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!

The writing is lovely, but the story is too cynical and depressing for me. Bye-bye, Iran-Contra. #DNF #authoramonth

I liked this but not as much as I thought I would. It was good to catch up with Cash and Wheaton again. The mystery was interesting, and the background story was poignant. However, it didn‘t completely work for me in a way I can‘t quite identify. Still, I hope there‘s a book five.

Alas, this doesn‘t fit any #ChristmasCrimeChallenge prompts I haven‘t done already.

#bookspin #serieslove2025 #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

We do not care that you think we haven‘t moved fast enough to sell you our “spare” car. It‘s only been a month and a half! We‘ve never been in this situation before! We‘ve accomplished a lot just in getting everything out of the car. We haven‘t forgotten about you when you just live upstairs from us. There‘s no need to whine when you see us.

Besides, today we have more important things to do!
#wdncw

My hair stylist illustrated a book! Of course I preordered it.

https://growingwithglynn.com/shop/p/pre-order-adventures-of-crystal-forest-the-s...

My last #haikuaday was seven weeks ago when I saw a leaf fall from a tree while eating breakfast at a cafe before my haircut. I‘m back at the same cafe…eating breakfast before my haircut. #haikuhive

Seven weeks later
Looking through the same window
But so much has changed

My local library is having a week! My held copy of Brigands & Breadknives is sitting there until December, so I was happy when the tagged book became available on Libby. After all that and a busy weekend, it‘s nice to put up my feet and read for the evening. #hyggehourreadathon

We do not care that we are a day late for #wdncw because sometimes it happens that way.

We did not care that it took the entire trip around the lake to hear one story, because the tangents were delightful.

We especially enjoyed watching a squirrel run up a tree, taking stops for selfies and checking the birdsong app, and finding a giraffe teething ring hanging from a branch.

This was an entertaining and fast paced mystery. As others have said, there were too many POVs, and some characters were more compelling to spend time with than others. It‘s a pick, but I don‘t think I‘ll continue with the series if it turns into one. #bookspin

Edited to add: I will use this for the “present” prompt of #ChristmasCrimeChallenge since it doesn‘t fit any other category!

I took a brief getaway on Friday and didn‘t take a book with me. It felt strange. So this afternoon I picked up a haul at the library.

I‘m stuck at first place in the hold line one of my #bookspin selections, so I figured in the meantime I‘d start on the tagged book, which is the other selection.

Alexa is playing classical music for me, and a cup of tea is steeping.

#hyggehourreadathon

I actually finished this yesterday, but I‘m still gonna use it for the #ChristmasCrimeChallenge which starts today 😀

6. Snowflake: set during winter/in snow
The action starts during a storm in mid December, then it continues through the solstice and the Christmas holidays. There‘s not much snow, but it‘s definitely cold and dark and…mysterious.

This was due back at the library yesterday! I guess that makes it a good choice for #hyggehourreadathon tonight.

I read one chapter and decided it wasn‘t for me.

This sweet story about a fake murder and messy family business was exactly what I needed.

Let‘s try this again! Here‘s my November list properly edited. Since I‘m currently reading an English countryside murder mystery, I‘ll start with Marcie Rendon as my first #bookspin selection.

I‘m calling it for October. No favorite this month. #wrapup

I‘m back to spin some books in November! I can‘t manage twenty, but I can do ten. These were all new releases in 2025. #bookspin

We do not care that our panties were inside out all day yesterday. At least we were wearing them!

We tried going commando once. We dropped our panties on the wet floor in the locker room after swimming, so we had no choice. We did not like it.

#wdncw

Will there be #castthedie in November? Things went off the rails in October, but I did read one of the selected books. For me, the smaller number is easier to manage, so I‘ll continue on my own if applicable. Here‘s my list, containing standalone books published in 2025 that I never got around to reading. Number 11 is part of a series, but it works for Native American Heritage Month and will be the bonus pick.

I had fish and chips for dinner! No mushy peas, though. Broccoli instead.

When anyone asks me about Peru, I‘ll say that if I lived there I‘d weigh 500 pounds. The food is so good! My sister is currently there on vacation, and she texted me: You‘re not kidding about the food.

This beautiful corn, however, is not for eating but for dyeing alpaca wool!

#foodandlit

Compelling. Poignant. Thought provoking.

Interesting characters, not all fleshed out fully, but this made sense as we were seeing the world through the eyes of the MC.

Sad that it was her last book.

#authoramonth