Hello, everybody! I feel like I've been out of the blogosphere for awhile because I've been on vacation the past two weeks. I scheduled some posts before I went so that Smiling Shelves would go on, and I promise to reply to every comment that you wonderful people have left for me. For our vacation, we went to Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. Amazingly fun, but also rather exhausting. I've almost unburied our house from the mounds of laundry. Now just to reenter this wonderful world of bookishness!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (A most interesting read)
The Black Reckoning by John Stephens (An extremely satisfying end to this series. If you haven't checked out his Books of Beginning series yet, you definitely should!)
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman (Spectacular twists and lovable characters, as always)

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (The Newbery Medal winner for this year. And very deserving of it, from what I can tell so far!)

The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty (I loved the first book in this series. Very excited to read the second one!)

Back in April, my husband and I took a weekend trip to Chicago. I haven't shared too many of our pictures from that trip yet, so I thought I would remedy that today. Being the bibliophile that I am, we of course had to visit the Chicago Public Library. I would love to live close to that library - so many books!

The library is the building on the left. It was built in 1991. The strange-looking green things on the corners are decorations that include owls, which symbolize knowledge.

I just thought this sign was kind of funny - first names will be disregarded. :)

The top story is an atrium with trees and tables and chairs. 
This would be such a pleasant place to read!

Okay, I'm not usually much of a tag person, but this one is Harry Potter!! I stole it from You, Me, and a Cup of Tea, who stole it from someone else, who stole it from someone else. . . That's how it goes. :)

1. Favorite book
Order of the Phoenix. I would be part of Dumbledore's Army in a heartbeat!
2. Least favorite book
Chamber of Secrets. Giant snake. Need I say more?
3. Favorite movie
Sorcerer's Stone. I think they captured the magical atmosphere the best in that movie.
4. Least favorite movie
Sort of, kind of Prisoner of Azkaban. I actually like the movie, but it drives me crazy that they left out the explanation of the Marauder's Map.
5. Favorite quote
"Welcome!" Dumbledore said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
6. Favorite Weasley
Fred and George. Who would not want them as your best friends?
7. Favorite female character
Ginny Weasley. Growing up with 6 older brothers has got to be tough, but it prepared her to be exactly who she needed to be for Harry.
8. Favorite villain
Umbridge. I like to be able to laugh at my villains, and Voldemort is a little too scary for that.
9. Favorite male character
Dumbledore. Wisdom and wit, all in one.
10. Favorite professor
Lupin for sure. He's understanding and he actually teaches the class!
11. Is there a character you felt differently about in the movies vs. the books?
Bellatrix was way scarier in the movies.
12. Is there a movie you preferred instead of the book?
Nope. Books all the way!
13. Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as Dumbledore?
They both did a wonderful job of bringing an iconic character to life.
14. The top thing not included in the movies that annoyed you the most.
As mentioned above, they never explained why Lupin knew what the Marauder's Map was!!  Kind of an important plot point for the rest of the movie, isn't it?
15. If you could remake any of the movies, which would it be?
I don't think I've seen the later movies often enough to judge.
16. Which house was your first gut feeling you'd be part of?
Ravenclaw. Although I think I'd hang out with Hermione in the library pretty often.
17. Which house were you actually sorted into on Pottermore (or another online sorting quiz)?
Ravenclaw!
18. Which class would be your favorite?
Defense Against the Dark Arts, if Lupin taught it. Honestly, I'm nerdy enough to find History of Magic fascinating, too.
19. Which spell do you think would be most useful to learn?
Lumos. Then I could keep reading in bed when the lights are turned out!
20. Which character at Hogwarts do you think you'd instantly become best friends with?
Hermione. Hooray for bibliophiles!
21. If you could own one of the three Hallows, which would it be?
The Invisibility Cloak. How cool would it be to be invisible!
22. Is there any aspect of the books you'd want to change?
Fewer beloved characters dying!
23. Favorite marauder?
Lupin.
24. If you could bring one character back to life, who would it be?
Most certainly Fred Weasley. Although Lupin and Tonks' deaths broke my heart, too.
25. Hallows or horcruxes?
Surely this answer goes without saying!

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

Somehow this year is half over already. How does that happen so quickly? At least the first half of the year has been filled with some amazing reads!

Books read: 36
Pages read: 10,993
Fiction: 83%
Nonfiction: 17%
Male authors: 42%
Female authors: 58%
Audiobooks: 3%

Favorite book this quarter: This is way too hard to pick! In nonfiction, I'll say Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason. For fiction, Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer. Ask me tomorrow, and I may choose different ones. :)

Reading Challenge Progress
Mount TBR: 30/36       83%
I Love Library Books: 18/36       50%
Birthday Month: 6/12       50%
Hard Core Re-Reading: 12/10       120%
What's In a Name?: 6/6       100%
Color Coded: 4/9       44%
Victorian Bingo: 3/5       60%
Reading England: 6/6       100%
Around the World in 12 Books: 4/12       33%
European: 4/5       80%
Chunkster: 5/5       100%
Alphabet Soup: 21/26       81%
Authors A to Z: 17/26       65%
Nonfiction: 11/16       69%
Newbery: 11/30 points       37%

Hey, doing these wrap-up posts pays off. I hadn't even noticed that I have a couple of challenges finished already. Not too bad for only halfway through the year! Now I'm off to find even more amazing books to read (hopefully ones that fit a few of those remaining challenges)!