My goodness, what a thoughtful, wise, sensible, beautiful book. I listened on audio, but I‘m buying a physical copy, because I want to read it again and again, highlight passages, and write in the margins.

#Pantone2025 #Winterberry @Lauredhel

#FictionalTraveler is back for 2026! Through the magic of books, we‘ll travel to 12 different interesting locations.

The rules are simple:

1 - Each month, choose a book that fits your interpretation of the monthly prompt.
2 - Read (and hopefully enjoy!) the book.
3 - Post a review, using the #FictionalTraveler hashtag
4 - Participate every month, or dip in and out as your schedule allows.

Everyone Welcome! ⬇️

@LitsyEvents

Grief. Loss. Sadness. Drugs. Alcohol. Madness. Hollywood. All the crazy haze of the late 1960s. Wow… this was a lot.

My November choice for #AuthorAMonth. So glad I have finally read something by Joan Didion, but not sure I‘m eager to read more. Time will tell. She really plays with your head.

@Soubhiville

Okay, cozy friends, what is everyone reading for our December #Holiday prompt? I‘ll be reading Dashing Through the Snowbirds.

This will be our last month for #ThematicCozies . For 2026, our mission will be to #ClearTheCozies , since many of us seem to have large stockpiles of cozies on hand that we‘d actually like to read!

I‘ll do a separate post for that, but in the meantime, if you know you‘d like to join in (or not), please comment below.

What will everyone be reading and/or donating this month? My choice is The Twelve Dates of Christmas.

#ReadOrDonate will be continuing for 2026. So if you still have more books than shelf space, as I do, and want to continue on this journey to get them read, or say goodbye forever, just comment below!

Tagging those who participated this year, but all are welcome. ⬇️

My selections for #CastTheDie ! A nice mix! Thanks, @PuddleJumper 😀

Where will everyone be traveling for the #FictionalTraveler #HomefortheHolidays prompt this month? I‘ll be traveling to Virginia with Dashing Through the Snowbirds. 🎄

#FictionalTraveler will continue for 2026! I‘ll do a separate post with the new prompts, but feel free to comment below if you already know you‘d like to be added to or removed from the tag list. Everyone welcome!

As we approach the end of the year, I‘d love to hear how everyone fared in the #AllergicToChunksters challenge. Personally, I have amazed myself by completing 6 chunksters this year! Seeing everyone‘s posts throughout the year has really been motivating for me. Thanks to each of you for your participation. We‘re all in this together!

I‘ll definitely continue this challenge for 2026. I‘ll post more about that once I‘ve got the StoryGraph ready. ⬇️

My #ReadYourKindle list for December. 100% Holiday reads! 🎄

Thanks for hosting, @CBee !

My December #Roll100 books. 28 Summers feels a bit out of place, lol.

Thanks for hosting, @PuddleJumper !

My last #BookSpin list of the year! Thanks for another year of reading fun,
@TheAromaofBooks 💙💙💙

My #CastTheDie list. All are books I own. 1-12 are holiday books🎄, and 13-24 are books that I meant to read earlier this year for various challenges, but didn‘t get to. 🙄

Thanks for hosting, @PuddleJumper !

Time for our last #MonthlyNonfiction2025 selection of the year! What will everyone be reading? My choice is Rick Steves‘ European Christmas.

We will be continuing for 2026. Please comment below if you‘d like to be added to, or removed from, the tag list.

Everyone is welcome! The challenge is simple: read one nonfiction book each month.

Tagging all who participated this year. It has been fun exploring nonfiction together!

I have 4 great choices for #ReadYourKindle this month! @CBee

Well, this was…. different. I enjoyed the first half. After that, not so much. Almost every character got on my nerves, some parts of the plot were totally predictable, some made me angry, and some were just plain strange. And the ending… what the heck?! Can‘t wait for our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead discussion. I‘m sure it will be lively. @BarbaraJean

#Pantone2025 #LavenderBlue @Lauredhel

#NovemberDreams #HopeCore

Here are the books I hope and dream to read in November. Thanks for the reminder, @Cuilin Fingers crossed for both of us!

Hello, #FictionalTraveler (s)! It‘s November and we‘re heading to #Asia ! What will everyone be reading?

Also - I‘m trying to decide whether to continue #FictionalTraveler for another year. Please comment below to let me know your thoughts. 🤔🤓🙂

This month, I‘ll be reading The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

My #HauntedShelf total for #BlackCatCrew was 9044.

Thanks to @PuddleJumper for being an amazing host, and to @BookwormAHN and all the other team captains for leading us through all the fun! Thanks, too, to everyone who hosted bingos, readathons and challenges! This is such a fun October tradition, but it could never happen without a lot of thought and effort. Happy Halloween and huge kudos to all of you! 🎃🐈‍⬛🎃

Magic candles, a snarky talking cat, a small town populated by friendly witches… what‘s not to love? First book in the series, and I look forward to reading more.

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN
#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk
#Pantone2025 #WispyClouds @Lauredhel
#CastTheDie @PuddleJumper

My November #ReadYourKindle list. Thanks for hosting, @CBee !

Many thanks, @BethM , for this delightful #AHRS swap!

Pies and Prejudice looks fun. I can use it for the #ThematicCozies November prompt, #Food !

I have been wanting to read The Pig Did It for quite awhile. Can't wait to dive in!

And I have never heard of Reese's popcorn! But oh my goodness, it's divine!

You are a good stalker 😘, because you truly found gifts that are perfect for me! Many thanks! 🎃

Happy Halloween! 👻

#HauntedShelf #BookScavengerHunt

#Graves #Landscape #Group #Weapon #Smoke #Boots

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

My November #BookSpin list. @TheAromaofBooks

This book, based on the Essex Witch Trials of the 1640s, was truly spellbinding.(Forgive the pun; it‘s the most appropriate word I could think of.) I highly recommend listening on audio. I found the narrator‘s voice to be quietly mesmerizing, and was perfectly suited to this story. Although the story is sad, it conveys a real sense of what it was like to live in England during the witch craze of the Cromwellian era. Petrifying.

Okay, cozy friends, November is all about #Food ! What yummy books will everyone be reading for #ThematicCozies ?

My choice is Caramel Pecan Roll Murder.

Is anyone interested in continuing for 2026, with a different theme? Maybe locations/settings, or letters of the alphabet, or specific words in the title, or just by cleaning our shelves of cozies we already own? Thoughts?

A fast-paced murder mystery set in LA in the 1930s. The different worlds of Chinatown and old Hollywood both come alive and feel very authentic. The mystery kept me guessing and the ending definitely surprised me!

#SundayBuddyRead @TheBookHippie
#Pantone2025 @Lauredhel
#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN
#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

Everything I could want in a wintery, deep woods fairy tale. Loved it!

This was my October selection for #FictionalTraveler #Trees

#HauntedShelf #BlacCatCrew @BookwormAHN
#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

#HauntedShelf #BookScavengerHunt

#Monster #Eyes #Grey #Embrace #Cursive #Moon

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Interesting and informative. Lots of fascinating details. I read this slowly over the course of several months, one State at a time. Now I know that the shapes of the States are not nearly as random as they seem!

#Pantone2025 @Lauredhel

#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Hello Friends! What will everyone be reading and/or donating this month?

For those who want to continue, or join us, in chipping away at our overflowing bookshelves, I will be hosting #ReadOrDonate again in 2026. All are welcome! I‘ll also do a StoryGraph Challenge (hopefully soon) for those who like to plan and track.

For November, I‘ll be reading & donating: Joan is Okay.

Hello Nonfiction fans! What will everyone be reading for November?

For those who like to plan ahead, I will be continuing #MonthlyNonfiction2025 next year, but dropping the year from the name, so the new hashtag will be simply #MonthlyNonfiction. Same rules: read at least one nonfiction book each month. I‘ll do a StoryGraph challenge as well, for those who like to track that way.

#HauntedShelf #BookScavengerHunt

#Atmosphere #Yellow #RealPeople #Green #Broody #Red

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Six #PumpkinSpice cozy mysteries! #BookRecommendations #HauntedShelf

#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Three books with great suggestions for creating a cozy atmosphere in your home:
The Little Book of Hygge
Cosy
Cozy Minimalist Home

Three cozy reads to enjoy in your cozy home:
Little Women
Anne of Green Gables
The Bookshop on the Corner

#HauntedShelf #BookRecommendations #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

#HauntedShelf mid-point check in: 5318 Points.
#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Dual timeline, totally immersive, strong women. Loved it!

#Roll100 @PuddleJumper

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

I love cozy mysteries, but this one didn‘t grab me. Not sure why. The punny banter did seem a bit overdone. Even the ghost got on my nerves! I doubt I‘ll read any more of this series.

#ThematicCozies #Paranormal

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

This book somehow manages to feel disjointed and yet cohesive. So many topics covered - the pandemic, Native American culture, George Floyd, incarceration, love, friendship, dictionaries. Skillful storytelling.

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

#Pantone2025 #PoppyRed. @Lauredhel @BarbaraBB

This fascinating book read more like a gripping nonfiction memoir than a novel. A fascinating glimpse into the lives of FBI & CIA agents, and the impact their job had on their morals, ethics, and physical safety (and that of their families) during the Cold War. This was an excellent choice for #BookedInTime #ColdWar @Cuilin

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

#OneSnackToRuleThemAll #CandyCornies @Bookwormjillk

My #AllHallowsReadSwap #AHRS2025 is going out in the mail tomorrow! 🎃👻🎃

Thanks for hosting, @MaleficentBookDragon !

Here are 6 books that feel like Autumn to me.

Great memories from when my kids were little: Apples and Pumpkins, and The PennyWhistle Halloween Book

Cooking and Decorating: Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes, and Autumn from the Heart of the Home

Cozy Autumn Reads: Autumn by the Sea, and Autumn in Sycamore Park

#HauntedShelf #BookRecommendations #BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

I‘m joining the #JustOneMoreChapter Readathon this weekend, hosted not @TheAromaofBooks .

My goals are to complete Crewel and Unusual for #ThematicCoziies, listen to The Witches of Salem Village for #ChildrensClassicRead2025 , and finish Trick or Treat for #MonthlyNonfiction2025 .

#BlackCatCrew care to join me in racking up some extra points for #HauntedShelf ?

@BookwormAHN @JessClark78 @Lin3han @ShananigansReads @KT1432 @AmandaBlaze @coffees

What should I read next, @OutsmartYourShelf ?

#SPNBookBingo2025 Prompt: Driver Picks the Music

Irving‘s prose is beautiful, and he evokes a wonderful sense of time and place. The tales he relates are enchanting, but all very similar. The history he tells is interesting, but too detailed. Personally, I think I would have preferred a condensed version of this book. It just felt like a bit of a slog. A soft pick for me, but I‘m glad I read it, thanks to @BarbaraJean and #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead .

#HauntedShelf #WordFinder
#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

Bite, Warmth, Friend, Home, Temptation, Moon

#HauntedShelf #BookRecommendations
#BlackCatCrew

I love #Atmospheric novels. Here are 6 that I read and enjoyed this year:

#HauntedShelf #ScavengerHunt
#BlackCatCrew @BookwormAHN

My October #BookSpin list… spookier than usual! @TheAromaofBooks

My #CastTheDie list. This will be fun! @PuddleJumper

Looking forward to seeing everyone‘s October choices for the challenges I host! I‘ll be reading:

#ReadOrDonate - The Manningtree Witches

#MonthlyNonfiction2025 - Trick or Treat

#ThematicCozies #Paranormal - Crewel and Unusual

#FictionalTraveler #Trees - The Bear and the Nightingale

@TheBookHippie
@BarkingMadRead
@rmaclean4
@Cuilin
@PuddleJumper
@Read4Life
@Julsmarshall
@BookwormAHN
@BethM
@Booksblanketsandahotbeverage
@TheAromaOfBooks