Several months ago, I had never heard of the author Robin Hobb. And then came Litsy (which is an awesome bookish app that you should be on, if you're not already). All sorts of people were posting about loving her books, people with widely different tastes in books. And every post or review just raved about her. This definitely caught my attention.

But I hesitated for a couple of reasons. She writes fantasy, which is a genre I devoured in high school but have only dabbled with since. And she has several different series, so it was confusing to know where to start. And the main character appeared to be an assassin, which is not a profession I prefer to read about.

But how could I resist, when so many people said they loved her books so much? So I did my research, figured out where to start, and gave her a try.

And now I understand all the raving. They aren't fast-paced books (even though there is an assassin involved). But you are pulled so deeply into the world that you find yourself living in it even when you aren't reading. The plot and characters are human and complex. The dilemmas are to be wrestled with and are not easily solved. Even a whole day after finishing it, I can't stop thinking about this book.

I just placed my first Book Depository order, so that I could own the entire Farseer Trilogy because I need to read the rest of it right now. Library books are not enough. And because I fell in love with the U.K. covers, and I must own these versions. Aren't they amazing?

So add me to the list of Robin Hobb lovers and ravers. Even if fantasy isn't your thing, you should give her a try. Really, her books are about humanity. She writes in trilogies, so you can jump in anywhere, but the Farseer trilogy was the first and starts Fitz's story from the beginning. I recommend starting there.

Now I just need to wait impatiently for my Book Depository order to arrive so that I can dive back into the world of the Six Duchies.

I really didn't mean to go AWOL for the past couple of weeks. I've even started writing posts a couple of times, but never had a chance to finish them. We've got less than a month until baby's arrival, and blogging has apparently taken a backseat to other preparations. I'll try to get a few posts up before baby arrives, but if I don't, I think I'm okay with that. Blogging is supposed to be fun, not stressful, right? So that's my goal! I hope everyone had a good long weekend and that your weather is summery (although maybe not the 90 degrees we've been having)!

Thread of Gold Beads by Nike Campbell-Fatoki (Four out of six countries complete for my Litsy Passport Challenge!)
The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland (I can see why kids love this series. I plan to continue it, hopefully getting a couple more read over the summer.)
​The Door in the Alley by Adrienne Kress (This book was so much fun. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!)

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (I have heard so much love for this author, especially on Litsy, that I had to give her a try. And now I understand! This is a world you can just live in, even when you're not reading at the moment. I know I'll be seeking out more of her books!)
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (The last book in the series just came out, and I'm rereading the first books - or rather, listening to them - before I read the last one. If you haven't read the Penderwicks books yet, you most definitely should!)

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (Book club book for June.)

I hope everyone who celebrated Mother's Day yesterday had a wonderful time. I'm blessed to live close enough to my family that we could spend lunch with my mother and supper with my husband's mother. And my husband surprised me with a collage of pictures of me and my little guy (he said it's proof that he does take pictures of me because I always say that he doesn't). It was a nice, relaxing day.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (This was my first reread in about twenty years, and I still absolutely loved it. It was fun to discuss it with my book club, too!)
Can't Help Falling by Kara Isaac (This was such a fun Christian romance, especially with all of the Narnia references thrown in!)
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Wow, was this a powerful book. I grew up in Flint, Michigan - although in a much safer neighborhood than this book depicts - but it's easy for me to imagine people living this sort of life. And just, wow.)

Thread of Gold Beads by Nike Campbell-Fatoki (A book set in Benin for my Passport Litsy challenge.)
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland (We just bought this series for the school library I volunteer in, so I thought I'd see what it's all about. Plus, I like dragons.)

The Door in the Alley by Adrienne Kress (Yup, more middle grade fiction, because it's just the best!)

In August of 2013, I joined the Classics Club and made a list of 51 books to read in the next five years. On May 3, 2018, I finished the last book from the list! In honor of that occasion, I thought I would share some info about my Classics Club journey.

If you're interested in seeing my whole list of books, you can find it here.

First book I read: Xingu by Edith Wharton
Last book I read: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Technically, I finished Daniel Deronda three days later, but that one had been spread out over many months.)
Shortest book: I'm not sure how to count this one. Xingu by Edith Wharton was 48 pages, but I read it as part of a whole book of her short stories. And Howl by Allen Ginsberg is 56 pages, but I read the graphic novel version, so it was longer.
Longest book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1,361 pages)
Book that took the longest to read: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (January 16 - May 3)
Percentage of books from the list that I owned: 75% (Yay!)
Book I liked best: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Books I liked least: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera (mostly because of crudity or characters' immorality)
Hardest book to read: The Iliad by Homer (I read this one mostly while nursing my newborn, and I kept falling asleep!)
Book that surprised me with how much I liked it: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Oldest book on the list: The Iliad by Homer (about 762 B.C.)
Newest book on the list: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985)
Genres read: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Play, and Short Stories
Number of books read in each year: 2013 (3 books); 2014 (7 books); 2015 (15 books); 2016 (5 books); 2017 (15 books);​ 2018 (6 books)

So there you have it - 51 books in 5 years! Some I loved, some I strongly disliked, but I'm glad I experienced every single one of them! And yes, I'm contemplating a second round, focused mainly on classic children's literature. . .​ Any suggestions for what I should put on my list?

The daffodils and tulips are blooming! The grass is green and filled with dandelions! We can play in the sandbox again! It's finally SPRING!

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (It was an okay book, but not one I loved. The writing style just never hooked me.)
Rebound by Kwame Alexander (I loved this one just as much as The Crossover!)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (That's right - I finished it! Which means my Classics Club list is officially done!! There's a wrap-up post about completing my Classics Club list coming on Thursday. And, by the way, I loved Daniel Deronda.)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (I read this book many times as a kid, but I haven't reread it since middle school. I'm happy to find that I still love it just as much!)

Can't Help Falling by Kara Isaac (This book has been on my TBR since before it was published in 2016. Last month, I found a copy at a used bookstore, and it's been sitting on my shelf tempting me since then. It's finally time to read it!)

Last weekend, my husband and I went on a little getaway up to Traverse City, Michigan. Besides finding the most delicious ice cream ever (Moomers - it's so good!), we spent a lot of time in bookstores (because I have an extremely patient husband). It was so nice to be able to browse for as long as I wanted without having to chase a toddler around!

One of the bookstores (Horizon Books) had an awesome bargain books section. It's surprising I didn't come home with all the picture books. Here are the books I found for my son (with a couple for my soon-to-be-arriving daughter).

• ​Happy Birthday, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton
• Peek-a-Boo Sliders Farm by Nathalie Choux
• Anne of Green Gables by Jennifer Adams
• Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld
• Babar's ABC by Laurent de Brunhoff
• The ABC Animal Orchestra by Donald Saaf
• Hidden Michigan by Anne Margaret Lewis and Janis Campbell
• Hooray for Today! by Brian Won

And here's what I found for myself!

• His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (I've been wanting to start this series, but the library doesn't have it.)
• Ex-Libris by Ross King (A spontaneous find at the one used bookstore we went to. I don't often pick up books I've never heard of before, so I'm curious to see how this one is.)
• The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall (I finally own the whole series! At least for a couple more weeks, until the last book in the series comes out.)
• Spell It Out by David Crystal (For the English geek in me.)
• Meet Me in Atlantis by Mark Adams (I loved his other travel narrative, Turn Right at Machu Picchu, so I was really excited to see this one on the bargain book shelf!)