Happy Monday!
I have to admit I struggled this week with what to blog about. I’ve spent so much time over the last several months posting about my book that I was really starting to feel like a used car salesman or something. Nothing against car salesmen. We all need a used car at some point in our lives, after all!
My mind started wandering every time I thought about topics. Usually to things like, what should I post next on Instagram? How can I update my living room this winter without spending a fortune? When is the sequel to Caravel coming out?
This site is my happy place—a place where I can let you guys in on my life, the things that make me happy and inspired. And so I stopped trying to figure out what to write about and realized that I should just think about whatever I want…let my mind wander. And so I did. I continued to think about Caravel, the YA novel by Stephanie Garber—the book I’ve been enamored with since I read it late last year.
If there ever was a book I wish I had written, that would be it.
But being able to read it is almost just as good. It’s magical and enchanting and mesmerizing. And yes all of those things mean basically the same thing but I feel like one adjective isn’t enough in this case. The story is so original that I often wonder how Stephanie Garber came up with such a great idea. I love the characters too (so much!) but I realized immediately after I read the last page and closed the book, that it’s the world of Caravel I was going to miss the most. And I was right. In the months since I’ve read it, I have found myself thinking about it and anxiously awaiting the sequel—which is releasing in May!
The funny thing is, I don’t even own the book. I bought it for my niece, thinking she would love it, and after she read it, I shamelessly begged her to borrow it. But then after I read it, that awful moment came when I had to return it to her. Because it was a gift—to her. Not to myself! And now the sequel, Legendary is coming and I obviously have to buy both books because I want to put them on my shelf to read again and again.
I’m not the type of reader who inhales books. I don’t read a book, finish it in two days, and move on to the next. I don’t take on reading challenges or commit to reading 50 books a year. I’m a pretty slow reader. I tend to lose myself in the story if I love the book, or labor through it if I don’t. Maybe that’s why I think about them long after I read them. I space them apart pretty well because I feel like if I finish one book and move right on to the next, I’ll forget something wonderful about it. Maybe not details or facts about the story, but the way the story made me feel.
Caravel is one of those books for me—a story I was easily lost in, easily transported to. And so this weekend when I should have been thinking about what to blog about, I was clicking around Stephanie Garber’s website and learning that not only is Caravel’s sequel coming soon, the movie rights have been sold too!! So how in the world was I supposed to blog about anything else when my mind kept wandering back to the sights and sounds of one of my favorite books?
But I’m hoping you’re okay with that because now you have a YA book recommendation instead! It’s funny how often our minds wander to scenes from our favorite movies or books, isn’t it?
What about you? What’s that book for you, a book that takes your thoughts away from the present and makes you think about it long after you’ve read the last page? Please let me know in the comments because maybe I’ve never heard of it or maybe I just need a nudge it that direction. With so many incredible books out there, there’s bound to me another that will make my mind wander– and probably someone else’s too!
Speaking of book recs and books that make your mind wander, I have a great list to share with all of you…
The Best STEAM Chapter Books for Kids! The list was complied by imaginationsoup.net which is run by Melissa Taylor, a book blogger, educator, and literacy trainer. I’m so thrilled to say that she included Spin the Golden Light Bulb on that list! I mean there are amazing books on it, many that I’ve read, and to be listed with them is wonderful. Take a look if you’re looking for books related to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The list is broken down into two groups: beginning chapter books for kids ages 6-8 and middle grade chapter books for kids ages 8-12. Click here to read it and many other great lists of books too!
Oh and before I forget, you may have noticed a new header image on my site. I’m working on a more permanent one but until then, I really wanted an update. There’s no big reason for it, I just liked this one for now!
I hope you have a fantastic week full something that inspires you to be creative—whether it’s a song or a book or a walk in the crunchy snow. Monday is the day of endless possibilities and I plan on making the most of it. I hope you will too!
Jackie ❤
swirl and spark 