The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
My kids have Spring Break next week – so my hubby and my son are going to Osaka, Japan on Saturday which means it’s just me and my daughter left behind. But the weather is supposed to be kind of yucky here – rain, flash floods and high winds. 😕 Hopefully for not all of Spring Break!
+ It’s wild times in the news these days and I’m losing myself in books because of it. 😞
+ I got caught in a lock down at my daughter’s school on Thursday. It was 5 minutes to the final ringing, I heard police sirens around the area, but that isn’t new. The school opened the side gate for parents to come in and then the bell started ringing, but 5 times. Teachers then were telling us parents to get inside a room because there was a lock down happening. I think my first thought was why are they doing a lock down drill 5 minutes prior to the end of school? No…the teacher or staff who had her walkie talkie said police were in pursuit of some guy and he climbed the fence at the front of the school. It barely lasted 10 minutes, but I had to text my son I’d be late to pick him up at his school (he was freaking out), and all I could think about was how I was so close to my daughter who was a building away yet still so far from her and I wanted to protect her. I did NOT like those thoughts…the police said they got him (I heard on the walkie), it was all clear but we had to wait for the all clear bell. Us parents went to our kids classrooms, and when my daughter’s teacher opened the door some of the boys ran out laughing but saying “whoa that was scary!”, and the girls…two girls were bawling their eyes out. Other girls had tear streaks and I just was anxious to see my daughter, saw her and she was okay and I gave her the biggest hug. As we walked through campus I saw girls with tears on their faces, I heard parents and grandparents explaining to kids how the school kept them inside to keep them safe. I heard a mom tell her daughter she almost cried (the mom).
My daughter seemed “fine” but I thought maybe it didn’t hit her yet? Because watching your classmates cry – I know it scared her – but she was trying to keep everything normal. In the car ride home, she said some of the kids grabbed their scissors, in case someone came through their barricaded door. These are 3rd graders! 😞. The were hiding under their desks trying to stay very quiet. 💔 At dinner time my daughter’s emotions spilled out – she was frustrated with something and then burst into tears. So we talked about it, I told her I was in the next building waiting to get to her and that I know how scary that was. I told her they did such a good job and the drills helped them prepare for a moment like this. This is their world…and it’s a scary one! I will say though, the school was very prepared and worked fast when that 5 bell system rang – especially because it was almost final bell, they got all of us parents into rooms and locked that door fast. I will say as parents in the room (4 of us and 2 staff) we failed at barricading the door. We didn’t do that at all. A parent even joked if we need to get under the table and we just did the nervous laugh thing.
Also, I gotta give it up to teachers and school staff. Their lives are on the line teaching in this day and age. I’m just glad everyone was safe and it wasn’t a worse situation! But it reminded me things can happen in the blink of an eye.
+ Bruno Mars is on repeat – I gotta learn all the songs before the concert in 5 weeks! So excited!
+ Also Olivia Rodrigo made a cover of the song called The Book of Love – for the HELP (2) album created by War Child UK. War Child works in 14 countries – from Gaza to Ukraine, Lebanon to Sudan – to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children living through war. All proceeds and donations from HELP(2) support the War Child Alliance’s work around the world.
Check out the song below, it’s such a beautiful song 🥹 and don’t forget to give the album a listen!
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.
In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there) a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?
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Was there (or is there) a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading?
A few! I grew up in a house with many people, there were like 5 families, it was a multigenerational household. The matriarch of the house was my Aunt Linda, my dad’s sister-in-law, had historical romance paperbacks on a shelf in the living room. I would look at them but was too young to read them, but I was already fascinated with the covers, a woman in a gown, guy with long hair (Fabio?! lol). It definitely made me curious. But I have an older cousin named Vicky, 10 years older than me, and she was from the Philippines, moved to the Big Island, then moved to Oahu and lived with us so she could go to school to become a medical assistant. She had Sweet Valley High books, and Sweet Dreams books!
She passed down all her books to my sister and I since she felt like she outgrew them. But while she wasn’t reading teen romances anymore…she moved on to historical romances and one of them was Judith McNaught. I don’t know if I just went into her room and borrowed it or how it ended up in my hands but as a teenager, I was hooked on historically romances along with young adult books. So a big thank you to my cousin Vicky!
Who was the first woman author you remember loving?
Judith McNaught. My sister and I were obsessed! We read all the books my cousin had and then fell into a rabbit hole of historical romance authors!
Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?
Yes, I do. I feel like so many books in high school, the classics, were mostly male authors. And honestly…it was fine but I felt like I didn’t relate much to them. But when I read female authors…wow…the connection. When I read all the romance I could find at my high school library I did read male authors like Stephen King, Nelson Demille, Dan Brown, but I always went back to women authors because I just relate more.
March 2026 Topics:
March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life
Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day. In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there) a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?
Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?
March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books
Prompts:We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!
Prompts:Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
It’s March, which is crazy…I have a feeling the months are going to fly from here on out. Kind of looking forward to it and not. But let’s see what I’m reading!
Where January was a slow month, February went by in the blink of an eye! We had some wild weather this month, but we survived. Anyway, here’s what I read and posted in February.
I read 20 books and posted 24 book reviews in February.
Books I Read – 19 books
She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (arc)
Mate by. Ali Hazelwood (audiobook)
In Time With You by. Kristin Dwyer (arc)
Lonely Hearts Day by. Kasie West (alc)
The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin (alc)
Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson
The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (audiobook)
Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard (arc)
I, Medusa by. Ayana Gray
In Your Dreams by. Sarah Adams (audiobook)
Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra (arc)
The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao
Caged by Fallen Crows: Part One by. Ava Larksen
A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison (audiobook)
The Library of Amorlin by. Kalyn Josephson (arc)
Blood & Betrayals by. Jeanette Rose by. Alexis Rune
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by. Takuya Asakura
+ And like that February is gone and we are in March. Wow! My kids go on spring break in 2 weeks, which means my hubby and son will be going to stay at the house in Osaka, Japan.
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by. Takuya Asakura
Currently Reading:
Deathly Fates by. Tesia Tsai
The Poison Daughter by. Sheila Masterson
Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg
Eternal in the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood
Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:
+ Bridgerton Season 4:Part 2 – this part made me emotional and cry so much….oh my goodness. 😭. And it was so unexpected because Benedict is such a playful character and I love his fun relationship with Sophie so oh my…the emotional punch these episodes gave me…whew…I haven’t cried that much in a long, long, LONG time. The storyline is emotional interwoven with family, friendship and love. Season 2 was always my favorite because I love Jonathan Bailey and enemies to lovers but as far as story….season 4 is my favorite right now because of all the emotions. Also, it’s Cinderella vibes but EVER AFTER (one of my favorite movies) Cinderella vibes!! I love it.
+ Bruno Mars: The Romantic – another reason that made me emotional on the SAME DAY I watched Bridgerton…Bruno Mars’ new album dropped and that first song, “Risk it All”…made me cry AGAIN 😅…Thursday was an emotional day! It’s Mercury Retrograde isn’t it?! lol…Anyway I can’t wait to see and hear all these songs performed live in April – it will the first concert for both my kids also (ages 9 and 13).
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.
Prompts:Do you own a lot of books? Do you think of yourself as a book collector? Outside of reading, do you have any other hobbies that involve collecting things? What would you love to have a collection of?
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Do you own a lot of books?
No, I don’t. I used to, but over the years with moving a few times, I had to make some hard decisions. 😅 Now I have 3 book shelves in the house. I actually just added the 3rd one and that’s probably all I can have right now and I’m fine with it. I started collecting more sprayed edge books but I think I’ve slowed down with that right now.
Do you think of yourself as a book collector?
No, I don’t think I am. Not with the collections I’ve seen other people have! Compared to them, I am not a book collector….but I WISH.
Outside of reading, do you have any other hobbies that involve collecting things?
Journals…I used to collect journals, but not anymore! Now, if I need one, I’ll buy one at Ross or something for really cheap. I have been buying book journals for recording the books I read, I feel like it helps me write my blog posts. I take notes in the journals and then that helps me write out of my blogs. But at least with these book journals, I only need to buy one for each year – unless I read more than 200 books. I almost started collecting Pop Mart stuff but nipped that in the bud when I got back into buying sprayed edged books.
What would you love to have a collection of?
You know I wanted to get into collecting vinyl and realized I can’t collect books, vinyls AND save to go to concerts (because I always have to fly out to one)….SO vinyls are taking a backseat, plus I don’t even have a good vinyl player or space to put it. My cheap on is collecting dust. I have like…4 vinyls 😅 and just bought the new Bruno Mars one, but that’s IT. Where does your money go? My money goes to is my KIDS, food, books, and travel. All of it is expensive…I hate inflation. 😩
February 2026 Topics:
February 6: Reading with Friends
Prompts: Do you enjoy buddy reading or participating in group reads? If you do, what do you like most about them? Do you prefer reading 1-1 or in a big group? For those who might not have access to in-person group reads, do you have a recommendation about where to join online reading groups?
February 13: Romance Novels
Prompts: It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which means that the most popular book genre is bigger than ever! Do you like to read romance novels? Who are your favourite fictional couples? Which characters from different books or series do you think would be perfect for each other?
Prompts:Do you own a lot of books? Do you think of yourself as a book collector? Outside of reading, do you have any other hobbies that involve collecting things? What would you love to have a collection of?
February 27: Reading Star Ratings
Prompts:This topic is inspired by Krysta @ Pages Unbound, who posted about it earlier this year. How do you read star ratings from other bloggers/readers? Do you consider star ratings seen on a book blog, Bookstagram, or BookTok differently from ratings on sites like Goodreads? How much does a star rating affect your decision to purchase/borrow/read a book, and does it depend on who/where the star rating comes from?
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
My kiddos had a 4 day weekend so it felt like a mini-break which was much needed since my kids were getting over an illness. I can’t believe we are in the 3rd week of February!
+ We had a high wind event this past weekend, wind and rain which caused schools to close on Monday, but my kids already had that day off so their schools chose another day off, which was Friday – so lucky them they have a 4 day weekend. I’m glad because they are both trying to heal from being sick and I think this 4-day weekend will help a lot.
+ I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day if you celebrate. I get my kids Valentine’s now instead of my hubby because honestly? That man has everything 😅.
The Last Wish of Bristol Keats by. Mary E. Pearson (audiobook)
The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao
In Your Dreams by. Sarah Adams
Currently Reading:
A Vow in Vengeance by. Jaclyn Rodriguez
She Drinks the Light by. Yasmin Angoe (audiobook & ebook)
Caged by Fallen Crows by. Ava Larksen
First-Time Caller by. B.K. Borison
Midnight on the Celestial by. Julia Alexandra
Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 