I briefly mentioned a library visit in my post yesterday and thought I’d share with you the books I checked out. I’m trying not to go too crazy given that I have so many shelf-sitters and ARCs but it’s hard to pass up books on a library visit isn’t it? So here is what I picked up:

Whitefly by Abdelilah Hamdouchi. This is a fast-paced crime thriller set in Morocco. I don’t think I’ve read anything by a Moroccan writer so I was excited to find this book Apparently the writer is an award-winning screenwriter. Looking forward to this one definitely.

City of Lies by Victoria Thompson. I have enjoyed Thompson’s Gaslight mystery series and this is the start of a new series featuring a woman on the run. I’m hoping this will be the start of another enjoyable series.

The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins. Collins is one of my favorite poets so it’s time to visit with him again.

Sandcastle by Frederik Peeters and Pierre Oscar Levy. It’s a perfect day on an idyllic beach but a dark secret is about to be revealed for a family. It’s been a while since I checked out a graphic novel and when I saw this one I liked that it has a strong mystery aspect to it so let’s see how it goes.

Have you been to the library this year already? Or planning a visit soon?

I hope you all had a great weekend. It’s been a good one around here. Got to visit the library, do some crafting, reading and I even went to an estate sale and bought a couple of vintage postcards. I’ll have to share those with you in an another post. I’m not sure what I want to do with those postcards yet but maybe they’ll end up in a journal. That was my first time at an estate sale and wouldn’t you know it, a fight broke outside over some items. Holy moly. Luckily, I got my postcards without having to fight anyone over those.

Anyway, we all know that I have a fondness for journals (those I buy & those I make) but you know how after Christmas Barnes & Noble discounts calendars? I found The Reading Woman Engagement Calendar and thought why not. I currently have about six journals in rotation but I thought this would be fun to just document bookish things. Different from my blog, in that I can alter this with paint, stickers, whatever.

So here is the what it looks like so far. I added a picture from my GoodReads Year in Review graphic, a picture of some books I talked about here on my last blog post, some quotes and an instax picture of my nightstand. There are is also washi tape and a sticker from Andi’s shop.

I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with this one but so far it’s kind of fun. Plus, this will be a journal that I can cut up after the year is done if I want to and save the pictures and quotes. So, even if I don’t end up completing it I think I can have a lot of fun with this one later.

Aside from your blog, do you also keep a reading journal? Would love to hear more about that so please share!