Ending 2025, this was my favorite of December. If you liked the movie, or are a fan of Rob Reiner, I highly recommended reading this. It's funny, its touching, and in light of Reiner's death, heartbreaking.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
November wasn't a great reading month. Only finished 8 books, no 5 🌟 reads. This got the highest rating at 4.25. If you like a book with a lovable rogue, more anti-hero than hero, you might enjoy this.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
Radiant Star - Ann Leckie (May 12)
Exit Party - Emily St. John Mandel (September TBD)
As You Wake, Break The Shell - Becky Chambers (October 13)
#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern
Joining in on showing my #Storygraph profile. Fill free to add me, if you want.
My 8 Least Favorite Books of 2025:
1. Sudden Traveler - Sarah Hall
2. Where The Axe Is Buried - Roy Nayler
3. Word-Bringer - Edward Llewellyn
4. The Fall of Partha - Steve Stephenson
5. Blindsight - Peter Watts
6. Counterweight - Djuna
7. Muddle Earth - John Brunner
8. Star Trek: How Much For Just The Planet? -
John M. Ford
My 13 Favorite Books of 2025:
1. Henry V - Dan Jones
2. . For Whom The Belle Tolls - Jaysea Lynn
3. Once In A Blue Moon - Simon R. Green
4. Odyssey - Stephen Fry
5. Why We Love Football - Joe Pasnanski
6. Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
7. The Angel of The Crows - Katherine Addison
8. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
9. The Shattering Peace - John Scalzi
10. The Summer War - Naomi Novik
11. Lake of Souls - Ann Leckle
October's choice was easy, nothing else I read that month was as beautifully written, as poignant and heart breaking as this. At only 127 pages, it sure throws a punch to the emotions, with a truly heartfelt HEA ending.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
September was a tough month to choose. Two 5🌟 books from two of my favorite authors. I ended up picking The Eyre Affair over The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi. Both are great books, and I highly recommend both of them, I just enjoyed Fforde's book a little bit more.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
"Our species, Homo Sapiens, arose roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa, and by 75,000 years ago, a full suite of modern behavior was on display, including tool use, trade, artistic and symbolic behavior, and more. - Dinner With King Tut
"Jim Kirk sat in the captain's chair on the bridge and watches as Spacedock gradually grew larger, rotating slowly on its axis like some gigantic metal top."- Star Trek: The Lost Years
August's selections was this very entertaining, supernatural take on Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson. I hope the author plans future adventures for the duo.
#12booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
Happy New Year Everyone, and welcome back to #ClassicLSFBC for 2026. Since we only had two selections for January, we will have them as our selections for January and February, to give everyone time to find the novels. January's selection will be Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and February's selection will be A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.. Either of these books should be available at most libraries or book stores.
pick114/100 My last finished book for 2025. Another fun adventure with The Fallbacks. I enjoyed this one even more than the first book, as we learned more about the characters' pasts and some of the dark secrets they have kept from the rest of their teammates. I like that this had a definite conclusion, but left some plot strings dangling for further volumes. The teifling bard, Lark, has to be my favorite character, a wonderful blend of cynicism,
July was back to a 5 🌟 read. I've said before that Lord of Light is one of my favorite books of all time, and the reread was just as enjoyable as the first time.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
June wasn't a great month for reading, only finished 7 books. Harry Turtledove's alternate history of the Korean War was my favorite of the month.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
pick113/100 I picked this book in memory of Rob Reiner and my love for the movie This Is Spinal Tap. It left me both happy and sad. Happy at the joy Rob had making this film with Guest, McKean, & Shearer, and the lasting influence the movie has had on film and music, but also sad at the tragic loss of such a talented filmmaker and human being. 5 🌟 read. #Read2025 #Welcome2026Readathon @LiseWorks
May was a toss up between this and Stephen Fry's excellent Odyssey. Anyone who knows me knows I love Greek mythology, but I'm kind of a football fanatic, so it was an easy choice. Both were 5 star reads, and highly recommended.
#12daysof2025 @TheEllieMo
Finally, some 5 star reads for April!! It was a toss-up between the tagged novel and Once In A Blue Moon by Simon R. Green, one of my favorite authors. I chose Lynn's novel because of the amazing emotional range, how it made me laugh, cry, worry about fictional characters lives, and bring tons of spice.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
Again, no 5 star book for March. This was the highest rated at 4.5. I seem drawn to the darker Star Wars stories, finding the villains more interesting than the heroes.
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
pan112/100 This is definitely a "it's me not the book" situation. While I appreciate the writing craftsmanship, I found all the stories so depressing and melancholic, that I had to trudge through to the end, which was mercifully short at 124 pages. Other people might enjoy this type of thing, but it was too dark and gloomy for me. 2/5 ⭐ #Read2025
I didn't have a 5 star read for February, but this came close at 4.5. Darkly humorous, and often verging on the absurd, it's one of the funnier science-fiction stories I've read. Its pretty surprising coming from the author of the super solemn novel Solaris. #12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
Hi everybody!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, got lots of books and book related gifts. So, we're restarting #ClassicLSFBC for 2026, and it's time to ask for books to be nominated. It will go from now until Dec. 31st and I'll announce the first #ClassicLSFBC 2026 selection on Jan. 1st. Since it's a new year, and maybe a new world, my selection is Huxley's Brave New World. I read it in high school some 40 plus year ago, it's time ⬇️⬇️
A warm, damp, starless night in the city.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
I didn't receive any books for Christmas, but I did get a BAM gift card, so I bought some for myself. #nevertoomanybooks #neverenoughshelves
bailedMy last DNF of 2025. The story is moving too slow to keep my attention. I gave it over 50 pages, but I don't feel it's going to get any better. #hailthebail
#12Booksof2025 @TheEllieMo
The definitive history of Henry V by probably the best writer of English history (non-fiction).
pick111/100 This is probably my favorite fantasy trope, a misfit band of adventurers, each with their own secrets and dark pasts, who come together as a team to defeat evil sorcery. Obviously not great literature, but it's a whole lot of fun, even if you aren't into D&D. I've already got the next book in the series qued up on Audible, so let the adventures continue!! 4.5/5 ⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025
pick110/100 I can see why other people have compared this to the work of Philip K Dick, especially his book Dr. Bloodmoney. They share the same structure, an unknown disaster, a very hallucinogenic atmosphere, shifting realities and identities. Despite the questions of reality, the effect of dreams on reality, and the main character's search for his true identity, Lethem's story still follows a more linear path than PKD, I felt like there was a
I didn't have this on my Christmas List, but watching Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro and Laura Ingham tear into each other and cause a Civil War within MAGA is the best gift ever!! The only annoying part, I found myself agreeing with Carlson on a lot of what he said. If he truly meant it, and wasn't just play acting, then maybe there's hope. #MAGACivilWar #UnexpectedGift
The first sighting of Spinal Tap in the wild came in the summer of 1979, as part of an ABC comedy special called The TV Show.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
so-so109/100 This is one of the most frustrating books I've read in a long time. I enjoyed the stories, of old gods and monsters, of weird kids and strange phenomena, but I found the stories endings to be very unsatisfying. I wanted more information, I felt like they had more to tell and we (the reader) were left hanging. For an analogy, it's like watching one episode of a TV drama, and then trying to figure out the whole series. Very annoying.
pick108/100 Detailed and engrossing history of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and how the aftermath lead to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Not surprisingly, greed and a blind optimism in the market lead to a destruction that few imagined possible. At times, the economic and financial data got a little overwhelming. You can see the parallels between the stock market crash of 1929 and the one in 2008, when speculators ran up stocks ⬇️⬇️
pick107/100 In a dark future, the technology exists to upload your consciousness upon death to a virtual paradise called Upterlife. While the dead enjoy their simulated adventures, the land of the living deteriorates as all resources are turned to maintaining the virtual world. At first I didn't like the main character, he was shallow, a prankster, someone who takes nothing seriously, except for his sister Izzy. He grows to be the face of the ⬇️
pick106/100 I finished this a couple of days ago, but forgot to post a review. If you like dark stories, full of deception, violence, and government conspiracies, this is the graphic novel for you. Tom King always finds new ways to look at a character, and here Rorschach is more an idea than a person. I liked the artwork, it matched the story's dark and gritty nature. 4/5 ⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025
pick105/100 I'm happy to say that this was as good, if not better, than the first volume. We learn more about the various gods, their relationships with each other, and how they relate to humanity. I continue to be in awe of Jamie McKelvie's artwork, it's so beautiful and sometimes so brutal. The ending of this was so sad, after everything the MC had been through. I understand why it happened but I didn't want this ending. Another 5 🌟 read
pick104/100 I waited too long to read this, it was amazing!! I think it's the best graphic novel series I've read since Saga. Outstanding artwork and a deeply involving mystery. Every 90 years, 12 gods are reborn, but they only live for 2 years then they pass away for another 90 years. Really interesting character development and a mystery that had me flipping the pages as fast as I could to see where it was going. The ending was shocking, but it ⬇️
so-so103/100 I would like to give this a pick, because half of it is excellent. The first half, by Grant Morrison & Doug Mahnke, was amazing, with startling artwork and a grim cosmic horror story. The second half, by Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli, was much less interesting. Ugly, grotesque artwork, with a boring monsters fighting monsters story. If Morrison & Mahnke had done the whole volume, I'd would give it 5 stars. 3/5 ⭐ #Read2025
bailedWhile I really enjoyed Mickey 7, I just couldn't get into this book. The humor felt very forced, and I found the lead character dull and too given to just letting things happen instead of taking charge.
pick102/100 I've had the print version of this on my TBR for years, but I chose the audiobook instead, mainly because I was curious to hear Peter Dinklage's version of Poirot. He does a very good job as Poirot, showing both his intelligence, his dogged determination, and the love he has for his friend Captain Hastings. I hope there will be more Poirot adventures with Peter Dinklage. 4/5 ⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025
pick101/100 It took me over a year to finish this, not because it wasn't good, just enjoyed it more in pieces instead all at once. Like all anthologies by various authors, some stories were great, some were just okay, and only one clunker. Surprisingly, the George RR Martin Game of Thrones story was one of the weaker ones. My favorites were "Her Father's Sword" by Robin Hobbs, "Hrunting" by C.J. Cherryh, "When I Was A Highway Man" by Ellen Kushner,
pick100/100 A very different view of the ancient world. Instead of looking at the Roman, Greek and Egyptian empires from their centers, like Rome and Athens, this is a view of those kingdoms from the civilizations that were on the edges, some that intermingled with the empires and some that came into direct conflict with them. 4/5 ⭐ #Read2025
I hope that you will forgive me for saying so, the minarch says, but this is all a bit...underwhelming. - The Fourth Consort
He was in my light. - The Book of Swords "The Best Man Wins" by K.J. Parker
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
The Fourth Consort - Edward Ashton
The Book of Swords - Various Authors
The Far Edges of the Known World - Owen Rees
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
so-so99/100 I'm not sure why, but i didn't enjoy this as much as i thought I would. I thought the premise was interesting, a plague that keeps people from sleeping, but i found the execution lacking. I kept feeling like the author was trying to impress me with his vocabulary and the way he painted scenes, it got in the way of my appreciation of his story telling. It is a creepy book, watching civilization crumble as people go insane from ⬇️
Hi everyone!! I'm very sorry that I've dropped the ball the last two months with the #ClassicLSFBC. Between work and some recent health issues, I haven't been on Litsy as much as I'd like and things got away from me. Unless someone else wants to take over, I figured we'd let the book club pause the rest of 2025, and start anew in January. Let me know what's the general consensus. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving (a little early)
pick98/100 This took me longer to finish than the average audiobook, not because its not well written, it's just that the book recounts an ugly, brutal part of American history. I've always had a low opinion of Woodrow Wilson, and nothing here changed that. Wilson was a bigot and a hypocrite, who betrayed his so-called progressive idea. While preaching liberty, freedom and Democracy for the rest of the world, his administration was jailing ⬇️
It's getting harder and harder to tell the living from the dead.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
pick97/100 I've always thought Harry Harrison was a very underrated author, he doesn't get the mentions other writers of his era does. James "Slippery Jim" diGriz is his best creation. Con man, thief, smuggler and rogue, he knows how to fight but would rather think and talk his way out of bad situations, also he tries never to kill anyone unless its self defense. This book contains 3 of his short novels, and is a great introduction to
pick96/100 Horror isn't my usual genre of choice, but I've enjoyed the author's work on Batman, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Walter invites a group of his friends to a beautiful house on the lake, for a week to relax and reunite. Walter isn't who or what they thought. No spoilers, I liked the build up, the flash backs how each character met Walter. I don't know if the library has vol.2, but I'd be interested to see where the story goes. 4/5 ⭐
bailedI guess John Grisham isn't an author for me. I found this kind of tedious, and I wasn't invested in finding out how it ended. Moving on.... #hailthebail
pick95/100 I guess if I had read the Absolute Power storyline before this, it would have made more sense, but even without that, it's still a solid story. I liked most of the art, but the section on Darkseid's creation of the Absolute Universe had some of the ugliest art I've ever seen in a DC comic. It looked like very crude Jack Kirby imitation. 3.5/5 ⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025
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