Books are a uniquely portable magic. A well-written book, plot lines that sink their hook into you, characters that make you care for them, they can all transport you into another world for a time. It’s a magic that you can carry around in your pocket — or handbag. It’s an escape portal from a doctor’s waiting room, a boring work meeting {I won’t tell}, a long commute.

And this month’s reading gave me a lot of magical portals — from escaping into fantastical worlds, to the homes of the ultra-rich, traveling back in time to 1800s New York, straddling a fairy tale world and reality, crashing through threatening forests, and even to outer space!

You know those books that sound really promising, but when you starting reading them, they simply fall flat?

At one time or another, most of us readers have either struggled through a book, or wondered at what point to give it up. Should we read just another chapter? Will the pace pick up soon? Will something interesting or exciting happen in the next chapter?

The reason I’m thinking about this is because I struggled through a book this month. Now, I’m usually pretty good at DNFing (did not finish) a book, but for some reason, I refused to give up on this one. I kept hoping for some brilliance, but it just kept disappointing.

So my question for you this month is, how do you decide when to DNF a book? Tell me in the comments?

We’ve had some beautiful spring weather this month. Cool breeze, soft sunlight, and the chirping of squirrels forming a backdrop to my morning reading on the balcony.

Summer will be here before too long, so I’ve been soaking up this lovely spring weather while I can!

March reading wrap up

It’s been a languid reading month, with just 4 books read. This month’s reading took me down the halls of the Vatican, to a small village in Sweden, wandering through a magical inn, and to the somewhat haunted, gothic lake in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

This month, I found myself in the middle of a fruit orchard, my back leaning against the trunk of a peach tree, surrounded by neat rows of trees as far as my eyes could see. The warm sun caressed my face and the air was filled with the sound of a thousand buzzing bees. There I was, surrounded by nature, a book in my hands…reading a few pages…soaking in the surroundings…feeling the warmth caress my skin. It was bliss!

And I’m wondering, what’s the most atmospheric reading spot you’ve found yourself in recently?

It’s a brand new year, so let’s talk goals.

I usually set a reading goal on Goodreads — my goal for this year is 35 books. Now, I usually end up reading a lot more than that, but when I try to bump up my goal, I immediately start to feel anxious. And since there’s no point in stressing yourself out over something that you enjoy doing, I keep it at an easy-breezy number. At least this way, I know I have one goal that I’ll breeze past — win, win!

I’ve already read 54 books this year, which puts me 2 books ahead of schedule. How cool is that? 😉

This year, I’m also keeping an eye on the seasonal challenges on Goodreads. I want to see how many of those bookmarks I can collect. So far, I’m acing it!

November’s reading has been rather hit-and-miss, with a mix of some really interesting books and others that fell rather flat. But isn’t that the way of things with the reading life, sometimes?

Some books make you wonder why they garnered such hype — is it simply based on the cover or the blurb? On paid promotions or sponsorships? Or do some books just become “trendy” because of their gorgeous covers?

In this age of BookTok and Bookstagram, I often wonder if people are actually reading the books they gush over, or if they’re simply promoting the experience of being a reader, or the aesthetics of the reading life?