July 2020 – Maps and Meanderings

June Reading Wrap Up

Published on July 17, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

In my May wrap up, I said that I thought my reading slump was over. It turns out that was a little bit right and a little bit wrong. I did have a pretty good reading month in June, and I managed to complete 9 books. But I read the majority of those books in the last part of the month. I finished two books by June 7th and then I didn’t pick up another book until the 18th. 7 of the 9 books I read were completed between the 18th and the 30th.

Now that we’re halfway into July, I think I can confidently say the reading slump is over. It helped that I figured out the type of book I was in the mood for and that I picked up some shorter books. When you’re having a difficult time with reading motivation, it can be helpful to pick up shorter books.

When you finish books that are short and quick to read, the sense of accomplishment can spur you to pick up another book right away. I love reading long books, but it can be hard to pick up a 600 page book when you can’t even bring yourself to read for 5 minutes before bed.

Okay, enough rambling, and on to the books I read in June.

1. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (4 Stars, Audiobook)

This is book 3 in The Dresden Files series. I am really enjoying this series. I’ve been listening to the audiobooks from Overdrive, and there’s always been at least a few weeks of hold time between each book, so I’ve been going through the series at a nice, leisurely pace so far. This one was overall enjoyable, though not my favourite so far. In this instalment, we’re starting to get into the bigger story of the series, and the stakes for Dresden are high throughout the book.

2. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (3.5 Stars, E-Book)

This is the first in a new historical romance series. It is also the first book in a series of me going on a fairly significant historical romance and romance reading kick. Set in 1879, this book follows a young woman determined to get her degree at Oxford University. As part of her scholarship, she has to participate in a suffragist group, where she is tasked with getting the Duke of Montgomery onto their side. As you can imagine, sparks fly. Overall this was a very fun read, and I look forward to reading the next book when it comes out this fall.

3. Reborn Yesterday by Tessa Bailey (3.5 Stars, E-Book)

There are two things you should know going into this book. First it is a Vampire book, and second it is a steamy romance. If you don’t like either of those things then I would suggest you steer clear. I enjoyed the vampire aspect of the story, though it was more steamy than I prefer, so I found myself skimming over parts. The main character is part owner of a funeral home, she designs and makes dresses, and her sense of humour is terrific. I look forward to picking up Book 2 in the very near future.

4. The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare (4 Stars, E-Book)

This is the first book in the Girl Meets Duke historical romance series and I had an absolute blast reading it. When I think about this type of romance, for some reason I never expect them to be funny, but this book was at times laugh out loud funny. The characters were great, and I genuinely enjoyed the story. This is a steamy romance, so that is something to be aware of if you pick it up. I will definitely be reading more – and book 2 is sitting on top of my TBR pile as we speak.

5. Damaged by Pamela Callow (3.5 Stars, E-Book)

This is the first in a mystery/suspense series set in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The series follows Kate, a lawyer who has recently started a new job at a high-powered law firm after breaking off her engagement. While a serial killer is stalking the streets of Halifax, Kate is pulled into a tangled legal conspiracy that puts her right into the crosshairs of that same killer. This book was engaging and suspenseful, and I look forward to picking up book 2.

6. Destiny’s a Witch by Lucy May (2.5 Stars, E-Book)

I would like to give this book 3 stars, because even though there were aspects of it that I enjoyed, but overall it fell flat for me. My biggest complaint is that the mystery could have been better developed. The mystery felt like a side plot throughout the story. There wasn’t enough time dedicated to it, and it wrapped up too quickly. I may give this series another try, because I am always on the lookout for new cozy mystery series with a witchy or paranormal twist, but this first book was, unfortunately, lacking for me.

7. Witchnapped in Westerham by Dionne Lister (4 Stars, E-Book)

I found this series through an e-book deals email, and I am so glad I gave it a chance, because I am hooked! This is a cozy mystery series with a witchy twist, and it did not disappoint. The mystery and the magic are well balanced and the world building and magic system have clearly been well thought out and developed. I would tell you that I look forward to reading more, but as you will see in the next two entries, that has already happened!

8. Witch Swindled in Westerham by Dionne Lister (5 Stars, E-Book)

This is book 2 in the Paranormal Investigation Bureau series, and I enjoyed this one even more than the first book. These are fairly short, quick reads, and every time I finish one I want to immediately pick up the next book. In this book, we get to know all of our main characters a bit more, and our main character Lily starts to get more familiar with the Witch world as she learns how she can use her magical talent to help solve a case where someone is using magic to swindle millions out of unsuspecting retirees.

9. Witch Under cover in Westerham by Dionne Lister (5 Stars, E-Book)

This is Book 3 in the Paranormal Investigation Bureau Series and it has quickly become one of my favourite cozy mystery series. Lily is a great main character, and I love how Lister develops her character and shows us more about her in each book, while she also gradually develops and gives us more information about the witch world. In this instalment, Lily helps the PIB in the hunt for a murderer with a possible link to art fraud. And could there be a romance in Lily’s future? Only time will tell.

Those are the books that I read in June. It was definitely a whirlwind at the end, but I can confidently say that I came out of June on a reading roll. I hope to get to some of the bigger books on my TBR over the next few months, but I’m also not fighting the reading whims. If I want to read nothing but romance and witchy cozy mysteries for the next two months, that’s what I’ll do.

What have you been reading lately? Do you find that you are reading more now that it’s summer? Have you read any of the books on this list, and if so, what were your thoughts?

Until Next Time,

Planning for Socially Distanced Travel?

Published on July 14, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

About two weeks ago, just when I was finally going to sit down and start cancelling things for our trip to Newfoundland, I got a call from the hostel we had booked for St. John’s. The caller asked if we were still planning on our trip, and he informed me there was a chance we might not need to cancel if we were still interested in visiting. After months of being told that Newfoundland would not be open this summer, there’s now a chance that’s going to change.

As it stands at the time of writing, Newfoundland has opened it’s borders to the ‘Atlantic Bubble,’ so residents of the 4 Atlantic provinces are free to travel between those provinces with no quarantine period required. Depending on how things go with this level of re-opening, there is a chance that the borders may open to other provinces as soon as July 17th. Nothing is confirmed, and at this point, there’s about as much chance of the borders not opening as there is that they will open.

This possible re-opening brought up many questions in terms of our trip. Before this announcement, it was simple. Closed borders meant the trip was off, end of story. Now we’ve been wrestling with the question of whether we should travel, along with questions about what aspects of our trip would need to change if we did end up going. One thing was certain, it would be a different trip than it would have been pre-Covid 19.

I started writing this post a week ago, and at the time, we were considering taking the trip if it was allowed. As you’ll see below, I struggled quite a bit with whether that was the right decision or not, but we were leaning towards trying to make it work. Since then, we have decided to cancel the trip regardless of whether the borders open. I’ll go into this decision more below, but it became clear that there was just too much that we weren’t going to be able to do. And if we only get to Newfoundland once in our lives, we want to do as much as we can on our list.

In light of this decision, I considered scrapping this post. But I realized that the decision on whether or not to travel isn’t going away in the near future. I think the following considerations are going to be relevant as part of trip planning for a good while still – whether you’re planning distance travel or sticking closer to home. I think that these are things anyone who is considering travel in the next few months should think about.

1. Should we Travel/Is it Safe?

This is by far the biggest consideration, and all the others hinge on the answer to this question. This is also the most difficult question to answer, and people are going to answer it in different ways, for many valid reasons. There are some who will say that any level of travel is too risky. And there will be those who believe there is no risk at all. Personally, I fall somewhere in between.

In many ways the answer to the question is no. It isn’t safe. There are risks. And thinking about those risks can be scary and make it seem like the only answer is to cancel. But then, aren’t there risks involved in everything we do and every trip we take? Every time we leave the house there’s a chance something could go wrong, and that someone could get sick or injured.

So what do we do? How do we manage the risks specific to this time and this pandemic? How do we find a balance between living in fear and living recklessly?

Eventually, we will need to figure out what it means to live with Covid-19, and to travel within this reality. In considering trips, we will need to decide what is an acceptable level of risk and what is an unnecessary risk. I think destination and type of travel are big factors. I also think the answer will vary at different points between now and the ‘end’ of this pandemic.

I don’t know the right answer. As someone who who agonizes over big decisions, and the “what ifs,” this has been a difficult question for me to navigate. Dwelling on all the things that could go wrong is no way to live, but neither is pretending there aren’t risks. I think the key will be to make the best decisions we can under the circumstances, remain cautious and vigilant about safety, and always look to give others grace as we all do the best we can.

2. What Itinerary Changes are Necessary?

Anyone going forward with pre-planned or new trips, over the next few months will need to consider itinerary changes. Chances are that not everything you had hoped to do will be possible. For us, these changes ended up pushing us to the final decision to cancel. There were many changes that we were fine with, but as the changes to experiences started to pile up we realized that it wasn’t going to be worth it. We had crossed off too many things on our “must do in Newfoundland” list.

One of the difficulties in setting an itinerary right now is that we are living in an ‘only time will tell’ situation. Just because something is closed right now doesn’t mean it will still be closed a week or two from now. And just because it’s open now, doesn’t mean it still will be in a few weeks. This makes it difficult to finalize plans. Depending on the type of trip you are looking to take, this might not be a problem for you, but it is important to take potential cancellations into consideration.

Your trip might be different than in other years. But different doesn’t need to mean worse if you can accept some of the uncertainty and the need to be more flexible in building your itinerary.

3. Meal Considerations

We always include both eating out and eating at our accommodations when we travel. Often we have a few pre-planned meal stops for specific restaurants that interest us, but we typically plan our meals on a day-to-day, or even meal-by-meal, basis. If you plan your meals anything like we do, it might be worth it to spend a bit more time pre-planning this year.

One thing to consider when planning your meals this year is the decreased restaurant capacity. You will most likely need to make reservations, or call ahead at the very least. It is also possible that restaurants will have reduced hours, and some may not be open at all. I would suggest that it also might be a good idea to plan more take out meals or eat more often at your accommodations.

Another thing to consider is planning your grocery trips wisely or taking your food with you. If you are planning a camping trip or a road trip, it would be a good idea to pack as much food as you can to take with you. The fewer shopping trips you need to make on your trip, the better. Making meals work while travelling during Covid-19 is going to take a balance of careful planning along with increased flexibility when booking restaurants.

4. Maintaining Social Distancing

Original Image by Joshua Miranda from Pixabay

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times – social distancing. One of the things to consider with any trip you take right now is how many people you are likely to be in contact with throughout the trip. Part of the reason we even considered going ahead with our trip was because it had a degree of social distancing already built in. Though we were flying to get there, after that, we were renting a car and road tripping.

This is a good year for trips like road trips or camping – as evidenced by the number of people suddenly buying and renting RV’s and campers. You can bet that if we had our trailer this year we would be camping. Though showers aren’t typically available at campgrounds yet, camping is still a good option to maintain social distancing while enjoying the outdoors and getting away from everyday life.

Whatever type of trip you decide to take, it is important to consider how you’re going to practice social distancing – both for yourself and for any of the people you come into contact with. You may not be concerned about this contact, but others might be, and it is always a good idea to be a kind and compassionate traveller.

5. New Items on your Packing List

In some ways this is a more minor consideration, but it is an area where there are both notable and important changes. While each trip requires it’s own unique packing list, this was the first time I ever included masks on a packing list! This year, masks are as essential as toothbrushes… more so even, since they’ll let you on the plane without a toothbrush but not without a mask.

You’ll also likely need to pay more attention to cleaning and sanitizing supplies, as well as hand sanitizer. It’s always a good idea to be conscious of cleanliness while travelling, but this year that is even more true. Even if you’re not a fan of cleaning wipes or hand sanitizer, like we’re not, it’s worth packing both this year.

These are the main things we considered as we were deciding whether to go ahead with our trip to Newfoundland. It’s going to take some time to figure out how to live in this new reality, and what travel is going to look like going forward. And this process will involve stepping out into the unknowns. But that’s not new. Life has always been filled with unknowns.

What about you? Are you considering any trips in the upcoming months? Are there any considerations that you would add to this list?

Until next time,

10 Novels that Feature Camping

Published on July 2, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

When I set out to put together this list of books that feature camping, I was confident that it wouldn’t be all that difficult. Though putting together these types of lists is typically time consuming, I normally have a good basis of posts and lists to start from. Both Google and Goodreads have always been good friends in helping me sift through books to come up with a list. It turns out that this was not the case when it came to books that feature camping.

I soon discovered that there are not many existing lists to peruse. Though I am certain that there are many books that include some form of camping, they don’t seem to be grouped together or easily identifiable. Camping doesn’t seem to be a common keyword tag for novels. There are at least 2 books on this list that I only found because I spent time scrolling through my Goodreads “Read” and “Want to Read” lists, and I remembered enough about them to click through to the description.

Many of the lists that do exist are short and contain the same small handful of books, or they list books that contain some wilderness aspects and/or hiking but not camping. There are lists of books set at summer camp, but that was not what I wanted. It turned out to be very difficult to find fictional books that include camping. But I have succeed in putting together a list!

The books listed here feature camping to different extents, but I think they all feature it in some way or another. I have not read them all, but I have read a number of them and hope to add the others to my TBR for the future.

1. Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries by Tonya Kappes
This was the book that inspired me to write this list, and somehow made me believe that it would be easy to put together. If there’s one book, there must be more, right? This is the first in the Camper & Criminals cozy mystery series that is set in a campground in Kentucky. With campground politics to traverse and a murder to solve, this is a fun entry into the series and I look forward to reading the later books.

2. The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo
This is the first in the Glacier Park Mystery series. From the description, this might not be one to take along on your next camping trip unless you are okay with being scared of every thing that goes bump in the night. This mystery deals with grizzly bear attacks that appear to be instigated by a very human killer. As intriguing as this one sounds, I don’t think I’ll be too keen on sleeping in a tent too soon after reading it.

3. Hatchet by Gary Paulson
I read this book years ago while in elementary school. This is again the first in a series, though I think I only ever read the first book. The series follows a boy who is forced to survive in the Canadian wilderness after the plane he was in crash lands in a lake. All he has is the clothing on his back and a small hatchet.

4. Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
I came across this one multiple times before I added it to the list, because I was convinced that it was a non-fiction/memoir/self-help type book. But I was wrong. This is a contemporary novel about a recently divorced woman who lets her younger brother convince her to sign up for a wilderness survival course where she will spend three weeks in a remote area of Wyoming.

5. The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson
This book has quite possibly one of the cutest covers ever, but it might be stretching the topic a tad, because I’m not sure how much camping it includes. This is a contemporary romance novel that follows a woman who moves back home to help out her grieving and aging grandfather only to find that her mother has already taken over her old room. Things start to turn around when her grandfather gifts her an old run-down vintage camper that she resolves to restore with the help of a certain handsome gentleman from town.

6. Flamingo Fatale by Jimmie Ruth Evans
This is the first in the Trailer Park Mystery series, and from the description, it probably falls right on the edge of the camping category. When Wanda’s husband is found murdered with her favourite pink flamingo yard ornament, she quickly becomes not only the prime suspect but a target for the real killers. Wanda and her best friend need to catch the real killers before they get her.

7. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
This is the first book in the fantasy series The Queen’s Thief. While camping isn’t a main feature point in the book, and certainly not the rest of the series to my knowledge, the characters do spend a fair amount of time camping and hiking through the woods as they set out on a quest in search of a treasure. There are even stories at night by the campfire! This is a series that I quickly fell in love with, and I would highly recommend checking out.

8. Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
This is a young adult contemporary romance that features a group camping trip that goes south leaving the two main characters – best friends turned enemies – alone in the wilderness. Can the two stop fighting long enough to get out of the woods in one piece? And what will happen as their hidden feelings start to surface? This is one that I have had on my list for a while after reading, and loving, another book by the same author.

9. The Distance Between Lost & Found by Kathryn Holmes
I read this book quite sometime ago, and from my Goodreads review it seems that I had mixed feelings about it at the time, despite giving it 3 stars. I don’t remember it enough to say why I felt this way, so it might be worth a re-read. This story features a group of characters with a complicated history, that set out on a youth group camping trip. The three main characters become separated from the group and they need to overcome their history to survive and escape the wilderness.

10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Okay… so this one is really stretching it, but I didn’t love some of my other options so I decided to just go with it. This is a book that features the type of camping you might enjoy if you like your vacations with a touch of danger. And of course, by a touch of danger, I mean that chances are you won’t survive. This book gives new meaning to the theme of escaping the wilderness alive. Beware of changing landscapes and unpredictable killer creatures. “May the odds be ever in your favour.”

There you have it. 10 books that I was able to find that feature camping to some degree or another. I am certain that there are more books that I have read or heard about that include camping, but they were playing hard to get. Hopefully going forward, this topic will be something that I can keep in mind while reading, and maybe somewhere in the future I’ll be able to write an updated list with more titles.

Have you read any books that feature or include a type of camping that I have missed? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,