The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15 or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!
I have been seeing this around in the blogging world and thought I would add a small list myself! I like the flexibility of this challenge, since I often make a list then change my mind halfway through.
Also, since my son is having a major surgery in July, I am not sure what to expect at all in terms of anything but taking care of him. I figured though I would aim small and see what happens! I will be reading him a few books while he is recovering, so I am including those as well on here.
First, my own reading choices. I am throwing a bunch out here to choose from.
And then for books I am thinking about reading to Wyatt – some are ones he has had on his shelf, a few are some books I am just throwing in there. I wanted to find some quiet gentle type books for when he is home and not feeling that great but not wanting to sleep either. He loves being read to so that is always a win to make him feel comforted and better.
I guess we will see where summer reading takes us this year!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good week. Our week was very quietly busy, if that makes sense. Lots of appointments, lots of being at home. We did have a scare on Friday night. My dad was struck on the head by a baseball at a game and knocked unconscious! They transported him to the hospital by ambulance, where thankfully all his tests came back good!
What I have been reading:
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. I was late to the party on this author, which I am thankful for on some level because now there are a ton of books I still haven’t read. Every time I pick up one of his books, I end up reading it compulsively until I finish. I can’t put them down! This one is maybe my favorite of the books I have read by him so far.
Death by Beach Read was also a very good read, but not as riveting as Home Before Dark. However, I don’t read them for that same thrill; I read them because they are just more relaxing and chill.
What I am reading this week:
Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries is a book I started on audiobook and decided I wanted to finish reading with my actual eyeballs. And Anywhere You Go sounds pretty cute so I am giving it a whirl.
Billy and I have been watching a mix of things lately. Brokenwood, Beyond Paradise, Wheel of Time, and last night we started The Essex Serpent, which was excellent!
We finished up our Springtime in Paris, and I miss it! It is fun to have a “Movie of the Week”. Lisa and I love doing our movie themed watches, but with our families dealing with some different things, we probably won’t do another one together here on the blog until fall.
Tonight, I think Billy and I might watch the movie Holland starring Nicole Kidman. It takes place in Western Michigan, and while her accent sounds all off in previews, I am curious about it. I love that area of Michigan. It is one of our favorite areas to visit! And now I need to know if that is how I sound to people?
And that is it from around here today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Our week was pretty good. We had some ups and downs but overall, pretty good. Wyatt and I had a nice routine week, we had some fun moments, we refreshed some of our fish tanks, we saw some cousins – those were all good. I had some news about my mom that was not so great, and is causing me some anxiety, but I am hoping and praying for a solution.
What I am Reading:
I didn’t finish anything last week, but I did start reading two books. Then Friday the book I was waiting for came in, so I am going to start that one too. So I guess I am reading a few books this week.
Version 1.0.0
I hope to finish A Prayer for the Crown Shy today at some point. I am also enjoying Budde’s book How We Learn to Be Brave.
We have been pretty much collapsing into bed after full days over here, so not much television has been happening. We did watch The Brokenwood Mysteries, Beyond Paradise, and The Wheel of Time.
In addition we have been watching our Springtime in Paris movies! Last week was The Intouchables, which was such a feel good movie. If you need a pick me up, watch this one.
This week we will watch our final movie in our six week Springtime in Paris journey. I will be sad to say goodbye! It was such a fun little movie watching challenge. We are ending things with Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, and I am very excited to watch it.
Online Things Happening:
While we are wrapping up Springtime in Paris, Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are still hosting our Drop In Crafternoons once a month. Lisa and I have been hosting crafternoons for fellow bloggers on Zoom since January, and it has been so fun. It is nice to meet the person behind the blog, hear their voices, and share more stories – all while we work on whatever craft we choose! There is no right or wrong activity, you don’t even need to craft if you don’t want to. Just hang out, that is fine too!
I have also started adding downloadable, printable children’s birthday invitations to my Etsy store, Fox and Firth. I have been trying to create three a day and adding them, so keep checking back as the inventory is constantly growing!
And that is about it from me today! I hope that you are all are feeling happy and loved, and do something today that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Last week Wyatt and I took a break for spring and it was a very busy, very full, very fun week. I might still be recovering from all the activity! Today is my mom’s birthday party, and then I am not making anymore plans for this week. We need a break from our break, and by break I mean getting back to our routine!
Read Last Week:
I started two nonfiction books last week, and have been reading through them slowly. They are very different, and I am enjoying them both. One thing they have in common though, is that they both focus on how we view ourselves and our bodies and even how we keep house, and how we have been influenced to always regard ourselves as coming up short, how wrinkles or a few extra pounds or dishes in the sink can sometimes trigger negative thoughts about ourselves. I actually really didn’t know what either of them were about when I got them – I loved the cover of Women Living Deliciously so I picked it up, and then I’ve seen the book about keeping house around and thought I would read through it, since Wyatt’s surgery is coming up soon. I will be very busy for at least a month afterward caring for him and I thought this book might be a good read in preparation for that time.
Reading This Week:
This week I will still be reading my two nonfiction books, but adding in a fiction book too.
I am behind on this series. It seems like a good time to catch up!
We are watching a few different things. We recently finished up Our Flag Means Death, which we both enjoyed for its silliness, and we are also watching The Wheel of Time S3. We also started the new Brokenwood Mysteries. I wait so long for each season and I really love it.
Wyatt and I also are watching our YouTubers at night. We watch a video, read a book, then he goes to bed. Wyatt would love to have his own booktube channel, but that feels weird to me, for many reasons. However, I do wonder if it would help him to use his words more, because they are in there and we need to just encourage him to use them. Lisa at Boondock Ramblings mentioned that I could make a private channel or just share with specific people, so I am considering that. Maybe as his surprise after surgery, we can try one.
Anyway. Lately we have been watching a few different people, in addition to book people as he calls them.
In order, left to right: Real Vintage Doll House, Jay Lee Painting, and Plant Based Bride.
Real Vintage Doll House is a fun, realistic look at someone who enjoys vintage but also does not live it constantly. She has a job in the medical field, so her love of a vintage life is only part of her life, and I like that. She has a house that is circa 1940s and is so cute and apparently very small. She dresses vintage, keeps pigeons which I love, and has very interesting videos about British history mixed in.
Jay Lee Painting is just what you think – he shares different painting techniques and they are just calming and inspiring to watch.
Plant Based Bride is a booktuber. I love her videos, she has very in depth reviews, that are well thought out. I think she is interesting because she often does not like books that are getting a lot of love on YouTube or TikTok, and I like hearing another perspective.
And of course, we are watching our Springtime in Paris movies! We just watched Hugo, which I thought led to some great discussions and reviews. Next up we are watching The Intouchables!
And that is it from around here! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! We are doing ok over here, just keeping on keeping on. We had a pretty busy weekend that was full of family!
Read Last Week:
I’ve been reading monstery books this spring. Not sure how that happened, but it did. I absolutely loved Wormwood Abbey, and I can’t wait to read book two in the series. Greenteeth… I had higher hopes for it. I love this cover, I loved parts of the book, but it was a bit slow maybe? There was something about that I didn’t love. Maybe I was just too excited to read it; I grew up reading about fairies and loving faery lore and Jenny Greenteeth was one of my favorites so maybe I had too high of expectations. It still was a pretty good read.
Reading This Week:
This week I am stepping away from my monster books and starting my yearly reread of Watership Down. I can’t wait to get back to this little world again!
We have been hopscotching about, and doing less binge watching lately! This is unlike us. Lol. However, we are enjoying all of our shows that we are watching. Lately, that list has included Poldark (why did it take us so long to watch this!), Our Flag Means Death, Wheel of Time, Murdoch Mysteries, and Beyond Paradise.
We are also three movies into our Springtime in Paris movie watch! This week is Paris Blues with Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier.
And that is it from around here today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello all! Last week was a pretty big week around here. Wyatt had multiple doctor’s appointments, and some of them were not the best. But, we are doing our best to be positive, as hard as it is at times. And for those times that are hard, I do have a good community around to help out.
Anyway. I didn’t get any time to read last week, until yesterday. So I didn’t make it too far into my books! I will be reading the same books that I posted last week.
I am halfway through Wormwood Abbey though now and I am really enjoying it.
Last week we watched a lot of Murdoch Mysteries, then when we caught up, we switched to Our Flag Means Death.
I also watched Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris as part of our Springtime in Paris movie event. I absolutely loved it. It was such a joy filled movie, which was something I really needed.
In My Blogging World:
Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I are hosting another film watching event for springtime. It is six weeks, six movies, and very easy going! If you want to watch one or all or a few, we would love to have you join in. Just watch along and comment on our posts or post your own thoughts and link up!
If you are interested, this is the schedule of movies! Our second post will be up this week!
Also, in January and February, Lisa and I were hosting Crafternoons and they turned out to be so much fun that we are continuing them on through the year. People craft, color, sometimes just chat, and we just have a lot of fun. They are drop in style, so no time commitment, just if you have some time to just craft or hang out one scheduled afternoon, drop on in! We will have our schedule up for spring this week!
And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello all! I hope life is being kind to you right now. I am currently enjoying all the new growth my plants have had recently – and I think my violet might even pop out a flower! It never has before and I would love it! I just see this little shoot getting ready to unfurl, and I am hoping it is a flower. I have been using the water from our aquariums to water all my plants and I think it has been giving them some extra nutrients!
Read Last Week:
I loved both of these reads! Malamander was so cute and fun, and Gladwynn took me along for another unputdownable mystery! Book reviews will be up this week.
Reading This Week:
I am looking forward to reading both of these! Then next week, I am starting my annual reread of Watership Down!! I have been waiting for it to feel a bit more spring, and I think it is finally feeling less winter around here. And, I hope I didn’t just jinx Michigan!
Billy and I finished up Season 2 of Severance! It was such a ride from start to finish. The whole show is so well conceptualized, well acted, and well written. It is also a bit weird. I love it!
I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to follow it up, and have a bit of television hangover, but luckily we had episode one of Season 3 Beyond Paradise to watch! It was the perfect show for how I felt last night.
In My Blogging World:
Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I are hosting another film watching event for springtime. It is six weeks, six movies, and very easy going! If you want to watch one or all or a few, we would love to have you join in. Just watch along and comment on our posts or post your own thoughts and link up!
If you are interested, this is the schedule of movies! Our first post will be up this week!
Also, in January and February, Lisa and I were hosting Crafternoons and they turned out to be so much fun that we are continuing them on through the year. People craft, color, sometimes just chat, and we just have a lot of fun. They are drop in style, so no time commitment, just if you have some time to just craft or hang out one scheduled afternoon, drop on in! We will have our schedule up for spring this week!
Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile! I am going to watch Wyatt bowl this afternoon and that always brings a smile to my face!
A book about books and bookshops – I had a feeling I was going to like it. And I did! Takako is a young woman, who was blindsided one day by her boyfriend, when he tells her that he is getting married – but not to her. I think this could throw anyone for a loop! She falls into a depression, and an unexpected phone call from her uncle whom she hasn’t spoken to in years changes her life, when he offers her a job, working for room and board in his bookshop. For maybe anyone else this would be a dream come true. But Takako is not a reader.
I of course loved all of the aspects of being a reader who loves books that is touched upon in this book, but what I loved most was the relationship between uncle and niece. It just felt unexpected, and I found it refreshing. Her uncle Satoro is a bit of a free spirit, and at first Takako has a hard time relating to him. Throughout the book however, their relationship figures itself out, and Takako learns some things about her uncle she didn’t know. I absolutely loved this short read.
“No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven’t seen anything. And that’s life. We live our lives trying to find our way.”
I had been wanting to read Emily of New Moon for awhile, although I wasn’t sure if I would like Emily as much as Anne. Imagine my surprise when I liked her maybe a little bit more? Don’t come for me Anne fans! Lol. I still love Anne!
However, I loved Emily of New Moon. She is feisty and temperamental, resilient and independent. I loved reading her story. There were flashes of Anne, with her whimsy and love of words and writing and poetry, but Emily is her own character. In the foreword written by Kate MacDonald Butler, Montgomery’s granddaughter, she states that Emily was her grandmother’s favorite creation, and that her grandmother has been quoted as saying “People were never right in saying I was Anne, but in some respects, they will be right if they write me down as Emily.”
I only had two criticisms – and a TW – there are a lot of references to cat deaths and also a character that had some off-putting vibes.
Otherwise I was completely sucked into this story that Montgomery has said reflected a lot of her own inner life in childhood.
“Emily had inherited certain things from her fine old ancestors – the power to fight – to suffer – to pity – to love very deeply – to rejoice- to endure.”
I loved this book. I love the idea of green magic, the green wild, the characters. It was just a really fun middle grade read for @middlegrademarch!
One thing in particular that I really loved was the fact that they said they were not witches – they were Botanists who worked with the magic of nature, but not witches. I thought that was just a neat distinction. I also loved that all wore overalls; I too love overalls. The whole Greenwild reminded me of Harry Potter, if Harry Potter was all nature-based and immersed in plants and greenery, greenhouses, trowels, dirt, parakeets. I could go on and on but I won’t. I will just urge you to go ahead and read this! I have already recommended it to all the moms I know who have middle grade aged children, but if you are an adult who enjoys middle grade, like me, I suggest you read it as well!
“Daisy began to feel like a seed taking root. She was insect-nibbled and wind-ruffled and elbow-skinned. Her hair was full of twigs, her fingernails were filthy – and every part of her felt hungry and alive.” That passage just feels so spring to me! It makes me excited to get outside and get my own hands in the dirt, planting things.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Today is Wyatt’s birthday – he is a big time ten years old today! I am all sorts of emotional over this. We are going to the zoo (even though it is absolutely freezing today!) and then a special meal at a fancy shake place in Detroit.
Read Last Week(s):
These were both really good!
Reading This Week:
It’s Middle Grade March! I don’t usually do reading challenges because I am usually trash at them, with no discipline. This one is pretty simple with five prompts, and I think I can do it! Week one we are supposed to read a book by an author with three names – so I am picking Emily of New Moon! I love this cover btw. These are the prompts, in case anyone is interested!
1. Read a book by an author with 3 names 2. Read a book with flowers on the cover 3. Read a book that is part of a series 4. Read a book that involves travel 5. Read a book written in the 1900s
We are watching a few different things! We have been watching Murdoch Mysteries, The Great Pottery Throw Down, and we just started Dickinson. Dickinson is a fun little show, and is just silly and escapist. However, I do feel they get some of the details about Emily’s life correct, like her intimate relationship with her friend Sue, who her brother later marries. It is done in the style of the movie A Knight’s Tale, or Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes, with modern music, language, sensibilities interspersed. I am a Dickinson fan, so I hope that this show sparks interest and curiosity in young people for poetry and words and Dickinson herself, and maybe they will watch and search out more information or look for her collections of poetry.
And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
Hello all! Welcome back to another edition of mini book reviews! It seems to be the best way for me to write reviews, in these little bite size reviews.
First up! The Sad Ghost Club
The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings: “The universe is most pleased we met.” You guys this book was just so good. I could relate to this so well; I was so shy and awkward in high school and had such anxiety over social things, much like these characters. This graphic novel is a very sweet look at anxiety, loneliness, feeling like you don’t belong anywhere.. it is just wonderful honestly. I am adding the rest of the series to my library holds ASAP!
Two “ghosts” meet at a party, both out of sync with the rest of the party goers, and it is a wonderful conversation between two people who have possibly found a kindred spirit. If you visit The Sad Ghost Club website, and you are in the UK, there are also helplines posted for those who are feeling like thye need a helping hand.
Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura: I’m an adventurer at heart. While in reality I am an introverted stay at home homeschool mom, there was a time I dreamed of discovering lost cities and digging up relics, having all sorts of wild adventures along the way. I am glad I actually pursued that outside of daydreams, because the reality is I much prefer reading about them in climate controlled, bug free spaces. Temple of Swoon is the perfect read for armchair adventuring archaeologists like me – this book has danger, a steamy jungle, a lost city, some crazy shenanigans, and romance. I ate this book up, like Miri eats her snacks. Miri is the main character, who is smart, resilient, a bit of a goofball, and prides herself on always having the best snacks. I thought she was awesome! Rafa wasn’t too bad either…
This book is for you if you like
🥾 Enemies to lovers 🥾 Indiana Jones 🥾 Cinnamon roll MMC 🥾 Smart women
Also if you like this book I highly recommend the old classic movie, African Queen. It was also an adventure story that made me laugh out loud.
The spice level: It is explicit open door, but it is almost all the way at the very end of the book. If I compare it to Under Loch and Key, which I reviewed last round, it seems tame. I haven’t read many romances honestly so I am still working out a system. Let’s say if Under Loch and Key is 5 jalapenos, this one is 3.5?
“These are the wild women who run barefoot through the meadow, who teach new songs to birds, who howl at the moon together. Wild women are their own kind of magic.” After all of this snow and being indoors – as cozy and wonderful it has been – I am more than ready to wake up to the songs of the birds in the morning and to run around barefoot again, to see colors again! That is why I decided this long gray February of the snow moon was the perfect time to read The Honey Witch – and it did not disappoint. The imagery was beautiful and conjured up long summer lazy summer days, bees buzzing around the garden, fireflies at night. It had a very cool magic system I thought, of a honey witch and an ash witch, a yin and a yang, balance. But the balance was out of order in this book, and Marigold had to find her place as the new honey witch and overturn the curse .. and that is all I will say!
This book:
🐝 Cozy Fantasy 🐝 Enemies to Lovers 🐝 Sapphic 🐝 Slow Burn Romance 🐝 Cool Magical System
For the spice level, which is sapphic, I would give it the same as Temple of Swoon – 3.5 jalapenos. Explicit open door but it is fairly short as well as near the end.
Thanks for reading! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
