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Rachel

@alwaysreadingrach

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📍 Chicagoland
👩🏼‍🏫 former kindergarten teacher & YS librarian assistant
🩷 SAHM of two girlies
🧵 currently in my crafting era

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finally it’s Friday! a little look at this week 💕

I’ve been trying to get back in my routine of waking up early to sneak in a couple pages before the girls wake up, which has been so nice

STILL making my way through East of Eden but it majorly picked up speed this week — hoping to finish by the end of the weekend!

Also have had a goal to make sure reach a minimum of 10,000 steps a day so WELCOME BACK AUDIOBOOK WALKS 🙌🏼

A couple library visits this week — including one storytime!

A recent library haul — I’m starting to prep my themed learning weeks again 🙌🏼 next week: summer fruits & gardens! If you have any book recs, LMK!

Lots and lots of adventures to parks, coffee shops, nature walks 😍

The HIGHLIGHTTTTT 🪩!!! saw Hilary Duff & felt like a kid again for the night — truly what dreams are made of

The HIGHLIGHTTTTT 🪩!!! saw Hilary Duff & felt like a kid again for the night — truly what dreams are made of

The HIGHLIGHTTTTT 🪩!!! saw Hilary Duff & felt like a kid again for the night — truly what dreams are made of

The HIGHLIGHTTTTT 🪩!!! saw Hilary Duff & felt like a kid again for the night — truly what dreams are made of by @alwaysreadingrach

ok if you have children, work with children, are ever around children, or want your own children someday — READ THIS BOOK

I recently reread (via audiobook on hoopla) since now I actually have kids of my own & feel so inspired + excited

#TheReadAloudFamily centers around the fact that reading aloud never grows old (even after kids can read by themselves)

not only does reading aloud help maintain meaningful connections (especially in a technology-driven society), but it also teaches empathy and other virtues

“As the characters in our favorite books struggle through hardship, we struggle with them. We consider whether we would be as brave, as bold, as fully human as our favorite heroes. And then we grasp — on a deeper, more meaningful level — the story we are living ourselves as well as the character we will become as the story unfolds.” - page 48

I loved how the book clearly emphasized WHY reading aloud matters and provided easy, creative strategies to show HOW to do it (including book lists grouped age & question guides, even strategies that include using food & toys) — you will find yourself, like me, continually underlining and adding post-it notes

this book is for parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, babysitters, librarians — basically anyone that interacts with children and desires to have a meaningful, long-lasting connection

🎧 if you don’t have time to read the book, highly recommend checking out the author’s podcast: Read-Aloud Revival @readaloudrevival

⬇️ let me know what YOUR favorite read aloud was growing up OR a strategy you use in your family to instill a love of reading !

Also SWIPE ➡️ to see some of our favorite read alouds at the moment for my 3 year old and 2 year old! by @alwaysreadingrach

the perk of reading more means I always have a lot to talk about… but, I don’t always have the time to post 😅 but this is me trying…

APRIL WRAP UP 📚 3,759-ish pages later, this month was basically sponsored by audiobooks and midday treadmill walks w/ a book in hand

Quick RECAP:
EMMA ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️My April Classic pick! I don’t know if I was still deep in Monte Cristo withdrawal or just Austen’d out after reading Pride & Prejudice last month, but this one didn’t hit quite as hard as I expected. While reading, I really struggled with Emma as a character, but after discussing, I’ve come to appreciate her more and more

VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS ⭐️⭐️⭐️Okay, I loved this despite the rating 😂 Such a funny, cozy, easy audiobook. It just didn’t have quite enough depth or character development for me to rate it higher. Absolutely loved Vera though. If you enjoy the Finlay Donovan series, you’d probably love this too

THE ASTRAL LIBRARY ⭐️⭐️⭐️I will always read books about books. And I was thrilled to see Kate Quinn (The Rose Code, The Briar Club, etc.) dipping into fantasy. The concept — escaping into the worlds of other books — was so intriguing, but the execution fell a little flat for me. Honestly, I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if it had leaned fully into YA

YESTERYEAR ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Absolutely flew through this audiobook — incredibly bingeable and such a hot topic in the book world right now. I didn’t totally love where the ending landed, but I didn’t hate it either

THE CORRESPONDENT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Obviously 5 stars. This was a reread, and somehow I think I loved it even more the second time around, which feels impossible. Such a charming and heartwarming book

MAD MABEL ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Really enjoyed the audiobook! The pacing felt a little uneven at the beginning, and I definitely preferred the “then” timeline over the “now” sections, but it came together really nicely in the end

And finally — my FAAAAVORITE reads of the month: THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION (Volumes 3–8) ⭐️all the stars ⭐️A full post is coming ASAP because everyone needs to read this darling series immediately

LMK if there’s a book you want a more in-depth review on 👀 by @alwaysreadingrach

I’ve been putting off writing this review because trying to gather all my thoughts about a 1,243-page book — one that I somehow read twice in the span of two months — felt almost impossible

This was a total “TikTok made me do it” read. I picked it as my March Classic… which also somehow became one of my May reads because I immediately reread it. And now? I genuinely think it’s going to live in my Top 5 Books of All Time !!

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is the perfect combination of everything I love: complex characters, intricate plots that unfold like a puzzle, & themes that actually leave you thinking long after you finish

And yes — the length is intimidating. It’s HUGE. Hard to hold, hard to carry around, and I honestly doubted I’d finish it in a month. Instead, I finished it in 13 days (I was literally waking up at 5am to read before the girls got up. That’s how good it is)

People call it “the ultimate revenge story,” and while that’s true, it’s also so much more. It’s about love, justice, friendship, politics, betrayal, fate, vengeance, and the choices that shape a life. But above all else, it’s about hope 🫶🏼

If you’re even slightly intrigued, do yourself a favor and read it 📢

A few tips:
• Get a physical copy — preferably one you can annotate. Personally, I loved @penguinclassics edition
• Make a character map early (learn from my mistakes)
• Trust Dumas. At first, I thought the length meant there’d be endless irrelevant fluff. There isn’t. Every detail matters. Even the parts that seem slow are laying the groundwork for something bigger — and when it all clicks together, it’s incredible
• Swipe for the perfect Spotify playlist to read alongside it
• And once you finish, if you enjoy adaptations, I’d recommend the @masterpiecepbs series starring Sam Claflin on Amazon. It’s not perfectly accurate, but it’s much closer to the book than the 2002 or 2024 movie versions (those felt almost comical in comparison)

I could talk for hours, but I’ll wrap this up with —
“All human wisdom is contained in these two words: wait and hope.” I already can’t wait to read this again

#countofmontecristo #alexandredumas #classics #classicbooks #penguinclassics by @alwaysreadingrach

ONE MORE WEEK until Remarkably Bright Creatures hits Netflix!!! 🐙✨

this book will forever be one of my nearest and dearest — and I never thought I’d say that about a story with chapters narrated by an octopus 🐙 honestly, I imagine @shelbyvanpeltwrites felt the same way when pitching it… & now look how far it’s come 🥹

i’ll never forget reading an ARC after seeing it compared to A Man Called Ove (another all-time favorite) 🫶🏼 I was instantly recommending it to everyone. And getting to meet Shelby a couple of times — even co-facilitating an interview with her at the library I used to work at (!!) — made it all the more special. fuunnn fact: she lives just a few towns over from me, which makes watching this book’s success even sweeter 🥹

if you’ve somehow been living under a rock and haven’t read it yet, here’s a spoiler-free review:

The story follows Tova Sullivan, who takes a job at a local aquarium after her husband passes away. The quiet routines and late-night cleaning help her process her grief — not only for her husband, but for her son who disappeared over thirty years ago

While working, she forms an unexpected friendship with Marcellus, a highly intelligent (and delightfully grumpy) Giant Pacific Octopus. Through his observations — and a few sneaky antics — he begins to uncover truths that just might lead Tova toward the hope and closure she’s been missing

I ABSOLUTELY ADORED this book. The characters will steal your heart, the writing is witty and accessible, and the themes of grief, friendship, and hope will stay with you long after the final page 🧡

#remarkablybrightcreatures #readwithjenna #shelbyvanpelt #eccobooks #readthisbook by @alwaysreadingrach

realized I never posted my MARCH wrap up ☘️ & wowww was it an impressive reading month!!

3,275ish pages later, I can officially say I’m back in my reading era (and continually behind on reviews 😂)

quick M A R C H recap:
🎧 THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE: 4 stars, loved the audiobook
🌼 KIN: 4 stars, absolutely loved, would make a great book club book
🌊 CURSED DAUGHTERS: 3.5 stars, overall, I liked but found the pacing a little slow in the middle
🐙 REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES: all the stars!! this was clearly a reread for me and I loved it even more - can’t wait for @netflix movie next week!!
🫖 THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M LION volumes 1-2: 4.5 stars, say hello to my new favorite series!!! A FULL post will be coming soon about this series because I am truly obsessed
💕 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: 4 stars, this was a reread too, I enjoyed it but felt it hard to get through since I knew the story so well — made me excited to tackle some other Austen novels, but if you haven’t read, please do!!

And finally, my absolute FAVORITE this month, my new obsession, my hyperfixation — 🗺️🎭💰THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO!!!! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished and I am so sad I can never read this book for the first time even again - and despite being over 1200 pages — I’m actually rereading it already LOL so once I make it through my second reread, I will do a full post (I know I’m insane, but it’s THAAAT GOOD)

#march #readingwrapup #monthlywrapup #countofmontecristo #bookstack by @alwaysreadingrach

a glimpse at COLOR WEEK 🌈🎨

📚 BOOKS: so. many. good. ones. if you made it through the whole video, you got a peek at each — but I highly recommend The @usborne_books Big Book of Colors + anything by @hervetullet (like Press Here or Mix It Up)

my forever favorite though? Hello Hello Colors by @brendan_wenzel … the animals are just too cute 🐻‍❄️

🎨 CRAFTS: obviously color week = allll the art
- painting was a huge hit — we rotated through washable acrylic (with q-tips!), watercolors, and liquid watercolors with droppers
- bracelet making with pipe cleaners + pony beads (with close supervision) — my 3yo loved using our @lovevery spinner to “choose” her colors
→ bonus: amazing fine motor practice for my 1yo… by the end of the week, she was doing it independently 🥹

🧶 OUTING:
turned a simple Michael’s errand into a color scavenger hunt 🎯 proof you don’t need anything elaborate to make learning meaningful — my 3yo kept saying, “WOW this place is so colorful!!”
next time: bringing a simple paper checklist!

🌈 ACTIVITIES:
- sensory table = messy but SO worth it (colored rice, bears, and building gears → lots of sorting, pouring, building, imagining)
- wooden rainbow (Etsy find!) — hands down one of our most-used toys: tunnels, ramps, homes, color sorting… endless possibilities
- play scarves = underrated magic ✨
→ rainbow roads, tossing games, peekaboo, pretend play… all while reinforcing color vocab
(I grabbed a cheap set on Amazon, but eyeing Sarah’s Silks 👀 — tell me if they’re worth it!)
- markers + paper towels + droppers = instant entertainment. we loved watching colors spread
- “growing rainbow” paper towel experiment 🌈
- chalk = BIG outdoor rainbow you can run on
- giant chart paper rainbow + dot sticker color matching

✨real life note: this week was FULL — not every week looks like this .. some weeks I’m organized, some weeks I’m winging it but being a little intentional really does help bring more variety + purpose into our days 🤍

what theme should we do next?!

#toddleractivities #preschoolactivities #coloractivities #colortheme #colorweek by @alwaysreadingrach

ok meet my February classic pick (yes, I’m epically behind on posting) — Wuthering Heights 💔

man oh man… this was a TOUGH one, but I powered through

a few thoughts:
1. I know I’m not alone in this, but this book demanded serious focus — especially keeping track of who was narrating at any given moment 🤯 I basically had the “you went where? with who?” sound playing in my head the entire time iykyk
2. I genuinely don’t think I could’ve made it through without @liyalibrary’s chapter summaries — if you read this, you have to check those out. watching a recap after each chapter made it so much more manageable (and honestly, more enjoyable)
3. PSA: this is not the “greatest love story of all time.” it felt far more like a study of obsession and consequence — messy, frustrating, and deeply sad
4. the atmosphere was unmatched, even when the characters seriously tested my patience
5. definitely not my favorite classic. I don’t see myself rereading it, but I am glad I read it — if only to be part of the conversation (and to prep for the 2026 adaptation… which I still need to watch 😂)

would LOVE to hear your thoughts — did you love it, hate it, or just survive it like me??

#wutheringheights #classics #classicbooks by @alwaysreadingrach

truly can’t believe that Easter is already this weekend!! here are some of our favorites we’ve been reading over & over again 🤍

#easter #happyeaster #easterbooks by @alwaysreadingrach

F E B R U A R Y felt slower in the best way—and honestly, I think I needed that 📚

my goal this month was simple: read more than I have the past couple months—especially focusing on physical books instead of multitasking with audiobooks.

it was really nice to reconnect with why I fell in love with reading in the first place: sitting down, settling in with a book, and giving it my full attention. There’s something about seeing the actual words on the page that just feels different

don’t get me wrong—I still love audiobooks 🎧 but they became a little too easy to consume… I found myself constantly moving from book to book, and it started to create this unnecessary pressure to read more and more

thus month reminded me that reading doesn’t have to feel like keeping up

i’ve also realized how stressful it can be trying to stay on top of every new release, so I really enjoyed spending February reading backlist books I’ve been meaning to get to for a while

OK—enough reflections
Here’s what I read this month:

📱 THE ANXIOUS GENERATION
🐝 THE STARLESS SEA
🕰️ THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE

…and my classic of the month:
💔 WUTHERING HEIGHTS

I wouldn’t say I have one clear favorite, but I genuinely enjoyed them all

✍🏼 I’m planning to share a few reviews soon—let me know if there’s one you’d like to see

🎶 also I think i listened to more @hilaryduff this past month than I have since middle school & it’s absolutely incredible!! by @alwaysreadingrach

some books entertain you & some books quietly change how you see people 🥹

i have SO much to say about Theo of Golden by @allenlevi — but the most important thing is: you need to read this

it’s one of those books you literally hug when you’re finished 🫶🏼

it’s a quiet, soul-stirring story that gently reminds you to slow down & truly see the people around you

through small moments and simple encounters, Theo has a way of seeing people more clearly than they see themselves — and in doing so, changes lives in the most subtle but powerful ways

the story isn’t fast or dramatic — instead, it unfolds with a warmth that feels like sitting on a porch, listening to someone tell stories — humanity at its best

it’s a book about kindness, grace, & the way a single thoughtful act can ripple farther than we realize. by the end, it leaves you seeing the world with a little more gentleness — and a little more aware of the quiet beauty in ordinary lives

have you read this one yet? 🤍

#theoofgolden #bookrec #readthisbook by @alwaysreadingrach

a glimpse at OCEAN week! 🐬🐠🪼🦀🐋

📚 BOOKS: absolutely loved so many of these — The Big Book of Blue is gorgeous and will be one that grows with the girls, If You Spot a Shell is such a creative one that could inspire art projects for older kids, and I can’t count the number of times my 3 year old brought me The Snail and the Whale to read to her

🎨 CRAFT: the girls weren’t as interested in crafts this week, but we did manage to decorate jellyfish using dot markers & dot stickers — loved this because my youngest could do it independently!

🐬 OUTING: started the week visiting our local pet store to see fish and ended the week at @brookfieldzoo to see the dolphin show!

🐠 ACTIVITIES:
- Filled my sensory table with water & plastic ocean figurines
- Pretend play ocean with a blue blanket, stepping stones, & stuffed animals
- so happy I thrifted the @usborne_books ocean matching game & puzzles that both come with coordinating books (having books definitely helped maintain my toddler’s attention span)
- loved the @melissaanddougtoys puzzle with magnetic fishing pole (we even extended it to hiding the pieces around the room to find & pick up with pole)
- Reusable stickers! So fun to put on the window too!
- Nemo @tonies.us was a huge hit (still is being played this week!)
- Biggest highlight: making the ocean out of blue jello & cheerio sand! (Let me warn you, it was MESSY but they had a blast)

✨This week was obviously A LOT of activities, not all weeks look like this! Some weeks I have more energy, some weeks I don’t. Some weeks I’m organized and have things planned out, other weeks I do not— I am hoping to be more intentional because I do find it helps structure our all weeks, add variety into our weeks, and be purposeful with our time!

What themes do you want to see next?!

#toddleractivities #preschoolactivities #oceantheme #toddler #playideas by @alwaysreadingrach