My June Bookhaul // Vacation Edition

Last month, Joshua and I had a really fun vacation. It was one part staycation, one part drive-up-north-where-its-twenty-degrees-cooler, and fifty-seven parts visit every bookstore and Goodwill we came across. Absolute vacation #goals.

The first bookstore we went to was an underground, hole-in-the-wall beauty, absolutely packed with books on the older side, which made J super happy and he snagged one for his collection.

The next one, aka my absolute favorite was really, really inviting and had that perfect indie bookstore feel. J treated me to an Agatha Christie book, and we added the fourth Giver book to our series. 😉

The store was mostly about books, as all good stores should be, but I was delighted with this typewriter and the absolutely TINY chairs in the children’s section. I should have taken a picture with something for scale, but that “big” chair is actually a mini armchair and the other one is even tinier. So wholesome. 🥰

The last bookstore was delightfully personable, and even though they didn’t have books for me, I could feel the sense of community and love of reading. I also adored their ginormous purple Squishmallow mascot. 😉

All in all, it was a really fun vacation and the books were just one of the many highlights. 😉 ❤

Speaking Of…

Hello again! I think I needed a little break after all the excitement of the cover reveal (you all are amazing), but I’m back again. 😉

I’ve been reading a lot more this year than in the past two, so much so that I’m ahead on my Goodreads challenge for once. *happy dance* Challenge aside, though, it’s been delightful to be experiencing new worlds again. My picks have been ranging from new indie releases to adorable middle-grades (currently reading a cupcake-themed one and yes, child Kate would have been obsessed) to even a highly clever, adult mystery.

Such a wild mix 😂 #moodreader

Speaking of books, I got some delightful new ones for my birthday. 😍 My siblings gave me the latest two Kate’s Case Files in paperback (eep, thanks!), and Joshua took me on a trip to Barnes and Noble. It was so much fun browsing new releases and iconic classics that I ended up with quite the hefty “maybe” stack. I ended up getting The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and The List by Patricia Forde (will report back). And my shopping buddy was the best ever. 😉 (Thanks, J! ❤️)

My pre-bookstore happy face 😁

My favorite ❤️

Speaking of birthday, I experimented with flavors and made a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and raspberry filling. It was absolutely delicious. 🤤 I just got to make another cake with the same flavors (I have three cake orders in four days, send help) and this time I went all out on the classy decorating. 😉 Such brilliant fun, and after I finish this post, I’ll be mixing up more batches for the next order…

(I promise I fixed that weird flat spot.)

Speaking of “send help”, editing gives me anxiety, y’all. Not a ton usually, since I know my professional editor and proofreading rounds will catch what I missed, but this time is a little different. I’m making *minor* changes to an already edited, formatted book and the terror of “what if I add new typos to this?” is real. 😂😂 I eventually came up with a system to run the new material through Grammarly just to double-check and that eased my mind enough that I could finish it up this weekend. I sent the files to my formatter, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. 😍

Time to make some more cake. Talk with you all again soon!

Dear Barnes and Noble

Dear Barnes and Noble,

Thank you for the mail. The postcard is adorable, and I’m so glad your new location is finally open, but I must confess something…

I already knew.

The moment I saw your distinctive sign go up on the husk of a former bookstore, I waited impatiently.

Your moving sale previously had been both crushing and a delight. A delight because I could finally afford to splurge on the beautiful volumes I’d much admired, but crushing because you were yet another bookstore to leave me.

And now you are back.

I visited with my fiance just a few days before your postcard. The shelves are a different shade of brown, everything is smaller and more open, but the magic is there.

So many books, surrounding me, beckoning, their bright covers turned out to face the room.

Wider pathways where I can shop in an empty bubble and focus solely on the books.

Special tables of books to take my notice, either with their sales or recommendations.

A wider selection with a lower quantity of each individual book, showing you’ve learned to adapt and compete in this brave new book world.

I’m glad you are back, and I will be too. Soon.

Love,

Kate