Dynamic Duo for Dean Street December! 😍📚🎄❤️✨

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday and Happy Dean Street Press December 2025! 🥳💜✨

What could be better than spending the most lovely and cozy moments of December snuggled up with a cup of tea and a snack by a warm, crackling fire with a Dean Street Press's Furrowed Middlebrow book? (hint: nothing!)

So many thanks to Liz Dexter at Adventures in Reading for hosting another wonderful wintery month of DSP books! Yippee! ☺️📘❄️💙

Ian's SPAM socks (with container) and his 33-year-old can of unopened SPAM! 

Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson 

RATING: 4.5🌟 

A non-stop roller coaster of activity on the home front! 

This wartime memoir by Verily Anderson grabbed me from the very first page until the (wonderfully satisfying) last sentence. At first, I thought that Ms. Anderson's writing was all-over-the-place and it really had my head reeling...BUT...once I got into the rhythm and pace of her thoughts and writing style, it was a JOY to read. 

To me, the life of Verily, her family, her friends (and then later with her husband, Donald) reminds me of these other titles:

❊ The humor, flurry, excitement and coziness of the Mrs. Tim series by D.E. Stevenson
❊ A smidge of the satirical and amusing novels, The Benefactress and The Caravaners, by Elizabeth von Arnim
❊ With a touch of Susan Scarlett's slightly silly and irreverent (but also touching) romance novels. 

Once I got used to the author's writing style (maybe 30% in?), I flew through the rest of the memoir and I didn't want it to end. There's so much to love, lots to laugh about and also a little bit to frustrate in Spam Tomorrow. 

If you love wartime memoirs, quirky personalities, unbelievably wacky situations and an underlining theme of real life and honest feelings/reactions during the war, this book is for you! I really enjoyed it!

Murder While You Work by Susan Scarlett

RATING: 4.75🌟 

Oooh! This was SO good! I had no idea that Susan Scarlett wrote a murder mystery! 😱

This story had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. It has the perfect blend of coziness, Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild's sparkling writing and intrigue. It was so hard to put down. Wow!

The only reason why I didn't give it a full five stars is because Judy (who I really liked overall) was almost entirely clueless to the affections of a certain war-time colleague. It seems to me that the author wrote her character to be very clever, positive, attractive and observant...but, in this one aspect, she is totally blind to the words and actions of this man. I had such a hard time believing this fact that it frustrated me and I had to bump it down a half star. 😭

But, aside from that, it was AMAZING! I would absolutely re-read this Susan Scarlett novel and...who knows...I might end up changing it to a five star story in the end. 

Highly recommended! One of my Top 3 Susan Scarlett favs! 

I also plan on re-reading Miss Plum and Miss Penny by one of my favorite authors, Dorothy Evelyn Smith this month! It's another Christmas-y favorite of mine! 😍❤️📚🎄

NOTE: 

Current Favorite Teas: Organic lemon balm, Simpson & Vale's Literary Teas in Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Louisa May Alcott (thoughtful and delicious gifts from Christie @felines_and_flowers!)

Current Favorite Snacks: Gladys Taber's homemade cranberry walnut tea bread, Fine & Raw dark chocolate or oyster crackers

Now, I can't even imagine December without a Dean Street Press book in my hand! I think I already have 2-3 DSP titles in mind for next year. Do you have any suggestions for me? 

What are your favorite drinks or snacks to enjoy while reading? Let me know in the comments below! 

If I can't manage to share another blog post this month, I want to wish all of you the most joyful, healing and peaceful holiday and New Year!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog, comment, like my posts on Instagram/Facebook/Goodreads and for always being so caring, supportive and encouraging! It was also so exciting to grow from 1900 to almost 2400 followers on Instagram since early this year...thank you, thank you! 

All of my love, warmest hugs, and wishes for the most cozy and amazing reading for the rest of the year and 2026!! 🥰💕🤗❄️✨🎁💫❤️💚🎄

 

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! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕