three : three : three

Today we're taking a little break from book recaps to do something fun. Back in the day, this is something I might have posted on a Casual Friday, and someday Casual Fridays might make a comeback on the blog. But since I've been pretty faithfully posting every Tuesday and Thursday since the beginning of the year—truly!—I thought I'd post it today. I'm calling it "three : three : three" but I can't take credit for thinking it up. I'm pretty sure I saw it on instagram. Without further ado...

three books I wish I'd never read

The girl on instagram (I wish I would have saved her post so I could link you back to it, but alas, I'm not internet savvy enough to find it again) called this the category "books she wished she DNF'd" (did not finish), but if I start a book, I finish it. And even though DNF-ing has its cheerleaders, I like that I see a book through. If I commit to reading something, it's usually something I really want to read, and it's also something I usually can at least appreciate even if it doesn't become a new favorite. So this was actually the easiest category to figure out. The books I chose immediately came to mind. So I'm changing it to "books I wish I'd never even heard of—much less read".

1 : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

If you've been around for any length of time, you know that this is—without question—my most-hated book I've ever wasted the time to read. So many people that I actually know and that are good friends of mine actually had the gall to recommend this to me, and while I still love those people, I haven't forgiven them for this yet. If you're looking for a book by an Afghani author, read A House Without Windows instead. 

2 : The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

What led to my reading this book was a series of unfortunate events: a Disney movie trailer that looked good, excellent internet reviews, and a bit of naïveté on my part. What resulted was a horrible reading experience, and the movie wasn't even good either. But your girl's a bit wiser now. When I'm vetting a book that wasn't personally recommended by someone I actually know, I check out those one and two star reviews now. A better choice would be The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan. 

3 : The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is one of those books I had to read because everyone thinks it's so amazing. It's on every list of books you must read to be well-read. It's called the "mother of dark academia" for crying out loud. Well, turns out "dark academia" is not for me. At least not The Secret History. This might be the most over-hyped book I've ever read. I'd say give Live Your Best Lie a try instead. While I wouldn't put it in the dark academia category, the vibes are the same. 

three books I wish I could read again for the first time

This category was a bit trickier for me. I am a big fan of re-reading my favorite books until they're literally falling apart in my hands. So, for me, a book with a great twist that I never saw coming would be the thing to qualify it for wanting a first-time experience all over again. If a book leaves me with a stupid grin on my face, or if you can hear me yelling "NO WAY!" as I turn the page, chances are I'd happily wipe my memory for another go-round. For that very reason, I won't expand too much on why I wish I could read these books for the first time because I hope you'll pick them up for yourself.

1 : The Partner by John Grisham

I went through a huge John Grisham phase in high school. The Partner is not one of his most famous, but it's my favorite to this day. I don't have a recap to share, because I read this long before my blogging days—it's been over 20 years, in fact!—but I still remember the way I felt when I got to the end of this book. What a twist!

2 : A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is not what I'd call "light reading" but there's a reason he was the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. The way he brought every thread of this masterful story together at the end blew me away. I remember feeling heartbroken but simultaneously triumphant and a bit awed. If you only read one Charles Dickens in your whole life: let it be A Tale of Two Cities. 

3 : Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Clearly, a very recent addition but also the very first book that popped into my mind for this prompt. And not just because it's so fresh in my memory. Even as I was reading it, I was wishing I could experience it again blind. I went into this book knowing as close to nothing as I possibly could have and it was the best reading experience I've had in quite some time. Please, please, please read this book before you watch the movie.

three books that are high on my TBR

Obviously, this was the hardest category. So many books, so little time! Just in our home library, we have well over 700 unread books, and that's not even counting the wishlist of books I want but don't own...yet. My TBR (to be read) pile is completely out of control. And technically, as you'll see below, I didn't even narrow this down to just three books. None of these are even on my 2026 book list, but I plan on getting to at least two of them before this year is over. 

1 : Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace

I've been meaning to read Ben-Hur ever since the fourth grade when I read Anne of Green Gables for the very first time. Every time I read about my bosom friend Anne Shirley recounting to Marilla how she got caught by Miss Stacy reading Ben-Hur instead of studying her Canadian history—she had just gotten to the chariot race!—I think to myself, "I really need to read Ben-Hur." And I have a gorgeous edition sitting on my shelves that my brother and sister-in-law got me for Christmas a few years ago. When it comes to classics, Ben-Hur is at the top of my list. 

2 : The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

This isn't just one book, it's a whole new series I'm interested in. And I already own the first four volumes. Rumor has it that the author Beth Brower has planned this out be something like a 25-book saga. The ninth volume is set to be published sometime this year. So many of my most trusted book-recommenders have personally urged me to read these books, and my mom (who has already read all the ones I own) has affirmed I will love them. I can't wait to get started.

3 : The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

This is my next book-to-movie adaptation situation, and I just realized that book/movie combos have appeared in all three of these categories. I didn't plan that, but what can I say? Your girl loves a good book, but she also unapologetically loves a night at the movies. We have a few Peter Heller books in ye olde home library, but neither of us have read any of them yet. When the release for The Dog Stars adaptation was announced to be this August, I knew I'd be reading it before hopefully going to see the film. Cody's planning to read it too. 

And there you have it. 

three : three : three

What did you think? I'd love to hear your three : three : three down in the comments!

My Life In Books

Okay guys, I mentioned on Friday when I shared my 2026 book list that I have the next several years of book lists already mapped out. Well, today we're diving deep into my book nerd-dom and I'm going to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about my plans for reading in 2027. I know it's probably way too early for me to be talking about it, but the fact of the matter is: I need your input. And I wanted to give you plenty of time (a whole year!) to participate. So here we go. The unfortunate truth is...

Can you believe it? Because I'm trying not to. 2027 will be the year I achieve four decades of living. Hang on while I go throw up. I'm not one of those people who embraces aging. You won't catch me out here talking about how 40 is the new 20. 40 is 40 and I dread the new ways my body will find to rebel against me. 

Okay Drama Queen, but what does this have to do with your book lists and reading goals?

I'm so glad you asked. 

For many years now, I've thought it would be really cool to read a book from every year of my life. But how do I frame that? Do I make it an ongoing project? Or try to do it in a year? Do I choose best sellers? Or Pulitzer prize winners? Or the most popular book of each year? Suffice it to say, putting all the pieces together to make this idea happen seemed a tad overwhelming. But a few weeks ago, Modern Mrs Darcy asked about niche reading projects on her blog, and I got to thinking about this idea again. And because I have been thinking about a couple other goals I have for myself that I'd like to accomplish before turning 40—goals that are going to take some specific planning ahead if I want to achieve them—one of the pieces for this book project fell into place. The year I turn 40 will be the year I try to read a book from every year of my life so far. 

But how will you ever choose which books to read? 

Again, thanks for asking. Here's where we crank the nerdiness up another notch. I started to wonder if I already own books that have been published every year of my life. And could there possibly be some easier way to figure that out other than pulling every single book off my shelf to check the copyright? As it turns out: yes and yes. There is a way to sort your books on Goodreads by publication year. And since 2021, I've been pretty consistent about keeping my unread shelf updated over there. (And not that we need to dwell on this or anything but I'm sitting at over 700 unread books in our home library. I know.) So I popped over to Goodreads, sorted all my books by publication year, and just like that, I found out I not only have books from every single year of my life: I have options. 

Great, Hannah, so make your list and get on with it. Why are you telling us all this?

Right. This is my favorite part. As I started to compile my list, there were several years where the winner was obvious. I knew exactly which book I would read and there wasn't really any contest. But there were just as many years where I had no idea which book to choose. I want to read them all. And I thought to myself, "Self, how can we narrow this down and make it as fun as possible?" Light bulb. Have people vote. So I proceeded to create a Goodreads poll for every single year that I couldn't decide which book to read. I made them public on January 1st and I'm leaving them open until December 1st. 

Now, the one drawback to all this is that you do have to have a Goodreads account to see (or vote on) Goodreads polls. Goodreads is free and it's super easy to set up an account, but if you have no interest in doing that, I have another solution. I will also be posting a poll weekly on the blog until all the polls are available here too. If you have trouble commenting, never fear. I'll take your response by text or e-mail; heck, I'll take it by postcard or carrier pigeon if it comes to that. I would just love to get as many responses as possible. So—along with voting yourself—feel free to share this with anyone you think would have fun participating. 

There you have it. Is this fun and creative? Or ridiculous and insane? Will you vote? It's all I want for my birthday. 

If you have a Goodreads account and you want to vote now, click here.

If not, the first poll will go live this Thursday and like I said, if you have trouble commenting, don't hesitate to text or e-mail your response instead. It will make my day. 

2026 Book List

Well, look at us waking up in 2026 and making my end-of-year recap and 2026 book list posts back to back. Just like the good old days. Maybe this year I'll get back into some kind of blogging rhythm. 

(I wouldn't make any bets on that if I were you, but if we can't be optimistic at the beginning of a new year, when can we really?)

Listen you guys, I have like, my next four years of book lists mapped out. Ridiculous? Maybe, but I just have so many ideas for book lists and I can only put them into action one year at a time. This year's plan is to round up every book I ever put on a book list and make a new list out of all the ones I never got around to reading. Everything added up, that came out to twenty-one books, plus I added five more including the Shakespearean plays I want to read this year and, of course, a presidential biography. (Technically, the biography could be considered part of the round-up of books from past lists, but I'm not trying to put that kind of pressure on myself with the presidents. I know you probably don't care about this kind of nerdy minutiae or the inner workings of my mind, but this blog isn't just for you, okay? It's for me too.)

Anyways, when all is said and done, I have a starting list of twenty-six books for 2026, and you guys, I just realized it as I typed it out: 26 in '26! Truly a coincidence, but how serendipitous. 

Here's the stack:

Let's go through them one by one, shall we?

Walking with God Day by Day : Martyn Lloyd-Jones

President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein

Merry Wives of Windsor : William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus : William Shakespeare

A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears : Jules Feiffer

from my 2015 book list

When God Writes Your Life Story : Eric & Leslie Ludy

The Quiet Little Woman : Louisa May Alcott

The Red Badge of Courage : Stephen Crane

Adopted for Life : Russell Moore

from my 2019 book list

Crime and Punishment : Fyodor Dostoevsky

1984 : George Orwell

from my 2020 book list

The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland : Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass : Lewis Carroll

from my 2022 book list

Housekeeping : Marilynne Robinson

from my 2023 book list

The Case for a Creator : Lee Strobel

As I Lay Dying : William Faulkner

A Gentleman in Moscow : Amor Towles

Carry On, Jeeves : P.G. Wodehouse

The Chosen : Chaim Potok

The Starless Sea : Erin Morgenstern

A Red Herring Without Mustard : Alan Bradley

from my 2025 book list

Living Life Backward : David Gibson

Hannah Coulter : Wendell Berry

Brideshead Revisited : Evelyn Waugh

A Farewell to Arms : Ernest Hemingway

I'm really excited with how this list turned out, but it does feel a little daunting too. (Although can we all breathe a sigh of relief that David Copperfield didn't carry over into another new year?) With working full-time outside my home again, I've had to get really intentional with my reading time and there was definitely a period of adjustment with that, but I'm excited to tackle this list and finally check these books off my unread shelf. 

From our crazy hats to yours, here's to a very merry 2026. Let's read all the best books this year!

Are you optimistic about fresh resolutions at the beginning of a new year? Or is it just another day? Any books you're especially excited to get to this year? Would you like to read any from my list with me? 

Let's Bust a Recap : 2025

Well, here we are at the start of another brand new year. To be completely honest with you, I am not sad to see 2025 go. There were a lot of crummy, hard, sad things this year. It was maybe even worse than 2020 for me. But like I did in 2020, I want to thank God for some of the blessings that made 2025 a little more bearable. 

Like marking year 13 of life together with the best guy ever. 

Like welcoming a new niece and a new nephew into the family and getting to have all my Hancock chicks together at my favorite place: the beach.

Like honoring my amazing parents' 40th anniversary by surprising my mom with all her kids in the same place at the same time. 

Like trying our hand at growing some things and seeing the tomatoes go gangbusters. 

Like having my best friends visit me this summer and going to baseball games galore. 

Like getting a full-time job at Walmart which is exhausting but also great for my mental health. 

Like fun little surprises in the mail, and going to the lake, and the leaves changing color, and late night movie dates, and Christmas lights, and little hands helping decorate the tree. 

And, of course, always having books, books, and more books to read. Especially on the front porch with something cold—or hot, as the case may be—at hand to drink and my husband reading his book beside me.

Yes, there have been hard things. Yes, there are things I wish I could change about this past year. But God is faithful, He has given me strength and protected me from the evil one. 

Okay, now back to all those books. This year, I made a starting list for myself of twenty books....and I read thirteen of them. Whomp whomp. But let's talk about my secret goal. This year, my secret goal was to actually finish David Copperfield. Which has been on and off my book lists since 2019. Which I started reading back in February of 2023. Which I kept picking up all year but didn't ultimately finish it till last night at 8:18 PM, and yes I did in fact mark the exact time I read the words "The End." Another down-to-the-wire finish, but I'm just super-jazzed I did it. 

Overall, I finished the year with a nice round total of 40 books read. And you know the drill: here they all are with my quick thoughts on a bunch of them. 

January

A Separate Peace by John Knowles : completed 1/25

Broke my heart. A masterpiece.

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (re-read; read aloud) : completed 1/30

I've been bugging Cody to read Little Men ever since he finished Little Women and he finally just let me read it aloud to him. Great way to start the year.

February

Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare : completed 2/23

Silvia the GOAT!

Open Your Heart by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 2/28

Can't go a year without some Robin Jones Gunn.

March

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah : completed 3/7

Definitely lived up to the hype.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 3/13

Cody and I read the whole Harry Potter series together this year! 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (re-read; partial read aloud) : completed 3/16

I started reading the Lunar Chronicles to Cody but it proved to be too YA and girly for him, so we switched to Harry Potter instead. (I still had to finish my re-read of Cinder though.)

April

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 4/9

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand : completed 4/27

Phenomenal. Please give us a collection of Laura Hillenbrand's freelance work, Publishing People. 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 4/29

May

Fervent by Priscilla Shirer : completed 5/14

Still planning to recap this one, but suffice it to say: I needed this book this year.

Tales of Peter Rabbit and His Friends by Beatrix Potter (read aloud) : completed 5/22

You can never have enough Beatrix Potter.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : completed 5/28

Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt : completed 5/31

Still s l o w l y working my way through my presidential biographies goal. 

June

Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr (library book) : completed 6/9

Completely without guile. Loved this sweet Norwegian book.

Animal Farm by George Orwell : completed 6/29

Oof.

-David Copperfield still hanging over my head halfway through the year-

July

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (re-read; read aloud) : completed 7/25

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han : completed 7/26

Meh.

Desiring God by John Piper : completed 7/30

Helpful but wouldn't necessarily recommend.

August

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han : completed 8/12

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate : completed 8/23

Did not live up to the hype. Recap coming.

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han : completed 8/25

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 8/28

This was the point in the series that Cody had not previously read by himself so I really enjoyed reading the last three books with him.

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare : completed 8/30

Going into another new year behind on my Shakespeare recaps. Will definitely be writing one soon!

September

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp : completed 9/6

One of my favorite books of the year. This was so good. 

Home by Julie Andrews : completed 9/14

Home Work by Julie Andrews : completed 9/18

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter : completed 9/22

Instantly achieved All-Time Favorite status.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 9/23

Cody said this was his favorite book of the series.

Time Will Tell by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 9/29

October

The World's Best Fairy Tales edited by Belle Becker Sideman (read aloud) : 

completed 10/3

Not planning to do a full recap on this so I'm going to do a mini one here. Starting in July of 2024 I read all 69 fairy tales aloud—we couldn't find one more story to make it an even 70??—to various people in my life, including nieces, nephews, my husband, my best friends, and kids I babysit. It was a wild ride. Probably the craziest story was The Bronze Ring which I read with my nephew. I don't even know how to describe how crazy that story is to you. Right when we thought it couldn't possibly get zanier, we were wrong. You should look it up and read it sometime. It's by Henri Carnoy.

The Poetry of Robert Frost : completed 10/28

Also not planning to do a recap on this. How do you even recap poetry? Some of it I loved, some of it went over my head, some of it I don't care if I ever read again, some of it I bookmarked to read over and over. I loved incorporating poetry more consistently into my overall reading. 

November 

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) : completed 11/8

When I started working at Walmart, Anne Shirley went with me to keep me company on my breaks. I'll never get tired of Avonlea.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson : completed 11/14

Still waiting for someone to explain how this became so mainstream.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (re-read) : completed 11/25

December 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley : completed 12/2

"How dare you sport thus with life?" So good. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (re-read; read aloud) : 

completed 12/21

NEVILLE!!! I'll never get over him chopping off Nagini's head. I actually lost my voice reading this one to Cody with all the screaming at the end. I put my all into it.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (re-read) : completed 12/24

Did I or did I not say you will catch me reading this every Christmas for the rest of my life?

Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon : completed 12/31

They don't call him the "Prince of Preachers" for nothing. 

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens : completed 12/31

It felt so good to check this one off. Recap coming so soon, I promise. 

So many good books read, and so many more to read. I hope your 2026 is better than your 2025. Even if you had a great 2025, I hope 2026 is still better. May we all be as unbothered as Colonel when little hands are decorating him for Christmas. You know what I'm going to say...

...keep reading the best books first.

My 10 Favorite Books From the Last 10 Years

Well, happy May then. Can you even believe we've got four months of 2025 under our belts? And yes, I missed another whole month of blogging. This year has been a tough one so far, and things that happened in my personal life last month made it difficult to even read, much less blog. But I did have an idea pop into my head to go over all the books I've read these past ten years and pick my personal top ten favorites. So that's what I'm sharing with you today.

As I thought about the books from the past decade of my reading life that rocketed onto my personal list of All-Time Favorites, it actually wasn't too hard to come up with the ten best. 

These are not ten brand new books. But they are books that I read for the very first time over these past ten years. Some of them are books I had never heard of, some I'd been meaning to get to for ages, some are books that I knew would be good for me to read but didn't realize how much would move me or completely delight me. Without further ado: My 10 Favorite Books From the Last 10 Years (in the order I originally read them, not ranked in any way).

To Kill A Mockingbird 

First Published: July 1960

My First Time Reading: January 2016

This Southern classic by Harper Lee is often assigned reading in school, but I missed out on it during my growing up years. Wise Atticus Finch and his two children Scout and Jem, their cook Calpurnia and mysterious neighbor Boo Radley: these characters immediately embedded themselves in the hearts of readers the world over, leading to a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award winning film (which I still have not seen). It's about time I picked To Kill A Mockingbird up again and give it another read. 

The Hiding Place

First Published: November 1971

My First Time Reading: August 2017

I grew up knowing the story of Corrie ten Boom's family and their work to hide Jews from the Nazis during World War II, but I didn't get around to reading her book for myself until 2017. It is now the first book I recommend to anyone regardless of age, gender, personal reading preferences, or any other factor. Everyone should read this book. 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

First Published: July 2008

My First Time Reading: August 2018

I stumbled across this title by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows browsing one of my favorite secondhand bookshops and ended up reading it right away thanks to the encouragement of a fellow reader I had befriended over the internet. What a serendipitous jumble of events. This epistolary novel set right after the German occupation of the Channel Island of Guernsey during WWII is an ode to book lovers. Instant favorite. 

Tuck Everlasting

First Published: 1975

My First Time Reading: March 2020

I'm not sure if I even knew Disney's 2002 film was adapted from Natalie Babbitt's thoroughly charming children's novel when I watched it in high school, but upon discovering it was and then coming across a copy in a secondhand shop, it ended up being one of the first books I read after COVID-19 caused a global shutdown. I remember feeling so regretful about missing out on this book for so much of my life. And I blame Disney for part of that because the movie is entirely forgettable and certainly didn't inspire me to seek out the brilliant source material. 

The Penderwicks

First Published: 2005-2018

My First Time Reading: June 2021

Technically, this first book by Jeanne Birdsall is meant to represent the five book series in its entirety so I guess this list is actually my favorite fourteen books from the last ten years. Semantics. I immediately fell for the Penderwick sisters, their lovable dog Hound, and the lonely boy Jeffrey whom they befriend. This series is a delight from beginning to end.

The Secret Garden

First Published: August 1911

My First Time Reading: September 2021

I read Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic when COVID-19 finally caught me in 2021. The story of neglected little Mary Lennox and her awakening to childhood and joy and friendship and nature utterly captivated me. This book is just lovely.

Gone With the Wind

First Published: June 1936

My First Time Reading: October/November 2021

Gone With the Wind is one of the books on this list that I had been meaning to get around to reading for ages but was daunted by the sheer size of Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece. I needn't have worried. I was swept up in the saga of Tara and its young mistress Scarlett O'Hara as she faced the onset of the Civil War, then had to pick up the pieces in the aftermath during the Reconstruction. An epic, for sure.

Cold Sassy Tree

First Published: November 1984

My First Time Reading: May 2023

I grew up in ignorance of the existence of Olive Ann Burns' Southern historical novel, but it didn't take me long to realize it would be a treasured favorite. Will Tweedy's coming of age in 1906 small town Georgia stole my heart and took me straight back to my own teenage years, sprawled across my grandmother's bed listening to my own family history. 

Dandelion Wine

First Published: 1957

My First Time Reading: Summer 2024

Not only is Dandelion Wine now one of my All-Time Favorite books, but Ray Bradbury is quickly becoming one of my All-Time Favorite authors. This interconnected collection of short stories centered around the Spaulding boys is a pure hit of nostalgia, summertime distilled into a novel. Dandelion Wine should be savored slowly and stretched to its absolute limits. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

First Published: 1972

My First Time Reading: November 2024

Are you kidding me? Barbara Robinson and her awful Herdman kids teaching their small town the true meaning of Christmas when they hijack the annual pageant is an absolute gem. I will be reading this every Christmas for the rest of my life. 

My All-Time Favorite books can be characterized like this: they make me laugh and cry, I'm sad when I get to the end and want to start over again immediately, and they are the books I reach for when everything else in life is too hard to face. Discovering the charms of these books over the past ten years has been a boon to my soul, and I look forward to what the next ten years of reading will unearth for me. 

What are some of your All-Time Favorite books? Have you discovered any new ones in the past ten years? 

2025 Book List

Does she have a book list this year? Is she doing this blog thing anymore? Was it just some kind of a ten-year project and now it's over?

All valid questions and to answer them: yes, I have a 2025 book list; yes, still hanging in with the blog; and don't worry, I'm planning to keep this thing going for the foreseeable future. 

Last month—yes, the month I didn't post a single thing around here—this blog turned 10. It seems hard to believe I've been sharing bookish thoughts with the internet at large for ten whole years now, but it's actually true. It has morphed over the years and there are some months I go radio silent, but I've pretty much stuck to my stated goal "to be intentional about what I read and to share about my literary adventures." And overall, it's pretty fun so I'm going to keep doing it. Thank you for coming along for any part of it. 

After taking stock at the end of last year and beginning of this year, I've admitted to myself that I get the most out of my reading life when I make myself a smaller book list at the beginning of the year (about 20 books or less) and complete the entire list while adding in comfortable re-reads, buddy reads with friends, or something that just catches my attention at the right time. The first year I made myself a book list—and subsequently started this blog for personal accountability—was 2015 and that was kind of a figuring things out year. From 2016-2018 I stuck to the smaller list that I could actually finish format and loved it. From 2019-2024, I experimented with internet challenges, TBR Jars, longer lists, and letting my whims guide me, and while all of that was fun and I read some really great books, I ended each year feeling less satisfied with my reading life than I was in the 2016-18 era. So we're going back to what works best for me and this year, I made a starting list of 20 books. 

Morning & Evening : Charles Spurgeon

Desiring God : John Piper

Living Life Backward : David Gibson

The Poetry of Robert Frost Complete & Unabridged

Franklin Pierce : Michael F. Holt

President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein

The Devil in the White City : Erik Larson

Seabiscuit : Laura Hillenbrand

Two Gentlemen of Verona : William Shakespeare

Coriolanus : William Shakespeare

David Copperfield : Charles Dickens

A Separate Peace : John Knowles

Hannah Coulter : Wendell Berry

A Gentleman in Moscow : Amor Towles

Before We Were Yours : Lisa Wingate

The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton

Brideshead Revisited : Evelyn Waugh

A Farewell to Arms : Ernest Hemingway

Animal Farm : George Orwell

Frankenstein : Mary Shelley

This year's list is made up of books I plan to read with my sister-in-law (hey, Caroline!), a couple that my husband picked out for me (Desiring God; Living Life Backward), some that will have feature film adaptations I want to see coming out this year (Animal Farm; Frankenstein), and, of course, my signature Shakespeare plays and presidential biographies. I've already finished reading two books from the list (and two that are not on this list), and if you glance over to that "Currently Reading" widget to the right, it's true that I'm actively reading nine books right now. Which maybe accounts for my blog silence. But it's all fun and I'm looking forward to the books I'll read in 2025. 

As for this blog, can I ask you a question or three? What do you like? What do you not like? Is there anything you'd like to see around here? I can't promise that anything will change, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. I truly do appreciate all of you who take the time to read my silly ramblings and cheer me on in my reading ventures. 

What have you been reading lately?

Let's Bust a Recap : 2024

Happy 2025! How are we all doing? If you're wondering how things are going over here, let me just tell you that 2024 ended up being the first year in ten(!) years of blogging that I did not get my year-end recap up on December 31st. Cody and I said goodbye to the old year and crawled into 2025 heavily medicated, watching movies, drinking a lot of throat coat tea, and cursing the flu for taking us down.  

I've finally rejoined the land of the living though and I'm ready to take a final look back over last year's reading so I can file it away and get cracking on my 2025 reading goals. 

2024 was....an interesting reading year for me. It felt a little all over the place. I didn't make much of a list for myself and decided to let a TBR Jar guide my reading life. The TBR Jar didn't work out too well for me in 2019, and it wasn't exactly a success last year either. My secret goal for 2024 was to read twelve titles drawn out of the Jar. Easy, right?

I read a total of 56 books last year.

Six of them were from the TBR Jar. (I'm over halfway through my seventh one and really thought I could finish it by the end of the year, but the flu had other ideas.)

So I only accomplished half of what my secret goal was. Feel free to insert all the laughing/crying emojis right about here. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. On top of that, I didn't complete a single presidential biography in 2024. *shrugs* It is what it is. In spending a little time these past few days looking back at ten years worth of book lists and reading accomplishments, I think I've nailed down what works best for me and some things that just aren't my jam which I'll share more about when I post my 2025 Book List *hopefully* sometime next week. 

In the meantime, we've got the 56 books I did read in 2024 to get through so enjoy my quick takes on what I read last year. 

January

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-read) : completed 1/2

You can never go wrong starting your year off with a little Jane Austen.

The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson (read aloud) : completed 1/3

This was carried over from 2023, but we finished it up quickly. Cody and I loved this series. 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett : completed 1/18

Loved this book until I hated it. And then I really hated it. 

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl (read aloud) : completed 1/29

Not my favorite Dahl books in 2024. 

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (TBR jar) : completed 1/29

Started the year strong with my monthly title out of the TBR Jar going quickly for me. 

February

The Secret History by Donna Tartt : completed 2/24

Ugh. Another carryover from 2023 and my least favorite book of 2024. I immediately stuck it in a Little Free Library after finally finishing it. You'll notice it's the only book I managed to finish in February so I quickly got knocked off my goal of reading a book from the TBR Jar every month. Ha!

March

Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan (read aloud) : completed 3/3

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare : completed 3/9

The Secret History also managed to knock me off my annual tradition of a Shakespearean comedy in February. The Merchant of Venice ended up being a fun one though.

Bucket List Family Travel by Jessica Gee : completed 3/12

Wasn't planning to read this coffee table book, but enjoyed every word along with all the gorgeous photos.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri (TBR jar) : completed 3/23

The second book to come out of the TBR Jar was one I probably wouldn't have gotten to for a long time otherwise (which was the point of the jar in the first place) and it made me want to read more books by Christy Lefteri. 

Unveiled by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 3/27

I've been wanting to revisit these little novellas for quite some time now, and Teresa's study was the perfect excuse to finally pick them back up.

Unashamed by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 3/31

April

Unshaken by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 4/12

Only You, Sierra by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 4/14

After reading through the Christy Miller books in 2023, I decided to keep going this year with her Sierra Jensen series. 

Unspoken by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 4/20

While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away by Mary Nash (re-read; read aloud) : completed 4/23

Super fun revisiting this as an adult by reading it aloud with my nieces and nephews. 

In Your Dreams by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 4/24

You'll notice I did not get to any TBR Jar books this month. 

May

Esio Trot by Roald Dahl (read aloud) : completed 5/5

Don't You Wish by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 5/6

DisGraced by Teresa Whiting : completed 5/7

I'm not usually one to review Bible studies on this blog, but then again, I'm also not usually one to complete a study without missing some of the homework here and there. I did T's study cover to cover and was highly encouraged by it.

Christ From Beginning to End by Trent Hunter & Stephen Wellum (read aloud) : completed 5/8

Excellent.

Lie Until It's True by Jessie Weaver : completed 5/14

Another unputdownable YA murder mystery from Jessie. I keep haunting her socials to see if a new book has been announced. 

Close Your Eyes by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 5/17

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton (TBR jar) : completed 5/26

Maybe I was going for an every-other-month rhythm with the TBR Jar?

June

The Hunting of the Last Dragon by Sherryl Jordan : completed 6/3

The book that was not meant for six year old ears. Oops. 

Unafraid by Francine Rivers (re-read) : completed 6/9

The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk by Donald J. Sobol (read aloud) : completed 6/13

Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn (TBR jar) : completed 6/13

Delighted to see RJG pop out of the jar. And hey! that's two months in a row!

Without a Doubt by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 6/30

July

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 7/11

I had an absolute blast reading the Ramona series aloud with my niece and nephews this year. They loved Ramona as much as I do. 

Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 7/16

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (read aloud) : completed 7/23

Update: Cody and I finally started watching the miniseries last night!

Closer Than a Sister by Christina Fox : completed 7/30

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy : completed 7/31

Fun reading this with my mom and sister and then all watching the fantastic film adaption together. 

August

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 8/17

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (TBR jar) : completed 8/28

Favorite book of the year. 

September

A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi (TBR jar) : completed 9/3

Recap still to come, but this was another one I wouldn't have chosen for myself and I'm glad the jar chose it for me.

Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare : completed 9/7

Was a week behind with my tragedy too, but enjoyed Timon despite the lackluster ending.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd : completed 9/14

Another first-rate book-to-movie reading/watching experience with my mom. 

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance : completed 9/26

Boooooo. 

With This Ring by Robin Jones Gunn (re-read) : completed 9/27

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (read aloud) : completed 9/28

Thank you to Hurricane Helene for being the catalyst for some spooky read-alouds with Cody. 

Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 9/29

We also crushed a lot of Ramona during our week without power after Helene.

October

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 10/4

Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 10/6

Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin : completed 10/11

Recap coming soon.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson (partial read aloud) : completed 10/13

My other Helene-induced spooky read with Cody. 

Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn : completed 10/19

Tea with Elephants?! Despite sounding tailor-made for me, this one was a little bit of a letdown. Recap coming.

November

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (re-read; partial read aloud) : completed 11/12

The best book (series) of all time, and I will stand by that till my dying day. I've lost count of how many times I've read through the Anne books.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson : completed 11/16

Catch me reading this every Christmas for the rest of my life.

a book by S. Osborne : completed 11/17

I will post a recap soon, and when I do: don't miss it.

The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton Morgan (library book) : completed 11/22

Definitely enjoyed.

Grimoire Girl by Hilarie Burton Morgan (library book) : completed 11/26

Could have skipped.

December 

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz (library book) : completed 12/3

Best of the three. Fascinating. 

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary (read aloud) : completed 12/25

We finished up the entire Ramona series, and you better believe we'll be back at it with more Beverly Cleary in 2025.

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson : completed 12/26

I'll be recapping this, but closing the year with this Advent devotional was exactly what I needed.

***

As you may have noticed, I made a herculean effort to catch the blog up at the end of the year, but there are several recaps "coming soon" because between a hurricane, the holidays, an out-of-state wedding in between Christmas and the new year, and a nasty flu bug: there's only so much a girl can do. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I hope the end of your 2024 and the beginning of your 2025 were a lot more joyful and healthy than mine turned out to be. Tune back in next week for my 2025 Book List and until then....

....keep reading the best books first.

2024 Book List

Let's all take a deep, cleansing breath, shall we? Another year is gone and a brand new year is upon us. If you joined me yesterday in looking back at what I read in 2023, you know that I read more quantitatively than I ever have before. 

And to be honest? It felt like it. A bit overloaded, borderline frantically trying to hit my secret goal each month. I read a lot of great books. I enjoyed re-reading my Christy Millers. Becoming a more frequent library patron was fun. But as I looked over what I'd read, I felt bummed about the books I didn't get to. 

What?!

It's time for a reset. I've decided to bring back an idea that seems like a lot of fun, but didn't work very well for me on the first go-around. 

That's right. We're bringing back the TBR Jar. I toyed around with this concept in 2019, but it didn't go very well. I tried to do too much. I made myself a list, I attempted my first online reading challenge, and I threw in the idea of this TBR Jar, and I ultimately only drew one title out of it all year long. So I scrapped it. But I still love the idea of drawing a title at random and letting fate guide my reading life. I went through my shelves and wrote down hundreds of titles that I haven't gotten around to reading yet and threw them all in the jar. (Or bucket as my brother laughingly called it when he saw it.) I made myself a teeny tiny skeleton list, á la 2021, to stay on track with my presidents and Shakespeare, but for everything else, I'll either be plucking a slip of paper from the Jar or cozying up with a favorite re-read (and—let's be real—probably a few books from the library). It ought to be real interesting, and I'm excited to see where the winds take me in 2024. Here's the skeleton list:

Franklin Pierce : Michael F. Holt

President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein

The Merchant of Venice : William Shakespeare

Timon of Athens : William Shakespeare

Cody and I have also chosen a few books we'd like to read aloud together, and I'll be reading through the New International Version of the Bible this year too. I'd like to get through about 24 books in 2024. There are several doorstops in the TBR Jar (like Les Mis, War and Peace, Moby Dick to name a few) so aiming for about two books a month seems like the most reasonable goal. We'll see what happens though. It's time to slow down and settle back in to a cozier reading rhythm and I'm looking forward to it. 

Cheers to you and cheers to 2024! 

Do you like to make resolutions at the beginning of a new year?