Well, we gave in and put the air conditioner back in the window. It's been 90 degrees for four days in a row now, and we just couldn't take it. It's the strangest thing to be melting from summer heat, yet watching the leaves turn colors and fall from the trees. Thankfully, it's supposed to be in the 60s by this weekend. I am so ready for fall weather!

The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (This was so good. But now I'm out of Thursday Next books to read. Where's book 8, Mr. Fforde??)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (I finally finished!)
​The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (It took me a while to get into this one, but once I did, I was hooked. I did not want to put it down.)

Smile by Raina Telgemeier (This is hugely popular at the school library where I volunteer, so I decided to see what all the excitement was about.)
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix (I'm listening to this one on audio. It's a lot of fun.)

Minders of Make-Believe:​ Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children's Literature by Leonard S. Marcus (Gasp! I'll be reading a book I actually own! I've been wanting to get to this one for quite a while. The time is finally here!)

I saw this tag by Kate at Opinionated Book Lover, and since my reading life has vastly improved since discovering Goodreads, I thought this would be fun to participate in!

1. What was the last book you marked as "read"?
Robinson Crusoe ​by Daniel Defoe. I've been working on that one on Serial Reader for a couple months, and I finally finished it on Monday!

2. What are you "currently reading"?
Physical book: The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde
On Serial Reader: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
Audiobook: Frogkisser! by Garth Nix

Positive Discipline: The First Three Years by Jane Nelson (recommended by Christine at Buckling Bookshelves!)

I have The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman out from the library right now, and I've been eagerly waiting to get to it.

5. Do you use the star rating system?
Yup! It's an easy way to keep track of which books I liked and which books I really liked.

6. Are you doing a reading challenge?
​Definitely. I've even already had to increase my goal for the year, and it looks like I'll have to again. I've read 96 books out of 100 so far.

7. Do you have a wish list?
I did create a "to buy" shelf so that when I was in a bookstore or placing an order online I could easily see what books needed to come home with me. It somehow only has 6 books on it, although I buy way more than that when I'm at a bookstore.

8. What book do you plan to buy next?
Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein is coming out on October 10. I'll definitely be buying that one brand-new right off the shelf!

9. Do you have any favorite quotes?​
I haven't saved any quotes on Goodreads, although my favorite bookish quote is "The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I have that quote on my library wall.

10. Who are your favorite authors?
C.S. Lewis, Jasper Fforde, L.M. Montgomery, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen. How many am I allowed to list?

11. Have you joined any groups?
​I've joined the One Million Pages Per Lifetime group and the Litsy group (although I haven't really participated in either yet).

12. What do you think Goodreads could do better?
First of all, I LOVE that they finally have the functionality to mark rereads. That was always my number one thing I wished they could do better. Half-stars would be nice. It's not something I would use often, but occasionally I'd like to differentiate between 3, 3.5 and 4 stars.

And it's summer again. 80+ degrees for several days in a row now, of course right after we took the air conditioner out of the window. How am I supposed to drink hot apple cider when it's 80 degrees? In other news, I made my first order from Book Outlet this weekend. Oh, my goodness, that's going to be a very addictive website. So many good books! Such amazing prices!

Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper (There was some unnecessary swearing in this book, but other than that, I loved it. It is utterly fascinating to learn how a dictionary is made.)
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (I wouldn't have picked this one up if it wasn't my book club book for the month, but I'm so glad I did. This is an aspect of American history that everyone needs to know about.)

The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (Hey, look! It's only the middle of the month and I've already gotten to my Fforde reread for the month. It can be done!)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (96%! So close!)

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (I've been impatiently waiting to get to this one on my library stack!)

I started blogging in June of 2013. Hard to believe it's been four years already! For this week's Top Ten post, I decided to share ten books that I loved during that first year of blogging. Looking through my Goodreads list, I discovered that I had way more than ten books that I could have shared - and I think I can chalk such a good year of reading up to the blogging world in a lot of ways. I was never one to care all that much about the shiny new releases, which meant that I probably wouldn't have discovered The Night Circus or Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - at least not until running across them on the library shelves years down the road. So many of the books I've loved over the past four years have been ones I've discovered through reading your blogs. Thanks for all the reviews and recommendations! My reading life is better because of you!

It feels like fall! We had to turn on our heat on Saturday (although, being Michigan, it's back up in the mid-70s for the rest of the week). And we spent Sunday afternoon picking apples and making applesauce. Time to curl up with some cider and donuts and a good book!

American Eclipse by David Baron (This was a really interesting read.)
Pip Bartlett's Guide to Unicorn Training by Jackson Pearce & Maggie Stiefvater (Such a fun, cute series!)

Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper (Fun so far, but more profanity than I expected.)
​Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (69%!!)

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Book club book for the month)

I was a teacher for ten years, so I have read a fair amount of books set in schools, both fiction and nonfiction. I thought that I should share a list of the schoolish books on my shelves as we begin another school year (I know some of you have been back for a month, but we just started this week). Some of these I have read many times. Some I haven't read yet, but I know I will someday soon. Some of them (like Among Schoolchildren)​ inspired me to become a teacher.

I know I'm a day late in posting, but we were out of town this weekend. In the craziness of packing, I didn't have a chance to get this post ready in advance. We got together with some of my extended family and hung out on the shore of Lake Michigan for the weekend. It was beautiful and so much fun!

​Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell (This is a fascinating and really well-done book. And what an amazing feat! He is the only American to have visited every country in the world - and not all of them legally​. . .)
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I'm on the fence about this one. I feel like I would have enjoyed it more had I read it at a different time. It was a much slower read than I expected, but it included many elements that I love in fantasy stories. Maybe a reread ten years down the road will give me a different opinion.)​

American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World by David Baron (Loving this book so far!)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (44% - making progress!)

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Unicorn Training by Jackson Pearce & Maggie Stiefvater (Such a fun series.)