A quiet day for me, my 1st Christmas season alone in over a decade. I took a nap this afternoon, made myself a nice dinner, got into my Christmas pj's to watch my fave Christmas movie, Mickey's Christmas Carol while eating popcorn & drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows & a candy cane. Now settling down with a book & a cuppa while Christmas piano music plays quietly in the background. Winter is for resting, & that's exactly what I need.

I went to a local Holiday market today and one of the vendors was selling #BlindDateWithABook. I'm not going to open the one I got until Christmas.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading my #BookSpin, but with the way my life has been going lately, I'm not sure about my #DoubleSpin, The Darkest Night. I've already finished the first book on my December list, Enid Blyton's Christmas Stories, and I'm hoping to get at least one #BookSpinBingo this month, even if I don't manage to finish both books.

This was my #BookSpin for November. The writing was just bad and though a talking cat in the first chapter got me interested enough to read on, no cats, talking or otherwise, appeared again after that, and I jumped ship around 35 pages in. I didn't care about the MC at all. #HailTheBail

Here is my #BookSpin list for December. All of them are Christmas or Winter-related books.

This was my #DoubleSpin for November, and I'm glad I finally read it. I'm now caught up on the #Outlander books and am only awaiting the final season of the show and the final book in the series. Perhaps I'll try something from the “Methadone List.“ But first, I need to read my #BookSpin book for the month.

My #BookSpin (18) and #DoubleSpin (1) are both ebooks that have been on my TBR for years. I know I'll enjoy The Space Between, but I'm not sure about Interesting Times.

Here's my #BookSpin list for November!

I requested this book from the library not long before my 12 year relationship ended, leaving me not wanting anything related to Romance. I only started reading it because it's due back at the library soon & I wanted to see if it was worth requesting again. I can say with absolute certainty that, thanks to chapter 20, I will be buying a copy & will likely be giving it 5 stars. This is exactly the book I needed right now. #JustOneMoreChapter

My #BookSpin for October was definitely a different story from what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be similar to The Omen by David Seltzer, but a demonic baby instead of a child. Instead, it's about Rosemary being raped, gaslighted, lied to, manipulated, and surrounded by misogynistic Satan worshippers. How she was treated was more unsettling than the story was scary, but I might have felt differently 20 or so years ago.

Holy Hell! I picked this book up from the library thinking it was your typical Cozy Mystery, and man, was I wrong! Completely unsettling in such a creepy, good way. I will definitely be checking out anything else Slater has written! #JustOneMoreChapter

Just got home from my annual physical and my numbers weren't bad considering all the majorly stressful life changes I've been through in the past few months. I treated myself to a pumpkin pie latte and a caramel apple scone afterward. Now I'm going to settle in for some much needed reading time for #JustOneMoreChapter readathon. This book is unsettling BTW! Not the typical Cozy Mystery at all.

Since I'm still having trouble with my hands, I'm in desperate need of a break from all the doing of things, and I have Monday off, I'm going to join the #JustOneMoreChapter readathon and do my best to do not much more than reading. My only goal will be to read the tagged book and my other #CasttheDie books. I'll hopefully get to my #DoubleSpin book as well @ThrAromaofBooks

My #BookSpin has been on my TBR for years, and my #DoubleSpin is for #LosersClub. I'm looking forward to finally reading Rosemary's Baby, but I don't know how I feel about The Running Man.

Here are my #CastTheDie books! They're all #RIP worthy ebooks I've had on my TBR for far too long, and they're also on my #BookSpin list. I started Beyond the Count today, but only read the introduction (I was on my lunch break). I'm hoping to get to all three of them before Halloween.

Here's my October list for #BookSpin and #CastTheDie (the first 13 books). Since it's going to be a while before I can get shelves and unpack my books, they're all ebooks or audiobooks, with the exception of The Running Man. If that one's picked then I'll check it out from the library for #LosersClub

My #DoubleSpin for June. I looked through my shelves multiple times, thinking I had the paperback, only to discover that, no silly me, I have the ebook! Despite the darker subject (the MC is dying of cancer & reflecting on his life) while I'm going through some very stressful stuff, I decided to start reading it. I really tried, but OH did I really dislike this guy & how he treated people, particularly women (especially his wife). #HailTheBail

I'm starting late because I wasn't planning to participate. However, I've had a synovitis flare up and had to change my plans for the weekend (more unpacking after my move this past Monday). My only goals are to finish the tagged book and at least 2 of my library books before they're due back. @Bookwormjillk

My #BookSpin for September is a short Middle-Grade Horror/Mystery. It was only OK, but a decent and easy audiobook to start off #RIP and all things Fall.

I prefer Scalzi's more humourous sci-fi. This was my #BookSpin for July. I got a couple of chapters in before I gave up.

My #BookSpin isn't in Litsy's database, but I started listening to it today after I got home from the Renaissance Festival. I'm not really looking forward to my #DoubleSpin but I want to catch up with #LosersClub.

I finally finished it! It's a low pick for me, but that might be my headspace right now. I should probably go back to Cozy Fantasy for a while. #LosersClub At least I met my one and only goal for the#SummersEnd readathon.

#RIP begins in September and #SciFiSummer doesn't end until the 20th. I'm also moving towards the end of the month, so this month's #BookSpin list is a mix of Horror and Science Fiction ebooks from my TBR and library books I have checked out.

This is my #DoubleSpin for August, and I'm glad I finally read it! I love the “Thursday Next“ series, and I can't wait until the next book, Dark Reading Matter comes out next year. #SciFiSummer

Management gave everyone an extra 30 minutes for lunch, so of course I went to the library. I checked out two more books to add to the 18 others on my night stand 😜

My only goal is to finish the tagged book, and I'll consider it a bonus if I'm able to finish any of the other 18 library books I have checked out 😅 @Bookwormjillk

Attending my first #SilentBookClub meeting. Very thrilled to be spending an hour in silence with other readers.

For a bit of self-care, I decided to go out for brunch & then check out this little bookstore, Birdie Books. Unfortunately, I forgot what happens to my stomach when I've been stressed. Brunch was a little too rich, though 100% delicious, & I was about halfway through this very cute & eclectic bookstore when I had to quickly pay for my books (including the tagged book) & leave 🤢 Maybe I'll go back next weekend.

I could not be more thrilled to read this month's #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin books! I'll likely start listening to the audiobook of The Woman Who Died A Lot while I'm packing today😁

Here is my #BookSpin list for August. It's almost entirely ebooks and audiobooks since I'll be moving in September and will have the majority of my books packed up before the end of August. The two physical books on the list (1 and 6) are small mass market paperbacks, so I don't mind not packing them if their numbers are picked.

Both my #BookSpin & #DoubleSpin books are ebooks, which is a great thing as I'm in the process of packing up all my books. My Boyfriend of nearly 12 years and I have decided to split up. It's heartbreaking, but we are still friends, and this is an amicable decision. I'm converting my office into my bedroom, which isn't big enough for a bed and all of my bookshelves, unfortunately, but it's only temporary. In less than a year, I'll be moving out.

Here's my #BookSpin list for July. It's mostly books that I want to read for my #SciFiSummer reading challenge.

I'm posting a bit late, but these are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin books for June. I'm suddenly not looking forward to reading them, though my Book Spin has been on my shelves for over a decade now. They both look depressing, but I'm hoping they'll surprise me.

I'm about to try Lydia Sherrer's new tea, Fae Fox Tea, inspired by the character Yuki in the LLHP series. It smells amazing! The back of the package says it's a blend of chamomile, rooibos, peppermint, and vanilla ❤️ That sounds like the perfect early evening tea for sipping while curled up with a good book.

The boyfriend & I went to Pop Cats convention today & I got to meet Lydia Sherrer! I bought the tagged book & a bag of her new tea & I also got a pic with her! Later the boyfriend said he was on a mission from our cats & would meet back with me in 15 minutes. He went back & got me LLHP: Odyssey! ❤️ Both are signed😁 On top of that, it was the first time in a week that I wasn't in pain! I'm glad I decided to go in spite of the pain I've been in.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ This was my #DoubleSpin for May, and it reminded me a lot of Monty Python. I think it was good enough for me to read the second book in the “Land of Dis“ series, Distopia at some point, but I'm not rushing to start it right away. For once, I'm remember to also tag #2025OffMyShelf!

It turns out my spine is even worse off than I thought (I have severe stenosis in my neck that has caused spinal cord compression), and I'm feeling depressed and defeated, so I'm keeping June's #BookSpin list to mostly shorter, easy reads, with the exception of a couple that I've been really wanting to get to sooner rather than later.

After a trip to urgent care this morning because of severe shoulder pain that turned into bad news (Degenerative Disc Disease in my cervical spine), I'm at home resting and ready to #JumpStartSummer. Reading and tea fixes everything, right?! I'll be reading the tagged book, The Dead Zone for #LosersClub, and Disenchanted for #BookSpin. I might even get to a couple of other books I checked out from the library since I won't be doing much else.

This was my #BookSpin for this month, and I enjoyed going down memory lane about one of my all-time favorite shows. There were a couple of essays I really didn't like and a couple I loved, but overall it's a Pick. I'm considering rewatching the series for at least the 5th time, I might get back into the Rory Gilmore reading challenge, and I'm definitely going to recreate my Gilmore Girls mixtape!

I'm excited for both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin books for May!

My #DoubleSpin for April. I'm so glad I finally reread it! I've read Anne of Green Gables more times than I can count, but I've only read the rest of the series a couple of times many, many years ago. While this one will never be my favorite, I still love it. One day, I hope to own hardcover editions of the whole series, but this particular paperback edition is how I read them when I was a kid. The smell of the pages brought back so many memories!

Here's my #BookSpin list for May!

I started my #BookSpin last night during #Readathon, but went to bed & didn't finish it until earlier today. This is a hopeful story for libraries, librarians, & the people who love them, even though it's Fantasy. It's a hopeful story for the fight against evil & those trying to destroy people's ability to freely access information. “Knowledge is a light!“ The Director was made scarier by current events, but this book is a reminder to be brave!

I went to Grammercy Books and found the tagged book for #IndependentBookstoreDay. Now I'm back home to continue the #Readathon!

Having brunch at a Ukrainian bakery with my #readathon buddy before we get down to reading. I finally lost enough weight to wear my book leggings again! I was listening to the tagged book on my drive over.

I'm starting Dewey's 24-Hour #Readathon about 20 minutes late, but I had to make tea!

As I'm moving more into #SlowLiving and trying to disconnect from the fast-everything, stress-inducing, chaotic consumerism of modern life, I'm glad I checked this book out from the library. I've already set myself up for a screen-free Saturday every week, starting with next Saturday. I'm doing mine a little differently, though, since I still want to write blog posts on the weekend. I'll start in the early morning and go until Sunday morning.

I recently learned about Lillördag, “Little Saturday“, a Nordic tradition of doing things you normally only do on the weekends about halfway through the week so you have something to look forward to and break up the daily routine a bit. I'm starting a puzzle while listening to the tagged audiobook. I also got take out, which I rarely do, even on the weekends. So far I'm very much enjoying the relaxation after a chaotic day at work.

Today I was betrayed by someone who I thought was my friend and it could end up affecting my job. I'm more hurt than anything else so I figured escaping into this Cozy Fantasy with my Book Goblin mug full of tea might be the best way to shake it off and move on.

I'm very much looking forward to both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for April! 😁