December Reading

This was a great reading month for me, I guess because we were on a school break the whole time.

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale (Christian, historical fiction, 🎄)... I love Amanda Dykes' lovely writing style! This one was very short but it was a good one.
📖 The Christmas Book Flood (Christian, historical fiction, 🎄)... This sweet, bookish Christmas novela was set in WWII Iceland. I enjoyed it- it felt so incredibly cozy!
📖 Evergreen (Christian, fiction, 🎄)... This was book 3.5 in the Christiansen Family series and it was focused on parents John and Ingrid in their first Christmas as empty nesters. It was of course a little sad in some ways but I loved it!
📖 Marley Madison short mysteries 1-3 (Christian,  fiction, mystery)... This is Christina Suzann Nelson's new mystery series. The deaths were a bit much but they were not shown on-page. I am more sensitive to suspense these days and probably won't read the next set (but ill still read her main body of work.
📖 Mr. Nicholas (Christian, fiction, 🎄)... This was sweet, about a man kind of getting to know his son with Down Syndrome for the first time- of course duringthe Christmas season. This had some depth and richness to it I really loved. I can see why it was a Christy Award winner!
📖 Tidings of Comfort and Joy (Christian, fiction, 🎄, historical fiction)... I liked this grandmother-grandmother Christmas novela. This was my second Davis Bunn Christmas story and I'll absolutely try more in the future!
📖 Unwrapping the Names of Jesus (Christian, nonfiction, 🎄)... I read this one with my church book club. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was still a good read.

* My mom and I abandoned our buddy read, The Gift of Christmas Present, this year, because of a rape storyline we weren't expecting in a Christmas novela.

📚 Plus applicable sections of The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS

📖 Arcade and the Triple T Token (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... I didn't expect this book to have so many lovely messages and moments! I enjoyed it and know some of my kids will really enjoy it, too. I'll definitely try book two.
📖 The Case for Heaven (Christian, middle grade, nonfiction)... This was such a great book! I really love books about Heaven and this one was quite moving. 
📖 I Saw Three Ships (secular,  middle grade, fiction, 🎄)... I've been curious about this one for years because Sarah Clarkson recommends the author for fans of Anne of Green Gables. I did enjoy this very short Christmas read and added it to my kids' shelves.
📖 The Trees Kneel at Christmas (Christian, chapter book)... This was a short, sweet Christmas story by the author of the Betsy Tacy stories.
📖 A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone,  the World's First National Park (secular, middle grade, nonfiction, history)... This was a great nonfiction, full of details + color photos, and now I hope we can take our kidsto Yellowstone one day soon!
📖 Who Were the Beatles? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, history)... One of my kids is taking a music appreciation course and is really into music history in general right now. The history of rock n roll gets talked about in this one and we had some great conversation about the various changes in music over the years.

*I also read part of Stella by Starlight as a buddy read with one of my kids and The Angel Tree & Adoration at the Manger as read-alouds all together.

PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: God's Animals, my baby's current favorite// The Golden Hour // The Wonderful Book // all of these Christmas picture books

Favorite reads this month: Evergreen and The Case for Heaven 

Christian fiction that takes place primarily in the workplace

I really enjoy exploring settings through fiction. I like traveling through books, I like time traveling through books, and I like exploring different jobs through books. Here are a few books that focus fairly heavily on the protagonists workplace as a setting.

Bookshop by the Sea... This is the first of many very obvious bookshop stories because, well, it's a favorite setting of mine.

Catching Christmas... Our hero is a cab driver so our workplace setting here is a taxi cab.

The Lost Manuscript... Our protagonist here is teaching in a college while searching for a lost historical manuscript and I think about this book all the time!

Love and a Little White Lie... The workplace in this story is a church... but the employee is secretly a non-believer! This one was fun.

Meet Me in the Margins... So much of this fun book took place in a publishing house with a little taking place at a convention. This one was also really fun. 

The Printed Letter Bookshop... This is, of course, another bookshop story!

The Ringmaster's Wife... This traveling circus time slip takes the workplace all over the map and all through time!

The Second Story Bookshop... The title of course makes it obvious that this one is set in a bookshop.

A Skeleton in God's Closet... an archeological dig is a pretty cool book setting,  if you ask me. This one had me hooked through the very end.

Tacos for Two... I really enjoyed this romcom, set primarily in a taco truck!

These Tangled Threads... I hesitated to put this one in this list. A good portion of this book is spent on the move, attempting to locate one of the weavers needed to complete a project.

Things I Never Told You... A big part of Peyton's story takes place in her party planning office or the high school where she coaches volleyball.

To Love a Beast... This Beauty and the Beast Retelling is set in the beast's large estate, mostly in the home library our book binder Belle is working in.

Until Leaves Fall in Paris... Another bookshop, this one in Paris!

The Wedding Dress Christmas... This story will mean more to you if you read The Wedding Dress (which I loved!) first. This one takes place primarily in a wedding Dress shop in Tennessee. 

The Words Between Us... This is another bookstore setting. This one was a bit edgier than most Christian fiction but I did enjoy it. 

Bookish links- January 2026

I loved the above hygge illustration from this book! It's not at all a fully hygge book but I adored this page. 

January new releases I'm excited about: The Lies We Trade 

Most anticipated Christian fiction of 2026, at least according to Goodreads! 

I personally prefer a paper reading journal but this is another fun way to track books read this year! Dash Into Learning put out a free printable reading tracker, too. 

I always love seeing everyone's bookish favorites this time of year! Family Fiction // Money Saving Mom // From Our Bookshelf 

Starting a church children's library 

Reading art I love: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

I love this cute Little Critter shirt. 

I loved Hannah's list of her top ten Christian fiction heroines and now I want to make my own! 

I'm very curious about this game, The Bible is Funny. Have any of you ever played?  

I read this first book when it first came out but I'm ready to dive into the whole series this year! 

Sweet Paddington Bear nursery! 

Historical fiction: yesterday's pain, tomorrow's promise 

I wish I had room for this sweet reading nook shelf! 

Best purses to fit a Kindle Paperwhite 

I saw this puzzle in a toy store last month: Brambly Hedge Winter Story... I love the Brambly Hedge books and love this puzzle! 

Crystal's secret to reading 20-30 minutes every night 

6 faith-building books to start your new year right 

2025 Favorites and Goals

Bookish 2025 goals: 

✔️ Continue slow daily Bible study 

✔️ Read 50 YA/middle grade novels

✔️ Read one book set in a state not already on my location list (I read Hawaiian Quilt which was of course set in Hawaii) 

✔️ Start nightly bedtime books back up. (We've missed a few nights here and there when Baby was exhausted and over it but otherwise we've read a board book or two each night ) 


General bookish favorites 

Favorite bookish blog: All my old favorites but also discovered Faith Fiction and Fairytales

Favorite bookish podcast: I don't think I listened to any podcasts this year!

Favorite bookish YouTube channel: All my old favorites + Kay's Library

Favorite bookstore: I went to 13 bookstores this year, in 3 different states and in 7 different towns. My favorite for its collection was The Sower Christian bookstore in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho but my favorite for atmosphere/esthetic was Auntie's in Spokane, Washington (video here!) 

Favorite book-to-movie (or show) adaptation: I guess I'll say The Hobbit!


Grown-up Favorites 

Favorite 2025 release: The Christmas Book Flood? I didn't read many 2025 releases.

Favorite author: Susan May Warren or Nicole Deese... I think I'm leaning towards SMW just because I'm loving the Christiansen books so much but I did really love the ND books I read, too.

Favorite Bible study resource: How to Study the Bible Intentionally

Favorite Christmas book: Evergreen

Favorite cookbook: Sweet Indulgence

Favorite general/contemporary fiction: The Roads We Follow  

Favorite health book: The Aging Brain

Favorite historical fiction: I didn't read very much historical fiction this year! Im torn between Bespoke and The Christmas Book Flood.

Favorite history: Bomber Mafia

Favorite homeschool book: Pocketful of Pinecones

Favorite marriage book: In Unison 

Favorite memoir: I Still Believe 

Favorite mothering book: The Wonder Weeks 

Favorite nonfiction: Habits of the Household 

Favorite pregnancy/postpartum book: The First 40 Days 

Favorite Romance: The Lost Manuscript 

Favorite secular fiction: Didn't read any this year! 

Favorite secular nonfiction: Disease-Proof Your Child

Favorite series: The Christiansen Family books... I read the prequel and then books 1-3.5

Favorite suspense: I Think I Was Murdered 

Favorite time slip: These Tangled Threads


YA & Middle Grade Favorites 

Favorite 2025 release: The Bug Bandits

Favorite author: Kathy Kacer, I think?

Favorite Bible Study resource: Not Consumed

Favorite biography: Bonhoeffer

Favorite Christmas book: The Paper Bag Christmas

Favorite dystopian: The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted

Favorite general/contemporary fiction: Emmy in the Key of Code 

Favorite fantasy:  Beyond Mulberry Glen

Favorite graphic novel: The Mythmakers 

Favorite historical fiction: Kate and the Spies 

Favorite history: A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone,  the World's First National Park

Favorite nonfiction: The Case for Heaven: Young Reader Edition

Favorite read-aloud: The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson 

Favorite series: Life Behind the Wall series 

Favorite suspense: A Game Most Foul

Favorite TGTB book list selection: The High Cheese 


Bookish 2026 goals:

- Deep Bible study of two books of the Bible (maybe more? But I'm so slow and plan to go for history & details so we'll see!)
- Read at least 52 physical/Kindle (not audio) books this year
- Complete 50+ YA/middle grade novels
- Read more (5+) historical fiction/timeslip novels 

- Write a Christmas read-aloud for my kids 

Spokane, Washington

My family and I recently attended an event in Spokane, Washington. We didn't actually have as much time to explore (and Christmas shop!) as I had hoped and expected to but some of us did manage to squeeze a few things in so I thought I'd share those here. 

I always pay attention to downtown outdoor art and architecture when I travel. Downtown Spokane has some seriously gorgeous old architecture. I will warn though that this downtown area does not feel safe for me as a woman unless my husband is with us. 

The only thing I had time to do downtown was nine minutes in Auntie's Bookstore, almost exclusively spent un the children'ssection. I would have loved a longer adventure in here (is there a Christian section?!) but maybe next time. How fun are these teas?! Chapters Tea Co. 

The first evening had along enough break that we were able to run over to the mall. We live in a rural small town so travel often involves errands we can't do back home lol😆 

We got new planners + a stocking stuffer at Barnes & Noble, got a stocking stuffer at a Pokémon card store, and spent a few minutes browsing Faithful Chocolates & Christian Bookstore. 

We primarily eat food brought from home / prepped in our Airbnb these days but we did get a few things at Huckleberry's and we had planned for our last dinner to come from Method since we didn't have the airbnb kitchen anymore. My husband got the spicy ranch rice bowl, my son and I got chili (he got his over rice, I got mine without), and my girls got Blue Magic smoothie bowls. We also split cannellini cookie dough cups as an afternoon snack with apples. Everyone liked their meal. 

There are Little Free Libraries all over Spokane but only three it made sense to check out.

The event was very cool and overall it was a fun, though very hectic trip. We'll be back, and next time we'll explore a bit more!

I also have a previous Spokane post here.