Welcome!

 

Guess what? I turned 40 this week. Forty. It's been humbling, surreal and exciting to entire a new decade of my life. And with a big birthday, comes reflection...

It comes as no surprise to people that know me that these past few years of child-rearing has been a struggle. It's actually been incredibly exhausting. Struggling with mental health of your children is not a fun endeavor. We are in a much better place than we have been in years, so that's been a welcome, positive change. 

I am also finding much more satisfaction in my work/home balance. I decided not to go back to work full time to focus on the mental health needs of my kids as well as my own. I am doing a few parttime endeavors and loving the flexibility. I tend to hyper focus on work so this allows me enough wiggle room that I have time to balance more (maybe not cleaning though...eek!)

Once the pandemic was in full swing and kids were home on virtual learning (Fall 2020), I started picking up books and reading again. As a reading specialist, I always preach to kids about the importance of reading and joy that a great book can bring, but honestly between a job that I had to give a 110% to and young kids, who has time to read? Much easier to turn on netflix and fall asleep to a binge worthy show.  I've always been an avid reader from a very young age. I'd much rather read a good book then go out. But I lost all joy in reading when I was working. Books that I did read was because I had to. If anything, I felt pressured to have a healthy reading life, then any desire to. So, I gave up reading for a while...yes, the reading specialist! 

But once COVID shut everything down and I got a book in my hand, I couldn't stop reading. I started to subscribe to some book blogs, my reading life has exploded. I now receive ARC from #NetGalley and love the opportunity to review new authors and new books by old favorites. Rediscovering my joy for reading has been a blessing in my life and I'm so excited to share and review some books that I am reading and loving!

A quick note about book reviews. As a reading specialist, I hate when we try to pigeonhole kid's comprehension of a story into an ABCD answer. Because reading, especially as an adult, is transactional. The way I interact with the book reflects my preferences and experiences. So, in some cases, I might love a book that you loathe. I may think a character is more multidimensional and redeemable than you do. I may think the chemistry between the leads is great and you may think it falls flat. And that's okay! 

Genres I read & Enjoy:

-Historical Fiction

-Romance Fiction

-Mystery/Supernatural/Fantasy

-Christian Fiction (mostly historical, but also including sweet Amish books)

-Biographies and Memoirs

-Children's books (all varieties of) 

Thanks for reading with me!