Read 23 books in November and not a single Bingo. I still have high hopes of finishing all my November books, all my December books, and finishing all my unfinished challenges 😂🤣😂🤣

It‘s #hyggehour time. I‘m starting the new Louise Penny. No snacks tonight after overdosing on pie this weekend. Just not in the mood. A little bit ready to go back to work tomorrow, but not really. It‘s our busiest time of the year so I‘m bracing myself for chaos. Enjoy the hour everyone.

#TodayILearned Truman Capote was fired from the New Yorker in the early 40‘s for inadvertently offending Robert Frost 😂 It happens.

Thanks to everyone who joined in this month for #NFN

I‘ve been reading this a chapter a week with my book club, and it has been very enjoyable. Magnetic North is a travel log from a woman in the Arctic, and this edition had an afterword ten years later after climate change had really started to take hold. #NonFictionNovember

I liked that this book looked at climate change from more of a non-western point of view that I usually see. I also appreciated the comparison between Pope Francis‘ Laudato si‘ and the Paris Climate Accord. #Naturalitsy @AllDebooks #NonfictionNovember

It took me all month to read this just because I knew the ending, and it‘s so easy to judge in hindsight. I‘m glad I persevered though because the afterword was excellent. #NonfictionNovember

This was a sweet book that touched on serious topics (cancer, fraud, PTSD, alcoholism.) I enjoyed it- perfect for this time of year since pie was frequently mentioned.

I got my reading porch set up for December. It‘s too cold to read outside most days but every once in a while we get a sunny afternoon.

#TodayILearned Wayne Newton is still alive. Good for him. Googled while watching National Lampoons Vegas Vacation. That‘s all I got today 😂

The idea for Frankenstein came to Shelley during a ghost story competition with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori during the cold summer of 1816. #TodayILearned #NFN

I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would once I got past the whole sentient blob thing. The MC, Vi, was unlikable but also kind of relatable. I‘m glad I gave it a try.

@hooked_on_books @barbarabb @chelsea.Poole @squirrelbrain @sarahbarnes @ChaoticMissAdventures

#tob26

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) bogo Chipotle bowls on Thanksgiving eve with my son was unexpectedly a ton of fun
2) running into Not My Cat while walking
3) pics from my daughter in Paris
4) mini pie pans
5) gorgeous sunset last night

Happy Friday all!

I completely re-did my December #BookspinBingo list once I saw the 2026 #TOBLonglist

I think I have it now. Books tagged in the comments.

@TheAromaofBooks after a busy fall you head up to the lake for a quiet weekend away. You throw everything in the car before you can even check the weather. Before you know it you are #SnowedIn

Early morning commute reading- I spy Christmas lights up in Old Town! Yay!

It‘s so dark out I thought it was time for #hyggehour but actually it was 6:15. I guess I am supersizing my hygge time tonight! I‘m looking at some cookbooks and am going to catch up on #NFN and my bookclub reading. I‘m feeling confident about my ability to fit 5 days of work into 2 days this week.

Whew, this book. I loved it. Found families, stories we tell ourselves and others, caregiving, and work are all things I love in a book. #TournamentofBooks2026 long list #ReadingUSA Connecticut

My library stack for December 🍪🍪🍪

The perfect comfort listen this week. I always forget how much I love this book. #Pemberlittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) The green tomatoes I picked before it got cold are starting to ripen
2) Just got a text from my daughter that she landed safely in France
3) Going through my son‘s baby pictures this week for his senior yearbook
4) Thanksgiving decorations
5) Lights starting to appear in my neighborhood make for festive walks

Hang in there everyone!

Lichens take nutrients from the air and so absorb many times more radioactive isotopes than other plants. #TodayILearned #NFN

@TheBookHippie our comfort food dinner for tonight. We use bbq sauce on the meatballs.

Sorry not book related but a coincidence after your post earlier.

It's here! https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-year-in-fiction-2025

I've read at least 5 😂

I was worried about this short story/essay collection after Go Set A Watchman, but I actually quite liked it. Some of these have previously been published, but they were all new to me. My favorite was Lee‘s recollection of the time when her friends gave her a year‘s salary so she could take the year off to write.

I‘ve been meaning to read this forever- since the summer I lived in Asheville and his house burned down. I finally got to it this month, and while I‘m glad I read it I wasn‘t really wowed. Some passages though ripped my heart out. So it‘s a low pick. #192025 1929 @Librarybelle

This book was readable but the cheese factor was not for me right now. Blame the news. #ReadingUSA #Kansas

AITAH?

I Bess (18 f) went on a trip to New Orleans with my friend Nancy (18 f, titan hair.) I wanted to see the sights and sample the local food, but Nancy wanted to work and eat sensible meals the entire time. AITAH?

I enjoyed this #NancyDrewBR - it had quicksand so how could I not? Thanks for leading us @Librarybelle

It‘s another supersized #hyggehour because I have to get my book club book read by tomorrow. I‘m snacking on some cranberry apple bread that did not want to come out of the pan but is delicious anyway. These last few weeks have been incredibly over scheduled, and this coming week is no different. However Thanksgiving week is the week after so there is an end in sight. Then I am going to read all the books.

Another Saturday another field hockey tournament. At least I get little reading breaks between games. This work bookclub book is due Monday. Hoping I can read enough to at least say something in the discussion.

Like anyone who has spent any time on the Great Lakes I knew about the Edmund Fitzgerald, but it was interesting to hear the whole story. I liked that the author went in depth about the lives of the men onboard and about the Gordon Lightfoot song. #NFN

#5JoysFridsy @DebinHawaii

1) it‘s been a lovely fall
2) necco wafers aren‘t the same as they used to be but still make me smile
3) early Christmas decorations hit the spot this year
4) winter flowers
5) read leaves with pink skies

Happy Friday everyone!

#TodayILearned that taconite is low-grade sedimentary rock containing iron-bearing minerals mixed with other materials like quartz. #NFN

The Edmund Fitzgerald was overloaded by more than 1,000 tons so they could break a record. #TodayILearned #NFN

A woman gets stuck in a train station for several days and has time to reflect on her life. This was written by Agatha Christie under a pen name and I really liked it. #192025 1944

When I heard there was a cozy series set here in Alexandria, VA I jumped on it. Unfortunately the audiobook narrator must have just assumed everyone in Virginia talks with a heavy Southern accent. That was so distracting to me I didn‘t really follow the story. So the book may be better than this rating. #ThematicCozies @julieclair

#TodayILearned that traces of flame retardants were found in Arctic wildlife in the mid-1990‘s. #NFN

I tried to make Algerian Kefta last night using chickpeas instead of beef. They didn‘t hold together well, but it was tasty. #FoodAndLit #Algeria

I wish more had happened in this book. The characters were interesting, but the story just kind of wandered. Low pick.

Yet again a book I would have never read if it wasn‘t for a Litsy challenge- in this case #192025

Lutie is a single mother trying to raise her son in a not so great neighborhood. The story of her trying to overcome poverty and racism is poignant, but this book also had some of the unsettling undertones of a Highsmith or Du Maurier.

It‘s finally cold enough to try this hot chocolate from Samoa. #FoodAndLit

Daisy and I are answering some snail mail this morning.

I enjoyed this book of connected short stories about two sisters from Hardscrabble Bay, New Brunswick. The stories take place over a span of 70 years and are sort of like Anne of Green Gables or Sarah Plain and Tall but with sex and swearing. So many Littens would love this book. Check it out!

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii

1) the moon has been amazing
2) prioritizing daylight walks on these dark days
3) pumpkin cream cheese bread
4) work meeting in a fancy hotel
5) a new governor

Have a good weekend all.

Train delays equal more reading time I guess.

A fun book about serious topics. I enjoyed this book about a community of friends. #ReadingUSA #Indiana

Two quotes from my reading this morning:

From Kamala‘s mother
“Kamala, don‘t ever let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.”

From Angela Merkel

“Don‘t you ever let them make you cry.”

#TodayILearned #NFN

#TodayILearned that the National Ice Core Lab in Denver stores ice from Greenland which scientists can petition to analyze. #NFN

I really liked this family novel that took place over Thanksgiving weekend. The regular Thanksgiving drama is overlaid by the shadow of a tragedy that took place years ago and was never properly dealt with. I really liked the relationships between these characters and the way they clearly loved each other even when they were treating each other badly. This book had all of the November moods.

(ARC from Net Galley)

#TodayILearned that there are no male High Arctic black flies. The females have figured out how to reproduce without them. #NFN

It‘s dark out so I‘m using my extra hour today to biggie size my #hyggehour

I‘m on the couch flipping between an ARC, Kamala‘s book, and my book club book. I took tomorrow off to do a college tour with my son so I‘m feeling pretty relaxed.