• Home
  • About Me
  • 5* Elements
  • 2019 Reading Challenges
    • Other Reading Challenges
    • 2013 Reading Challenges
    • 2014 Reading Challenges
    • 2015 Reading Challenges
    • 2016 Reading Challenges
    • 2017 Reading Challenges
    • 2018 Reading Challenges
  • My Bookish Lists
    • My Classics Club List
    • Reading the Newberys
    • Reading My Own Books
Smiling Shelves

Do You Make a Monthly TBR?

2/14/2019

4 Comments

 
Do you make a monthly TBR? I never really intend to because I like to be a little less confined in my reading. Yet somehow it always happens. Book club books, books for reading challenges, and books for my own personal goals manage to populate my monthly reading plans. Or rather, create a plan when I didn't necessarily want there to be one.

This month, my TBR list was determined by library due dates. I visited two different libraries at the end of January, and I also requested a couple titles that were at other branches. So my stack for this month is 6 library books and one book I own. Not an ideal ratio.
Picture
I love planning and being organized. I like knowing what my next read will be, and sometimes even the one after that. But that looming pile of library books is stressing me out this month. I've over-committed myself yet again, despite all of my vows to relax and enjoy my reading this year.

So I'm curious about what everyone else does. Do you plan out your reading? By the month, by the season? Or not at all?
4 Comments

Jane Austen-y Reads

2/5/2019

6 Comments

 
I was already planning to reread Jane Austen's 6 novels by listening to them on audio this year, when I stumbled across the Jane Austen Book Club Challenge hosted by Bunny's Girl. This challenge inspires you to read beyond the original novels to anything Jane Austen-related. So I decided to comb through my Goodreads TBR and see what books might apply. I found a bunch, and I'm always looking for more. So please drop your suggestions in the comments!

Nonfiction

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz
  • Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon
  • Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan by Ted Schienman
  • Reading Austen in America by Juliette Wells
  • A Rambling Fancy: In the Footsteps of Jane Austen by Caroline Sanderson

Fiction

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • A Match for Mary Bennet by Eucharista Ward
  • Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken
  • Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
  • Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo
  • Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
6 Comments

2019 Caldecott and Newbery Winners!

2/1/2019

5 Comments

 
On Monday, the American Library Association announced the winners of this year's Caldecott and Newbery Awards (along with a whole bunch of other awesome awards!). If you're participating in my Newbery Reading Challenge, then all of the below books earn you points. If you're not participating (It's not too late to join), then all of these books look amazing, and you should read them!

Newbery Medal Winner

Picture
  • Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Newbery Honor Books

Picture
Picture
  • The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
  • ​The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Caldecott Medal Winner

Picture
  • Hello Lighthouse illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall

Caldecott Honor Books

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • Alma and How She Got Her Name illustrated and written by Juana Martinez-Neal
  • A Big Mooncake for Little Star illustrated and written by Grace Lin
  • The Rough Patch illustrated and written by Brian Lies
  • Thank You, Omu! illustrated and written by Oge Mora
5 Comments
    Picture
    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

    Picture
    What are 5* Elements all about?

    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Follow on Bloglovin

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Currently Reading

    Clara and Mr. Tiffany
    A Little Folly

    2019 Reading Challenge

    2019 Reading Challenge
    Julie has read 9 books toward their goal of 75 books.
    hide
    9 of 75 (12%)
    view books

    Archives

    November 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    5* Atmosphere
    5* Characters
    5* Learning
    5* Learning
    5* Meaning
    5* Plot
    5* Plot
    5* Voice
    5* Voice
    5* Writing
    Book Club
    Book Club
    Challenges
    Children's
    Classics Club
    Fiction
    Historical Fiction
    It's Monday
    It's Monday
    Library Loot
    Life
    Newbery Reading Challenge
    Nonfiction
    Read A Thons
    Reading
    Review
    Saturday Snapshot
    Smiling Shelves Soapbox
    Stacking The Shelves
    Top Ten Tuesday
    Travel
    Young Adult


    Picture