Mid-Year Book Freak out

 

Best book you've read so far: My first book of the year was a five star read - Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross.  It is a beautifully written story that I really enjoyed.   I also enjoyed the newest Nora Roberts' release, The Final Target.  I heard some complaints that there was too much of what I'll call "domestic" plot - time spent talking about the renovation of her new home, wood working, etc, but I liked that part. I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy those "cozy" aspects of reading.  That's one of the reasons, I really enjoyed my reread of the Lost Bride trilogy - lots of talk about cooking and the house in addition to the main plot.

Best sequel you've read so far: Surprisingly to me, I have really enjoyed reading the ACOTAR books by Sarah J. Maas.  Specifically, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ones.  I liked the first one, too, but it's not a sequel.

New release you haven't read yet, but want to: I really enjoyed The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, so I'm anticipating the second one in the series, Tapestry of Fate.  It's on my bookshelf, but I haven't gotten to it yet,

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: I always enjoy the new releases by Nora Roberts and JD Robb, so I'm looking forward to those.  Also on my New Release list are Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett, and the Magic and Mystery collection short stories by various authors.

Biggest disappointment: It has to be The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I couldn't wait for that book to be over. There were a couple of rereads I did that were disappointing, only because when I read them the first time, I really enjoyed them, but now, a few decades later, the arrogance of the main male character was overwhelming.  I also have to add Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey to this list. Ugh.  I had hoped to like The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft more than I did; it wasn't terrible, but I'm not sure I'm motivated to continue the series.

Biggest surprise:  I really loved The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar. Beautifully written; just loved reading it.  And I've already mentioned how surprised I was to like the ACOTAR series. 

Best audiobook: I very much enjoy audiobooks, and they enable me to read for two hours every work day (during my commute). I haven't listened to one this year that I didn't like. I especially appreciate the audiobooks for Hail Mary and The River has Roots. The River has Roots included original music that enhanced the story. While I did not like the book Greenlights, I did appreciate that Matthew McConaughey read it for the audiobook; having the author read his memoir made it more real to me.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you):  Sarah J. Maas, Shannon Chakraborty, and Beth Brower

Newest fictional crush:  It has to be Rhysand from ACOTAR, although it took me a little while to get there.

Newest favorite character:  I'm enjoying Emma M. Lion and Temeraire from Naomi Novik's dragon books is great (he's the dragon)

Most beautiful book cover/design you've acquired:  Steve bought me a lovely copy of Hail Mary by Andy Weir (another book I really enjoyed).  I don't buy print copies of most of the books I read, but I have noticed that I pick up lovely books.  So far, I purchased The Faraway Inn because of its cover. I've preordered Daggerbound by T Kingfisher and Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst. I like both of those authors, but I bought the print copies because of their book cover and design. I also picked up a copy of The Night we Met because of the cover. 

What books do you need to read by the end of the year: I'll probably try to read A Court of Silver Flames before the new Sarah J. Maas book comes out in October.  I'm dragging my feet a little bit because it's long (768 pages), and I haven't heard the best reviews of it.  I'll work in Tapestry of Fate, Daggerbound, and Sea of Charms.  I'm reading through the Emma M. Lions books, and I just started Bridgerton, so I may read more of those.  I'm doing a reread of the Amelia Peabody books and the In Death books. I'm working my way through David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter books, so I expect some of all of those series will be on my TBR. I'm halfway through Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell books; I'll probably add one of those to my reading in the second half of the year. I'm certain to read Birth of a Witch by Nora Roberts when it comes out in November.  I'm (sometimes) participating in the Goober Book Club, so there may be books from that group that I read (although I've skipped the last three choices).

So far this year, I've read 62 books (65 if we count the July books so far). I hope to at least reach 100.

Thanks to Jaredd Craig from Unsplash for the image. I don't have an original link for the list of questions - they are all over the internet.

June 2026 Reading

I thought it might be interesting to look at my reading month by month with the following questions in mind:

1. What was my favorite book?
2. What was my least favorite book?
3. How am I coming with my reading goals?

This might become a series (we'll see).  Here are the answers for June:

1. What was my favorite book?  Tied for first place, with five stars each, was Inheritance and The Mirror, both re-reads from Nora Roberts. Every time I read these (this is the third time for Inheritance and the second time for the Mirror), I enjoy them. I like the cozy aspect of them - cooking and house remodeling along with the main plot.  These are comfort reading for me.  Close behind these two books was a new one for me, The Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas.  This it he third book in the ACOTAR series.  Most people rank the second book, Court of Mist and Fury, as their favorite, but I think this one is mine.
2. 

   What was my least favorite book?  I read Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. I rated it 3 stars, which isn't terrible.  It wasn't a bad book, but I had trouble engaging with it.
3. How am I coming with my reading goals?  So far, 62 books read, with 19,423 pages.  Of these, 68% were new to me.  I've read five spiritual development books (out of a total goals of 4 for the year).
4. 
   

 

GinaK Fuse Machine Review

I recently purchased a GinaK Designs Fuse machine. This machine "fuses" foil to toner (or other media). I've given it somewhat of a workout and have some experiences to share.  It works with Decofoil (or GinaK's brand) in the same way that a laminator does. This is not like the Spellbinders Glimmer machine that uses plates, foil, heat, and pressure. It's a different kind of foil and a different process.

I'm very pleased with how it foils on poly-glaze. This card was created using the Delicate Basket poly-glaze image from GinaK with butterscotch foil.  The image is crisp, clear, and complete.  

I'm not as please with using the remaining foil with a poly-glaze sheet. This should foil the opposite image, and it does, but it's not complete.  Maybe I need to use a higher heat setting? 

For this St. Patrick's Day card, I used the Simon Says Stamp Clover Wreath stencil with the fuse foiling gel and Emerald Coast GinaK foil.  It foiled very well, but you have to be very careful to avoid any "overgelling" beyond the stencil because any extra gel will catch the foil, too, and I couldn't find a way to remove it. 

One of the most disturbing issues I've had with the machine is that I've had two carrier sheets get stuck in the machine itself.  Both of these instances have been when I was foiling a sentiment strip.  The first time, the carrier sheet and strip were completely stuck in the machine. I contacted GinaK Design and received a quick response with a solution that worked to remove the carrier sheet. The second time I was able to remove it on my own, but that's two carrier sheets and sentiment strips ruined.  I'm not sure why, and I don't really want to keep trying at the expense of buying even more carrier sheets.

Overall, it's a nice machine that I'll keep using with a few caveats.  I would recommend.

February reading

 

January 2026 Reading summary

 

Creativity Goals

 

I usually set and share reading goals for each year.  I did that this year, but this year I also set some crafting/cardmaking goals for the year.

Last year, my cardmaking and card sending deteriorated to almost nothing. Life happens, and I'm certain that is why. I want to reenergize it this year, so here are my goals:

• Make cards every month - and not only make cards (but that is the basic goal) but also find time to play with card making and art.
• Send out cards as scheduled - It's just January, and I've already fallen down on this goal, but I'm working to recover quickly.
• Make 4 Christmas cards a month. Christmas card making also went very downhill last year. Luckily, I had a cushion of cards already made, so I was able to make about 25-30, add to the cushion, and send out 53 handmade cards. But the margin is completely gone, so I need to not wait until the end of the year.
• Send our guys (two adult sons) a card each per month. I did this in 2023 and 2024, but not last year, and I want to get back to it.

No, this is not my desk.  Nice, though, isn't it?
Thanks so Unsplash

.

Blog goals are:

• Post on Sandpiper Creates at least twice a month - so far, so good.
• Post on Sandpiper's Thoughts three times each week - well, working on it.

I do have a couple of journaling goals.  First, I want to bullet journal at least 50% of the days of the month.  I don't skip days - I go back and enter them, but it is hard to catch up.  Secondly, I've started a new reading journal, and I want to use it as planned.  That's the easiest goal of all - I really enjoy and look forward to entering books in the reading journal.

Dried out Copics?

 Do you use Copic markers? Have you ever opened one and found that it was dried out?  I don't mean that it was out of ink. I mean that the nibs are hard with dried ink - both of them - and the pen is unusable.

I've had this happen several times now.  All five markers in the image above are just gone.  I don't know if the caps are faulty or if there were cracks in the marker caps somehow. I always "click" them closed when I am finished using them. Always. 

I've replaced these pens, but that is not an inexpensive endeavor.  Last time I tried buying new nibs and adding ink to the pen but I'm not sure that worked.  I'm going to try to regenerate the YG07 in the picture and then watch it to see what happens.

Singing Snowmen Cards

I bought this die set sometime last year, thinking it would be great for Christmas cards.  And then I lost it in my house. Par for the course for me.

I found it after Christmas cards were made, and I decided it would be good New Year's cards. I made three of these cards, with the scarf colors mixed on them. I made a fourth one with just two snowmen for Steve.

I really like this die set, and would definitely use it again - maybe for Christmas cards for new year.  My few criticisms:

• The trio as pictured on the packaging material (and as I made them) has six snowmen arms.  Two of them are the same - just out straight.  I guess that is way the die set cuts FIVE arms at a time.  To get the sixth one, you have to cut the die a second time.  Annoying.  I had arms galore when I was finished.
• The cut buttons and open singing mouths are not all the same.  I didn't realize that when I cut the snowmen.  I popped out the buttons and set them aside in a dish. I then colored them black.  I added tape behind the open tiny holes on the snowmen where the buttons go and then I realized that the nine buttons are not the same.  I had to figure out which of the buttons went where. And I was making 11 snowmen - 33 tiny buttons.  The same problem happened with the mouths - except there were only 11 of them - not 33, thank goodness. And they are larger than the tiny little buttons.

Otherwise, a great set of dies.  Recommend.

Update: Dupont Circle Scarf

 

I blogged about this project back in 2024 at this post, when I first started knitting it.  Wonder why the blog doesn't have a lot of knitting posts? Because I'm still knitting the same scarf!  This post talks about the yarn, which is from FibreSpace in Alexandria, Virginia. I'm knitting the scarf using one of my favorite patterns, Farrow Rib.  It's just K-K-P on a cast-on of 3 stitches (repeating) plus 1.  I'm using size seven needles. 

I think I am about at the end.  I hope I am about at the end!

2025 Reading Stats

 Here are my reading stats for 2025

I read a total of 150 books in 2025.  I didn't start out intending to read that many, but around the beginning of October, I realized it was possible, and set monthly goals to achieve it..  This compares to 56 books in 2021, 35 in 2022, 52 in 2023 and 67 in 2024.  

The graph above is from my Story Graph account - an account I started in 2024 for its statistical tracking.

Here are how the stats worked out:

Question 1: What was the format of the book?  Hard copy? Kindle? Audiobook?  Audiobook is the winner, at 62%.  I read 19% on Kindle and 17% print.  I also read 2% "hybrid" - a combination of methods.

Question 2: Had I read the book before?  Again this year, to make sure I didn't get in a rut of only re-reading books, I set a goal of at least 30% new books. 62% were new books to me.  

Question 3: What was the genre of the books I read?    The winner this year was romance, at 37% followed by mystery at 21%.  Another one of my goals for 2024 was to read at least 4 "spiritual development" books.  I read 6; that category came in at 4% .

Question 4: When were the books published?  58% of the books I read were published between 2020 and 2025;  17% of the books from 2010-2019. 

Question 5: I gave each book a star rating of 1-5.  I gave each star rating a definition (which is too much stuff to share in this post) - fiction and non-fiction had different rating definitions.  My average rating was 4.0.  My lowest rating was 1, and the highest was 5.  

This is my Goodreads profile if you are interested in seeing what I've read.  This page is my Blog Library.  I list faith books here (or other books I've blogged about) with links to the posts.

2026 Reading Goals

Each year, for the past few years, I have set reading goals for the year. Here they are for 2026:

1. Read 50 books.  Last year I read 150 books; my goal was 50. As I read my way through the year, the idea of 100 books approached pretty easily. At the beginning of October, 150 books was within reach. That's a pretty great goal to have reached, but it did cause some "reading pressure." I'm not going to try to do that this year. I'm setting my goal at 50 books, and then not worrying about it. That gives me the freedom to read some longer books, etc.
2. Read 15,000 pages. That's an average of 300 pages per book, which feels reasonable. Last year I averaged 280 pages per book.
3. Read at least 30% new books.  I really like re-reading books, but I do want to read at least some new books.
4. Read 4 Spiritual Development books in the year. Last year I read 6, so this seems reasonable.

Mainly, I want reading to be enjoyable. That's my main goal. 

I'm keeping updated accounts in both Good Reads and Story Graph.  So far that hasn't proven to be an issue at all. I like what each one provides even though at first blush it might seem duplicative. 

I love data!

PS - The bookcase in the picture is one of two new bookcases at our house. Last year sometime I went through all of my books, weeding out ones I would never read again. We gave six boxes of books to our local library, assembled these bookcases from Ikea, and organized the books.  I'm loving it!

December Reading Summary

 

August Reading Summary

 

Mid-year Reading Review

I watched a few videos about reading that included a "freak out" - really just a review of reading up to the middle of the year. Here is mine:

1. Best book - I think my most enjoyable book so far this year was the first one I finished - Under Currents by Nora Roberts. I was a re-read, but I enjoyed it the second time, too (or maybe the third?). Other five star reads include a few of the In Death books by J.D. Robb, a couple of the Murderbot books by Martha Wells, and the first Abby Jimenez book I've read, The Fall Risk.
2. Best sequel - Heather Fawcett's book, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherworlds was a five star read, and I enjoyed it more than the first one.
3. New release you haven't read yet but want to - I've already read the new releases I was looking forward to!
4. Most anticipated releases for the rest of the year - I'm really looking forward to Framed in Death by J.D. Robb, The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts, and Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher.
5. Biggest disappointment this year - Please don't ever make me read The Wedding People again. Awful. I also didn't really enjoy Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (although I like about half of her books).
6. Biggest surprise - I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading And There was Light by Jon Meacham. It's a biography of Abraham Lincoln.
7. New favorite author - I enjoyed the Abby Jimenez books I've read. I've also liked the Raiders of Arcana books by Jacquelyn Benson.
8. Book that makes you happy - I've really enjoyed the Meet-Cute series of novellas.
9. Beautiful books you bought this year - The new hardback version of SwordHeart by T Kingfisher and The Enchanted Greenhouse hardcover by Sarah Beth Durst
10. What books do you need to get to before the end of the year - I don't really need to read anything by the end of the year, but I will probably read all of those books listed in number 4. 

July Reading Summary

 

Reading flexibility

Last year, I read the Murderbot series by Martha Wells via audiobook. I decided I wanted to re-read it this year, but chose to purchase printed books and to read it "with my eyes" instead of "with my ears."  I found that for this series, reading the printed versions meant that I took my time. The slower pace meant that I followed the plot more closely and enjoyed the books more.

Last year, I started listening to the book Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies via audiobook. I found the narrator to be monotone (to my ears) and I couldn't finish the book - and I tried twice.  I purchased the kindle book version, and it was vastly different. I sped through the book.  I bought print versions of the other two in the trilogy, and enjoyed them.

This year, I started reading the printed version (kindle) of Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare. I slogged through the first half of the book (630 pages) until I finally gave up and bought the audiobook. The print was just too slow for me; the audiobook sped it up, thank goodness.

All this to say that I think the version of a book I want to read depends on the book. I didn't really realize that earlier. I normally don't buy a lot of printed books because I don't have any more storage space for them on my bookshelves.  I make exceptions to that rule for books I need to highlight or read for spiritual or educational purposes. That said, I altered the rule lately to include a few print books - ones that are beautifully designed or that I think I would enjoy more reading as a print copy. 

Reading flexibility - it's what I want.

Reading Summary for June

 

New Camera

 Last week I purchased a new camera.  My Nikon 5100 is 14 years old - I thought there would probably be newer technology available.

After much debate (with myself) and lots of YouTube watching a review reading, I purchase a Nikon Z5 II.  This is a newly released, mirrorless camera with a full-frame sensor.  The other contenders were the Nikon Z50 II (mirrorless, cropped sensor) and the D7500 (DSLR, cropped sensor). 

I purchased two lenses with it:

• Nikkor Z 24-200 mm, f/4-6.3 VR
• Nikkor Z 24-70 mm, f/4 S

I've only been able to use it a little - I'll post some images when I've used it more. 

May Reading graphic

 

One Painting (sort of) and four cards

 I had an idea from a graphic I found online. It was mountains and trees - wide and not tall.  I thought I could paint that idea and then cut it into four panels for four cards.  That's what is above.  

I used watercolor and watercolor paper, but I had to do two panels and two panels (my paper wasn't wide enough to do them as one piece.  You can see where I measured a little wrong between panels two and three. 

Anyway, I made four cards and gave them to Steve - one a day - as we traveled over Memorial Day Weekend.