Hey there, guys! I’m praying that your week has gotten off to a great start. 🙂 ❤ As some of you may have seen in another post, my main personal goal for this year is to simply read more. While I would love to apply this to my part in the blog community, as well (I could always read more blog posts, haha), this semi-resolution is a reminder for myself to read great literature. Whether that’s a work of fiction, a Shakespearean play, or a biography, I’m up to reading whatever I find at the library that interests me, granted that I make time out of my day for it.
In this post series, which may become a bi-weekly or monthly post that I share, I will be going over, put simply, what I have been recently reading! I have taken some lovely pictures of the books I’ve been enjoying, and I wanted to share them with you guys.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve read any of these books yourself! ❤ Now, let’s check them out. 🙂
What I’m Reading This Week
Just Finished: Toss The Bouquet

This is a lovely wedding short story collection I found while browsing my favorite library at the beginning of this month. It was by absolute chance that I came across it, as I was pushing Elizabeth around in the stroller so that my mom could browse freely without Elizabeth crying. The title happened to catch my eye as I breezed past it in my task of keeping the stroller moving constantly, haha, so I turned back around and grabbed it, reading the summary as I went.
I don’t like to describe books in full detail, because my joy as a reader has been dampened many times by a too-thorough review or back cover, lol. However, I will say that if you would enjoy reading about weddings, this is the short story collection for you! The first story has great characters, the second one has a great plot, and the third has great characters and a great plot. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Reading Now: The Virginian by Owen Wister

GUYS. I accidentally found this book while browsing a library I don’t usually go to, and on a whim, without even knowing what it was about except that it looks like a western, I decided to give it a chance. I doubt I have ever been more delighted in a book before!
There have certainly been great novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading in the past, but since I knew not a thing of its plot or characters going into it, everything is a lovely surprise in The Virginian, and man, the humor of the author/narrator is extraordinary. It is so many genres wrapped into one novel, but the running theme is still certainly western.
This book is to me, as one of my favorite librarians calls it, a “lost classic” – why I’ve never heard of this novel, which was written in 1903, is beyond me. It is too good to be lost among other great books!
Current rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Honorable Mention: Under God
by Michael Tait and Toby Mac

Haha, I call this an ‘honorable mention’ because I’ve read the first multiple chapters, but have yet to really get into it. I have a funny relationship with learning about history, because while I love discovering new information and insight into the ways of the past, I have a harder time getting into the wording and focus than other areas of literature. Still, this one is worth mentioning, and I will make my way through it if it takes me a month, because the focus of this American history book is on how our country was formed on godly principles. It’s unlike any other book I’ve read, and I LOVE it. If this sounds interesting to you, it’s written really well. I’m definitely enjoying it!
Current Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Bookshelf Read Of The Month:
Poirot and Me by David Suchet

One of the side goals I have for this year is to read at least one book that I own once a month. This would help me to make my way through new reads or re-reads I’ve been putting off for the longest time, and would also encourage me to donate books I don’t enjoy anymore, haha! While I wouldn’t consider myself a book collector, there are definitely titles I’ve kept on my shelf longer than others would deem necessary. Still, with this encouragement, I hope to have read every book that I own, because it’s rather pointless to have so many books in my room still unread. xD
As you saw in the picture, Poirot and Me is the book I’ve chosen for January. If I really don’t like it, I’ll pick another book to read, but I’ll give it another shot.
Thank you so much for reading! I enjoyed compiling these books, as reading has become a hobby of mine again over the past month, which is so wonderful. 🙂 If you’ve decided to read more this year, as well, you’ll have to let me know what you’ve been reading in the comments below!
Happy blogging – and reading!
— Maggie