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March Madness (The Book Shelf style)
The old adage says that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb; but March has always felt all things lion to me. A...
Nicole Hannon
Mar 6, 2025
Happy "new year" (according to The Book Shelf)
Welcome back, readers! For all intents and purposes, The Book Shelf is wishing all of you a happy new year after a January pause on the...
Nicole Hannon
Feb 6, 2025


2024 Holiday Shopping Guide
The holidays are under 2 weeks away; and with Thanksgiving being so late this year, it has felt like the time to be festive is shorter...
Nicole Hannon
Dec 12, 2024


A side-by-side Christmas book review
Readers of The Book Shelf's blog will be well-versed in how much I love sharing a reading experience with my 11-year-old son, Owen. While...
Nicole Hannon
Dec 5, 2024


Holiday Shop preview: 2025 BOOK SUBSCRIPTIONS!
The Book Shelf’s website is edging toward a pivot for the holiday season; you will see that as of today, existing book bundles have gone...
Nicole Hannon
Nov 21, 2024


The Book Shelf's book shelf (Can you say that 10 times fast?!)
There are a lot of 'mini' bookshelves around our house: in the spare room, the living room, Owen's bedroom and ours. Each bring me a lot...
Nicole Hannon
Nov 14, 2024


November is for Owen
On November 6, 2008, Mike and I met on a semi-blind dinner date. But because this isn't a post about our story, I'm going to jump ahead...
Nicole Hannon
Nov 7, 2024
Hey, November!
Let's talk about what is coming up for The Book Shelf when we greet a new, cozy month (and one that just happens to be my favorite!) To...
Nicole Hannon
Oct 31, 2024
Why it just might be okay to let your kids not finish books
Full disclosure: this had been a HARD topic for me to make peace with. All things books and reading colored so much of my childhood, then...
Nicole Hannon
Oct 24, 2024


PART TWO: Personal Halloween book recommendations for young readers (adventures in literature from mom and prior-teacher life!)
A Spooky Night (Marion Kyff Dodd) This book was an incredible find by my husband many years ago in a Mystic, CT bookstore that does a...
Nicole Hannon
Oct 17, 2024
Saturday's takeaways
If you follow @thebookshelfexp on Instagram, you will see that I had the honor of setting up at my first ever vendor market this past...
Nicole Hannon
Oct 10, 2024


Let’s recap ‘soft launch’ September, and what the next step means for The Book Shelf
Social media, for better or worse, often seems to cast the widest net in terms of connecting to people. While I am grateful to have this...
Nicole Hannon
Oct 3, 2024


An interview with a reader
Every so often, The Book Shelf will interview various readers, with the purpose to highlight and draw attention to the fact that...
Nicole Hannon
Sep 26, 2024


Has a book ever changed you?
A book has never not changed me. Granted, there is always the rare instance when a book closes after its last page and you're left a bit...
Nicole Hannon
Sep 19, 2024


Why should adults read YA and middle grade books?
To connect , of course. If you have begun looking through some of the book bundle offerings under the variety of categories offered (i.e....
Nicole Hannon
Sep 12, 2024
Making the book experience personal
Stories have endless and diverse elements, just like humans. There are books that draw you in, and ones that may piss you off. Books that...
Nicole Hannon
Sep 5, 2024
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