Tag: Books

Booking Through Thursday: Page to screen

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

It’s also summer blockbuster movie season! Do you enjoy book-to-movie (or series) adaptations? Believe the book is always better? Can you think of an instance when that wasn’t the case? Let us know!

Page to screen adaptations: Is the book always better? Is there a movie version you liked better than the book?

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

Booking Through Thursday: Pomp and Circumstance

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

It’s graduation season! This week, ponder what book(s) you might give as a graduation present. Something to help them navigate the world? Or maybe some fiction to remind them it’s not all hustle and grind.

What book or books might you give to a young high school or college graduate to help launch them into the world?

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

June’s Booking Through Thursday prompts

For those who like to plan ahead, here are the June 2026 Booking Through Thursday prompts:

  • June 4: It’s graduation season! What book or books might you give to a young high school or college graduate to help launch them into the world?
  • June 11: It’s also summer blockbuster movie season! Page to screen adaptations: Is the book always better? Is there a movie version you liked better than the book?
  • June 18: How do you feel about retellings? Do you enjoy them?
  • June 25: Do you have a favorite time of day to read?

Want to suggest a prompt? Leave a comment or use the contact form to send it my way.

Booking Through Thursday: words and music

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

Do you deliberately choose to listen to music while you read? Prefer peace and quiet? Music, yes, but lyrics no? Whatever your preference, let us know.

Words and music. Do you like listening to music while reading, or does it distract you?

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

Booking Through Thursday: favorite lines (but not first lines)

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

This week, please share other favorite lines from books that aren’t the very first line. These can be from anywhere in the story, even the last line.

In a variation on a theme: what are your favorite lines from books that aren’t first lines.

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

Booking Through Thursday: favorite first lines

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

What are your favorite first lines? What first lines hooked you so much that you had to keep reading? Famous first lines are fun, but if you have a recent one, please share the line (and the book and author so we can check it out too).

What are your favorite (or fun) first lines? These can be famous first lines or ones you’ve happened upon recently.

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

Booking Through Thursday: favorite children’s books

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt:

It’s Children’s Book Week, so let’s talk about favorite children’s books. Who were your fictional besties in childhood? Was there a series you read over and over again? Did you want to follow Lucy through the wardrobe or solve mysteries with Trixie Belden? Let us know!

In honor of Children’s Book Week, what were your favorite childhood books?

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!

Books like a river

Open book with autumn stream and rocks.
Open book with autumn stream and rocks. @kevron2002/depositphotos

I’ve been re-reading Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. You know, as one does. This bit from day five jumped out at me:

The first is to treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket. That is to say: think of your backlog not as a container that gradually fills up, and that it’s your job to empty, but as a stream that flows past you, from which you get to pick a few choice items, here and there, without feeling guilty for letting all the others float by.

I have so, so many books. I feel guilty about having so, so many books, even when I give them away in my Little Free Library. And some books I may never re-read, but I keep them around because 1) I like them, and 2) you never know.

I don’t need to hustle and grind my way through my to-be-read pile. All I need to do is dip my hand into the stream and pluck out the next book. Obligation vs. fun and adventure? Well, I know which one I’d rather have.

P.S. Note on the image. It’s from 2012, so definitely human-created, not AI-generated.

May’s Booking Through Thursday prompts

For those who like to plan ahead, here are the May 2026 Booking Through Thursday prompts:

  • May 7: In honor of Children’s Book Week, what were your favorite childhood books?
  • May 14: Favorite (or fun) first lines. These can be famous first lines or ones you’ve happened upon recently.
  • May 21: In a variation on a theme: Favorite lines from books that aren’t first lines.
  • May 28: Words and music. Do you like listening to music while reading, or does it distract you?

Want to suggest a prompt? Leave a comment or use the contact form to send it my way.

Booking Through Thursday: Little Free Libraries

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday, a weekly bookish meme about books and reading for everyone who loves both. Booking Through Thursday was first hosted by Deb. With permission, I’ve restarted it in 2026.

This week’s prompt: Little Free Libraries

As a follow-up to last week’s post about libraries, have you ever visited a Little Free Library? Did you know that there are Little Free Libraries all over the world?

Also, if you’re new here (and even if you’re not), you might not know that I’m a Little Free Library steward. I started back in 2021 (an age ago, I know). You can read about how it started and how it’s going.

My little library could use some fresh paint this year, but it’s been going strong. It’s fun to be a steward. A hobby that’s about books and gets you outside? I’ll take it.

Have you ever visited a Little Free Library? Did you know that you can find them all over the world?

How to play:

  • On your blog: Copy the question/image for your blog, answer it there, and post a quick comment here with a link or trackback to your post so we can read it.
  • On social media: Copy the image, answer the prompt, and post a quick comment here with a link.
  • Right here: Answer in the comments and start the discussion here. No need to have a blog to play.

Note: If it’s your first time here, your comment may end up in moderation. (My spam filter is aggressive.) I’ll be in after my writing sprints to set it free.

P.S. The prompt is always open, and you don’t have to play on Thursday. Comment whenever you like!