The Joyful Weekly Edit

Where bookish finds, Substack gems & joyful moments meet plus all the fun holidays to bookmark for the week ahead!

Aug 06, 2025

Good Morning Joyful Stackers!

I know Summer’s not officially over until late September but for us SummerWeen folks, it’s officially Augtober. I keep seeing the most amazing Halloween things and I’m 1000% here for it!!

Every time I log into social media it’s filled with Halloween ads and it makes me so happy. It also makes me want to buy a TON of new things for the house that I don’t actually need but hey, we’re all about leaning into the things that bring us joy in our everyday lives, right? Cute spooky fall and Halloween décor never fails to make me smile, so don’t mind me while I add allllll the things to my shopping cart.

The Halloween and spooky goodies are all so fun but there’s a ton of it to scroll through! To save yourself some time, check out my top finds on my Shop My affiliate page. Friendly reminder that purchasing through my links costs you nothing but it does help support my writing and my blog!

At no cost to you I may receive a commission for items purchased through links.

What brought my family joy last week:

Our kiddo started swim school! 💦
We visited the Zoo; seals are her fave 🦭
Banana muffins - 🍌 it was national chocolate chip cookie day but hey, those muffins were so good!!

Bookish Notes

I skipped my August BOTM and I thought I’d have FOMO but honestly, it feels amazing! I liked the book selections but had to get real with myself because I have wayyyy too many unread books sitting on my TBR shelves. Mind you, I still selected my August Once Upon a Book Club box, August Aardvark box, aaaand signed up for Allurial, but hey, gotta take the small wins when I can!

On My Shelf: Recently finished

📖 Heart Marks the Spot by Libby Hubscher ✨ Paperback gifted from Berkley Romance ✨ Blurbed by

Ali Brady

… Need I say more?

Quick take: I loved this book and sincerely think it would make for a fantastic movie! It’s got a lot of depth, adventure, international locations, romance, treasure hunting, and is woven with difficult family dynamics and grief yet an overtone of hope and love.

🦻🏼Let Them Stare by Jonathan Van Ness & Julie Murphy ✨ Audio purchased on Libro.fm ✨ Fiction humor with queer characters and a ghost!

Quick take: I loved listening to JVN narrate the audiobook. A novel about a haunted handbag and queer representation? So good!

Shelves of a Mood Reader: Currently Reading

📱 You Can’t Have It All by Stassi Schroeder ✨ eBook available in Everand ✨Nonfiction mom humor - I’m reading the ebook but imagine the audiobook is a fun way to enjoy it!

📖 Mama: A Queer Black Woman’s Story of a Family Lost and Found by

Nikkya Hargrove

✨ Hardback purchased at Always Here Books in Portland ✨Nonfiction memoir

📖 UpWorthy Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity ✨ Hardback copy gifted from TLC Book Tours ✨Nonfiction feel good short stories

📖 The Beauty of What Remains by Steve Leder ✨ Paperback copy gifted from the publisher

Recipe that brought my family joy:

Pinterest find: Clara Plate’s Perfect Banana Muffins.

Recipe Notes: I used 4 large bananas instead of 3. Used 1/3 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2cup.
Made some regular and some mini. Regular sized I baked for 18 mins and the mini I baked for 16 mins but possibly needed that long because I filled them almost all the way.
Absolutely delicious and this is my new go to recipe when I have brown bananas!