Category: Books

About a year and a half ago, a new Barnes & Noble location opened up near me, and of course I went to the grand opening. I went back in February with a friend and bought so many books! Embarrassingly, I even earned a free tote for spending so much money!

And, unfortunately, on April 20th, a different local location closed. So, naturally I went to their 50% closing sale! Here’s what I got:

AND! Roomhate by Penelope Ward and Pucked by Helena Hunting have sprayed edges, folx! Which I absolutely love, of course! Here they are:

Unfortunately you can’t really see in the photo, but the purple one on the right end is called Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You Through Every Chapter of Life by Molly Masters. It seems like more of a reference book, but I’m exited to dip into that one as well!

I’m very excited to read all of these books! Actually, It’s Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan I had listened to on audio during the beginning of the pandemic. It was so, so good, so I had to add a copy to my physical shelves!

Hannah Mary McKinnon is one of my favorite authors, and her book The Revenge List was only available on audio from the library, therefore I’ve been dragging my feet to read it. I was so surprised when I happened upon it at Barnes & Noble!

Act Cool by Tobly McSmith has also been on my TBR for a long time, practically since I read the author’s other book, Stay Gold and I’m super excited for this one, too!

The funny thing is, I kind of wish I’d put spine labels on the books before I photographed them because half of the authors’ last names start with “Mc”, and more than half start with “M.” I totally didn’t plan that! Plus, I got them in all different sections – YA, nonfiction, fiction, mystery/thriller and romance.

I had so much fun shopping at Barnes & Noble and I look forward to doing so again, soon!

I moved across town almost 3 years ago, to my grandmother’s house after she passed, and it’s been a special experience for me to be living in the house my mom grew up in. I also love the location of the new house, as it’s walking distance to more things, and the best part – it doesn’t flood like our old house!

My favorite part about our new house is that our spare bedroom – which we didn’t have in the old house either – is my personal library, with (almost) all of my bookshelves in it. I want to share photos of those bookshelves here. I do have one large bookshelf with all my nonfiction in my bedroom as well, and also a book cart with my Book of the Month books on it, too. I must own over 1,000 physical books!

Here is a photo of my cubby holes in my home library, where I have all of my children’s books. I have picture books from my childhood as well as signed middle grade books that I acquired at BEA (Book Expo America, a trade show that went by the wayside after the pandemic) and my Harry Potter collection.

Next is my adult bookshelf between the door to my library and the closet in the library. It’s the tallest bookshelf I have in the library, and it’s full! I actually had to find a space to put my overflow of books, and decided to make the bottom shelf of my book cart my overflow shelf.

The short bookshelf next to the bed (the room also serves as a guest room, after all) is my second YA bookshelf. It sits on the wall around the corner from my cubby holes. On top of that bookcase sits a book-themed tissue box as well as a container with all my bookmarks.

This is my first YA bookshelf (starting with A – yes, I alphabetize my bookshelves like the real librarian I am!). Also, meet Madison, the comfort cat that was my grandmother’s in her advanced years. She’s the perfect library cat! The YA shelf sits beside the library couch, my favorite indoor reading spot! To the left are the built in drawers where we keep the bedsheets.

This is the last shelf in my library, adjacent to my mom’s writing desk. This bookcase is where I keep all the books I’m selling on PangoBooks. Please take a look at my shop and buy some! 🙂 

And, I can’t resist – here is the bookshelf and book cart which are in my room:

I hope you’ve enjoyed all the photos I’ve shared of my various bookshelves. I have to say, I am proud of how they’re organized! I hope you love them just as much as I do!

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 36 on March 6, and my family and friends showed up this year (let’s face it, they show up every year) and got me sooo many bookish gifts!

So, I thought I’d do a blog post and show you some photos of what I got! In all, I got 8 books on my wishlist, 7 pairs of bookish earrings, a bookish cat necklace, a cute bookish pencil holder for my desk, and an embosser with my name on it!

Books Received:
The Nightingale (10th Anniversary Edition with sprayed edges!) by Kristin Hannah
She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica
Murdle: Volume 1 by G.T. Karber
More Or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
The Couple Next Door by Shari LaPena
Bella Vita by Mary Belle

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! I’m just popping on to say hello and to post some photos of my bookish Christmas gifts! I got so many this year, some which were on my wish list, and some which were surprises. I got some shirts, books, bookish totes, and a new Kindle, among other bookish things! Here are the photos:

I’ll admit, I’ve had this Kindle since the summer when my Kindle Fire died, but my parents and I agreed it would be a Christmas gift, so my mom wrapped the box, and I opened it as a reminder on Christmas morning. I honestly had forgotten! How else would I have kept up with my Netgalley reviews all these months?

My aunt met the author Mary Belle and got the book signed, personalized and inscribed for me. So cool! And I received The Uncommon Reader from one of my new coworkers at the staff holiday party.

This cute bookish item was on my wishlist, and Santa brought it! It has a photo of a book with flowers coming out of it, and it says “One More Chapter.” The round spot is for my coffee mug, and the rectangle is for my phone. I love this thing!

These t-shirts are awesome and I intend to add them to my weekly rotation. The one on the left is from my sister, brother-in-law and two-month-old niece, and the one on the right is from my parents. I love them both!

These three book totes are perfect for lugging all my books back and forth to the library for my weekly trips! The “All We Read Is Love” is from my aunt, uncle and cousins, the one that says “There Is No Such Thing As Too Many Books” is from another coworker, and “When In Doubt Go to the Library” matches the shirt I got from my parents, and it’s also from them.

So, as my grandfather used to like to say, I “made out like a bandit!” I can’t believe how my family and friends spoiled me this Christmas with all these bookish gifts! I owe them a huge thank you!!! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Did you know that I listen to two fabulous book podcasts? They’re available on my phone’s podcast app, and all I have to do is stick a pair of headphones in (or not) and listen right from there. It’s so simple, yet so exciting! I’ve been listening for years now.

The first one I started listening to was Sarah’s Bookshelves Live, hosted by Sarah Dickinson. The episodes come out every other Wednesday. Her format, for the most part, is that she has a guest on, or a guest host such as Catherine Gilmore from Gilmore Guide to Books or Susie from the Novel Visits blog. Sarah then asks her partner for the episode to share “two old books they love, two new books they love and one new release they’re excited about.” I think this is a simple format and it is perfect for book recommendations. She also does interviews with authors on her podcast, so has a conversation with great, thoughtful questions for her guests. This is the first book podcast I started listening to, and I couldn’t imagine my reading life without it!

The other book podcast I listen to is the Currently Reading Podcast, whose two main hosts, Meredith Monday-Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb are just two of the most awesome book people I “know.” Their part-time hosts are: Mary, Mindy and Bunmi. All of these ladies come together and put on an incredible show for book lovers. The format is that two of them are on one episode, and they each share three books they’re currently reading, giving a “set-up” for each book. Then they also do a deep dive, a discussion on anything book related or book adjacent. Then they “visit the fountain,” and each share a bookish wish. I should mention that the fountain is a new thing, and they used to press books into your hands. You can find the list of their presses on their website here.

I’m also a patron via Patreon for both of these podcasts (which means I pay a small fee to get bonus content like extra episodes and access to their Facebook groups so that I can interact with other listeners). It is beyond worth it! These book podcasts enrich my reading life (and my reading list) so much. I am grateful for all of the people involved in these podcasts, from the hosts, to the guests, to the people behind the scenes.

Please follow Sarah, Meredith and Kaytee on Instagram!

Do you listen to either of these book podcasts? If not, do you listen to any others? Comment below!

Ages 14+

Have you been wanting to diversify your reading but aren’t sure where to start? Bibliophile: Diverse Spines is a wonderful book with book lists that are sure to drastically increase your TBR (to-be-read) list. It includes book lists in various genres that feature diverse authors and even mentions unique bookstores from around the country and around the world. So, what are you waiting for? Dive in now!