It was my birthday week, so I went to some bookstores to celebrate. A wildly random assortment, some from the $5 shelves, some I really wanted, and I always choose one book from each store from staff recommendations that I have never heard of before.

Oh and two daily reading books, for which I blame @AnneCecilie and @Leftcoastzen

I was on a short fiction streak in Oct/Nov and this was a truly stellar collection. All the stories were fantastic, but the ones I loved best tied into the novels I've read.

#12Booksof2025 November

A few excellently spooky stories for October. It's Edith Wharton, so even the boring stories were well-crafted.

#12booksof2025

Another year, another #BookSpinBingo board.

I have a selection of books for #192025 (yes, I am using the old hashtag -- this is the version I want to finish), #EuropaCollective, #Paraguay, #HashtagBrigade, #Roll100

I wasn't particularly fond of any of the books I finished in September, so this work, finished on Oct 5th, will do. An easy read, obviously in diary format so can be read in bits and pieces, but it does slowly build on itself as you learn more about the neighbors (and the author's feelings about them) until the last 20% is finally laugh-out-loud funny, if you like understated humor.

#12booksof2025

In August I read a fair number of “serious“ literature, so it's no surprise this superbly written contemporary novel was the favorite. And that ending! I'm still not sure what happened (and I'm okay with that),

#12Booksof2025

The best book I read in July is similar to May's pick. Both are structured as short stories set in New England. But THoS is not so tightly focused on place (settings are in different locations in New England) and the stories are more loosely connected, allowing the author freedom for some excellent writing.

#12Booksof2025

This book was fascinating. Long and weird and sometimes difficult, but also the most astounding depiction of a dream-logic “story“. A unique experience.

#12booksof2025 June

I was not immune to the hype. I bought this as a birthday to myself and five months later got around to reading it. A lovely series of vignettes set in the same location over hundreds of years.

#12Booksof2025 May

This was a gripping read, possibly a familiar story, but in a less familiar location.

#12booksof2025 April

As mentioned in the intro, the usual book used in Art History classes is The Story of Art. In the original publication, not a single women was included. In the reprint, one woman was added. So the author started to look for the missing artists. It started on instagram (I think) and eventually this book was created.

I now have a list of items for future museum scavenger hunts.

#12BooksOf2025 March

The best book I read in Feb. Other books might have been more interesting or unique, but again, it is the polished writing that I enjoyed in this one.

#12BooksOf2025

Skylark was the best read in January, well-written, with a bittersweet and unexpected ending. However, I must mention the most harrowing book I read, that I still occasionally think about - The Discomfort of Evening.

#12booksof2025

My family celebrates the holiday on Dec 24th, so I usually fly home on the 25th. It is as pleasant as air travel can be -- cheaper ticket prices, fewer people, and travellers make a special effort to be civil today at least. Hopefully there won't be excessive delays.

#HolidayFriends

#Bert got a special, extended Thanksgiving show today as the mourning dives have decided to spend the entire morning on the fire escape.

I don't know if this poem is in this book, but I heard it read by the author on vibe check and it felt so right for the oncoming winter. Maybe because I heard the conversation just after seeing #midwintersolace posts, it made me think of you @TheBookHippie, @AllDebooks, @Chrissyreadit

https://adriennemareebrown.net/2016/12/22/solstice-love-letter-to-darkness/

https://vibe-check.simplecast.com/episodes/come-out-loud-featuring-adrienne-mare...

When I want to read my book but am told to answer the door.

Why have I not read Dawn Powell before?

#FOODANDLIT 2026 Nominations

@Texreader @Butterfinger @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick

Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras
Ecuador
Micronesia
Slovenia
Belgium
Latvia
Tunisia
Cape Verde
Mozambique
Singapore
Bangladesh

#BeautyBreak

Wilfredo Lam -- stunning colors and surreal, sometimes amusing, figures.

@ChaoticMissAdventures I am very close to finishing #192025 and #10BeforeTheEnd will provide some extra motivation! @Librarybelle

And these are the items I purchased at the Brooklyn Book Festival, arranged by publisher. I was disappointed that one of the best publishers of interesting translated books (Restless Books) wasn't there this year.

I won some books! And a tote!

Words Without Borders had a challenge to collect stamps from a bunch of indie publishers, with each stamp worthy one raffle ticket and I was one of six winners!

https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/country/

#WDNCW @dabbe

We don't care that we spent the equivalent of a week's worth of groceries buying ourself almost daily treats last month. We're living in a hellscape and life is made bearable by boba, oreos, cheetos, cupcakes, brownies, croissants, parmesan garlic potato chips, ice cream.....

#TLT @dabbe

I already penciled in EW's Ghost Stories & some RB stories for October! (how did you know?)

Link to list: https://tinyurl.com/mr2m6ydj

I do believe only two books have not been on my #BookSpinBingo board before. Let's see if this month is more successful in getting some of the returnees read.

I read a few books, Two #1001Books. Fresh Dirt from the Grave was mostly set in #Bolivia for #FoodandLit. It and Voyager are #WomeninTranslation. Patsy worked for #LGBTQIA2025 bingo and Three books were for #192025. Martyr! was just because I had been recommend it so many times.

I managed to read 13 of my #14Books14weeks stack. Considering I peppered in some #1001books I had been putting off, I am pleased with the result. I still want to read Fado Alexandrino; it will be on September's list (again).

Five books were exceptionally trippy which made for an odd summer - A Void, The Unconsoled, Lananrk, The Castle, I Who Have Never Known Men.

I was lovely to read some of the contemporary books from my shelves,.

Sometimes cats can kind of be jerks.

EEEEEEEEeeeeeeE! I am excited for the so-far line up for this year's Brooklyn Book Festival! MARLON JAMES! ~swoon~

https://brooklynbookfestival.org/authors/?_author_event_type=festival-day

“Let us be reminded that before there is a final solution, there must be a first solution, a second one, even a third. The move toward a final solution is not a jump. It takes one step, then another, then another...“

https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-toni-morrison-racism-...

Thank you vibe check for bringing this to my attention!

How is your summer going (or winter, for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere)? Here in the US, we are halfway through summer 😨. Have you read 7 of your #14Books14Weeks yet? Or have you abandoned the dry-haystack of pre-chosen books for greener pastures?

I magically finished my 7th book yesterday, which would be on track if my reading-vacation hadn't happened in June so I won't have nearly as much time to read the rest of the summer.

Well, temps indicate that July is here. Hopefully the need to seek out AC will lead to more reading?

#BookSpinBingo

I avoided this, worried it was "difficult". I should've known Ishiguro's expert writing would carry me through this deeply surreal story. A pianist has been engaged by a small town as the headliner of an extraordinary evening. His performance is to rejuvenate the stagnant town. But nothing goes to plan-every person he meets has a favor to ask and creates a digression (and anxiety in the teacher) in this detailed narration of dream-logic events.

A novella with layers! It starts with a frame device of sorts--a piece of sensational writing by the titular narrator. Suffering from a debilitating hernia disorder, we see how her inherited wealth allows her to physically exist and allows her curiosity to flourish. Unable to experience "normality" she is drawn to the outer limits of human-ness. But not even the bargain struck with her male, lower-class caregiver can make him see her as a person.

I've got a coffee, a thriller and only 2 hours to wait for my flight to see family in MN.

I've included four books I probably would never have even heard of without this list. Some had amazing, unusual structure that I found fascinating, some where about a time/place with which I was unfamiliar, and some were just a lovely experience.

#ThreeListThursday #TLT @dabbe

I own an edition of this book and have used it as a checklist for more than a decade and i still didn't recognize all the books on the list. 😂

It's not necessarily we're not “well-read“ but rather a specific effort was made to create an international list so, for example, it includes classics from Scandinavian countries that are not well-known elsewhere.

Three books I don't remember reading:
The Roots of Heaven
The Guiltless
Death Sentence

I finally got started on summer with my first #14Books14Weeks and my first visit to the hammock grove on Governors Island!

Although i didn't read as much as I hoped, I did parcel out my books well for #BookSpinBingo. I really loved the beginning of The Other Name and will have to find quiet times to read the rest of the septology.

Considering how many squares I read, i wonder if my subconscious is avoiding bingos; I only got two!

Not a great reading month, no idea why. Favorite was North Woods.

I recommend these three books that I would not have read without this list:

The Bridge on the Drina
Chess Story
The Street of Crocodiles

#ThreeListThursday #TLT @dabbe

link to survey: https://www.listchallenges.com/1001-books-you-must-read-before-you-die-list4

#threelistthursday #tlt @dabbe

Pictured are three books that I resent having read.

I 💜 Zola and also ❤ Gide (not pictured, I couldn't choose)

I may have marked a couple of books that I never quite finished. But so many good-and-long reads on this section of The List.

#ThreeListThursday #TLT @dabbe

I haven't changed this stack for a few days, so this is it, this is my stack for #14Books14Weeks!

A few for pride month, a few for Women in Translation month, half are #1001Books and more than half are for #192025

In the US, summer is bookended by two holiday weekends: Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, and Labor Day, the first Monday in September. 14 weeks.

I challenge you to read 14 books between May 26 and Sep 1, which some of you may remember fondly as #14Books14Weeks.

Show me your stacks!

@Dabbe Finally a #ThreeListThursday that i can do well on! I've only been reading books from this list for ten years 🙄

I'm tagging Gulliver's travels. After buying a FOURTH copy of it, I realized I needed an online record of what books I own and started my book social media journey (godreads-->librarything-->Litsy)

I read Dangerous Liason on the beach, enjoyed it.
I read Tale of Genji on the subway, loved it
And I still haven't read GT 😂

I;m ready for May and another month of #BookSpinBIngo!

@Lcsmcat Are you trying to find something like this? LibraryThing has the best stats/graphs. And they are super-customizable -- you can choose a specific read year or only look at books in a particular collection. On the actual page, I can click on the bar for the 8 books with “no date“ to see which ones they are.

And some more stats!