The Stormlight Archive has been one of my favorite series for a long time–I read the first book, Way of Kings, back in 2011 (my first Brandon Sanderson book!) when it was the only one in the series and fell in love. I’ve revisited the series every time a new book has come out and love each reread.
Stormlight Archive is an epic fantasy series in the Cosmere. The first book follows three main characters, with some random cast interspersed, and the cast expands as the series progresses. There will be ten books total in the series, with a break between the first five and the second five.
With the fifth book just releasing a few months ago, I thought it would be fun to look at which ones are my favorite/least favorite in the series. My post today is ranking them from my fifth favorite to my absolute favorite!
#5 Wind and Truth
Coming in as my least favorite of the Stormlight books is the newest release, Wind and Truth. I have to admit, I was very disappointed in this one. There were some parts I really liked, but for the most part, it was a let down. It felt like the moral focus of the book had changed, there were things that drew me out of the story (like the word “therapist” repeatedly being used), and I found myself not caring about a lot of the plot. I did really enjoy all the sections following Adolin, but I found myself not caring about a lot of the sections in the spiritual realm, hated Honor’s flashbacks (they felt very much like exposition to me), and didn’t really love most of the sections with Kaladin and Szeth. Add to that the tone shift that I felt and didn’t like and it was hard to get through. However, I will say that the parts I did like, I loved and made it worth it to me to read the book.
#4 Rhythm of War
Rhythm of War is the fourth book in the series and before the fifth book came out, this was my least favorite. Something about this one just doesn’t pull me through the way the first three do. I suspect part of it is that I get bored by the Venli flashback sections, because we don’t really get to see much that we didn’t already learn in past books. My favorite parts of the book are the sections that follow Navani and her character arc. On the reread, I also loved Kaladin’s sections more than the first time I read it, which helped me like it more as well. That is part of why I put this book as my fourth favorite rather than fifth.
#3 Words of Radiance
Words of Radiance is the second in the series and my third favorite. One of the fun parts of this book is seeing Shallan grow into herself as a character, even as she faces some big struggles. It’s also really fun to read about the interactions between Shallan, Adolin, and Kaladin, and to see Dalinar gain confidence. There are a few different mysteries to pull me through and I care so much about the characters and what’s happening with them, I can’t put it down. And of course, the Sanderlanche is very satisfying at the end. If the other two books weren’t so good, this would be a favorite. As it stands, it is squarely in the middle.
# 2 Way of Kings
Way of Kings is the first in the series and focuses on Kaladin. In the past, I’ve had a harder time getting through some of Kaladin’s sections because he can complain a lot, but on my most recent reread, I didn’t have that issue at all. I devoured the book again (much like I did on my first read). I love all the characters in this book, including Shallan (I know a lot of people don’t like her until at least the second book). It’s so fun to see Dalinar at the beginning of his journey, to watch Shallan figure out how to be on her own, and to experience Kaladin’s character arc. His arc is my favorite thing about this book, especially the payoff at the end–everything you read about him leads up to a choice he has to face and leads him to the choice you as a reader want him to make. It makes me cry every time I read it. And then Dalinar’s choice at the end too–it’s all just so good. These books are long, but man are the payoffs worth the effort.
# 1 Oathbringer
And finally, my favorite book of the series! Oathbringer focuses on Dalinar, who also happens to be my favorite character. I know I am in the minority here and that this is a lot of people’s least favorite book. They talk a lot about having an issue with the pacing. I have never experienced that myself, though on my most recent reread, I could see why they would say that as the first half of the book not only doesn’t get into a lot of the Dalinar plotline yet, but also follows the characters attending a lot of meetings. It still doesn’t bother me, but I can see it.
The reason this is my favorite book is because of the ending and the way all of Dalinar’s struggles (including in his flashbacks) all lead up to the ending. I am literally getting goosebumps sitting here writing about it. I cry every time and it leaves me motivated to be a better person. On this most recent reread, I noticed the theme of taking responsibility for your own choices is not only woven into Dalinar’s pov at the climax, but also into Kaladin’s conflict. It is so brilliantly put together, it makes me want to go reread the book just talking about it. I don’t think I’ve ever read an ending that has hit me as hard as the ending of Oathbringer.
That is how I would rank the 5 Stormlight books! Despite being disappointed with the fifth book, I’m super excited for when he writes the next five books and to see what else he comes out with. Do you read Brandon Sanderson? What are your favorite books by him? How would you rate the Stormlight books?
Halloween is not the biggest holiday at our house (that would definitely be Christmas), but I do love celebrating holidays with kids and my kids love this time of year! We stick with “fun” for Halloween with a touch of creepy atmosphere rather than scary or gory.
One thing I love to remember about traditions is that traditions are here to serve our family, not the other way around! They can also change and adapt. One example of this is that we have had a tradition for years of going to our local corn maze. It’s about a 30 minute drive for us, the prices have gone up, the activities (like a bullet train ride or pony rides) are $2-5 extra per kid, and we have a lot more kids now than when we started (we had two small kids the first year we attended). On top of that, when I try to do the actual maze with the kids, they complain and don’t like it. I decided this year that it’s not worth it to me to take them. Does that mean we’ll never go again? No. And it also is okay that we have done it every year up to now and aren’t going to this year. We’re also adding in some simple traditions to try out this year. It’s okay for things to look a little different as your family circumstances change, or even to take a break for a year or two from traditions.
Here are some of our favorite Halloween traditions!
Decorating the Stairs
When I was growing up, we would do crafts at the beginning of October and decorate the stairs leading down to our living space (we lived in my grandparent’s basement at the time). I love carrying on this tradition with my own kids! At the beginning of October, we take a morning and turn on Halloween Music from our playlist on YouTube music and make Halloween crafts out of construction paper. Then we hang up our projects on the stairs leading to their rooms and all month as we do Halloween activities, they can add art and projects to the wall there!
Songs on our Halloween Playlist
Thriller by Michael Jackson
Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.
The Monster Mash Original
Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell
The Addams Family Theme by AMC Orchestra
What’s New Scooby Doo by Simple Plan
Scooby Doo Theme Song by Ohio Express
Hex Girls by Moon Sisters
Earth, Wind, Fire and Air by Moon Sisters
This is Halloween from Nightmare Before Christmas
Shake Them Skeleton Bones by The Kiboomers
The Hanging Tree by James Newton Howard
Harry’s Wonderous World from Harry Potter
Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter
Kids in America by Kim Wilde
Display Past Halloween Pictures
I got this idea from one of my favorite bookish bloggers, Janssen at Everyday Reading, and we love it! I have 4X6 pictures of the kids in the Halloween costumes from previous years (and print last year’s) in dollar store frames and we set them up in the living room. It is so fun for everyone to see those past costumes and super simple decorating for me!
Library Trick or Treating
Every year leading up to Halloween (or sometimes on Halloween), our library does a trick or treat for the kids. We walk through the library, local free museum, and city building (that are both right next to our library) and trick or treat the workers there. The workers decorate their stations in fun ways, sometimes there’s a magician, and the kids get a little bit of candy. It is so fun!
I think it’s always worth it to check out what is going on locally and decide which events you want to participate in. We also always do a truck or treat with our church, but there are other events (like a city truck or treat on main street) that we don’t participate in because it’s too much for us.
Themed Family Costume (sometimes)
This is another example of traditions being here to serve our family, not the other way around. Some years, we all are themed together, some years only a couple kids are, some years none! I always start off in the summer by exploring different themed costumes the kids might all enjoy. As we throw around ideas and the kids decide what they want to be, I don’t make them stick to a theme if they don’t want to. If it was really important to me to do a family theme, I’d try to find a way to do a theme and make each child happy with the costume, I just don’t mind too much.
Last year, we did a dragon theme. The kids each picked a color of wings and a mask and since I was pregnant with Leah, I got a shirt that had a dragon egg on it. It was extra special because the kids picked that theme before they knew I was pregnant and after Ben and I had already started writing a children’s book themed around dragons to tell them about the pregnancy. It was really fun and the kids were all on board with the theme!
This year, we never ended up finding a theme they all wanted to do together. Ashtyn has decided she wants to be a “pink thrifter” with her cousin, Rylee is going to be Elpheba from Wicked (and a cousin may be Glinda with her), Parker is going to be a cat and Leah will be her kitten, and Oliver is going to be a Jedi. They are all excited about their costumes and I’ve been able to find inexpensive, easy ways to put their costumes together.
Collecting Leaves and Raking Leaves
We love fall and live in a place where the leaves turn beautiful every year! We actually don’t have any trees in our yard yet, so we go to my in-laws house and always rake a ton of leaves into a big pile for the kids. They love raking the leaves almost as much as they love to jump in the pile afterwards.
We love to go to the creek by my in-laws house or a place up the mountains that has a park and a little stream to collect leaves. We do crafts and activities (Pinterest is full of ideas) with the leaves afterward. It wouldn’t be fall for us without some leaf collecting!
Pumpkin Pancakes for Movie Night
We do movie night and breakfast for dinner each Friday. I love to make pumpkin pancakes at least once leading up to Halloween as we watch a Halloween movie for movie night! I did a post sharing our favorite Halloween movies here.
Halloween-themed School Activities
One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is that I can do fun holiday activities as part of school! We love to do worksheets, math activities, crafts, and science all themed around Halloween.
Witch Cauldrons
This is something my kids love to do every single year. I put baking soda in little witch’s cauldrons and give them vinegar, food coloring, and other little things (sticks, tiny spiders, googly eyes). They get to make fizzing witch’s potions then. We can turn it into a science lesson if we talk about why the baking soda reacts to the vinegar, or just do it for fun!
Halloween Bingo
I didn’t even realize how much my kids love this tradition until they started asking almost daily when we’re going to do it this year–but Halloween bingo! I printed off some free Halloween Bingo cards a few years ago and laminated them. Then I buy candy corn and we use those as place markers for the bingo board. As we play, they eat a few and afterwards, they get to eat all the candy corn (I am firmly in camp “candy corn tastes like wax” but my kids all love it). It’s simple and they love it!
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
This is a new tradition I would like to start with my kids (and probably their cousins) this year! I am going to make up a list of Halloween things that are often found on people’s Halloween decorations and the kids can take that list around the neighborhood to find them.
Make the Same Face as your Pumpkin
My kids love to paint and carve pumpkins, of course. One fun tradition we have each year is to take a picture of the kids trying to make the same face as their pumpkin. We’ve gotten some priceless pictures this way!
Jack O’Lantern Pizza and Taco Soup before trick or treating
On Halloween, we always have the same dinner. I buy a jack o’lantern pizza from Papa Murphy’s and make taco soup. I also make things like carameled apples and pumpkin muffins. We always have a big group for trick or treating, so we invite them all to join us and whoever can, comes!
After we are done eating, we all set out together to trick or treat our street! Ben stays behind to hand out candy and when we all get back, anyone who wants more dinner can have some. It’s a super easy dinner that everyone loves and fits perfectly with the feeling of Halloween.
Visit Grandma to Trick or Treat
After we finish trick or treating, we let the kids stay up late and go trick or treat Grandma! In the past, we’ve stopped at my husband’s grandmother’s house and his parent’s house. This will be our first year after his grandmother passed away, which is sad to think about. We are still planning on stopping at his parent’s house. I have memories growing up of stopping at my grandparent’s house after trick-or-treating as well and I love that I get to share that tradition with my own kids.
The Switch Witch
My least favorite part of Halloween was always the unending candy for weeks afterward. I got sick of it and I felt like my kids got sick of it. When I heard about the Switch Witch (a witch who comes to your house after trick or treating and switches candy for a toy), I decided to try it. We’ve done it every year since!
When we’re done trick or treating, we have the kids dump their candy out in a pile and go through it. They get a quart sized freezer bag to put their favorite candy in (so they still get plenty of candy for the trick or treating efforts) and the rest goes into a big bowl. I’m always amazed at how much candy is leftover after filling their plastic baggies. While they are sleeping, the candy in the bowl disappears and something is left in its place.
The first few years we did this, the Switch Witch brought kinetic sand. Last year, the kids got water colors and colored pencils. This year, the Switch Witch is bringing molding clay for each child. Our kids know the Switch Witch is me, because I have talked about it that way from the start (our two youngest don’t know about Santa or the Toothfairy yet). I love doing it this way because my kids get to enjoy a lot of candy at Halloween still, but it’s so much more of a manageable amount. I also love that they wake up on Halloween and spend all day doing whatever it is the Switch Witch brought, rather than just eating a ton of candy (they do eat candy, but honestly, they forget about their candy for hours every single year because they are so busy playing).
I hope some of these traditions have inspired you, not only with some ideas of traditions that will work for your family, but also showing that traditions don’t always have to be big and flashy! Some of our favorite traditions are simple and easy. Now inspire me! What are some of your family’s favorite traditions?
February is one of my favorite times to read romance books (November is another one for some reason) and I thought it was a great time to share some of my favorite romances! I don’t like to read books with sex scenes, so these books are clean but fun romances!
These are my top ten favorite romance books!
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
I love Katherine Center’s romcoms! They are all closed door with characters I love. While they are heavy on the romance, they also focus on other issues the characters are facing. At the end of this book, the author talks about how she tries to share hope, even in the face of hard problems, with each of her books and for me, she succeeds.
This is my favorite by Katherine Center (so far!), but a close second is What You Wish For.
The Enemy by Sarah Adams
Sarah Adams has a lot of romcoms and some regency romance. Her earlier romcoms are “clean but steamy”. This was her second romcom and is my favorite! I love the way she did the hate-to-love in it and of course, donuts! I also love the mom and daughter relationship in it.
I found her first four or five books to be the “cleanest”, and then while they stayed fade-to-black, I felt they were quite a bit steamier than her earlier books. It didn’t surprise me when she announced that her newest book (The Rule Book) would be open door (meaning a sex scene). But all of her books written previous to that (The Match, The Enemy, The Temporary Roomie, The Off Limits Rule, The Cheat Sheet, Practice Makes Perfect, When in Rome, and her regency romances) are all closed door or fade-to-black.
Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone
This is a short (and cute) Audible original (meaning they only have an audio version of it). I loved the characters and the premise of the book, I listened to it in one sitting.
*There is more language in this than most rom coms and has a chapter where the f word is said quite a few times
The Roommate Situation by Katie Bailey
I absolutely loved this romcom and its sequel (The Neighbor War)! I loved the sibling relationships in this one and how awkward but cute the main character is. The romance is also very fun!
27 Ways to Find a Boyfriend by Shari L Tapscott
This is a light-hearted romance, exactly what you would expect from a romcom. I especially loved the friendship between the love interests and all the hilarious scenes that come from her list.
The sequel (27 Ways to Mend His Broken Heart) and the Christmas novella (10 Ways to Survive Christmas with your Ex) were just as enjoyable!
Promised by Leah Garriott
I’ve read quite a few regency romances and this remains one of my all time favorites! I really loved the main characters (which is very important in a romance) and the chemistry they had with each other. I was rooting for them throughout the entire book. The plotline felt unique, which was nice in a regency, and I flew through the book.
The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden
Sarah M. Eden is one of my favorite regency romance authors and this has been my favorite book by her so far! I loved watching the relationship unfold after they are already married and the character growth of the main characters.
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
This is an historical romance with some time travel magic in it. The romance is beautiful, the history taught me a lot, the atmosphere is Celtic, and the relationship between the grandfather and granddaughter brought me to tears.
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
This is an historical romance following a lady who is pregnant out of wedlock and becomes a wetnurse afterward. The romance is cute and I loved the sections on nursing. It does talk about relations out of wedlock, but doesn’t have any scenes describing it.
A Face in the Shadows by Susan Evans McCloud
This is a historical romance that follows a girl attending BYU, with two different love interests and a traumatic past following WWII. I love the depth of characters and the way the love triangle pays out in this one!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
This is a super popular YA romance and for good reason! It has such a fun premise–Laura Jean writes a goodbye letter after each crush that they’ll never see, but then they accidentally get mailed. It also has fun hate-to-love and fake dating tropes and is a fun, clean read!
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
This is another really popular YA romance that lived up to the hype for me. It has some “You’ve Got Mail” vibes, which is my favorite hate-to-love trope and there is a really fun girl friendship as well.
There is some language, including the f word.
Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
Kasie West is a great go-to if you love sweet, clean YA romance. I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by her. This one, aside from a focus on the romance, has some great friendship relationships (including one with her Grandpa) and the main character has fun character growth.
Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston
This is technically the third in the “series”, but you can read them as stand alones. This one was fun because it had a lot of parallels to Beauty and the Beast and the bookish aspect of that is always fun!
Ashley Poston does tend to use more language in her books.
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
This is a fantasy romance. It has a really fun love triangle with a bit of a mystery to it. There are two men that show up and like Lia, but then we also get a viewpoint from an assassin who is there to kill who and we don’t know which of the love triangle is the assassin. It’s a fun twist on the love triangle and I loved the journey of it.
Angels Don’t Knock by Dan Yates
Angels Don’t Knock is a cheesy book, but also just a fun experience. Samantha is engaged when an angel only she can see enters her life claiming to be her soulmate. Due to an accident, he was born a hundred years early and died before his time, so now he’s trying to make it right. The romance is great, the characters’ interactions are funny, and the world building around the angels is fun to see.
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale has several books that I really love (including the Goose Girl and Princess Academy), but this is my favorite by her and also such a great romance. It has a fantasy feel to it and is YA but doesn’t have as strong of a YA-feel to it. The characters in it, especially the main character, are so strong and feel very real.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Ella Enchanted has been one of my favorite books since I first read it when I was 8 and one of the biggest reasons is because of the romance between Ella and Char. They are so sweet together and it is fun to see their relationship grow throughout the book.
I love a good romance in a book! Let me know your favorite romances in the comments below!
I love seasonal reading and I especially love snuggling up with my kids when it’s cold outside with some nice books about cold weather and snow!
Today I am sharing our favorite read alouds that are perfect for winter.
The Mitten by Jan Brett
This is an adorable story about a boy who loses his mitten and different animals squeezing into it together. We love Jan Brett’s stories and her artwork!
Additional winter reads by Jan Brett: The Three Snow Bears, The Hat, Trouble with Trolls
Snowmen at Night by Mark Buehner
This is a very well-known children’s book for a reason. It is so fun to see all the things the author imagines snowmen might do while we’re sleeping!
A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
This is one of my favorite winter books! It’s about a turtle who is just trying to find a place to take a nap for the winter, but other animals’ winter activities keep getting in his way. In the end, he learns that winter can be fun too!
You Can Do It, Sam by Amy Hest
I love Amy Hest’s writing style, it feels poetic in a way that makes it fun to read aloud. This is a story about Sam and his mom making treats to take to their friends one winter morning. It’s a little different from some winter books because it isn’t about doing outside winter activities, but it has a cozy, wintery feel to it.
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Nothing says winter like penguins and tacky is our favorite penguin! This story is a fun one with a sweet message and it has some really fun sections to read aloud.
But No Elephants by Jerry Smath
Jerry Smath is one of my favorite children’s book authors and this story is so cute! It is about a woman who keeps buying animals from someone selling pets but is adamant about not wanting elephants. When the elephant gets left with her for the winter, it seems like a trial but actually turns into a blessing. It’s fun and lighthearted and both my kids and I love it.
Brave Irene by William Steig
Brave Irene is such a sweet story about a sweet little girl. Her mom gets sick and can’t deliver a dress she’s made to a Duchess. Irene braves a storm and does it for her mom, showing determination and bravery to do so.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Another classic and for a reason. We’ve had this book since my first was tiny and I never get tired of reading it. It follows a boy as he goes on different adventures in the snow and is sweet and fun. And of course, Keats’ artwork is amazing.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Owl Moon is an amazing read for wintertime. It follows a girl and her dad while they go “owling” or searching for an owl on a winter night. The storytelling is excellent, leaving you wanting to know what they are doing and what is going to happen next.
A Little House Picture Book Treasury
This treasury has a lot of beautifully illustrated stories pulled from the Little House novels. The two we read every winter are Sugar Snow and Winter in the Big Woods. Both feature snow and cold prominently and I love the exposure to Little House it gives my kids from a young age. I also love the illustrations!
Seasonal reads can be so fun and I love these winter ones! What are some of your favorite winter reads with kids? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
It is crazy to me how quickly the flow of your day can change when you have a baby. They grow and change so fast, sometimes even month to month. We are currently in a pretty good flow, even though it’s busy juggling a baby and homeschooling four older kids. I love this stage!
Today I am sharing what a day in my life looks like!
6:00 am
I woke up at 6:00 am. I had an alarm set, but I actually woke up a few minutes early and decided to get up then. I said my prayers, did some stretching to help with a foot problem I’ve been having, got some water, and worked on editing a YouTube video and writing on my blog. The one thing I didn’t get to was writing on my novel, which I had hoped to do.
7:30 am
I put my computer away and made some protein hot chocolate for my husband, my son Oliver, and myself (the girls used to drink it every day, but they got tired of it). I emptied the dishwasher while the hot chocolate was heating up. Oliver came down right at 7:30 when his light turned green, but my girls slept in a little and trickled downstairs over the next hour. Leah was awake, so I nursed her while reading my scriptures and then reading a book on my Kindle. Oliver played with blocks.
8:00 am
When Leah was done nursing, I continued to read in my chair while drinking my hot chocolate. Oliver and Leah played and my older girls got themselves breakfast and snuggled on the couch with their respective books as they came downstairs.
8:15 am
After my hot chocolate and changing Leah’s diaper, I left Leah with my oldest daugher, Ashtyn. I took a quick shower and then took Leah with me into my room while I got ready for the day and put away some laundry.
8:45 am
Once I was ready for the day, I put Leah in her high chair and gave her a banana and bread with jam. The older kids started their list (which includes them getting ready for the day, practicing piano, and doing their morning chores). We had a really busy Monday, so the kitchen was a mess. While Leah ate, I cleaned up the counters so I could lay out the kids’ school materials and have a less chaotic environment for school (the living room was still a mess, but I left that as I knew the kids would be playing all day).
9:30 am
Then it was time for Leah’s first nap (she’s currently on a two-nap schedule). The kids had started their independent schoolwork, but once Leah was down, I helped them each with some things they needed help with before we did our group study and reading. I also made some fried eggs with toast for my husband and I and cut up apples for all the kids.
11:00 am
When Leah woke up, I nursed her while reading on my Kindle. The kids took this time to finish up their individual school stuff.
11:30 am
When Leah was done with her nap, I started a load of laundry and ground some wheat (it’s loud, so I can’t do it while Leah is napping) before my husband and I went in the basement for our workout. We pay my two oldest daughters to watch Leah while we workout four times a week. We always start with pickleball drills using the partial pickleball court we have set up in the basement and then get some mobility and weight training in. Tuesdays are chest day, so we did bench pressing and then biceps and shoulders.
12:30 pm
When I came upstairs, Ashtyn had gone to a cousin’s house, where she works as a “mother’s helper” for their kids. We got some lunch and my husband and I visited while we ate, before he went back to work.
1:00 pm
Once lunch was finished, I let the kids play on screens, and they took turns with the Switch and their DS. While they did that, Leah played in living room and I got some chores done. Then I played with Leah until her nap.
2:00 pm
Once Leah went down for her second nap, Ashtyn came home and the kids all went outside to play. It has been unusually warm for this time of year and they are loving it. Since the house was quiet, I decided to go ahead and record this month’s YouTube video (my goal this year is one video per month).
3:00 pm
When I came out from recording my video, the kids were all inside, reading on the couch or coloring at the table. Leah was still asleep and I had time for my walk (about 30 minutes) before she was supposed to wake up and before I needed to start running kids around for their activities, so I put in my audiobook and left the kids to their quiet activities. One of the perks of my husband working from home is that I never worry about leaving the kids for things like my walk, because he’s there if anything happens.
3:45 pm
I got back, quickly changed the laundry over and got bread dough going in the bread machine. Leah was still asleep, so I left the rest of the kids and drove Ashtyn uptown for her theater class, then just drove right home.
4:05 pm
When I got home, I woke up Leah so I could nurse her. She doesn’t usually sleep that long, but I needed to wake her up both so I’d have time to nurse her before running my other girls to an activity and to make sure she’d be ready for bed that night.
4:25 pm
As soon as I finished feeding Leah, I turned on Scooby Doo for Oliver (he didn’t want to come with me) and loaded up the other kids to drop off Rylee and Parker at an activity at the church. Once I dropped them off, I took Leah over to Smith’s to pick up a couple of things before picking up Ashtyn at her theater class. My kids are starting to get old enough that it can be a juggle to drop them off and pick them up for their various activities.
5:00 pm
After I picked up Ashtyn, the three of us stopped at the library for just a minute (I had a hold I needed to get for Parker and I wanted to get some new DVD’s) and then we stopped by my in-laws to grab something Ashtyn had left there the day before.
5:30 pm
We went and picked up the other girls and got home. We turned off Scooby Doo, Ben came out from his office, and we cleared off the table for dinner. We had leftovers for dinner.
6:30 pm
After dinner, the kids cleaned up the living room. Ben read the submissions for writing group and I wiped down the bathroom. Once the kids finished cleaning up, I vacuumed the living room and then made some energy bites as a treat for writing group. The kids played until bedtime, enjoying the clean floor space.
7:30 pm
Then it was time to start bedtime. We brushed teeth and the kids got on jammies while I nursed Leah. While I nursed, I read the submissions for writing group. Once the kids were in bed, we did family scriptures and prayer. While I put Leah down, Ben read and sang to Oliver. Then I read aloud in a novel (we’re currently reading Farmer Boy) to the four older kids. While I read, Ben loaded the dishwasher downstairs. Right now, I lie next to Oliver to read and when I finish the chapter, I stay there until he falls asleep. The girls can then read with their lamp on until 9:00.
8:15 pm
Oliver fell asleep by about 8:15, so I kissed the girls good night and came downstairs for writing group. The last member arrived just a minute after I came down and we were able to start writing group. We went through our submissions and then had time to visit before everyone went home. I love everything about our writing group, but one of my favorite things is the chance to visit with other adults without the kids around.
10:30 pm
Because of writing group, Ben and I got to bed later than we normally do. We started our bedtime routine a little after 10 and I was getting into bed by 10:30. I read a chapter in my book (I’m currently reading Across the Waters by Susan Evans McCloud) and turned off my light. Then I read in my Kindle until I got sleepy, which only took a minute. I was asleep before 11, which was later than I would have liked, but it was worth it for writing group.
That was my day! It was fairly typical day for our family. What do your days look like right now? What are some of your favorite or least favorite parts?
A new reading year! I always love looking ahead at what I might be reading in the coming year and one of my favorite ways to do that is to look at what new books are coming out. There are a lot of great new books slotted for publication in 2026 (as well as some books that came out in the last few months) that I’m really excited to read.
Here are the new releases I am looking out for this year:
2025
There were a few new releases that came out last year that I haven’t gotten to yet that I very much want to read. On my new releases page, I do count books that were released in the last year, so that includes 2025.
Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson is one of my top auto-buy authors. Tailored Realities came out in December of 2025 and I haven’t gotten to it yet (though I do own the audiobook already). This is a short story collection of his science fiction stories (non-Cosmere) and includes a new one that he hadn’t published yet, Moment Zero. I am really excited to revisit some of my favorite stories by Sanderson and to read the new one!
The Steps by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van Draanen is one of my favorite authors (she’s very famous for Flipped, which I really like, but my favorite by her is Sammy Keyes, though her two newest books, The Peach Rebellion and Mr. Whiskers and the Shenanigan Sisters are both up there for me too). The Steps came out in September of 2025 and I had so many other books I was trying to finish before the end of the year (along with not realizing until it came out that it was coming out) that I didn’t end up reading it. Draanen is an autoread author for me, though, and I can’t wait to get to it.
The Steps is a YA mystery thriller, one of my favorite genres. The main character—a chess whiz named Ruby—is from a wealthy family. Following the death of her mother and aunt, her father remarries (the “steps”), her cousin/BFF is no longer allowed around, and strange and dangerous things start happening. Ruby has to put up a fight and break some rules to both get her cousin back and beat her new step family at their own game.
The Ivory City by Emily Bain Murphy
Emily Bain Murphy is another author I’ve really enjoyed (and underrated in my opinion), especially her book Splinters of Scarlet. The Ivory City is a historical mystery set at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. It released in November of 2025. It follows two cousins, Lillie and Grace who have been friends since birth who attend the World’s Fair (or the “Ivory City”) together. When one of their party is killed, however, Lillie’s brother is the top suspect. They must do all they can to clear his name despite the danger it poses to themselves.
Giant by Judith McQuoid
One more from last year–Giant released in June of 2025 (so awhile ago). I heard about this book from Sarah at Read Aloud Revival. It is a magical retelling of CS Lewis’s childhood, following Jack (or CS Lewis) and a fictional boy named Davy, who meet when Davy comes to work at Jack’s household. Even though it came out earlier in 2025, it sounds magical and I don’t want to miss it.
2026
And now for the new releases coming out this year!
Room to Breathe by Kasie West
Room to Breathe came out just a little while ago on January 6. It is a YA friends to lovers contemporary romance following Indy, a girl whose life falls apart in a way she can’t share with anyone, even her friends. That creates distance between her and her friend group, especially one boy in particular, until she gets trapped in a bathroom with him and they have to try to makeup in order to get out. Kasie West writes clean YA romances that are always fun and light (she’s also coming out with an adult romcom this year, but her adult books that she’s started writing recently have explicit sex scenes in them). Room to Breathe sounds like it will be a good one!
Europa by James Ponti
Europa, the next book in the City Spies series, comes out in February of this year. City Spies follows a group of kids who live like family as they work together for a spy operation. In Europa, the group of kids are working to prevent a dangerous criminal from escaping prison. I’m sure we’ll also learn more about Mother’s kids and wife, as that has been a plotline threaded throughout the series. I am excited to continue this series with my kids.
Snapshots of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
Snapshots of Sunlight, coming out in February, is the sequel to Abbie Emmons book 100 Days of Sunlight. Both are YA contemporaries following two high school students, Tessa and Weston. I haven’t actually read 100 Days of Sunlight yet, but I’m excited to. I did read The Otherworld (her stand alone novel) and loved it. I am excited to read this series this year!
Read Between the Lies by Jesse Q Sutanto
Read Between the Lies is also coming out in February this year. It is a psychological suspense thriller following Fern, who is finally becoming a published author. Because of the pandemic, she becomes part of an online author community, where tensions are high and everyone (including her) has secrets. I have loved some of Jesse Q Sutanto’s books in the past and am excited to read a thriller about authors!
Magnitude by Jennifer A. Neilsen
Magnitude is a middle grade historical fiction coming out in March. Jennifer A. Neilsen is my favorite middle grade historical fiction author and this one is about the Great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which is not something I know very much about. I’d love to read this one with my kids, who also love Jennifer A. Neilsen.
Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee
Stacey Lee has recently become one of my favorite authors and her new release, Heiress of Nowhere, is coming out in March. This book is a YA historical mystery following an orphan named Lucy. Lucy washed up on the shore of an island when was a baby and 18 years later, she is about to leave the island for college when her employer is found dead–and she has to find the real killer before she takes the fall. This one sounds different from some of her other books, but I’m sure her writing style and characters are going to be amazing as always.
A Kingdom of Shadows (Lightseekers) by Emily Bain Murphy
A Kingdom of Shadows comes out in March. It is the first of a series called Lightseekers and is a middle grade fantasy about a group of kids who have to fight the shadows that have been slowly taking over their land. It sounds like a book both myself and my kids will enjoy. After having enjoyed others of Emily Bain Murphy’s books in the past (she’s the one who also had Ivory City come out last year), I’m especially excited, even if this is a different genre than her other books.
Last One Out by Jane Harper
I have loved every single Jane Harper book so far and I can’t wait for this new release by her coming out in April. Last One Out is a slow burn mystery set in a ghost town following a woman named Ro whose son went missing five years earlier, but now is wondering if something was overlooked in his case. Jane Harper’s books are always atmospheric, character-driven, slow thrillers that draw me in and I am expecting this to be similar.
In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
In the Spirit of French Murder is the fourth in a series and comes out in April. Colleen Cambridge writes fun, historical adult murder mysteries that I’ve loved (my favorite are her Phyllida Bright mysteries). This series follows a woman who lives in Paris and is best friends with Julia Child before she became a famous chef. She keeps stumbling onto dead bodies (a new one for each book) and helping solve the mystery of who killed them. I am actually reading the third book in the series right now and was very excited when I saw that there will be a new one soon!
The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss
While I have enjoyed some of Marissa Meyer’s books, she is not an auto-read author for me. The Escape Game–coming out in April–looks like my kind of book and I’m excited for it. The setting of the book is an escape room television show, where season four ended with someone’s murder. Now they’re filming season five–not only are they trying to play the game on the show, but now they’re trying to solve the murder as well. This YA mystery book sounds really fun!
Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q Sutanto
Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block, coming out in April, looks like it is going to have a similar feel to Vera Wong. It follows a nearly divorced woman who starts culinary school in an attempt to win her husband back, but then a disappearance of her only friend there leads her to start investigating. I love the sound of this book and am very excited for a new Sutanto book!
The Shippers by Katherine Center
Katherine Center is one of my favorite romcom authors (always clean and hilarious). The Shippers comes out in May and is a friends to lovers on a cruise ship destination wedding. The main character JoJo is ready to woo a fellow wedding guest with her childhood friend as a wingmate–but of course, I’m fully expecting her to start having feelings for her wingmate instead. This one sounds so fun, I can’t wait.
Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson and Peter Orullian
Brandon Sanderson has been cowriting a lot more lately, so that he can still write a lot of the fun projects he has planned while also focusing on his Cosmere books. I’ve really enjoyed quite a few of his cowritten books so far. Songs of the Dead, cowritten with Peter Orullian, comes out in June and is a fantasy sci-fi that combines magic and rock music.
Make Your Story Matter by Abbie Emmons
Make Your Story Matter is a nonfiction written by Abbie Emmons (mentioned above for the novel Snapshots of Sunlight) and comes out in August. Abbie Emmons has an amazing YouTube channel (which is where I first discovered her) teaching people how to improve their writing and now has come out with this book. I love her channel and expect the book to be very helpful and accessible.
An Edge Sharp Enough by Jesse Q Sutanto
Another book by Jesse Q Sutanto! An Edge Sharp Enough is very different from her other books–it is a dark fantasy following an assassin, a scholar, a con man, and a guard who are all working together to save the world. I’m very interested to see what her writing style and characters will be like in a fantasy world. It comes out in August.
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar most famous book is Holes, a childhood favorite of mine. As an adult, I also read his YA sequel to Holes, which was very different from the first book, but I loved it. The Magician of Tiger Castle is, again, very different in that it is an adult fantasy book. A princess named Tullia is facing an arranged marriage that will save her struggling kingdom when she falls in love with a lowly scribe. There’s a disgraced magician, alchemy, and forbidden love. I have loved this author’s writing style in the past and am excited to read this one!
Dream Big by Shannon Hale
Dream Big is the sequel in a middle grade contemporary graphic novel duology (the first is Dream On). It comes out in September. The duology follows a girl who hopes to win a magazine sweepstake, thinking it will solve all her life problems if she does. My girls and I love Shannon Hale’s other middle grade graphic novel series, Best Friends, and I am looking forward to this duology (and if I love it, I will share it with my girls!).
The Unusuals by Gail Carson Levine
Gail Carson Levine has been a favorite author since I was a child (I still love Ella Enchanted!) and her new book, The Unusuals, comes out in September. The Unusuals is a middle grade historical fiction set in Midieval England. Two young Jews and a Christian, already an unusual group of friends, meet and befriend a starving outlaw. When two murders in their families take place, they come up with a plan to find the culprit. I love the sound of this book and am very excited.
Death Down the Aisle by Colleen Cambridge
Death Down the Aisle is the next book in the Phyllida Bright series, a series that I have been loving. Phyllida Bright is the (fictional) housekeeper for Agatha Christie and, using Poirot as an example, helps to investigate crimes and murders that keep occuring in her vicinity. This one comes out in October, just in time to read it for fall.
Liar in the Hollow Court by Bethany Atazadeh
Liar in the Hollow Court is a fae fantasy book following Brynn, a girl who never believed in fairies until her mother and then family was stolen by one. As she investigates, she ends up in Hollow Court, the fae kingdom. I have really enjoyed Bethany Atazadeh’s other books. I am not sure how I will like this book, as fae isn’t my favorite, but I’m excited to give it a try. This book is likely to come out in 2026, but I haven’t seen a release date for it yet.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Volume 9
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion was one of my favorite series in2025 and I’m very excited for volume 9 to come out in (hopefully!) 2026. As far as I’ve heard, the actual release date has not been announced yet. The series follows Emma M. Lion, who has amazing friends as well as some archenemies the reader loves to hate and is always getting herself up to the most ridiculous and fun to read antics.
Those are the new releases I am most excited for this year! What new book are you looking forward to in 2026? Have you read any of these authors or series? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below and we can chat about books!
One of my very favorite parts of parenting is reading aloud with my kids. I’ve loved it since my first was a baby (she loved to sit and be read to, even at a really young age!) and it’s only gotten more fun as they’ve gotten older.
I share books with my kids in two primary ways–I read out of a novel with them at bedtime for 20-30 minutes each night and we have a family audiobook that we listen to together (in the car, especially on long car trips, but also sometimes while coloring at the table together). It is such a joy to share some of my favorite childhood worlds with my kids and to discover new books with them as well!
Here are the books I’m planning on reading with them in 2026:
Little House in the Big Woods + series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I’ve read the first two books in the series with my kids before, but I’ve never read the entire series together. This year, we are! We’ve started Little House in the Bigs Woods before bed this month and are loving it (even my four year old boy, who is just starting to follow the longer read alouds, so that’s really fun!). I plan on reading the rest of the series (other than The Last Four Years, since it wasn’t ever technically finished and I don’t think is as good for kids) during the next few months. I have one book in the series planned for each month, so we’ll probably finish up the series in August or September.
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
When we finish up the Little House series, I want to reread Because of Winn Dixie with the kids. It’s been awhile since we read it together, but it was one of their favorites when we read it years ago. It is also a quicker read, so if we need to use some of September to finish up the Little House series, we should still have time for it.
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Every October, I like to pick a “Halloween” themed read aloud. I have read The Witches with the older kids, but it’s been years. I think my middle child will especially like the book and I know she has no memory of reading it before. It should be a fun October read.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
I didn’t read Where the Red Fern Grows until I was an adult, but it is one of my favorite books. This is another book that I read with the kids when they were younger, but none of them remember. I’m excited to revisit this one with them, though I’ll have to warn them again that it is sad (anyone else get in trouble for reading sad books to their kids?). We like to watch the movie after reading this book as well, the version with the kid that has dark hair (not the one with blond hair). I always cry when reading the book, though I don’t usually cry when watching the movie.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
For our Christmas read this year, I thought I’d read them Little Women at bedtime. They’ve never read it before and I love the Christmas scene at the beginning of the book.
The Complete Christmas Books of Lucy Maud Montgomery
I read this myself in 2025 at Christmastime and it was truly delightful. It is a collection of short stories set at Christmas and New Year’s that are full of helping others and learning the true meaning of Christmas. While not all of them are middle grade, I think the kids will love and appreciate all of them (other than The Red Room, which was more of a dark, sad story which I’m planning on skipping over). I want to read this with them in December during our homeschool day.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
I was today-years old when I found out that Julie Andrews the actress has written children’s books! A neighbor brought over some books they were getting rid of for the kids and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles was one of them. I started reading it and was instantly charmed–it is so cute and very well-written. I want to read it with the kids this year if I can find the time, whether we finish our read alouds at bedtime sooner than planned or if I end up reading it during our homeschool day. It’s a quick read, so I think I’ll be able to manage it.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
This is another “if I can squeeze it in” book–if we finish up Little Women at Christmastime soon enough, I want to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with the kids. It’s such a good Christmastime read. We’ve read it a couple times together already (and the kids love the movie), but I am considering reading the entire series (which we haven’t read together) next year and I want to start with this book. If we don’t get to it this year, it will likely be our first read in 2027.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets + series by JK Rowling
For our audiobooks right now, we’ve been listening to the Harry Potter series. We finished book one at the end of December and are currently listening to book two. We’ve read and listened to book one before and years ago (when Parker was Oliver’s age), we listened to book three, but most of my kids haven’t read any others (my oldest has listened to all of them about 50 times). I’m having a lot of fun rereading the books (especially as we moved past book one, which is the one I’ve reread the most) and I love seeing my kids enjoying them.
The Secrets of Winterhouse + The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson
Our December read at bedtime in 2025 was Winterhouse and the kids loved it. They wanted to read the rest of the series, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to read them aloud (my memory is that I really liked the first and the next two in the series were just okay). Once we finish up the Harrry Potter audiobook series (if we finish them this year, which I think is likely), then I’ll start the rest of the Winterhouse series on audio with the kids. It’s easier for me to listen to the audiobook than to read it aloud.
That’s what I have planned to read and listen to this year with my kids! What does your family reading time look like? What books are you planning on sharing with your kids this year? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
After having my second child, I really got back into reading as an adult, but I felt like I’d run out of books. I was rereading Brandon Sanderson books and every once in a while, I’d find a gem at the library, but I was floudering. I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions and got a few good ones.
A few months later, I joined BookTube. Now, three more kids and eight years later, I have so many books on my TBR that I could not possibly read them all in my lifetime. It’s a problem I’d much rather have than the one I was having in 2016!
With the influx of book ideas, though, I wanted a way to really pick and choose some of those books to focus on, to get to books I wanted to prioritize. That’s when I started doing my yearly TBR list. At the beginning of each year, I pick 33 books out of the thousands on my TBR list and read about 3 a month. I aim to pick a variety of genres and have books that span middle grade, YA, and adult (though no explicit content).
My goal is to at least try each book. I’m allowed to DNF a book if I’m not loving it, but then it goes on my DNF’d list instead of my TBR on Goodreads. I’ve read some of my absolute favorite books because of this list!
Here is my list for 2026:
Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Song for a Whale is a middle grade contemporary and I know a lot of people who loved it. It follows a deaf girl who, while amazing with computers, is misunderstood at school because of her deafness, but connects emotionally with a whale whose song can’t be heard by his species. This book sounds like an emotional and beautiful read!
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is a YA romance that is an enemies to lovers (my favorite!) and has To All the Boys I Loved Before vibes. It follows a girl who vents out all her frustrations with people around her by writing them emails she never sends. She doesn’t hold back, because no one will ever read them–until they get sent out. I am very excited to try this book, especially with how beautiful the cover is.
The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh
When my mom recommended this book to me during one of her recent visits, I immediately put it on my TBR list for this year! The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley is a clean adult romance that follows a rule following professor who delves into a research project on how to be happy. This has all the makings of a book I love, I can’t wait to read it!
The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
The Accidental Beauty Queen is a closed door adult romcom involving two twins who lead polar opposite lives and end up needing to switch places. I’m not expecting anything life-changing out of the book, but it sounds cute and fun.
An Improper Proposal by Audra Wells
An Improper Proposal is a regency romance with a marriage of convenience trope (one that I tend to love, especially in regencies!). I also love the cover on this one.
A Proper Scandal by Esther Hatch
A Proper Scandal is a regency romance (I love reading at least a few a year!) following Grace, who has been shuttled from place to place until arriving with her aunt, who gives her two weeks to find a husband before being kicked out. The premise sounds unique and delightful.
Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis
Lia Louis was on my 2025 TBR as well, but because I read the book (The Key to my Heart) in December and I made the list for this year in October, I didn’t realize it until making this blog post. I loved The Key to my Heart, so I’m doubly excited to read this one. Better Left Unsent is an adult contemporary romance following a girl who (just like I Hope This Doesn’t Find You) vents her frustrations in unsent emails until (just like I Hope This Doesn’t Find You) all the emails get sent accidentally. It will be fun and interesting to see the difference between the two books that have such similar premises, especially since one is a YA and the other an adult book.
The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
The Star that Always Stays is a middle grade historical fiction inspired by the author’s family history. It’s set in 1914 and follows a girl who moves from the country to the city, but needs to hide who she is and where her Native American origins are from. I love including some historical fiction each year.
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is a YA historical mystery/fantasy that incorporates various classics. It follows the daughter of Dr. Jeckyll, looking into the mysterious past of her father and his friend Mr. Hyde, with the help of Sherlock Holmes, and along the way, she meets different women like Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. It sounds like it’s doing a lot, so I think I’ll either love it or hate it.
Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt
Buffalo Flats is an LDS young adult historical fiction set in Canada in the late 1800’s. There is romance, history, and friendship as the book explores the hardships faced by pioneers and explores what life was like for early latter-day saints.
Mrs. Porter Calling by AJ Pearce
When I put Mrs. Porter Calling on my list, I didn’t realize it was third in a series. I read Dear Mrs. Bird, a WWII historical fiction following a lady who has a secret advice collumn, a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I saw this by the same author and added it to my list–then realized it was the third book after the one I’d read. It’s already in my bullet journal and I do want to read it, so I’ll just need to read the sequel (Yours Cheerfully) before I get to this one.
The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
The Woman They Could Not Silence is a nonfiction about the life of Elizabeth Packard, a lady in the 1800’s who was wrongly committed to an insane asylum by her husband and her fight against it. I’m a little wary going in to a book like this (sometimes books like this can feel sensationalized), but it also sounds very interesting!
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kellly Bishop
The Third Gilmore Girl is a memior about Kelly Bishop, a famous actress. I know her from her role in Gilmore Girls. I am excited to learn more about her life.
Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Wait Till Next Year is a memior of Doris Kearns Goodwin, focused on a love of baseball and her family. I’ve heard from people who don’t follow baseball that they loved it, so even though I’m not a huge baseball fan, I’m excited to read this one.
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
Alone is a middle grade dystopian, following a girl who wakes up one morning completely alone. Throughout the book she has to not only surivive, but find a way to deal with her intense lonliness. I am not the biggest “survival book” reader, but my kids love them (especially my oldest). If I don’t love it, then I’ll be able to pass it on to them after reading it if I think it’s a book they’d enjoy.
The Girl Who Kept the Castle by Ryan Graudin
In The Girl Who Kept the Castle, Wizard West has died but his ghost lives on and hosts a tournament to find his successor. The groundkeeper’s daughter must make the tournament a success using magic she shouldn’t be using in order to save everything she loves. It’s a quirky, cozy, middle grade fantasy and right up my alley.
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
The Prison Healer is a YA romance fantasy (I double checked that it is clean, as I’ve had some surprises with YA romantasy in the last little while) taking place in the death prison of a fantasy world. When the rebel queen is captured, the main character is tasked with keeping her alive and volunteers in Trials in place of the queen. If succeeds, she and the queen both get their freedom, but no one has ever survived them before. This book has had a lot of hype and I’m excited to read it.
Fireborne by Rosaria Munda
Fireborne is another YA romantasy (again, double checked to make sure it’s clean), this one is supposed to lean more into the romance than The Prison Healer. It follows two orphan friends who are now competing with each other for the top spot in the dragonriding fleet. It also has a lot of political intrigue woven throughout. This sounds like the kind of fantasy book I’m really going to enjoy.
Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill
I love Brandon Sanderson, but I have a hard time getting into other epic fantasies. I don’t know when I’ll give up on them and stop choosing one for my yearly TBR list, but apparently it isn’t this year. Of Blood and Fire sounds like your typical epic fantasy, but has really good reviews and is supposed to lean into the characters, which is something I really like. It also has dragons. I guess we’ll see with this one.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
The Unmaking of June Farrow is a fiction with magical realism that takes place in North Carolina. The main character June is attempting to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance years before and uses her ability to see and hear things that aren’t there to do so, falling in love along the way.
The Queen’s Gambit by Beth Brower
Like many others, I’ve been very into Beth Brower’s Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. I’ve heard her other books are equally good and am very excited to try this one. The Queen’s Gambit is a YA science fantasy with a slow start, but the same writing style you’ll find in the Unselected Journals.
Olivetti by Allie Millington
Olivetti is a middle grade mystery from the perspective of the family’s typewriter. I’ve heard it has some hard hitting family drama and lots of emotion, just up my alley (especially when it comes to middle grade). When Olivetti, the typewriter, learns that the mother of the family has mysteriously gone missing, he believes he can help find the mother and begins communicating with the mother’s boy. I tend to love middle grade books dealing with grief, so I think this one will be a book I love, though I’m not sure how I’ll feel about the type writer being the main perspective.
A Study in Scarlet by Stephanie Baudet
This is a middle grade adaptation of Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet. I’m excited to start this children’s collection of Sherlock Holmes and to see if it’s a series I would want to read with my kids.
Blood in the Water by TIffany D Jackson
Blood in the Water is a middle grade thriller, a genre I’m not sure I’ve ever read before. The main character Kaylani is from Boston, but is spending her summer on Martha’s Vineyard when a body shows up at the beach. Kaylani is determined to solve the mystery and change her life in the process. I love thrillers and murder mysteries and I love middle grade, so I’m really excited for this one.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I really loved The Inheritance Games and am excited to be reading another book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The Naturals is a YA thriller following a seventeen year old girl who can read people exceptionally well. She gets recruited by the FBI to help them with cold cases with a group of other young people–which turns into a game of cat and mouse.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
I own The Thursday Murder Club and plan to read it this year as well, though when I added this book to my list, I didn’t realize they were by the same author. We Solve Murders follows a retired investigator and a private security officer team up to solve a murder in a race around the world. The description is a little vague, but it sounds fun and has a lot of good reviews.
Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston
Anatomy of an Alibi is an adult thriller that sounds so fun. Two women help each other out to spy on a man named Ben to get some answers–only he ends up dead. They both need an alibi, but only one of them has it. This one has really good reviews and I’m excited to read it this year.
The Redgraves Murders by Al Sowards
The Redgraves Murders is an adult historical mystery. The main character starts looking into her family’s past when someone attempts to kill her or her father–and has she uncovers more secrets, it only gets more dangerous.
Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza
Everyone is Lying to You is an adult thriller described as a tradwife murder. This thriller has social media influencers, murder mystery, and secrets from the past as the main character’s college best friend goes missing.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin
How to Solve Your Own Murder is a cozy mystery about a woman who tries to prevent her own murder only to be murdered 60 years later. The book follows her great-niece as she tries to solve her aunt’s murder, even if it means putting herself in danger.
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
The Blonde Identity is an adult mystery book following a woman who wakes up in Paris with no memory of who she is or how she got there. As people keep trying to kill her, she discovers she is the twin sister to a rogue spy. This book is supposed to be a lot like Donovan Finlay, which I really enjoy.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher
A Sorceress Comes to Call is a retelling of the fairy tale Goose Girl (I love the retelling by Shannon Hale!). This is a YA horror fantasy, a genre I’ve been dabbling in recently (fantasy with horror elements isn’t generally too much for me the way adult horror books can be). I plan to read this in October for Halloween vibes.
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry
Once Upon a Wardrobe is set during the time that CS Lewis lived. It follows two siblings, a younger brother who is homebound with illness and wants to know if Narnia is real, and an older sister who finds CS Lewis to find out for him. It interweaves real stories from Lewis’s life with the sibling narrative. I’ve heard it is charming and I can’t wait to read it (I’m saving it for Christmas time)!
So that’s my TBR list for 2026! I am very excited for my reading this year and all the books ahead of me. What are you planning to read in 2026? I’d love to chat about books in the comments section below!
I cannot believe we are already five days into 2026! Last year went by so quickly, it feels like it just disappeare. I read some really great books in 2025 and it was hard to narrow down my favorites. To help me pick just ten (with a couple bonus!), I give myself some categories to pick from each year (like a favorite book that made me cry or a favorite new release).
Here are my top 10 favorite reads of 2025:
Favorite New Release
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping released in April, right after I had Leah, and I had such a fun time reading it. While I loved a lot of new releases in 2025, Vera Wong is my favorite! I loved the first book in 2024 and this sequel was such a delight. I don’t know how much I’d like Vera Wong in real life, but I could read about her all day long. I also love the other characters around her and the relationships they all form with Vera and each other, as well as the mystery. I’m hoping this author writes another Vera Wong book (I’ve read the Auntie books by Jesse Q Sutanto and enjoyed them, but I like Vera more).
A Favorite Book that Surprised Me
The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis
The Key to my Heart is a contemporary romance dealing with grief–Natalie’s husband died two years ago and she’s having a hard time moving on. It was on my 2025 TBR list, so you would think I was expecting to enjoy it, but I kept putting it off and was reluctant to try it for some reason. As soon as I started it, though, I was hooked. I loved the romance in this and especially the love triangle. The friendships and relationships were very well done as was the foreshadowing. There was music involved, as she was a pianist, and a little mystery around the music, which was really fun and I didn’t see the resolution of that coming. It felt a bit like a Sophie Kinsella book, but a little more serious. Overall, I was surprised by how much I ended up loving it.
Favorite Nonfiction
Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft
I love to read nonfiction and this year, I set a goal to read at least one nonfiction book a month (I hit that goal plus some). I read some really good ones and it was hard to pick just one (the runner up was Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss). I learned so much from Why Does He Do That? and was able to understand situations both in my past and that I’m close to currently in a new way. I think it’s a must read, especially for girls as they start to date seriously (my husband and I want all our daughters to read it when they are older). The book is very well-informed, but also very accessibly written and well organized, making it easy to read and also easy to go back to as a reference.
Favorite Spontaneous Read
The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall
The Secret Bridesmaid could have also been put under a book that surprised me–it’s another contemporary romance following Sophie, whose job is a “professional bridesmaid”. People hire her to be their bridesmaid, to both plan the wedding and pretend to be their friend for the wedding, as their bridesmaid. She gets hired by the parents of a rich and spoiled girl to be a bridesmaid, but the girl doesn’t want her and does everything she can to make Sophie’s life miserable. I loved the hate-to-friendship relationship there and of course, the romance that made the whole situation even more tricky. I also appreciated how clean the book was.
Favorite Christie Book
Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
I read at least one Agatha Christie book a month, so she’s a big part of my reading every year. I love to pick a favorite by her and this year, it was Death Comes as the End. This one also surprised me (I guess I had a lot of those this year!) with how much I liked it, because it is a bit different than Christie’s typical murder mysteries–it is a historical mystery set in Ancient Egypt. Because of that, the names and setting are quite different from most of her books, but the richness of the characters and the murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the end were the same. I ended umep loving the mystery and the themes of this book and was so sad when I finished it.
Favorite Series Book
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion is a very hyped series and for good reason. I was seeing it all over and tried the first in the summer. It was an okay read, cute but a little slow. I’d heard from others though that the series took a couple of books for them to get into it. Book two, I already liked much more than book one and by book three, I was fully invested and loving it. I’m so happy that there are going to be so many books in the series, even if it will be hard to wait for them all to be released. The book series shines with its characters (there are characters you simply love and characters you simply love to hate) and their relationships with each other. It also has the most charming little town as a backdrop that I wish I could live in!
Favorite Recommended Book
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
Mother-Daughter Murder Night was my favorite read in October. Lana Rubicon gets cancer and moves in with her daughter and teenage granddaughter as she goes through treatment, when they get wrapped up in a murder. It was a fun whodunnit mystery, but my favorite part was the relationship between the three–the grandmother, mother, and daughter. There was a different dynamic between them all and we got to see each of their perspective throughout the book. They all played a role in solving the mystery and their relationship with each other grew in a really satisying way.
Book that Made me Cry
What Does it Feel Like? Sophie Kinsella
What Does it Feel Like made me bawl. Sophie Kinsella is the author of Confessions of a Shopaholic (among other books) and this is her final, semi-autobiographical book that she wrote. A successful novelist, the main character Eve wakes up in the hospital after having had a brain tumor removed, but with no memory of it. The book is short, but so emotionally charged. I have the hardest time with mothers who have cancer and this book was no exception. But I also loved it. I devoured it in one sitting. At the time that I read it, Sophie Kinsella was still around, but a few months later, she passed away. I’m really sad for her and her family. I am so glad she wrote this book, and her others, before she died.
Favorite Read Aloud Book
One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen
One Wrong Step is a middle grade historical fiction about climbing Mount Everest in the 1920’s. Jennifer A. Nielsen is one of my favorite authors for middle grade historical fiction and this was one of my favorites by her. We actually listened to this one in the car together on a long trip (it was a 7 hour drive, round trip) and everyone in the family was very invested in the story, including my husband–at one point, he had to run inside a store and had us pause the book while he did so he wouldn’t miss anything. The reader was fantastic, the story and characters were amazing, and we all learned a lot. My favorite part of it was the next day when Ben and I were doing the NYT Mini together (back before they put it behind a paywall) and there was a prompt about Mount Everest–because of listening to the book, we knew the answer! It made me happier than it probably should have.
Favorite Book by a Favorite Author
Exiles by Jane Harper
Jane Harper was an unexpected favorite author for me. She writes character-driven thrillers set in Australia and I have loved every single one of her books. Exiles is the third in a series, but you could read it without reading the others (I read the other two so long ago, I was having a hard time remembering what happened in them, and it didn’t affect the book much at all). The book follows Aaron Falk as he visits some old friends on the weekend of the one-year anniversary of a woman’s disappearance. Jane Harper does a good job of mixing current tension with mysteries from the past, and layering all of that with relationship dynamics that draw you into the characters’ lives.
Bonus:
Favorite Reread with the Kids:
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
I had to add in two bonuses this year, because I reread Anne of Green Gables as I read it aloud with my girls and it was so fun! I loved sharing Anne’s world with them and especially seeing how much my girls all loved the book and the movie. Every night as we were reading, they begged me to keep going when it was time to stop. Then as we watched the movie together, they fell in love with Gilbert, noticed the differences from the book, and anticipated all the best parts (knowing what was coming because of reading the book). It was such a fun experience together.
Favorite Reread:
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My main rereads during 2025 were the Little House books and it was so fun to revisit them! My favorite of the series was These Happy Golden Years. I actually remembered very little of the book, as I hadn’t read it since I was maybe 8 or 9. I don’t remember what I thought when I was a child other than I loved all things Little House, but as an adult, I absolutely loved seeing the romance between Laura and Almanzo bloom. It was heartwarming and sweet–now this year I want to reread all the Little House books with my girls and introduce them to the TV show!
Those are my picks for my favorite books I read in 2025! I had such a great reading year and am looking forward to 2026. What were your favorite reads in 2025? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
I can hardly believe 2025 has already come to a close–this year was a big one for our family. In March, we had our fifth baby and it has been both magical and overwhelming. Taking care of a baby while homeschooling and parenting older kids has been harder than I imagined it would be, but also more worthwhile (my favorite thing is watching their relationship with her!).
When I was deciding on what goals to set this time last year, I knew it would be an adjustment year, one spent in survival mode for a lot of the time, so I didn’t set a lot of big goals. I was focused on preparing for labor and the birth of the baby. This year, I am feeling ready to set some higher goals as we are coming out of survival mode. I am excited for all the year will bring and the chance I have to grow and improve.
Here are the main goals I have for the coming year:
Workout four times a week
Since having Leah, Ben and I have been slowly easing our way back into working out together. We have a nice setup in the basement as well as a little pickleball area where we can do some half-court drills together. We start with pickleball as a way to get ourselves down there and then do our workout afterward. We pay my two oldest to watch Leah while we do it. The biggest thing is just being more consistent with getting four workouts in each week, which is something we’ve struggled with since Leah was born. I would really like to lose ten pounds this year and I know being consistent with our workouts will help me do that.
Pray every morning
Prayer is something that I have always been hit or miss with and am working on being more consistent with again. I’ve been working my way up to this as well the last few months and would like it to be a focus in 2026. When I wake up before the kids, I’m usually good about kneeling down for prayer, but if I sleep in or our morning gets derailed in some way, that’s when I’m not as good about it. I’m going to add a reminder to my phone and even if I’m kneeling down later in the morning, that’s okay, as long as I do it!
Avoid my phone in the morning
Before Leah was born last year, I had started a habit of leaving my phone plugged in when I got up in the morning. Sometimes, I wouldn’t check my phone until lunch time. It made such a huge difference to how my day went, but when I had Leah, that habit stopped–I was tired, I was nursing and nap trapped a lot, and my whole schedule was undone for awhile. I feel I am in a place now where I can get back to it and I’m actually excited to.
Write on a novel
With everything going on–homeschooling, having a baby, and some big family things–I have not had a lot of extra emotional energy this last year. One of the things that fell to the wayside is my writing. My writing stats for 2025 were abysmal. Now that Leah is getting older–she’s sleeping at night, napping more consistently, and is more self entertaining when she’s awake–I am feeling like I can get back to writing. I miss writing and have all srots of ideas for my current project! My main goal is to have a complete outline in the first quarter of the year and write the first draft during the last three quarters of the year.
Read 180 Books
This is the number of books I have as a goal every year. I love having reading goals, as it keeps me off my phone and in books more often. I also love filling out my bullet journal as I reach my reading goals. This year, two main goals I have are to read the Little House series aloud with my kids (we’ve read the first two books together before, but not the whole series) and to read the entire Anne of Green Gables series (I’ve read a few of the books, but again, not the entire series). I am looking forward to both!
Some goals for January
Each New Year’s, I love to set some goals for myself that are January specific — I can really struggle in January, so these goals are my way of getting through a hard time of year in the best way possible.
Take a Daily Walk
I’ve found this to be the number one thing to help me through January- if I take a walk outside (no matter the temperature) each day, the combination of movement and sunlight makes the biggest difference to my mental health.
Month-Long Social Media Break
I have to admit that I have never done a social media fast before, but I’m feeling like I really need it right now. I’ve gotten into such a habit of pulling out my phone and getting on Instagram that it’s affecting my mood, productivity, and relationships. For the month of January, I’ve deleted Instagram off my phone and blocked Facebook on my computer so I can’t get on and scroll.
Those are my goals for this coming year! I would love to hear what you are hoping to do or achieve in 2026. Let me know in the comments section below!
