Hello, friends! I know I’ve been sparse here on the blog, but this broken foot really messed with my schedule over the past six weeks. However, the end is in sight. Next week I get to start wearing regular shoes again. Yay!

One thing that didn’t lapse during my recovery was reading, thanks to plenty of time sitting :). At the beginning of summer, I decided to jump in on an Instagram challenge hosted by author Jessica Brody to read 30 books in 3 months. I wasn’t sure I would complete it in time as I got off to a slow start, but I’m happy to report that I finished the challenge a week early! Here’s a shot of the completed challenge.

I read an interesting variety of books over the summer, mostly young adult but a few adult and middle grade as well, including two books that were read-alouds with my kids. This challenge ended up being a pretty good example of how I approach my reading. I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this here on the blog before, but I have a system. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably learned that I have a system for everything :).

When it comes to reading, I rotate the following:

1. A library book – Since I don’t have a Goodreads account, my library wishlist sort of operates like a Goodreads TBR list. If the library doesn’t have a book, I request that they buy it, and they pretty much always do. I use the library to keep up on new books coming out, read backlists of authors I already like, and basically keep up on the market. When I really love the books I get from the library, I end up buying them later anyway 😍.

2. My box of books – I have a physical box of books under my desk that’s waiting to be read. It’s a combination of books I picked up at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale last December, books people gave me for Christmas, books I’ve won in giveaways, books I picked up at author events or to support authors I’m connected with in some way, and, most recently, some books my editor sent me. I’ve managed to make a dent in this box since I took this picture, but I’m still considering sitting out the Scholastic Warehouse Sale this year since I know I’ll get a ton of books for my birthday (in November) and Christmas again.

3. Books from my existing collection – I also rotate in books I’ve already read. With so many new books to read, this might seem like an odd thing to do, but there are a couple of reasons that I re-read books I already own. First, I am running out of room on my shelves downstairs and I’ve been trying to weed out any books I don’t want to keep anymore. But every time I re-read something I really love, it’s good for me as a writer, even if it’s not a young adult novel. A couple of years ago, I discovered that I was re-reading the same books all the time and catalogued them all in a spreadsheet. I’ve been tracking my reading since 2012, so I input the last time I read each book since 2012–and continue to add dates as I read books on those shelves or add new books. So now, when I’m ready to read something down there, I use Random.org to tell me which book/series I should re-read next, and I make sure it isn’t one I’ve read too recently. As you can see from my initial graphic, this summer I ended up re-reading The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. I don’t remember the last time I read it, but it was fun to return to it.

So, that’s my system. Sometimes I adjust it if several library holds come in at once or I pick up new books for my box that I just really want to read right away. I’d love to hear if you have a reading system!

Also, have you participated in any reading challenges recently? If so, how did you do?