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My Library Book Basket Method

My kids LOVE to read. Every morning, the two oldest are up by 6:30 AM. They find me on the couch reading and once they have their morning drinks in hand, they’re grabbing their own stack of books to flip through in the quiet room.

And this isn’t the only time they sit on the couch and quietly flip through books. This happens all throughout the day at random moments. Sometimes, if they’re playing and on the verge of bickering, I’ll even yell out, “Okay, it’s time for a break! Everyone grab some books and let’s have quiet time.” And yes, this actually works 🤣 they sit and read on their own.

One way I try to keep books exciting and fresh is by making regular trips to the library—duh! But one thing I started doing a few months ago to make it even more fun is to allow my two older kids to bring a wire basket with them to the library and allow them to fill it to the brim with whatever they want.

The only limitation I put on their choices is the t.v. character books. Yes, we watch Paw Patrol and Blaze and Dragon Rescue Riders at home, and because we watch those shows, we don’t need to read about them too. I want them to choose books with beautiful artwork, interesting story lines and vocabulary they don’t hear everyday—and that’s not usually something you find in these t.v. character books. I allow them one or two and then gently encourage them to choose anything else in the library. That’s fair, right?!

The nice part about the basket method is that it then becomes how we keep our library books organized at home. Each child has their own basket with their library books that we keep near the couches or their bean bags so they can sort through them whenever they please.

I also keep several books in our car (both library and ones we own). I stuff the pockets behind the driver and passenger seats with as many books as I can fit, and the first thing they do when we hop in the car—even if it’s just a quick drive to the YMCA or library—is grab one of those books to flip through. Even the baby is doing it now without any prompting! Her brother kindly hands her any book she points to ❤️

There are endless ways to help your children love to read. I hope my basket method helps you and yours with some inspiration this summer to get your kids in a book more often!

A Fun Addition To My Preorder Giveaway

In honor of the starred review my new book just received, I decided to add one more prize to the preorder giveaway I’m doing! A fourth winner will now receive FIVE copies of Where Wilted Flowers Bloom so they can form their own book club and gift their members a free copy!

As a reminder, if you preorder my book from ANY retailer before August 20, you can enter to win one of three four sweet prizes:

Winner #1 will receive a THREE month subscription to Urban Stems, a flower subscription company that sends gorgeous, premium bouquets straight to your door!

Winner #2 will receive a copy of the beautiful coffee table book, Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers: Designing Gorgeous Arrangements for Every Season.

Winner #3 will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card in the hopes that you will use it to treat a neighbor to coffee or tea just like my protagonists in the book.

Winner #4 will receive five copies of Where Wilted Flowers Bloom for their bookclub.

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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If you preorder a copy of my new book, you can enter for a chance to win one of three really beautiful gifts:

Winner #1 will receive a THREE month subscription to Urban Stems, a flower subscription company that sends gorgeous, premium bouquets straight to your door!

Winner #2 will receive a copy of the beautiful coffee table book, Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers: Designing Gorgeous Arrangements for Every Season.

Winner #3 will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card in the hopes that you will use it to treat a neighbor to coffee or tea just like my protagonists in the book.

To enter to win, simply preorder a copy and then fill out the form below to officially enter to win.

Preorder Here

Enter The Giveaway

(Ps. every preorder = one entry. So preorder 5 copies and you’ll be entered 5 times!)

The giveaway will be open until August 20 and winners will be announced August 24.

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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I got a really sweet email from my publishing team recently containing a compilation of some tear-jerking words about my new book.

These endorsements were written by wonderful authors I deeply respect, making the kind words even more meaningful. Can I share some of them with you?

Advanced Praise for Where Wilted Flowers Bloom:

“Honest, unapologetic, and tender, Where Wilted Flowers Bloom doesn’t shy away from the hard edges of grief. The unlikely friendship at its center beautifully illuminates gentle pathways toward healing. Be sure to keep a box of tissues handy: The soul-cleansing tears this story stirred caught me by surprise.”

—Amanda Cox, Christy-Award Winning Author of The Bitter End Birding Society

“Where Wilted Flowers Bloom is a poignant exploration of grief, friendship, and healing when it seems impossible. Johanna Rojas Vann’s skill as a storyteller invites readers into the lives of her well-crafted characters with such authenticity, you feel every raw emotion, smell every fragrant flower, and find yourself examining your own journey through the painful life events we all face at some point. This book has the potential to help us see others who are going through difficult circumstances with new eyes.”

—Michelle Shocklee, Christy Award–Winning author of All We Thought We Knew and The Women of Oak Ridge

“Johanna Rojas Vann has written a story that perfectly threads the needle between heartbreaking and heartwarming. When you turn the final page, the deeply drawn characters will stay with you, making you wish you could visit them just one more time. This story is a must-read for anyone who enjoys themes of found family, unexpected friendship, and hard-won restoration.”

—Sarah Loudin Thomas, Bestselling Author of These Tangled Threads

“If you’ve ever carried a grief too heavy to name, this story will feel like it was written just for you. Johanna has a gift for weaving faith into the fabric of everyday life, not as a tidy answer to suffering but as a gentle presence moving through it.”

—Carmen Schober, Author of After She Falls and Pretty Little Pieces

“There are streams of living water available to us even in the midst of our deepest grief. In this remarkable novel, Johanna Rojas Vann points us with poignancy, authenticity, and power toward the headwaters that can be our source of hope-filled, living, flowing water: the love of family, the gift of unexpected friendship, and the abiding love of God.”

—Jeff Crosby, President of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and Author of The Language of the Soul and World of Wonders

“Life has a way of breaking the ground of a hardened heart. Where Wilted Flowers Bloom is a story about real pain, real struggle, and finding hope in the thorns. God sometimes uses unlikely people to lighten our souls for the journey ahead. This is a story that will do that.”

—Chris Fabry, Host of Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio and Author of Saving Grayson

A Recent Read I LOVED

I’ve seen the book The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life by Julie Bogart floating around the Homeschool world for years now, but I’ve never taken the time to read it until now.

I wish I hadn’t waited so long! This book is a true practical guide that will encourage and inspire any homeschool parent to bring their child’s world alive with more than just books.

I have to admit, I was a bit excited that the first thing she encouraged parents to do was to create an "art table” where kids were free to gather any day of the week with access to all kinds of crafts and whimsical things. I’ve had one of those for years now!* *pats myself on the back 🤣

Our old dining table became our craft table 3 years ago. It’s covered in paint and markers and I try to keep it cleared off as much as possible so that there’s always space to create something new when inspiration strikes.

I recently purchased a large cabinet to put across from the table where I can store school books, early reader books, and all of our craft supplies. Before I bought it though, I kept a tray of white paper on the table, the basket of markers and crayons you see in the picture, and a basket of school books too—all on top of the table. I love the cabinet because I can keep things extra organized, but I wanted to emphasize that it’s not necessary.

I recently added a quilted banner over our windows (found it at a local homesteading festival) for some extra whimsy and soon I’ll add a wire basket below our cork board where we can store more art supplies and books we love. After my kitchen, this might just be my favorite place in our home ❤️

Kid’s Books/What We’re Loving As A Family

On a recent trip to our awesome used bookstore in Nashville, we picked up a nice big stack of what I’ll call “antique” reader books (for $0.45 each!). We’re using them this summer to keep my 5-year-old’s reading skills sharp. He’s especially loving reading the Little Bear books to me, and I’m still amazed at hearing him read each day ❤️

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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I’m still on cloud 9 thinking about the gorgeous book cover my publisher designed. Don’t forget that you can download and read the first two chapters RIGHT NOW! You can read a sneak peak here 🌷 (I’d love to know what you think!) And in case you forgot:

Why I’m Loving Historical Fiction Lately

I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction lately and you know what it has made me discover (at the tender age of 33)?? I DON’T HATE LEARNING HISTORY!

13 years in public school and 3 years in college and I would have told you that it’s just not my thing. Maybe it’s just that I don’t have a brain for history (or math).

Well, it turns out that’s not true.

You know what I don’t have a brain for? Dense, boring, history TEXTBOOKS!

And c’mon, how many of us can say we actually enjoy learning about historical events through a textbook?

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading books like All We Thought We Knew and The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee, The Alice Network by Kate Quinn*, and The Timeless Series by Gabrielle Meyer . . . all of these books have taught me endless fun facts about historical events without having to sit through a dry lecture.

This reminds me of one of the many reasons I’m excited to homeschool. There’s not just one way to learn—we all know that, right? There are endless ways to learn about history, there are countless ways to learn how to read, there are several ways to solve the same math equation (as I recently learned while teaching my son how to subtract two digit numbers)… what a great reminder that if my kids “hate” history one day, I can hand them a well-written, well-researched novel and say, “try this.” ❤️

*I enjoyed this book, but for my friends who are sensitive to R-rated content, this is not a clean read.

Kid’s Books/What We’re Loving As A Family

Hymns for Little Ones collection of board books

I didn’t grow up listening to or singing hymns at church. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s when I really started to appreciate the deep, poetic lyrics that pierce the soul.

Ever since my five year old was an infant, I’ve been singing the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” to my children at bedtime. I chose that song because if there’s one thing I want them to remember as they grow and one day leave my nest, it’s that they can overcome just about anything in this life if they build the discipline of turning their eyes upward.

It’s these simple truths put to melody that I believe will serve my children well throughout their journey, which is why I love these board books that introduce hymns to children. We started with the book Nothing But the Blood of Jesus (which my 5 and 3 year old can sing by memory now) and bought three more for Easter. We’ve been slowly learning them all, and I’m so grateful for a fun way to do it!

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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I am SO excited to finally share the GORGEOUS book cover with you.

This book is YEARS in the making. 3 years after my first book, we’ll finally get to hold the next one ❤️ It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.

Ready to see the cover?

Drum roll, please . . .

The Synopsis:

From the multi-award-winning author of An American Immigrant comes the story of a woman walking through paralyzing grief and the unlikely friendship that might unlock a path to healing.

When Sandra and her family move from New York City to East Nashville for her husband’s job, she is hopeful for a fresh start. While she will deeply miss her tight-knit family and thriving career, she is desperate to leave behind the city that holds her greatest loss.

But Sandra quickly learns that moving into a new home she designed and having the freedom to be a stay-at-home mom for the first time is not what she thought it would be. Sorrow still follows her, and no new place can fix it.

When she meets her next-door neighbor, Mark, who is an elderly, widowed, retired pastor, an unlikely friendship quickly forms. His humor, spiritual wisdom, and affinity for gardening—a skill he was forced to learn when his wife passed away—brings a welcome distraction from Sandra’s suffocating grief, giving her hope for the first time since her tragic loss. Will this friendship be just what she needs to heal her broken heart? Or will unexpected news leave Sandra with even more heartache?

Interested in reading the first two chapters NOW?

You can read a sneak peak here 🌷

And if you haven’t yet checked out my debut, it’s still less than $10 on Amazon!

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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I know it’s been a while since I sent an update, so I’ll just be honest: Final edits on Book #2 and my children took priority . . . and you know what? That’s a GOOD thing. In every season of life, we must balance our priorities and choose the gifts right in front of us. For the second half of 2025, that meant finishing my book and being present with my three littles on a regular basis.

Progress Update

I’m happy to announce that book #2 is (pretty much) DONE! I turned in my final edits back in November, so all that’s left are copyedits and proofreading. I’m SO thankful!

We also have an official title and launch date.

Drum roll, please . . .

I know I say this all the time, but I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO READ THIS BOOK! So much of my heart is printed on the pages and I look forward to you getting a glimpse of that.

*Ps. I think by next month I’ll have the green light to share the gorgeous cover with you, as well as the official summary of the book.*

Until then, let’s talk about other fun book things . . .

Recent Reads & Reviews

Timeless Series by Gabrielle Meyer

I have been loving the Timeless series. I recently finished book 4 and I’m still trying to decide whether book 3 or 4 is my favorite 🙃 Has anyone else read this series?! I’ll be jumping into book 5 shortly.

Hannah’s Children by Catherine Pakaluk

Another book I absolutely loved. Here’s a quick description that beautifully summarizes the book: In the midst of a historic “birth dearth,” why do some 5 percent of American women choose to defy the demographic norm by bearing five or more children? Hannah’s Children is a compelling portrait of these overlooked but fascinating mothers who, like the biblical Hannah, see their children as their purpose, their contribution, and their greatest blessing.

Other Books I’ve Read the Last Few Months

The Collapse of Parenting ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So stinking good.

Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Why aren’t we taught this stuff in high school?

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee. Fun twist in the end.

Kid’s Books/What We’ve Been Reading

The Flower Thief and The Snow Thief: adorable spin off titles of our absolute favorite book to read together: The Leaf Thief.

The Little House picture book series: my son thought it was so cool that they make kid versions of mommy’s favorite book The Little House on the Prairie (okay, it’s not favorite book, but he thinks so for some reason). We bought several of the books for Christmas and love reading them together.

Frog and Toad Storybook Favorites: my kids love the Frog and Toad stories so I found them a collection of all the stories for Christmas. They never get old!

Homeschool

We started homeschooling with my oldest this past year. He’s only in preschool, but he’s so motivated that we’ve been blowing through all kinds of curriculum. I wanted to share a little bit about the books that have helped us in case you’re homeschooling too.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

This book was challenging (in a good way) but it worked! My brand new five year old can now confidently read age appropriate books—how cool is that?! Since we’ve completed this book, we’re moving on to the Kindergarten Language Arts curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful. He’s already asking me to do more than one lesson a day with this one (he NEVER wanted to do more than one with TYCTR) so that’s a great sign!

For additional reading practice, we enjoy these National Geographic You Read, I Read books (parent reads one page then the child reads the next page) and the super cool Yoto Player we got him for Christmas. He’s listening to chapter books throughout the week, which contribute greatly to vocabulary development and reading comprehension.

The Good and the Beautiful

We’ve also loved TGATB math curriculum. We’ve completed their kindergarten curriculum and recently started their grade 1 curriculum. We never do just one lesson. My son requires we do a minimum of 3 lessons whenever we sit down to do “school work”—they are that fun!

So far, homeschooling has been a sweet time learning and growing alongside my son. If you’re homeschooling, I’d love to hear about your experience and/or book recommendations for younger children in the comments below!

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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Hey book-loving friends, I’m going to keep it superrrr short today. Why? Because I’m SIX WEEKS AWAY FROM DEADLINE 😱 In other words, I’m tired of writing!

I’ve made major progress on my word count and I continue to fall in love with this story more and more. It’s definitely getting harder. If you’ve ever run a half marathon (I’ve done it once), you know that the last few miles are the absolute hardest. You’re exhausted, you’re in pain, and it’s really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when your perspective is clouded by fatigue.

But there’s a beauty to this not being my first rodeo . . . I know it gets better.

I know it’s supposed to be hard right now.

I know I’m supposed to feel like I just want to be done.

I know I’m supposed to daydream about giving up.

But I also know that every 430am wake up call, every hard earned dollar spent on a babysitter, every afternoon sacrificed to a tiny cubicle at the library is absolutely worth the satisfaction you get from having completed something that is really difficult.

God Keeps Winking At Me

I hope you got a chance to read about the incredible wink God sent me last month. It involved a chapter I’d written completely coming to life in a tear jerky way.

Well, he sent me another one recently.

My favorite worship band, CityAlight, released a new EP recently, which is sooooo good. When I heard one of the songs—We Too Have Overcome—my jaw almost hit the floor.

This song is based on John 16:33, which says: I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

There is a pivotal moment in my story where this exact scripture takes center stage 😭

I’m going to leave you with this song, today. I encourage you to take a moment and listen to the lyrics. I hope they remind you this week that if we put our trust in the work that Jesus did on the cross, then we too become overcomers.

We can have hope in a future where joy will never cease and know a home awaits for me.

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P.S. If you haven’t read my multi-award winning debut novel yet, it’s still less than $10 on Amazon! It’s a great pick to take to the beach or pool this summer❤️

P.P.S. I would appreciate your prayers as I wrap up my first draft of this book and submit it to my publisher.

Last month, I shared some exciting progress that had happened with my next book. I told you that I had no idea how I was going to hit my deadline but that I was sure God would help me. And sure enough, He did and He continues to.

My beautiful angel baby (I don’t know how else to describe her, she’s just the best) continues to take a glorious 3-hour afternoon nap and she sleeps all through the night allowing me to rise by 5am feeling rested and ready to write. I don’t get up and write every morning, but when I do, it’s some of my most productive writing time I have all week.

With this book, God has shown up for me again and again. Attempting to write a novel with three kids at home full-time sounds like an absolutely impossible task, doesn’t it?

Not with God’s help.

I’ve been convinced—again and again—to invite God into my writing. I say “again and again,” because as a flawed human, I’m prone to forget how much I need Him.

Last month, my writer’s group gathered and together, we each wrote our own liturgy that we could memorize and recite anytime we sit to write. I wanted to share mine with you today—it’s been a game changer to acknowledge I need his help when I sit down to write.

As I sit here to write

I acknowledge that you sit here with me

You guide my hands, my mind, my heart

Lord, give me the words that you would have me write

That they may bless those who read them

And draw near the hearts of those you love

To your glory, and for your glory

Amen

God’s Wink

You know those moments when you feel God speak directly to you? It happens during trying times, usually, and they always come at just the right moment. The moment when you’re feeling unsure, maybe a little bit lost, perhaps wondering if you’re even remotely going in the right direction.

In my experience, God loves to show up in those moments (if we would open space for Him to) just like he did for me a few weeks ago.

I was working on what will be the last chapter of my book (at least for now, so much will change). Here’s a glimpse of the final few sentences I wrote:

I wiped my cheeks and got closer to him as I could tell he was observing something closely. When I got near, all the air was forced out of my lungs. The first bud had popped out.

“Is that a rose?” he asked me.

One final tear slid down my cheek. “Yeah, buddy. It’s our first bud.”

And in that moment… YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE REST 😜

I wrote that on a Thursday, and didn’t work on the book again until the following Monday when I had a sitter. I drove down to my local library and found a private desk in front of a window in the quiet room. I pulled my computer out of my bag, set my coffee down, opened my notebook… got ready to get straight to work. And then, I looked up. Right outside my window, I saw this:

And all the air was forced out of my lungs. 😭 If that’s not affirmation that God is writing this book with me, then I don’t know what is.

I know I say this all the time, but I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO READ THIS BOOK!

Recent Reads & Reviews

Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury

This was the first Karen Kingsbury book I’ve read and I was surprised around how “perfect” the characters were 🙃

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

Sadly, was not captivated by this book. I didn’t finish it.

Currently Reading

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

I recently found the entire Anne of Green Gables series at a used bookstore, so I plan to read through them this year. I never read them as a child, which makes me sad because I just know I would have adored them!

Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate, MD

Excellent book so far that’s been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long. I finally picked it up after encouragement from a friend (hi, Madison!)

May Kids Books/What We’re Reading This Month

A few sweet books we’ve been reading on repeat:

A Book For Bear by Ellen Ramsey

Who Sang the First Song and Don’t Forget to Remember by Ellie Holcomb

How to Say Hello to a Worm by Kari Percival

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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Quick Writing Update

I’ve been making really good progress lately on book #2.

Just a month ago, I had no idea how I was going to get this book done. But you know what I did know? That God would help me find a way.

And sure enough, he did. My 7-month-old baby is my first child to take a consistent 3 hour nap every afternoon, so I’ve been able to leverage some help from sitters in my neighborhood (thank God for teenagers who are homeschooled!) to play with my preschoolers during that three-hour timeframe so that I can get away and write.

Is three hours, twice a week enough? So far, yes! How is that possible? The law of motherhood efficiency 🤣

Just kidding. It’s actually called Parkinson’s Law and it says, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This means that the more time we have, the less efficient we become. On the other hand, when we’re given time constraints with serious consequences, we:

1. stop procrastinating

2. focus better/don’t give in to distraction

3. get more done

4. produce higher quality work

I’ve been feeling that lately. My time to write is so limited that I don’t mess around when I sit down—it’s go time and I’m going to get ISH DONE.

Do I wish I could spend three months in a cabin in the woods with a view of a grand lake to write this book? Of course, I do! But that’s not possible in this season of my life, and that’s okay. I’ll take a million non-glamorous places to write for three hours twice a week for the privilege of getting to turn this story into a book.

I love this story sooooooo much and I wish I could share it with you all tomorrow! In the meantime, here’s a teeny tiny peek into what I’ve written lately (no guarantee it will end up in the final product):

I splash water on my face in the kid’s bathroom before going downstairs to see who’s at the door. A peek in the side panel of the door reveals it’s the elderly man we passed on our walk to lunch earlier today—my next-door neighbor. I open the door.

“Good afternoon. Sorry about earlier. That ole’ lawn mower of mine can be hard to crank on so I didn’t want to turn it off when ya’ll walked by earlier. I feel like a rude neighbor for not stopping to say hello.”

I smile and like him instantly. He’s clean shaven with a soft, round face. His dark eyes are a bit misty but there’s something about his bright smile of straight, white teeth that bring me comfort.

“Please, don’t apologize. I’m Sandra,” I reach my hand out. “My husband Hank isn’t here, but that’s who you saw me with earlier.”

He takes my hand with his right hand and then covers it with his left. I look down at our hands then back up to his smile. His hands are covered in wrinkles, but they’re soft.

“Marcus, but everyone just calls me Mark. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

My Recent Reads and Reviews

Once again, just wanted to reiterate that I’m not reading as much as I normally do because

1. little kids by my side 24/7

2. writing a book

3. obsessed with the show Nashville right now

Last month, I finished The Frozen River (so good, even better the second time around) and I started Jan Karon’s Light From Heaven but then I stopped half way through after attending the book signing for Patti Callahan Henry’s latest release: The Story She Left Behind. I wanted to dive in immediately.

I’ll be honest, I’m about 30% in right now and it’s okay, which is a little disappointing. I absolutely loved her last bestseller: The Secret Book of Flora Lea. There’s still lots of book left, so I have hope it will get better.

What I Would Read Next If I Had More Time

The Women by Kristin Hannah (or really, any of her books)

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (because this book has come up a few times lately and I’ve never read it)

The Women They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore (because my book club is reading this but I have a feeling I won’t get to it in time 😩)

For Writers: A Few Good Podcasts I’ve Listened to Recently

I love binge listening to writing podcasts when I’m working on a book, especially when I’m on my way to my next writing location. It’s as if I’m hoping I’ll get some kind of spark/brilliant idea just as I’m about to sit down and write—HA!

Here are three really solid episodes from the Christian Publishing Show that I’ve listened to more than once:

Beginnings and Endings of Novels with Angela Hunt

Beyond First Drafts: How to Master The Art of Revision

How to Write Realistic Characters with Becca Puglisi (and her book The Emotion Thesaurus; SO helpful!)

Pssst have you read my first novel An American Immigrant yet?

It’s less than $10 on Amazon right now

Be on the lookout for a potential sale on the Kindle version of my book this coming Thursday!

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook or my other Substack publication: The Crunchy Convert.

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Quick Writing Update

Guess what?

I finally opened that big, scary, 50-thousand-word document that’s been looming over my head since last May when I decided to take a break from writing while I finished out my pregnancy.

Guess what else?

It wasn’t that scary!

And isn’t that how it usually goes? We worry and worry and worry over something and then we get it done and think, “why was I so worried? That wasn’t so bad.”

All I’ve done so far is read through the 50k words I have and create a timeline of events. I haven’t actually gotten back to the writing part, but I’m getting there! While the 50k words I have feel messy and need a lot of reworking, I’m feeling renewed energy and excitement over the story and look forward to the day when I’m back to working on it on a regular basis—hopefully by the end of the month.

Our Morning Reading Basket

A few weeks ago, I gave up my morning reading time to give my eldest child one-on-one reading time with me. I’ll be honest, it was really hard to give up. We’re both usually up around 6:15 and I used to sit and read with a cup of coffee until his sister’s got up around 7:30 am.

I’d been wanting to start Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with him for a while. Not only had he been asking me to teach him how to read, but I also felt he was truly ready. I had a feeling, despite him only being 4, that he would catch on quickly and truly be able to learn with minimal frustration.

So I replaced my basket of books with his basket of books.

Nowadays, our morning basket time looks like:

1. We read our morning devotional together (Leading Little Ones to God)

2. Then we read a story because reading aloud to children is so important (he’s currently enjoying the picture book series based on The Little House books)

3. Then it’s a poem or two from The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems

4. And finally, we do is a lesson from Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

As suspected, he’s really catching on and doing beautifully! It’s so fun to watch him progress little by little, and totally worth giving up my personal reading time—I’ll find another time for that.

If your child is also interested in learning how to read, I highly recommend this book we’re going through. It’s fabulous!

Used Bookstore Haul

This newsletter is coming to you a day late because we spent a long morning yesterday at my favorite used bookstore. Here’s what we found for just under $50.

Remember that book on homeschooling I mentioned last month that I didn’t really like? In the book, the author recommends not allowing your children to choose silly “tv character” books. All books have to be classic and beautiful and some level of “sophisticated…”

Talk about a wet blanket…

I couldn’t disagree more. I’m not going to put a damper on my child’s love of reading by strictly dictating what he can and cannot read (barring it’s age appropriate, of course). That’s why I happily allowed my son to pick any two books he wanted. My only rule is that he has to let me choose a few books for him as well and we spend time reading both—he happily complies.

My Recent Reads and Reviews

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been reading a whole lot lately. Life is just busy! With my morning time now spent reading to my son and getting back to my manuscript, I’m looking for other small pockets of time to read for myself.

I’m currently (slowly) reading:

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

This is a re-read for me this because it’s my neighborhood book club pick this month. This was my favorite book of 2023. Absolutely beautiful, so re-reading it is a joy.

SuperGut by William Davis, M.D.

Hang around me long enough and you’ll quickly learn I’m often reading a book related to holistic health, healing, and real food. (That’s why I started The Crunchy Covert.) This one has been fascinating.

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

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For those of you who are new around here, Books & Other Things is my monthly newsletter that features book reviews and recommendations, writing updates, a behind the scenes look at an author's life, and random giveaways of my favorite books. You can expect to receive this newsletter on the first Monday of every month.

For those of you who’ve been around for a while, nothing will change for you. You’ll continue to receive my monthly newsletter straight to your inbox only with a new look.

I hope you’ll stay awhile.

Quick Writing Update

As many of you might know, last year I signed a contract with Waterbrook & Multnomah—an imprint of Penguin Random House—for my second novel! My manuscript is due this Summer, and if all goes as planned, the book will be available wherever books are sold in Fall of 2026.

You might also know that I gave birth to my third child last Fall—in early September. I planned on taking the remainder of the year off and getting back to the manuscript January 1. It’s February 3, and—womp, womp—I still haven’t even opened the document.

Thankfully, I’m a good place wordcount-wise. This time last year, I got about 50k words down on paper. With a goal of 80-90k words, I’m feeling confident about giving myself and my baby a little more time to get on a decent sleep schedule before I start waking up at the crack of dawn to write.

Hopefully, by the end of this month, I’ll have ripped off the bandaid, opened that scary document, and somehow found a good writing rhythm that allows everyone in my household to continue to thrive… I know… seriously wishful thinking. Will you pray for me, anyway? Greater things have happened 🤷🏽‍♀️

Old Books: My New Favorite

A week or so into January I noticed something peculiar: my kids and I were reading and loving a stack of old books. This wasn’t planned or curated, but it may become something I curate moving forward.

The four books we read were:

Little Women (published in 1868)

Leading Little Ones to God (published in 1962)

Tacky the Penguin (published in 1988)

Warm in Winter (published in 1989)

I’ve had Little Women on my bookshelf for years, but have never actually read it. I lovedddd the movie adaptation, but wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the book because of how old it is. Sometimes old-timey language (and thus, classic literature) intimidates me. One very snowy day, I put on some wool socks, brewed some coffee, cuddled up in my big chair, and finally picked it up. My heart was sad that I’d waited so long to dive in.

This book has touched the deep recesses of my mama heart. I just adore Marmee, and now often think of her words of encouragement as I parent my own kids each day. I’m disappointed that the movie adaptation featured almost none of her (Godly) wisdom.

I can’t remember where I saw the recommendation for Leading Little Ones to God. All I remember is that I got on Amazon and ordered it immediately. It was truly a God-send because a few nights prior to me ordering this book, my son asked me some deep questions at bedtime like, “is God here right now? Is he downstairs too? Is he in the air?”

The second story in this particular book helps explain—in an age appropriate way—why we can’t see God. And the third story explains how, although we can’t see God with our eyes, we can see his works. This book quickly became a sweet morning routine with my son. Typically, because he wakes up 1.5 hours before his sisters, he sits next to me on the couch while I read my Bible. But now, we read a story together from this book first before I start my own reading. We get to talk about the teaching and even pray together without interruptions from his little sisters. It’s become a precious time together that has made me grateful we’re both early-risers.

The final two picture books were on display at my local library. I was attracted to their soft, muted color schemes—something that feels so sweet and calming compared to today’s “look at me! look at me!” kids books. Both are wonderful stories with a good moral lesson.

I picked them up on the same day. I began reading Warm in Winter to my son while my 2-year-old daughter played at the train table in front of us. She doesn’t often sit for a reading for more than 60 seconds, but after reading about 2 pages of this book, she crept over near us and listened. And by the middle of the story, she was sitting on my lap quietly listening—I was amazed! While she often asks me to read to her, she gets distracted easily and doesn’t often let me finish an entire book.

Not on this day. Not only did we read through Warm In Winter a second time right after the first, but she also sat through three readings of Tacky the Penguin. This just goes to show that we don’t always have to choose board books for young toddlers. Some of them just might prefer the longer picture books, especially when they’re written well and include timeless illustrations.

My Recent Reads & Reviews

Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love by Cindy Rollins

I loved this book! It’s very short because the majority of this book is an anthology that can be used to create your own morning time ritual. I plan to buy my own copy because the anthology is really useful!

Educating The Wholehearted Child by Clay Clarkson

Can I be honest? I really didn’t like this book. Even as someone who is very interested in homeschooling, I found the writer of this book to be very arrogant. Over and over again, he reassures readers that homeschooling is the only Christ-centered option for educating your children and even goes so far as to promise a particular outcome for those who homeschool. I vehemently disagree. I couldn’t even finish this book, although I did make it more than 50% and skimmed the rest.

Galatians For You by Tim Keller

This was a helpful companion to my personal study of Galatians last month.

Little Women by L.M. Alcott

We’ve already talked about this, so let’s keep moving.

Currently Reading

I decided not to set a reading goal this year. Last year, I set a goal of reading 52 books, and I made it just in the nick of time. But this year, I just want to take it easy and enjoy the books I read. When I set a goal, I often feel an underlying sensation that I have to hurry and get through the book so that I can start another one… and that’s just no way to enjoy an important hobby like reading.

I’m going to read slowly and let the words simmer.

Right now, I’m reading through:

Gently and Lowly by Dan Ortlund

This is a re-read for me. I read it over a year ago, and I remember it being so beautiful that I wanted to start the year with it again.

In the Lord I Take Refuge by Dan Ortlund

I’m slowing reading through this devotional that takes you through one Psalm a day written by the same author as Gentle and Lowly.

Light From Heaven by Jan Karon

Last year, I read the first 8 books in Karon’s Mitford series. I’m getting back to them this month with book #9.

Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck

This book has me force feeding myself fish again 🤣 If you’ve ever stressed about how to feed your infant, please check out this book. It doesn’t have to be complicated (or involve you pureeing everything).

February Kids Books/What We’re Reading This Month

One night, as I was putting my son to bed, I reminded him that he’d lost his T.V. time the following day. His response? “Okay, but can we read Warm in Winter?” 😭 “Of course,” I told him.

I didn’t need any more reason to choose another stack of beautiful, old books, but I got one anyway. That’s why this month, we’re reading:

Me First by Helen Lester (1995)

I confess that I chose this book because I have a preschooler who is all about “me first” right now. Stories are better than nagging and preaching 🤷🏽‍♀️

Tacky and the Emperor by Helen Lester (2002)

A subsequent visit to the library revealed to me that the Tacky book we read last month is a part of a series of books! So fun.

Frog in Winter by Max Velthuijs (1993)

Check it Out

Feb Book Giveaway

To celebrate my first newsletter sent from Substack, I want to do a picture book giveaway! Comment below your favorite childhood picture book and I’ll pick a random winner 🙂

Quick reminder:

Did you know I have another publication on Substack? It’s called The Crunchy Convert. I send a weekly article every Monday afternoon related to health, wellness, clean eating, and cooking from scratch. Go on, peruse my archive of articles. It’s long but I bet you’ll find some interesting content.

If you want the article in your inbox every Monday, you can subscribe for free.

That's all for now, my friends. Want to chat about anything in this newsletter? Just leave a comment below! Or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Leave a comment

If we’ve never met before, my name is Johanna. I’m a wife, mother to three, and author of An American Immigrant—my multi-award winning debut novel.

For over a year, I’ve been sending a monthly newsletter through Kit called Books & Other Things where I share book reviews and recommendations, blog updates, a behind the scenes look at an author's life, and giveaways of my favorite books.

After jumping on Substack last year to launch my completely unrelated newsletter The Crunchy Convert, I knew I’d want to move Books & Other Things here too. I just love Substack! I spend so much time on this platform already (I send a weekly newsletter on Crunchy Convert), so I figured it made sense to send my “author” newsletter from here as well.

Curious about what my former Books & Other Things newsletters looked like? Here’s the one I sent right before the new year.

I’m thrilled to finally have one home for all my newsletters—a wonderful place to write about all the things I love: books, creative writing, and all things health and wellness, too.

Welcome and I hope you’ll stay awhile ❤️

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