where do you store your books? where are those bookshelves from?
it’s an old post, but here’s how we store + display our books in our home, a home tour
what’s in KK’s bookshelf? where do you get her books? how do you afford her books? how do you have so many? where do you store your books not in her small bookshelf?
see my post about our baby bookshelf of themed, seasonal books
or see our monthly themes for play, which inspires what’s in our bookshelf
see my “toy rotation” and “play area” highlights on instagram
do you prefer paperbacks, library books, kindle books…? where do you buy your books? how do you afford books?
i love all formats for different reasons.
sometimes I prefer books on my phone (through the libby app, the audible app, or the kindle app) just because I like the convenience of having a book with me wherever I am. it’s so easy to read in moments of waiting (more on this in a second) when I keep books on my phone. in those early days of nursing KK, my reading skyrocketed, simply because I kept books on my phone, and would read them while nursing. bliss.
sometimes I like the library books because I love the joy of visiting a library. especially with KK. :)
sometimes I prefer audiobooks - it’s my favorite thing to listen to while driving KK around, while doing something with KK that may require me to watch her but not engage, while doing chores, etc. I check audiobooks out from the library, I use the Libby app, and I usually have an Audible subscription. (my airpods are one of my favorite possessions as a mom.)
sometimes I like physical books - particularly if it’s a kid book, a reference book, a nonfiction book, or a cookbook - just because we like for them to fill our home. and I feel strongly about my children seeing mama read, so for that reason I mainly invest in tangible books - because it’s obvious I’m reading, whereas a screen isn’t as clear. and sometimes I prefer physical books* because I like reading in the bath and I like passing books onto loved ones.
for magazines I have a mixture - mainly physical magazines for the above “I want my children to see me read” reason, but I also subscribe to a few through my kindle app for convenience. like when I’m stuck waiting in a car or at an appointment. one of my birthday traditions is to subscribe to a magazine or two for the coming year.
*I also bought a tonnnn of paperbacks on the used section of Amazon my first trimester when I was pregnant with KK. screens of any kind gave me awful motion sickness, so I read physical books like a maniac. other than the ever-present nausea, it was awesome. read more about my pregnancy here.
i get books from everywhere. i ask for books (and audible credits) as gifts, I stick them in our Mr. Valentine Baskets and Easter baskets, I send an Amazon wishlist of books to loved ones. for Valentine’s and Easter, I send a list to my two sisters of kid books we’d love to add to our collection, ask that they each choose one to send us, and I tape the gift note in the book when it arrives, making the book a treasure (as well as a beloved tradition). I look through the book section of Goodwill (and thrift stores, garage sales, and my neighborhood’s Facebook Group), I reserve them at the library, I shop the Amazon sales, I shop the Kindle sales, etc etc etc.
also. I utilize the library a lot. i library cards to several different libraries (some I do have to pay a small, annual non-resident fee, but I consider it 1000% worth it), simply so I can have more options on my Libby app. these days I do the majority of my reading this way.
A lot of times I get Kindle books for free. When ordering something on Amazon, sometimes there’s a shipping option that says something along the lines of, “Hey, if you choose this suuuper slow delivery option, we’ll give you a $1-2 credit towards a digital purchase.” (Shown in the photo below.) I try to use that option whenever possible, then I stack my credits until I have enough to pay fo an entire Kindle book. (Or, similarly, this is how I got our stash of Christmas movies and our movie rental date nights for free on Amazon.)
how do you find time to read? when do you read?
I read in moments of waiting. Waiting at an appointment, waiting for Brett to get ready, waiting for the oven to preheat, waiting for the groceries to get delivered, waiting for Brett to come home, etc etc etc. To some people, it’s like “Wait, you read, like, two to twenty minutes at a time?” And I’m like, “YES! Those few minutes here, few minutes there, really add up.” For this reason, I always have a book with me. (Few things make me more upset than being stuck waiting, without a book.)
And, I find that I do my best reading when I read this way: in moments of waiting. Because, oftentimes, when it’s time to put the book down, I’m hooked on the story. And then I work to create more time to finish the book. So I may read before bed, or before KK wakes up in the morning.
So by creating no pressure on myself to read, and instead looking at it as an enjoyable way to wait, I find myself organically reading more.
And really, reading reallyyyy helps my naturally anxious mindset. So whereas most people these days scroll in moments of waiting, I find I do better reading in those few moments because it not only takes me to a new environment, but it also oftentimes provides me with a new perspective - both of which I find incredibly grounding.
the minute I added the kindle app, the audible app, and the libby app to my phone, my reading skyrocketed, as it was now much easier to read in moments of waiting. especially with a newborn baby in a pandemic. I read so, so much in those early days of breastfeeding. 2am became my favorite time to read. (see more about my postpartum favorites here.)
and, once I learned that some moms swear by audiobooks and podcasts in the car, on a walk, while cooking dinner, during a workout, while resting during naptime, etc, I “read” even more.
I found that by starting and ending my day the exact same everyday, I was not only calmer, but it also allowed me to prioritize things that were important to me: like a tidy kitchen and plenty of water. and since I both enjoy reading and believe it to help my anxiety, both my morning routine and my evening routine allow for white space to do nothing and rest. aka built in time to read, if that’s what I’m craving that day. (see a full list of my routines here.) I just discovered the evening combo of an audiobook and a puzzle, and my WORD that right there is like a trip to the spa.
where do you find new books to read? how do you remember?
I add books that I hear about or I think I may like (usually this means well-written historical fiction) to a “haley” wishlist on Amazon. That way, I have a running list - in one spot - of books I’d love to read (or ask for as a gift, or check out from the library) sometime. (And, this way, I also get alerted for when the book drops super low in price.)
I also love scrolling the Book of the Month’s list of past books. Those are GOLD.
if you hate a book, do you keep reading?
I only continue a book if I’m loving it. Life’s too short. I may revisit it later to discover that I actually love it, but if I’m not feeling a book in this current season of mine, I move onto the next one. I don’t have a certain page number I make a decision - basically if I just feel like a book is making me not look forward to reading, I try a different book.
do you have a goodreads account?
No. I used to, but realized I didn’t like tracking (and rating) my books. (And I like going into a book not knowing others’ full-on opinions.) Books are such a personal thing, so I could never decide what to rank a book - like, okay, I think I lovedddd this one? Maybe? I loved the dialogue, but not so much the resolution? But just because I disliked it doesn’t mean someone else would? Or maybe I didn’t like it because it went above my head because I was distracted? I don’t know.
And I’d second guess into oblivion.
Instead, I just I keep an Amazon list of books I suuuuper enjoyed. and I keep a separate Amazon wishlist of books I’d love to read in the future.
what are your favorite magazines? why do you like magazines so much? do you get them in print or on a kindle?
I like to subscribe to Real Simple, Women’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and Better Homes and Garden because they’re so joyful and calming - and because Teenage Haley loved those, so reading it is a nice, comforting dose of nostalgia. I also like Food Network, Pioneer Woman (she’s my favorite human - she taught me to cook all those years ago!), and Taste of Home - along with Allrecipes (my #1 favorite magazine)- for dinner ideas. And I loveeee Parents.
Recently I started subscribing to Kiplinger’s because I wanted to learn more about this topic, and magazines are a great, quick, non-intimidating way for me to learn more about a subject. For similar reasons I like to subscribe to Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country - not only because I love their recipes, but because they are essentially a Culinary School in magazine form. I learn so much.
Everyday Reading (a huuuuuge reading inspiration) taught me the joy of reading a magazine during breakfast, and I’m pretty hooked. And sometimes after a long day, I just want something joyful and calming and short to read - and magazines do just that.
Plus, for me, two of the best things to get my creative juices flowing are magazine subscriptions and long, quiet walks. I love magazines. So many good ideas, so much good inspiration.
And? I personally don’t like doing a lot of seasonal decor in my home. But magazines - with all their seasonal stories and ideas - really get me in the festive mood.
I do prefer magazines in print so that KK sees me reading them - and because I like to tear out the ideas I love. I try to get my magazines when they’re on sale for $5 on Amazon.
One of my birthday traditions is to subscribe to a few magazines for the upcoming year - the best gift that gives all year round.
I also like to ask for magazine subscriptions for holiday gifts. I’ll list it on my Year Round Wishlist, and my Favorite Things + Gift Ideas document. These explained more in this blogpost!
We also love getting kids magazines so KK feels apart of this, too - we ask for subscriptions as birthday/holiday gifts from loved ones. Ranger Rick Cub, Highlights Hello, and BabyBug are usually what we ask for. (When she gets older, we’ll also add on the older-aged versions, but may continue these for younger siblings.)
what’s your favorite book?
That’s too hard. Here’s my list of all my favorite books.
