Posting my template for “Worst Read of 2025”. A dumpster fire felt fitting for the times and the theme of the template. 😅
Feel free to use! I also posted it to my IG (same username). I don‘t know which site would have better resolution. 🤷♀️
I made it on Canva, using a stock photo and then smoke and fire graphics layered on top; so I don‘t own any of it.
Spaced on uploading my February list. 🤦♀️ I didn‘t even take the time to pick two books for the previously vacated spots from January. 😅 So I have vague placeholders instead.
pick5 ⭐️s
A really beautiful story about finding strength in our weaknesses. As someone who struggled with math and had similar unhealthy/unhelpful coping mechanisms to Ally, this was very poignant for me. I loved the characters and their relationships. The friendships were organic and real. Mr. Daniels might be my new favorite fictional teacher. So much emotion packed into such a short book. I absolutely loved it.
This was my #BookSpin for January.
I enjoy matching my bookmarks and books. For this one, I picked my colorful Lilo one. Partway through the book, this extra bookmark fell out. I bought the book second hand and free bookmarks are the best surprise, but this one felt more special. It says, “Make mistakes. They may turn into something spectacular.” I can‘t help but feel like these were gifted together at one point, when someone felt another needed the message of this story. ❤️
so-so3 ⭐️s
Fun, quick, witty. I like my horror to be a bit more frightening, but the humor and literary world insight was unique. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.
My first #FrozenSick prompt completed! I‘m already starting on the book for the next space. 😅🤣 I love this challenge!
Book set in winter: Secret Santa ✅
@PuddleJumper created the awesome challenge, if you want to play along!
*I made a character in BG3 to play as and to use as a model for my posts. You don‘t have to do anything like that to participate in the challenge. 😅❤️
pick5 ⭐️s
(I spaced posting this before the end of the year… 🤦♀️)
New favorite book. Such an amazing read. It makes me feel the way I did after reading The Hobbit or LOTR. Small, deceptively helpless creatures go on the most metal
adventure ever.
Seriously, these rabbits are badasses. I adore them. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think Bluebell stole the scene every time with his sense of humor.
I look forward to reading this to The Wyrmling.
pick5 ⭐️s
This is another one that leaves me feeling completely inadequate. I don't know where to even begin to express the scope of the story or the impact it has had on me. I urge anyone that enjoys historical fiction, multi-generational storytelling, and having your heart torn from your chest to read it immediately.
Five HUGE stars.
It wrecked me.
Read it.
so-so2 ⭐️s
I really wanted to continue to enjoy this series, but this last installment left me feeling like maybe it‘s just not for me. I love the transformations, monsters, gore and action scenes, (the manga‘s style is gorgeous) but a lot of the rest of it reminds me of the worst parts of middle school and I just can‘t deal. 😅
I might fall back into it after a break. I honestly have enjoyed it up until now. 🤷♀️
Getting ready to finish up Children of First Man. Next up is Secret Santa, which I had already tried to start while reading the other, but January brain wasn‘t having it. 😮💨
The Wyrmling is completely over his cold so everyone in the house is healthy (for now). I‘m seeing a friend for lunch and much needed margaritas later. 😅❤️
I hope everyone is doing well and has a lovely weekend ahead. What are you reading? Any fun/not-so-fun plans?
The Wyrmling is still dealing with his cold and now I‘m fighting something off. 😷 Prepping for a possible 10-12” of snow in this neck of the woods, so what better way to spend the time than snuggled with a good book?
I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend! 🥰
Fish in a Tree is definitely getting read first. It‘s been on my TBR for way too long. Looking forward to another awesome year of reading. 🥰
#Bookspin #Doublespin
My first three #Roll100 picks of the year! Now to decide which one to pick up first. 😅
Lie Down With Lions is a holdover from last year‘s BookSpin list. It went twelve months without ever being picked and now that I moved it to a different TBR list, it‘s picked in the first round. Probably a significant sign. 🤣
And the winner is! I‘m not surprised. When I finished The Vaster Wilds, I knew everything else would be hard pressed to outdo it. Watership Down certainly gave it a run for its money. They‘re both very similar in a way and I find that both amusing and comforting.
It was so much fun tracking my best reads throughout the year. I‘m tempted by other people‘s “worst of” boards too. 😅🤣
Thank you to @CSeydel for the original template I used.
My 2025 list for #Roll100! I‘m looking forward to focusing more on reading what I already own this year so instead of doing a half and half list like last year (fifty of the spaces were just supposed to be the next book in a series I was reading), I filled my list completely with actual titles that I chose from my shelves.
I‘m hoping many of these fit the prompts for #FrozenSick but I haven‘t looked ahead because I want to be surprised. 😅
My #BookSpin list for January 2025! It‘s mostly fresh picks with only a few veterans from last year.
I‘m excited for this new year of reading. I‘m going to focus strongly on reading books I own so I should be able to get to more books from this challenge than previous years. My personal library needs a serious clearing out. 😅
Is Litsy showing up on the iPhone like this for anyone else? It‘s been several days and the buttons for like, comment, stack and even add photo, just don‘t show up. I remember where they are and can still click the invisible buttons, but it just looks like this all the time. And I have to check the like count of something before I like it or else I don‘t know if my like registered or not. 🤦♀️ So Litsy still works for me, it‘s just weird…
My best book of the year bracket for 2025. I split it into quarters and each quarter gets a bonus book. I‘ll upload my filled in one for 2024 probably in January.
I have a blank version (no dragon or labels) of this and two other color themes if anyone wants me to upload them somewhere for your own use. (Here or instagram.) ❤️
Did I get so stoked over the #FrozenSick event hosted by @PuddleJumper that I created an OC in Baldur‘s Gate to serve as my model for update photos?
Yes, yes I did. But can you blame me?!?! This is like, the COOLEST event idea EVER!!!
Check out her original post and let the fun begin!
You absolutely don‘t have to be this extra, but if anyone else matches my freak, I‘d love to see your characters too. 😅
pick4 ⭐️s
I really enjoyed this, the scientific ideas were fascinating, the aliens were unique and I adore Teela Brown and want to follow her on her adventures. Honestly, Louis Wu can go fly a kite, just give me a whole series on the “walking Improbability Drive” that is Teela. 😅 I also want to see how the group‘s relationships continue to grow and mold around each other. I‘ll definitely be continuing the series.
*spoilers in comment*
#ClassicLSFBC
I finally got a bingo!!!! It‘s on my quarterly board too, so there‘s two more months for me to get even more bingos! ❤️ So close to getting another one already. 🤞
October‘s #BookSpinBingo board. No bingo for the month, but I still marked off more than I have any other month this year. 😅
I didn‘t finish any books in September and then doubled my typical reading in October, so I swapped out the September space for an extra October one. 🤫😜🤣 Not that it matters, The Vaster Wilds is still haunting me daily and just might win the year… 😅❤️
#BookSpinBingo list for November. My main goal for the rest of the year is to get to a lot of the books I‘ve neglected from this year‘s events (BookSpin, Roll100, SeriesLove, etc.). I‘m WAY behind in my reading goal but I‘ve already read more books than I did in the past two years (individually), so honestly anything from here on out is a huge win. 😅❤️
so-so3 ⭐️s
Full disclosure, I haven‘t yet taken the time to do the deep dive on the music that inspired this novella. It might change my rating. For now, I‘m feeling a bit “meh”. I think that‘s more my fault for having different expectations of what it was going to be. It‘s a unique story of family, individuality, community, loneliness, needing to belong, the list goes on. It is impressive how many themes Solomon squeezed into such a short story.
pick5 ⭐️s
This one truly surprised me. It is so haunting in its descriptions and prose. The terror of facing some supernatural evil that no one else believes in or sees, and having that compounded with how women have been treated for centuries… Absolutely chilling story. It does follow three different timelines and I know some people aren‘t fans of that sort of storytelling, but it‘s used so well here. The differing stories enrich each other rather ⬇️
pick4 ⭐️s
I‘ll definitely need to read more of this series. This first installment does a good job of laying the groundwork of what seems to be a wacky, gory good time. I‘m interested to find out more about the little task force Chainsaw Man finds himself a part of and what exactly their impact on devils is. The artwork is great, I love the character designs.
My #DoubleSpin for October
so-so3 ⭐️s
This was going to be 5 ⭐️s with the unique lore and world building; the characters were so relatable and I was SO invested in them and their struggles. Then that ending comes and punches you right in the chest. I felt like the ending took away the whole point of the story. If there‘s ever a sequel, I will absolutely rush to snatch it up because I need closure. 😅🤣
Went to the pumpkin patch/corn maze earlier. The Wyrmling‘s napping on me now so I‘m starting this one that‘s been on my TBR for what seems like forever. Then it‘s off to my parents for stew and a fire pit with s‘mores.
❤️🥰❤️
pick3.5 ⭐️s
I don‘t normally do .5 ratings, but this one is definitely better than a 3 but not quite a 4. I loved the unique lore and world building of this novel where zombies are sentient. Angel is a fun protagonist and I was absolutely rooting for her the whole way. The end felt rushed and I had figured out the “mysteries” pretty early on in the book. But I couldn‘t put it down and will get to the 2nd in the series sometime soon.
pick5 ⭐️s
I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Poe‘s work. I tend to love the premise of gothic stories but end up let down by them. This one wasn‘t like that. I enjoyed the characters, especially their banter. Kingfisher does a wonderful job of creating a foreboding, damp, claustrophobic atmosphere that clings to the reader throughout.
I did find it funny that I kept thinking back to Mexican Gothic and then the author mentions it in the AN. 🍄❤️
pick5 ⭐️s
I honestly loved this book. As a mom, I can say this played strongly on my fears of my child being stolen from me. I know I would go to hell and back to get him and keep him safe, but would I have the capabilities? I really loved the descriptive writing, the way Hill slowly builds up the suspense and makes the reader worry for the protagonists. I liked the characters, especially Lou. It got me in the feels a lot, especially in the end. ⬇️
My halfway points check-in for team #HexesandCrows for #HauntedShelf!
1.561 so far! Hoping for many more in the second half. ❤️
pick4 ⭐️s
I really love this time travel/alternate history series! Chomping at the bit for the third one so I‘ll need to track that down asap. A LOT happens in this globe spanning epic w/ a large cast of characters, but it doesn‘t feel bogged down. I adore many of the characters (especially the Hollard siblings and their royal love interests 😉) and I think the author does a great job of not making the ancients stupid or inferior to the Nantucketers.
There were a few I left off because I wasn‘t sure if I‘ve actually seen the whole film or just some of it because of pop culture references. 😅
My random three:
The General (Buster Keaton‘s stunts are legendary)
Aliens
Evil Dead
@The_Penniless_Author
#TLT
Tagging anyone who feels confident in their scores! 😅
Still no bingo with my quarterly bingo. 😅 Here‘s hoping the rest of the year goes better. I don‘t know what system I‘ll choose to use next year, but I‘m definitely contemplating it…
My #BookSpinBingo board for Spooky month! The two with bat borders are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin. I‘m very excited about October. Hoping to get plenty of good reads in.
1. I‘d like to say one of the novels, but Chainsaw Man keeps coming up in my thoughts. 😅
2. All baked goods are in danger when I‘m around, from here to New Year‘s. 🤣
3. Pumpkin patch, Halloween street festival, etc. This year will be the first year The Wyrmling can go Trick or Treating for real, so I‘m super excited about that!
4. They‘re pretty equal. Pumpkin spice in the mornings, apple cider in the evenings.
#HauntedShelf #HexesandCrows
My two recs for #HauntedShelf because I‘m completely incapable of narrowing down any opinion to a single thing.
Desperation was the first Stephen King I ever read. I was a completely different person after that. Should do a reread of this one soon.
World War Z is my most reread book ever. I absolutely love it. It‘s nothing like the movie. I loved the journalistic twist and the details and cast of characters makes it all so rich and fascinating.
I‘m late hopping on the #HauntedShelf bandwagon! There‘s still time to sign up if you‘re like me and didn‘t realize Halloween is literally breathing down our necks. 😅🎃🖤
Sign-up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7g2cbAys_w6B9G5HHloV6kRr1yQvXVOptseGn...
My #BookSpinBingo list for October! I‘m so excited, I made a fresh list for the spooky month and have decided I‘ll actually participate in the bingo board for this month too. Time for the best time of year!!!!
🖤🎃🖤
@Fortifiedbybooks here is your #TrappedinaSpookyHouse list! Sorry for the wait, you had so many good books on your list and I kept going back and forth between a few. I really hope you have fun with the ones I chose! 🖤
In a Dark, Dark Room is the first book I can remember being obsessed with back in 1st grade. 🥰
So excited to start off my birthday month with these two that have been on my TBR for a good long while! NOS4A2 is the only September book club read that I own. The other book clubs I participate in are reading books that my library doesn‘t have available so I‘ll have a lot more reading time to devote to my own personal stack. Although I‘ve been enjoying the book clubs, I‘ve been neglecting the books I own too much this year. 😅
pan1 ⭐️
Unpopular opinion, but I really didn‘t like this book. Ish is an absolutely insufferable protagonist and I couldn‘t connect with him or any of the other members of The Tribe. Every time I thought something interesting was actually going to happen, it doesn‘t or it‘s skipped over. Ish‘s self-importance and how he looks down on everyone around him drove me insane.
I was THRILLED when a glimmer of conflict came but that was also quickly ⬇️
