I joined a fourth book club! 🤦🏻‍♀️

My January vibe feels like being constantly behind on my homework! So far I‘m not managing my reading time as well as I could.

Tagged book is for the book club that meets on Wednesday. Will I read it or not?

I love all my book clubs, but sometimes I just want to read what I want to read.

#ihavequestions

It wasn‘t a particularly joyful week personally or globally, but there were moments …
1. Tiramisu has been hanging out on the bed.
2. I had a good chat with a buddy last night.
3. I bought a mango at the grocery store, and it was delicious.
4. Final score notwithstanding, it was fun watching the Ravens game at our old stomping ground.
5. Now that the DVD player is connected and functioning, I‘ve started watching the LOTR movies. #5joysfriday

We do not care that you think we have priced the car too high. You hounded us for weeks and now don‘t like the number? We didn‘t pull it out of the air. Then you offer us less than half our original asking price? You must not really want the car after all. #wdncw

First book finished in 2026! A group of aspiring mystery writers, including Vera‘s neighbor, is gathered at a writers‘ retreat in a windswept seaside manor. And then someone is murdered!!

I liked this better than Silent Voices, and the narrator did a good job with the audiobook. It‘s a pick. However: Way too much of Vera‘s cranky interior dialogue. Also too much of some of the witnesses/ suspects calling her fat. #serieslove2026 #bookspin

Last but not least, December! The tagged book would have been among my favorites no matter what month it was read, but for this month it was no contest.

Inner Harbor was a page turner, and I appreciated the local setting, but the story was OTT.

The two anthologies were disappointing. I‘d started both previously (should have been a clue?) and wanted to clear them out by year-end. Blanket Cats was my #bookspin choice.

#wrapup #12booksof2025

I opened my planner for the first time in a couple days and realized I have a book club meeting about this on Friday! So I brought it with me to the restaurant to read while I watched the game. It‘s cute so far, and I got free dessert. #hyggehourreadathon

I didn‘t really like the end of the previous book, so I‘m looking forward to the next installment to see if she gets the story back on track. Scheduled publication date: April 28.

If you‘d like to answer this question, you can take a screenshot to post on your profile. Don‘t forget to tag @BookmarkTavern in your answer!

#sundayfunday

I had two favorites in November. One was last week‘s #sundayfunday entry, Separation of Church and Hate, which was also my favorite nonfiction of the year.

The other was the tagged book, which was also my favorite mystery of the year.

Meanwhile, my favorite fiction that was not a mystery was Starter Villain (from June).

#12booksof2025

Just a few more random thoughts from my StoryGraph 2025 Reading Wrap-Up thingy. Tagged book was the most shelved. I wonder if it would be the same on Goodreads?

Longest book was In the Unlikely Event at 512 pages. The book it took me the longest to finish was Emma. 😂

SG says I read 30 mysteries, my most read genre (by far). My spreadsheet also says I read 30 mysteries, but I don‘t know if they‘re the same ones!

#endofyear

WTAF? So nice to wake up to the news that the US has captured Maduro and his wife and spirited them out of the country. Now what?!?

1. It‘s 32F but I had a hankering for some iced coffee, and it‘s free today at a local coffee shop.
2. I‘m on the way home from a lovely social gathering with my book club.
3. My friends from NJ were here for New Year‘s Eve. We had a nice early dinner.
4. Yesterday they helped me go through my husband‘s electronic equipment. They took away two boxes for their use, filled a laundry basket of stuff to recycle, and advised me about the rest. ⬇️

Another set of quirky book data that I record is setting. This year more than half the books I read took place primarily in the US or the UK. Of the rest, 12 were set in many places or nowhere, and six were set in some fantasy realm.

The book that took place closest to my home was Inner Harbor, set almost entirely in Maryland.

The book that took place farthest away, if not in terms of actual distance then in remoteness, is Wild Dark Shorep.

This was my favorite read in September. I won‘t have a favorite for October. #12booksof2025

August was … not great. I liked this book, though. #12booksof2015

Last night I finished my 72nd and last book of 2025. I‘ll do all the fun stats and wrapups later. For now I want to mention one quirky thing that I track just for grins and giggles.

The oldest book by far that I read this year was Emma. Thank you #PemberLittens for the kick in the pants! This also means that I‘ve now read all six of Jane‘s novels. Emma was not my favorite!

We do not care that the phrase “turn the page” will always conjure Bob Seger, which shows our age. We did not plan to make a rhyme there, so enjoy that bonus! #wdncw

On a more serious note, I want to thank all you lovely Littens for your friendship and support this year. Thank you for the laughs, the hugs, the gifts, the rants, and of course…thank you for THE BOOKS.

We‘re halfway through #12booksof2025 so here‘s a recap. They‘re in a list because I‘ve been PicCollage challenged lately!
January: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
February: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
March: Sunrise on the Reaping
April: The Diamond Eye
May: The Great Deceiver
June: Starter Villain
JULY: Lula Dean‘s Little Library of Banned Books
It‘s not exactly subtle, but I enjoyed it!

Here‘s a podcast from Bookriot about how to read more in 2026, if you‘re so inclined. https://overcast.fm/+ABREHESoG3A

I have several specific reading goals that I won‘t bore you with, but overall I‘m going to make an effort to set aside dedicated reading time every day.

Foul mouthed dolphins and typing cats, in a story that skewers the mega wealthy. What‘s not to love? This is still one of my favorites for the year and was my favorite for June. #12booksof2025

I was a little late to the #bookspin game this year until I stumbled on a way to do it that wouldn‘t make me lose my mind managing it. 🤪

I just pick ten books, and for 2026 I will roll over to the next month whatever I don‘t read. It‘s a mix of library books and ones from my own shelf.

This book kind of flew under the radar and was hard to find for a while, but once I did it became my favorite book for May. #12booksof2025

I‘m finally circling back to this book after receiving my own copy from @Deblovestoread - very thoughtful!

#hyggehourreadathon

This was a co-favorite in November. The subtitle (a sane person‘s guide to taking back the Bible from fundamentalists, fascists, and flock-fleecing frauds) kind of says it all. #sundayfunday

I read this for #authoramonth and still think about it. Fascinating story in the capable hands of Kate Quinn. My favorite read in April. #12booksof2025

Whether you‘re reading a few series or one or several, you‘re welcome to join #serieslove2026 with @TheEllieMo and me.

I have book 8 of the Vera series on my shelf, and the tagged book is number 5. One of my goals is to get to number 8 this year!

March favorite. So good! #12booksof2025

February favorite #12booksof2025

I‘m slowly dipping a toe back into the #5joysfriday practice.
1. Tiramisu venturing out of her hiding place
2. Holiday leftovers
3. A church full of candlelight
4. Jolabokaflodswap
5. Watching Benoit Blanc with my family

Thank you to @TheEllieMo for continuing the tradition! My favorite book of January was this ridiculous rom-com/mystery. It may have been a little anticlimactic to read a holiday book in January (library holds!), but I enjoyed it a lot anyway. #12booksof2025

We do not care that it‘s still dark outside! We do not care that our time to enjoy chocolate while reading is hours away! It‘s Christmas Eve! We‘re opening our Litsy gifts now!

Thank you @Amiable for the #jolabokaflodswap package and thank you @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing!

#wdncw

Book 9 is a “hinge point” in the series and takes place at Christmastime. #sundayfunday

This collection of short stories really puts the dark in dark academia. No one story really stands out, and some are downright disturbing. I started this a while ago and had to return it to the library before I could finish.

With the advent calendar prompt of the #ChristmasCrimeChallenge I figured this was a good time to finish it already.

I didn‘t finish this in time for the new (to me) book club, and nothing I heard during the meeting made me want to run home and plow through the rest of it. I‘m sure it‘s fine—just not really my cup of tea.

I did, however, laugh out loud when the MC described Guinness as tasting like “angry marmite.”

Next month‘s selection, on the other hand, sounds very interesting.

Pink Martini sings a Sephardic Hanukkah song with guest singer Ari Shapiro. 🕎
#TuesdayTunes

https://youtu.be/y96k07d5Y5s?si=VWcuQXbvwjjbAzER

Tribute from Cary Elwes 😢

When the library reopened on Thursday, this book was also waiting for me on the holds shelf.

#hyggehourreadathon

My mom gave me a copy of this book when I was in high school. #sundayfunday

In the author‘s note he says that he‘s very intentional about not writing the same book over and over. He succeeds with this installment of the series. It‘s absolutely part of the same world, but it goes in a different direction from the previous books. Fern comes to Thune to open a bookstore next to her friend Viv‘s coffeehouse. Then things happen! Charming book.

My #jolabokaflodswap package is in the mail! I forgot to take a picture, so here is a local bridge, freshly painted and lit for the holiday.

If A Christmas Story had a soundtrack, I‘d have done better than 50% on this quiz! I blame the way my phone was jumping among all the pop up ads. 😉

Link to today's quiz: https://www.mentalfloss.com/quizzes/name-holiday-movie-by-soundtrack

#TakeThreeThursday

It‘s here! Can‘t wait to open it! #jolabokaflodswap

We do not care that you have the entire score of Handel‘s Messiah memorized. It was not an audience participation concert. We did not attend to hear you hum along for every moment including orchestra parts. You definitely didn‘t need to try to hum the complicated trills and runs. #wdncw

Just thinking about this book makes me cold! #sundayfunday

I only got 50% but that‘s okay. It was a fun quiz anyway!🤷🏻‍♀️
#TTT #TakeThreeThursday

Link to today's quiz: https://tinyurl.com/38b6uycw

We do not care that we could have called roadside assistance to fix the tire on the “spare” vehicle. You kindly offered to use the air compressor in the shop, and it saved us a lot of hassle. It pays to befriend the maintenance crew. #wdncw

Page turner, family melodrama and romance set in a fictional town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It‘s part of a series, but I didn‘t feel lost not knowing the previous stories. #authoramonth

In other news… Tiramisu has a quiet meow but purrs like a lawn mower. She also snores.

Introducing my new reading buddy, Tiramisu! She‘s three years old, and she was a good mama to her kitten but now wants to live a quiet life as an only cat. We‘re still adjusting to each other, but I‘m so happy to have a cat in the household again.

I‘m not sure yet how I feel about the tagged book. It‘s for a new book club…

#hyggehourreadathon

It‘s not really a genre, but I‘d like to work more graphic books into my reading. Same with audiobooks. #sundayfunday

Two favorites for November.
-Jimmy Perez returns in The Killing Stones
-John Fugelsang thoroughly lays out the case against Christian nationalism using biblical references and his unique form of humor. It may be “preaching to the choir” or it could be “teaching the choir how to sing.”
#wrapup

December #bookspin consists of books started previously and books that are part of series with a known end point. I read both of November‘s picks!