Welcome

Hi, I’m Natalie

What This Book Blog Is NOT About

While I love reading, one of the things I find disheartening about the book world is that it is full of A LOT of hype around new releases. (There. I said it.)

I used to get sucked into the hype until I started to look back each year and realize that *most* of the time when I followed the hype around a book is when I enjoyed a book the least (or abandoned it altogether).

This started to give me pause.

I get that publishers need to sell books, and I don’t fault them for that. But when a book is being heavily marketed, I’ve also learned to proceed with caution.

This blog, as the name implies, is all about helping people find joy in their reading lives. Because of that mission, you will not see me hyping all the new releases.

Since I’ve stopped following all the new releases, the joy quotient (if you can even quantify joy) has gone up significantly. Just check out the list of books I’ve read this year so far. Most of them are 4 and 5 star reads.

This doesn’t mean I never read a new release, but here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if a new release is worth reading:

  • Is it written by an author I’ve previously read and enjoyed?
  • Is it recommended by someone who’s opinion I trust?
  • How are the author’s previous books rated?

Lastly, I don’t want to be legalistic about this. It’s okay to take chances sometimes on new books and new authors. It’s how we learn and grow.

What This Blog Is About

What you will find here is a heavier focus on the backlist titles that readers are still raving about today. This includes modern authors AND classic literature.

It’s the reason why I created the Reading Through the Decades Reading Challenge.

I used to be a total classic lit snob, until I realized there was A LOT of amazing contemporary literature I was missing out on. But then as I was starting read more contemporary lit, I became increasingly interested in those books that have stood the test of time. What’s interesting is that each time I read a book for the challenge, they are almost always amazing books. (It says something, doesn’t it?)

happy woman reading with cat

Fun Facts About Me

I’d rather be

reading (of course)

Listening to

audiobooks

grateful for

grace

Favorite place

mammoth lakes

my weekends

chores, family, church

best snuggle buddies

my dachshund

What’s Most Important

This isn’t a religious or theological blog, but I am actually a very religious person. I share this for those who may be interested in learning more.

I am a Christian, and I believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus died for your sins and through Him, you can have eternal life. We’re all going to die some day, which is why it’s worth considering Christianity.

Consider this: while Jesus was dying on the cross, he looked to the man known as the thief on the cross next to him and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Can you think of any other religious leader who has said such a thing?

I know that some Christians in the public square can come across as self-righteous and if that’s been a turn off for you, I totally get it.

But before you reject Christianity because of a few a–holes, let me present something to you. These are just the minimal facts that even athiests and secular historians agree about:

  • Jesus lived.
  • Jesus died.
  • We still don’t know where his body is.

Maybe the resurrection is real.

Since we’re all readers, over the next few months I plan to put together some books and other resources that might be helpful if you are interested in diving into this further. (I will link to them here as I post them).

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by clicking here.

(The email You actually want to read)

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