One of my favorite readathons to participate in each year is Series September hosted by one of my favorite BookTubers BooksandJams! It’s a way to focus on some books in series before the end of the year. I always love doing the 30 Books in 30 Days challenge as well, so I try to find books that will fit in both readathon challenges.
They do different prompts each year (you can find the prompts and their bingo boards in their announcement video). This year, their prompts have to do with the aesthetic of the books covers themselves, which is fun and unique.
I’m excited to get some series books read this month!
Prompt 1: Moody and Dark
My Book Choice: Perelandera by CS Lewis
This Space Trilogy is one that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time and I’m excited to finally be starting it. This is the second book in the series (the first book is one of my choices for a later prompt). I picked it for this prompt because the atmosphere on the cover seems to fit to me.
Prompt 2: Illustrated Cover
My Book Choice: The Genius File by Dan Gutman
This is a middle grade book by an author I like. I’m planning on reading this with my kids during the month. The cover is a cartoon-ish illustration.
Prompt 3: Fall Colors on Cover
My Book Choice: Spectacular by Stephanie Garber
Spectacular is a spinoff of the Caraval series, which I read a year or two ago. The red on the cover makes me think of fall colors (though I think it’s a more Christmas-y story).
Prompt 4: Blue Tones
My Book Choice: Kung Pow Chicken by Cyndi Marko
This is a chapter book series that my kids really like that I’ve never read. I’m planning on reading it aloud with them in the mornings during our reading time. The cover of the first book is a nice bright blue.
Prompt 5: Bold Type
My Book Choice: I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey
This is the sequel to a fun romcom I read last year that I really liked and I’m excited to finally be reading it. The words on the cover are nice and bold, fitting nicely with this prompt.
Prompt 6: Light Acadamia Vibes
My Book Choice: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
I read the first book of this hyped up series a couple months ago and am very excited to be finishing it. I picked this series for this prompt because both the title and the cover somehow feel “academic” to me.
Prompt 7: Forest or Nature
My Book Choice: Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis
This is the first in the Space Trilogy that I’m reading this month and I picked it because of the “alien planet” nature–the mountains and oceans and trees–on the cover. There are other cover designs that are even more so than this one.
Prompt 8: Beautiful Cover
My Book Choice: Louisiana Longshot Jana Deleon
This is a short mystery book that I’ve heard really good things about. If I like it, then I’ll have a new mystery series I can read through. I picked it for this prompt because of the flowers and butterfly on the cover.
Prompt 9: Cozy Vibes Only
My Book Choice: Stranded Ranch by Cindy Steel
Cindy Steel is one of my favorite clean rom com authors and this is the last book by her that I haven’t read. It’s also part of my favorite series by her–Pride and Pranks. This is a very “cozy vibes” book, taking place at a ranch during the holidays. I thought it was perfect for this prompt.
What books are you reading in September? Are you taking part in this reading challenge? What series are you in the middle of? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Man, hasn’t the summer just flown by? I feel like the more kids I have (and the older they get), the faster time flies. I don’t know if I have ever had a summer go by so quickly as this one has. It was a lot of fun though and I had some great reads!
In July, I read 18 books and 5,627 pages, for an average of 312 pages per book. It wasn’t my highest reading month, but it was close to the highest month for pages read. I read 16 books by female authors and 2 by male authors. I borrowed 9 books and owned 9 of the books I read. I read 6 middle grade, 2 YA, and 10 adult books. I read 8 eBooks, 7 audiobooks, and 2 physical books. I had 5 rereads and 13 new reads. I read 1 new release and shared 5 read aloud books with my kids. I read 5 stand alone books and 5 books from a series, starting 3 and finishing 0. I had 11 five star reads, 4 four star reads, 2 three star reads, and 0 two and one star reads. I DNF’d 1 book.
Today I am sharing my five favorite 5 star reads from July! What books did you read in July? What is a favorite book you’ve read recently?
The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel
I love Cindy Steel–she writes sweet rom coms that I always binge read. This one has a super fun premise and fantastic characters!
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski
I was surprised by how much I loved this one. It’s a middle grade/YA book about friendships and some heavier topics, all wrapped up in a mystery of what happened. I loved the mystery aspect of it and the way the heavier themes were handled.
Corsair’s Curse by Shari L. Tapscott
This underrated YA fantasy book was fantastic! It has dragons, a love triangle, and interesting magic. I really loved reading about the characters and their adventures.
Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft
This nonfiction book looks at abusive relationships, exploring why abusive men act the way they do and what you can do if you find yourself in a relationship in one, as well as red flags to look out for before getting into a relationship. He dispels different myths and lays out behavior you can expect to see, with lots of real-life examples. I found it fascinating. My husband also read it and it’s going to be required reading for our daughters when they reach dating age.
A Different Blue by Amy Harmon
Amy Harmon always writes such emotionally deep books. This was one of her earlier works, but I really loved it. There were aspects that I had to get over (the love interest starts off as her teacher, and nothing happens while he is teaching her, but it still felt a little weird), but there were other aspects of motherhood and childbearing that I just loved and bawled through. I could hardly put this one down.
Bonus: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I know I’ve already shared five, but I couldn’t not talk about this reread–I read Anne of Green Gables aloud to my girls for the first time and it was a delight. They loved it and were laughing at Anne, my middle child related with Anne’s character, and I remembered why I love this book so much. Then we were able to watch the movie together, which they loved as well (and I havne’t seen it for so long, it was so fun to rewatch it and fall in love with Gilbert all over again). Sharing these things with my kids is such a fun part of parenting older kids!
Those were my favorite 5 star reads in July! What were some of your favorite books from last month? What is a book you’ve recently read that you just loved? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you and chat about books!
March was a busy month! I was prepping for the baby for most of it, and I had a LOT to do, because I got to 36 weeks and realized that with everything else going on, I hadn’t done anything to prep and got on it. I got my birthing kit together, prepped the baby station, filled the freezer with meals, and did a lot of deep cleaning all month.
The week before the baby came, I got sick with a cold and couldn’t do as much, and then at the very end of the month, we got to welcome our baby girl! With all that going on, I had less time to read, but lots of time to listen to audiobooks.
I read 17 books in March and 5,133 pages, for an average of 301 pages per book. 13 were written by female authors and 4 by male authors. I borrowed 6 and read 11 books I owned. I read 8 stand alones and 5 books part of a series. I read 1 physical book, 6 ebooks, and 10 audiobooks. I read 7 middle grade, 1 YA, and 5 adult books and shared 2 read alouds with my kids. I read 2 new releases. I had 3 rereads and 14 new reads. I had 10 five star reads, 4 four star reads, 3 three star reads, 1 two star reads, and no one star reads.
Here were my 5 favorite 5 star reads in March!
When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
I absolutely loved this WWII historical fiction taking place in Korea. I knew basically nothing about what had happened there leading up to and during the war and learned so much. I loved the characters and was very invested in the family and country’s hardships. This is the second book by Linda Sue Park that I have read and loved.
What Everybody is Saying by Joe Navaro
I loved this nonfiction book! Body language is something I don’t know a lot about but an very interested in learning more. This felt like a very thorough introduction, one I would revisit.
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Refugee is a book that follows several refugee families from different time periods and the struggles they face. It is such an important topic to explore. I loved each of the three stories and I loved the author’s note afteward.
Content: While it is middle grade, I would say it is aimed at older middle grade due to the violence in parts. It’s not unneccessary and adds to the story, but I wouldn’t hand this to my 10 year old currently.
Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Lines of Courage follows many different characters through WWI and circles back to connect many of them in the end. I wasn’t sure at first about following so many different characters, but I ended up really liking it and the way their stories converged. It was also interesting to read a story set in WWI (rather than WWII).
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Casimano
This is the fourth book in the series and my favorite of the series so far! Something about taking all the characters to a casino hotel and throwing them all together, then letting them try to figure everything out was so fun to me. The comedy really worked for me.
Bonus reread:
Framed! by James Ponti
When I pick my favorite reads of the month, I don’t typically include rereads (partially because if I’m rereading it, it’s probably because it’s already one of my favorite books). For my bonus book this month, though, I had to include this one! I read it last year and loved it. I have been trying to talk my older kids into reading it on their own ever since, but they never did. Finally, on a road trip, I decided to start listening to it with them. Like I knew they would, they LOVED it (and the other two books in the series). I loved listening to it with them as well and looked forward to our audiobook time together.
Those were my favorite books from March! I share all the books I read and what I rated them on my Goodreads page. What did you read in March? What was a favorite recent read of yours? Let’s talk about books in the comments!
I loved the Little House books growing up (and the TV show!) but have only vague memories of the later books as an adult. I’ve reread some of the books as I’ve shared them with my kids (namely Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie) but have wanted to revisit the rest for a while now. This year, I decided to do just that and reread the series!
If you would like to read along with me, I’d love to share the journey! I created a PDF printable to track each book!
Here is my plan for the year:
January:
Because I am getting going with this blog post a little late, January has come and gone, and I’ve already reread Little House in the Big Woods. I am actually planning on reading it again, this time aloud with my kids, in December for Christmas, as well!
February:
In February, I am planning on reading Farmer Boy. I’ve recently reread this one and remember not loving it as much, so we’ll see how it goes.
March:
My read in March is going to be Little House on the Prairie. This one is short and sweet, and I love it. I know I won’t have any trouble getting through it and it can count towards Middle Grade March!
April:
I’m planning on reading On the Banks of Plum Creek in April. I have basically no memory of this one and am really excited to revisit it. I will have a new baby, but I usually get extra reading in right after having a baby because of all the late-night feeds, so I’m not worried about getting this one it.
May/June:
My read in May is By the Shores of Silver Lake. This is another one that I have very little memory of and am excited to read. Because I’m not sure how things are going to go with the new baby and adjusting to having five kids, I’m giving myself two months to get this one in, so I don’t feel pressured with my reading.
July:
I’m skipping The Long Winter to save it for a colder month (it didn’t feel right to read it in the middle of summer) and reading Little Town on the Prairie. Other than The Long Winter (which I read a few years ago), I don’t remember a lot about the rest of the books, including this one, which makes me very excited to reread them all.
August:
In August, I plan on reading These Happy Golden Years. I expect to be adjusting by this time to having an extra child and I know I’ll have time while nursing to read, so I’m expecting to be able to get to all of these, especially since they tend to be shorter reads.
September:
In September, I’m going to read The First Four Years. Because it’s shorter, I think it will be a good one to read for 30 Books in 30 Days, which usually takes place in September as well.
November:
I’m planning on taking a break in October to focus on spookier reads and wait for a “winter month” to read The Long Winter. I think it’ll be the perfect read to get me in the mood for the holidays and colder weather.
December:
In December, I’m planning on reading Little House in the Big Woods with my kids. I love the Christmas chapters and feel like it makes the perfect holiday read because of that! I’ve read this with my kids before, but it’s been a while, and I know they’ll enjoy revisiting it as well.
That is my plan for reading The Little House series this year! Are there any related books that would go well with my reread? Are you planning on rereading with me? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Every year, I put together a bullet journal to use and fill out during the year. I track the books I read, the stats of my reading, my writing and reading goals, and my monthly TBR.
I love creating it and using it every year.
The first page of my bullet journal is a notes page, where I can write down anything I need to remember for next year’s bullet journal. This includes things like changes I might want to make to pages or the order of pages as well as new releases I want to put in next year’s journal.
I like to have a calendar page at the start of my bullet journal to show big picture events that are happening throughout the year.
Then I have my book log. I write down the title, author, how many stars I rated it, the date I finished reading it, and the number of pages in the book. I leave plenty of empty pages, though this last year I didn’t fill them all up. I’d rather have a few extras than run out of room.
Right after my book log, I have my stats page. I love keeping track of all the stats, just for fun. I use tally marks to keep track as I track books, though a few of the stats I count up at the end of the month.
After my stats page is a place for me to write the number (which is easier to see than the tally marks). I fill this out at the end of each month.
Another stats page I have is a place to color in how many books I’ve read that year. My minimum goal is 180, but I often read more than that, so I include more squares than I think I’ll need, just in case.
Each year, I go through my Goodreads TBR (which has more than a thousand books on it) and try to find 33 books to prioritize that year. I always try to include a variety of genres and include YA, middle grade, and adult books. I choose 33 because that’s 3 books a month (which is a very reasonable number for me) other than December (during which I usually read less and like to be done with my reading goals if I can be).
My Classics TBR includes classics that I want to read in general, not just during that year.
My Reread list, like with classics, includes books that I want to reread in general. Then, I pick one book a month to reread (though with read alouds to my kids and occasional mood reading, it often ends up being more than one a month).
I love keeping track of series that I am in the middle of. I’ve broken up the series into four different categories: series I am actively reading, series I’ve started but am not sure I want to continue (though am also not ready to DNF), series I’ve started that have unwritten books that haven’t come out yet, and series I haven’t started yet but want to.
On my New Releases page, I like to write down the book (sometimes with a prompt to help me remember what the book is) and when it comes out. I color code the month it comes out so I can tell at a glance when it does. I also include books that were released in the year previous (so this year, in 2024).
I like to have a list of books I think would be fun to read aloud with my kids. We do a lot of read alouds, between homeschool, reading at night, and listening to audiobooks together. At the top of the list, I pick one a month that I want to prioritize (I usually actually read 9-10 of the books I pick out with the kids that year).
This page is for authors that I want to read more books by. When I read a book by that author, I color in a square under their name. If I read enough books by an author and love them, I eventually move that author to my Read All page (down below).
This is my page to keep track of authors who I want to read all their books, as well as the books they’ve written. The books that are colored in already are the ones I’ve read before the year starts. Many of the authors are ones that I am just working on over the next few years, but I usually pick one or two that I try to finish off their books that year.
Then I have my Author Collection page–the authors that I have read all their books. If I reread a book by them, I put a dot on the outside of their star. If I read a new release by them, I put a line across their star.
I’ve been working on reading all of Agatha Christie’s books for many years and really loving it. I like to choose one book a month to read by her and I look forward to it so much that I will probably continue rereading a book by her each month even after finishing reading all her books (using The Christie Challenge). I also like to have a page for some of my favorite readathons–including Middle Grade March.
This is my own reading challenge this year–to reread all the Little House on the Prairie books. I read all of them when I was a child, but I don’t remember them very well. I’ve only reread a few as an adult and I’m looking forward to experiencing them all again.
Jane Austen July is another readathon I really enjoy. I’ve also left some blank pages in this area in case I come across another readathon or reading challenge I’d like to participate in.
There are two readathons in September that I love–30 Books in 30 Days and Series September!
I also have always tried to participate in Nonfiction November, though I usually struggle to fit in very many nonfiction books here because I’m so busy trying to finish off my other reading goals. Though it’s not really following the challenge, I decided to use this page to track my nonfiction reading in general this year and choose one book a month that is nonfiction to focus on.
The next few pages are lists of nonfiction books that sound interesting to me and that I’d like to someday get to.
Then I have a cover page to divide my book lists from my section for buying and borrowing books.
This section starts with my library books catalogue. When I borrow the book, I write down the book title, the format, and when it is due. Then I can mark it off if I end up reading it.
Then I have my bookshelves of books that I want to buy. Since taking these pictures, I’ve since added book titles that I want to buy to many of these books. I organize them by author last name.
The final page is for books that I buy that weren’t on my list of books I want to buy and then a section to keep track of my spending on books. The top section is for how much I have budgeted for books and the bottom section is how much I actually spent.
This page is for writing down the book titles of books I’ve bought each month.
This page for writing down book titles of children’s books I’ve bought.
This first page is for writing down books I get rid of from my home library. The second page is where I keep track of books I gift to other people (I like to try to give someone a book each month).
Then I have a page for stats around buying and borrowing books. I like my stats XD
The second page here is my cover page for my movies section.
This page is for movies we watch as a family that aren’t Disney movies.
This is my page for keeping track of Disney movies we watch as a family throughout the year. When we watch one, I color the title in with the month’s corresponding color.
This page is for the holidays–Halloween movies and then Christmas movies!
This page is for movies that Ben and I watch together. We don’t watch a lot of movies (we tend toward TV shows or pickleball matches on YouTube, so we can get to bed at a decent time), but every once in a while, we enjoy a movie together.
The second page is the cover page for my writing section.
My writing section starts with tracking for nonfiction writing projects, blog post (my bookish blog and my personal blog) stats, and tracking writing group meetups. The second page is a monthly tracker of YouTube and my blog.
This page is for tracking my novel writing–on the first page, I keep track of weekly words written and the second page I can keep track of where I am in the writing process, monthly word count, and percentages of how far I am in the project.
This first page is a new one this year, a place for me to keep track of novels I’ve finished writing. The second page is a place for me to write down inspirational quotes related to writing.
This is a place for me to write down some of my favorite quotes from books I read during the year.
And this page is my stats page for social media and writing. I will take any excuse to make a stats page.
Then I have some pages to note my favorite books of the year. The first page here is where I write down my top three favorite reads of each month. I fill this out as I finish off each reading month. The second page is one I fill out at the end, where I pick my top ten books of the year.
The first page here is just for fun and I’m not sure I’ll keep it in future bullet journals, but it’s a bracket to help me narrow down my favorite book of the year.
The second page is a cover page for the final section in my bullet journal that I’ll show down below.
I have four pages for each month in this section. The first page is a place to write down goals, things I want to get done, and look at events that are happening that month (like birthdays, traveling, etc).
The second page is a calendar. The sides are where I can write down ideas of blog post and Instagram post ideas. As I actually create posts for either, I mark them on the calendar. The small section each day is for tracking Instagram posts and the larger square is for blog posts. I love being able to see at a glance how active I’ve been on Instagram and my blog.
The first page here is for tracking my TBR. I pick 10 books that I want to prioritize and then I have the five below that where I can put other books I might like to get to. I use my book lists to decide which books to read.
The second page is where I write down all the books I own (in the three different formats) that I haven’t read yet. I try to keep my lists down to this number, but often I don’t manage it (especially with eBooks, which I love buying on sale). I also try to read all the books I own in January by the end of the year (though last year I didn’t quite manage it).
These pages repeat through each month of the year through December to finish off my bullet journal.
I love my bookish bullet journal! It is so fun for me to create the pages each year and I love using it to track things and fill it out all year long.
Do you have a bullet journal? How do you track your reading and other bookish hobbies? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Middle Grade March is one of my favorite readathons of the year! Read a middle grade book and you have participated! They also have a group read and some different prompts if you want to do more with it. You can find the announcement video here.
Today I wanted to share my TBR for the readathon:
Group Read
The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day
This is the group read for Middle Grade March and it sounds really fun! It’s a narrative nonfiction about when the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1789. I’ve heard that it reads like fiction and is great as a pre-Paris read (we don’t have current plans to travel there, but I would love to go someday).
A Book with aOne Word Title
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
I’ve heard a lot of good about this contemporary middle grade read. The main character Julia is short for her age, but spends the summer performing in The Wizard of Oz. As she does, she makes friends and has experiences that change the way she sees herself.
A Book with anAnimal on the Cover
Crossing the Pressure Line by Laura Anne Bird
This is a middle grade book about grief and dealing with the death of a loved one. I’ve heard so many good things about this coming-of-age story and am excited to feel all the feelings with it.
A Refugee Story
The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Jennifer A. Neilsen has recently become one of my favorite authors! This is one of her earlier novels and I’m excited to go back and read some of her books that came out before I found her.
This middle grade fantasy follows a young girl who contracts a plague and is sent to a former prison turned refuge. She expects to live out a short, painful life due to the plague, but she quickly learns there is more to the plague and the society she lives in than meets the eye.
A Debut Novel
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
The Swifts is a book I’ve had on my TBR for a long time. I’ve heard it’s quirky and clever and just plain fun. I also love middle grade murder mysteries, so this is right up my alley!
Book You Missed Out On
City Spies by James Ponti
I kept meaning to read this book last year–I even checked it out from the library once, but life got away from me and I had to return it unread. I’ve heard so many fun things about this, though, and I love the idea of a middle grade spy book! It sounds like it has heist-like elements as well, which would be amazing!
I am very excited for middle grade march! I love to stack up my month with lots of middle grade reads in addition to the prompt reads. I’d love to hear what you are planning to read next month! Let me know in the comments below!
I always love looking back at the year to see how my reading went! This year was my biggest reading year I’ve ever had (and probably will have for awhile at least). I read 285 books, so narrowing down 10 favorites was not easy!
Each month as I read, I pick my top three favorite books from that month. Then at the end of the year, I use ten different categories to help me narrow down which of those 36 books were my top ten favorite of the year.
Here are my top 10 favorite books I read in 2023!
Favorite New Release
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Katherine Center has recently become a favorite author of mine (who writes clean adult romcoms), so when I saw she had a new release, I had to get it! I ended up binge listening to it in one sitting while I painted my girls’ room and loved it! It might be my new favorite book by her.
The premise follows a portrait artist who has a brain surgery that leads to a face blindness. While she’s dealing with that and her family, she also ends up in a sort of love triangle. It was a delightful read and I also really loved the author’s note at the end.
Favorite Book That Surprised Me
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
This YA fantasy romance took me by surprise in a couple different ways. First, I’d read the Elements of Cadence duology by this author and liked them, but they weren’t completely my type of books. This book had a very different feel than her previous series and it was much more my style. It was a pleasant surprise! Partially because of that, I was also very surprised by how much I loved the book!
My favorite parts of this book were the “You’ve Got Mail” feel of the plot. I absolutely loved the letter sending part of the plot. I also really loved the war correspondance aspect of the story. It actually surprised me how much I liked it!
Favorite Nonfiction Book
Divine Signatures by Gerald Lund
Gerald Lund is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and has written many books in that realm, both fictional novels and doctrinal books. Some of his doctrinal books have been my favorite religious books (and some of have just been okay). This one is my favorite of his nonfiction books now.
It is a collection of stories showing the hand of God in people’s lives. It is an inspiring read that strengthened my testimony of God and left me looking for God’s hand in my own life more often.
Favorite Spontaneous Read
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarity
I read Big Little Lies by this author in 2023 and loved it. I’ve been reading more books by her since then but wasn’t planning on reading this one this year. On a whim, I decided to get the audiobook for it and devoured it.
Like Big Little Lies, this one is a thriller that bounces between a present-day event and the time period leading up to that event. One of the things I think Moriarty does very well is giving the reader just enough information to make us want to know more. I love the pacing of her books and the way I discover more and more information as I read. It was a fun read and I’m glad I decided to pick up spontaneously.
Favorite Christie Read
The Regatta Mystery by Agatha Christie
I read at least one Christie book a month, which is why she has her own category. It’s honestly one of the hardest categories to narrow down because I love so many of her books.
I decided on this short story collection this year because I loved every story in the collection. It was fun to read a variety of her characters as well. I tend to love her short stories and this collection was so enjoyable.
Favorite Book by a Favorite Author
The Secret Projects by Brandon Sanderson
Okay, so I’m cheating a little and throwing four books in here, instead of one. But, I can’t help it. I wanted to pick a secret project for this one because I enjoyed them so much. When it came down to it, though, I couldn’t pick just one. They were all so fun to read, but great in their own unique ways.
In Tress of the Emerald Sea, I loved the main character, the romance, and the overall feel of the book. In the Frugal Wizard’s Handbook, I loved the mystery of the main character figuring out who he is, the world building, and the humor. In Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I loved the Cosmere tie-ins, the romance (though in a totally different way than Tress), and the resolution at the end. In the Sunlit Man, I loved the Bridge Four tie-in, the character arc, and the side characters.
Favorite Book that Made Me Cry
Defiant by Brandon Sanderson
This is the fourth and final book in Sanderson’s Skyward series, a YA science fiction. While I like the series, it’s not my favorite by Sanderson so I was not expecting to love the finale as much as I did. I also did not know that I would cry THREE different times at the end of the book. But, I did. The ending was emotionally impactful in many ways. I loved the friendships, the growth we see from the characters, and portrayal of grief and how as humans can carry grief together.
Favorite Book Recommended by Bookstagram
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Jo
I saw so many people on Bookstagram recommending this book and it did not disappoint! This historical fiction had a great romance, a strong female lead, and a thought-provoking theme of equality. The fact that the main character is a writer is a great bonus!
Favorite Book in a Series
A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber
I honestly read a lot of great books that are part of series this year, but this one was so great, it had to make my favorites list. I enjoyed the series but loved this finale! The pacing was just right for me, the romance had great tension, and the ending was the just right amount of wrap up and happily ever after for me.
Favorite Read Aloud Book
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
I am a huge fan of Where the Red Fern Grows and had never read Summer of the Monkeys. I decided to try it as a read aloud.
When I first started reading, I thought this one inferior to Where the Red Fern Grows, but then I absolutely loved the ending! It brought me to tears multiple times and the lead up was so well done. The kids also loved the antics of the monkeys and would beg me to keep reading each night. It was a fantastic read aloud and I will definitely revisit this classic in the future.
Bonus: Favorite Reread
Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen
I never include rereads in my list of favorite books, but as a bonus, I always pick a favorite reread at the end of the year. This year, my favorite reread was probably Sammy Keyes. I first read this a few years ago and actually finished reading the series in September of 2023. In October, I read this first book in the series aloud to the girls and we all loved it! I had so much fun revisiting the first so soon after reading the last book in the series (which is a sort of tribute to Sammy and all the adventures she has throughout the series) and I also loved how much the kids loved it.
Have you read and loved (or hated) any of these books? What were your favorite books that you read last year? Let me know in the comments below!
March was a great reading month for me. I always love Middle Grade March, and I had some fantastic reads during the month. Because middle grade books tend to be shorter or faster reads, I also read a lot of books, which felt good.
I read 21 books in March and 6,016 pages, for an average of 286 pages per book. I read 18 books written by female authors and 3 written by male authors. Of the books I read, I borrowed 8 and owned 13, and and 3 were rereads and 18 were new reads. I had 4 read alouds with my kids and read 16 middle grade books, 0 YA books, and 5 adult books. I read 6 physical books, 7 eBooks, and 8 audiobooks and I read 3 new releases. I read 5 books on my 2026 TBR, bringing the total this year to 12 of 33 read. I read 5 books in a series, starting 1 new series, finishing 2 series, and DNFing 2 series, and I read 10 stand alone books. With genres I read 2 fantasy, 4 contemporary, 3 classic, 4 mystery, 1 scifi, 4 historical fiction, and 3 nonfiction. I had 10 five star reads, 5 four star reads, 4 three star reads, and 0 one or two star reads.
Today I’m sharing my five favorite reads from March.
Dream On by Shannon Hale
Dream On is a contemporary middle grade graphic novel. It follows a girl who is floundering and trying to find her place in the world, as her friendships shift and her father loses his job. It took a little bit for me to get into it, but then I couldn’t put it down. I put off all responsibilities until I had finished it (and cried a couple of times throughout) and then immediately handed it to my 9-year-old to read.
Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt
Gary D. Schmidt is really good at writing hard hitting emotional books and Okay for Now was no exception. It follows a boy whose father is abusive and older brother is going down the same path. He has to move away to a dinky town that he doesn’t like, but as he gets to know the town and the community there, he starts to carve out a place for himself. This is another book that I had to finish while I ignored all responsibilities and also cried several times throughout.
The Steps by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Steps is a middle grade thriller that kept me hooked from the beginning. I really liked our main character and felt for the things she was going through. The mystery was engaging and the wrap up very satisfying. I have loved all of Wendelin Van Draanen’s book and this new release didn’t disappoint for me.
The Star that Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson
The Star that Always Stays is a middle grade historical fiction following a girl whose life gets uprooted by her parents’ divorce (and mother’s subsequent remarriage) in the early 1900’s. I loved all the relationships that grew and changed throughout the book, especially the main character’s relationship with her stepfather. It was such a sweet story, despite the difficult topics it centered on.
Allies by Alan Brantz
Allies is a middle grade historical fiction set on one day–D Day. It follows a cast of characters all working with the allies in different ways. Often these characters cross each other’s paths or intersect in different ways, and some characters are more prominent in the story than others. I was riveted and learned a lot about D Day. Despite being middle grade, it covered some heavy topics and didn’t shy away from some of the violence you would expect from a book about battles during World War II, so I would say it was better suited for older middle grade.
Bonus Reread:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
I love my bonus favorite books! I never include my rereads in my lists of favorite books (if it wasn’t a favorite, I wouldn’t be rereading it!), but I like to include a reread in my blog post each month.
Right now, I am listening to the Harry Potter series with my kids. I haven’t reread past the first couple of books since I was a teenager and I’m having a lot of fun with Harry Potter as an adult. Reading the third book was a treat and both my kids and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was especially fun to see how into the book my 7-year-old daughter got.
Those are my favorite reads from March! I always love Middle Grade March, and this year was no exception. What were your favorite reads from last month? What is a book you’ve recently read and loved?
