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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 2: The Christmas Clue
Day 2 of our annual holiday mystery celebrations, and we’re sticking with the novella format for just a little longer. Today’s read blends Christmas, murder mystery, and board games. Nicola Upson’s The Christmas Clue follows the creators of Clue as they set up a murder mystery game at Tudor Close—only to encounter a real murder in the
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Advent of Mystery ’25, Day 1: The Austen Christmas Murders
The tree is lit. The presents are wrapped and distributed. The cookies are baked. The carols are blasting. And here at the Owlet’s nest, that means one thing: it’s Advent of Mystery time. For those not in the know, Advent of Mystery is a countdown to Christmas. Each day features my thoughts on a different
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Murder Most Magical: Witchy Mysteries for Spooky Season
Just a few days left until the spookiest night of the year, and while October may be San Francisco’s warmest month, I’ve been doing my best to summon the spirit. The pumpkins are out, the Featherly Friends have migrated to the mantel, and I’ve stocked up on trick-or-treat candy. Of course, I need something spooky
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Reading Adventures, Pt. 12: Ghosts and spies in the City That Never Sleeps
After a cozy weekend spent in small-town America, it was time for a full 180. You can’t get much more “big city” than the Big Apple! Bright, loud, and full of life, there’s someplace to go and someone to see in every visit I make. But between the dinners and the cozy hangouts, I made
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Reading Adventures, Pt. 11: Small Towns, Big Flavors – A Journey with Marilyn Hagerty’s Grand Forks
Long-time TCO fans may have picked up that I’m a city gal at heart. I love my life in San Francisco, with its walkable streets and abundance of creative restaurants. But I grew up taking many road trips, where I developed a deep love for small towns and their quirks. It’s that love that made
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The Secret Lives of British Cities (According to Urban Fantasy)
I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy streak lately—though not the swords-and-sagas kind. These days, I’m drawn more to urban fantasy, that magical subgenre where the extraordinary exists just beneath the surface of the ordinary. It’s one of my favourites, in part because it makes the impossible feel just a bit more possible. Magic,
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Reading adventures, Pt. 10: Lemons + learning on the Amalfi Coast
After bidding goodbye to the City of Flowers, we met some friends for a lovely week on the Amalfi Coast – known for lemons, linens, and beautiful ceramic tiles. The sheer cliffs and clear blue waters were a welcome respite from the inland heat. And I was looking forward to a week of lazing around
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Reading adventures, Pt. 8: Architectural awe in the City of Flowers
From Rome, we took a quick train ride to Firenze / Florence. Fresh off the Roman nonfiction success, I was excited to repeat the approach and see how I felt. And for Florence, that meant reading about the Renaissance. As I would soon discover, the city center preserves that era, eschewing the more layered approach
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Reading adventures, Pt. 7: Murder and marvels in Ancient Rome
It is once again time for this blog to move from strictly reading-focused to a combination of travelogue with literary musings sprinkled in. Last year, we explored Spain and Nice; this year, I’ve gone further east to Italy. Specifically, I’ve spent the last two weeks roaming Rome / Lazio, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. There’s
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Reading adventures: Mysteries in the Tahoe snow
It is truly Winter here in the Bay – the skies are grey, the streets are drenched. Which means, of course, that it’s the right time of year for a trip to Lake Tahoe. I love Lake Tahoe, even though I find Winter Tahoe to be strictly worse than its summer sibling. I’ve been up