*Reminder* that sign-ups are open for #valloweenswap 2026!

Valloween returns for a second year! Pink hearts and cherubic angels don't appeal to everyone, so we invite you to join the dark side.

Sign up at this link by Wednesday, 1/7/2026:

https://forms.gle/hMLR8SJQ1cd6Wp5z5

Due to issues last year and recent complications in international shipping, this swap is US only

My 2025 StoryGraph wrap-up graphic.

My total books are closer to 60 without comics and graphic novels, which I usually am able to tear through pretty quick. I listened to a dozen or so audiobooks. Also, 70% of my reads were under 300 pages. I DNF 4 books this year. On to 2026!

December wrap-up from TheStoryGraph

Lucky Day was excellent! The Rocketeer was a lot of fun. Separation of Church and Hate was my last completed book; great concept, tedious presentation in audio.

#bookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

January 2026

BTW, I'm loving all the posts about challenges and read-alongs. So much love for books and reading is so refreshing to see. Happy to have this community ❤

#yuleseasonswap @patriciau @thebacklistbook

Thank you for the lovely package Patricia! I appreciate the thought you put into the recommended book, and the yule goat is delightful and well crafted. Best wishes for 2026

#bookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

January 2026

Comics highlights: Snapdragon, Rare Flavors, Kent State, Absolute Batman, The Rocketeer, A Song for You and I, Criminal (Brubaker and Phillips rule!), Lady Mechanika (especially Vol 5 & 7), The Mummy, Discipline

#2025WrapUp

Nonfiction highlights: The Secret Lives of Bats, Girly Drinks, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Masters of Make-Up Effects
Several of my nonfiction reads were so-so or lower, and even most of the picks had aspects that I didn't enjoy 🤷‍♂️

#2025WrapUp

Fiction highlights for 2025: The Shining, Batman Resurrection, Lucky Day, The Outsiders, Recursion, The Librarianist, The Hike, Shadow of the Sith, Silver in the Wood, King of Ashes
(Though it would be easier to just list the book I enjoyed least 😋)
#2025WrapUp #losersclub

#tuesdaytunes A woefully inadequate list of the musicians we lost in 2025:

Peter Yarrow: https://youtu.be/Ld6fAO4idaI

Sam Moore: https://youtu.be/HYk7NWjsuHI

Roberta Flack: https://youtu.be/d8_fLu2yrP4

John Edwards (The Spinners): https://youtu.be/4hbwGk0D3a8

Sly Stone: https://youtu.be/2TptaHqAmvs

Brian Wilson: https://youtu.be/CCYw3HrtXAQ

Ozzy Osbourne: https://youtu.be/0qanF-91aJo

Ace Frehley: https://youtu.be/KsvtJ2npPiA ⤵

#holonet @puddlejumper

The prompts this month for Din Grogu loosely fit But Not Too Bold. Orphans are “adopted“ to serve an ancient creature, whom some find attractive, until it literally eats you. But the creature enjoys having its kitchen whip up feasts for its brides, including lots of dessert. 😋

Valloween returns for a second year!
Do your expressions of love tend towards the darker side? Do you like unrequited or tortured love? Maybe romance is outside of your spectrum? Or perhaps you detest the commercialization of signs of affection?
Whatever your reason, sign up at this link by Wednesday, 1/7/2026:

https://forms.gle/hMLR8SJQ1cd6Wp5z5

Due to issues last year and recent complications in international shipping, this swap is US only ☹️

Thank you Keia @Blerdgal_Fenix for the books and treats! These books have been on my list for a while, it'll be fun to dig into them.

#naughtylistholidayswap #nlhs @wildalaskabibliophile

#bookspin #bookspinbingo

Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for all of your diligent work hosting BookSpin. I don't think I got any bingos this year, but I was able to complete every spin and #doublespin . I was especially glad to check Girly Drinks, Gallant, and Do Androids Dream off my TBR. Chasing the Boogeyman and Dance Theatre were the only disappointments. Recursion surprised me the most. Looking forward to 2026!

#litsyblooddrive

Got one more donation in before the end of the year and received a Christmas mug 😋🩸☕

It is always appreciated when writers put in the extra effort to add some weight and stakes to silly concepts. Krampus' mischievous but benevolent nature is corrupted by a vengeful spirit from a monster-hunting Santa's past. As Klaus's prisoners escape, the Justice League is called to action to assist. Not sure why there was a new artist for the last issue, but overall decent art and a well-thought-out story.

Merry Everything and Whatever Else! However your spending your week, I hope you're enjoying some time off and doing something that brings you joy and/or peace.

If you are celebrating the birth of Jesus this season, I hope it is the Biblical one, and not the made-up MAGA/fundamentalist one ✌
(from the intro of the tagged book)

And with that, all #NLHS participants should have received their packages (if I'm mistaken, please let us know). Thanks to everyone for your timely shipping and communications. Opening day is Saturday, 12/27. We can't wait to see all the creepy winter goodness 🖤😈❄
@wildalaskanbibliophile #naughtylistholidayswap

Re-watched this delightful holiday special for the first time. Drax and Mantis go to Earth to procure Kevin Bacon as a Christmas gift. It is very funny and festive. Here is a great original song from the Old 97's about aliens trying to make sense of the holiday 😆😋🎄

https://youtu.be/-E1ULv6LcOk

And if you weren't aware, Mr. Bacon is an accomplished musician and contributes a song to the special

https://youtu.be/P8CxQbyhifQ

#tuesdaytunes

MAD TV and South Park writer bought the domain names for “trumpkennedycenter.com/.org“. Resistance at its finest. It is disgusting how desperate Trump is to brand everything. No other president: even “Obamacare“ was a label assigned by republicans and the media. Trump is so damn small...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/12/21/toby-morton-...

My #naughtylistholidayswap arrived this week. Thank you @blerdgal_fenix 🖤😈❄️ #nlhs @wildalaskabibliophile

It has been a long, stressful week so far. I haven't read much since Friday. We did watch an excellent movie last night, though; Tokyo Godfathers. An irreverent story set between Christmas and New Years where a trio of homeless find an abandoned baby. The story is constantly surprising and wholesome, and the animation is fantastic. We also recently watched A Christmas Story Christmas (both too reliant on nostalgia and refreshingly it's own thing)↩

Foley is go(o)d. During my wrestling viewing days, Mick Foley was one of the most entertaining and exciting aspects of the biz. And, by all accounts, he is a genuinely good person, donating time and money to many charities and to the armed forces. After posting a video to YouTube a couple months ago appealing to Drumpf for compassion and rationality, he has officially cut ties with the WWE due to their and HHH's connection to the administration.

A little sadness and a little joy in this random, crazy world. Two Christmas songs for this week: one from Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner helped write the original soundtrack and directed the movie) and one from Dick Van Dyke, who turned 100 this past week.

Spinal Tap - Christmas with the Devil https://youtu.be/KneOdEDwDEc

Going Caroling - Dick Van Dyke & Jane Lynch ft. Jim Brickman
https://youtu.be/I_FjBSr7AWY

This was an enlightening listen, but I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. There are some amazing insights into the bastardization of Christ's teachings, but they are scattered through what it basically a 10-hour Bible study. Many of his points are repudiations of citation of specific Bible verses by socially conservative fundamentalists; unfortunately, I rarely interact with anyone eloquent enough to put that much effort into their hate.

Throwback, pulpy fun! Stevens creates a exciting hero who's also a bit of a scumbag, but his adventures are page turners. Stevens wrote and illustrated the two storylines collected here. He was known for his mix of realism and a stylized ideal, bold colors, and detailed line work. His obvious admiration of Bettie Page led to them becoming real-life friends. The film adaptation is wonderfully faithful to the book and a childhood favorite of mine.

R.I.P. Michele and Rob Reiner. What a tragic end to a legendary career. I loved watching All in the Family on Nick at Nite, and The Princess Bride has been a constant source of joy throughout my life. His adaptations arguably outshined the books: Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, Misery. Spinal Tap II showed that he still had more to say.

A delightfully irreverent collection of short stories and really, really short stories. Wildly creative.

A short, atmospheric novella about a Lovecraftian-type entity and its house and servants. Wild, vividly descriptive, and somehow sweet.

A creepy Christmas comic. Michael is a comic book creator who is trying to incorporate the incarcerated serial killer The Deviant into his next project. But after he interviews the man, a copycat killer emerges and Michael gets caught up in the action. Slow paced but a good buildup to the finale. Stylish yet understated art. Worth checking out.

A short informational webcomic about the author coming to identify as demisexual.

https://medium.com/plan-a-magazine/confessions-of-a-demisexual-d945920d59ee

This is easily one of my favorite reads of 2025. The first 40 pages are a rollercoaster of crazy, and that's just the prologue. Vera is a beautifully realized character with a brilliant arc. Quirky, horrifying, philosophical, mysterious, fast-paced, I got a similar enjoyment reading this that I did with Chuck Palahniuk's early work. There is a fun nod to his novella Straight at the end.

I had a mild obsession with the Rat Pack in college, especially Sammy Davis Jr. He had a complicated personal life, but his ability to entertain through singing, acting, and dancing made him on of the most prolific Black entertainers of his day. In celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday, here is a video of a song that still gives me chills, I've Gotta Be Me

https://youtu.be/OXYndNL4Mu8

#tuesdaytunes

#naughtylistholidayswap #nlhs @wildalaskabibliophile

On its way!

Friendly reminder: Saturday is the ship date for your #naughtylistholidayswap #nlhs

We've already got a couple confirmations of shipping and one overachiever's already delivered 😉 Be sure to post when your package is sent and when you receive and/or shoot your hosts an email.

@WildAlaskaBibliophile and I hope you're having fun shopping for your match!

I'm this volume, we circle back around to Tracy Lawless and his commitment to Hyde. Hyde tasks him with using his brains instead of his brawn to find out who has been killing made men. Tracy isn't know for his brains, though, and in this town, everyone just stumbles through trying not to get killed. That doesn't work out for everyone.

My #yuleseasonswap has arrived! @thebacklistbook

The book is split into two parts, and, while the language and characters are wonderful, I just didn't feel engaged with the story for part one, to the point I almost stopped reading; however, just before the split, the story explodes, and it was a quick read after that. There is a beautiful normalcy in the interactions between the deaf and hearing characters on Martha's Vineyard, and the author takes great care to describe the signing.

#yuleseasonswap has hit the road. Thanks @thebacklistbook for hosting.

BookSpin: The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens - I'm pretty excited for this one 😁

DoubleBookSpin: One More Thing by B.J. Novak

Lucky Day is my only other outstanding read from #bookspin this year, so I should be able to complete the challenge this year! I've knocked out quite a few books from my TBR list thanks to @TheAromaofBooks

I didn't know that the Thanksgiving game halftime show was a thing, but I'm glad it was this year! Jack White is a top-tier guitarist and musician, and as a basic white man, I just can't resist a rock guitar/hip-hop mash-up 😜

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk5lQbI1t04

#tuesdaytunes

#bookspin #Bookspinbingo @thearomaofbooks

My December BookSpin list

My selections for #nonfictionnovember were all over the place, but I was glad to have finally read The Secret Lives of Bats and, not being a sports fan, Leveling the Ice was still a very good read. I was surprised and thrilled with how good Batman Resurrection was, and Brubaker/Philips and O'Neil were both reliably excellent in their graphic novels.

This short book packs a big punch. Sport journalist Steven Sandor looks at the culture of hockey and what has been/is being/can be done about its tendency to exclude on the basis of race and class. He is not afraid to examine his own part behavior, but he mostly relies on interviews with players and executive, and deep dives into past controversies, to make his case. A clear, strong voice talking about a vital societal concern. #nonfictionnovember

I can't post details, but my book buying strategy for this year has been to check author/publisher websites before my local bookstore before big bookstores, and I've ordered from a couple items direct from authors or small publishers who offer signed books and include extra goodies. It is nice to support them directly and see that they like to show their appreciation. I haven't bought any books Amazon so far 🤘

Having just finished The Secret Lives of Bats, I thought I'd share this article about current bat research. Scientists at Bat Conservation International noticed a discrepancy in their understanding of the Seminole bat, and it is interesting to read how they went about finding the truth. There is also a discussion about in impact of wind farms on bats.

https://www.batcon.org/seminole-bat-mystery/

Also, look at that sweet 'fro! 😝

Australian icon Colin Hay released an album of new recording of some of his best songs from his 40+ year career. I first heard his music when he cameoed on Scrubs 😋 He was interviewed by AllMusic.com, a site I don't frequent as much, but was indispensable to me in college and for years after.

https://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/colin-hay-discusses-men-at-work-his-solo-care...

https://youtu.be/gDxk6PqWVPE

#tuesdaytunes

It is hard to quantify the impact the Merlin Tuttle has had on bat research and conservation. A tireless advocate for one of the most diverse mammals on earth, this collection of anecdote from a lifetime of adventures highlights the struggles of conservation, the prejudice against bats in general, and the dangers of researching remote locations. It was interesting to get a look back in time when technology was much more limited.

Did you know Hitler built a ballroom? 🦧😋

Snopes article citing the tagged book: Unraveling claim Adolf Hitler built a ballroom in 1933 https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/10/28/hitler-ballroom-chancellery-bunker/