It's sweet corn season! I love living in a state where we get so much fresh-out-of-the-garden produce during the summer (and I love that my in-laws have a huge garden and are willing to share, so I don't have to grow things myself - it wouldn't go well). My little guy had his first experience with corn on the cob this week. He didn't get much off, but he enjoyed trying!

False Colours by Georgette Heyer (I've never had a Heyer book fail me yet. They are all so good!)
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (Snuck my July reread in just in time!)

Lady of Magick by Sylvia Izzo Hunter (I read the first book in the series a year ago, and I'm finally picking up the second. I don't know what took me so long, because I'm loving it so far!)

Around the World in 50 Years: My Adventure to Every Country on Earth by Albert Podell (This has to be the ultimate travel narrative, right? I'm really looking forward to this one.)

I'm sure most of us book lovers collect series, or even just books by the same author. How important is it to you to have the covers match throughout the series?

I didn't think it mattered to me at all. The words inside were more important, right? But I've just recently discovered that it matters more than I thought. In May, I bought a copy of The Mysterious Howling, which is the first book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood. This is the cover I have:​

Last month, my husband gave me $15 to spend on books on our Amazon order. I found a good deal on a hardcover book I wanted, and had about $4 to spare to buy the second book of the series, The Hidden Gallery. But at some point, the series had been reprinted and the covers had changed. I wanted the one that matched the first book that I already owned. It looks like this:​

But for some reason, that version was about $10, while the reprinted edition was on sale for $3. The reprinted cover looks like this:​

I went with the reprinted cover, because I couldn't justify spending seven more dollars on a book just for a different cover. I didn't think it would matter, until I got the book in the mail. I just like the original cover so much better - and I really want my books to match! - that I will probably end up buying that version at some point in the future. So I guess if I'm willing to buy a book twice just to have matching covers, then it matters way more than I thought it did.

Anyone else participate in the 24 in 48 Readathon this weekend? I had such a wonderful time and got more reading in than I thought I would - over 14 hours! Also, my little guy got his first haircut yesterday. Sniff. It's amazing how much difference just a little trim makes!

A Heart Revealed by Julie Lessman (This book is beautiful. I absolutely loved it.)
​My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul (Books about books are so much fun!)
The Green Ember by S.D. Smith (A cross between Watership Down and the Chronicles of Narnia.)
The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood (These books are just delightful. I can't wait to read the next one!)
​First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (I just love her books.)
Village School by Miss Read (This one has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, and it was fun to read, especially as a former teacher myself. Some things never change!)
Landline by Rainbow Rowell (I liked this one, but not as much as I like her YA. Too much swearing, but I did enjoy seeing all the facets of Neal and Georgie's relationship.)

False Colours by Georgette Heyer (Can't go wrong with a Georgette Heyer book!)
Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon (This was my audiobook for the readathon, but I only got about a third of the way through it.)

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (Time to return to the Thursday Next series for my Jasper Fforde reread of the month.)

The 24 in 48 Readathon is finally here! I can't wait to dive into my stack of books (and snacks).

1. Where in the world are you reading from this weekend?
The unpredictable state of Michigan, where I was planning to read outside today, but woke up to rain and thunderstorms.
2. Have you done the 24in48 readathon before?
This is my third time doing this readathon. I like being able to sleep, while still getting lots of reading in. :)
3. Where did you hear about the readathon, if it is your first?
I think I initially heard about it on Twitter last year.
4. What book are you most excited about reading this weekend?
The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood, which is the second book in the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. That's the book I'm starting out with, although maybe I should have saved the anticipation for later in the day!
5. Tell us something about yourself.
I'm now a stay-at-home mom, although before that, I taught for ten years. My amazingly wonderful husband is taking care of my one-year-old son today so that I can read to my heart's content!
6. Remind us where to find you online this weekend.
Right here on Smiling Shelves, as well as on Litsy (@smilingshelves).

Time spent reading: Five hours and 14 minutes
Number of pages read: 353
Books read from/listened to: Village School by Miss Read; Landline by Rainbow Rowell; Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon (audiobook)
Books finished:​ Village School by Miss Read

Time spent reading: Fourteen hours and 19 minutes
Number of pages read: 1,079
Number of books finished:​ Three

The 24in48 Readathon is this weekend! There's not much better than a weekend devoted to books, and my amazing husband has once again offered to take care of our little guy so I can readathon (for Saturday, at least).

I was hoping that this readathon would help me get through my library books by their due date, but I somehow managed to finish them all already. So instead, I scoured my shelves to gather my stack for this weekend (plus one library book that I picked up from my local branch because I think I'll in the mood to read it). Hopefully I can use this readathon to get some of my own books read!

I'm planning to take myself out to lunch on Saturday (with a book or two, of course). And now I just need to visit the grocery store and pick up some snacks! Then I'll be all prepared for a bookish weekend!

Isn't relaxed summer life the best? There's not much going on here. My little guy had his first ice cream cone yesterday. He devoured it and got very sticky. Good thing we did it just before bath time! How is your summer going?

Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting. . .and Beyond by Jonas Beiler (This is our July book club book. Such a tragedy and an amazing story of forgiveness.)
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton (This is a really, really, really good book. I've read several books now that I first heard about on the Read Aloud Revival podcast, and they never fail to disappoint. 5+ stars for this one!)

A Heart Revealed by Julie Lessman (Every time I read another Julie Lessman book, I think it's the best one. They just keep getting better and better!)

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul (I was so excited to see this one on my library's shelf. Books about books are the best!)

I discovered bullet journaling just over a year ago, and I knew immediately it was something I needed. I am now a stay-at-home mom, but previous to that, I taught for ten years. That meant I had a schedule and a routine, and sticky notes all over my desk to keep track of my to-do list. When I stopped teaching, I lost that built-in organization. Enter bullet journaling to save the day!

If you're not familiar with bullet journaling, you can check out the official website here. There are some standards, but basically you create the organizational system that works for you. Over the months, I've played around with my weekly and monthly setups, and I'm pretty happy with what I'm working with now. I love seeing the bullet journals of people who spend hours creating their spreads, but I am not that person. I spend about an hour and a half at the beginning of the month setting the whole month up, and then I'm good to go. I do like fun pens and pretty colors, but I keep things pretty simple. Without my bullet journal, I would only get a fraction of things done that I am able to get done now.

​In honor of completing one year of bullet journaling, I thought I would share how I set up a typical month.

This is my monthly spread. It's a lot simpler than it was when I started out! The calendar on top gives me an overview of events for the month. The to-do list are bigger projects I want to complete during the month, and I refer back to it when I'm setting up my weekly spread.

This is my daily tracker. I used to have a whole grid and about 15 items I was trying to accomplish each day. Eventually I realized I was coloring in squares just so I wouldn't break my streak, even if I hadn't quite accomplished the goal that day. Kind of takes away the point. So in June, I switched the this style. If I complete the goal that day, I color the number. If I don't, oh well. At least I'm honest now. :)

This is my weekly spread. On each day, I write events happening that day, as well as my to-do list for the day. The bottom section is for meal planning and areas to clean during my Ten Minute Tidy time. The facing page is blank. Each night, I write down several things that happened during the day that I want to remember (usually cute stuff my kid did).

First Impressions by Charlie Lovett (I will be rereading this one at some point. It was so good!)
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (Finally reading this series that I should have read when I was a kid.)

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (You know, I think I added this one to my TBR - and later bought it - on the title alone. I realized as I started reading it that it wasn't quite what I expected, and I don't think I ever even read the blurb on the back!)

Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting. . . and Beyond by Jonas Beiler (Book club book for July.)

I saw this tag by Kate at Opinionated Book Lover last week. I don't normally take a look at the books I've read mid-year (outside of the statistics), but this looks like a fun way to do so!

I've had a lot of five-star reads this year, but the one that's stuck with me the most is The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson.

I've started a lot of series this year. Continued, not so much. I adore the Penderwick series, and I finally let myself read the last book (although there are rumors of a fifth!). The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall is amazing.

I love travel narratives, and I just discovered Tsh's podcast, so At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider is a must read for me.

Okay, technically Goodreads tells me this book was released on June 27, but I don't follow new releases that closely to know what all is out there, so I'm going to count it. I loved 100 Cupboards, so I'm definitely on board for a sequel - The Door Before by N.D. Wilson.

New Zealand is on my list of places I want to travel someday, so I was really looking forward to reading Slipping Into Paradise by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. But something about his writing voice just rubbed me the wrong way, and it was not the enjoyable reading experience I thought it would be.

I was hugely surprised by how dark The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo actually is. I don't know how Disney ever made a kids' movie out of it. I'm glad I read it, but it was not exactly what I was expecting.

My book club read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. It wasn't my first read by him, but it was the one where I decided I would do my best to read everything else he's written!

I'm rereading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series this year, and I'm enjoying revisiting Thursday's relationship with Landen. Landen seems like he makes a really fun husband (if you can just work out that whole blinking out of existence randomly thing).

Frank is such an incredible character. There were things about the rest of the book that drove me crazy, but I could have kept reading about Frank forever in Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson.

Okay, I have to repeat here (should have looked ahead at the categories). The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall literally had me sobbing. I rarely cry at books, but this one did it!

I just finished First Impressions by Charlie Lovett yesterday morning. This book was just so delightfully bookish that I couldn't help but smile while reading it.

Um, I have a one-year-old. I haven't watched a movie in a very long time. Sorry, but I can't answer this one!

Reviews really seem to have fallen by the wayside this year, but here are two posts that I enjoyed writing and discussing in the comments: How Do You Read a Series? and Cover Confusion.

I'm not sure if "beautiful" is the right word, but I love love love the cover of Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell.

This could be a very long list. But I desperately want to read The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley. I was planning to get it during my last library trip, but it was already checked out. I was so disappointed! Next time, for sure!

Happy Fourth of July (to my American visitors - but I suppose everyone has a fourth of July to celebrate in some way)! We finished a big project this weekend. We replaced our chain link fence with a wood fence. It's been a month worth of weekends, but it's all done now!

The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove (I didn't even notice that this book had some second-book-in-a-series-itis going on until I was done. I was so invested in the world and the story that the 500 pages flew by.)
Edge of Extinction: The Ark Plan by Laura Martin (You need to read this book, and any middle graders in your life need to read this book. It was SO GOOD!)

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde (Fforde's books never fail to be delightful and crazy!)

First Impressions by Charlie Lovett (I really enjoyed The Bookman's Tale, and this one is about Jane Austen, so I'll automatically love it more!)