So this is me: June 2026

31 The Bookshop of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright 5/3 (print/own)

52 Bookclub 26. Title In A Serif Font

This one took me almost a solid month to finally finish, not because I was not enjoying it but because I had to keep setting it aside to finish book club books 😆 I found the story and the ending satisfying. Although I will say I think I enjoyed the past timeline more. But it was very interesting how she wove both storylines together.

32 Emma M Lion v 7 by Beth Bower 5/5 (kindle/kindle unlimited)

Another lovely installment of Emma M Lion. Always feels like a delight and escape. I find myself picking it up when everything else feels too heavy. I am sad there is only one more volume published after this one but it seems volume 9 will be out sometime this year.

“Which implies you have been thinking of me.” I opened my mouth, cheeks pink. “I admit to only a reasonable amount of thought.” “I admit to more than that.”
The bookshop was empty. No one perusing the shelves. No one behind the counter. It was still, freshly dusted, and smelled of wax and vanilla.
There is no contentment like that of sitting at one’s window, reading a book, with the sounds of birdcall and the promise of spring.
(I am not worthy to read Jane Eyre for a month. Possibly three.)

33 A Light on a Hill by Connilyn Cossette 5/7 (kindle/kindle unlimited)

52 Bookclub 1. Set In An Ancient Civilization

Holy Moly this was a great book! I could not stop reading, read the whole thing in less than two days. Set in the early years after Israel has entered the Promised Land. Fast paced, masterful story telling. Justice, mercy, redemption, learning to listen for God's voice, learning to see past our scars to how he redeems them all woven through the story.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that one can either endure hardship or thrive within it.”
“I think,” she said, “you will find that there is purpose in all of this, that somehow the ashes of all this present grief will become fertile soil for something you cannot yet fathom.”
I vowed once again to never assume the worst of those around me and to guard against the seeds of bitterness and self-pity ever taking root in my heart.

34 Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery 5/8 (print/own)

52 Bookclub 19. A Nosy Neighbour Character

Reread of a lifelong favorite and a delight through and through.

It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.
Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.
“Dear old world', she murmured, 'you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.”

35 Into a Golden Era by Gabrielle Meyer 5/10 (print/own)

Book #7 in the Timeless series. This one may have become my new favorite of the series. I enjoyed it thoroughly. While our main character is a new one Ally, living in California is 1889 and 1929, we also are revisited and given a different look at a few previous Timeless characters. It also has me diving headlong back into my (loooong) read of Little Women as in 1929 Ally is staring as Jo in the motion picture.

36 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 5/15 (kindle/own)

   52 Bookclub 21. Written In The 1800's
   The Reading List
   1000 Books

I started rereading this on our sisters trip to Louisa May Alcott's home last fall. It took me over 6 months to slowly read it, occasionally abandoning it all together. Then I read through almost all of part 2 in a single week. The cast in my head the 1994 movie version with Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst. I saw it in theatres with my Mom and then best friend, probably one of my favorites adaptations (after Anne of Green Gable of course). This book is tied up with many happy memories. The day after I finished I felt sad it was done and wanted to begin it all over again. There is much delight and many life lessons to be gleaned from between the pages.

So they asked an old woman what spell they could use to make them happy, and she said, 'When you feel discontented, think over your blessings, and be grateful.'"
Have regular hours for work and play, make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty.
Go out more, keep cheerful as well as busy, for you are the sunshine-maker of the family, and if you get dismal there is no fair weather.
"How good she is to me! What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?"

37 These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas 5/18 (print/own)

Alive Book Club selection for May. I loved the story, I hated my physical copy. My paperback was so stiff that it was a struggle to hold and read. This made me sad. But I did love the story. The characters were interesting and evolving. It was set around Biltmore Estate between 1915 and 1924ish. Sometimes it was hard keeping the timelines straight especially at the beginning, although it did get easier as the book went on and I became more familiar with the course of events.

"Pap couldn't remember my name, he called me 'boy'. Folks heard it and thought he was saying Boyd."
Gentry squealed at the view awash in the colors of autumn. The late morning sun played with scuddling clouds, so that the russets, golds, and oranges glowed and dimmed like turning a kaleidoscope.

38 Quicksilver by Callie Hart 5/21 (kindle/kindle unlimited)

52 Bookclub 16. Deus Ex Machina

The only reason I read this book was because Rhett bought me the 2nd one in the series for Christmas. But I actually really enjoyed it. From the romantasy genre- and predictably steamy, be forewarned there are a couple open door scenes.

I liked that this one wrapped up enough to leave me satisfied. Though there is still more to the story and I am sure at some point I'll crack open that 2nd book.

Yvelia’s library was staggering in comparison. So many books all in one place. Stacks upon stacks upon stacks. So accustomed to hunkering down, peering at crumbling, mildew-covered scrolls by candlelight, I was unprepared for how the sight of so many bound, hardback books would affect me. This was a treasure beyond Madra’s hoard of gold. More precious than rubies and diamonds. The information inside a place like this was too vast to comprehend. And the light!

There were moments that were gifts, meant to be cherished only for as long as you could remember them.

39 Ordinary Time by Annie B Jones 5/28 (audio/library)

52 Bookclub 6. Title Starts With The Letter "O"

The May MMD book club selection. I checked it out from the library in print. But then the day before the book club talk checked out the kindle and audio versions as well. I blew through it on audio and found it a delight. I did refer the the kindle version to underline quotes, and also read a chapter and half in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. Annie reads the audio herself and does it beautifully. I would definitely recommend this format. I enjoyed her reflects on life and faith, her bookshop in a quite small town. On the importance of being the one who stays and discovering who you are created to be.

Here was a woman who seemed content in her own skin, easily pleased by simple things, grateful to be wherever she is.

Most of us, as it turns out, stay. Among young adults, 80 percent live within one hundred miles of their hometown. Those bohemian apartments aren’t affordable for most of us, so we stay: in our marriages, even when they’re hard; in our jobs, even when we hope for more; in our towns, even when they’re lonely; in our faith, even when we almost can’t breathe from the pain of it.

“I wanted to recover the kind of faith that has nothing to do with being sure what I believe,” wrote Taylor, “and everything to do with trusting God to catch me though I am not sure of anything.” Me, too, I thought, almost desperately. Me, too.

I may not have gotten the meet-cute, or the New York City walk-and-talk. But as it turns out, I have experienced the future Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox once dreamed about. I have lived a deliciously ordinary life and marriage: drinks, dinner, a movie . . . for as long as we both shall live.

40 Chase the Light by Suzanne Woods Fisher 5/29 (print/own)

52 Bookclub 52. Published in 2026

Our cousin book club pick for this month. It was pretty good. Set in Acadia National Park in Maine. A mystery involving a shipwreck and lost gold. I kept finding myself googling the spots that were mentioned to see what they look liked.

Lonely, perhaps. But never alone. His faith steadied him, a constant reminder that he didn't need to have it all mapped out---only to take the next step.

Total: 10 2026: 40

Kindle/Ebook: 4 Print: 5 Audio: 1

Library: 1 Owned: 6 Kindle Unlimited: 3

Unread shelf: 0 Reread: 2

Favorite: I don't think I can pick a favorite this month- it was another great month of reading!

Challenges:

1000 Books: Both Anne of Green Gables and Little Women are on the list but I have previously read both so I guess they don't really count.

52 Bookclub: Completed 7 prompts- 28/52 (54%)

I finally finished Part 3 of the canalboat CAL! Last night I was trying to finish an audiobook that was going to return this morning. I was (re)listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures. I loved it just as much. I listened almost nonstop to finish it before I fell asleep last night, while making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, mopping the living room and kitchen and finally doing a little crochet. It felt happy and peaceful crocheting along, listening to the book. Something I need to do more of.

So anyway here is my part 3 progress. I wove in the the ends from part 3. Snapped a couple pics and moved right on to Part 4. Sadly it does seem to be increasing in width. Hopefully I can figure out what I'm doing wrong there. I must have added a few stitches somewhere along the line. 😂 It doesn't bother me enough to rip it out as long as I can stop it from happening for here on out.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the colors going but it's growing on me I guess. And I am enjoying the process.

Yesterday our work neighbor brought us this lovely bouquet from his garden. Peonies are some of my favorite flowers.

In addition a friend stopped in just to say Hello at the end of the day, as she had walked down to the post office (which is across the street). We chatted for a few minutes and she told me how she had run into Hannah at a play last weekend. Which Hannah had also told me, she text me right away that she had seen KP one of our favorites. 💖

Happy Tuesday! I hope you partake in something today that brings you peace and joy.