Top 5s From My First 500 Posts

Happy Monday, Readers! WordPress has informed me that Saturday’s post was my 500th post on this blog. It’s hard to believe that in approximately three and a half years I’ve made 500 posts. To commemorate, I’d like to share a few highlights with you. 500 highlights would be a bit much, so below are 5 of my favorite posts that I have written, 5 new favorite authors I’ve discovered since I started blogging, and 5 of my favorite independently-published books. I would love to hear your favorites in the comments!

Top 5 Posts

Five-Star Book Review: A Strand of Hope by Amanda Tero

This book, which is first in the Librarians of Willow Hollow series, was one of the highlights of last summer for me! Each book in the series is written by a different author and seeing their characters interact was fun. There were several fun events surrounding the release of each book, kicked off by the tour that this review was a part of.

When Beauty Blooms: Blog Tour, Book Review, and Giveaway!

This was the first blog tour I participated in! It was eye-opening and such a fun door to a side of book blogging that I knew very little about at the time.

3 Reasons You Should DNF The Book You’re Reading

A good reminder from time to time that you don’t have to finish every book you start reading. I even have two Goodreads shelves now specifically for books I’ve DNF’d. One is books I don’t ever want to finish (I Grew Weary DNF), the other for ones that I want to finish reading but for whatever reason couldn’t at the time (DNF Will Return).

Monday Mini Mystery #1

In the fall of 2018 I tried my hand at writing short story mysteries. I can’t promise they’re the best or most suspenseful stories, but they were fun to write for a season!

Spell the Month in Books // October 2020 Virtual Bookstack

Although my first Spell the Month in Books post was in June 2019, it really took off in fall of 2020. I haven’t double checked, but I believe that this post has more pingbacks than any other I’ve written! Plus, it has a cute GIF of a cat, so what’s not to love?

Top 5 New-to-Me Authors (not all are indie)

• Faith L. Potts, author of contemporary short story Window Fellow and Christmas short story collection Behold
• Amie Woleslagle, author of poetry collection Fifteen and children’s book Snowball and the Missing Apple
• Julia David, author of the historical Christian fiction Mighty One series (Burgundy Gloves, Broken Chain, and Black Coat), Leaving Lennhurst series (Love Covers, Love Flies), and more
• Shannon Messenger, author of the middle-grade fantasy series Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Kellyn Roth, author of more historical Christian women’s fiction books than I can easily count including Beyond Her Calling, Souls Astray, and Kind

Top 5 Indie Books

Wedding Score by Amanda Tero

Contemporary (Christian) fiction novella about young adulthood and contentment.

My spotlight & review

Throne of Grace (Cliff Walk Courtships #1) by Cecily K. Wolfe

Historical (1800s) Christian fiction sweet/clean romance with a bit of a Romeo & Juliet feel but without overdoing it.

I’ve reviewed both the original ebook and more recently the audiobook.

Dance With Me (Art of Love #1) by A.M. Heath

Historical (1959) clean romance fiction about friendship, dance competitions, and meaningful conversations.

My review

Never Say Goodbye by Sarah Grace Grzy

Contemporary Christian clean romance fiction with the coziest, most beautiful aesthetic ever. I would love to live in any of Grzy’s books.

My review.

Discernment (The Legacy Chronicles #3) by Lauren H. Salisbury

Science fiction inspired by the biblical story of Moses.

I just finished this book over the weekend, and it is amazing! Review to come soon.

Thank you for joining me today and at each post, Reader! The world – both the “real” world and the intangible blogosphere – has changed a bit since my first post here in ways that I never imagined, but I can’t say that it’s all bad. I’ve seen three iterations of WordPress’ editor, and while I am still adjusting to the nuances of the current version, it’s fun to see how technology is developing. Here’s to 500 more posts!

If you have a blog (about books or anything else), what’s one thing you’ve learned or your favorite blog-related memory?

Until the next chapter,

Jana