I discovered on Friday that it's getting harder and harder to visit the library with my little guy. He's fine in the children's section where there are lots of toys (or another little kid for him to chase around and shriek at). But anywhere else in the library, he won't stay still for a moment! I was literally chasing him up and down aisles of books, reaching the end of one as he was halfway down the next. I had two books I planned to get for myself and ending up getting twice as many, but certainly not because I had time for leisurely browsing! I saw a couple books on the new shelf that looked interesting. I probably should have just put them on my Goodreads to-read list and gotten them next time. But in the thirty seconds it took to scan the new books shelf, my little guy almost ended up out the door twice and ran shrieking back to the children's section once. So I grabbed the books, chased him down, and headed to the check-out. Oy! Who knew going to the library could be so stressful? Anyone have tips for library trips with a one-year-old?

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan (This was a wonderful book, and made for a good book club discussion.)
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde (I haven't reread the later Thursday Next books as often as the earlier ones, so I forgot how much I loved this one!)
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis (This was really good on audio.)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (This was a ridiculously good book. I'll for sure be adding this series to my own shelves!)

Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell (I've been looking forward to this one!)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (I've been reading this one sporadically on Serial Reader. I figure if I start posting weekly updates here, that'll force me to read it more often. So far, I'm 20% through.)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (Another Newbery read!)

It's Bout of Books time! I'm setting no goals this time around - just seeing how much reading I can fit in my regular life. Just like last time, I have a feeling that audiobooks will be the winner here. It always surprises me how much reading I can get in that way.

Time spent reading/listening: One hour and 35 minutes
Total time spent reading/listening: Thirteen hours and 38 minutes
Number of pages read: 70
Total number of pages read: 669
Book I read from: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Book I listened to: Word of Mouse by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein
Number of books finished: Three (The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, The Mighty Miss Malone & One of Our Thursdays Is Missing)

Time spent reading/listening: Two hours and 39 minutes
Number of pages read: 112
Books I read from: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson; Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell
Book I listened to: Word of Mouse by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein
Number of books finished: Four (The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, The Mighty Miss Malone, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing & On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness)

Total time spent reading/listening: Sixteen hours and 17 minutes
Total number of pages read:​ 781
Number of books finished:​ Four

Anyone else heard of a bookstore chain called 2nd & Charles? A friend told me about it last week, and I convinced my husband that we should make a visit there on Saturday. The prices are phenomenal! I walked out of there with a huge stack, and I can't wait to visit again, hopefully someday very soon!

The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley (I loved this one just as much as I expected to.)
Booked by Kwame Alexander (Another great one from him.)
​My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (This was an absolutely delightful read.)

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan (Book club book for this month. This is a really good one.)

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde (My Fforde reread for August! I always seem to be sneaking them in at the end of the month.)

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm signing up for next week's Bout of Books readathon at the last minute because I really don't have a reason not to. :) I'm not setting any goals; I'm just going to keep track of my reading for the week - and make sure I pick up a book instead of my phone at the end of the day. I have a couple of library books to finish before Friday, so this will help give me the push to do so. Anyone else participating in Bout of Books next week?

I'm always looking for ways to read my own books, rather than always-enticing library books. I did so well at the beginning of the year, but not so much any more. My reading for the month of August is pretty much going to be all library books, if I'm going to finish them all by the due date.

So when the idea of TBR Bingo appeared on Litsy last week, I knew this was something I had to participate in! I picked 25 books from my shelves that I'm most interested in reading right now and created a bingo card. I believe the original concept was that you could reward yourself for a bingo by buying a new book. I'm not sure how well I'm going to hold myself to that, since my bookstore visits are rare opportunities that need to be taken advantage of when they happen. At any rate, I'll have read 25 books off my own shelves in the near future! I'm setting a (flexible) goal of two bingos done by the end of the year - and hopefully three!

Life is getting back to normal after a vacation last week. We met up with some of my college friends in San Diego, and spent a few days driving up the coast to San Francisco. It was an amazing trip, and my little guy did great on his first flight! Now we're home. Let routine resume!

Lady of Magick by Sylvia Izzo Hunter (I love this series. Hopefully it won't take me a full year before I read the next one, like it did between the first two!)
​The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey (I read this one in about an hour. Give it to your middle grader. They'll love it!)

The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley (Oh, my goodness, I don't know how she does it every time, but she does it every time!)

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (I just heard about this on someone's blog, and I hate that I can't remember who. I've really got to start making notes of that. But it sounded like just the kind of book I like, so I grabbed it at the library.)

Last Christmas, my in-laws gave me the gift of a Little Free Library. They had bought an old newspaper dispenser and would help me get it ready and put it wherever I wanted in town.

Well, eight months later, we finally made it happen! (It was kind of low on my priority list. Plus, winter in Michigan isn't the ideal time to be installing anything outdoors.)

I decided to put it along the Rail Trail that begins in our town. There are lots of people that will walk or bike past it, and you can see it from the road that crosses there. It should hopefully get lots of visitors. (In fact, I checked on it two days after installation, and there were already four books gone!)

I wanted a Little Free Library since I first heard about them several years ago, and I'm so excited that it has finally happened!