Writing Stories and Celebrating Poetry

Hi my fellow bookworms,

Happy Spring!

This month I spent much time writing. It has been a while since I pushed myself to do so (with school over and whatnot), and though while the writing was instructive, it was the most creative writing I have accomplished in a while. I am prepping to host a memoir workshop this upcoming month, based upon the Story Circle Network's Older Women's Legacies initiative. I made a complete revision of the workbook that was used previously. It was hard, since I have a couple returning members, but I wanted this experience to be special and new for them. After much research, thinking, writing, and rewriting, I am happy with this new workbook. I hope this next month will be full of heartfelt writing and memories.

March honors many holidays and celebrations, but one I wanted to bring a focus to is Women's History Month. One of the blogs I read promoted this calendar featuring different books for each day in March, celebrating different women in history, written by women. I have not yet read these titles, but the one I want to is the book titled Let's Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen. Find out more information about the books on Janis Robinson Daly's blog here. 

(c) Janis Robinson Daly, 2026

You can always use this opportunity to check off the squares on your bingo card (featured in my January blog post), or to check off your Read Harder list from Book Riot. :) 

Goodreads also has finally unveiled their DNF option, or "Did Not Finish" option. I just categorized a book on my Goodreads shelf as DNF and tagged it, so I will hopefully read it again when I have a moment! I feel like I started and stopped quite a few books this past winter, but haven't updated my public profile. I am aiming to read for fun for at least 20 minutes a day and will hopefully bring you some lovely new reviews soon! 

Speaking of books to read, there is a list of free fantasy novels for your Kindle! Check out the blog, Stuff With Fantasy, for your ecopies today. I believe you will have until the end of the day on Monday to download your chosen novels.

Continuing with my earlier conversation about celebrations...

(c) Once Upon A Book Blog(ger) 2026

April honors many different celebrations, including Deaf History Month, Earth Day, April Fool's Day, Arab American Heritage Month, National Poetry Month, National Scrabble Day, International Dance Day, and of course, religious observances, such as Easter and Passover. One of my coworkers is creating a display for our library observing National Poetry Month. She will be displaying artwork titled "blackout poetry." Blackout poetry is a form of poetry in which you take a page from a printed book (we are using discarded books that are now going to be upcycled), black out most of the page using a permanent marker, and create a poem based on the text present. Some who are more artistically inclined can draw pictures to help further the poem's meaning, others create more profound messages, but it is aimed to help overcome writer's block and unleash your creative spirit. I created my own! :) ^ See here ^

Last year I did my own display for April and National Poetry Month using "Pocket Poems," or poems you can fit into your pocket for on-the-go reading and inspiration. I also had a section were visitors could submit their own poems for display. While I am not a great poet, I love the elegance and rhythmic language and the imagery each poem evokes. 

Would you write a blackout poem? If you do, or just want to write a regular one, or even share a poem already in existence, please do so here! 

Until next month...Happy Reading! :)

Summertime is here!

Hello My Fellow Bookworms,

I hope you are all having a glorious summer so far! Long time, no see! I apologize for my not keeping on top of my blog. I find myself starting posts, but never finishing them. I hope to start my habit again of posting at least once a month. Life has been a little busy, but whose has not?

I had started hosting a memoir writing group workshop at my local library for women. It is an endeavor I never thought I would do on my own, but once asked by my manager last year, I gave it some serious thought. It was a scary thing for me, as English was never my best subject, but it is also a human thing. Personal stories are so interesting, more so in the fact that women over a certain age are "forgotten" by society, and it should never be that way! Everyone is interesting and has purpose. As it is a workshop for women, I started it in March, in honor of Women's History Month. It has been a fun and yet emotional journey. I found myself writing memoir pieces along with them, and it has been challenging. I enjoy writing for myself, rather than only an academic purpose. Will I ever publish my pieces, though? Only time will tell. 

This year has been a crazy storm of news, both good and bad, that affects libraries, museums, and publishing in general. This year has been hard so far for libraries, with the cut of federal grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services ("IMLS"), the dissolution of the Special Libraries Association ("SLA"), and continuous book challenges. If you would like to say, "Hey, I love my library!," you can do so by letting your library know with a heartfelt card or letter, advocating on social media through hashtags such as #DrawnToFreedom or #FundLibraries, or even reaching out to your local representatives and letting them know you love your library! The ALA has a wonderful webpage filled with fact sheets, resources, and even your local representatives' contact information, which can be found here. 

If you are curious as to what the IMLS funded for Illinois, here is a lovely flier that the ALA created on a per-state basis:

(c) ALA, 2025

Want even more of a reason to love libraries? There is a new documentary that was released earlier this spring titled Free For All, and it is now up on YouTube for free via PBS! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this short history into the people who made libraries what they are today. You can also watch a conversation PBS had after you watch the film, if you would like more information into the film:

Miscellaneous book news:

• As of June 27th, the Supreme Court ruled to protect federal broadband programs. What does this mean for you? This decision preserves the current E-Rate program, funding for affordable, high-speed internet at libraries and schools across the country. With all the cutbacks that have been happening in libraries and grants, this win is quite a lot! You can find out more information from ALA here. 

• If you are an author, especially a self-publishing author, this will affect you! Publishers' Weekly no longer accepts books for review submission for free, as it had for over 100 years. Instead, it now costs $25 for each book you submit. More information can be found here.

• Be careful when purchasing new books on Amazon. There are AI clones of books that are floating around, which the original authors are not getting paid for. The covers are being swapped with a fake cover image, AI changes the original language of the book and rewrites the story using a different language, the name of the author is changed - but kept just close enough to confuse people buying the book, and the list of Bad Things AI does grows. Check out the original article from CBC here, if you are interested in learning more. 
  
  
• If you are a teacher or school librarian, you could be receiving audiobooks for free from Libro.fm! Libro.fm is giving away ALC's, or Advanced Listening Copies, to teachers or school libraries who work with students between the ages of 5-18. Interested? Check out the program details here (and also to sign up)!

• An interesting new app that I still need to test is out on the market, promoting that it can read any of your PDF articles out loud for you. It is called ElevenReader Plus and is free to download for both Android and Apple, and although you can pay for a subscription, you can use it for free for up to 2 hours of listening per week. Depending on usage, this is a pretty nice app for those who may need someone to read out loud to them!

• Feeling stressed? Too much "doomscrolling," or scrolling non-stop through social media and/or the news? The Calm app recently had an article stating how we should take a nature break - go outside, breathe the air, embrace the sunlight, go for a walk. All these things can lead to a better mood, less stress, and better cognitive function, and physical health. Bringing a book helps! I enjoy reading in the grass with my cat surveying the sights, or just lounging in the forest and watching deer pass by. It is summer, so enjoy the most of it while you can! (This is not sponsored, this is just something I think is very important for all of our mental health at this time - I am guilty of doomscrolling video shorts!)

I do not have a book review at the moment, but I am in the middle of several books right now. One of which is called Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier. It feels like a cross between Moana and How to Train Your Dragon. 

Also, I also am being sent a book in the mail that requires a review, so please look forward to it!

I hope you are having a fantastic summer filled with adventures both in your life and on the page. If you would like to, please let me know what you are reading in the comments!

Until next time - Happy Reading! :)

(c) 2025, Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)