Coyer Winter Switch Week 3 Update

I finished three books this week. I also was on vacation from school this week, so I had a lot extra time to read that I don't normally get. The first book I finished was Let it Snow by John Green Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I'm glad that I finally read this book and got it off my TBR list.


The next book I finished is Bah, Humbug by Heather Horrocks. I think this book was such a cute book and it totally felt like a hallmark movie. I'm excited to read the other novellas next Christmas.



The last book I finished is The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. I finished up 2016 with Dash and Lily's book of Dares, so it seems fitting for this to be my last book of 2017. I have to say that I liked the first book better. This one didn't have the magic of Christmas like the first book did, but nevertheless I still enjoyed it.

I always like to start off the New Year with a  book that I own and even though If We Kiss by Rachel Vail is not on my COYER list it has been catching my eye every time I walk past my bookshelf. It is on the first page of my Goodreads TBR, so it has been there for a long time.

Here I am wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year! My Challenge Wrap Up and Annual Blogoversary Post will be up tomorrow.

Rachael Turns Pages is 5 years old

2017 has been an amazing year for sure. I'm excited to recap everything that has happened over that last year. I love looking at these posts and looking at what happened over the past year. Rachael Turns Pages is officially 5 years old. I haven't blogged as much for 3 years now and there have been times where I have thought that maybe I need to quit blogging, but I usually have renewed energy in the new year and I love to keep track of my reading progress through the blog. It gives me the opportunity to create posts that I couldn't create through goodreads.

First the update on my little cousins. My cousin Dylan is officially 5 years old. I started my blog the night he was born. Dylan is quite the chatterbox, he is polite, and fun to be around. His siblings the twins, Sydney and Cameron are 3 years old. They are working on potty training. Cameron got glasses this year and they are so cute. He is coming out of his shell more. Sydney is still the social butterfly and has a great laugh.

My graduation cap

Jill's kids are Emma who is now 5 years old. She started kindergarten in August and loves school. She is very talkative. Allianna is 4 and will be 5 in August. She is quiet, but sneaky. She is still very petite. Beckett is the youngest and he is two years old. It is fun to see his personality developing. Jill had another baby in November just a few days before Thanksgiving. We got to meet Maddox John on Thanksgiving day. 

In January for 2017 I started my special education student teaching placement. I saw the pros and cons of special education, but I really enjoyed the small group environment. I really enjoyed my 5th/6th grade placement. It felt very safe since I had been at the school so long and I was really seeing

progress with the students. It was interesting to switch roles from being the lead teacher to being the special education teacher in the same classroom. The school where I student taught was a full inclusion school for special education, so no pull out services were provided. I was nervous to move to high school special education in March. I had many struggles in high school especially with the students, but my mentor teacher was my favorite of the four and I really did feel like I could explore my teaching style during this placement. I finished up student teaching at the beginning of May. 


On March 22, 2017 Taytum Carter was born. She was 9 lbs and 10 oz and 20 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and has such a great personality. I haven't seen her as much as I would like since I live so far away, but I'm so proud of my friend Rachel and her husband Levi for being such great parents. They do such a great job balancing all of it. 

In May 2017 I graduated from college. I can't describe what this felt like. It was so exciting yet scary to be starting this adult journey. At this point I had been to several interviews, but I had not yet found a job. At this point the openings for positions had slowed down dramitically and I was afraid that I wouldn't find a job for the upcoming school year.  

             At the end of May I finally had the interview that landed me the job. I had the interview the day before and I thought that I wasn't going to get the job. I was over the moon to recieve the job. I was offered the position to teach K-5 special education in the district that I graduated from. Many teachers that I had don't work in the district anymore. I still know many teachers in the district. I have embraced this journey. 

I returned to my daycare job for the summer in May. I got the school kids that were going into kindergarten this year. It was a challenging summer with a class of 8 boys and 2 girls, but it was fun to be able to take the kids places in town and I so enjoyed the people I worked with over the summer. 

In July I watched two of my friends from college get married. My sister went with me for the two weddings. They were on back to back weekends. Both of my friends made beautiful brides and I'm so happy for them and wish them well. 

In August we took our annual family vacation. This year we decided to make the long drive to go to Nashville, Tennesee. It was a 16 hour car ride. The first night we drove 6 hours to Kansas City and then did the rest the next day. We went to Dollywood Theme Park in Peigon Forge, TN, Country Music Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry, Picker's store, and Elvis's house in Memphis, TN. It was a great vacation and we really had a good time. 

My classroom. Dr. Suess Theme

When we got back from vacation I started teacher in service. It was pretty boring when it was just the new teachers, but it got better once there were more teachers to talk to. At the beginning of the school year it was hard to get into the swing of things and figure out how to best serve the students. I'm now feeling confident with what I do. The behaviors are hard, but I'm learning my way through the behaviors and I'm hoping that throughout the year there will be less behaviors. It's now December and I have made it halfway through my first year of teaching. It is crazy to think last year that I was just finishing up my 5th grade placement at this time. 

November was a huge concert month. My sister and I went to Dan and Shay at the beginning of November and then my mom and I went to Disney on Ice and last, but not least my sister and I went to Thomas Rhett in her college town. 

2017 has been a year of so many changes in my life. I now have an adult job and some adult responsibilities. I'm looking at moving out of my parents house within the next year. My brother is graduating high school and going away to college. My sister is going to finish up her sophomore year of college. 2017 flew by and I'm glad for all the experiences I have had and got to share with you in this blog. I love making these posts because they are so fun to look back on in coming years and remember the big events that happened. 

Out with the Old and In with the New: November 2017

Hosted by Michelle and Berls @ Because Reading 

December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: November 2017

Books Read: 5
Favorite Book Read: The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Favorite Post: COYER Winter Switch

My reading picked up again in November. I finished Lara Jean, Things We Know by Heart and The War I Finally Won pretty quickly. It was so nice to be back in the reading mood. 

Goal #11 My goal for last year was to participate in COYER blackout. I didn't do the best with this challenge, but I did manage to read a few books. 

In With The New: Goal #11

My goal is to continue to work on completing the Monthly Keyword Challenge. I want to complete this challenge especially since every book for that challenge is off my goodreads tbr.

My December TBR List: Review: Bah Humbug by Heather Horrocks (no spoilers)

Book: Bah, Humbug
Author: Heather Horrocks
Publication: September 9, 2011
Source: Own Kindle Ebook
Read: Dec 17-27, 2017

Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller.

For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer's block - until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes this is the perfect place for his villain to hide the weapon. He digs into the snowman to discover two things: the weapon fits int he body just under the head, and the snowman was supposed to be the back drop for Lexi's next show.

 From this improbable beginning comes friendship. Can there be more for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood?

 Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

My Thoughts:

This book was about a writer, Kyle Miller, who hates Christmas. He starts off the book by destroying the neighbor's snowman. That is where his trouble begins. He meets Lexi Anderson, who just happens to love Christmas. She makes a deal with him. He can come to her son's birthday party if he lets her host Christmas for his family. 

Overall my word to describe this book is cute. This book reminds me of a hallmark movie. If you know me then you know that I love Halmark movies, so this book made my heart happy. I think that Kyle wasn't as scroogy as he could have been, but love has a way of making you do things that you aren't always happy about. I loved watching their relationship grow over the course of the book. It was fun to watch Kyle change over the course of the book, but the book had its share of ups and downs. I loved the ending. If you want a quick, cute, holiday book then this book is for you. 

Out with the Old and In with the New: October 2017

Hosted by Michelle and Berls @ Because Reading 

December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: October 2017

Books Read:  2
Favorite Book Read: Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Favorite Post: 10 Years in 10 Books Dewey's Readathon

Dewey's Readathon hosted a very special challenge in honor of their 10th anniversary readathon. I chose 10 books based on the year they were released that I have loved. Check out the list. These are books that I would recommend over and over again. My reading was slower in October. I enjoyed Vanishing Acts, but it was taking me awhile to finish because I have been busy with school. I listened to Pandemonium as an audiobook and overall it wasn't my favorite.

Goal #10 My goal was to participate in Dewey's Readathon and of course I completed this goal. I love Dewey's readathon and I will participate in this event for as long as it goes on. 

In With The New: Goal #10

I don't see any reason to change this goal, so I'm going to go with the same goal to participate in Dewey's Readathon in April and October of 2018.

Out with the Old and In with the New: September 2017

Hosted by Michelle and Berls @ Because Reading

December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: September 2017

Books Read:  3
Favorite Book Read: Sneaky Snow White by Anita Valle
Favorite Post: Top Ten Books I Read the Year I Started Blogging

I read more fairy tale retellings in September. My favorite this month was Sneaky Snow White. The Top Ten Tuesday post about my Favorite Books I Read the Year I Started Blogging was a fun trip down memory lane and I'm surprised about how many books I still remember and love from that year.

Goal #9 My top ten Tuesday post about 2016 releases I want to read I managed to read 2 books off the list. I will still be working on the list this year. 

In With The New: Goal #9

I want to finish off my 2013 releases I haven't read off my top ten tuesday list. I have four books left to go.

In with the Old and Out with the New: August 2017

Hosted by Michelle and Berls @ Because Reading 

December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: August 2017

Books Read: 3
Favorite Book Read: Before Midnight
Favorite Post: My TBR Overwhelms Me

I really enjoyed all the fairy tale retellings I read in August. My TBR Overwhelms Me was a post that I wrote this year about my Goodreads TBR. I have really focused on reading older books on my TBR this year and reduce the number on my TBR. My TBR grows faster than I can read, but on the bright side I will never run out of books to read.

Goal #8 My goal last year was to continue to workout in 2017. I did really well with this goal. I continued to go to the gym throughout the year. I got into Yoga for the first time in 2017 and I really enjoy it. I'm also still enjoying zumba and swimming every so often.  

In With The New: Goal #8

Out with the Old and In with the New: July 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: July 2017

Books Read:  5
Favorite Book Read: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
Favorite Post: MidYear Book Freak Out

Goal #7 I did do more wrap ups this year. I did them pretty diligently through July. I have a few months where I did combined wrap ups. I think I did a great job keeping up with my TBR's. 

In With The New: Goal #7

My goal is going to remain the same I want to continue to wrap up what books I read and set TBRs for the following month. I think it helps me to stay on track with my reading challenges and goal for the year if I have an idea of what books I want to read.

Out with the Old and In with the New: June 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: June 2017

Books Read: 5
Favorite Book Read: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Favorite Post: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Releases I Missed Update

My reading picked up again in June. I really enjoyed all the books I read in June. I updated my releases I missed post and I'm super excited with the progress I have made on my backlist this year besides those 2016 releases, which I haven't read a lot of yet. 

My goal for May was to finish the Monthly Keyword Challenge: So far I have finished 9/12 months. There is still time to finish it, but most likely I won't finish the challenge again. 

In With The New: Goal #5

I'm going to participate in Monthly Keyword again and It is my continual goal to finish this challenge within the year.

Top 10 of 2017: My Favorite Books of 2017

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First of all Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday. I have been waiting to make this post because I wasn't sure if I would read another favorite in December. I have read a lot of good books in 2017, but the books that made it on this list are my favorites of 2017.

1. The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley- This was an unexpected favorite. I'm glad that I found this book and I have been singing its praises the whole year. I love this book and I will continue to love this book. 

2. My Name is Rapunzel by KC Hilton- I loved this book. It had a unique twist on Rapunzel and I'm glad I finally read this book. 

3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery- This was a wonderful book and brought back so many  memories of my childhood watching the TV show. I think that it is a great book and I'm excited to read the rest of the series. I've read through book 3. 

4. Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks- I loved the Daddy-Daughter relationship in this book. I think it was so sweet. For being a big book I read it very quickly.

5. Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally- This was the first book I have read by Miranda Kenneally and I enjoyed it a lot. I'm excited to read the other books in the series. 

6. The Names they Gave Us by Emery Lord- This book was about a girl at summer camp and it was a sad, but fun book to read. 

7. Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han- The Last Lara Jean book. I'm sad that the series is over, but I think it had a great ending. 

8. The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley- The 2nd book to The War that Saved My Life and it was just as wonderful as the first. 

Out with the Old and In with the New:May 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: May 2017

Books Read: 2
Favorite Book Read: Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Favorite Post: COYER Summer Reading List

May was a slower month for reading, but I enjoyed both of the books that I read. I signed up for COYER in May and I loved this challenge over the entire summer. 

Goal #5 My goal was to complete the Monthly Keyword Challenge. I was able to finish 10 months this year, so I did a great job, but I still didn't finish the challenge. I will try again in 2018

In With The New: Goal #4

My goal this year is going to be to continue working on the Deal Me In/ Fill in the Gaps personal challenge. I only read 11 books for the challenge this year, so I'm starting the year 4 books behind. I'm hoping to read around 15 books for the challenge over this next year. I will have a post about this coming up in the new year. 

COYER Winter Switch Week 2 Update

I'm on page 146 of Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I'm currently in the middle of John Green's story. I really enjoyed Maureen Johnson's story. I think the whole idea was really cute.

I started Bah, Humbug by Heather Horrocks. This is my To Be Read List Winner for December. I'm 35% through the book and I think it is
really cute so far.












My next book I'm planning on starting is The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily. I read the first book last year and I'm excited to continue the adventure. This will most likely be my last Christmas read of the year unless I continue into January, which I usually don't.

Out with the Old and In with the New: April 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: April 2017

Books Read: 6
Favorite Book Read: Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks
Favorite Post: The Ultimate Lazy Day

April was another great month of reading. I did the read every day challenge and I was motivated to read every day. This was my last full month of student teaching and I was getting excited to be done with school and student teaching. 

Goal #4 My goal for April was to read 12 physical or kindle books. I have read 8 books that I own this year. I wasn't able to meet this goal. 

In With The New: Goal #4

I'm joining #ShelfLove and my goal is to read 12 physical or kindle books. I want to focus on mostly books I own in 2018 and continue to lower my TBR.

Out with the Old and In with the New: March 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls  @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year.  

Out With The Old: March 2017

Books Read: 6
Favorite Book Read: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Favorite Post: 3/4 done with Student Teaching

March was an excellent month for reading. I enjoyed all of these books besides The Opposite of Me. During this month I was very apprehensive to start my final student teaching placement in the high school, but it ended up being one of my favorite placements.

Goal #3 I started PS I Still Love You during March, but I did not end up finishing any books I owned during the month.

In With The New: Goal #3

I'm going to copy last year's goal and set my goal to participate in the Take Control of Your TBR challenge. I didn't do very well last year, so 2018 is my chance to redeem myself.

Out with the Old in with the New: February 2017

Hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: February 2017

Books Read: 4
Favorite Book Read: My Name is Rapunzel by KC Hilton
Favorite Post: Shelf Love TBR
It is crazy to see how much my physical tbr has grown. I have bought less books this year and read a few off my pyhsical tbr, but it is always a work in progress.

My goal for this month was to read 7 of my cheap kindle books for the COYER blackout challenge. I really only read about 2 books off my kind for the  COYER challenge, but I'm hard at work on my kindle books and I have read 5 books off my kindle this year. 

In With The New: Goal #2

My goal for this year is to participate and reduce my kindle TBR by participating in COYER winter switch.

Out with the Old In with the New: January 2017

Hosted by Michelle and Berls @ Because Reading
December is literally my favorite time of year because I love seeing all the progress that I have made over the year. 2017 was a big year in my life and I'm excited to share my year with you. Out with the Old and In with the New will take the place of My Year in Books since I will wrap up what I read during each month of 2017, see if I met last year's goal and make a new goal for the year. 

Out With The Old: January 2017

Books Read: 6
Favorite Book Read: The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Favorite Post: The 2016 Book Survey
I always love doing the Book Survey every year. It gives a great summary of the books I read and loved over the course of the year.

My goal for this month was to participate in To Be Read List as my random book selection for 2017. I managed to complete 3 books for this meme this year.

In With The New: Goal #1

I'm sticking with the same goal for 2018. I love My To Be Read List and I hope to accomplish more books this year through the meme.

COYER Winter Switch Week 1 Update

Now that COYER has officially started I will be doing weekly or biweekly updates on my challenge progress to hold myself accountable during this round of COYER switch. I am doing the switch, so from now until January 12th only books I read off the list count for the challenge. I revealed my list here a couple weeks ago. I plan on these books being my main focus of the challenge.

I may have started and finished The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley way before COYER ever started. I couldn't wait to read this book once I had it in my hands. It was an amazing conclusion to this doulogy and I think this will be a series I will be singing praises for a long time.

Next up I read 1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber. I have been waiting for Christmas to come around again to finish off the Cedar Cove series. I'm proud that I have finally finished this 12 book series. I really enjoyed every book and it is sad to say goodbye to these wonderful characters.

This week I'm reading Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I have wanted to read this book for a long time and I'm glad that I'm finally getting around to this collection of short stories. I will update you on my progress next week.

December To Be Read List Winner

Hosted by Because Reading

Thank you to everybody who voted for my December To Be Read List Winner. Bah, Humbug won by one vote. I'm so excited to read this book. I think it should be good.