Updates + Some News!

There are a whole lot of reasons I haven't been posting much these days, but one of my favorite distractions of late has been a bit of exciting news...

We are expecting a little girl at the end of January! I am so looking forward to reading all the baby books with her that my son has been outgrowing. And I will also admit, I won't mind one bit being the main decision-maker on storytime choices again -- at least for a little while!

My son has started 3-year old nursery school (and LOVES it), so those extra blocks of child-free time have been much appreciated. It is really incredible though how quickly school mornings fly by. Both my To-Do and Would-Like-To-Do lists always seem so much more doable at drop-off time than when pick-up time creeps closer and closer!

It has been harder to find the time to blog regularly, but I really do miss it. I've said this before, but I have tons of ideas swirling around for blog posts -- it's just the practicalities of getting them out of my brain and onto the screen! In case you missed it, I did start a bookish Instagram account (find me @bucklingbookshelves) and I've been a bit more consistent posting over there. I also update my Goodreads account very regularly if you're wondering what I've been reading lately -- if we haven't connected on Goodreads yet, let's be friends!

The thing is, I'm finding I usually prefer to spend my limited spare time actually READING than writing about reading -- which is somewhat unfortunate because I'd really like to do both! But I also need to remind myself that 1. I don't need to be spending hours on long blog posts and 2. meticulous editing is unnecessary (I blame the perfectionist in me!) in order to be more active here again. Come January, we will be onto a brand new phase and life will (happily) be turned a bit upside down again. Hopefully between now and then I'll figure out a rhythm that works better for me -- and then I'll get to figure it out all over again in the new year :)

* * * * *

P.S. You may -- or may not! -- have noticed the blog has a new look. I previously had a background I really loved, but it was a freebie and one day I logged in to see it had simply vanished. I don't know exactly how all that works, but I certainly didn't want a completely blank background, so I quickly threw up a photo of my own bookshelves. I wasn't sure that was going to be permanent solution, but I've decided I rather like it!

My Little Bookworm

My son won't turn 3 until April, so he is still pretty little. Logically my brain knows this, but man, looking at pictures of when he was really little are getting me all nostalgic already. I've hardly shared any photos of him here on the blog, but realized looking through my phone recently that I have some bookish ones I really love. So I'm indulging myself in a little walk down memory lane (and a bunch of recent shots) mini-bookworm style :) 

Quite pleased with himself for pulling out my bookmark!

The beginnings of actual interest in looking at the pictures.

This shelf should be empty, right? I'm working on it, Ma.

Dump!

2nd Christmas card photo.

And now I must investigate Daddy's shelves.

I'm chillin' with some of your books Ma, OK?

Wheels on the Bus + Pete the Cat are a winning combination.

That book's bigger than you kid!

Right before he got REALLY mad he couldn't sit on that book stack and read the bottom one at the same time.

Books and buddies on summer vacation.

He was absorbed in that book for an unheard of amount of time at the used bookstore. Needless to say, we bought it.

A rare shot of me reading to him!

Daddy's turn!

At the library.

Book break before the Halloween parade at the library.

A book to fall asleep by, just like Mom.

Yup, this has been a pretty regular occurrence lately.

And again.

Or sometimes he's just NOT napping and tearing the shelves apart instead. I know we have a lot of books, but it never seems like THAT many books until they are all on the floor.

Reading Pooh to Pooh.

I love this expression!

The appeal of limited choices... and the irony of my overflowing bookshelves

Last week I was away on my family's annual summer beach vacation to Ocean City, NJ. It's not as well-known as Ocean City, MD, but it holds a special place in my heart. I was there for my first birthday (not that I remember it!) and in my (almost) 32 years, I think I've only completely missed the trip one summer. To be honest, there's nothing fancy or even terribly unique about it, it's *just* a family-friendly beach town far enough from home to be a getaway, but not so far that the drive is miserable. And while it may not particularly stand out compared to any number of other beach towns along the coast, I absolutely love it. For me, it really doesn't get much better than sitting by the ocean with my feet in the sand and a book in my lap (and hiding under the umbrella, thank you very much). 

The beach photos aren't current, but it pretty much looks the same :)

My husband knew Ocean City is pretty much my favorite place on the planet which is why he chose to propose there (10 years ago!) And while I love lots of beach "activities" as my brother likes to call them, this year was all about the relaxation. Little man had lots of people to play with and look out for him, so mama got a much needed break (even if we were up at the crack o' dawn every morning.)

This is all basically a long-winded way of saying that I read a bunch of books last week! I had a bag packed with Newberys, novels-in-verse, a poetry collection, and a couple of really beautiful chapter books. I chose all of them from my own shelves and focused mostly on ones I'd excitedly acquired recently, but hadn't gotten around to reading yet. I did make a last minute stop at the library on our way out of town (literally) to pick up my hold for book #4 of The Naturals series, but that was the only library book I had with me. I was really looking forward to reading it after finishing book #3, so I couldn't resist diving into that one first on vacation. Despite it being a real page-turner, it did take up a big chunk of my vacation reading time. (And this means I actually FINISHED a whole series! You guys, that's kind of big for me. Anyone else feel me on this?)

But what I really want to talk about is what happened on the last few days of my vacation after I finished that library book. First, I picked up the two chapter books (My Happy Life and Princess Cora and the Crocodile knowing something light was just what I needed after a dark and twisty mystery. They were beautiful and delightful and I couldn't believe I hadn't read them sooner after buying them. Next, I picked up the poetry collection (recommended on Orange Marmalade!) and was treated to 21 gorgeously illustrated poems. I took my time with them and read many of them more than once -- and while they may not all be new favorites, I enjoyed the reading experience immensely.

Next up was Inside Out & Back Again, a Newbery Honor novel-in-verse inspired by the author's real life experience as a refugee during the Vietnam War. It was a beautiful and inspiring book full of both sadness and hope. Being able to read it straight through in a single afternoon without distractions was such a gift. Next up was a lighter middle grade anthology, Funny Girl which was a bit hit or miss for me, but do yourself a favor and read/listen to some Carmen Agra Deedy (like her Scholastic Reads podcast episode or TEDx Talk) -- she's such an amazing storyteller and her contribution was my favorite by far. Lastly, I picked up Newbery Medal winner Sarah, Plain and Tall. Admittedly, I chose it over others in my bag because it was so slim (and I didn't quite finish it while I was away), but it certainly qualified as a book I owned and had been meaning to read.

I ended my vacation thinking to myself: Reading from my own shelves is so great! They may have been short and easy, but I read almost six of my own books in three days! I can do this reading-from-my-own-shelves-thing! I'm going to keep this ball rolling when I get back home for sure!

And then I got home. And I saw the library stack(s).

Riiiiiight. That's why I always have so much trouble reading from my own shelves most of the time. Hmmm.

So I've been home almost a week now and I have read from those library stacks. I've ordered the Sarah, Plain and Tall sequels because I really want to read the rest of the series straight through. I've visited the library, but (so far) only borrowed picture books. I've visited both of my local bookstores (looking for the Sarah, Plain and Tall sequels, which they didn't have, but you don't think I left empty-handed now do you?) I have not picked up any more books from my own shelves (yet). But I have been thinking it all over and trying to figure out how to better balance my reading. And I think it all comes down to the appeal of limited choices. It was so easy to read from my own shelves on vacation because I had one bag of books to choose from. Simple as that.

Continuing with that logic, you'd think the public library with its thousands upon thousands of titles would leave me with too many choices, but once I take a stack home... I once again have limited choices. It's easy to read from my library stack partly because due dates help me prioritize, but also because I'm picking from only a handful of titles -- far fewer than when I take a peek at my own overflowing bookshelves and don't know where to start.

So where does this leave me? It's pretty embarrassing to admit I have so many books it's hard to decide what to read next. It's pretty embarrassing to admit that having so many books hasn't stopped me from getting more when I hear great recommendations on podcasts or blogs or find a great deal or go down a rabbit hole with a new-to-me author/series/topic/award. It's pretty embarrassing to admit how many books I get (mostly children's) with the intention of building a home library for our family, even though so many are far above my son's level and I can't possibly keep up with them all myself. BUT I think I do have a solution.

Book buying bans don't work.

Library bans don't work.

Making reading into a chore or a job or a thing to check off a to-do list doesn't work.

But what does work? Filling a bag with books (mostly) from my own shelves that I'm really excited about and letting those be my "short-list" when it's time to pick my next read. I can't be on vacation all the time, but just maybe I can approach my reading as if I were packed for vacation all the time. I think it's worth a shot!

* * * * *

P.S. I love Jade's idea for seasonal reading lists and it strikes me as sort of a variation of what I'm trying to do here.

P.P.S. Can I go back to the beach now? Pretty please?

A Gift from a Friend

Mid-January, one of my husband's closest friends (and his best man at our wedding) passed away unexpectedly. As hard as it is to bury a friend at such a young age, my heart was broken for his friend's parents. No parent should ever have to bury their child -- no matter how old or how young, it's a grief that is unimaginable to me and every parent's worst nightmare.

Like everyone, my husband and his friend had their ups and downs and their phases when they kept in touch better than others. You always think there's more time, right? More time to plan that trip to visit, more time to make that phone call, etc. I will be forever grateful that my husband's friend did meet our son after he was born last spring. It had been a while since we saw him, but it was such a wonderful visit. He and his mom spoiled our little guy with gifts, including one particular toy that has become a favorite and I think of him every time our son plays with it. 

Then for Christmas, we got a package in the mail with a sweet note and gift cards to Barnes & Noble and Target. It's very likely we might have used the Target card for practical things like diapers, but when a few short weeks later, this friend had passed away, I knew I wanted to make his last gift something we would hold onto for years to come. My best friend helped us brainstorm and we decided on classic children's books of the silly/goofy/fun variety. Shel Silverstein sure fit the bill, as did Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Pippi Longstocking. I hadn't heard of A Long Way from Chicago before, but the description sounded like it would fit right in with the others. What better way to remember a friend than by reading a story and sharing a laugh?

And remember what I said about always thinking you have more time? Well, my husband stayed in touch with his friend a lot by text, so he thanked him right away. I wanted to send a thank you note also, but I'm the kind of person who remembers and forgets things at least a three times before they actually get done (especially if I don't write it down). And who ever thinks if you take a couple weeks to send a note, that you'll never get the chance? I know it had never even crossed my mind. So even with a busy schedule and a 10-month old to chase after, I've been trying to be better at not making excuses and putting things off. Make that call, send that note, plan that visit -- you won't regret it. And don't take friends or family for granted because you just never know what tomorrow might bring.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from my little Frankenstein!

Yes, I know Frankenstein monster costumes are
inaccurate literature-wise.
No, I don't care. Isn't he cute? :)

Fascinated by all the other kids at our library's
Halloween parade

A few of the costumes might have been a little scary...

We carved a pumpkin last night and today we'll be greeting trick-or-treaters, watching Hocus Pocus, and hanging out with our little monster. Have a great day everyone!

So this happened yesterday...

I've been reading to my son practically since he was born. He has no idea what I'm talking about yet, but I still love doing it and I think it's important. Over these past six months, he started grabbing for the pages and little by little he seems to (maybe?) be actually looking at them -- or at least the colors and the motion as I flip them.

When he was a teeny tiny newborn I used to hold him while reading, but he's been so wiggly the past few months, we started lying on the floor so I could hold the book above us and let him move around. Last night was the first time he really sat with me in my comfy reading chair and the pictures my husband snapped make this bookish mom's heart happy, so I had to share :)

We've (OK, I've...) been on a Halloween book kick, so here we are reading The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree he got from his Godmom. I must admit I feel like a kid again myself rediscovering picture books. I know they are not every adult's cup of tea, but I just love these stories, even though they are aimed at audiences 25+ years my junior. Maybe I'll change my tune when my son gets old enough to ask me to read the same book for the thousandth time, but for now I'm exploring a whole world of stories I've barely touched in a few decades and it's just plain fun! :)

What I've Been Up to Lately + Some News!

Anyone who has been gracious enough to read this blog regularly has probably noticed I've been a bit MIA lately. I was never one to stick to a schedule or post every day, but one post each for the months of September and October is pretty light, even for me. I've missed blogging, but I also must admit I've really liked the freedom not blogging has given my reading (re-reading! chunksters! no review books!) And as much as I like writing, I don't particularly like how much time it takes me to write posts I am proud of and willing to share. Being on a bit of an unplanned, unofficial hiatus has helped me read more books this year than ever before in my life (unless you count my middle school years when I could inhale several Nancy Drew mysteries in a weekend, but I wasn't keeping track then!)

I know that most of the pressures associated with blogging are self-imposed and I can let go of those pressures and still blog if I want to, but I'm honestly not sure if I do want to. That is something I am still thinking about, so this isn't actually a goodbye post -- not yet anyway! There have a been a lot of things happening in my personal life that have bumped blogging to the bottom of my priority list and I am happy to say these have all been good things, they've just given me a different perspective and changed my focus -- #1 on the list being:

Yep, we're having a baby! I'm due in April and have so far been one of those lucky b*tches who hasn't been nauseous or throwing up for the first trimester. We've been telling people in stages and I must say, it's been the best part of this whole experience so far. For both sides of the family, this will be the first grandchild and also the third great-grandchild for each of our grandmothers so there has been a lot of excitement and distraction these past few weeks (months actually!)

If I really look at my life lately, trying to maintain the healthier habits I started before getting pregnant, sleeping more because I've been so damn tired, and also carving out more reading time have been taking up the time I used to spend blogging -- I can't say I regret any of that even one tiny bit though. I have to enjoy the sleep while I still can, right?

I know many moms continue blogging as their creative outlet, I'm just not sure yet if that will be the right thing for me. I love the community and I've still been reading many of my favorite blogs, but quite a few of the bookish gals who started around the same time as me have also cut back or gone on breaks, so it's been easier to let go than I ever imagined it would. I plan to keep this space open and post if and when the mood strikes, but I'm not going to make any grand promises. Inspiration hasn't been striking lately, but can't say for sure that it's gone for good. I'd love to do a round-up post of the bazillion books I've been reading over the past few months, but the list keeps growing so it does feel a bit daunting. I will most definitely still be around on GoodReads though no matter what happens here!

I am grateful for all the lovely people who've visited this space over the past few years and the bookish internet friends I've made -- it was hard to keep this news a secret for so long (especially when a few people were wondering where the heck I disappeared to!), but I'm glad I am now able to share it. I hope you have all been well in my absence and thanks for listening to my rambling today :)

The Post We've All Been Waiting For -- BOOKSHELVES!

I say "we" because I know many of you have been wanting to see photos of the rest of my bookcases, but I've just been dying to get my precious books out of boxes. The fact that I can finally write this post and share the end of this project with you is very exciting for me. Almost six months after moving in, I am finally, officially, fully unpacked. YAY! It's a good feeling I tell you, a very good feeling indeed.

I've already shared my kitchen cookbook bookshelves and my bedroom nightstand bookshelves, but let's be honest, this barely scratched the surface in terms of "reading" books (as opposed to cookbooks, which are clearly my other obsession). The remainder of my collection is now in the "living room" with a small number also residing in the den. They say a house is not a home without books, but clearly a room is not a room unless it has a bookshelf -- in my house, anyway!

Let's start off with the last two tiny shelves in the den. First, I have a small bookcase that fits mass-market paperbacks perfectly. Instead of taking up space on shelves that easily fit much larger books, I put a few authors I have a lot of books for in this format here:

A $5 yard sale find!

Then I have another small bookcase I'm using for reference books (home/gardening/crafting), Nick's Star Wars & Yankee books, and coffee table books. I use our coffee table as a work station, so no room for them there! The piles on top are library books, so those are not there permanently.

This one they were giving away at a yard sale --
the man couldn't hoist it into my car fast enough!

Now onto the really good stuff! Our living room has officially been dubbed the "reading room" by my aunt, and I can't say she's wrong. I didn't really want a formal living room because I know that even while entertaining, everyone will gravitate toward the couch in the den anyway since it's right off the kitchen. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on living room furniture that wouldn't really get used, so I asked myself how I would really like to use this room and, of course, the answer was to have a quiet place to read. To facilitate that, I went all out and got this ridiculously over-sized reading chair and ottoman. Heaven. Pure heaven. If only I had more time to curl up in it!

Please ignore the "construstion corner" on the left
filled with supplies for our many homeowner projects!

Other than the big-ass reading chair, the only other furniture in this room is the bookcases (Hence, "reading room.") I do want some additional seating eventually -- maybe a pair of high-back chairs or a bench under the window, we'll see -- but I don't want to overcrowd this room because someday I may move my desk out here.

My dad wanted to build us bookshelves, but wood-working is a new hobby for him that he'd like to do more of when he retires, so we decided a giant bookcase was a bit too big of a project to start out with. So we went with these shelves from IKEA instead which were the perfect balance of quality and value for us. They are actually 3 separate units from the HEMNES line installed to look like a custom corner unit. They are made of solid wood and I challenge anyone to find solid wood bookcases for a better price. Granted, the back is not wood, but I'll take that compromise since it is pressboard which is much better quality than just cardboard which I've seen on other units. I had to put them together, but at this point I am a pro at that kind of thing!

No one was more surprised than I was to realize there actually would be a few free shelves -- room to grow!

They are obviously not built-ins, but they fit into the space we had perfectly -- next to the fireplace, but not too close; filling up most of the wall, but not so much that it looks too over-sized.

I love that little wine rack I found at the Christmas Tree Shoppe -- its latest addition is this adorable bottle my aunt brought as a house-warming gift:

How freakin' cute?!

As for organization, I decided to divide up by general categories and then go alphabetically by author. So on the left I have adult fiction:

In the middle, I have the end of the adult fiction, books-about-books, memoir/non-fiction/misc....

and classics.

And on the right, I have all the young adult/middle grade books.

Looks like the collection has already grown --
1 more shelf filled since I took the earlier photos!

And I couldn't resist creating a special Harry Potter shelf. My husband had the original hardcovers on his nightstand bookcase, but I wanted to display our collection all together. Also, we remembered he had lent out a few of "his" books that won't fit on his bookcase once they are returned if we didn't do some re-arranging.

So our official collection includes all 7 hardcovers, the (newly arrived!) 15th anniversay paperback set, a British paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone I picked up while in Scotland, the 2-book set of school books (Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages), a regular edition and special collector's edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and the rather frightening looking thing on top is The Monster Book of Monsters which isn't an actual book, but a gift from Harry Potter World from Nick's parents, which certainly fits the theme!

This might sound really cheesy, but our house feels so much more homey to me now that I have the reading nook and bookshelves set up. What can I say, I'm a book-lover through and through!