Category: About Me

Top Ten Halloween Books Little Jana Loved

Posted October 28, 2024 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Can you believe Halloween is this week?? I sure can’t! This week’s topic is a freebie, and I’ve chosen to think back to when I was a kid and loved the magic of Halloween. I loved coming up with costumes, school parties, and trick-or-treating so much. I still love many aspects of Halloween like atmospheric/spooky reads, candy, pumpkins, black cats, ghosts, and cute kids in costumes, but Halloween is now a cozy night in watching Arsenic and Old Lace under my fall-themed Snoopy blanket with a bag of my favorite candy next to me instead of going out and being a part of the festivities. So here are the Halloween books I loved as a kid, some of which I also loved reading my classes when I taught elementary school.

1. Popcorn by Frank Asch
2. Trick or Treat, Little Critter by Gina Mayer and Mercer Mayer
3. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
4. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz and Kara McMahon (Adapter)
5. The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain

6. Clifford’s Halloween by Norman Bridwell
7. Franklin’s Halloween by Paulette Bourgeois
8. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
9. Clifford’s First Halloween by Norman Bridwell (I really loved Clifford!)
10. Sherlock Chick and the Case of the Night Noises by Robert M. Quackenbush (This is not Halloween-themed, but it was spooky for little Jana!)

It was so much fun strolling down memory lane and coming up with this list today. I always feel so nostalgic this time of year!
Did you love any of these as a kid?

I hope you have a happy Halloween!

Top Ten Ways My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time

Posted October 21, 2024 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 20 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by Lydia @ lydiaschoch.com and is “How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time”. I love this topic! It’s always fun to look back and see how we’ve grown and changed. I decided to think all the way back to the year I started blogging: 2011–two years after I graduated college. My reading habits and tastes have changed a lot since that time, but here are the ten biggest changes!

1. I used to read YA exclusively, but not anymore! I read maybe one YA title a year now.

2. I could not make audiobooks work for me back then. I tried, but I could not pay attention and I really didn’t like most of the narrators. Now I’ve found my audiobook niche and my favorite narrators, so I listen to them all the time now!

3. I DNF more. Not finishing a book wasn’t even a thing I thought about, most likely because I was still fresh off my years of required reading from high school and college and DNFing meant getting a bad grade. I’ve embraced the DNF and my reading life is better for it.

4. I prioritize the books I want to read, rather than saving them for the opportune moment. I’m a mood reader, and I’ve accepted that! I no longer read from a schedule, and I no longer save books as incentives for getting things done or for specific trips. I read when I want, because I never know when I’ll want to read that book again anyway. lol.

5. I read WAY more historical romance and historical fiction than I used to! I’ve always liked it, but now it’s my favorite. Maybe the turmoil in today’s world has me wanting to escape to the past?

6. I read a lot of indie titles now! I used to go for the big publishers only, but I love seeking out lesser-known titles and authors now.

7. Maybe the market is just more saturated, but closed-door romances are in abundance right now and I love them! I love all romance, but sometimes I’m not in the mood for spice.

8. I rarely read physical copies anymore. My eyes just aren’t what they used to be, and after two surgeries I’m no longer in danger of losing my vision but a lot of damage was done from my degenerative eye disease. So I exclusively read on a Kindle! I love owning physical copies of my favorite books, though. I call it my “apocalypse collection” in case my Kindle ever dies. LOL. I have a magnifying glass, too! Just in case!

9. I don’t read as many books as I used to. I have a lot of new hobbies that I didn’t have back then, namely crochet and cross stitch and Switch games, so I don’t have as much time.

10. I re-read now! I always thought there wasn’t enough time to get my TBR under control if I re-read any books, but now I love re-visiting favorites!

How have your reading habits changed over the years?
Can you identify with any of my changes?

Top Ten Posts I’ve Written That Give You the Best Glimpse of Me

Posted August 26, 2024 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is about getting to know you better! Share the blog/Insta/Twitter posts or YouTube/TikTok videos you’ve made that showcase your personality the most and/or offer the clearest window into your personality. I don’t get personal often here on the blog, but it happens from time to time! If you’re in the mood to get to know me better, here are the posts that will help!

1. If you’re interested in learning about what kind of reader I am, click here.
2. Read about my hobbies (outside of reading, that is) here!
3. If you’re curious to know about some of the amazing places I’ve traveled, this post is for you!
4. Here’s what I look for in a comfort read (plus some of my favorites!).
5. Interested in reminiscing with me? Read about my favorite bookish memories here!
6. Check out which book characters remind me of myself.
7. See what I’m thankful for here!
8. And while you’re at it, read a list of reasons I’m thankful for books here.
9. You know I love Christmas, but here’s a list of my 12 favorites of Christmas.
10. Here are some of my favorite Christmas memories (plus, there’s some little Jana pictures!).

Please comment with a link to a post that will help me get to know you better!
The book world feels lonely sometimes and I’d love to make more friends!

Top Ten Signs You’re a Mood Reader

Posted April 8, 2024 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 21 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a freebie! Sorry, I know more than anyone that it’s super hard to come up with topics sometimes, but I love seeing your ideas! I might even steal a few for future topics, with credit to you of course! This meme is almost 15 years old, and it’s a struggle keeping weekly topics fresh, new, and relevant after all this time! But it’s also fun to stretch my creativity, so I keep going! No complaints here!

For my topic this week I decided to do “Top Ten Signs You’re a Mood Reader”. I talk about being a mood reader every time I write up a seasonal to-read list, so I thought it would be fun to talk more about my reading habits! This list is meant to be funny and really only applies to me. I’m not making any diagnoses here. LOL. So here we go!

1. You never know what to read. 
I seriously just. Never know.

2. Re-reading books is a major gamble. 
There’s nothing worse than re-reading a favorite book, being in the wrong mood for it, and deciding you don’t love it anymore!

3. Picking out the next book you want to read is one of the harder decisions you make in life. 
I’ve been known to spend an hour or more scanning my shelves and flipping through my kindle library, trying to decide what I’m in the mood to read. Sometimes it ends up being nothing and I turn the TV on instead. lol. It’s exhausting!

4. Sometimes it takes a day to read a book and sometimes it takes weeks. 
If I’m in the mood I can devour an 800-page book in two days. If I’m not in the mood, it can take me two weeks to read a 300-page book. And there’s not usually anything wrong with the book, I just can’t bring myself to read it!

5. You’ve got a dedicated shelf of “try again later” books. 
Sometimes I’ll pick a book up that I am super excited about and is definitely a Jana book, only to find I’m not in the mood for it. It’s not deserving of the dreaded DNF label, so I’ll shelve it as “try again later” and go back to it someday. Sometimes I end up really loving these books and sometimes I’ll still end up DNFing if I’ve tried and failed multiple times.

6. You’re usually reading more than one book at a time. 
This helps me a lot because it keeps me interested when I can switch around.

7. A reading/review schedule? We don’t know her. 
It is SOOOO hard to commit to reading or reviewing a book by a certain date. Blog tours give me anxiety, even though I will always jump at the chance to be on one for a book I’m excited about. I just need enough advance notice so I can make sure I’m in the mood at some point! Seasonal TBRs are a nice idea, but I rarely stick to them.

8. Reading most likely isn’t your only hobby. 
I’ve got many other hobbies I can switch between, which is good. In addition to being a mood reader, I’m also a mood crocheter, mood cross stitcher, mood video gamer, mood baker, mood cleaner/organizer, and mood TV/movie watcher. Hopefully I’m in the mood for at least one of these hobbies at any given time or then it’s doomscrolling and we all know that’s never a good idea. LOL.

9. You go through reading phases.
If I’m in the mood for a certain genre, trope, topic, etc. then I’ll usually stay there for a while. I remember a year when over half of my reads were historical romances. I’ve hardly read any of them this year!

10. You like a lot of different genres. 
This kind of goes hand in hand with going through reading phases. I read from a lot of different genres: mystery, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, contemporary/fantasy/historical romance, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction. Sometimes I think I’m in the mood for a contemporary romance, only to get a few pages in and realize it’s a mystery I want. I switch things up all the time!

Does this sound at all like you? Can you relate?
Are you a mood reader? If not, what’s that like? lol.

2023 End of Year Book Survey

Posted December 29, 2023 by Jana in About Me / 13 Comments

I love doing Jamie’s End of Year Book Survey every year, although I’ve added a few of my own questions and removed some of hers in order to make it work a little better for me. This survey helps me look back and remember all the wonderful (and terrible) books I’ve read throughout the year! Also… buh bye 2023, aka the worst year of my life. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Can 2024 please be better?

2023 Reading Stats

Number of books you read: 61
Number of re-reads: 3 (A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams, and Till Death by Jennifer Armentrout)
Number of books you DNFed: 59
Number of pages you read: 19,566 (not counting the books I DNFed)
Most read genre: Adult contemporary romance. I read 23 of them!
Number of new-to-you authors you discovered: 23

Firsts and Lasts

First book you read: The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne
Last book you read: The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole
First 2023 release you read: My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh

Best In Books

1. Best book you read in 2023:
This is so, so hard! I read a lot of really great books this year, but I think my favorite will surprise no one: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. And I’m going to try really hard to not continually mention it in this survey.

2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t:
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren. I love CLo and very impatiently await their next release, so when I got my hands on an early copy of this book I was SO excited. And I hated it. I DNFed @ 57% because I just didn’t like Fizzy as a main character. I could not with her and I didn’t care about her journey.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read:
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon is super under-hyped (at least in my world), and I didn’t expect to love it this much. The time travel aspect also really surprised me, and I loved how it tied it all together.

4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did):
Signal Moon by Kate Quinn. I got my mom to read it, and she loved it too!

5. Best first book in a series you started in 2023. Best sequel of 2023. Best series ender of 2023.
Started: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Sequel: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Ender: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (I know this is cheating, but I say it counts because it’s kind of the end of the Feyre/Rhys arc and the next book in the series focuses on Nesta. So it’s kind of like an end!)

6. Favorite new-to-you author you discovered in 2023:
Martha Keyes. I’ve really been enjoying her books, and am so excited to read her next one!

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone:
I didn’t really venture outside of my comfort zone this year, except I did get more into historical fiction! I really, really loved The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros had me in a chokehold while I was super sick with the flu. I don’t usually read when I’m sick, but I could not stop with this one.

9. Book you read in 2023 that you are most likely to re-read next year?
First to Fall by Jenny B. Jones. It was just so sweet and swoony. A major comfort read.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2023:
Even though I didn’t really like the book, the cover of You, With a View by Jessica Joyce is amazing. I just love it.

11. Most memorable character of 2023:
You know what, I don’t care. If I repeat, I repeat. I am who I am! Xaden from Fourth Wing and Iron Flame  by Rebecca Yarros. I’m obsessed with him.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2023:
The Portrait by Emilia Kelly. The writing is beautiful and enchanting. I found myself getting lost in the words as they floated around, enveloping me in a cozy blanket to protect me from the chill of the story.

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2022:
Every time I read a WW2 fiction novel, I am left in awe of the people who lived through it. I am grateful to The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin for inspiring me to go research more and fill in the holes in my world history education.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2023 to finally read:
My American Duchess by Eloisa James! I loved this book so much, and am really excited to read more of Eloisa’s novels.

15. Favorite quote from a book you read in 2023:
“Reading is…” His brows knit together and then his forehead smoothed as the right words appeared to dawn on him. “It’s going somewhere without ever taking a train or ship, an unveiling of new, incredible worlds. It’s living a life you weren’t born into and a chance to see everything colored by someone else’s perspective. It’s learning without having to face consequences of failures, and how best to succeed.” He hesitated. “I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books and all their proffered experiences.”
― Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London

16. Shortest and longest books you read in 2023:
Shortest: Signal Moon by Kate Quinn (57 pages)
Longest: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (884 pages)

17. Book that shocked you the most:
I am shocked that When in Rome is written by the same author who wrote The Cheat Sheet (Sarah Adams). There was no chemistry between the two main characters, the same things and the same conversations kept happening over and over again, and I think Noah’s eyes got more and more obnoxiously green as the book went on. I kept reading about how everyone is so beautiful and so perfect and so pretty, and that’s it. Noah is supposed to be grumpy, but he just comes off like a jerk. Amelia is a poor little celebrity who is tired of her life, and latches on to anyone, and everyone who offers her a crumb of kindness or affection. I don’t feel like it’s Noah that she’s falling for, I feel like it’s the personalized attention he’s giving her. The book started off, so promising, with a really fun meet cute and characters I thought I was going to fall in love with, but by the halfway point I felt like I had been reading for years. There’s also stronger language in this book than in The Cheat Sheet. I don’t remember many, if any swear words in that book. I read a review that said there’s over 160 in this one, and I feel like they were thrown in just to be thrown in. I’m not against swear words in the books I read, but I wasn’t expecting so many from this author.

18. OTP of the year (you will go down with this ship!):
Is it any surprise that I’m saying Violet and Xaden from Fourth Wing and Iron Flame  by Rebecca Yarros?

19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year:
Grandpa Paul and Theo’s relationship in You, With a View by Jessica Joyce. I really didn’t like this book, but Grandpa Paul completely stole my heart and I read this book for him. I miss my grandpa a lot, so I kind of adopted this one as my own. I think he is the sweetest, most adorable, most heartwarming character I’ve ever read about.

20. Favorite book you read in 2023 from an author you’ve read previously:
In the Weeds by B.K. Borison.

21. Best book you read in 2023 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else:
Ledge by Stacey McEwan. I am not on BookTok (I hate it there), so I know I never would have even heard of this book if not for my friend, Paige, who recommended this to me when I was going through withdrawals after I’d finished my ACOTAR re-read. It’s compulsively readable!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2023:
The absolute newest would have to be Andrew from Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh. He says some of the swooniest things and I’m totally in love with him.

23. Best 2023 debut you read:
I only read two 2023 debuts this year, but I really enjoyed Love in the Scottish Winter Highlands by Beatrice Bradshaw even though it was a bit heavier than I was anticipating. I loved the scenery descriptions and found the romance to be quite realistic.

24. Most vivid setting you read this year:
I’m sorry, but it’s the Basgiath War College and surrounding world in Fourth Wing and Iron Flame  by Rebecca Yarros. That world is so vivid and terrifying, yet completely captivating and I’d love to visit when it’s safe so I can meet everyone and the dragons and see the classrooms and the dorms. It’s just so good.

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read:The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren brought me so much joy! The narration was so much fun, and I loved catching up with everyone from The Unhoneymooners, which is one of my favorite books ever.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2022:
My goal is to always not cry, but then I decided I love historical fiction so… I cried while reading both The Last Bookshop in London and The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin. And there might have been more tears while reading some others, but I can’t remember now!

27. Hidden gem of the year:
I’ve made an effort to read a lot of lesser known books this year, so I feel like there’s a lot of options for this answer. The one I never hear anything about, though, is The Earl of Christmas Past by Kerrigan Byrne. It’s a magical little Christmas novella that I really enjoyed!

28. Most unique book you read in 2023:
Almost Like Being in Love by Sariah Wilson does something really cool with time travel and Christmas magic, which I found to be so unique and refreshing. This book is super cheesy, but the more I think about it the more I realize how much fun I had reading it. I do not understand the meaning of the title one bit, though!

39. Book that made you the maddest (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it):
I think the books that made me the maddest are the ones that disappointed me the most. There were some books I really wanted to love, and were super excited about this year that I either hated in the end of DNFed. I’ve mentioned some of them in this survey, but there’s also Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas (I’m mad because this is the first LK book I’ve ever DNFed) and The Heiress at Sea by Christi Caldwell (so stupid). OH. And Gilded by Marissa Meyer. I love Marissa Meyer, and I was super invested and interested in this story until I came across multiple reviews with trigger warnings for animal cruelty so I had to stop. This is a major betrayal, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to read a book of hers again, which breaks my heart.

My Blogging/Bookish Life

1. Favorite review that you wrote in 2023:
My review of In the Weeds by B.K. Borison wasn’t anything super special, but it perfectly showcases my feelings of elation when I find a book or an author I love. I love reading about the joy I felt reading this book.

2. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog:
My 2023 Christmas Songs Book Tag post was just to much fun to do! I also love the short bonus story Madeline Martin wrote exclusively for my blog’s Christmas event, A Bookish Little Christmas.

3. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.):
No events this year.

6. Most popular post this year on your blog (whether it be by comments or views):
My Top Ten Historical Fiction Novels I Want to Read post got 52 comments on it!

8. Post you wished got a little more love:
All of my reviews, really. Blogs aren’t as popular as they used to be, and now that Google has officially discontinued Feedburner and I don’t have an alternative, I’ve lost traffic that came from my email subscribers.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.):
No new discoveries, I’m afraid!

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year:
I achieved my goal of reading 60 books this year!

Looking Ahead in 2024

1. Book you are most anticipating in 2024 (non-debut):
I really, really hope that Rebecca Yarros releases the next Empyrean novel this year! And can Tessa Dare please finally release The Bride Bet, which we’ve been waiting on for years now? I can’t wait for Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle. I hope Sarah Adams doesn’t disappoint with the sequel to The Cheat Sheet, The Rule Book! I’m very excited about that one. Oh, and I am very excited for Danielle L. Jensen’s new book, A Fate Inked in Blood! AH and The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren!!

2. 2024 debut you are most anticipating:
Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb sounds like it’s going to be so much fun.

3. Sequel you are most anticipating in 2024:
I’m very excited for Business Casual by B.K. Borison, although I never want the Lovelight Farms books to end!!

4. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2024?
Post more reviews! I have not loved writing them lately. lol.

Do we have any answers in common?

Pick a question or two and answer them in the comments! Let’s discuss!