Blog Posts

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

4/30/2018

This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

My husband and I had a lovely little getaway this weekend. My two-year-old stayed at his grandparents' as a trial run for baby's arrival in June, and we got some time to relax, visit bookstores, and eat yummy food (we found the most delicious ice cream!). Then Saturday was Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, which I participated in only sparingly. The toddler was rather demanding of my attention. :) But I did get almost three hours of reading in, which is more than I expected!

What I Read Last Week

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Five star read, for sure! And the perfect book to take on vacation.)

What I'm Reading Now

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (I'm enjoying this one so far.)
Rebound by Kwame Alexander (I started this one before our trip and haven't gotten back to it yet, but that's okay. It would be easy to zip through this one in an hour or two, but I'd rather savor it.)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I'm on page 680 out of 710. I should finish it this week, and then my Classics Club list will be done!!)

What's Coming Up Next

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (This book has gotten a lot of love on the Books Between podcast, so I thought I'd give it a try.)

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

4/23/2018

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This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

It's spring! It's finally spring! After an ice storm last weekend, the temperatures have been gradually rising. Today is 60 degrees, and our highs for the foreseeable future don't drop below 50. Finally! It's so nice to be out in the sunshine!

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My Son's Go, Dog. Go! Birthday Party

What I Read Last Week

Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton (This one was just meh, but now that I've read it, I can pass it along to someone else who may love it in my Little Free Library!)
Sounder by William Armstrong (It may be because I read this one in a disjointed fashion over several days while I put my son down for a nap, but it didn't particularly thrill me. It seemed kind of pointless and meandering, and like it could have been so much more.)

What I'm Reading Now

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson (This series is amazing! This book suffers a little from second-book-in-a-trilogy syndrome, even though it's actually the third book of four. But I don't even care because I love the characters and I love the setting and I love the storytelling. You should read this series!)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I'm on page 656 out of 710. The end is in sight!)

What's Coming Up Next

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Other than finishing Daniel Deronda, this is the last book on my Classics Club list!! I'm going to make it!)

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My Son's Go, Dog. Go! Birthday Party

4/19/2018

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My son turned two this month, and when I sat down to figure out what his birthday party theme should be, my mind naturally traveled to books. And then it was an obvious choice. His favorite book currently is Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. Sounded like a fun birthday party to me!

I'm really not a big party planner sort of person, so I was extremely thankful for Pinterest for providing lots of ideas. We decorated in green and orange, like the cover of the book. And I printed out pages from the book to go with some of the food.

"Big dogs and little dogs!" (Brats and hot dogs)

"It's not hot here under the house." (Lemonade)

Puppy Chow
"A blue dog on a red tree." (Blueberries & strawberries)
"A green dog on a yellow tree." (Green grapes & pineapples)

And the absolutely amazing cake made by my mother-in-law!!

Here's the whole "cake" with my son who was being goofy and wouldn't let us take a good picture. Ah, two-year-olds!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

4/16/2018

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This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here, which is why no posts happened last week. We had a birthday party for my son (which was book-themed, so there will be a post coming about it!). Then my husband was out of town for three days. I have to tell you that single parenting a two-year-old while being seven months pregnant is exhausting! I pretty much collapsed on the couch as soon as my little guy was in bed. I've really enjoyed this past weekend of no plans and relaxing (and having my husband home again!). I was even able to get a fair amount of reading in! :)

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2018 First Quarter Wrap-Up

What I Read in the Last Two Weeks

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (The pacing was on the slow side, but I still enjoyed this one. I keep thinking about the kids that were the main characters, so I'm sure I'll be reading the sequels soon.)
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn (Almost bailed 50 pages in, but I'm glad I kept going. The second half was good enough to stick with it for.)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (I loved revisiting this one. It's a Newbery winner that I read in childhood and taught as a sixth grade teacher. It was fun to read it just to read it.)

What I'm Reading Now

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost (This is for the country of Kiribati for the Litsy Passport Challenge. It's really better than the title suggests.)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I'm on page 610 out of 710. One hundred pages to go!!)

What's Coming Up Next

Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton (I'm trying to balance library and owned books, so I grabbed this one off my shelf. It's on my TBR Bingo that I'm trying to finish this year and have made very little progress on. Time to do something about that!)

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2018 First Quarter Wrap-Up

4/5/2018

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The first three months of the year are over already! That means it's time to take stock of my reading thus far and my reading challenge progress. Since I have a new baby arriving in June, I've been trying to really work on my reading challenges in the first part of this year. Let's see if I'm making as much progress as I think I am!

Books read: 45
Pages read: 12,949
Fiction: 78%
Nonfiction: 22%
Male authors: 47%
Female authors: 53%
Books I own: 46%
From the library: 54%

Favorite fiction book this quarter: The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett
Favorite nonfiction book this quarter: Mail Obsession: A Journey Round Britain By Postcode by Mark Mason

Reading Challenge Progress
Mount TBR 10/36
Nonfiction 9/15
Litsy Passport 2/6 countries
Newbery 26/45 points
Picture Book 42/104 categories
Middle Grade Well. . . I've read 16 middle grade books so far this year, but I haven't assigned them to categories yet. And since each book can count towards two categories, I guess you could say I have 32 out of 104 categories complete!

Personal Reading Goals
Finish Classics Club List Just one and 1/3 books to go!
TBR Bingo 9/25 (This needs work.)
Read My Own Books 46% (Goal is 50%)

Cue the never-ending chorus - I need to read more books I own! Only 46% of the books I've read this year have been books I've owned, and I really need to keep that percentage over 50%. I haven't dug the hole too deep yet, so here's my chance to swing the balance the other way!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

4/2/2018

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This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, spending time with family and friends. But most importantly, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

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Discovering Michigan Authors

What I Read Last Week

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin (This was a really enjoyable read.)
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (Another Newbery winner. I taught this one when I taught sixth grade, so it was interesting to revisit it just to read it.)

What I'm Reading Now

The Maiden's Bequest by George MacDonald (This is my yearly George MacDonald Holy Week read. It's a slow, savoring sort of read, so I didn't quite make it during Holy Week, but I should finish it up soon.)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I'm on page 504 out of 710.)

What's Coming Up Next

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (This is one I've been hearing lots of good things about - and I just recently bought books 2 and 3 - so I finally decided to read book one!)

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Discovering Michigan Authors

3/29/2018

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I am a proud Michigander (or Michiganian, but I prefer the former), and I recently discovered even more reasons to be proud of my state and its residents. Over the past couple of weeks, I've found out that these three authors live in Michigan, which just makes me like them even more. I thought I would share my discoveries here on Smiling Shelves. Even if you don't live in Michigan, it's still fun to find out more about the lives of real-life authors.

Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin is one of my favorite Christian authors. She writes Biblical fiction and historical fiction. I love escaping into one of her books, while feeling refreshed in my spiritual life as well. Over the weekend, I had a conversation with a new friend on Litsy (@TheHeartlandBookFairy), who told me that Lynn Austin lives on the west side of Michigan by the city of Holland. I had already decided that I needed to read all of Austin's books, but now I think I have to own them all, too!

Lynn Austin's Website

Deborah Diesen

My son loves The Pout-Pout Fish. Last week, I decided to look up some information about the author, Deborah Diesen, just for fun. And surprise! She lives in Michigan, outside of Lansing. She also has an amazing blog where she highlights other authors from Michigan. What's better than spreading author love?

Deborah Diesen's Website

Annie Spence

And Deborah Diesen's website that I just mentioned is how I found the third author I'm highlighting today - Annie Spence, who just published Dear Fahrenheit 451. I haven't read that book yet, but I've been hearing lots of good things about it in the blogosphere. It was already on my TBR, but discovering that Spence lives in Michigan bumped it to the top of my list!

Annie Spence's Website

Do you know of any authors that live in your state? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

3/26/2018

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This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

I had a Saturday full of reading, which was a nice change from the normal busyness of our lives. I had to spend the morning at the lab for my three hour glucose tolerance test. Disgusting, but it allowed me to sit there and read for three hours! And then I got to go out to lunch by myself. I had eaten nothing since the night before, and I was starving. By the time I made it home, it was almost my little guy's naptime, which allowed me to sneak in some more reading in the afternoon. Isn't it amazing how the more you read, the more you want to read?

What I Read Last Week

M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton (I'm reading the Newbery winners from the 1970s during this year. I don't remember if I read this one when I was a kid or not, but I found it kind of meandering.)
A Flight of Fancy by Laurie Alice Eakes (I always love learning when I'm reading, especially when it's unexpected - like learning about early ventures in ballooning while reading a Christian romance!)

What I'm Reading Now

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (I read this one a while ago, but I'm rereading for next month's book club meeting. I love Bill Bryson!)
Where We Belong by Lynn Austin (Lynn Austin is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Christian writers.)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (Slow but steady progress. I'm on page 471 out of 710.)

What's Coming Up Next

The Maiden's Bequest by George MacDonald (I've decided to read a George MacDonald book each year during Holy Week, and this is this year's selection!)

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

3/19/2018

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This weekly chance to add to your reading list is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

My almost two-year-old (how did that happen??) has discovered two of the wonders of spring - watching the birds through the window and making shadow puppets when the sun is shining. I love rediscovering the little things like this through his eyes!

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Top Ten Theursday - Books I Have Reread Many Times

What I Read Last Week

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck (I loved this one!!)
The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler (This one was good, but I'm not sure I was intrigued enough to keep going with the series. We'll see if I'm still thinking about it in a few weeks.)

What I'm Reading Now

Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O'Hanlon (The blurb on the cover describes this travel narrative as having the "soul of Monty Python." It is a rather bumbling journey so far.)
Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine (I wrote stories all the time in high school, but haven't for years. I'm hoping this book will inspire me to pick up my pencil again.)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (I'm on page 437 out of 710.)

What's Coming Up Next

A Flight of Fancy by Laurie Alice Eakes (Time for some Christian fiction again!)

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Top Ten Theursday - Books I Have Reread Many Times

3/15/2018

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Okay, I know I'm a bit late on this one, since it's not Tuesday, and this isn't even this week's topic. But it was one I wanted to do, so I just decided to do it now anyway!

I don't do a ton of rereading, but I do reread my favorites over and over again. And I had to cheat and include entire series and authors, rather than single books, because I couldn't pick just one from a series or author! So here are some of the books that I've reread a lot (some of these, at least ten times).