This year is going by way too fast. Although the good part of being a quarter of the way through already is that spring is finally here! I've read more than I thought I would so far this year. Here are the numbers thus far:​

Favorite book this quarter: Hands down, The Summer Before the War​ by Helen Simonson. (Although there are a lot of books tying for second place.)

Reading Challenge Progress
Read the Books You Buy - 2/11 read - current percentage is 18% (21-40% is my goal)
Show Your Shelves Some Love - 11/30
Beat the Backlist - 21/30
Full House - 10/25
European - 3/5
Picture Book - 39/102
Newbery - 8/30 points
Where Are You Reading? - 16/26
​Color Coded - 2/9

Let's all just take a moment at marvel at the fact that 71% of the books I've read this year have been books I own. I'm pretty sure that's a record! Hopefully I can keep it up for the rest of the year!

Friday was Library Day, and once again, I was pretty pleased with myself. I walked out with only one book for myself - 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. I had been planning to get that one going in, because I had just listened to an episode of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast with him on it. But I resisted the urge to bring home any other books! (I did add a couple to my Goodreads to-read list, though, for future library visits.) And of course, we left with a huge stack of picture books, but that doesn't count. Once again, I am on track for reading books from my own shelves for the next month. Yay!

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (This is one of my favorite books ever!)
The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson (I've been reading this one sporadically over the past few weeks and finished it Friday. This was exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for in a parenting book - practical techniques backed up by research. So helpful!)

Cascade by Lisa Tawn Bergren (This is even better than the first book in the series. I'm devouring it!)
​Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (I should be finishing this one up sometime this week.)

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Other than a couple of this year's winners, I haven't read any Newbery books yet this year. Time to remedy that!)

All I knew about this book going in was that there was a guy who didn't age because his portrait did instead. So I was a little confused when the first half of the book read as a typical Victorian novel. It could have been Dickens or Trollope that I was reading, not a creepy Oscar Wilde story. But the second half got weirder and creepier, and I was quite glad to finish the book. It was a well-told tale and would not have been out of place around a campfire with a flashlight shining on your face. I can't say I exactly enjoyed it, because creepy stories are really not my thing, but I am glad I had the experience of reading it.

I wanted my Classics Club list to branch out from the standard canon (although I could easily read Victorian novels all year long). So I added a couple modern "classics" - and I'll admit right up front that the only reason Howl made the list was because that was the book that Jess stole from Rory's room and returned with margin notes in Gilmore Girls. (Really, who can resist a boy who does that, even if we don't like writing in our margins??) The version of Howl ​that my library had was actually a graphic novel, with the illustrations coming from a movie based on the poem that was made in 2010. I know I got a lot more out of the poem by reading it this way (although because of the rather mature nature of the poem, sometimes I got more than I bargained for). I don't know a lot about the Beat movement, but Howl gave me some insight into the thoughts and feelings of those who lived that life.

How have I never read Treasure Island before? My only experience with this story is through Muppet Treasure Island, which is by far my favorite of all of the Muppet movies. But the book is quite a bit different. There's a lot more killing, for one thing (and fewer funny moments). It's actually quite violent on the island as the two factions are battling it out. But it's not terribly graphic, either, so I still wouldn't hesitate to hand this book to a eleven-year-old boy. There seems to be something about pirates that is endlessly fascinating to us (let us all witness the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which apparently never ends), and Treasure Island probably played a large part in why this is so. It's a fabulously adventurous tale, and I look forward to sharing it with my little boy in the future.

Sunshine! Warmth! (Well, okay, 43 degrees.) My goodness, it almost feels like spring here! It all conspired to make a pretty good day yesterday - church in the morning, watching Michigan win their basketball game and then going for a walk with my family. Hooray for Sundays!

Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel by David Limbaugh (This was a great collection of all of the best of Christian apologetics, framed by Limbaugh's own faith journey. Really well done.)
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (Our book club book for the month. Strong beginning and end. The middle dragged a bit, but that may be just because I'm not a fan of books that cover an entire generation. It will definitely make for some good book club discussion.)

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (The next installment in my yearlong Jasper Fforde reread. This is my favorite of the Thursday Next series, so I'm excited!)
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (I'm getting a little bogged down in the middle, but still enjoying it.)

Cascade by Lisa Tawn Bergren (My mind keeps returning to Waterfall, the first book in this series, even a couple weeks after reading it. So I figured I should read book 2, since it's just sitting there on my shelf waiting for me.)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon was the 2017 Newbery Award winner. It's a magical, fantastical tale of a baby abandoned in the woods for a town's yearly sacrifice, the witch who finds and raises her, and the magic that flows out of her uncontrollably. This was an enjoyable book to read, and a unique world to inhabit for a while (Fyrian the Perfectly Tiny Dragon was my favorite.) While I was drawn in to the atmosphere of the story, I didn't find myself as invested in the plot and characters as I expected. This was a good read and an enjoyable story, but I'm not quite sure it was enough of a stand-out to win the Newbery Award..

The Inquisitor's Tale​ was one of the 2017 Newbery Honor books. It is set in thirteenth century France, and it follows three children (and a dog) as they perform miracles and get in trouble with the Catholic church and the king. The structure is reminiscent of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as each chapter is told by a different person who witnessed a different part of the children's adventures. I absolutely loved this book. It's creative and informative. It deals with religion in a profound and respectful way. And it's just a wonderfully good story to read. (If I were on the panel, this one would have gotten my vote for the Award.) The book has also been "illuminated," which adds a really interesting dimension to the story. Hatem Aly decorated the margins with sketches and illustrations that reflect and comment on what's going on in the story. Pick this one up if you're looking for something unique and unusual!

Well, this week has been most interesting. We had crazy winds on Wednesday that took down our power (and half of the town, including the public schools). It didn't come back on until Saturday late afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to borrow my in-laws' generator, or we would have been completely frozen because winter has definitely returned. Life is back to normal now, or at least until the snow rolls in during the next couple of days!

The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann (This book is about a Lutheran church in a Midwestern small town. In other words, it's pretty much about my life. And it was so good!)
Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren (I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I had read it in high school. It's rather teenagery. But even now, I'm looking forward to reading book 2 to see what happens next.)

Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel by David Limbaugh (This seemed like a good read as we're heading towards Easter.)
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (I'm enjoying this one a lot more than I thought I would!)

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (The lone library book I'm planning to read this month. But it's our book club book, so what else can I do?)

Michigan weather cannot make up its mind, but I suppose that's nothing new. After a week of beautiful spring temperatures, we are back to cold and wind and snow. The poor daffodils and tulips are already coming up, so I hope they don't get frozen! I got spoiled for those few warm days - finally able to get out of the house and go for a walk again! Now that we're cooped up back inside, I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. Time for spring to come and stay!

Bookish Podcasts
​Take Control TBR Challenge Sign-Up

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander (I love Alexander, but I hadn't read this book of his before. I enjoyed it.)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Finished this one up on Friday. What a fun adventure!)
Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession by Marc Romano (An interesting read for anyone who enjoys doing crosswords, even occasionally.)

The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann (I borrowed this one from my mom about a year ago. I figure it's probably time I should read it.)
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (I just started this one on the Serial Reader app yesterday.)

I don't know, and that's a pretty wonderful feeling! I have all of the books I own to select from, and there's so many that I'm dying to read that I don't know how I'll ever choose. But I'm so excited to scour my shelves and see what jumps into my hands!

This challenge is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and it could not have come at a better time. If you've been reading my blog for the past month, you know that I'm pulling back from library books and focusing on my own shelves for the foreseeable future. And there is nothing like a challenge to keep me on track for that goal!

The idea of this challenge is to read books from your TBR that were published before March 1, 2017. Library books technically count, but I'm not going to allow them to count for me. My purpose in signing up is to read my own books, so that's what I'm going to do! I'm going to set a minimum goal of 5 books, but I hope to get through more than that. (Unfortunately, I have a fairly substantial book club book to get through soon that came from the library. So that may get in my way.)

Time to scour my shelves and pick out my books!

I discovered the world of podcasts about six months ago. I don't know what took me so long! While I listen to a variety of them, I've found that my favorites are the ones about books. I thought I'd share the three bookish podcasts I listen to, as well as some of the books I've recently added to my TBR because of them (that's the only problem with them - my TBR is certainly not shrinking!). And to compound that problem, I'd love if you would share some of the bookish podcasts you enjoy listening to so I can join in!

This podcast is hosted by Andrew and Craig. Each week, one of them reads a book that's been out for a while, and then they discuss it. They give some background of the work and the author. They discuss good parts, bad parts, confusing parts, funny parts, and everything in between. I've been picking and choosing which episodes I listen to in their archives because I only listen to ones about books I've already read (don't want any spoilers!). This podcast is informative and hilarious. (And Craig has the best laugh ever.)

This podcast is hosted by Anne Bogel, a.k.a. Modern Mrs. Darcy. Each week, she interviews someone and asks them for three books they love and one book they hate. She then recommends three books she thinks they would enjoy based on their tastes. I wasn't so sure about this podcast when I first started it - why would I care about book recommendations for someone else? But it quickly pulled me in, and I am devouring the archives. Three books I recently added to my TBR because of this podcast are: (Click on the cover to go to the Goodreads page.)

This podcast is hosted by Sarah Mackenzie. It's all about children's literature, both picture books and middle grade books. She interviews authors and illustrators and audiobook narrators. She discusses how to spread the love of reading to your own children. Of all the sections in a bookstore or library, children's literature is the most dangerous for me. I want to come home with ALL THE BOOKS. I don't know if that's because I was a teacher, or because I'm still an eleven-year-old at heart. Either way, this podcast is amazing and delightful. My TBR has grown substantially because of this podcast!