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Sam

@some_bookish_thoughts

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📚I consume all genres and forms, but literary fiction and kid lit make up most of my diet.
📍Santa Cruz, CA

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Bay Area Book Fest + new Nicaraguan restaurant in Oakland.

Thanks to my husband who I asked to take these photos, even though he got the door in most of the shots 😂 @mealix by @some_bookish_thoughts

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5 months ago

Imagine that I stamped a huge red REVISED over this post, please. You know how I already posted my top 10? And I said it was early but I didn’t care? Well. Hear me out. I wasn’t reading very much or very fast and just couldn’t possibly imagine getting a golden ticket at the end of the year! I even tried to slow down with this book (the book that ruined my earlier top 10 post) so I could fit it into 2026! The shame!

But we all make mistakes. And I’d be remiss to leave out North Sun—the aforementioned book. So here’s my new shiny top 10. What’s changed besides that one title? I actually kicked out (into the honorable mentions) The Lost and Found and Polar Vortex and included Ultramarine. Did I understand Ultramarine? Not completely. Or maybe not at all. But I loved the atmospheric storytelling that takes place in the ocean, and discussing it with @annieinthepages reminded me of this.

My number 1 and 2 didn’t change.

So there you go. Hope we can still be friends even if I’m flighty 😎

10. Ultramarine
9. Alligator Tears
8. Still Life
7. Modern Poetry
6.The Postcard
5. Two Old Women
4. Martyr!
3. North Sun
2. The Compound
1. The Safekeep

#top10booksof2025 #favoritebooksof2025 #bookreviews #mytop10 #thesafekeep by @some_bookish_thoughts

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10 months ago

There we have it, friends. I read 70 books this year and these are the 10 with staying power.

1) Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
2) Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace
3) Small Things like these by Claire Keegan
4) Impossible People by Julia Wertz
5) Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro
6) Piglet by Lottie Hazell
7) James by Percival Everett
8) The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
9)There’s always this Year by Hanif Abdudarraqib
10)Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin

#favoritesof2024 #favoritebooksof2024
#rankedfavorites #top10booksof2024 #lonesomedove by @some_bookish_thoughts

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2 years ago

Before I started homeschooling my son last year I had never heard of unschooling. It’s only when I started homeschooling that I started to see the term here and there, and I came to this book wanting to learn more. For those that haven’t heard of it, I’ll start by using her two part definition here: “shedding the programming and habits that resulted from other people’s agency over your time, body, thoughts or actions; designing and practicing beliefs that align with your desire to thrive, be happy, and succeed”. It’s a mouthful and a bit vague, unfortunately, but I would explain the difference between homeschooling and unschooling (both occurring outside of formal schooling) as the former more or less still following the grade level standards practiced in schools; there is still some alignment with a school’s timeline. And with the latter, children are learning primarily through interacting with the world and being trusted to want to learn without structured curriculum and control over their education.

Published in 2020, @pmpress

This book is less a how-to and more of a memoir based on her family’s own transition to unschooling and the philosophy behind it. My three main complaints are that I would’ve liked more examples of what it looks like in a day to day way for her, I found her to be repetitive, and lastly, I would’ve appreciated more insight on how this looks for other families. Her own two daughters, pre-unschooling, enjoyed workbooks, were labeled as “gifted students,” and were skipped grade levels, so I kept wondering what this looks like for a child that maybe wasn’t workbook inclined. But I realize this last complaint doesn’t align with the kind of book she was writing.

(Continued in comments) by @some_bookish_thoughts

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18 days ago

These posts have become my favorite to make. The last slide on homeschool lit etc. was especially fun to gather. Hope you take a peak and enjoy.

My son’s love for action filled history (I survived graphic novel series) and natural disasters (Field Trip to Volcano Island) has not waned. There are several Field Trip books that explore other parts of the natural world, in case you’re interested!

Tiger vs Nightmare was his favorite this month, and I love this for him. Nighttime is scary for him, and this story about a Tiger battling her nightmares with the monster that lives under her bed really resonated with him and made him feel a tiny bit braver.

I love that two of his favorites this month are wordless books: Field Trip to Volcano Island & Hunters of the Great Forest. The latter was new to us and had the best ending for a kid that loves roasting marshmallows.

At this age he really attaches himself to his few favorites. This is his new favorite that made the cut. It now gets read over and over and over…. It’s a classic for a reason. And I had a good feeling about this one for him because he loves “granolas”.

I’ve been having so much fun trading homeschool pics with @_shelley_clark_ & @tbr.means.forever so I decided to include some books (and other media) that we used for our learning that were a big hit.

The Sun is kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk is FILLED with info and totally fun. Great intro to the Sun, and we’ll be returning to this one when we discuss the water cycle and photosynthesis. Similarly, we discovered some educational songs that he LOVES. And I do too! We’ve been playing “the planets song” over and over in our car.

Curious Kids Everyday is a podcast that comes out daily and explores science questions submitted by kids. They’re short episodes that end with recap, T/F, and would you rather q’s. Sometimes I find episodes that relate to what we’re learning or he picks. Yesterday we learned about quicksand.

Eat Your Spanish is the sweetest and coziest podcast and did not think my kid would love this much. I thought he would find it boring, but he LOVES it. Boo on me for assuming he isn’t a person with complex and varied interests! 😂 The c by @some_bookish_thoughts

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a month ago

1. A comforting listen: Emma M. Lion
2. A phenomenal short story collection: Baby in a Box
3. Beautiful prose for a story of healing (translated): The Cut Line
4. A hefty graphic novel about feeling lost and finding
friendship (queer lit): Are you listening? by @some_bookish_thoughts

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a month ago

I’ve missed you all! Although my reading has plummeted, my kids have been going strong on picture books, graphic novels, and early readers.

My 6 year old clearly likes his stories with a healthy helping of danger, adventure, and history. Pompeii…Buried Alive! has been read several times. He and his papa are making their way though the Hazardous Tales still. Greeking Out, Kid Spy, and Tough Times were also fun.

My 2 year old uses the potty now, with minimal accidents!!! Potty training is no joke. He still loves reading Potty Time with Bean. Raul the Third show up again with Vamos! (he’s a big deal in this household) and almost anything with carved pumpkins is ok with him, plus the illustrations in Pumpkin Heads! are gorgeous.

These are some socio-emotional books I picked for us and that also kept my 6 year old totally engaged. Highly recommend these 3. by @some_bookish_thoughts

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a month ago

My reading is at an all time low this year (in terms of quantity) and I vacillate between caring and not caring about that fact. My mood reading is completely out of hand. But I am getting a lot out of what I’m finishing, so at least there’s that. Sula is still the very clear favorite for me, but in terms of fun I really appreciated The Witch’s Orhard. Trash! was not as profound as I hoped it would be.

5 library books/audio
2 from my own TBR

2 audio
2 digital
3 physical by @some_bookish_thoughts

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2 months ago

Their current song obsession: the kid friendly version of “teach me how to dougie” 😎

Clearly my 6 year old is a fan of Nathan Hale. My husband and him are flying through the Hazardous Tales series so I purchased another graphic novel by Hale outside of the series, and that—Apocalypse Taco—was also a hit.

Mac Barnett’s graphic novel about a kid spy has also been a favorite. He’s only read the first in the series so he has many more to look forward to. I’m a little jealous that my husband has been the one enjoying all the reading with him lately, but also I get more time to rest at the end of the night, so…

Lastly, kiddo has been learning to read! I’m far more excited about this than he is. We’ve been homeschooling through the summer and now he’s blending and reading three letter words. So, so, cool.

As for my two year old—Don’t Push the Button by Bill Cotter has been the number one book for several months now (and not pictured). The only two other books that he has allowed to make a story time appearance are Fire! Fuego! & Los Gatos Black. Both books are really fun bilingual books to read and listen to. And I appreciate the break from Don’t Push the Button 😅.

#greatkidlit #kidlit #middlegrade #hazardoustale #macbarnett by @some_bookish_thoughts

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3 months ago

I had a good look at my TBR stacks this morning, and these are the 10 backlist books that have been in my stacks for a VERY long time and that I want to give priority to. Getting through even one of these this year will be a triumph. I know myself well enough 😂.

These books range from 2000-2021. 4 of these I’ve already started in the past (Solitary, Trees, How to do Nothing, Prodigal Summer).

I know that I will love these books, which I think is why I’ve held off for so long. It doesn’t make sense but can you relate?

Which is the 1 title you think I should read before the year is over?

Thank you @annieinthepages for the tag!

#backlistbooks #tbrpriority by @some_bookish_thoughts

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3 months ago

I’m not much of a horror reader, but I do sometimes crave a great haunted house story, and this is that.

Published 2026 in the UK, to be published in U.S October 13, 2026. Gifted e-Galley by @groveatlantic and @netgalley.

A group of college students hired to clean out the mansion of a hermit hoarder thought to have gone mad. What could go wrong? This book kept great pacing, which was impressive considering its size. It was deliciously spooky from the get go, even before the main character finds himself in the haunted Solace House.

This book is very smart, but so smart that it made the 19 and 20 year old characters unbelievable, which took me out of the story a bit. But If that doesn’t bother you, Maclean’s rabbit hole into the concept of reality and sanity is quite fun. Magic mushrooms, caves, isolation, deranged journal entries and paintings fill this story. And a perfect haunted house too, of course. Quatrains (stanza of four lines) begin every chapter, and although they’re extremely well crafted and serve a purpose, I confess I got bored of them and started to skip them.

Overall, this was a fun and clever story to lose myself in. A bit full of itself at times, but harmless enough to still enjoy. It left me curious about his other work.

#solacehouse #groveatlantic #horror #hauntedhouse #bookreview by @some_bookish_thoughts

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3 months ago

If ‘unsettling’ is book catnip to you, like it is to me, than you’ll like this short literary page turner. I could tell from the beginning that this book wasn’t going to explain itself to me. With references to Alice in Wonderland, Oyamada has done something interesting here that left me searching but not stumped; an open ended novel whose purpose is to instigate.

Published in Japanese 2014, translated to English by David Boyd in 2020.

A woman leaves her job that she doesn’t care about to move to the country side with her husband. That’s all you really need to know. I suggest going into this blind because the publishers description/ book jacket reveals too much.

Although not a five star reading experience for me, I’m glad I read it. This is a perfect short read for the reader who loves strange and thoughtful stories.

#shortnovels #bookreview #oyamada #translatedlit #magicalrealism by @some_bookish_thoughts

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3 months ago