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i’m rad.
and i’m so glad you’re here.
whether you’re looking for your next five star read, a richmond rec, or a fun bookish challenge, you’re in the right place.
all the rad reads
if you’re wondering “what are the best bookstores in virginia?” look no further — i’ve got you covered!
get ready for 2026 with the 8th annual edition of a rad reading challenge! nine prompts and one year to stretch yourself in your reading.
get ready for 2025 with the 7th annual edition of a rad reading challenge! nine prompts and one year to stretch yourself in your reading.
i firmly believe books are the very best gifts, even if nobody ever gets them for me because they think i have too many! not true!!! anyway. i’ve turned to gifting books to my people in hopes that it inspires them to return the favor… and also because as previously stated, i believe books are the best gifts.
in this guide, you’ll find 72 total recommendations, with 12 each in the following categories:
🍂cozy/comforting
🧙🏼♀️witches/hexes
🔥sweet/spicy
🩸murder/mystery
🧑🏻🏫academic settings
🧌creature features
looking for your next read in the river city? look no further — here are 5 of my most favorite and most frequented bookstores in the richmond, va area!
i am so excited about this year’s guide — it’s a really fun blend of book recs for all kinds of readers, and i implemented so many of your suggestions which makes it even better! plus, these recs aren’t just from me…
april was the month i read the steamiest book of my life (still not over it, i loved it) and returned to enneagram books and read 4 five star reads… a solid month, overall!
ahhh, the sweet, sweet feeling of coming out of a reading slump! I AM BACK IN ACTION and crushing 15 books (with SIX of them racking up five stars) felt SO GOOD. march was great! yay books!
february felt like a reading SLUMP even though, sure, i read 11 books (6 of them were novellas!). i didn’t have FUN reading this month…
may these resources be helpful guides along this lenten season as we remove a distraction to better create space for Christ in our lives and in our hearts.
i don’t know about you, but even as a very single and very-anti-valentine’s day person, there’s something about all the love, hearts, and commercially-crafted romance in the air this time of year that makes me want to read something with a happily ever after.
journaling:
I’ve always been a journaler, and have loved trying new things with my journals in the past year. I’ve experimented more with bullet journaling (getting more artsy/creative, essentially!) and with collaging, and wanted to share the supplies I’ve been using.
This has been a really fun and meaningful project for me — one that helps me take in enough of the news to stay informed, but not too much where it overwhelms me, and lets me turn it all into something beautiful that tells a story to look back on for years to come.
Our lives are still happening in this season, despite it being weird and likely very different than your normal life, and it’s my hope that putting some goals on a list (even small ones!) will be encouraging and helpful.
best books + recs
may these resources be helpful guides along this lenten season as we remove a distraction to better create space for Christ in our lives and in our hearts.
i don’t know about you, but even as a very single and very-anti-valentine’s day person, there’s something about all the love, hearts, and commercially-crafted romance in the air this time of year that makes me want to read something with a happily ever after.
out of the 86 books i’ve read so far this year, 25 snagged five star ratings, and these 12 are my favorites of those! the best of the best of the year, if you will.
there’s just something about escaping reality with unrealistic meet cutes and fantastic flirtations and steamy scenes that i just can’t get enough of, and with valentine’s day around the corner, it felt like the perfect time to round up some of my most favorite romances!
and now, as the year wraps up, i’m sharing my favorites of both fiction and nonfiction. i’m not the best at picking favorites, so i’m wrapping up 10 for each!
Now that we’re past the halfway point of 2022, I’ve rounded up my 12 favorite reads of the year so far (in no particular order).
Out of the (nearly) 200 books I read in 2021, these are the ones that were my favorites. I really don’t give out five star ratings frivolously, so these are books that I truly loved (but for all different reasons).
We are thick into spooky season, especially with Halloween right around the corner, and I rounded up 15 of the best mysteries and thrillers I’ve read. All of these were four or five star favorites for me, meaning I either really liked them, or totally loved them. (The five star reads are the first five listed!)
It’s officially (a little more than) halfway through 2021, and I have read 95 books so far, with 22 of them rating 5-stars! I rounded up my halfway top 12 books (I know the trend is to pick 10, but that was too hard!) — all were 5-star favorites, all are books I highly recommend, and hopefully they reflect diverse reading options and authors, too!
Whether you’re trying to crush your reading goal for the year or you just want to feel the satisfaction of finishing a book quickly, these reads are all under 200 pages to help you make it cover to cover without too much effort.
where to start reading
it didn’t take long before taylor jenkins read became an auto-read author for me — there’s something about the way she tells stories that is so immersive, compelling, and just plain FUN
Colleen Hoover was one of my favorite discoveries of 2019. For some reason, I had never heard of her, and when I first saw the cover of November 9, I thought it was a thriller (???) so I just was totally off base with her and her work!
C.S. Lewis is my all-time favorite author, and I’m incredibly grateful for the impact his work has had on my life and my faith. Here’s where I’d suggest anyone start reading Lewis!
There are few authors who can write about faith, cuss, make me laugh, and cut straight to the heart of the matter as brilliantly and seamlessly as Anne Lamott. The woman is WISE, and she is gloriously unfiltered, and she is unique, and she is fearlessly honest. I adore her.
There are certain authors that I have latched onto deeply in my life, devouring every word they write, following their work closely, and finding myself impacted immensely by their writing. Wendell Berry is near the top of that list for me
I've been falling down the rabbit hole that is the Enneagram for a few months now, and I wanted to share some helpful resources if you're just diving in!
looking for a good museum in richmond? i’ve got you covered with 9 recommendations of ones i’ve been to and love, ranging from science to art to design and so much more!