Thank you so much for my #jolabokaflodswap package, @Meshell1313 ! I squealed out loud when I unwrapped the chocolate—I love Tony‘s Chocolonely! 😍 And @dabbe , look —Snoopy hot chocolate! 👍🏼
I adore this swap —thank you for hosting every year, @MaleficentBookDragon ! 😘
Merry Christmas and happy Jolabokaflod to all!
pickReading this and “Careless People” in the same year has confirmed my belief that social media is responsible for the downfall of society. 😖
Present company excluded, of course.
More #holidaycardswap goodies in my mailbox from @KLyn1 @Tkimsal and @ncsufoxes ! I‘m absolutely loving all the treats—book people are the best!
pickI‘m weary of the “dysfunctional families who don‘t communicate until a weekend gathering forces them to confront their issues” trope. And several of the characters annoyed me. I likely won‘t remember the plot in a month. But the book was engaging enough to hold my attention for the duration, so I‘ll call it a soft pick.
Truer words have never been spoken.
All I want for Christmas …
I‘m ready for Jan. 1! I‘ve accumulated my stack of books for the following challenges:
#chunksterchallenge2026: “Mark Twain”
#auldlangspine: “The Story of a Heart”
#USPresidents: “George Washington”
IRL Library book club: “In the Garden of Beasts”
Today‘s #holidaycardswap greetings of the season from @HeyT , @EclecticBookLover and @Readergrrl ! Thank you all, and happy holidays to you! 🙂
Every year I celebrate Jolabokaflod by gifting books to a number of my colleagues who also love reading. I include an explanation of the holiday and a piece of chocolate. This year I gave out 11 books and introduced the tradition to several coworkers who are new. I make sure to tell everyone that the books are used copies so nobody feels obligated to read it if they don‘t want to. I adore the Jolabokaflod message of sharing the love of reading!
Loving the fun mail arriving every day from the #holidaycardswap ! Thank you so much for the holiday cheer, cards, stickers and bookmarks, @BookishMarginalia @TheBookHippie @BookwormAHN @Born.A.Reader @lauraisntwilder !
As we head into the final weeks of the year, here‘s a look at the exciting things to come in 2026 as we gear up for the #USPresidents challenge! This is a gentle reminder to get your library holds in soon. 🙂
Cuilin, kspenmoll, TheBookHippie, OutsmartYourShelf, Larkken, Librarybelle, CoverToCoverGirl, AshleyHoss820, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, bookandbedandtea, TEArificbooks, MonicaLoves2Read, Kerrbearlib, dabbe, ImperfectCJ, Roary47, fredthemoose, Rome753
pickInteresting and informative account of the development of Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications and their impact on public health and culture, with a look at societal expectations of “beauty” and the lengths that people will go to in order to be thin. Are these drugs too good to be true?
Sigh.
He isn‘t wrong.
so-soI wanted to like this book, but the main character just sucked all of the enjoyment out of it for me. She‘s self-absorbed, going through a marital mid-life crisis, and sleeping with every male and female she encounters… and oh, yeah, her best friend is dying in hospice. When her friend actually says, “please don‘t make my eulogy all about you” I thought that was a perfect summary of this story. Meh. Moving on.
Some Stuff About Me
#AuldLangSpine
1. I tripped Queen Elizabeth II when I was 9 years old. True story.
2. I hate coffee. Yes. I said it.
3. My favorite color is green.
4. I‘m a New England native who can trace my family‘s roots in Massachusetts and Connecticut back to 1627.
5. I‘m a genealogy buff. I started doing research when I was 12 and haven‘t stopped. And boy, have I found some interesting skeletons by shaking that family tree… ⬇️
so-soI was mostly entertained by this for about 280 pages. Then I got tired of it and just wanted it to be over. So those last 140-ish pages were a bit of a slog. Ask me in 6 months and I probably will not remember what this is about.
#MondayMood on a Wednesday
pickWhat a lovely and nostalgic look back at a time (1930s) and a place (Deep South Alabama) in a young boy‘s life. (And that boy is a very lightly fictionalized version of Truman Capote.)
With that #FictionalTraveler 2025 is a wrap!
#HomefortheHolidays
My #jolabokaflodswap package has arrived! Now to stare at it impatiently until Dec. 24. 🥸
@Meshell1313
@MaleficentBookDragon
My husband took the boxes to the post office before I could snap a photo —but here‘s the tracking for my #jolabokaflodswap package! It‘s on the way, @MaleficentBookDragon
Back again for the 6th annual #ChunksterChallenge! Is there a giant book you‘ve always wanted to read but have been intimidated by its size? Tackle it in 2026 and enjoy the bragging rights! Start gradually with stepped-up categories— or join me in diving right into a Colossal Chunkster! (Tagged is the book I‘ll be starting on Jan.1.)
#ChunksterChallenge2026
pickIs it Irving‘s best work? No. Does it hold its own against “Cider House Rules”? Also no. Does it recycle the same themes (wrestling, Vienna, absent fathers, etc.)? Yes. Do parts of it read like Wikipedia articles shoehorned into the story? Also yes. But it felt so good to fall back into the warm embrace of the eccentric, quirky world that Irving always creates with his characters. I caught glimpses of classic John Irving, and that made me happy.
Thank you so much, Christie! What a wonderful surprise! Happy holidays to you and yours!
Excited to get my #AuldLangSpine list from @fredthemoose ! I‘ve already read four of these (6, 8, 9 and 12). I‘m going to start with 10 because it immediately piqued my interest. 2 and 5 are going into the queue as well! I normally avoid romance/rom-com/anything “romancy” —but I‘m going to wander a bit outside my comfort zone and give 4 a go. Because why not? It‘s a new year with a new reading friend! 🎉🎊
Posting this gratuitous kitty photo for @ElizaMarie Cleopatra (Cleo) says howdy to her feline panther cousin. 🐈⬛🐈⬛
#catsoflitsy
pickNina Willner tells the incredible true story of two Jewish boys —one of them her father, Eddie —who miraculously escaped after 3 years in various Nazi death camps and found their way to rescue by a company of U.S. Army 3rd Armored Division tankers. It‘s a truly remarkable story of perseverance and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of inhumanity and depravity.
#NFN
#NonfictionNovember
Last night I stood in a cold rain in the dark on the sidewalk outside my office for 30 minutes waiting for the shuttle. Then I sat in heavy traffic on the shuttle for an hour to get to the commuter lot where my car was. Then I drove another 35 minutes to finally get home - more than 2 hours after I left work. Which is only 40 miles from my house. Today I am logging off at 1 pm and ignoring everything and everyone for the rest of the day.
#WDNCW
Morning has broken like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world.
— Cat Stevens
#beautybreak
Cuilin, AmyG, kspenmoll, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, OriginalCyn620, Tamra, JessClark78, monalyisha, Sace, dabbe, Karisa, ImperfectCJ, Dilara, LiseWorks, AnnCrystal, uncommonlycozies
I‘m back with my nonfiction-heavy list for 2026, @monalyisha ! 😀 If you‘d like to participate in this low-key, fun challenge, head over to her page to register. But hurry! Once 60 people sign up, registration will close!
Ken Burns‘ latest epic is enthralling. In Ep. 3, it became personally relevant. I‘ve long known I have ancestors who served in the CT Militia. However, it was just words in a pension file. Until now. The depiction of the battles in NY in 1776 — all of which my 6x great-gf took part in — brought it to life. I can envision what it was like to be in that place at that moment. And I‘m standing a tad taller with pride in my American patriot ancestors.
Join us for the new #USPresidents reading challenge!
Goal: Read about one president per month, IN ORDER. Thus, 2026 will be George Washington – Zachary Taylor.
Books can include biographies, memoirs or books written by the president.
Related bonus topics will be posted in a bingo-card format to work on throughout the year.
As you read, share fun facts or interesting tidbits! We will also post a discussion thread at the end of each month.
so-soWho would have guessed that a true story about a couple who were shipwrecked and survived 118 days on a raft in the middle of the ocean could be so …emotionless and dull? I don‘t even know how you can take that story and make it boring. But here it is.
At least it‘s short. So that‘s something.
@Suet624 — saw this and thought you‘d enjoy! 😀
so-soA detailed —or rather, overly detailed — memoir. (Ex. 100 pages in, Cher is still only 15 years old.) Some interesting tidbits here and there, but way too much about her clothes. I feel like I learned about every dress, pair of shoes, crop top and bell-bottomed jeans she ever wore. Probably won‘t read part 2. (Or 3? How many of these are on tap?)
#NonfictionNovember
#NFN
Putting this out there for my fellow history nerds who may have watched the Netflix series that draws heavily from the tagged book (which is fabulous, by the way): I discovered a blog by a guy who has read and reviewed 260 presidential bios, from Washington to Obama. (He stopped where I would, too. 😖)
Some great stuff in here if you want to go down numerous rabbit holes: https://bestpresidentialbios.com/best-bios-summaries/
First fire of the season! It‘s beautiful to me for several reasons: one, I do love this time of year when we retreat inward to our warm and cozy spaces. And two, because I don‘t just see a crackling fire: I see the hours that my husband spent all summer chopping and stacking wood. The many hours that he devoted to making sure that we would have a warm and cozy space. If that‘s not a definition of beauty, I don‘t know what is. 🥰
#beautybreak
Cuilin, AmyG, kspenmoll, TheBookHippie, JenlovesJT47, OriginalCyn620, Tamra, JessClark78, monalyisha, Sace, dabbe, Karisa, ImperfectCJ, Dilara, LiseWorks, AnnCrystal, uncommonlycozies
pickA multigenerational story of addiction, lies, secrets, forgiveness and acceptance. It‘s well written, albeit with a narrative structure that was a bit overly dramatic in parts for me.
Just saw this word in a book and had to look it up — it‘s lovely! And timely for #weirdwordwednesday
#WWW
Fun! (Super fiddly to navigate on my phone, though.) I‘ve always been a map geek —when I was a kid, I wanted to be a cartographer once I learned what that word meant.
#TTT #TakeThreeThursday
Oh what a happy day it is, when a new John Irving book arrives in the mailbox! 😍
pickHave been working the polls today. Voting has been steady all day, but I did manage to finish this book. What a delightful read! The epistolary format was perfect for letting the story unfold. It hit me in all the feels. I‘m already thinking about how many people I‘m going to gift this to for Christmas.
pickA pleasant-enough memoir about Colin Jost‘s childhood growing up on Staten Island and his journey to becoming a writer and “news” co-anchor on “Saturday Night Live.” #NonfictionNovember #NFN
#TodayILearned that Jost‘s mother, Dr. Kerry Kelly, the first female chief medical officer of the NYFD, was on site at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and narrowly escaped being killed when Tower 2 collapsed. Her life story is more interesting than his!
pickA character-driven novel about two families in Ohio, with a narrative arc that spans 50 years from pre-WWII to the 1980s-ish. It‘s about choices made and secrets kept, and the long-term ramifications of said decisions. This quote sums it up best: “Wasn‘t it a fair measure of a person, what they did with their mistakes?” I enjoyed this book; the characters were flawed and things were not wrapped up with a neat bow. Just like real life.
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