Category: Journals

Six in Six 🌸📚☕️ {Day 54}

amyofhearthridge7 Comments
Beauty in the midst of construction zone! 😅🥰

I’ve enjoyed Jessica’s blog for awhile now and I saw she was joining in a bookish blog hop about our 2026 reading! I used to blog hop a lot and really enjoyed linking up with others over a common topic. 😍 I’m joining her at Words & Peace for this reading meme reflecting about your first six months of reading.

Instructions from Emma at Words & Peace:

In 2021, Jo at The Book Jotter started hosting the meme Six in Six.
She stopped blogging in 2025, so I have decided to host it myself.

What is 6 in 6?

The idea is to look back at the books you have read so far in the six months of this year.
Now, I love plays with numbers, so I’m extending this meme:
you can post any time in July, or as early as 6/6, June 6th.

What do you post?

Choose 6 books in 6 categories.
You can come up with your own category, or choose among the following examples (copied from Jo’s blog):

  • Six new authors to me
  • Six authors I have read before
  • Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of
  • Six books I have enjoyed the most
  • Six books I was disappointed with
  • Six series of books read or started
  • Six authors I read last year – but not so far this year
  • Six books that took me on extraordinary journeys
  • Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past
  • Six books from the past that drew me back there
  • Six books from authors I know will never let me down
  • Six books I must mention that don’t fit nicely into any category
  • Six books I started in the first six months of the year and was still caught up with in July
  • Six trips to Europe
  • Six blogging events I enjoyed
  • Six bookish things I’m looking forward to
  • Six Espionage or Historical Novels I enjoyed
  • Six Cool Classics
  • Six Non-US/Non-British Authors
  • Six From the Non-Fiction Shelf
  • Six books that didn’t live up to expectations
  • Six books that I had one or two problems with but am still glad I tried
  • Six books that are related to The Great War or Second World War
  • Six bookshops I have visited
  • Six books I’ve read in an English translation
  • Six books which are better than the film
  • Six books which are worse than the film
  • Six books that have sport as their major theme
  • Six favourite places to read
  • Six books read on kindle and then went and bought an actual copy
  • Six books I abandoned
  • Six classics I have read
  • Six books I have read on my Kindle
  • Six physical books I have read
  • Six book covers I love
  • Six book covers that bear no resemblance to the story contained within
  • Six books to read to avoid politics
  • Six books I have read but not reviewed
  • Six books I have read in lockdown
  • Six classic mysteries
  • Six books about Royalty
  • Six pretty book covers
  • Six books set in a country other than my own
  • Six books that feature a Pandemic
  • Six books that are great when self-isolating
  • Six books recently added to my wish list
  • Six mysteries, thrillers or crime novels NOT by Agatha Christie
  • Six books with titles connected to rivers, seas and storms
  • Six nature related books
  • Six books about Librarians and Libraries
  • Six books I really want to buy in the next six months
  • Six books that feature a building in the title

My categories I’ve chosen to share about are:

  1. Six favorite genres so far
  2. Six favorite reads so far in 2026
  3. Six favorite Booktube Readathons
  4. Six New-to-Me Authors
  5. Six Mysteries I loved
  6. Six Books I Read from My Shelf

My Six Favorite Genres: (many are a mixture of these below! I’m such an eclectic reader!)

  1. Fairytale/Classic Retellings
  2. Fantasy
  3. Historical Fiction
  4. Mystery
  5. Young Adult
  6. Middle Grade

My Six Favorite Reads so far 2026 (so hard to choose!)

  1. The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco (beautiful, heartwarming Middle Grade)
  2. The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas (gorgeous, Biblical Historical Fiction)
  3. The Will of Many by James Islington (wonderful epic Historical Fantasy)
  4. Through Rushing Waters by Catherine Richmond (Heartbreaking Historical Fiction)
  5. Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery (beautifully written classic)
  6. Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw (classic fantasy story of an underdog!)

My Six Favorite Booktube Readathons So Far this Year: (You can still join these! I don’t follow the monthly prompts, I just fill them in as I go!)

  1. Jurassic Reading Challenge
  2. Read Your Bookshelf Challenge
  3. Journey Through Time Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
  4. Passport to Summer Reading
  5. Summertime Bingo
  6. Summer Book Bingo

Six New-to-Me Authors

  1. Carrie Cotten, Christian Fantasy, The Huntress
  2. Derin R. Hicks, Middle Grade, Shakespeare Mystery Duo-logy
  3. Kate Stradling, Cozy Fantasy, Deathmark
  4. Sheri Cobb South, Regency Romance, The Weaver Takes a Wife
  5. Lloyd C. Douglas, Biblical Historical Fiction, The Robe
  6. Michael Perry, Memoir, Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Want to try this one from Douglas soon! About Apostle Peter!

Six Mysteries I have enjoyed :

  1. Death in a Strange Country (and Quietly In Their Sleep) by Donna Leon (Commisario Brunetti Series)
  2. For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black (cozy mystery)
  3. Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills (Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller)
  4. Alex Rider: Scorpio (and Snakehead) by Anthony Horowitz (mystery/spy thriller series)
  5. Dead in the Water by Denise Swanson (small town mystery)
  6. Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave (and sequel Tower of Five Orders) by Deron R. Hicks (Middle Grade)
My library is currently all dismantled for remodeling! 🥲📚♥️

Six Books I actually Read from My Own Shelf (Physical/Kindle Shelf):

  1. Caddie Woodlawn (reread) by Carol Ryrie Brink (Middle Grade Historical Fiction)
  2. Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen (Cozy Mystery)
  3. This is Happiness by Niall Williams (hauntingly beautiful Historical Fiction)
  4. The Road Past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (beautiful book in translation about Mother/Daughter relationships)
  5. Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg (charming reimagining of Disney’s Frozen, YA Fantasy)
  6. Persuasion (reread) by Jane Austen (Regency)
Polyphemus Moth on our deck!

How has your reading year been so far? 📚📖

May Reading Journal 📖📓 {Day 50}

amyofhearthridge5 Comments

My cat May decorations ended up being fun!🤩

Reading and journaling bring me so much joy 🥹 so the marriage of the two is a double dose! I don’t really plan, but just go with whatever is inspiring me in my sticker/washi stash. I had a kind of slow start to my reading in the beginning of May, my reading mood was changing, had some meh/ok-ish reads at the start. I pretty much hated Date with Danger! 🤣 The end of the month reading though was amazing! I loved all the Middle Grade reads for a small readathon on Booktube called Middle Grade May! Especially, Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave and its sequel, Tower of the Five Orders by Deron R. Hicks. I really enjoyed the Christian historical light fantasy, The Huntress, also. Honorable mention goes to The Little House in the Highlands which is based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ancestors. It was a slow start but SO cute! I made some good progress on my newest bingo boards I printed off from Pinterest, also. Georgette Heyer is hit or miss for me, but I loved two of her Regency romances, Arabella and Sylvester. Overall, a great reading month.

What are you reading or creating? 😍♥️

Monday Ponderings ~ Happy June~ 🌲🌿🌱🍃 {Day 49}

amyofhearthridge7 Comments

Starting a bit of a June challenge for myself! June is my birthday month so I want to gift myself health, beauty, relationships, and simple routines. I’m putting this here for additional accountability and encouragement! It’s never too late to start again.

♥️🌲🌿🌱🍃♥️

Paper Pile Peek {Day 43} 📜📝📓🔖

amyofhearthridge2 Comments

✨•what are you working on?•✨ Eeek, books and journals, pens and stickers, lists and scribbles, total bliss! ✨😁🥰

Just around the corner…{Day 41} 🩷💜🤍🧚

amyofhearthridge3 Comments
A few fun readathons!

I had so much fun 🤩 setting up my June reading pages and I’m looking forward to filling the pages with mini reviews and book covers from my reading. It was nice to sit and just rest in a teeny bit of creativity!

How are you!? Have you been creating anything or reading/watching anything great? 💜

Day in the life of…🌲{Day 26}🌲

amyofhearthridge9 Comments

Today…

Made coffee.

Talked with 18 yo.

Read a few chapters in Luke.

Tried to pray.

Got more coffee.

Snuggled with 6 yo old.

Wrote out homeschool list.

Plugged in dying phone and kindle.

Made my hubby’s breakfast.

Listened to 17 yo’s narrations.

Talked schedule with hubby.

Looked at dinner pool list to decide what I have in cupboard for dinner. Nothing needs thawing.

Made my yogurt bowl for breakfast. Got kids finishing breakfast (fend for themselves) and starting math and piano practice.

Unpacked a few things from car that we left after arriving home late last night.

Texted with daughter at college. She got my card. ♥️Sent her video she wanted.

Collected cold coffee and yogurt bowl, grocery list, random journals, and pens and took upstairs.

Ran downstairs, washed out and filled water bottle.

Forwarded email someone wanted me to pass on to mom’s group.

Sent recommendations to my daughter’s soon to be MIL.

Ran back upstairs.

Listened to Marco Polo group messages while eating and settling up my journals.

Caught up on some journaling.

Ran downstairs. Printed off book covers for reading journal.

Sat down with four kiddos for our morning time.

Listened to narrations and popped popcorn for snack.

Did reading lessons with little boys. Read them a couple chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Buzzed boy’s hair, helped them with showers, and finger nails.

6 yo and I spread the hair clippings to birds outside .

Texted my best friend, my sister!

Listened to 17 yo narrate again.

Helped 21 yo son with his college paper for 10 minutes.

Got out leftovers for lunch, heated up ham veggie soup for my husband and I! Washed spoons.

Cleaned up while kids outside.

Got out big block of cheese, gallon bags to split and freeze. Can’t find serrated knife?

Went back upstairs and journaled a bit more, started grocery list/menu plan.

Tried to go on walk, super windy and cold. Listened to audiobook. Grabbed my son’s laundry that was on clothesline because it looked like rain. Admired the violets!

17 yo left for extended music lessons.

Call three younger in, work on each child’s history, science, and copy work. Work on some reading with my current dyslexic.

Make more popcorn and cheese and cracker snack.

Send them out to play.

Set up nature outing with friends via Voxer.

My 6 yo and I thoroughly enjoyed this together. ♥️

I found missing serrated knife. 🤪 Finished cheese project and I froze some of the cheese.

Sat down and started listening to The Raphael Affair, almost finished.

Watched one Booktube video.

Got kids ready for going with dad and picking up cousins for church. Found socks, shoes, sweatshirts.

Now blogging 😅 and thinking of dinner prep (egg sausage casserole), and which book to read.

Need to finish grocery list/menu plan.

Need to finish unpacking car.

Maybe start packaging up books for an east coast friend or write a pen pal letter?

I could sweep kitchen floor and scrub table too. 🤔

Fun 🤩 favorites reads from April!

I love these sort of post as I don’t often realize all that I’m doing while in the midst of it! Also it’s a record and a memory of a wonderful life! I’m so blessed to be a home keeper and home schooling mama. A favorite quote I heard again this past weekend was about “a long obedience in the same direction”. May that be so of my faith journey and my relationships. 🙏🏻♥️

What did you do today? I bet you’d be surprised if you jotted down the minute details as closely as possible. Happy Wednesday! ♥️

Monday Ponderings 🦋 {Day 25}

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A few simple things to aim for this spring/summer! Prayerfully asking the Lord to help me focus on relationships and rightly ordering my affections. Do you have anything planned or something on your heart? ♥️
Journaling brings me so much joy! 🥹♥️🥰

Happy Monday! ♥️🌲📚

Journaling Check-In 📖🖋️📝✂️📓📒📚🖇️ {Day 14}

amyofhearthridge5 Comments
Trying this set up! Very ambitious, but aim high, I guess. 😂
Added album cover inspiration!
Walked 15 miles for my second book over $5! Yay!Took me a long time as I got sick second half of March/early April! Not to mention the weather has been very hit or miss. 😭😁
April reading journal pages filling up!
I messed up my Book Shelfie order, but no worries, it will work. If I get too perfectionist, I would never journal!
Missed one day in my streak! It was pouring! 😂😬

What are you creating/enjoying? 🥰😍♥️🌿

Niche YouTube ♥️🎥💻📱♥️ {Day 9}

amyofhearthridge4 Comments

I don’t remember when I first encountered the wonderful world of Booktube, but it was pre-covid and I’ve been happily watching ever since! If you aren’t sure what it is, Booktube is a corner of YouTube that focuses on reading and talking about reading! 😅 I also have found AMAZING reading journalers which is like a sandwich of my two favorite hobbies ever! There are YouTubers for EVERY hobby! Flosstubers, Gardentubers, Cookingtubers! 😍😅♥️ Overall, I’ve found a small group of people in the Booktube world who are sooo friendly, welcoming, and as passionate about books and reading as I am! As with anything, you have to weed out a few thorns and balance the time spent, but this has been an enriching part of my life. Today I thought I’d share a few of my current favs! As you know 😉I read a wide variety of random things, so I’m going to share my Eclectic Booktuber favorites! I have many MORE, I love, but these are my jam currently.

Eclectic Booktubers I currently love:

Book Nerd K-Tree

Hot Cocoa and Books

Magical Emma Rose

Paris Mae Reads

Woldenburn Reads

Reading Journaltubers (our book tastes may not align, but I adore their journaling style!)

cups and thoughts

Manda Made

Michaela’s Cozy Life

ReadJournalLove

Do you have a niche YouTube corner? A hobby that you like learning about on YouTube!? I’d love to hear! Maybe I will do another of these lists later for my general favorite Booktubers!

Wednesday Wonders ♥️🌲{Day 8}

amyofhearthridge2 Comments
The Queen 😻🐈

Good morning! ☀️ Resurrecting my Wednesday Wonders series…I recently answered these questions here, but they are always changing, so indulge me again?! 😄♥️🌷

•listening to•♥️🌲~ I’m finally getting to the sequel in L.M. Montgomery’s Silver Bush duology, using this audiobook recording of it that is fantastic! I’m LOVING Mistress Pat even more than the first. Patricia is growing up and feeling the growing pains of possibly having to leave Silver Bush and everything changing! I identify with change being hard! 🥲I also want to listen more to this Josh Garrels release!

Music practice always going on around here! So thankful we have the ability for lessons!

•reading•♥️🌲~ My mood shifted yesterday 😅 and I started rooting around for things to read. 😂📚 I think I’m leaning towards cozy classics, charming characters, and delicious nature descriptions. Of course, I first picked up, my gal, Maud Montgomery! Hence, Mistress Pat! A memory I have is rereading the whole Anne Series when I was pregnant with my first. Her name is Ann-E 🥹♥️😅 and she getting married later this year! Maybe I’ll reread the series this year in honor!? 😭😍

Moody stack!

•watching•♥️🌲~ I’m slowly rereading all the greats with my younger set. The Wind in the Willows is one of the current ones. It’s such a great book for spring! I was craving the claymation? film version and so enjoyed watching it. The peaceful atmosphere (except Toad 🐸😂) was just as I remembered it.

•noticing•♥️🌲~ Our Black Willow trees sustained a lot of damage in a recent ice storm, but I salvaged a few branches with buds for the table. The robins have been so cheery even though it’s been rainy and cold. I’m waiting not so patiently for warmth and usually by the end of April, the Barn Swallows are back! 😍♥️

Sunset 🌅
Slow strolls and shadows
Coming to the end of this in our homeschool co op!
Beautiful 🤩 chaos – so thankful for life and color!

What about you? ♥️🌲 What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing TODAY?! ☀️🌷💜🌿🍃

What’s Inspiring You? ♥️🌿📚{Day 4}

amyofhearthridge6 Comments
Ice Storm Beauty 🩵🤍💙

From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed.

Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Psalm 61: 2-4, NLT

What’s been inspiring me? ♥️🌿

•listening to•♥️🌿

BTS’ new ‘Arirang’ album. 💿 A bit different than what I expected but it’s growing on me. I don’t love lots of language or overly sexual themes, but there’s enough deeper lines/ideas that got me thinking. Hope to write a few of my own poems based on some of the lyrics.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

I’ve also started the audiobook of Quarter Labyrinth by Victoria McCombs on the recommendation of a friend! It’s included free with Audible currently! I really hope our weather will warm up a bit so I can get outside walking and listening. 📚🎧

•reading•♥️🌿

I always have a healthy stack 😏🤪 of things I’m dipping into! I’ve started my two buddy reads and I’m currently really enjoying slowly rereading my favorite Victorian novel of all time, Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. It’s almost an annual reread for me. My 14 yo is listening to it for the first time and enjoying it! I’ve also been craving a reread of The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge. It’s been awhile and it’s a perfect spring read.

If only I had this gorgeous vintage copy! 😍♥️🌿

I’ve also been enjoying the Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz about a 14 yo spy with M16. The fifth? one made me definitely warm up more to Alex who seemed a bit cold/distant at first. They are so adventurous and thrilling. Definitely super violent, but compelling. I also just dove back into Donna Leon’s Commasario Brunetti’s police series. She writes Venice and Brunetti’s family life SO well, that I’ve just fallen in love with Guido as a police detective. The crimes are gritty and disturbing, so if you don’t like police procedural type detective novels, these may not be for you. I feel so immersed in Venice and his friendships and his family that I’ve come to love them! They are a fast, great Kindle read that I get through the library!

This one ☝️ was 5 star 🌟 for me!

•watching•♥️🌿

I really haven’t watched much recently as I took a Booktube break for the Lenten season. I did put on hold at the library the first Season of Dr.Quinn Medicine Woman 🤪🤣 to see if I can get my hubby to watch with me during the chilly, spring nights.

•noticing• ♥️🌿

How cute my little guys hands are! He has bad dry skin in the winter and we’ve been rubbing Aloe Vera into them each night. He’s such a blessing. 🥹♥️🌿

I’ve really been noticing and remembering little tidbits from this lovely collection of quotes!

“God has not called me to be successful, He has called me to be faithful. When we stand before God, results are not important. Faithfulness is what matters.”

•Mother Teresa•

Happy Easter, my friends! 🩵💜🩵

How ‘bout you? What are you listening to, reading, watching, noticing? ♥️🌿📚 I’d love to hear! ~