Tag: #reading

Book Blogging During a Quarantine

Omg you guys loved my last post!  I’m so glad!  That post is now officially one of the most viewed posts ever on this book blog! 🙂 I really hopes it helps those of you looking for a good book to read during this quarantined time at home.  I’d love to hear which ones you read!

As for us, we are doing ok here and social distancing from the outside world. Homeschooling, playing outside, READING, and spending time as a family.  This quarantine is scary…I now officially have 2 friends who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.  Our family is staying HOME and I hope you and your family are as well.  As of now, the return date for school is May 4 but I truly don’t think that the kids will be going back this school year.  Crazy.

My view from this morning.  My daughter was working on a self guided coding lesson for one of her school assignments today (super cool) so I had a bit of time to start working on this post!

And my current blogging situation.  Blogging under an umbrella (so I can see my computer under the sun) while sitting on my hammock as my kids are jumping on their trampoline.  It’s a GORGEOUS day here today!  Feels so wonderful to be outside. Our current plan is to stay out here as long as possible!

In other news, a few days ago my children set up a “library” on their bunk bed where they laid out books and I had to come and “check them out”.  Once I made my selection, my daughter typed my name and the book title on her computer, handed the book to my son, and he was in charge of “swiping” my library card.  They LOVED doing this and obviously I was proud that of all of the places, they created a library.My library card:

I’m currently reading this book, I’ll have a full blog review up when I finish!  This was one that I had never heard of but I spotted it on the library shelf and it caught my eye.  I love when that happens!

Aaaaaaaand this has nothing to do with books but TIGER KING.  Have you watched???  My husband and I watched all of them over 3 days.  It’s crazy and unbelievable and insane and weird and totally messed up and AWESOME.  Thank you Netflix for releasing this gem at the most perfect time!

Stay safe everyone…

Xo,

Jenny

What are you currently been reading?  Have you watched Tiger King?

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link.  When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

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Sick, Reading, Coffee, and Books

My daughter has been sick.  There is nothing worse than when your child gets sick!  She was home from school for a few days last week and spent her time sleeping, reading, and watching episodes of her current favorite tv show (Bunk’d).  I bought her a present to cheer her up (shown with the humidifier which has been running every night for over a week in her room):

Her and I quietly reading together.  And yes, the bulb in her closet is pink 🙂  Obviously.

Last week was hard and I was exhausted.  I dropped my coffee all over the floor as I was desperately quickly trying to brew it because I was so tired from being up with my sick daughter the night before.  As soon as my son came into the kitchen and saw this, he thought that the coffee grounds were ants and he promptly freaked out.  Recap: I was dealing with a sick daughter, upset son, huge mess, and NO coffee all at the exact same time.  #momlife

Thankfully now it’s a new week and she’s feeling much better but I do think this nasty cough might be around for a while.  Ugh.

In book news, if you follow me on Instagram you know that I officially gave up on this book.  I found it VERY unrealistic and VERY boring.  Not to mention that I kept pronouncing the main character’s name the wrong way. It has gotten fantastic reviews from others who have stuck it out.  My general rule is when I use words like “stuck it out” that means it’s not a book I need to read, lol.

Also, if you follow me on Instagram you know that I’ve been receiving some very exciting book mail lately!  My dear friend Melissa over at Chick Lit Central mailed me these 2 books and I’m SO excited!  I’m halfway through reading Things You Save In A Fire and I’m enjoying it so far 🙂  Full review coming soon!

Rochelle Weinstein sent me an advance reader’s copy of her latest book which will be released in January 2020.  This beautiful book looks AMAZING and I can’t wait to read and review it!  Thank you so much, Rochelle!

I entered a Bookstagram giveway on Instagram and won!  Thank you so much to Flat Iron Books for sending me a copy of this book!  It looks great 🙂

I went to the post office to buy stamps (holiday card season is almost HEEEEEERE!!!) and the man presented me with 7 different design options.  Obviously I chose the one with a literary reference!

And lastly, this picture because it makes me smile.  Favorite coffee, favorite holiday cup, favorite color:

Happy Monday!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  I’m looking forward to Wednesday…I’m going on a special blog related activity!  Any guesses???  If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you might be able to figure it out from this clue (that’s me on the top right):

Xo,

Jenny

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My Life in Books

Books are obviously a huge part of my life.  Here is a tiny glance into my past few weeks 🙂

Reading at the dentist.

Running errands, stopped for a glorious lunch break in the front seat of my car (Portillos Chopped Salad is one of my all time favorite salads):

Obviously my children read and/or are read to everyday in this house, mostly aloud. My daughter’s teacher sent all of the students home with a calendar from school to start record her reading. Her assignment is to read for 20 minutes each day. Ummm…SIGN ME UP. I promised her that I will also gladly do her homework each night as she does it. So now each night, my girl and I escape to my bed for 20 minutes and we read completely silently, side by side. Sometimes we hold hands, sometimes we cuddle. It has very quickly turned into my favorite time of the day.

I was early to pick up my son from a class. While waiting in my car, I remembered there is a Little Free Library not far from the building. I literally jumped out of my car and went for a walk. It was a beauty!

I walked away with this book. Have any of you read it? I was just thinking THAT MORNING that I need a good seasonal holiday read to read in December (I sooooo miss the Quinns). Totally fate that I found this one! Looks great!

***Do any of you have any holiday book recommendations?  This Jewish girl LOVES Christmas feel good stories and I need to start gathering some suggestions…***

And just when I couldn’t think I could love my local library more, they do stuff like this. I’m a huge germaphobe and this makes me so happy. (Another thought: if you OR YOUR CHILDREN are sick, for the love of God please just stay home).

I love our library so, so much.

I have a million pictures of my children with this statue in front of the library. It’s actually a pretty famous local spot for taking pictures of your children, every mom around here has done it 🙂 I recently realized that after all of these years and photos…I don’t have any pictures of ME with him! Mommy’s turn!

An adorable new store recently opened not far from my house. How cute are these? Made from real books!

And lastly…this. Not a book, but words 🙂 My family attended a gorgeous wedding a few weeks ago and my daughter had some requests for the DJ (Her 2 favorite popular songs…This Girl is on Fire and Shut Up and Dance with Me). Love her!!!

The Unbreakables Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for The Unbreakables!  I LOVED reading through all of the things you are doing to make your souls happy.

Congratulations Adelina Garza (I go to the movies every Thursday night)! Email me (bookcoffeehappy@gmail.com) your mailing address and your book will be on it’s way 🙂 Enjoy! I’d love to hear what you think!

Have a great fall weekend!

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support!  Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

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*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

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The Reader Problems Tag

As soon as I saw this Reader Problems tag on www.roaringbookworm.wordpress.com, I knew I wanted to participate!  This was such a fun one to fill out!  Here are my answers:

You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How do you decide what to read next?

I basically choose my next book based upon the book which I’ve just finished.  If the book I just finished was heavy, I tend to choose a lighter read for my next one.  If I just finished a lighter romance novel, a deep psychological thriller would be a good choice for my next.  I rarely read 2 books in a row of the same genre (unless it’s a series).

You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?

I wrote an entire post on this!  You can read it HERE!

The end of the year is coming and you’re behind on your reading challenge. Do you try to catch up? And if so, how?

I’m very proud to say that I’ve never encountered this problem. 🙂  I always surpass my reading challenges and create higher ones for myself for the coming year!

The covers of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?

I.  HATE.  THIS.  I don’t cope well when this happens.  I’m way too type A.

Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?

My blog readers 🙂  See THIS POST for more on this!

You’re reading a book in public and you’re about to start crying. How do you deal?

I sob.  Like a child.  Mascara everywhere.

The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you’ve forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it?

Absolutely.  I have been known to reread an entire series in anticipation for a new release!

You do not want anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks?

I always love sharing my books as long as I get them back 🙂

You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?

#1 worst reading problem to have!  I. HATE. THIS.  The only thing that gets me out of a reading slump is eventually discovering a fantastic book.  After that, they all just seem to come back!  Until they don’t…and then it all starts again.  Ugh.

There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read. How many do you end up buying?

Zero…but I put them all on hold at the library asap.  I’m a proud minimalist!  You can read more about that amazing life changing decision HERE.

After you purchase all of these books that you’re dying to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you read them?

A huge reason I love being a minimalist (see above question)!  No clutter 🙂

These questions were such fun to answer!  I would love to hear your answers to some or all of these questions in the comments below!

I now tag:

www.starringpamela.com

www.confessionsofayareader.com

www.booksandblends.com

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Let’s Chat: Do You Read In Silence or With Noise?

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I have to read in complete and utter silence.

Like…SILENCE.

No background noise.  Zero.

I am able to read on airplanes as long as everyone sitting in any proximity to me just so happens to be quiet.  And by quiet I mean no talking, chewing, humming, etc.  I may or may not have been known to ask those around me to lower the sound on in their earphones (this might be one of the most annoying sounds on the planet, by the way).

I can read while getting my nails done as long as the music in the salon is turned way down and is instrumental.  Someone on their cell phone next to me?  Forget about it!  (Side note…FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP TALKING ON YOUR CELL PHONE AT SALONS! 2 weeks ago while receiving a lovely pedicure, I was forced to listen to the lady next to me on her cell phone ordering her dinner from a Thai restaurant. She asked the person on the other end of the line to describe each dish on the menu before making her final selection.  Not exactly the peaceful salon experience I was hoping for although I did learn a great deal about Thai spices.)

I really hate when salons have televisions playing because I can’t read with them on! I know there are people out there who have the ability to read while a television is on in the background but clearly I am not one of those people.  HOW???

I need 100 percent, complete silence to concentrate on anything.  I wish I could read or concentrate on anything with a bit of noise…I would be able to read on so many more occasions!

I have been like this for my entire life.  I’m an only child and my house was always so blissfully quiet while growing up…I loved quiet then and I continue to love it now.  If you watched my Disney World video, you know that I also need silence to fall asleep! Whenever I had to study for anything, silence was the only way.  When I took my ACT test in high school, I brought cough drops with me even though I wasn’t the least bit sick.  I wanted to be prepared in case anyone around me was sick so I could diffuse the distractions (side note…the guy next to me had the worst cough and was super thankful for my foresight, lol) . When I saw Hamiltion last fall, I offered my water to the lady in the row front of me who couldn’t stop coughing.  WHY do I always seem to be surrounded by unhealthy, annoying people?!?

Both of our local libraries have “Silent Reading Rooms” where you aren’t ALLOWED to talk AND they have fireplaces. So basically it’s my personal version of heaven. I have spent many blissful hours reading in those lovely, silent rooms.  Perfection.

So tell me….how do you read?  Complete silence or with background noise?  If you do read with background noise, how do you tune it out so that you can concentrate???  Please teach me your tricks!  I would SO love to be able to do that!

Until then, I’ll be the one glaring at you on the airplane as you loudly pop your gum…

Xo,

Jenny

It would really help me if you could follow/subscribe to my blog.  Also, please “like” my Facebook page ,  follow me on Twitter, and follow me on Instagram!

Local friends, I run a storytime every Tuesday and Friday at Whimsy Cafe in Buffalo Grove, Illinois from 10:00-10:30! Bring your kids (6 months-5 years) for stories, songs, and lots of fun. Price is included in your child’s admission, no need to sign up. If you are a blog reader, please be sure to introduce yourself!  I can’t wait to meet you and your little ones. 🙂

Let’s Chat: Is Reading a Social Hobby?

It’s absolutely freezing here.

So. Much. Snow.

The roads are ridiculous, I can’t feel my fingers, and I’m currently eating steaming hot banana oatmeal to warm up my insides.  I’m writing this sitting next to my dining room window where the current falling snow is making me feel like I’m blogging from the inside of a snow globe.

And…I’m loving every second (minus the driving).

Winter is favorite season and I’m obsessed with snow!  There is nothing more gorgeous to me than freshly fallen snow.  This is mine and my daughter’s favorite snow covered tree.  So, so beautiful.

Stay safe and stay warm, local friends!

Today’s blog topic is one that I have been pondering for quite some time, especially the older that I’ve been getting.

Reading is an interesting hobby.

I think it’s the most antisocial and yet completely social hobby all at the same time.

I need silence when I read.  As in no talking, no television, no distractions.

I am an only child and have always loved having alone time.  I prefer quiet to chaos, silence to loudness, and peace to noise.  I have always been like this!  Reading is the perfect, quiet hobby for me.  Always has been and always will be.

Throughout the day, I find myself thinking about whatever book I’m currently reading.  While I’m driving, while I’m washing dishes, etc. I could be at the most amazing and exciting party and yet somewhere in the back of my mind…be dreaming of the next time when I will be able to peacefully snuggle up with a book.  Antisocial hobby?

And yet, I have had AMAZING and in depth discussions with people about books.  People who I don’t even know well!  Books have such a magical way of instantly providing complex topics for discussions.  Reminds me of a picture I posted on Instagram last month.  LOVE IT!

How can something be called antisocial when the very focus of it is to meet characters, travel to far away places, learn cultural differences, and to broaden the horizon of topics which previously had not be known?

I started this book blog as a creative outlet for this stay at home mom to be able to share her passion with others.  I can’t believe all that it has provided for me in such a short amount of time!  I have met so many new friends, both physically as well as virtually.  I have created a space in which I’ve watched others interact with each other though books.  I have had numerous people tell me that they appreciate the community I have created here.  All because of books.  Amazing.

This all brings me back to my original question:  Is reading a social hobby?

I’m not entirely sure…I just know that either way, it’s the perfect hobby for me. 🙂

What do you think?  Is reading a social hobby?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY! I love you and I love our friendship so, so much! Can’t wait to celebrate this weekend! 

(To learn more about us and our special friendship read this post)

Stay safe and warm, everyone!

XO,

Jenny

It would really help me if you could follow/subscribe to my blog.  Also, please “like” my Facebook page ,  follow me on Twitter, and follow me on Instagram!

Local friends, I run a storytime every Tuesday and Friday at Whimsy Cafe in Buffalo Grove, Illinois from 10:00-10:45! Bring your kids (6 months-5 years) for stories, songs, and lots of fun. Price is included in your child’s admission, no need to sign up. If you are a blog reader, please be sure to introduce yourself!  I can’t wait to meet you and your little ones. 🙂

 

Reading Next to Ones You Love

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A few weeks ago on a cold, windy, and rainy afternoon my daughter had 2 of her friends come to our house for a play date.  The 3 girls happily played board games and ate popcorn in the kitchen while I kept my younger son entertained upstairs to allow the older girls their bonding time.

About an hour into the play date, the door to my bedroom opened and my daughter walked in.  “Mommy, will you please let me know when an hour has passed?  We are going to silently read for an hour.”

Ummm….WHAT?!  Did my 6.5 year old daughter just say that her and her friends would like to silently READ on their play date?!

I told her that I would keep track for her.  She came upstairs every 15 minutes asking if it was time yet and I told her no.  Eventually my son fell asleep and you KNOW where I immediately ran!

I couldn’t believe my eyes.  1 girl was on the couch.  1 girl was on the love seat.  One girl was on the floor.  All silently reading.  Books everywhere.  It was truly my version of play date heaven!  They were beyond excited when I immediately ran back upstairs to get my own book so that I could join the fun (they told me there were 2 rules that must be followed: find a place to sit where nobody else was sitting and no talking.  I silently took a seat on our leather bench).

The 4 of us silently read.  Together.  It was awesome.  I was so happy and proud!  Best play date ever.

It got me thinking of other times in my life where I enjoyed a book silently next to someone I love.  When my husband and I were dating, we used to go out for weekend breakfasts and sit and read the newspaper together over coffee. Years later, I will never forget enjoying  The Time Traveler’s Wife (affiliate) while floating on a raft in a gorgeous Jamaican swimming pool floating next to him (but this time he was no longer my boyfriend but my brand new husband) on our honeymoon.  I read The Violets of March: A Novel (affiliate) days after I gave birth and laying in a bath was my only relief for the pain.  I laid in that bathtub and read while my newborn daughter slept peacefully on floor of our bathroom on her Boppy Newborn Lounger, Elephant Love Gray (affiliate)  (Side note: MY #1 NEWBORN MUST HAVE).  And these days…my absolute favorite place to read is with one of my children peacefully sleeping on my chest (I previously had posted a picture of this happening in this post: My Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1 Picture From Each).

Reading has always brought me peace and happiness.  Being able to experience that kind of peace and happiness while being surrounded by people that I love only adds to that experience.  I like to think that even if she didn’t say it out loud, this is what my daughter felt during her play date.  A proud parenting moment for sure.

As for her 2 friends?  I told them that they are invited to our home anytime 🙂

What are your examples of reading next to someone you love?  I would love to hear in the comments!

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone!  I’m thankful for YOU!

Xo,

Jenny

It would really help me if you could follow/subscribe to my blog.  Also, please “like” my Facebook page (www.fb.com/bookcoffeehappy),  follow me on Twitter@bookcoffeehappy, and follow me on Instagram (@bookcoffeehappy)!  

When you order through any of the above affiliate links, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo