This was book club week, which is always a chaotic week of me trying to read two books in one week so everything is fresh in my mind for the meet up. That means I chose reading over housework. No regrets on that at all, as I scramble to get caught up on everything I didn’t do.

And in addition to it being book club week, my daughter and I started to have circle time this week. Yes, just the two of us. Strangely, it is now our favorite part of the day. At 8:30 am every day, we come together by singing a song. I then read a book she knows really well, so she can participate by “reading” her favorite parts. Next up is singing a song with movement so she can get some of her wiggles out. Then we talk about everything we plan to do that day together. We close with one more song. It’s such a great way to start our day and sets us up for better success as she then transitions into her independent play. Now just watch me make a blog post out of this somehow like all the crazy bloggers and influencers do…

Reading Social Media News

This week, Google was ruled a monopoly. What does that mean? And how does it affect marketers? Search Engine Land breaks it all down with some opinions from experts.

One of the biggest complaints I’m hearing from creators lately is that they have Reels go viral and that is not translating in more followers. I started looking at my own behavior with Reels. I will watch one multiple times, share it to my Stories and send it to friends. But then I don’t follow the Creator. It actually takes me a few times of seeing a Reel from them for me to even consider it. So to me, it makes sense that they’re not gaining followers, because I don’t think I’m alone in the way I interact with Reels. Anyway, Instagram is bending over backwards right now to make Creators happy. The latest is to change analytics to keep them focused on views rather than other metrics like reach and followers. Will it make them happy? I’m gonna guess not.

Reading Books, Books and More Books

Past

There was so much about Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal that made me happy. It is a great read despite being about generational trauma. Stradal looks at how we deal with those lessons we are taught from our parents and how we pass those on to our own children. I do think it gets a little lost at the end, but it’s still worth a read. It is super readable, and despite some of the subject matter, surprisingly light. If you’re looking for your next summer read, I would say to definitely pick this up. Score: B+

Since The God of the Woods by Liz Moore was a book club book, I didn’t have high hopes for it. It far exceeded my low expectations, and I would even go as far as to say it was one of our better book club books. It was an exploration of generational trauma (a theme this week apparently) as you tried to solve two mysteries. Were the two mysteries related or were they just coincidences? Would the rich and powerful get what they wanted or would they finally get caught for their bad behavior? This is one of the very few books that I truly did not know what happened until the end. This is such a rarity that I would recommend it on that fact alone. But it’s also well-written with great relatable characters. Definitely a must-read. Score: B+

Present

I picked up Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy because of some article that listed it one of the must-reads of the year. I’m very early on, but it’s feeling super bizarre. I have no clue what in the heck I’m reading. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I honestly have no idea. I guess I’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

Future

Sugar, Baby by Celine Saintclare is the last of my library books that I have in my possession. This makes me sad and excited. This is the end of a very big haul I requested a couple of months ago and now I’m at the end of it. But with the end comes a new beginning. I’m excited because it’s time to start planning that next huge request haul. What will be on that list? Will the books be good or will they just be meh? So much possibility right now.

So what are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?