviews or ratings (Gundel also refuses to give
ratings). Should you want a little more information on a book you're interested in, though, just let me know. "Hildur - Die Toten am Meer" = "The Secrets from the Deep" by Satu Rämö, first published in 2024 (Hildur 4)
Hildur
Rúnarsdóttir is a police officer on the west coast of Iceland. Four skeletons are found on the farm of Hildur's late parents. A badly hurt kitchen worker escapes off a cruise ship. And a close friend of Hildur's mother dies unexpectedly in her nursing home. Are these cases connected?
I skipped the third book in the series because it was about animal abuse, but wasn't too enthusiastic about this one, either. "Zwei Sommer mit Christiane" (contains the books "Recht nette Mädchen" and "100 Tage mit Christiane") by Barbara Hug, first published in 1954 and 1957
The first book tells the story of the four Andresen daughters Andrea, Martina, Petra, and Christiane who live in a small town in Southwest Germany with their mother. The second book, set a few years later, tells the story of Christiane taking care of Martina's son while she and her husband are in Italy for work.
In this heat, I needed a nice and quick read (one of many re-reads over the years in this case) and I have loved these two books since childhood. They are not as fluffy as they may sound as they also touch on the topics of displaced persons after the war, poverty, community, and thinking about the future. "The Third Man" by Graham Greene, first published in 1950
Rollo Martins is invited to post-war Vienna - still divided among the Allied powers - by his old friend Harry Lime. When he arrives, however, he learns that Harry has died in a traffic accident. Rollo meets Major Calloway who tells him that Harry was involved in a racket with diluted penicillin, but Rollo doesn't believe him and starts investigating on his own.
I re-watched the movie for a random Saturday blog post and then read the novella which was just a treatment for the movie originally and differs a little from it in some details. "Miss Buncle Married" by D. E. Stevenson, first published in 1936
Miss Buncle, now married to her publisher Mr Abbott, has found a new house at Wandlebury and has just as much interest in her new neighbors as she had in those in Silverstream, but will she write a book about them?
I really enjoyed the first "Miss Buncle" book, but think I liked this one even better because it's calmer. I didn't laugh as much, but I grew fonder of the people, especially Barbara and Arthur as a couple. "The garden — as a garden — did not interest Arthur very much, but the garden and Barbara combined interested him enormously. Barbara was enchanting in the garden, so eager and pleased and happy, so surprised to find the things that she had planted — or caused to be planted — in the Autumn were really coming up. Barbara was more Barbara-ish than ever when she was in her garden, and Arthur could never have enough of the blend." "Lulu in Hollywood" by Louise Brooks, first published in 1982
The book contains seven autobiographical essays by dancer and silent movie star Louise Brooks, for example her view on Bogart, on Gish and Garbo or on her experience on filming in Berlin. There's also a later edition with an eighth essay.
I had heard about Louise Brooks before, but haven't seen a movie with her yet. The most interesting essay for me was the last one on her filming "Pandora's Box" in Berlin (pet peeve alert - in the filmography it says "Die Buchse der Pandora" which gave me another eye roll because it's "Büchse", a "Buchse" is a socket!).
"The
Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints" by M. V. Carey (the books were published attributed to Alfred Hitchcock),
first published in 1971 😸 (The Three Investigators 15)
Why has the eccentric man called The Potter disappeared just when he's expecting his daughter and grandson? Who are the men watching Mrs. Dobson and Tom and why do they do it. Once again, the Three Investigators get confronted with the secrets of a small European country.
I read this series a long time ago and am going through it again bit by bit after writing a blog post about it. "The Red House Mystery" by Alan Alexander Milne, first published in 1922
Antony Gillingham just wanted to visit his friend Bill Beverley who's staying at the Red House, but instead he and Matthew Cayley - the cousin of the house owner Mark Ablett - find a body in the office! Gillingham becomes a veritable "Holmes" and makes Bill his "Watson".
I hadn't known that Milne wrote a mystery - just this one - before seeing it in a book post by Jeanie from "The Marmelade Gypsy". Thank you, Jeanie, I enjoyed this one a lot! What a pity that Gillingham stayed a one hit wonder.
"Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters" by Laura Thompson, first published in 2015 (also as "The Six")
You would think this is just a biography of the six Mitford sisters Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah (there was also a brother Tom) who are known for their very different positions on life and politics in their time (communism, anti-semitism, fascism to name just a few keywords).
It's not that easy, though. It was interesting if you already know something about the family - I had seen documentaries - but you are better prepared for a lot of names (and nicknames!) and time jumps, and you really should have read Nancy's novels first because they get referenced a lot as well as names that were never explained. In short, this is not really what I expect from a biography. I was never in danger of DNFing, but I felt there was some fangirling/whitewashing - I can't excuse fascism even for a bit just because someone has a strong personality, intelligence, a gorgeous face and elegance, and that's just one example. Maybe it's too difficult to explain the Mitford "phenomenon" in just one single book. "Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull" = "Confessions of Felix Krull"by Thomas Mann, first published in 1922 (the first fragment)
The unfinished novel (written from 1910 to 1913 and late 1950 to 1954) tells the story of Felix Krull who, after the suicide of his father, a bankrupt maker of sparkling wine, goes to Paris to work in a hotel and then substitutes for the Marquis de Venosta on a trip around the world paid for by the Marquis's parents who try to tear their son away from a French singer (and if you think that was a long sentence, you should see the book). The narrative ends with Krull being in Lisbon, the first destination of the trip.
According to Wikipedia, - I honestly didn't feel like checking more sources - the novel is supposed to be a parody on Goethe's autobiography "Aus meinem Leben. Dichtung und Wahrheit" (Poetry and Truth). Remind me not to read that one because I seriously struggled through this one (and I don't care how autographical parts of it are). It's practically a miracle and a sign of my dedication to this project (reading at least one German classic a month) that I didn't DNF it. There were big parts which bored me almost to tears. I say narrative, but nothing really happens in hundreds of pages! The protagonist is a smug little punk, and the pompous rambling - which I guess is the parody part - made me happy for not having to put up with this kind of speech in daily life. "Tennis Shoes" by Noel Streatfeild, first published in 1937 (Shoes 2)
Dr. Heath and his father had been good tennis players, but the father is too old now and Dr. Heath suffered a leg injury in World War I. What about the children, though - the twins Jim and Susan, the younger Nicky, and David? Have they got what they need to become successful tennis players?
This is the second book in the "shoe series" although the only connection are the shoes in the title. I never played tennis, I don't watch tennis, but I needed some light after Felix Krull and the book worked perfectly - although I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of Dr. Heath's methods of motivating and educating his children.
"Go Gentle" by Maria Semple, first published in 2026
Adora Hazzard, former comedy writer turned philosopher who tutors the twins of a rich couple, lives in New York and has started a "coven" in her building of single women who have each others' back - then she happens to meet a man and her life is not what it was before.
I'm not sure what this book wants to be. I liked the idea of the coven, I enjoyed the philosophical quotes, but then we get flashbacks (trigger warning sexual assault), art crimes, and a romance all of which seemed very muddled to me. Spoiler:
Spoiler: Adora is the heroine of the day in the end. With huge happy ending and a super rich man.
At about 60 % I was very close to DNFing. Maybe I should have.
"Death on the Cherwell" by Mavis Doriel Hay, first published in 1935
Four undergraduates of the Persephone College in Oxford meet on the roof of the boathouse to form a secret society when a canoe comes floating in which they find the body of their bursar Myra Denning. The young ladies wonder how a drowned woman can get back into her canoe ...
I have a soft spot for vintage crimes at Cambridge and Oxford (time to read "Gaudy Night" for the umpteenth time, I think), probably because I work at a university made up of a lot of concrete. I really liked this one.
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" by James Hilton, first published in 1933 (in the Christmas edition of "British Weekly") and in 1934 (as a book)
Mr. Chipping was the Latin master of Brookfield School - a public boarding school - for decades and has helped out even after his retirement. Now he remembers his life in and for the school.
A re-read (in English this time, I own the German translation) for a future blog post about the novella and adaptations.
A fun little P.S. This is listed as a translation of the book into Urdu. Obviously I can't read Urdu and can't tell you if that's true ... and I have absolutely no idea how that cover is supposed to make any sense if it is!
"To You Mr. Chips!" by James Hilton, first published in 1938
In this book, Hilton talks a little about his own school experiences and tells some more Mr. Chips stories.
When I re-read "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", I happened to find out about this book which I didn't know before. "Bright Young Things: Lives in the Roaring 20s" by Alison Maloney, first published in 2012
The book gives you short glimpses into the life of the "smart set" mostly in the London of the 1920s. It includes chapters about jazz, cocktails, scandals, debutantes, and more. A quick read with quotes and short biographies, a nice appetizer to start you off if you are interested in that time.
"Victorian Fairy Painting" by Jeremy Maas et al., first published in 1997
The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition "Victorian Fairy Painting" which travelled from London to Iowa City, Toronto, and New York. It includes a catalog with short biographies and comments and essays on fairy painting, writing, music, and illustration, but also the connection to the stage, especially Shakespeare.
I stumbled upon this one after finding the sketchbook by Charles Altamont Doyle which I listed in my July roundup.
"Japanese Gothic" by Kylie Lee Baker, first published in 2026
After murdering his roommate in college, Lee flees to the house in Japan that his father has moved to. However, something is strange about this house that used to belong to samurais. Who is the girl looking in from another world and time?
Every, now and then I think I should read a book outside my comfort zone. This shouldn't have been one of them.
DNF
"The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House" by Kate Summerscale, first published in 2008
The non-fiction book tells the story of a child murdered in Victorian England and of Jack Whicher who was one of the original eight members of London's new "Detective Branch" at Scotland Yard.
I watched the TV show whose first episode is about this case and wanted to read the book more because of Whicher than the case, but I gave up quite early as it was so boring to read.
By the way, if you write book reviews or blog posts about other
book-related matters - even movies based on books - please check out "A
Good Book and a Cup of Tea", a monthly bookish blog link party that I co-host with Lisa from
Boondock Ramblingsand Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. You can find out more about it here or directly click through to the current party via the image in the right hand column.
My
posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if
you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.
Can you believe that August is almost over? A while ago, I still said I couldn't wait for September and now it's just a few days until then! I'm not sure if we'll getting the fall weather that I have been dreaming of right away, though. Fingers crossed!
A fall leaf inspired bracelet I bead loomed for a good cause some years ago.
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week. How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you. This week our spotlight is on Suzy Turner - The Grey Brunette.
Suzy from Suzy Turner - The Grey Brunette says: "I’m Suzy Turner — a British-born author,
blogger, and YouTuber living a magical life in sunny Portugal with my
husband and our little family of four-legged mischief-makers: Myrtle,
Shannon, Sadie and Luna. After moving to Portugal at the age of
ten, I fell in love with the slower pace, the beauty of everyday life,
and the feeling that anything was possible here. Now in my
40s, I’m passionate about showing that life only gets more magical with
age — whether that’s through the clothes we wear, the stories we tell,
or the way we embrace change and creativity. ... I believe life is about celebrating the magic in everyday moments —
whether that’s finding the perfect dress, writing a new chapter, or
simply sharing a cup of coffee with a kindred spirit. If you’re a
brand, fellow creator, or just someone who loves the idea of living a
more whimsical, soulful life — I’d love to connect. Let’s make everyday life feel a little more magical, together."
Marsha from Marsha
in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing
her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging
because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case,
write!
Melynda from Scratch
Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we
homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I
cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the
chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock
Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat fromCat's
Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many
interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts,
books, old movies, collectibles or random things.
Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes
about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life
both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity,
confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.
Guidelines: This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted. Please
link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the
URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog. Please do not
link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube
videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other
social media based content. Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By
linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is
your own property and give us permission to share said content if your
post or blog is showcased. We welcome unlimited, family friendly
content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps,
fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or
discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for linking up with us!
I only learned about Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew about two weeks ago. Mr. and Mrs. Drew were a comedy team that ... but wait, actually there were two Mrs. Drews, Gladys Rankin and Lucille McVey. After Gladys died, Sidney married Lucille who produced and co-directed and co-wrote a lot of their nearly 150 marital comedies. I picked one of those - randomly, like so often - and ended up with "By Might of His Right" from 1915. Sidney was the uncle of actors Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore, by the way, and John's granddaughter is Drew Barrymore. Now you know how she got her name.
First the plot.
When Henry comes home from work, he finds they have a houseguest, Lucille's brother who's on vacation (played by character actor Donald Macbride). He has all the spirit of a college boy, rah-rah-rah included, which amuses Lucille greatly, but Henry really just wants some peace and quiet.
No such luck. The youngster shakes Henry's hand like crazy, he makes fun of his hat before sitting on it, gets very familiar with the maid, takes a cigar off Henry, then his paper, and finally his chair ...
... before demonstrating on his unsuspecting brother-in-law how to perform a tackle and a knockout. The next morning, he slips Henry's cigarette case in his pocket and then announces he intends to stay for his whole vacation!
Henry has to do something to get rid of the young man. He enlists the aid of his friend Tony Trexel who trains at a boxing studio and helps him find a boxer who will fake defeat for 50 bucks (that's about 1600 today, so you can see how desperate Henry is). At home, he says that Tony has invited them to a novelty boxing party. Once there, they learn that "Knock'em Dead" Jones is indisposed and that an opponent for the "Battler" is needed. Of course Lucille immediately thinks of her brother, but suddenly he's not as keen anymore as he still was at home.
So, much to everyone's surprise, Henry gets up. After a hilarious "fight" in which the two don't even touch one another at first, Henry "knocks out" the "Battler".
Back at home, his brother-in-law isn't quite as confident anymore. Actually, he's so scared of Henry that he claims his mother has called him back, packs his bags and leaves.
Henry had already told his wife about his bluff and they break out in laughter when the door closes. Being a big sister myself, that totally makes sense to me (although you can see in one picture that she also feels sorry for her little brother, but just a bit)!
Drew himself said: "There are many who prefer knockabout work, but since there is a field
amply able to support an appeal to more refined intelligence, we cater
to that clientele" and I really enjoyed that. Henry uses his brains - okay, and a good deal of money - to get rid of his houseguest. He's teaching him a lesson not to underestimate other people or should I say older people, but without humiliating him too much. After all, he could have made him go into the ring.
Despite this one reeler being over 100 years old, I think we can all relate to it in some way. It doesn't always have to be a houseguest who stays too long, it could also just be someone who doesn't get that the party is over, for example.
This is another film thought lost until a copy turned up in New Zealand which was preserved through a partnership of the New Zealand Film Archive, the American archival community, and the National Film Preservation Foundation. I'm looking forward to exploring more of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew's universe of marriage.
A week ago, I posted about using tiny 1.8 mm cube beads for a kite shape and announced this post about using the 3 mm cubes.
These bigger beads and I have a bit of a fraught relationship. When I started out crocheting and then knitting with wire, a friend told me that she had big cube and triangle beads which would be just perfect. They were leftovers from her beading days - that should have been a warning, if she didn't know how to use them, how would I? - and she would make me a good price. In the end, I gave in and literally regretted it for years. The triangle beads were easier to use, but the cubes - there were loads and they were too heavy to use really many of them in pieces of jewelry ... I can't even tell you how often I tried something and ripped it up again. Finally, I used quite a few in my "pineapple slices" aka Christmas ornaments.
One
experiment from when I also started bead looming was using them for that.
Where the tiny cubes worked quite well, though, the big ones just didn't
look and feel right at all. Eventually I cut up the one bracelet I had made
and the big tube of beads went back into the tin with all my tiny cubes
where I found it again now. Years ago I had a regular "tackle that stash"
day on my blog to motivate myself to use up really old supplies - maybe
it was time to tackle this bead tube ...
So this is how these two pairs of earrings were created (and now there are only about a dozen beads left which I call success). I'm
sure you have seen the earrings which have a beaded triangle on top,
sometimes a diamond with four sides of the same length, in one or more
colors, sometimes with a pattern, and a fringe.
My own "Jaws" design
This is the same idea,
only with "cube kites". For the fringes I dug into my stash of tiny crystals - and promptly threw a bunch of them all over the place 😂 It's difficult to catch in a picture, but I quite like the contrast of matte and sparkle. Which version do you like better?
My
posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if
you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.
The other day, my pal and I made it back to the Lauter spring which I mentioned several times before. Given the temperature at my own place, it was just incredible there. Peaceful and quiet, wonderful and cool air. We always park at the church and for the first time the gates of the small cemetery stood open. Now I regret that we didn't have a look around.
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week. How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you. This week our spotlight is on Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa.
Marsha from Marsha
in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing
her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging
because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case,
write!
Melynda from Scratch
Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we
homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I
cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the
chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock
Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat fromCat's
Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many
interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts,
books, old movies, collectibles or random things.
Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes
about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life
both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity,
confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.
Guidelines: This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted. Please
link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the
URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog. Please do not
link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube
videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other
social media based content. Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By
linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is
your own property and give us permission to share said content if your
post or blog is showcased. We welcome unlimited, family friendly
content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps,
fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or
discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for linking up with us!
Another week, another short (sorry, but it's still too hot, and while it's fine to shut your eyes for a bit during a TV show, but weirdly that doesn't work while watching a silent movie ...). It's an experimental one today, oooh. Get ready for "Danse Macabre" from 1922.
"Midnight in plague-ridden Spain - - Youth and Love flee from Death who follows their path - Love feels his uncanny breath and swoons - - - Youth despairs and prays, - when lo! - the cock of dawn crows and Death fades away into the shadow of his tomb."
The skeletons move until they form the title words.
Youth and Love enter a room. Youth lights a candle and the lovers embrace.
If they had thought to be safe here, they are wrong as Death is already following them.
Youth gives Love a shawl and a fan and they dance together.
Love begins to sense Death being close. She feels weak and asks Youth to open the windows.
They keep dancing, but Death keeps haunting them until Love faints and Youth lays her down on a sofa. Death creeps closer ...
Just in time, the sun rises to a cock's crow ...
... and Death shrinks back from the light and fades while Love recovers in Youth's arms.
The lovers rejoice, they embrace and kiss, they are safe ...
... but are they really?
The "Danse Macabre" or "Dance of Death" is an allegory from the late Middle Ages reminding people of the fragility of life - everyone's life, king or peasant, pope or child. In 1874, the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote a symphonic poem with this title. The independent director Dudley Murphy and his associate Claude MacGowan had planned a series of Visual Symphonies with the films interpreting classical music starting with this piece. Big theaters used to put on live shows with music and dance as introductions for the movies, but synchronizing film and music perfectly was more difficult at the time, and while experienced musicians could have coped, the practice wouldn't have worked as well for small theaters. So although the film got attention, it obviously wasn't enough to keep the series going.
That's a pity because if "Danse Macabre" was an example of their vision, it would have been great to see what else they could have come up with. The performers are the ballet dancers and choreographers Adolph Bolm (Youth) and Ruth Page (Love, she was Bolm's student), Death is played by character actor Olin Howland. As you can see from the pictures, the short is a mix of animation and real film, and honestly, it's really very cool. I had picked it randomly from a playlist of shorts and I'm so glad I did as I loved Saint-Saëns's "Danse Macabre" before this and love the interpretation.
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