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 of joy to just look at; they represent books that I have loved, books that are yet to be journeyed through, books I taught with, books that aren't just mine and books that are a just because. Perhaps what I love most about the collections in our home is that they exemplify a message that I have been working to make loud at The Book Shelf: that there is never just one 'type' of reader or one 'type' of storytelling to make you one. There's a reason we talk about and teach the importance of an 'author's purpose' to students; books speak to all of us in different, and necessary, ways.

Today I'm inviting you to view my bedroom bookshelf as I highlight a handful of titles. Come see up close how diverse my needs as a reader often are -- and maybe along the way, you'll take some book recommendations with you!

1. Superfudge by Judy Blume. Oh my word, the hold that Fudge and his brother Pee-tah Hatcher have on our family is something else. Near the end of third grade, Owen and I started reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and lost our reading minds. I had read it in elementary school, but jumping into Fudge's world as a parent was so much better. Over the course of a couple months, we had read every book Blume wrote for that series.

   
   

   Since then, they have been re-read countless times, and Superfudge made it to the book shelf this summer after Owen had had a bad day, and asked if we could 'just read something funny' one night. Mission accomplished!

2. Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab. I had followed Nedra on IG for awhile and felt so connected to her message and her voice. When she released this book, I jumped at it. I love self-development books and am always on the hunt for literature in this department that is human, humble and concise. I personally cringe at language that is generalized and feels like it can be found in a greeting card. I am human, I am flawed and continuously want to make myself healthier and happier on the inside -- why would I want to read anything that makes me feel the opposite of that?

I nodded and welled up throughout Set Boundaries, Find Peace, and many pages contain little notes to myself. This is writing that I was hungry for, and whose binding remains a subtle reminder to keep growing.

3. The Bridgerton series. Yes, and don't mind if I do.

I went through a phase in college where I thought that if I called myself a reader, it had to mean I could only take in these lofty, terribly complex and moving stories. I was wrong on some of that, but right on one thing -- moving. Who is anyone to tell you what moves you as a reader? I revel in historical fiction on nearly every platform, so why 'can't' I simply enjoy the luxurious romance and spice that comes from the Bridgerton novels?

Reading is for joy, meaning, escaping -- and connection. Read what you want, when you want; and sometimes just because!

4. Cookies and Milk by Shawn Amos. When I was in third grade, my beloved teacher did a whole unit on Famous Amos cookies and its founder, Wally Amos. After all these years, it has remained a top classroom memory for me (and that teacher is a massive reason I am the person I am now).

When I was building an upper elementary literature and writing class last summer, I stumbled upon this book and completely fell in love. Part memoir, part fiction, Amos catapults you into the world that was 1970's LA where family and social dynamics are messy (to say the least) -- but the bond over cookies and a dream becomes a bridge of sorts. My students adored it and, jumping ahead to this last summer, so did Mike and Owen!

5. Bittersweet by Susan Cain. I've always been an interesting mix of a person, even when I was a child. Small things and your 'everyday' kindnesses start a fire in me, but there is a small layer of melancholy and a (sometimes) too big awareness of the passage of time and the temporary nature of things.

   
   

   In a coincidence that is perhaps a message in disguise, I had bought this book last year and kept feeling like I was in a bit too vulnerable of a place to start reading it. Fast forward to a few months ago, when I stumbled upon a podcast with this author (who has the most calm and soothing voice). I was stunned into absolute stillness at how I could understand, and feel, so much of what she spoke. I reclaimed the book from a pile of 'to be read' I had going, and popped it into its place here on the book shelf. There are some books I go slowly through and savor, taking what I need when I need it; Bittersweet will be one of them.

6. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

   
   

   Last year, I jumped on the bandwagon and read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, wondering if the buzz was true. Spoiler alert: it totally was. But more than that, it led me down a Jenkins Reid path that spanned months. I couldn't get enough of her 'over the decades' sagas (I told you about me and historical fiction).

But then I got to Carrie Soto Is Back and wondered if the rose-colored glasses were going to come off. The main character was so caustic at times, terribly hard to root for and often lacking a natural warmth. However, this saga quickly showed itself to be a 'love story' between a daughter and her father, of all their challenges, independent journeys, unconditional love and redemption. I bawled my eyes out and couldn't pick up another book for some time after. Stunning, different, heartbreaking.

Happy reading to all of you out there, in whatever way that looks for you.