I did it! I visited the library on Friday without checking out a single book for myself! I've been wanting to read more of my own books recently, as I explained in this post, but I didn't think I would actually have the willpower to resist picking any up. It was really close a couple of times (I almost came home with The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman and Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier), but I was able to walk away. Instead, I splurged on books for my son - 12 picture books and 3 board books. I have two library books checked out now to finish up - and my book club book to read sometime - but other than that, I am free and clear to read my own books in March! Yay!

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (I LOVED this book. I can already tell that it's going to be one of my top reads for this year. It was amazing.)
Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys by Hal & Melanie Young (This is a great read for any parent of a boy. They are certainly a breed of their own, and this book shows you how to embrace the mess and noise and raise them to be the leaders God designed them to be.)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (This year's Newbery Award winner. It's been a fun read so far.)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (I should be done with this one by the end of the week. It's hard to just read a bit every day on the Serial Reader app - it's so exciting!)

Howl by Allen Ginsberg (Another Classics Club read)

This past weekend had a special treat for me - a visit to Barnes & Noble! I used to go there regularly, probably every 4-6 weeks at least. And then my son was born, and I haven't been since last May. It's not so easy to wander and browse with a little one in tow. But we made it work this weekend! Since I had a gift card and since this was my first visit in a long time, I splurged a bit and got five books. Here's what I bought (with a guest appearance by Pevensie), and I can't wait to read them!

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (This was a fascinating read.)
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (This series never fails to disappoint, no matter how many times I reread them.)
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz (This was a 2017 Newbery Honor Book, and I loved it!)

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (I loved Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, so I am so excited to finally read Simonson's new book!)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (There's a lot more fighting than I remember from the Muppet version. . .)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (This year's Newbery Award winner!)

I make no secret of the fact here on Smiling Shelves that I love libraries. Having time to visit the big library branch several towns over was one of the best parts of my summers. It's so much fun to browse and discover new books. And best of all - they're all free!

But they're free because you can't keep them. If you're checking out a library book, there is an inevitable due date to keep track of (even if you renew it once or twice). Library due dates can be helpful. They provide wonderful motivation to read, and read lots (if you're liike me and can only come home with a huge stack). Knowing that you have to return the book soon means you're more likely to read rather than play on your phone or binge on a Netflix show. I've always found library due dates to be positive and motivationally challenging (surely you can't read that whole stack in three weeks, can you? Watch me!).

Recently, however, I've found that the looming due date has turned on me. It's no longer a challenge to read the books in time - it's now stressful. This probably has something to do with a little boy who takes up a lot of my time. I can tell my reading pace has slowed down over the past couple of months. So now the huge stack of library books is just adding more stress to my life.

I've also been wanting to read more of my own books this year. I've always been so distracted by library books that this hardly happens, but for once, I'm feeling the desire to read my own books - and can't, because I have a stack of books due next week that I have to finish.

So I'm thinking of taking a break from library books for awhile. This is especially ironic and surprising, because I've just returned to library use after taking a couple of months off for my Circumreading the World challenge. But my own books are calling to me, and I certainly don't need anything else in my life stressing me out. Now the trick will be to visit the library for my son's sake without checking out any books for me. . .​

Michigan weather is crazy, and we had the perfect example on Sunday afternoon. It was a cloudy day, snow turning to rain as it warmed up above freezing. The sun came out for 15 minutes. Then it thundered twice and starting snowing like crazy, blowing sideways. That lasted about 20 minutes, and then the sun reappeared. Craziness. And boy, was I glad that I was warm and cozy inside!

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons (This was a delightful read, especially for anyone who's an Anglophile like I am.)

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (The first third of this book made me terrified that music was going to turn on me - musical seizures, musical hallucinations. . . But the rest of it has been absolutely fascinating!)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Ooh, it's getting exciting!)

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (I'm revisiting Jasper Fforde this year, so this is my February read!)

So I've been hearing about the Litsy app for a while now, and it sounded really fun. It's kind of like Goodreads plus Instagram. But I thought it was only available on iPhones. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered yesterday that it was now on Android phones as well! I immediately downloaded it to try it out.

I haven't entirely figured out how to use it yet, but I'm working on it. At the very least, I plan on using it to keep track of quotes I like from books I'm reading. It was my New Year's resolution in 2016 to write down quotes - and I did really well for the first couple of months, until my son was born. Since then, nothing. I figure if I can type them into an app right away when I discover them, rather than waiting until I remember to write them down in my quote book, then I'll have more success with this.

If you're on Litsy, I'd love to connect with you! My username is smilingshelves. Let me know in the comments what yours is, and I'll follow you! Time to go experiment with it some more!

Premise of the book: In 1973, fresh out of college and disillusioned with the world he found himself in, Peter Jenkins decided to walk across America. He took along a fifty-pound backpack and his best friend, an Alaskan malamute named Cooper. This book (it turns out) is just the first half of his travels - from New York to New Orleans, a journey which took two years.

I'm typing this post on Sunday afternoon - Super Bowl Sunday. I am not a football fan. I do like watching the commercials, though. So I plan on reading during the game and watching TV during the commercials. Surely I'm not the only one, am I?

2017 Reading Challenge Sign-Ups - Round Three (I'm done now!)
2016 Book Club

Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Montgomery is delightful, as always)
Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli (I recently discovered this author on a podcast. It turns out she's from Michigan, so I figured I should read a book by her!)
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (For any parent or teacher who wants to raise readers - read this book!)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Finally finished this one. It's a weird book.)
A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins (My Circumreading the World challenge is complete!!)

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons (I'm only a couple chapters in, but this is a fun read so far.)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (My next Classics Club read through the Serial Reader app)
Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys by Hal and Melanie Young (Just the introduction was enough to sell me on this book. I love the perspective the authors bring to raising boys!)

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks (This is for the music geek in me!)

2016 was the third year that I've been part of an in-person book club. It's something I had wanted to participate in for a long time, and I'm so glad that I've found a group of people to read and discuss books and eat yummy food with me. At the end of the year, I like to look back at the books we've read for the year. I suddenly realized this week that I hadn't done that yet for 2016, so here it is now!

January - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
March - One Mountain Away by Emilie Richards
April - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
May - The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
June - Etta & Otto & Russell & James by Emma Hooper
August - All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
September - Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas
October - When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
November - The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Our Favorite Books:​ Several! All the Light We Cannot See, The Boys in the Boat, and When Breath Becomes Air were books that we all enjoyed. They provided lots of meaningful conversation.

Not-So-Favorite Books: All the Birds, Singing. I'm not sure how this book made it on our list in the first place, but it was way too crude for our preference.

Yeah, I said I was done. I know I shouldn't sign up for any more reading challenges this year, but I found a really fun one that I couldn't resist, and then I figured I might as well sign up for the one I was on the fence about while I was at it. So two more. Then I'm done. (Or am I?)

This one is hosted by Book Dragon's Lair, and you can find all the details here. The goal is to complete the alphabet using the settings of the books you read. It can be the country, state, or city. It can even be fictional! In the past, I've loved the challenge of completing the alphabet for titles or author's last names. This is a brand new twist, and I'm really excited to try it!

This challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block, and you can find all the details here. This is a challenge I've participated in a couple of times in the past, but I skipped it last year. Now I find myself scanning my shelves to see what I have for titles involving color words, so I figured I should participate this year!