The Little Dinner Book Review & BONUS Quite Literally Books Collection! 😍❤️🌟📚

I was incredibly charmed by this quaint little book about dining and dinner parties—which was originally published in 1892! I adore cookbooks that you can "read" (similar to cookbooks by Gladys Taber and Nigel Slater) and, even more, I love anything that has to do with entertaining from past decades. This subject is absolutely fascinating to me! 

The Little Dinner with The Magic Pantry Tarot Deck—A Perfect Pairing!

The Little Dinner by Christine Terhune Herrick (published by the wonderful NYC publishing company, Quite Literally Books) had me smirking, surprised, amused and completely enthralled from the very beginning. I made notes and bookmarked several passages to refer to later—not that I'll be giving a 1800s-themed little dinner party any time soon! 😆

I also found it interesting that, to this author (or perhaps in this time period), a "little dinner" consisted of at least 8 people and a minimum of 3 full meal courses. To me, a little dinner means simply dinner for myself or perhaps crackers and peanut butter (or hummus) with a hot cup of tea and some fruit! A baked potato added if I was really hungry. But, yikes! People coming to MY little dinner would have been deeply disappointed...and hungry!

My favorite sections were the ones discussing the table set up and dining room decor. The color scheme suggestions were wonderfully funny and also informative (if this combination can ever go together in a good way!). It was also a great delight to read through every recipe (I didn't pass over a single one, even though I'm vegan) and learn the types of foods/meals that guests would expect in the late 1800s. Frankly, I'm glad I missed all of that extra fat and meat. So much butter and deep frying! My arteries felt a bit clogged after reaching the index at the end 😱

All in all, reading this gorgeous edition by Quite Literally Books made my experience all the more enjoyable and simply a wonderful treat. Their books are so easy to read from in every way—French flaps, perfect spacing, easy-to-read fonts and a joy to hold in the hands (especially while reading in bed!) 

If you're a vintage/antique cookbook lover like I am, you NEED The Little Dinner in your collection. Not only because the cover design is dazzingly attractive, but because the content is solidly engaging and thought provoking. At least a 4🌟 read! Be prepared to stay up late into the night reading this book...and, perhaps, have a snack on hand just in case you get the munchies (he he).

Endless gratitude and thanks to the awesome and always friendly QLB Team for sending me this book (and two others!) for me to read and review. The Little Dinner is a GEM! 

I truly hope they will republish some of her other non-fiction books, as well! I would love to read more 😁📚

QLB, please republish more of Christine Terhune Herrick's titles! I'm very intrigued by: 

❊ Cradle and Nursery
❊ First Aid to the Young Housekeeper
❊ Sunday Night Suppers
❊ Housekeeping Made Easy
❊ What to Eat, How to Serve It
❊ The Expert Maid-Servant

I can't wait to read Herland and Who Would Have Thought It? next! 🤩🌟🥳💜📚 

Don't forget to check out my previous Quite Literally Books blog post!

Which title would you choose to read first? Tell me in the comments below 😍

Happy December, Friends! I hope to share at least one more blog post before the end of year. I hope it will be my TOP FAVORITE 25 BOOKS of 2025! 

Much love, as always! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕

 

The Best Halloween Book Collection! 👻📙☠️🖤🎃

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🧛🏻‍♂️🧡🖤

Hello Friends!!! Here's just a sampling of the Halloween/Spooky/Ghostly books in my collection! Some of the titles have links (and more photos!) to my Instagram posts because I couldn't fit all of the photos here 😂

• 2024 Halloween Re-Reads
• 2023 Halloween Reads 
• 2021 Halloween Reads
• 2020 Halloween Reading Progress 

What are YOUR favorite Halloween books, activities and movies? 🤩 (Please comment below!)

[I'll do my best to update this Halloween Book Guide as time goes on! Please share your favorite Halloween book recommendations with me 😍]

FAVORITE BOOKS TO READ ON HALLOWEEN:

This mix of children's books, novels and mysteries are my go-to choices for getting my spirit into the spooky mood of the season. I tend to start with the less spine-tingling titles and then slowly increase the level of fright until a few days before Halloween. Then, I read all of my favorite children's novels, leaving Cranberry Halloween (my childhood fav) for the day itself. My list is in order of preference, not the order in which I read them. 

🎃 Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie 5🌟
🧛🏻‍♂️ Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kahara 5🌟
👻 The Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason 5🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ The Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Benarde 5🌟
💀 How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green 5🌟
🎃 I SPY Spooky Night 5🌟
🧛🏻‍♂️ Thornyhold by Mary Stewart 4.75🌟
👻 Emma M. Lion Volume 4 by Beth Brower 5🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ The Witch Next Door by Norman Bridwell 4.5🌟
💀 The Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson 4.5🌟 
🎃 The Last Seance by Agatha Christie 4.5🌟
🧛🏻‍♂️ A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney 4.5🌟
👻 The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell 4.5🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman 4.5🌟
💀 Cranberry Halloween by Wende & Harry Devlin 3🌟  

 

FAVORITE SPOOKY MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS:

Every year, I scour the used bookstores, websites, thrift stores and antique shops for new-to-me Halloween books. I especially love vintage middle grade chapter books with interesting covers. Sometimes, there's a brand new book at my local library that I'm not able to resist borrowing. If it meets my approval (including creepy, cute, sweet or scary...or a mixture of all four!), then I add it to my list. These eerily excellent books are my current favorites. 

🎃 In a Closed Room by Frances Hodgson Burnett 5🌟 (A lovely book gift from Virginia @oldbookdreamer 🤩)
🧛🏻‍♂️ Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp 5🌟
👻 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 5🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ In a Blue Velvet Dress by Catherine Sefton 4.5🌟
💀 The Skull by Jon Klassen 4.5🌟
🎃 Gobbolino The Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams 4🌟
🧛🏻‍♂️ Meg Mystery Series by Holly Beth Walker 4🌟
👻 Spook by Jane Little 4🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn 4🌟
💀 Carbonel Series by Barbara Sleigh 4🌟
🎃 The Aveline Jones series by Phil Hickes 4🌟
🧛🏻‍♂️ Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 4🌟
👻 Mystery of the Green Cat by Phyllis A. Whitney 4🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn 4🌟
💀 Amelia Fang by Laura Ellen Anderson 4🌟
🎃 Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful 3.5🌟
🧙🏻‍♀️ The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin 3.5🌟  

FAVORITE GHOSTLY BOOKS:

Go, go, ghosts! I've been interested in ghosts since I was very little. Anything concerning the supernatural is high on my list to read—both fiction and non-fiction. I don't know exactly why the subject of ghosts gives me a ghoulish glee, but it certainly does! Here are my top picks for books with "ghost" in the title or as a primary theme. Do you like ghost books, too?

👻 Ghosts and Bogels by Dinah Starkey 5🌟
👻 Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kahara 5🌟
👻 The Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason 5🌟
👻 How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green 5🌟
👻 What's a Ghost to Do? by Jane Thayer 5🌟 
👻 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 5🌟
👻 The Winter Spirits by Bridget Collins 4.5🌟
👻 The Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson 4.5🌟
👻 The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters 4.5🌟 
👻 The Haunting Season by Bridget Collins 4🌟
👻 Ghosts from the Library by Tony Medawar 4🌟
👻 The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn 4🌟
👻 Among the Shadows by L.M. Montgomery 4🌟 
👻 City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab 4🌟
👻 The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla 4🌟
👻 Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn 4🌟
👻 The Ghost at Penniman House by Wilma Pitchford Hays 3.5🌟
👻 The Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly by Florence E. Hightower 3.5🌟   
👻 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 3🌟
👻 Victorian Ghost Stories (slowly savoring…this is another book gift from Virginia @oldbookdreamer 🤩) 

 

SERIOUSLY CHILLING TITLES:

These novels are a bit more over the top when it comes to ominous and eerie vibes. These frightening fifteen are perfect for when I'm looking for something a bit more unearthly and unsettling. Some of these books are also a bit more graphic in content. 

☠️ Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 5🌟
☠️ The Magic Cottage by James Herbert 5🌟
☠️ The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware 4.5🌟
☠️ Bone China by Laura Purcell 4.5🌟
☠️ The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell 4🌟
☠️ The Corset by Laura Purcell 4🌟
☠️ We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson 4🌟
☠️ Audrey Rose by Frank de Felitta 4🌟
☠️ Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson 4🌟
☠️ A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 4🌟
☠️ The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell 3🌟
☠️ The Turn of the Screw by Henry James 3🌟
☠️ House of Splinters by Laura Purcell (Currently Reading!!)
☠️ The Witching House by Brigit Collins (TBR!)
☠️ The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (TBR)

 

FAVORITE ATMOSPHERIC MYSTERIES:

Reading mysteries during the month of October is a MUST. Although I'm a little more partial to a Gothic/thriller/suspense for a Halloween read, the murder mysteries below never fail to get me into a more macabre mindset! 

🔍 Halloween Party by Agatha Christie 5🌟
🔍 The Last Seance by Agatha Christie  4.5🌟
🔍 A Medium for Murder by Mignon Warner 4.5🌟
🔍 The Tarot Murders by Mignon Warner 4.5🌟
🔍 Sleep No More by P.D. James 4.5🌟
🔍 Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rhinehart (TBR)
🔍 The Spirit Murder Mystery by Robin Forsythe (TBR…excited to try this one!)

FUN HALLOWEEN CHILDREN'S BOOKS:

Yay for mummies, monters and murky mansions! Never mind the ghosts, ghouls and greedy witches. There's never a dull moment when meandering through menacing morgues, moonlit mists and malignant mausoleums—while munching on a midnight snack!

🎃 How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green 5🌟
🎃 Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kahara 5🌟
🎃 The Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason 5🌟
🎃 I SPY Spooky Night 5🌟
🎃 The Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Benarde 5🌟
🎃 Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey 5🌟
🎃 Dragon’s Halloween by Dav Pilkey 5🌟
🎃 No Such Thing by Ella Bailey 4.5🌟
🎃 Vlad The Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago 4.5🌟
🎃 Wispp, The Littlest Witch by Rosemary Leahy Varney 4.25🌟
🎃 The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart 4🌟
🎃 Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell 4🌟
🎃 The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy 4🌟
🎃 Gustavo The Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago 4🌟
🎃 Leila The Perfect Witch by Flavia Z. Drago 4🌟
🎃 Cranberry Halloween by Wende & Harry Devlin 3🌟

 

BOOKS WITH SEANCE SCENES:

Calling all sinister spirits, supernatural spooks and shadowy specters! Seances are seriously another favorite topic of mine! I'll never get tired of reading about senseless shrieks, smoke and mirrors, spirit orbs and shivery souls in torment. 

🕯 Peril at End House by Agatha Christie 5🌟
🕯 Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer 5🌟
🕯 The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcel. 4.5🌟
🕯 The Last Seance by Agatha Christie 4.5🌟
🕯 The Seance by Joan Lowery Nixon 4.5🌟
🕯 The Dower House Mystery by Patricia Wentworth 4🌟
🕯 Murder at Hazelmoor/The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie 4🌟
🕯 Paranormal Parlor by Varla Ventura 3🌟
🕯 The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner  3🌟
🕯 Beverly Gray’s Scoop by Clair Blank 3.5🌟
🕯 The Shadow in the North by Phillip Pullman 3🌟
🕯 Seance on a Wet Afternoon by Mark McShane (TBR)
🕯 The Diviners by Libba Bray (TBR)

SEANCE MOVIES: (in order of preference)

There aren't many movies that fit this description or include a seance scene (even in the smallest sense). But, luckily, this list of ten tempting tragedies will trick you into a terrifying trance. In my mind, there aren't enough movies with this thrilling theme!

🔮 The Changeling (1980)
🔮 The Others (2001)
🔮 The Conjuring 2 (2016)
🔮 The House That Would Not Die (1970)
🔮 Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
🔮 The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
🔮 The Uninvited (1944)
🔮 Hereditary (2018)
🔮 Insidious (2010)
🔮 Magic in the Moonlight (2014) 

EERIE BLUE VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS:

Beware of these bewitching and bone-chilling books with a boo-tiful hue! For some weird reason, the blue color gives a bit of a blood-curdling burial ground vibe. The vintage books below are guaranteed to bring out the best fire-and-brimstone feels!

😱 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 5🌟
📘 What's a Ghost to Do? by Jane Thayer 5🌟
😱 The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla 4🌟 
📘 The Bewitching of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes 4🌟
😱 The Blue-Nosed Witch by Margaret Emery 4🌟
📘 The Ghost at Penniman House by Wilma Pitchford Hays 3.5🌟
😱 The Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly by Florence E. Hightower 3.5🌟
📘 The Witch’s Spoon by Mary Cunningham (TBR)
😱 The Haunted Cove by Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton (TBR) 

The front of our house with jack o'lanterns, vintage pumpkins and googly eyes that move in the window!

FAVORITE HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES:

Autumn activities are always amusing and awesomely fun. Although, they were much more fun when my kids were young (now they are 32 and 22!). But, I'll still try to do at least a few of these every year. If I'm lucky, Ian and the kids might join in, too! Woo! 

  
🧡 Carving jack-o-lanterns
🖤 Watching scary movies
🧡 Halloween snacks
🖤 Giving out candy to trick-or-treaters
🧡 Making sugar & spice roasted pumpkin seeds

Rose and Benji in 2008 - so cute!

Wearing my glow-in-the-dark Buc-ee shirt from Texas!

HALLOWEEN/SCARY MOVIES I LOVE: (in order of preference)

You might not know this about me, but I love scary movies. Now that I'm older, it gets a bit harder each year to watch them (I seem to be getting more and more sensitive), but I still can't resist my favorites. These are the movies I re-watch either alone (or with my family) every single year. Highly recommended for hair-raising thrills!

A few of my favorite Halloween movies, plus two favorite seance movies: The Changeling and The Others! Lovely pumpkin card from Christie! 

 
🎬 The Exorcist (1 & 3)
🎬 The Changeling
🎬 The Others
🎬 Paranormal Activity series
🎬 Halloween series
🎬 The Omen trilogy
🎬 Hellraiser
🎬 The Ring
🎬 Rosemary’s Baby
🎬 Poltergeist series
🎬 Psycho
🎬 Prince of Darkness
🎬 The Craft
🎬 The Witches of Eastwick
🎬 Practical Magic
🎬 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
🎬 The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad

Many Halloween hugs!!💕🎃🤗🎃💕

Wonderful witch ornament gift from Carla and adorable crochet pumpkins from Caro!

 

 

A super fun vintage album of Halloween sounds! 

Happy Booky Box! 🥳💜📚📦🌟

For Book Friend Friday, I’m sharing this brand new cozy book subscription created by my dear friend, Danielle of Happy Booky Box! 🤩

Can you believe how incredibly adorable this package is?? It’s like sunshine in a box! 😄☀️

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘:
💓 Beautifully wrapped contents (Danielle always includes the CUTEST tissue paper!) 
🌍 Environmentally-friendly and reusable packaging (inside and out!)
📙 A fantastically cozy book (This month's choice is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - one of my FAV books, 5🌟!)
🕯 Fabulous bookish candle from North Ave Candles (I love this pumpkin-spiced scent and tiny jack o’lantern charm inside!)
🌈 Sparkly Booky vinyl sticker (soo fun!)
🛍 Special seasonal treat—September's box includes a Little Golden Books book bag! (Ahhh! I love it!)

If you're looking for a book subscription that will give you the most cheerful, nostalgic and candle-lit coziness, this is the one for you! I can guarantee a smile will come to your face (and a warm hug to your heart) as soon as you open your Happy Booky Box each month. Every item is thoughtfully chosen with vintage vibes, sensational scents and wonderful writing in mind! Treat yourself to a soothing self-care gift —I think you'll love it!  

I’m so grateful to have a chance to enjoy all of the wonderful items in this September box! Yay!! Thank you, thank you, Danielle!!! 😍

Please follow Happy Booky Box on Instagram and get yourself a subscription ASAP! Woo! 🥰

And, if you love stickers as much as I do, Danielle is also the owner of Everything Smells —my Number 1 place to buy scratch and sniff stickers (especially the 80s stickers!) and most of my everyday stickers! 

What do you like best about this Happy Booky Box? Let me know in the comments below! 😄☀️

Happy Friday, Friends! Have a wonderful weekend! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

My Favorite Autumn Books 🤩🧡🍁📙🍂

Happy Almost-Autumn Equinox, Book Friends! Before I leave for Prince Edward Island (yippeee!), I wanted to share my favorite books for autumn—by title, season and/or book cover. Autumn is my all-time favorite season (with spring being 2nd) and I love getting cozy and cuddly with these fall-ish books, movies and activities. 

Let's get started on the lists! (Note: See if you can spot the handmade crochet pumpkins and hand-carved fox in these photos—both such thoughtful gifts from my dearest friend Caro of Carosbookcase.com!)

Lots of lovely autumn books on my new kitchen tablecloth with pumpkin place mats!

AUTUMN-TITLED BOOKS: 

🍁 Autumn by Susan Branch 5🌟
🍁 Autumn Story by Jill Barklem 4.5🌟
🍁 Cranberry Autumn by Wende & Harry Devlin 4🌟
🍁 Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym 3🌟
🍁 The Autumn Rose by Fiona Hill
🍁 Tangled Autumn by Betty Neels 
🍁 The Autumn’s Brightness by Daisy Newman
🍁 Autumn Term by Antonia Forest (a gift from Caro!) 4🌟

Autumn-Titled Books in my Current Collection

AUTUMN BOOK COVERS: 

🍂 True to You by Viola Rowe 3.5🌟
🍂 Diana Takes a Chance by Catherine Christian 4.5🌟
🍂 Buttered Toast by Marjorie Stewart 5🌟
🍂 He Went for a Walk by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
🍂 A Flute in Mayferry Street by Eileen Dunlop
🍂 Scarlet Royal
🍂 September by Rosamunde Pilcher 4.5🌟
🍂 A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater
🍂 Golden Books' Trees of North America 

My Favorite Autumn Book Covers

FAVORITE COZY FALL ACTIVITIES: (not Halloween-related)

🧡 Picking apple and pumpkins
🧡 Cracking bonfires in the backyard
🧡 Sunset walks in nature
🧡 Hot apple cider
🧡 Homemade soups and stews (with oyster crackers!)
🧡 Chilly nights and snuggling with Ian
🧡 Colorful leaves and leaf pressing
🧡 Moonlight hot tub nights
🧡 Sitting my my comfy chair with tea, book and handmade blanket 

(If only someone made vegan-friendly apple cider donuts!! Maybe someday!) 

The end papers to The Autumn's Brightness by Daisy Newman—so pretty!

MY FAVORITE MOVIES/TV SHOWS TO WATCH IN AUTUMN: (not Halloween-related)

🎬 When Harry Met Sally
🎬 Wolfwalkers
🎬 Persuasion
🎬 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
🎬 Harry Potter Series
📺 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
📺 Doc Martin 
🎬 Over the Garden Wall
🎬 Kiki’s Delivery Service
🎬 Mystic Pizza 
🎬 The Trouble with Harry
🎬 Mermaids
🎬 St. Elmo’s Fire
🎬 Coraline
🎬 Bedknobs and Broomsticks

My signed copy of September by Rosamunde Pilcher! Love!! 😍

Oops! I forgot to add a few books! The first is...The Willows and Beyond! I loved buddy reading this series by William Horwood with Caro last year! I hope we'll do this again soon (if only my TBR wasn't so huge! lol!) I was so lucky to receive three of these books as gifts from Caro. I love them! 

My William Horwood Book Collection...3/5 books gifted by Caro! 

These two books are also MUST READS for September and October! 

🍁 Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts 5🌟

This is a gorgeous book, even if you're not a crafty person. It's SO good and very cozy!

🍁 October, October by Katya Balen 5🌟

A very touching book that had me crying at the end!

My vintage Sears Pioneer Woman kitchen canisters from the 1970s. I love them so much and I use them every day! 😄

I would LOVE to hear your favorite autumn books, movies and activities—please comment below!  Many, many warm and cozy hugs until my next post! 🍁🧡🤗🧡🍁