Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday!!

I have now driven through 3 different snowstorms in traveling to my gym these past 2-3 weeks! It is a 40-mile commute and twice I have left with snow on the ground, but there is no snow at all on the ground or coming down just 30 miles from my house! Yikes! I dislike winter weather anyway! Just stay away!! LOL 😯😉

I allowed myself to spend a lot of time planning for 2025 challenges the last few days. I just get so excited doing this!! But now I’m concentrating yet once again on completing the 2024 Popsugar Challenge, though I still have 2 more books to read for IRL book club meetings next week and one is fairly long… I already told myself that if I don’t finish the 2024 challenge until January, that’s okay! Permission from me to me to relax the deadline! 😋

The January 2025 Monthly Group Read nomination poll is only available through this Saturday, December 14! See the specific link and information below!

Just a reminder of the 2024 NPR’s Books We Love listing: https://apps.npr.org/best-books/?utm_... I still have not perused this in detail since I know it will be a very worthwhile and yet time-consuming review! Hopefully it will prove helpful to 2025 planning!

ADMIN STUFF:
THE DECEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ IS The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #36 A Book Written By an Incarcerated Or Formerly Incarcerated Person
National Mudd Day is December 20! What is National Mudd Day, you may ask? It references a fascinating bit of history I doubt many of us know. Dr. Samuel Mudd was a doctor who helped John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirator David Herold immediately following Lincoln’s assassination on the night of April 14, 1865. Mudd performed surgery on Booth and allowed them to spend the night. He didn’t report the men’s visit for another 24 hours, though it was assumed he would have heard of the assassination well before that time. Mudd was arrested 12 days later and eventually convicted to a life sentence by a military commission for the crime of aiding and conspiring in a murder, missing the death penalty by only one vote!
Dubhease is the "End-of-Year Innovator" who has graciously volunteered to lead this discussion! YAY Dubhease! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Fingers crossed that I can handle this book! (You know…I’m such a wuss about anything scary/horror-like!)

THE JANUARY 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ NOMINATION POLL IS HERE!
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO TIME LIMITATIONS, this nomination poll will only be available through THIS Saturday, December 14! So just one week from today!! Then a FINAL SELECTION poll will be posted and also only available for one week, through Saturday, December 21! I can’t help it! I just get so excited over creating the listing for the year and then watching to see which books are selected! I almost get goosebumps!! 😉

THE LISTING OF 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!

The comprehensive listing of 2024 Monthly Group Reads resides HERE for your perusal and reference throughout 2024!
***

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What is/are your favorite 2025 prompt(s)?
Wow. So many! Seriously. I am impressed with next year’s challenge prompts yet again! I think there may be only 4 or 5 that I couldn’t make a positive case for, at least from my perspective!
1 A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma
My interpretation: Not that there may not be some difficulties to overcome, but ending with joy/on a positive note.
6 A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge
Clever!
9 A book that features a character going through menopause
Yes! Let’s get some more representation for older than 20s/30s women!!
12 A book about a road trip
I would have never imagined this one myself, but I think it is a good one, especially given the fact that I have owned Kris Radish’s Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral for years and never yet read it!! I am fascinated by the premise!
13 A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads
I think we often overlook ‘lesser-rated’ books to our own peril!
23 A book that is considered healing fiction
Admittedly, my favorite, since I adore these books!! I want to emphasize Stacy Sivinski’s The Crescent Moon Tearoom as one of these I meant to read this year and will definitely get to in 2025! Though I’ve not yet read it, I have met the author at another author’s event at one of our local used bookstores. She is located locally to me and I just can’t imagine I won’t love this book! (I had to miss her own author event at the same store because I taught at the gym that evening! (Boo! 🙄)
24 A book with a happily single woman protagonist
Yes! Not everyone wants to or needs to be MARRIED to be happy!! I adored my time as a single woman!
25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
My second most favorite! I admit I feel as if this year’s challenge doesn’t include many specific prompts targeting what I think of as books concentrating on more ‘diverse’ characters, subjects, etc., (Though that may just be my own misinterpretation...) so was especially thrilled with this one! There are so many people totally displaced from their homes/homelands in this world and I cannot
imagine living through that...especially lacking financial resources...
29 A book about a food truck
Fun!
41 A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile
I love the way this is so open-ended and dependent upon a reader’s
own interpretation! Fun!
50 A book that features a character with chronic pain
So many people deal with chronic pain in their lives. Perhaps especially as they age, but this can also be a lifelong battle for many, though only their closest friends and family may be aware of that… Again, what I perceive to be an overlooked theme.

2024 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 44/50
Around the Year (AtY): 52/52 DONE!
Read Harder: 19/24
52 Book Club: 47/52

FINISHED:
*Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret (Ernest Cunningham #3) by Benjamin Stevenson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for an IRL book club meeting Tuesday. We all enjoyed this one. The two of us who had read at least one of the first two installments in this series agreed this third installment was a bit lighter than the first two which were a bit darker and “grittier” (my term!). Stevenson’s masterful use of language is superb, IMO! And I adore the intermittent humor throughout his books. I feel there are few authors who even try to break that fourth wall, let alone are as successful at it as he is!
POPSUGAR: #21, #27, #31
ATY: #1, #3-A book set mostly in or around a building, #8, #15, #17, #21, #24-Orange and Green, #25, #27, #33, #37, #41, #44, #48, #51
RHC: #23, #24-2022: prompt #16 Recommended by a friend with different reading tastes
52 Book Club: #2, #6, #14, #19, #24, #29, #30, #32, #40, #47, NEW #48, #52

*The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for an IRL book club meeting this coming Sunday. This book was amazing! And just a debut novel! Immensely satisfying diversity among the four main characters and unexpected twists and turns!
POPSUGAR: #2, #11, #14, #17, NEW #43, #45
ATY: #3- A book with at least 247 pages, #5, #14, #17, #23, #24-Orange, Green, Purple, #33, #49
RHC: #24-2015: prompt #5 A book written by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ+
52 Book Club: #9, #10, #14, #19, #30, #40, #43, #45

CONTINUING:
*All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker for the IRL book club I facilitate. This is a behemoth, so am starting it much earlier prior to the meeting than usual! 😊
*Persuasion by Jane Austen (#43)
*The Trees by Percival Everett (#40)
*Shift (Wool #2) by Hugh Howey (#46)
*Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley (#28)
*Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
*The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
*Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking has me thinking so very much that I have delayed reviewing it until I can finalize my thoughts…
*The Birthing House by Kathy Taylor
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer

PLANNED:
*Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (#30)
*Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (#42)
*The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (#36)
*21st Birthday (Women’s Murder Club #21) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*22 Seconds (Women’s Murder Club #22) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*23rd Midnight (Women’s Murder Club #23) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*23 1/2 Lies (Women’s Murder Club #23.5) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*The 24th Hour (Women’s Murder Club #24) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*Fear No Evil (Alex Cross #29) by James Patterson
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

Happy Thursday!

2024 Reading Challenges:

52 Book Club: 52/52 – Yay!!! (December Mini-Challenge 3/3 – Yay!!!)
ATY: 51/52 (Winter Challenge 2/15 – I plan to finish the first 5 of these this year. The challenge doesn’t need to be completed until the end of February 2025)
Booklist Queen: 52/52 – Yay!!!
Diverse Baseline: 35/36
Popsugar: 50/50 – Yay!!!
Robot Librarian: 52/52 – Yay!!!
ICYMI Backlist: 12/12 – Yay!!!

Recently Completed:

The Wishing Game (ICYMI Backlist #12 – published in 2023) ★★★★

Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (Diverse Baseline #34 – book about intersectional feminism by a BIPOC author) ★★★

The Perfect Marriage: I loved Home Is Where the Bodies Are, but this one kinda went off the rails. ★★★

Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story ★★★

Looking for Smoke (ATY Winter Challenge #1 – a book that fits one of the last four prompts of the 2024 challenge: published in 2024) ★★★★

Private Revolutions: Four Women Face China's New Social Order ★★★★

We Will Be Jaguars (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Memoir of My People ★★★★

One Big Happy Family (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #2 – related to holiday harmonies) ★★★



Currently Reading:

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk: 2024 NPR Books We Love. (ATY Winter Challenge #4 – on a “Best of 2024” list)
All I Want Is You (ATY Winter Challenge #5 – set in the snow)
The Princess of Las Vegas
The Altruists (ATY Winter Challenge #3 – a mostly white cover)
Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed
Let the Games Begin: 2024 NPR Books We Love.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
Murder and Mamon (ATY #52 – a cozy mystery/Diverse Baseline #36 – a cozy mystery by a BIPOC author)
Our Infinite Fates: Goodreads Giveaway.



QOTW: I don't know that there are any prompts I'm particularly excited for... I'm just excited to start the new challenge! I'm really a mood reader, but I have slotted eight books into the challenge. I JUST WANT TO GET STARTED!!!

I'll probably start with the first four prompts, so those are the probably the prompts I'm most looking forward to.
1. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma: On the Rooftop, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
2. A book you want to read based on the last sentence: Beautiful Ugly, Alice Feeney
3. A book about space tourism: When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach, Ashlee Vance
4. A book with two or more books on the cover or book in the title: How to Read a Book, Monica Wood

Purchased TBR: 13/19
Checked out TBR: 6/9
Library Challeng:e 16/30
Non-fiction November: 12/22
Storygraph Nonfiction: 3/4
PS 2025: 5/50

Finished: The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex This was really thought-provoking.

Philosophers Take On the World This tackled some pretty extreme situations!

The Ship We Built This was pretty disturbing TW: abuse. But I was relieved it never described in detail the abuse. It was always lurking in the background though.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion As with many books, I was super excited by the beginning of this book, but my excitement petered out by the end. The main problem was that the author chose conservative values to evaluate people on and then analyzed liberals as having fewer values!

Started: Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop This is for the PS prompt healing fiction

QotW: Which also happens to be my favorite prompt! My next favorite is non-traditional education.

Ah! I totally forgot today was Thursday! Too much going on!

Hi all!! We are busy busy busy here! Last weekend we had a Girl Scout event at a local winter fest, then we got a tree, put the tree up, the tree fell down, put the tree back up and tied it! This weekend, my daughter has to practice being an angel for the local church Christmas pageant, we go see Santa, my BF and I go to his company Xmas party, then go to church and put on the pageant.... whew!
I also realized this week that my daughter has 12 days off school (counting the weekends in there) for Christmas break, and at the rate we're going, I think we'll all sleep for at least the first 2! Other than that... I'm not sure what I'll do to keep her busy.

I didn't finish any books this week, but I have made sure to make some time to read. Mostly I've been working on Pointe. It's due today and I still have 130 pages left (whoops). I'm using it for female athlete, but it (slowly) dawned on me the other day that the MC's best friend is, thus far, nonverbal due to trauma. There's a lot of heavy stuff in this book besides that, but so far, it's been good.
I listened to a few more chapters in The Fox Wife, but I may have let too much time go by since I last listened as I wasn't quite sure what was going on at first.
I also picked up The Suspect. It's the basis for the show Murder in a Small Town (which I haven't watched, but looks good). It's set on a body of water, and it also has someone die in the first chapter if you need that still.

QOTW: I really like almost all of the prompts, but my favorite is an overlooked woman in history. I have no idea what book I'll use for it, but I'm going to have a lot of fun looking! :D

Finished:

Murder Takes the Stage (4/5, book satisfies the 2015 prompt for a book set in another country (England))

Architects of Infinity (3/5, reread, book satisfies the 2024 prompt for a book set in space)

Question of the Week:

I am very interested to see what appears for "a book set a luxury resort" and "a book about space tourism."

Happy Thursday! I was selected for my first book club at ‘Hebban’, the reading community of the National Dutch Book Promotion. We are reading The Night of the Scourge: The Sister Bells Trilogy Vol. 3 by Lars Mytting. I really loved the first 2 parts, so I’m really excited to read this one.

FNL: 39/40
PS: 20/40
Total: 64/52
DNF: 1

Finished
Nothing

Currently reading
What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service by Melissa Fitzgerald
Terra di Sicilia. Die Rückkehr des Patriarchen by Mario Giordano

QOTW
I love the prompt ‘a book about an overlooked woman in history’. Because it’s about 2 of my favorite themes: history and feminism. Overall, I’m just not that fond of the list.

Happy Thursday!

My partner's been fighting a fever all week, so things have been a little crazy here. He's at the urgent care this morning with his mom while I'm at work, so please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Finished:
My final 2024 prompt: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed - 4 stars - for Robot Librarian's novelization of a film. It was good, but I kept putting it down because I already knew how it would end from seeing the film.

Comics/manga:
Chihayafuru, Vol. 15
Chihayafuru, Vol. 16

Currently reading:
Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire - no prompt

Upcoming/Planned:
Nothing right now... I'm just mood reading for the rest of December. I'll probably pick up my first 2025 book after Xmas.

QOTW:
I'm pretty happy with most of the prompts. I'm particularly looking forward to healing fiction, road trip, PoC joy, and an overlooked woman in history.

Hello from Columbus and happy Thursday! I missed last weeks check in so this’ll be two weeks of books. My car battery died last week so I had to do a lot of scrambling to arrange rides and for someone to change the battery where my car was parked. Car problems are the worst.

Finished:
Skeleton Song not for a challenge, a super short story that’s apart of the wayward children series. I especially enjoyed this because within the series I’ve always been most drawn to the “darker” worlds, and it doesn’t get more girlie goth than a skeleton princess.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul for a book from a genre I usually avoid. Sci Fi isn’t my thing, but Douglas Adams certainly is. I don’t think I enjoyed this as much as the first Dirk Gently book, but I still thought it was very funny and enjoyable. I wish we could have gotten a few more books in this series.

The Shadow of the Wind for a book riot prompt. I read this thinking I checked it out simply because I wanted to reread it but I guess I had actually slipped it into a challenge. I really, really love this book and the whole series. I love ‘s work and this is another author I feel was taken entirely too soon. I say this all the time but my favorite niche genre are books that involve mysteries around media, like lost media, cursed media, etc. As much as I love them, I always feel let down because I so badly want to experience the books or movies written about but alas.

Currently Reading:
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return
House of Leaves
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible

Challenges:
Popsugar - 42/45; 3/5
Read Harder - 22/24
Classics - 11/12
European Tour - 11/10
12 Friends - 12/12
Yearly Goal - 150/150

QOTW:
I always like the prompts that are a book you got at a specific place or under a certain circumstance. So this year the book for free will be fun because I always end up finding really cool books on hunts like that.

Happy Thursday! Can't believe we're already on day 12 of December. How is it Christmas Eve is just 12 days away and Christmas 13?!

Weather has been great. Finally temps below the 60s which has been awesome.

School is finally done! Just have a couple of technical things to make sure I get sighed up for next term, but after that I have a lot of me time now.

Trying to put together my January reads list.

Book News:

Finished:

Sincerely, Your Autistic Child - 4 star. Loved this book. I could relate to so much of it.

Encounter in the Desert- 4 star. Interesting story.

*****

Currently Reading:

Station Eleven- 58% done. This is a re-read for me, but it's the first time I'm annotating it and I'm having a blast. It's so much better with the annotations. I love this book in general, but I'm having more fun this time around than I did the first time in 2021 when I read it when the series came out. I'll finish this re-read by this weekend.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 19% done. I've never read HP before. To read it as a 36 yr. old is a bit strange, but it was just one series I never had time for. It's interesting so far. About to start chapter 6. I'm hoping it picks up now that (view spoiler)[Hagrid told Harry about his heritage and he's about to start at Hogwarts (hide spoiler)]

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America - 10% done here, but enjoying it. Lots of information.

Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion- 4% done. This book is 587 pages so I don't expect to finish it by the time December is over. I'm counting it though even though it's more of a reference.

*****

What is/are your favorite 2025 prompt(s)?

Excellent question. I'm actually excited for the 2025 challenge because there's more leeway for nonfiction reads. I printed out the list and highlighted my favorites. Placing them in order from the top favorites and then working my way down.

1. Highly anticipated read of 2025: I have my book chosen for this one. Morphenomenal: How the Power Rangers Conquered the World . As an OG Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fan, I am so stoked for this book. It's being released in April and I already got it pre-ordered.

2. A book with a snake on the cover: With Sunrise on the Reaping being released in March, which I got pre-ordered, this was a no brainer.

3. A book about an overlooked woman in history: I told myself one of my goals for 2025 was to read more space history so for this one I've chosen The Six: The Extraordinary Story of the Grit and Daring of America's First Women Astronauts

4. A book that reminds you of your childhood: I haven't read Speak in a while and that was one of my favorite novels in high school.

5. A book set in or around a body of water: A group I'm in is reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage . I saw this book a lot this year and finally caved on it.

6. A book you got for free: This is TBD on the book choice, but I'm hoping I end up with some books for Christmas this year and if that happens I'll add them to this prompt.

7. A book with a title that starts with the letter Y Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything. Pre--ordered this book months ago so it seems fun.

8. A book that includes a nonverbal character: Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs . The prompt doesn't say it has to be a nonverbal character so I'm taking it as to include wildlife too.

9. A book about soccer: I'm gonna try to see if I can find Indigenous athletes. If I can't I'll probably go with Megan Rapinoe's book One Life

10. A book where nature is the antagonist: I have several to chose from so I don't know what I'll go with yet.

Hard to believe Christmas will be over in two weeks! I got my tree up and decorated over the weekend, but I still have a lot of shopping to do, not to mention Christmas crafting.
The weather over here has been frightful, with three solid days of rain, but today we finally got some sun. I wouldn't mind getting some snow, as the little bit we got last week is all gone by now.

Finished:
When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement!, Vol. 3 - I continue to enjoy this one, although I wish we'd heard more from Annette in this volume.
The Elven Days of Christmas - A fun Christmas romance, though a little spicier than I would have liked. And the narrator occasionally got meta, but not enough to make it work. But other than that, I enjoyed this one.
The Pirate Princess - (A book about pirates) I was waiting for this book to fulfill this prompt, but it was not worth the wait. The plot was way too choppy, and the art was often too stylized to tell who was doing what. At least it was a quick read.
I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World (Manga), Vol. 1 - The premise sounded cute, but the story jumped forward in time too much to get a good feel for the world or characters. I won't be continuing this series.

Currently reading:
The Monkey's Wrench
One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America
The Mythic Dream
I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times

QOTW: I don't know about excited to read, but I was most excited to see A Book Mentioned in Another Book on the list, since I've wanted it to be a prompt since I started doing this challenge a few years ago.

Only just realised it's nearly Christmas, what with various health issues, stormy weather, and a death in my partner's family, it hasn't felt that festive this year. I did manage to reserve a turkey from a local farm so at least we have something to eat over the holidays!

I only finished one book again, The Legacy of Arniston House by T.L. Huchu. I just wasn't feeling this one much. There was less mystery than the other books and it felt a bit slow.

QOTW:
I'm looking forward to space tourism and nature as the antagonist. I haven't seen either of these as prompts before and they lend themselves to the types of books I enjoy.

Happy Thursday, y’all.

No snow here in this portion of SC. I do really miss snow for winter, and we have had several long cold (below freezing) times that would have supported snow. At least it has gotten cold enough for sweaters. I am finally getting winter clothing out and putting summer away.

I have ordered the gifts for distant family and given the local friends theirs. So…I am done. (Can you tell that I am not a big fan of this season?)

I have finalized my Japan trip. I am still not as excited as I would like to be, but it is now done and something to look forward to. Instead I have been wishing to go back to Scotland and am also planning a lower Mississippi cruise for 2026.

I have basically finished planning for both Popsugar and ATY for 2025. I did leave a couple of prompts, for 2025 publications and one for a book obtained free, unplanned at this time, but I expect them to be filled rather fast once the new year gets here.

I have managed to make my healthcare changes (insurance, that is) and have made decisions about cancelling unused memberships (i.e. Duolingo, etc.). All but one credit cards are paid off and that one will be completed soon in the new year.

Finished:
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – ALCM, PS #28. 4*. I rather liked both sisters.

The Barren Grounds – 3*. No challenge. Not sure why I picked up this book. It was interesting without really engaging me.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives – 4*. No challenge. Another book that ended up on my TBR for an unknown reason. I did enjoy the book but will probably not continue the series.

Motif for Murder – ALCM. 4*. A quick, cute cozy mystery.

One Good Turn – ALCM, PAS. 4* I vacillated between 3* and 4*. Finally settled on the latter since the author did bring the various scattered threads together right at the end with a surprise.

Aunt Bessie Goes – Audible. ATY #49. 4*. Continuation of a series. Cozy mystery.

Just Starting:
Palindrome – PAS
Children of the Mind – PAS
Lessons in Chemistry – ATY #50, PAS
The Women – ATY #51

On Deck:
Kate: The Journal of A Confederate Nurse – PAS.
The Pony Wife – PAS
Moving Target - PAS

PS 39/50
ATY 49/52
GR 209/200 Finished!

QotW: What is/are your favorite 2025 prompt(s)?

I am not sure that I have a favorite. I certainly liked the creativeness of space tourism (hadn't heard of that writing), nontraditional education, and healing fiction (another that I had not heard of).

Happy Thursday, all!

Our library has reopened! It's been crazy, but it's also been nice seeing people return to the library and ooh and aah over the new paint and carpet. Just hope we don't have to do this again anytime soon, hehe...

Books read this week:

Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time -- a bit self-indulgent at times, but also a powerful look at how both music and grief can change our lives.

We'll Always Have Paris: Stories -- I love Ray Bradbury, so it was disappointing that this story collection fell so flat. What happened, Ray?

Shadow Weaver -- middle-grade fantasy novel with a slightly darker edge to it.

Currently reading:

Airwoman
Scarlet Odyssey
Weird Kid

QOTW:

I'm looking forward to the "book about an LGBTQ person that isn't about coming out" -- queer people deserve more stories than just "coming out" stories. Also the "mythical creature that's not a dragon" and "neurodivergent author" prompts.

Happy Thursday!  

It's not so happy, because my furnace stopped working AGAIN - it's been chugging along so well all this autumn, and then ... kaput.  The gas valve is not getting the signal to open.  When we ordered a new module, we discovered the last time we got it was Dec 10, 2023 - weird coincidence!!   Luckily it's been fairly warm this week, so we've managed okay without a furnace.  UNTIL TODAY BRRRRRR!   I've got two space heaters running so we are managing to not literally freeze.  I hope that stupid module arrives soon!!! (Why don't I just buy a new furnace?? I don't know. Because it's a hassle? Because then I'd have to clean out my basement to make room for the work? Because I like to run things into the dirt before I replace them?)

And it's also happy because I am FINALLY done with a NetGalley book that I was slogging through.  Phew!!  So happy to be done with that!!!  Normally I would have DNFed when I'm not having a good time, but I feel like I owe it to the publisher to finish and give a fair review.  I wonder what they'd prefer?  A one star review? or a DNF & no review at all?  I assume they prefer the one star review, because plenty of times I've used one star reviews to help me decide to read a book.

My Woo Do-Hwan obsession continues. (If you remember from last week, he's the star of the new Netflix K-Drama, "Mr Plankton.")  This man is FINE.  And he's in his 30s so I don't feel like a creep for mooning over him.   I've never loved watching boxing more than when I'm watching him in "Bloodhounds" - that's how amazing he is, he got me to enjoy boxing.  All this time I've spent watching him is impacting my reading time, but ... c'est la vie.  



This week I finished 2 books.

Malice by Keigo Higashino - this was super clever!!  It's my second book by Higashino, and I'm now determined to read all of them. (By the way, there are quite a few books titled "Malice" so if anyone wants to read this next year, you could fit it in as a one of two books with the same title.)

Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan - this was my NetGalley struggle book, I started it in late October and finally finished it now; so slow.  This would have been a powerful short story, but as a novel, it was just ... blah.  ymmv.  A lot of people like this sort of thing.  I wish her much success! (This would work for "near a body of water" if it looks like a book you might want to read.)


Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 80% 8 /10
AtY 100% 52 /52
2024 pub 126% 63 /50
NetGalley ratio 80%




QotW
TBH I am not experiencing love-at-first-sight for any of the new categories, I'm feeling rather "mid" about the list in general.  I supposed my favorite is "under 250 pages" because I love short books!

I'm taking my time researching and filling up my list of ideas, so I've still got quite a few blank spaces.  It's possible a few categories will emerge as favorites once I'm done digging into all of them.

Thanks to Erica (again!) I've got The Yakuza's Bias, Volume 1 lined up for my "KPop book" for the "repeat a 2024 category" - I really loved all the KPop books I ended up reading this year, so this should be fun - my local library doesn't have it, but I found it on Libby in e-book form, I can work with that.  I'm excited to read it, so I guess that's sort of a favorite category.

And I've decided to read the two books with the same title right away, since one of the "All Through the Night" books is Christmas-themed.  The other one by Connie Brockway has been on my TBR for YEARS and I just never got around to reading it.  This is my year!  I will read it right away!  And to my SHOCK and HORROR, my local library did not have that EITHER!!   But I had some Kindle credits so I got the e-book free from Amazon.   So maybe the "same title" is a sort of favorite right now.

Happy Thursday! Work has been absolutely brutal this week. I can’t wait for Friday 5pm. Fortunately, I have fun stuff planned this weekend to look forward to.

Now that we’re only a couple weeks away from Christmas, I decided it was time to start watching Christmas movies and putting together Christmas puzzles, and of course, reading Christmas books. I picked Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology as my festive short story anthology to read before bed on these cold, dark winter nights.

Finished
Blood of Tyrants. The first half of the book was pretty boring, and I don’t understand the point of Laurence having amnesia. The second half was a lot more fun to read, even though Napolean is once again outwitting our heroes on every front. I’m excited for the next and final book in the series.

Reading
Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology

As The Crow Flies

QOTW
Two books with the same title! I loved that pair of prompts the first time around, and it’s a repeat I’m happy to see again. I have no idea what I’m going to read for them though, of course.

Happy Thursday!

I had to do book re-arranging. I had planned on having 2 books of one series for similar covers and 1 book of a series for next book in a series. Due to the postal strike (now in its 4th week), I still don't have my interlibrary loan. So, I had to reserve the series because at least my kids own the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

I think I'm signing up for 40 prompts next year. This year, I only did 30, so 40 will stretch me. (At least there are children's books for prompts I think are dumb.)

Finished:
Dog Days
ATY prompt: Two books with similar covers
Popsugar prompt: none

Series - 12/12 - Finished!
Nobel laureates - 6/5 - Finished!
Mysteries/Thrillers - 13/13 - Finished!

ATY - 51/45 - finished!
PS - 33/30 - finished!
Summer - 12/12 - Finished!

Currently reading:
The Man in the Brown Suit -70%

Buddy Reads:
none at present

QOTW: In order of numbering and not attachment, I love:

A book that features a character going through menopause
(It's an important topic that rarely gets discussed)

A book set at a luxury resort (I have the perfect book for it and it isn't a prompt I've seen a zillion times)

A book about an overlooked woman in history

A book with a title that starts with the letter Y
(Only because I tried hard to get a Y prompt into ATY but no one would vote for it.)

Happy Thursday! This week flew by and I still have shopping to do 😱 Books aside, we watched the new Keira Knightley Netflix miniseries, Black Doves - excellent across the board, and I finally got around to listening to Kendrick Lamar’s new album GNX. I love that SZA got multiple features! The pair of them did a really fantastic interview in Harper’s Bazaar back in October and I really love their friendship. SUPER bummed about baseball - the Guardians traded Andres Gimenez, one of my favorite players and probably the best defensive 2B in all of baseball. Cleveland’s longtime radio commentator Tom Hamilton won the Ford C Frick award for announcing after being a 4x finalist, which is awesome, but… I’m gonna be sad about losing ‘Dres for awhile. I have space for both.

My IRL book club read The Briar Club and discussed over a dinner party last week - we didn’t make any of the in-book recipes, but our host prepared two different soups and it was cozy and wonderful.

Finished this week:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - 4 stars. Charming, and I loved catching the through-lines between the original novel, the film, the Maguire novel, and the Wicked musical. I’m still not sure if I’ll read all the other 13 (!!) Oz books, but I’m glad I finally read this one.

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray - 5 stars. I found the recently-released Uncensored version on audio and loved it just as much as the previously-published edition - probably more thanks to the choice to put Wilde’s original work out there, as he’d intended. What a fearless man he was. Eduardo Ballerini narrates and he’s wonderful.

PS 47/50
ATY 50/52
Mount TBR 32/48

Currently:
Calculated Risks - I don’t generally do well with other planets/dimensions, and the inclusion of massive spiders is always a personal No Thank You, but I appreciate the massive ramifications of Sarah’s character evolution.

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy - getting back to this ASAP, InCryptid has had my attention since I got back into town.

The Republic of Thieves - I circled back to this over the weekend and I’m hoping to get through another chunk on Saturday. Minimal office wi-fi is really cramping my audiobook style lately.

Rust in the Root - excited to finally pick this up!

QOTW: What is/are your favorite 2025 prompt(s)?
2 - Book you want to read based on the last sentence
I have a “final sentences in classic literature” mug and I’m so excited to pick one I haven’t read before (or even a reread, there’s plenty to choose from)!

11 - Book mentioned in another book
I don’t read too many contemporary books but I love the ones I do pick up because they’re always full of pop culture references and cross-referencing each other. This will be fun!

13 - Rated less than 3 stars on GR
I have a handful of indie books that don’t have GR ratings at all so I’m looking forward to reading one of those!

35 - LGBTQ+ characters that’s not about coming out
This one and the POC joy (1) are paired together in my mind, I will always happily do prompts like these

Totally forgot it was Thursday!

Still one book to go.

Finished:
Murder in the Sentier
Fossil: An African Wildlife Mystery

Currently reading:
The Duke Who Despised Christmas

QOTW: Lordy, I haven't read it fully yet!!

Happy Thursday! At work this week, we had three days of nonstop meeting, which meant that today was just trying to get all the work done I hadn't been able to get to. So definitely looking forward to the weekend! Tonight I'm going to a show with a friend- we wound up getting free tickets to see a kpop show coming into town. Which I'm really excited for- heading out soon!

Down to two prompts for 2024- will be starting The Picture of Dorian Gray this weekend

Finished:
After That Night- I really liked this book, it took me forever to finish it because it was making me so upset. It's been a while since I've read Karin Slaughter, I think next year I'll pick up the last few I haven't gotten to
-49 The 24th book of an author

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999, Vol. 1- a silly romcom manga, picked this up as a break from the Karin Slaughter book
-no prompt

Currently reading:
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers- will finish by the weekend

QotW:
I really like most of the prompts this time around (other than ai), even if I'm not sure what I'll read for them.

A few faves are "nature is the antagonist" "healing fic" and "two books, same name"

Also "book on the cover or title"- cause I was one of the people who suggested that! (literally just as an excuse ot finally read book lover...)

Happy Thursday! Yesterday it rained all day long. But today was clear skies! I got my Christmas tree and decorated it this week. Every year I'm grateful that my cat completely ignores the tree. But I love watching videos online of all the other cats who don't.

Finished:

Iron Flame (ATY wings on cover) 3 stars. I liked it but not as much as the first book.

All My Friends are Superheroes (ATY related to air) 3 stars. This was clever however I wish it was a little longer.

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself (PS complete sentence title) 2 stars. I think this was just not what I was expecting out of this book. I did think the author illustrated dealing with grief very well.

Currently reading:

Silver Nitrate (PS horror by BIPOC author)

Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—And a Love Letter to a Way of Life (PS deaf author)

QOTW: My favorite prompts are the ones that I haven't seen before like the food trucks, run clubs, and non traditional education. I also really like the 2 books with the same title prompt.

I finished one book, Life, the Universe and Everything. Not sure if prompts, no time this week.
Stalled at 6 books needed to complete this challenge.

QOTW:
I'm book named in a book, reminds you of childhood, and interconnected stores. I’m also intrigued by less than 3 stars…I often disagree with ratings so maybe I’ll find a book I love?

Before the 2025 list I didn't even know what it was meant by "healing fiction". I had to look it up. Came across The Midnight Library though on a list of examples of healing fiction. I haven't read that one in a long while so it might be fun to do a re-read of it since it's one of the few books I liked in the world of fiction.

I came across other healing fiction book examples but none have really captured my eye yet.

*****

Slowly starting to plan out my January TBR. Got a couple weeks to go so I'll share my list that week of Dec.30-Jan.4. I have 3 priority reads and the others are going to be books I pick out from prompts from my TBR vending machine.

Good morning, everyone!

Back at the beginning of September, I decided to take a break from posting on Goodreads to work on my mental health. Since we're getting close to the end of the year, I thought this would be a good time for me to return and post an update.

As far as my mental health is concerned, I am doing okay. I have managed to get over the depression I was dealing with, and I am officially off the antidepressant I was taking. Ironically, I actually feel better now that I'm not taking the medication anymore, since I have energy again. The OCD is still a daily struggle, and will continue to be, but I have a wonderful therapist who is really helping.

Reading-wise, I have managed to finish quite a few books over the past few months. It's been really nice to read without trying to meet any goals or expectations, which I think is something I needed.

I have, of course, taken a look at next year's Reading Challenge prompts to see if I want to participate. Unfortunately, the challenge just isn't going to fit with my overall reading plan for next year. I really want to focus on books that interest me in 2025, focusing mostly on reading books I already own.

I am planning to get back into posting regularly as we finish out the year though, and will definitely participate in next year's discussions, even if I'm not actively participating in the challenge itself.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Welcome back, KL! Glad you are feeling better!

Over all, K.L., it sounds good! I think participating at any level will be welcome.

K.L. wrote:

As far as my mental health is concerned, I am doing okay. I have managed to get over the depression I was dealing with, and I am officially off the antidepressant I was taking. Ironically, I actually feel better now that I'm not taking the medication anymore, since I have energy again. The OCD is still a daily struggle, and will continue to be, but I have a wonderful therapist who is really helping.

That's awesome. Glad your mental health is getting better and is a work in progress. I went off my bipolar meds this year. I was misdiagnosed as bipolar, but I got my official autism diagnosis in January which was the greatest news ever. Have not been on meds since then and it's been great!

ooops forgot what day of the week it was. I managed a handful of (disappointing) reads this past week

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke had food in every scene. Including the murder. Including the autopsy. so dumb

Blue Baby Carolyn Arnold the main FBI character is so misogynistic I was shocked this was written by a woman.

Dinghai Fusheng Records Vol. 1 by Fei Tian Ye Xiang. I wanted to see if Chinese Boy's Love manga was different from Japanese. Nope. Still all pretty men, unrealistic depictions of LGBT life and light on the plot. (The art is very pretty though)

QOTW
Fair question since last week I was whining about what I didn't like

One’s that are slightly challenging IMO:
A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons (I read a ton of fantasy)
A book with a happily single woman protagonist (because I read a lot of mysteries)
a book where an adult character changes careers (the premise of half the cozy mysteries out there)
A book that features an unlikely friendship
A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline
A book about an overlooked woman in history (literally what I’m just coming off sabbatical from studying)

And these are Because you can pick just about anything:
A book you got for free
A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge
A book set in or around a body of water
A highly anticipated read of 2025 (since I get a lot of arcs)
A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over
A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out (honestly 10-15 years ago this would have been hard but almost all the LGBT stories these days are not about coming out)
A classic you've never read (I try to do this yearly anyhow)

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! This week flew by and I still have shopping to do 😱 Books aside, we watched the new Keira Knightley Netflix miniseries, Black Doves - excellent across the board, and I finally got a..."

that mug sounds like fun

Cornerofmadness wrote: "... Devil's Food Cake Murder by Carolyn Arnold the main FBI character is so misogynistic I was shocked this was written by a woman. ..."



That is how I felt about the first book in this series, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. I had to DNF because I couldn't take it. I think Joanne Fluke hates women.

You've got the wrong author there, it's not Carolyn Arnold. Unless you've got the wrong title, and Carolyn Arnold hates women too!!

K.L. wrote: "Good morning, everyone!

Back at the beginning of September, I decided to take a break from posting on Goodreads to work on my mental health. Since we're getting close to the end of the year, I tho..."


Welcome back, glad you're doing well!

Ashley Marie wrote: "2 - Book you want to read based on the last sentence
I have a “final sentences in classic literature” mug and I’m so excited to pick one I haven’t read before (or even a reread, there’s plenty to choose from)!..."




That mug sounds perfect for next year's challenge!! What are some of the last sentences on it?

Jennifer W wrote: "Welcome back, KL! Glad you are feeling better!"

Bea wrote: "Over all, K.L., it sounds good! I think participating at any level will be welcome."

Nadine in NY wrote: "Welcome back, glad you're doing well!"

Thank you all so much! It's really nice to be back!

Ron wrote: "That's awesome. Glad your mental health is getting better and is a work in progress. I went off my bipolar meds this year. I was misdiagnosed as bipolar, but I got my official autism diagnosis in January which was the greatest news ever. Have not been on meds since then and it's been great!"

Thanks so much, Ron! I'm glad to hear that you're doing better off of the bipolar meds. It's such a tricky process to find the right ones, since everyone's brain reacts differently to them...especially if someone misdiagnoses you.

QOTW: A book mentioned in another book (looking forward to the scavenger hunt). A book about a road trip (love travel lit).

K.L. wrote:

Thanks so much, Ron! I'm glad to hear that you're doing better off of the bipolar meds. It's such a tricky process to find the right ones, since everyone's brain reacts differently to them...especially if someone misdiagnoses you.

Exactly. My psychiatrist didn't agree with my therapist or the psychologist who diagnosed me with autism, but that doesn't matter. Been off the meds and I haven't had any issues anymore and after what I've learned since last August, the autism diagnosis is the correct one, I'm sure of it. Everything has come into place. I have clarity about myself and who I am.

*****

On another note, went to the bookstore and picked up 3 books. Now that school is over for a bit, I deserved a little me time. Then ordered one online. These were the 4 I got in all:

What to Say Next: Successful Communication in Work, Life, and Love―with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism- Currently started this one and it's going to be a good read. 10 pages in and I can already tell.

60 Songs That Explain the '90s

The Midnight Library- Have this one in hardback, but I wanted the paperback copy. Since I'm using it for the PS prompt 'healing fiction', I figured I deserved a new copy.

*****

That brings me to the prompts. For the one 'author who is neurodivergent' I was originally going to read Strong Female Character, but I'll hold off on that one. I'm instead going to use What to Say Next: Successful Communication in Work, Life, and Love―with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Then for the prompt 'music plays an integral part of the storyline' I'll be using 60 Songs That Explain the '90s . I checked out the Songs Discussed section that's at the beginning of each chapter and I'm familiar with a lot of them. I grew up in the 90s (born in the late 80s, it's kind of confusing when you're a 90s kid, but an 80s baby). Anyways, this book seems like a lot of fun so I think I'm going to enjoy it.

That 90s book looks like a good one. I've added it to my TBR. I was born in the early 80s, so 90s music was my teen years. And it was the *best* music (hill I will die on!!).

QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO USES THAT CHALLENGE TRACKER:


I just set up the new one for the 2025 Challenge, I set the dates to run from Jan 1st through Dec 31st, 2025, because that's what I do. (But I don't actually use the tracker!) Then I remembered several of our members start as soon as the new list drops. For those of you who do that, do you also use the tracker? I can change the dates to start Dec 2, 2024. I don't think it affects anything else.

Happy Friday. It's the ATY read-a-thon this week, so I managed quite a few books.

Stats
DBC: 32/36
(I've finished all my other challenges)

Books I finished:

The Picture of Dorian Gray ⭐⭐⭐
I'd always had this on my loose classics TBR, so when the group picked it as the monthly book, I knew I had to join in. I'm glad I did, although the book frustrated me a bit when the author would go off on tangents or over-describe things.

Agnes Grey ⭐⭐⭐
This was nice, but kind of forgettable. All it did was make me want to reread Jane Eyre.

Starfish ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was well done, but it brought up a lot of negative memories for me which makes it impossible for me to give it a 5.

One Fell Sweep Dramatized Adaptation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The other voices have grown on me, but the person they got to do Helen's voice just did not work for me. It sounded like an adult putting on a fake baby-voice.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I wasn't as crazy about the last one, but this one was back to form for me. Now I might actually have to get around to watching the show....

Best Canadian Essays 2025 ⭐⭐⭐
This was short, and it's a read-a-thon. Plus the editor's name starts with a U, which I needed to finish off a spell out in another group. Some of the essays were great, some were a waste of (my) time.

Perfect World, Vol. 5 & Perfect World, Vol. 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm fully caught in the romance of this series. I will finish this series before the year is out.

Magic Bites Dramatized Adaptation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cuz my library hold came in quicker than I was expecting.

In Progress
The Songbird & the Heart of Stone
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (reread)
Lonely Castle in The Mirror

QotW
Healing Fiction. I wasn't sure what that meant, but then I looked it up and it happens to be the name of the genre for all the books I've been reading.... So now I have an entire listopia to use as a checklist.😁

Kendra wrote: "The Picture of Dorian Gray ⭐⭐⭐
I'd always had this on my loose classics TBR, so when the group picked it as the monthly book, I knew I had to join in. I'm glad I did, although the book frustrated me a bit when the author would go off on tangents or over-describe things.

Agnes Grey ⭐⭐⭐
This was nice, but kind of forgettable...."



LOL Agnes Grey is the reason I can never spell Dorian Gray correctly!!

If it helps Nadine, I once saw someone accidentally spell it Dorian Gay ... which given some of the themes was an amusing slip.

How is it this close to the holidays already??? I have so much to do and I feel like I'm running out of time. I also still have 4 books to read for the challenge.

Challenges:
81/75 GoodReads Challenge
46/50 PopSugar Challenge

Finished:
1.) Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood (#22 - Video games) ⭐⭐⭐: Short little novella that was just good enough to hook me into these characters.

2.) If I Had Your Face Frances Cha (#5 - Kpop) ⭐⭐⭐⭐: I really enjoyed this one - great character study of 4 women living in the same building in South Korea.



Currently Reading:
1.) XOXO
2.) Angel Falls



QoTW: What is/are your favorite 2025 prompt(s)?
I always appreciate the easy ones like the prompt from last year, and one published in 2025, I like a classic you haven't read yet, because I have a long list of those - so will be a nice excuse to get one of those off my list.

Cornerofmadness wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! This week flew by and I still have shopping to do 😱 Books aside, we watched the new Keira Knightley Netflix miniseries, Black Doves - excellent across the board..."

Check out the Unemployed Philosophers Guild!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Cornerofmadness wrote: "... Devil's Food Cake Murder by Carolyn Arnold the main FBI character is so misogynistic I was shocked this was written by a woman. ..."



That is how I felt about the firs..."

i got the wrong author there, blue baby is Carolyn Arnold and that was very misogynistic

the devil food cake murder was Joanne Fluke it was just stupid, when you're asking if he got to enjoy your cake before he was killed....

Just finished Station Eleven

This was my 3rd time reading it since 2021 when I discovered the book via the series adaptation.

I don't read a lot of fiction, but this remains my favorite of all-time.

This was my first time annotating this book and that made a huge difference. Had a whole different and new perspective. Things in my personal life have changed since 2021 so I saw certain moments in the book differently than I did back then.

In 2021 I rated this book a 5-star. That still holds up. If I could rate it any higher I certainly would. I found myself with tears in my eyes when it was over which was a reaction I never had before.

Incredible book!

Nadine in NY wrote: "That mug sounds perfect for next year's challenge!! What are some of the last sentences on it?"

Mug quotes!

'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' - The Great Gatsby

'He was soon borne away by the waves and and lost in darkness and distance.' - Frankenstein

'"Well, I'm back," he said.' - The Return of the King

'One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, "Poo-tee-weet?"' - Slaughterhouse-Five

'That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is ended.' - Crime and Punishment

'It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan.' - Moby-Dick or, The Whale

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known." - A Tale of Two Cities

'I been there before.' - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

'The Martians stared back up at them for a long, long silent time from the rippling water....' - The Martian Chronicles

"After all, tomorrow is another day." - Gone with the Wind

'"Excellently observed," answered Candide; "but we must cultivate our garden."' - Candide

'The old man was dreaming about the lions.' - The Old Man and the Sea

'...his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.' - Ulysses

'And at the instant he knew, he ceased to know.' - Martin Eden

'It was a fine cry - loud and long - but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.' - Sula

'Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision.' - To the Lighthouse

'He loved Big Brother.' - 1984

'Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you' - Invisible Man

'"Farewell."' - Don Quixote

'I'll go on.' - The Unnamable

Ashley Marie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "That mug sounds perfect for next year's challenge!! What are some of the last sentences on it?"

Mug quotes!

'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly..."



wow, long list! thank you!

Happy Sunday!

Late check in because I was in Disney on Thursday, and supposed to come home yesterday. Instead we came home on Friday, because one of my bunnies was sick. My carer was taking care of her and was up all. night. with her, and I was up all. night. to help my carer get through it. So, zero sleep on Thursday night, and bunny still wasn't well. So we decided to go home, so that my carer wouldn't have to spend another night on our couch without sleep, and so that I could have a clearer idea of what was happening and what to do.

Bunny is doing better! She is finally able to keep her temp up, even when outside, and while she's not eating her pellets yet, she's eating some veggies and hay, and she's lively and alert. We're of course still keeping a close eye on her, and she's still on some meds, but I'm not afraid to go to bed anymore. Saturday morning I woke up at 7:25am after being dead to the world for 7 hours and immediately went to check on her, I was so scared, so I'm glad we've passed that stage.

It was still a great trip, though. I met 8 characters on our first full day (even though it required at 5:45am alarm to get one of them, as we had to eat, change hotels & check in and get to the park before 8:30am to even stand a chance), got to try all the snacks that I wanted/had missed a few weeks ago, and we got to see the drone show celebrating the Notre Dame reopening twice, with the drones actually going up! I even managed the last character I wanted on Friday morning, and we rode Big Thunder Mountain twice before it closes for a long refurb on January 6. We'd wanted to do it more often, but alas, pets come first always!

But yeah, safe to say I am absolutely exhausted and will need some time to recover from this. Luckily the next trip's been booked (we had to, as I was supposed to pass on some collectibles on Saturday, but obviously by then we were home, and I still have to pass them on before the people SHE has to pass them onto get there xD) and I am very much looking forward to it. We splurged on the reserved viewing area for the nighttime show, as the new one's starting 2,5 weeks before we go and we'd like a good view without 3 hours of waiting in the cold, haha!

Read
Sadly nothing, but hopefully soon!

Currently reading
Nothing, but I've got The Girl Who Speaks Bear ready to go in my booksleeve!

QOTW
I honestly haven't thought about it much, but I recently found out Miranda Hart got the same diagnosis as me and wrote a book about what's helped her so wherever I can shove that into, is my favorite prompt, haha!

THE FINAL POLL FOR JANUARY'S GROUP READ IS OPEN!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...

Instead of our usual Thursday-to-Thursday schedule with two-week-long polls, we accelerated this one, so it starts TODAY (Sunday) and runs until Saturday the 21st, so that we get our January book chosen before January begins.

Go vote for a book that could be used for "nonverbal character"
Gallant
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Speak
Out of My Mind

(I haven't read any of these, so I'm just hoping they all have a nonverbal character!!)

Because I had no idea what image to use for a nonverbal character, enjoy a tiny photo of my dog, Sophie, instead. She's not actually nonverbal, she is very chatty indeed, but she's being nonverbal in this photo.

Carmen wrote: "Happy Sunday!

Late check in because I was in Disney on Thursday, and supposed to come home yesterday. Instead we came home on Friday, because one of my bunnies was sick. My carer was taking care o..."



I had no idea how frail bunny's health could be until I "met" you!! Get some rest.

Speak is one of my all-time favorite books! Really got me through a lot of my sht back in the day. I could relate to so much of it. And the writing style is amazing. The author tosses the traditional ways out the window which I love.