Hey, I have a new mug! My son gave it to me for Mother’s Day. Just in time for the Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah! I’ll be drinking green tea, of course. To start things off, I’ll tell you how I solved ONE of the problems with that drink.
I was complaining that, in addition to the taste, aroma and color, I also don’t like the fact that green tea is supposed to be steeped in 175 degree water, so as not to burn the “delicate” tea leaves (sigh). But I like my tea REALLY hot, and guess what- that’s what microwaves are for. Now I obediently heat my water to 175 (there’s a setting for it on my electric kettle), steep the tea, remove the tea leaves and then put it in the microwave! It really is true- for every problem, there’s a solution.
If we were having piping hot coffee/tea together, I would tell you that I miss my son! He didn’t come home for spring break (he went to a trumpet competition) and now he’s at a summer music festival. We saw him for two days at graduation and that was it! I know he’s having a great time, and he’ll be home for at least a month in July. But it’s a long time to go without seeing him.
If this post is shorter than usual, we can blame it on this:
Birchie and I are doing a buddy read of this book, and coincidentally we’re reading at almost the exact same pace. I cannot put this book down! I’ve never read it or seen the movie, so I’m on the edge of my seat to see how things develop. In addition to Scarlett’s story (is Ashley dead? What is going to happen with Rhett???) I’m getting a fascinating history lesson. Obviously I know how the Civil War turned out, but I don’t remember learning any details about it (somewhere, there’s a middle school history teacher wringing their hands in despair right now).
Birchie seems to be a fast reader and I’m determined to keep up. She said “It’s not a race” but I truly feel like I’m racing through this book because I love it so much.
On that note… I have to get back to reading!
Have you read Gone With the Wind? Have you seen the movie?
What was the last book you read that you loved so much, you couldn’t put it down?
34 Responses
I just checked Gone with the Wind out. I think I’ll need to read it on small chunks- maybe 50 pages a day? It’s how I got through hefty novels before ( looking at you, Buddenbrooks!) I have seen the movie – ages ago- and bits of it when my husband watched it after he read the book. Vivien Leigh us amazing.
I do tend to devour books I enjoy – Sunrise on the Reaping took me 1.5 hours this past Saturday.
I have too many books checked out- too much aspirational reading.
Enjoy your coffee/tea dare!
Sorry, date not dare.
Well- good luck reading GWTW in “small chunks.” It’s long, but I seriously can’t put it down. It’s so good and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I LOVE that mug!!! What can go wrong with mixing music and cats?!
And, I use my electric kettle to get hot water for my green tea as for any tea… but probably with Barry’s green tea in bags there are no high quality delicate leaves anyway but just the remains of whatever. I’ve mostly moved on from loose leaf to teabags for the convenience after I learned that Barry’s changed to biodegradable bags, even if tea enthusiasts would laugh at it.
I’ve seen the Gone with the wind movie and hated it, haha!
REALLY??? Well, I’m going to watch the movie after I read the book, so we’ll talk again then.
I do have loose leaf green tea, just because it’s cheaper than the bags. I also have some tea bags to use in an emergency though.
I’ve read it and seen the movie. It’s a great one! Bummer on not seeing much of your son. I can tell you it all fades away very quickly once they start college. At least in my case. Maddie finished and decided to live in Atlanta. I’m excited to see her in July!
I know- I have to accept the fact that he’s 22 and an adult- he’s not going to keep spending every vacation at home!
Such a cute mug!! And so perfect that it came from your son…
He’s off doing amazing things and you’ll be reunited soon! XOXO
Thanks Maya. Yes- he’s really doing amazing things as he should be- not spending the summer at home with his parents.
Oh wow, your son nailed it with that mug. I would go so far as to say that there are no other mugs now.
If we were having tea/coffee, we would both be taking frequent pauses to reheat our beverages. I’m the queen of getting distracted and taking all morning to drink a cup of coffee.
I’m only a fast reader because I have gotten OBSESSED with GWTW. I believe I’ve read it twice before and seen the movie a couple of times. My memory is that the movie was every bit as good as the book until the last hour, when the story gets bloated and starts to drag, and I’m kind of expecting the same thing from the book. But even if that’s true it doesn’t matter because the first 3/4 of the story are SO GOOD.
My last I’m Obsessed book was Sky Daddy, which was the book I read while I was in SF about a girl who lives in SF and has a fetish for plane crashes. It is definitely not a book for everyone, but it was just right for me.
Incorrect, Birchie! I still drink out of the mug you sent me. And- I didn’t realize you’ve read GWTW twice before! And it’s still this good??? Wow. I will definitely be seeing the movie when I’m done reading it!
I read Gone With the Wind in high school and I remember getting in trouble because I wouldn’t put it down to do my chores, come to dinner on time, etc. The movie came out on TV when I was a freshman in college and our dorm’s lounge was filled to the brim with so many girls watching it. I watched it again several years later because my husband hadn’t seen it. You make me want to read it agin!
I know how you feel about not getting to see your son as often as you’d like. Our younger son lives in Charlotte, NC and we don’t get to see him and our d-i-l (and Pablo!) nearly as often as we’d like. Your son picked out such a cute mug to give you for Mother’s Day!
Yes- it’s really hard to put this book down, the story is compelling! That sounds like a VERY fun way to see the movie- I’ll be watching it in the living room with my husband.
That’s a really great mug, and I’m glad you figured out a solution to one of your green tea woes!
Not getting to see your son much lately must be tough! My college experience was a little different because I went to school two hours away from my parents, so I usually went home twice a month on weekends and obviously during school breaks. So when I graduated and moved 12 hours away, the transition was a little tougher for me since I had never been that far from them, and I was only able to see them a few times a year for the first three years after graduation, and then we ended up being two hours away again, so I’m back to making trips to see them usually every other weekend!
AW! You see your parents every other weekend!!! That’s so nice. Yes, my son was far away for college, and he’ll continue to be far away probably, because he doesn’t want to live in Florida. Sigh.
I’ve read GWTW but I was a teen, I think, so I don’t remember much and I don’t remember being pulled it! I was very pulled into the book, “Heartwood” which is a 2025 new release that is kind of buzzy. It’s about a woman that goes missing on the Appalachian Trail told from the perspective of 3 different women (a ranger leading the search, a women in a nursing home who is following the case/trying to solve it, and the lost woman).
I can see how you miss Paul. 2 days is not much time together! You’ll have so much fun on your road trip from TX to IL, but I think that is still a ways off!
I’m not sure if the book would have seemed as good to me had I read it as a teenager? Maybe.
Heartwood sounds really good! I’ll put it on my gigantic TBR.
I have read GWTW, but I have seen the movie many (MANY) moons ago. My last obsessive book was actually several…all the Harry Potter books. I re-read the entire series every time a new book was released, and even made my own version of Cliff Notes to keep track of all the characters as they were mentioned or introduced. Yeah, it was a bot of an OCD thing….
Oops, I meant I have NOT read GWTW…
That mug is perfect for you! Cats and music! Excellent.
Yes I have read and watched GWTW several times each! It’s a fascinating read and Scarlett is a fascinating heroine. Desperately flawed, but aren’t we all?
I saw the movie but never read the book – I’m guessing the book would be better (usually is). It’s great that your son’s off doing fun things but definitely hard to be missing him.
What a fitting mug. I can imagine how much you’re missing g your son. Tank moves out in July and while he’s gonna be downtown- I know that I won’t see him often. Sob. I think I have seen parts of Gone with the Wind. Fun fact: I reenacted the I DONT KNOW NOTHING BOUT BIRTHING NO BABIES scene in the waiting room at the hospital with my mom in the wee hours of the morning while waiting for my first nephew to be born. So I know I saw that scene when I was a little kid.
It is so hard when you don’t get to see your kids often. I feel that deeply!
I make all my tea on the hottest setting on my tea kettle even though the kettle helpfully labels each temperature setting with a type of tea as well as the temperature. But I’m with you, I want my tea hot to start. I’ll drink it when it cools, but by then I reframe it as Ice tea in my head.
I read GWTW when I was a teenager because the cover made it look like a bodice ripper – it was the image from the movie of Clark Gable carrying Vivian Leigh, her dress falling off her shoulders. I was sorely disappointed on that front.
I’m kind of right now obsessed with Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela’s autobiography. I want to finish it before my trip to South Africa so I’m reading 15-20 pages a day, which is a lot for me. It is very readable, though. I’m in the years when he spends two decades in prison and at first I thought this part of the book would be kind of uneventful, but prison life is fascinating.
Love the mug.
I really want to read GWTW now! So many cool bloggers have been reading (and raving about it). I couldn’t put down The Secret Keepers by Kate Morton. It was great.
sounds like a fun project to read with someone… it keeps you accountable!
love your mug, I’m so obsessed with all cats things now. I will look for a cat mug!
Love that mug- it’s so cute! I saw the movie of GWTW, I remember it was good! Glad you are loving the book. I couldn’t put down House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas earlier this year. That reminds me, I should continue that series!
I read it years ago and loved it. I’ve seen the movie many times but also long ago.
Women by Hannah I couldn’t put down.
Between Engie raving about GWTW earlier this year and now you… I think this might be one of my big books for 2025!
I love that mug SO much!! What a perfect choice.
Aw. I’m sorry you miss your son. That has to be hard.
I’ve seen the movie and read the book countless times. It used to be a book I would read annually (along with Les Miserables, Little Women, Through A Glass Darkly, and The Handmaid’s Tale, before it became the current series). For me, every time I read it, it was with a different lens, which makes it harder and harder for me to pick up again. That being said, Scarlett O’Hara is one of the most unapologetic, bold, and ambitious characters ever written, and that holds a special place in my heart. I’d love to hear what you think of it when you finish.
The last book I read that I really couldn’t put down was probably The Wedding People. I didn’t expect to really get into it, but it hooked me fast. I am also a speedy reader, so that helps with the not putting it down part. It doesn’t take me long.
I have neither read nor seen the movie. However it is on of the many lists of things I want to do.
unfortunately I read about your little buddy read too late so I guess I am not able to join in anymore.
I haven’t read the book or saw the movie. Maybe I will watch it this Summer.
That mug is so cute! I want one!! 😛
Ah, I just did a buddy read for the first time and it was fun getting to discuss everything during/afterward! :] I still have yet to read Gone with the Wind, but it’s on my TBR list!
I have never read or seen GWTW, but you and BIrchie are making me think that it is time to do so. That said, I’m in the middle of 2 15-17 hour listens on Libby, so will add it to the TBR and return after a few short palate cleansers. 😉