Blog Break!

 

Summer is winding down, so I'll be taking a brief break from the blog to soak up these last days!  Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to talking books again in September!

Mid-Year Goals Check-In

We are officially halfway through 2026 (what?!?), so it's time to look back at the goals we set at the beginning of the year!

1. Read 75 books.  At the time I'm writing this, I've read 56 books, so making great progress!
2. Complete the sit-to-standing test.  I actually did it!  I was able to do it for the first time in January and a few times since, although it's been awhile since I tried!
3. Do 100 jumps a day.  I was really good about doing this at the beginning of the year, but around May, I fell off it!  I'm going to try to get back into it, though!
4. Complete 52 puzzles.  Ok, this was an unrealistic goal.  If you follow me on Instagram, you can see all the puzzles I've done this year.  I'm currently at 50 - eek!  I need to slow down.
5. Complete at least 4 new-to-us baking projects with Henry.  So far we have done 3 new baking projects, from scratch!  Pumpkin spice muffins (huge hit!), chai-spiced apple muffins (I liked them, Henry was not a big fan), and cookies 'n cream cookies (I thought they were a little dry, but the teachers at Henry school loved them!).  We are definitely having lots of fun in the kitchen!

And here's a check-in of Michele's goals:

 

Bookish Goals 

1. Read 200 Books – I just hit the midway point of this goal, so things are looking good!

2. Read books from a wide variety of genres – Romance and thrillers are up for me so far this year, but I know I have some great historical fiction and Middle Grades on my shelf just waiting for me!

3. Utilize my library more – my library use percentage is up over last year so far, so doing good there!

4. Buddy read with my daughter and husband – Luna and I have been continuing our Stuart Gibbs journey, so I’m really excited about that. My husband and I have a few books out later this year that we are both looking forward to.

Nonbookish Goals 

1. Learn needlepoint – haven’t gotten to this yet but my stepmom is hosting a girls’ crafting day next month so maybe I will bring my starter kit to that!

2. More monthly baking challenges – I have baked a few new items, but not really from the challenges, as I haven’t been a huge fan of a lot of the prompts! We’ll see what the second half of the year brings.

3. Plant a garden – totally dropped the ball on this. Kinda late to start now, but maybe I can start planning for next year….

4. Complete 24 puzzles – I’ve only done 6 so far this year, yikes. I do enjoy my puzzles, but they admittedly fall after my books and crocheting.

5. Continue my fitness journey – doing really well! I was able to keep up my exercise routine during my 60+ hour weeks in tax season and have been consistent all year so far. 

    

   How are you doing on your 2026 goals?
   

Little Free Library Sightings: The Jersey Shore Edition, Part 5

It's always fun to see a Little Free Library "out in the wild!"  I love to spot them, browse their selection, leave a book if possible, and then look them up on the official website, because sometimes they have interesting stories to go along with them!  There's also an app you can download to find local Little Free Libraries where you can even "check in" to keep track of the ones you've visited!  We recently took our yearly visit to Cape May, and I came prepared with a bag of books I wanted to donate and a list of the LFLs I wanted to see.  On previous trips to the area, I've checked in at a lot of the LFLs, but there were some I hadn't seen yet and a couple new ones, too!

#220844 at the Boarding House Cape May - This is a new LFL right around the corner from our VRBO, and I loved the sentiment, "As a space that welcomes thousands of guests annually we find ourselves thinking about things we often forget to pack when heading off on a vacation at the beach. A good book on the sun soaked beaches of Cape May happens to be one of those things. We rescue books that others have tried to send to landfills, guests have finished and want to share the story they’ve just enjoyed and some good reads of our own. Whether you’re visiting or local we hope our little free library helps bring you joy. Remember, Life can be hard, your vacation shouldn’t be. The Boarding House Cape May Crew."

#60660 - This LFL was located in West Cape May and as you can see, it was quite well-stocked!

Although this LFL has an official charter, it wasn't on the map in the app.  It's located at the Emlen Physick Estate, a historic property in Cape May, and we came across it while attending a craft fair.

This is another LFL that has an official charter but isn't listed on the app map.  We were visiting the Cape May Kiwanis Club open house and saw this one, so of course I had to leave a book for my fellow Kiwanians!  Their clubhouse is also a historic property, recently renovated, so this LFL is a nice addition!

#164950 - Charlotte's LiBerry is located in North Wildwood and we stopped by after visiting the Hereford Lighthouse nearby.  The owner was actually touching up the library for the season (hence the open door and empty interior!).  She told me the library is named for their cat, Strawberry.  I gave her a book to put in when it's done!

Author Tea with Sally Hepworth

Michele and I recently attended our first book event of the year - an author tea with Sally Hepworth to celebrate the release of her new book, Mad Mabel!  The event was hosted by the Princeton Public Library and held on the grounds of the Historical Society of Princeton in their restored historic barn.  This was Sally's last event during her US book tour before heading home to Australia! 

The event consisted of Sally in conversation with local author Megan McCafferty.  They talked about all the usual stuff - the inspiration behind the book, the characters, and Sally's writing process.  Sally was super charming and very funny!  There was a short time allowed for an audience Q&A.

After the talk, we all lined up outside to meet Sally and get our books signed!

We were near the end of the line, but Sally still talked with us for a few minutes and got up to take a picture with us (she got up for everyone, which showed some serious commitment!).  She was so nice and made everyone feel so special.

I'm so glad we got to go to this event and look forward to the next one!

Blog Break!

 

Hi, all!  I'm taking a belated "spring break" from the blog to enjoy some family time and (hopefully!) good weather.  Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to talking books again soon!

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Monty and Milo

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't know there was a small indie bookstore just in the next town over from me!  Monty and Milo opened in Somerville, NJ, in February 2025, and recently I saw a short news article about their re-opening in a new, bigger location around the corner.  So of course, Henry and I made a visit this past weekend!

Monty and Milo (named after the owners' cats!) is a small store dedicated to books, stationary, puzzles, and other gifts.  The front of the store is mainly devoted to things other than books - puzzles, art prints, pens, and other stationary supplies.

As you walk toward the back of the warm and inviting space, you reach a small section of new books, and then the whole back of the store appears to be shelves of used books, organized by genre.

There is a small children's section with used books and some cute new toys and stuffies.  

You can tell they are new to the space, and I'm excited to see how they fill and decorate the space further!  Henry and I each nabbed a used book, and we look forward to coming back!

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Charter Books

We recently took a family trip to Newport, Rhode Island, so you know my sister and I had to check out a local indie bookstore!  Enter Charter Books, which opened in 2020 and is located in the downtown historic district.  The outside is classic and beautiful, and this aesthetic follows inside!

The inside is warm and inviting, with beautiful wood shelves and floors, and seems to go on forever!  There is a large selection of fiction books right when you walk in, and if you go all the way to the back, you'll find an extensive children's section.  My sister was really impressed with their middle grade selection!

The children's section features these adorable reading nooks, decorated with sea life and flowers.  I love that kids get these lovely spaces to check out their books in.

The store continues on a lower level, and along the staircase, visiting authors have signed the walls - I just happened to notice the signatures of Team W, including one of my favorite authors, Beatriz Williams!

The downstairs level is a little more utilitarian, but still offers a lot!  About half of the shelves downstairs are nonfiction and the rest are a continuation of fiction.  

I snagged a book about local Newport history for myself and a board book about lighthouses for Henry, who is still absolutely obsessed with them!  If you ever take a trip to Newport, definitely check out Charter Books!

2026 Goals

Today I wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026!  I thought about it a lot, and I'm only going to set one bookish goal.  I just want to keep things simple and I don't have the bandwidth in my brain to be keeping track of too many things, ha!  But, I also wanted to set out some non-bookish goals to help me focus on other areas of my life.

1. Read 75 books.  This is lower than what I usually read, but it will keep things low-stress for me!
2. Complete the sit-to-standing test.  Has anyone else been seeing this "longevity" test everywhere lately?  Supposedly, being able to get up from sitting on the floor to standing, without using hands, knees, or leaning on anything, is a good indicator of your health and predicted longevity.  So, I tried it and couldn't do it, but my goal is to gain the strength to complete the test and continue doing it.
3. Do 100 jumps a day.  This is another fitness thing I've been seeing lately - jumping!  In general, I want to get healthier and I am always struggling to lose 15-20 pounds, but unlike my husband, who has impeccable willpower and drive, I am much slower to make changes.  I need to start somewhere, though, and this seems like a good thing to add to my growing fitness routine!
4. Complete 52 puzzles.  Last year I did 95 puzzles and as much as I love doing them, it maybe felt like too much?  Puzzles take time and I don't want to feel like I'm neglecting other things.  Aiming for one per week (treating myself after finishing work on Fridays, LOL!) seems reasonable.
5. Complete at least 4 new-to-us baking projects with Henry.  Henry always wants to "make something" in the kitchen - he loves helping me measure things out and watch its progress in the oven.  We are trying to help him overcome an egg allergy, which means he needs to eat baked egg daily, and the easiest way we've found is through things like muffins.  Admittedly, not the healthiest, so in addition to box mixes, I've been trying to make "healthier" versions from scratch.  So, I would love to find some new things to add to our repertoire!  Please drop your suggestions in the comments!

Michele also wanted to share some bookish and non-bookish goals for 2026, so here they are!

Bookish Goals 2026

• Read 200 books – This is less than my 2025 total, and will force me to be more selective in my reading
• Read books from a wide variety of genres – I have been reading more thrillers, historical fiction and middle grades the last couple years and would like to continue with that
• Utilize my library more – Especially now with my daughter getting more into reading, I will try to be more proactive in using our township library and its resources
• Buddy read with my daughter and husband – Luna and I have been sharing so many middle grade books and I look forward to continuing that in 2026.  My husband has a goal of reading 15 books this year, so I’m sure we’ll have some overlapping reads!

Non-Bookish Goals 2026

My bookish goals are admittedly a rehash of my 2025 goals – reading has been a hobby of mine for years so there’s not much to add at a certain point.  I also want it to keep being something fun for me.  But I thought I would document some of my non-bookish goals as well!  I try to choose a word or phrase for the year – just something small and quick to kind of guide me.  For the last couple years, the phrase has been With Purpose, to remind myself to be intentional with my time and energy.  This year I’m switching it up and the word will be Progress – some of my goals are things I want to learn for the first time or things I want to get better at, so I think this will be a good mindset to have.  

2026 will be a challenging year professionally – my husband is changing jobs and is going to be in office a majority of the time, instead of fully remote.  I was also promoted to partner at my CPA firm last year (kinda cool but mostly terrifying) so my responsibilities there will be changing this year.  Despite this (because of this?) my 2026 goals pretty much pertain to my personal life and the fun stuff I’ll need to stay sane.

• Learn needlepoint.  Do I need a new hobby?  No.  Am I going to do it anyway?  Probably.
• More monthly baking challenges.  My daughter and I follow the monthly baking challenges from Sally’s Baking Blog and The Salted Sweets.  We did a few last year but really want to keep up and do as many as we can this year.  
• Plant a garden.  Ok, not a full garden but a couple vegetable plants would be good to start!
• Complete 24 puzzles.  I try to carve out time to complete a couple puzzles a month – it also helps me bump up my audiobook listens!
• Continue my fitness journey.  I only got serious about exercising a couple years ago – while I regret waiting until I turned 40, I know that I can still make great progress and better myself.  I try to focus on a couple different apps (iFit and Reps nMotion) to keep me on track and progressing and I want to try to accomplish as much as I can.

What will you be focusing on in 2026?

Michele's 2025 Reading Wrap-Up!

2025 was a fantastic reading year!  I was able to read 263 books – here is my breakdown by format, genre and source:

Format

⦁ Ebook 78

⦁ Physical 128

⦁ Audio 57

Source

⦁ Haul (purchased, borrowed, Audible subscription) 173

⦁ Library 59

⦁ Kindle Unlimited 31

Genre

⦁ Romance 82

⦁ Thriller/Mystery 58

⦁ Historical Fiction 16

⦁ Genre Fiction 16

⦁ Adult – Other 19

⦁ YA 35

⦁ Nonfiction 16

⦁ Middle Grade 23

My most read authors were Stuart Gibbs (11), Sierra Simone (4), and Amalie Howard (4).  I also read 8 anthologies.  Romance was still my top genre, but I definitely branched out into some new genres.  Here are some of my favorites of the year:

       

                                 

Do we share any favorites?  What books are you looking forward to in 2026?

2025 Goals Recap

I'm still ruminating on my 2026 goals, so I thought it would be a good idea today to recap and reflect on our 2025 goals!

• Read my 2025 preorders in 2025.  I didn't get to two of my preorders, although they came out in November, so maybe that's ok?
• Use my library more.  My goal was to try to get 40% of my reads from the library and I ended at 38%.
• Read 75 books.  I read over 100 books, so goal accomplished!
• Attend two bookish events.  I was lucky enough to attend three bookish events - the Hazel Gaynor release party, the Morristown Festival of Books, and the local Prologue Event for a new romance bookstore, Charmed & Bound!
• Complete 30 states in the Literary Escapes Challenge.  I only managed 29 states.

Here is a check-in for Michele's goals:

• Read 225 books – Completed at 263!
• Read books from a wide variety of genres – Completed! Romance went from 50% of my total for 2024 to only 31% in 2025.  I definitely read more historical fiction and really picked up on my middle grade books.
• Don’t be afraid to DNF books or take a break from certain authors – Completed! I left some series unfinished and didn't continue with some authors I had read pretty regularly up until now.
• Utilize my library more – Completed! I borrowed more books in 2025 and they were a bigger percentage of my overall reads.
• Buddy read with my daughter and husband – Halfway completed!  My husband didn’t do much reading in 2025 (although he has a goal of 15 books in 2026!) but I did read an entire Stuart Gibbs series with my daughter throughout the year.

How did you do on your 2025 goals?

2025 Reading Year in Review!

I recently shared my favorite books of 2025, but what about everything else?  I read 40,484 pages over 115 books and my average Goodreads rating for the year was 3.7.  Let's take a look at some stats from my 2025 reading!

As always, backlist books dominated my reading!

Same as last year, I read significantly more female authors than male authors.

Romance is still my most-read genre, although the percentage has been on the decline for the past two years.  I'm reading much more broadly, which is great for me! (The two slices that are unlabeled represent horror [1 book] and fantasy [3 books], which for whatever reason weren't showing up on my chart!)

More than half of my reads came from my unread shelf (and if you saw the piles of books I get from my sister, you'd understand!).  I do try to use my library a lot, especially for Henry's books.

Wow, my Kindle was very neglected this year!  I cancelled my KU subscription, so that probably contributed a lot.  But, I did get in a few audiobooks, mostly during solo walks and long car rides.

What stands out from your year of reading?

My Favorite Books of 2025!

Hi, everyone!  You may have already seen my post over on Instagram, but today I wanted to officially share my favorite books of 2025!  It truly is a good mix of genres and really reflects my reading this year - romance, YA, fantasy, historical fiction, and nonfiction!

Sally's Lament by Mari Mancusi

From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presly and Riley Keough

The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe

The Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Waiting Game by Nicola Clark

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Ship Beneath the Ice by Mensun Bound

Dating After the End of the World by Jeneva Rose

Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens

What were some of your favorite books in 2025?

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Blog Break

 

It's hard to believe, but 2025 is just about over!  I'll be taking a break from the blog to enjoy these last couple weeks.  Thanks for stopping by!  Happy holidays, happy new year, and I look forward to talking books again in January!

Charmed & Bound Prologue Event

 Over the summer, I heard about a new bookstore opening soon near me - a romance-focused bookstore that would be the first of its kind in the area.  Charmed & Bound has been operating as an online bookstore for awhile, offering books, merch, events, and subscription boxes, but the ultimate goal of the co-owners was to open a brick and mortar store.  They've been working on a space in Flemington, NJ, but when their original location became a bust, their opening plans were pushed back.  While their new space is not quite ready yet, they held a "prologue" event on November 1 to introduce themselves to the community.  The event offered books and merch for sale, author signings, and other vendors such as a bouquet bar and coffee truck.

The whole event took place outside, but how cute is this going to be when they open?  I love this historic building.  They had a table with some gorgeous special edition books and other bookcases offering paperback and hardcover books.  Candles, bookmarks, and stickers were also on sale.

I ended up buying a "Blind Date" book and was very surprised at what it ended up being! (No spoilers here!)  I was there browsing and on the checkout line for probably half an hour and there were quite a few people there!  Everyone seemed really excited about the new store.

The two owners, Kelsey and Stefanie, were welcoming and accommodating to all the shoppers, and from what I've read about them and their business, they truly seem to love books and reading and making it a magical experience.  Romance is one of my favorite genres, so I'm really looking forward to coming back when they officially open and giving you a tour of the finished bookstore!

Morristown Festival of Books 2025

On Saturday, October 11, we headed to Morristown, New Jersey for the annual Morristown Festival of Books!  Over a hundred authors from all genres (fiction, nonfiction, YA, and children's) gathered for this free event, with several special discussions, panels, and meet-and-greets throughout the day.  I went specifically for one particular talk, but we ended up getting there early, so we first went over to KidsFest, which has its own tent.

Here, several children's, middle grade, and YA authors have tables where they can greet fans and sell their books.  They also had some fun activities such as face painting and some outdoor games.  The weather wasn't the greatest while we were there, so we were glad to be under the tent for awhile!

In the early afternoon, my sister and I went down the street to the Church of the Redeemer for the talk we were interested in: Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig (aka Team W) in conversation about writing as a trio!  Beatriz Williams is one of my favorite authors, and I have loved all the collaborations between these three authors.

This talk didn't have a moderator; it was really just the three authors having a conversation with each other.  They talked about how they all met and the idea they came up with to write a book together (they've since written five!).  They were all so warm and funny!  They've obviously given this talk before, but you can tell they never really get tired of telling it and are actually all very close.

After the talk, the authors made their way to the signing tent and after quite a long wait, I was able to meet them!  They were clearly a very popular draw at the festival.  Henry was running around nearby as I talked to them, so I pointed him out, and we all had a nice chat about how much energy little boys have.  They were all so sweet and had such a good rapport with each other.  And I got to add two more Beatriz Williams-signed books to my collection!

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Titcomb's Bookshop

 Another indie bookstore I visited on our Cape Cod trip was Titcomb's Bookshop in Sandwich, MA.  Titcomb's Bookshop is a family-run bookstore that opened in 1969 and is now a three-story bookshop that sells new and old books, rare books, games, puzzles, and cards.

Outside is this little rock garden where people can write the names of their favorite books!

Once you get inside, there are three floors to explore.  The children's books and nonfiction/local flavor books can be found to the left and right of the entrance.  This place is absolutely packed with books!

If you head upstairs, you'll find an open, airy space with some bargain books, gifts, and a large collection of rare and used books.  I had already spent enough time in the store, so I didn't head down to the lowest level, but Tom and Henry found some fun toys to look at down there.

I ended up buying a memoir for myself and a book about lighthouses for Henry (he became obsessed with them on this trip!).  The gentleman working the register was a huge help when I asked if they had any such books - he looked up several for me to choose from!  Lovely staff, great selection, cool atmosphere - definitely stop at Titcomb's Bookshop if you're ever on Cape Cod!