• Books and Reading - Uncategorized

    The Reading Report, Vol. 33: My “Plan” for 2026

    February 2, 2026 - By 

    It’s been a while since I sent out an up to date Reading Report! I finished 2025 strong, achieving my goal of finishing 50 books during the year. I set a slightly lower numerical goal for myself this coming year, and I am changing how I approach my reading life. Let’s talk about it! To Challenge or Not to Challenge? Most years I join at least one, sometimes two, reading challenges that push me to finish a book a month and/or read from certain genres. This year, I decided that this approach to reading is taking some of the joy…

  • Books and Reading - Homeschooling - Uncategorized

    America 250: Reading Across the 50 States Booklist

    January 15, 2026 - By 

    In celebration of America250, my friend, fellow book lover, and homeschooling mom, Summer Smith, recently created a book list of American literature to read in 2026. She was on The New Mason Jar podcast today to talk about this list, and as I listened, I was inspired to create my own book list specifically for children’s and YA books from each of the 50 states. Summer’s list was very broad with many adult titles, and I wanted to narrow my focus to books appropriate for my own kids (ages 10 and 15.) It was harder than I expected! Some states…

  • Books and Reading - Uncategorized

    Reading Report, Vol. 32: A Long Overdue Update

    December 2, 2025 - By 

    Well, here it is the beginning of December already, and I am just now finally getting ’round to writing a new reading report update! Goodness. But life just keeps being complicated, and I simply don’t have the energy to sit down and string words together in coherent thoughts. Anyway, since my last update a while back (ahem!) I have finished quite a lot of titles. I think the best plan is just to give a very brief review of each one and note if a particular book was read for a club or challenge. Let’s go! Finished Books: Move Your…

  • Books and Reading - Uncategorized

    The Reading Report, Vol. 31: Autumn Progress Update

    October 8, 2025 - By 

    This month’s reading report is a little later than I had planned, but to be completely honest, life has been overwhelming me lately. I sat down last week to write this post, but the words just wouldn’t come at all. And let’s not mention the fact that I completely skipped publishing a reading update last month. (Oops!) Anyway, even though circumstances have not been ideal for reading a lot lately, I have finally finished a few books, and I am only a little bit “behind” where I should be in my reading goals at this point in the year. Let’s…

  • Books and Reading - Uncategorized

    Reading Report, Vol. 30: End of Summer Round-up

    August 28, 2025 - By 

    August in nearly over, and I find myself reluctant even now to post a reading update because, honestly, it just hasn’t felt like I have made a lot of progress. As I mentioned in July, summer is actually a hard time for me to get a lot of reading in because I am busy working on other projects. I have, however, made a concentrated effort to use audio books as much as possible to get some titles finished. I also am in trying very hard to keep up with my son’s school books, but only pre-reading one week in advance.…