Last night I finished the 2025 PS (formerly PopSugar) Reading Challenge! Both the regular and advanced, so 50 prompts. This is the earliest I‘ve ever finished the challenge in all the years I‘ve done it. Thanks to @OriginalCyn620 for doing the challenge along with me.

There were definitely a few books I read just to fill prompts that I ended up really enjoying. That‘s why I like to do this challenge each year.

For some reason I wasn‘t interested in this when everyone else read it years ago but when I found out it was set in Canada that was enough for me to give it a shot. I ended up really enjoying it, even though the big secret was somewhat less than I expected. It wasn‘t a good decision but not worth 12 years of estrangement. Percy needed a get-a-grip friend. I‘m definitely up for the sequel!

Joanne Paul is a very engaging writer. I enjoyed this look at the Tudor period through the perspective of the Dudley family, who I (as an American) mostly knew because of Robert Dudley and his relationship to Queen Elizabeth I. It was interesting to see what life was like when your fortune and your very life depended on whether you found favor with the king or queen.

The Quiet Librarian is not what she seems. This book tells a dual timeline story of a woman who survived war in Bosnia but her new life in the U.S. is disrupted when her friend is killed. This would make a good movie or TV series. I‘d never read this author before but he did a good job with both parts of the story.

This is my center square for the July #BookSpinBingo card

I have been trying to get to both of these books for months! Glad to have the push to start them. #BookSpinBingo

This was the last book I finished in June. It‘s a memoir by a comedian/Daily Show host who was previously a lower level pro tennis player. I really enjoyed the parts of it about his pro days, which were nothing like what the top tennis stars experience. Wimbledon week was a great time to read it. This book was recommended by Sarah from Sarah‘s Bookshelves.

June was a great reading month for me, thanks to a reduced summer schedule and the fact that it‘s been too hot here to do much other than read! I finished 16 books and got 4 bingos. I think that‘s the best I‘ve done other than the one time I finished my card. Several of these were really great. I think my favorites were The Correspondent and The Force of Such Beauty. #BookSpinBingo

I really liked this book! It shows the dark side of the fairy tale we imagine for modern princesses. It took me longer than it should have to realize this was based on Princess Charlene of Monaco, who was rumored to have tried to run away before her wedding, with some Princess Diana mixed in. It dragged a bit at the beginning but later I was really into seeing where the story was going.

My July #BookSpin list! I have a couple of nonfiction picks but mostly books that I‘m hoping will be fun summer reads. It is 100+ degrees here where I live for the fifth or sixth consecutive day so I have to lean on the fun part of summer — books!

Jane Casey, author of my favorite Maeve Kerrigan crime series, recommended Catherine Kirwan so I had to give her a try. I enjoyed her debut, Darkest Truth, but I loved this. The MC works for a law firm but mostly works as an amateur investigator. She reminds me of Maeve without a badge, so that is fun. This one had a lot of story threads and they all came together in a surprising way. I plan on reading the next in the series right away.

I adored this book and cried at the end. I love epistolary novels because of how the reader gets to piece the story together from what is included in each letter. Sybil, the title character, lives through her letters to family, friends, authors, and people from her past. There‘s a lot of sadness in this book, be warned! But I could‘ve stayed with Sybil through many more letters.

Despite the title (which I think actually refers to the changes in Hong Kong at the time in which the story is set) this is a quiet novel about relationships. The MC is a young Irish woman who teaches English in Hong Kong and gets involved in two relationships. I really loved how deadpan the humor was as we follow her life. It definitely fits in the Sally Rooney style of modern Irish novels. I don‘t think it works for every reader but I loved it.

Another roadtrip book for the summer. This is a great book but don‘t be fooled by the cartoonish cover. A LOT of dark/sad stuff happens in this. I was fully engaged with where PJ was going and what would happen next. The cat, Pancakes, is a highlight so I thought my cat could show off the book. She does not share his ability, luckily.

I did not buy the premise of this thriller and it was convenient that the MC had a PI, a doctor, a lawyer, and a gangster in his circle when everything went down. Despite that, I did enjoy this because it was just the kind of over the top thriller that‘s fun to mix in with my other summer reading. The author note at the end shared the personal experiences that inspired the book, and that helped too. A quick read.

I enjoy Kevin Wilson. He does such a good job with quirky characters. While this one doesn‘t replace Nothing to See Here as my favorite, I liked it a lot. In this one, a set of half-siblings who don‘t know each other go on a road trip to find their father. It was especially interesting to see how the dad changed in every family and how that influenced who the kids became.

This was a creepy little book that I read bc it worked for a reading challenge prompt but ended up liking. I didn‘t exactly root for the main character, but I was interested in what she would do next. She thinks she has her reasons. There are flashbacks to her childhood that sort of explain why she‘s like she is, also.

I don‘t read a lot of fantasy but I enjoyed this one. I wanted to know what was happening, why these two kept living over and over, and why they were drawn together. I did not expect the explanation! Their many lives were sprinkled in through out the book and I enjoyed seeing those glimpses but I always wondered what happened to their families in each timeline.

This was my #BookSpin for June

First book of June, with the French Open on in the background. The premise of this one is intriguing! I‘m still working on my summer reading stack.

15 books read in May with two bingos! This was a good reading month. I liked almost all the books I read. (Zero Stars, was just ok). Ready for June!

My June #BookSpin list. I am still hoping to get another bingo for May before tomorrow ends.

1. The Secret Room by Jane Casey. Don‘t read it if you haven‘t read the whole series! I love this crime novel series.

2. Zeal by Morgan Jerkins. I‘m tried to get to it in May so I‘m moving it to the top of my stack for June.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Catching up in the Karen Pirie series, which I really enjoy. This one finds Karen and her team trying to investigate a case during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. It has a book with a book element too. You can‘t ever tell how everything is going to come together in the end, which works for me in a crime novel.

I finished five books over Memorial Day weekend (all but one I had already started and was in various stages of completion before Friday). But #JumpStartSummer gave me an excuse to buckle down and finish them! All of these were good in different ways. And I still have a big stack of books to get me though early summer!

I‘ve had this on my TBR for a while after reading Dear Committee Members a few years ago. This is satire but still familiar to anyone who has worked in higher ed or who has traveled with a group. I really enjoyed it! The MC is just a grumpy as before but he becomes more endearing as this one goes on. #JumpStartSummer

Kate Moore does a great job with women‘s history that isn‘t as known as it should be. Her narrative style reads very easily, even as the subject matter makes you madder and madder. It‘s hard on one hand to believe that women could be declared insane just for want to be learn, speaking her own mind, or even reading. I was really impressed by Elizabeth Packard‘s determination in her fight against injustice. Spoiler below. #SheSaid

This was a melancholy romance about a woman who completes her influencer sister‘s bucket list after the sister dies. She‘s motivated to do this because a sponsor promises to pay off the family‘s medical debts. Despite that set up, it‘s pretty sweet and the MC is a character you root for as she figures out how to make this all work. I‘d never read this author before, but she did a good job balancing all this. #JumpStartSummer

I really enjoy Dolen Perkins-Valdez‘s work. I loved her previous book so this one had to meet high expectations. She does a great job balancing the dual timelines and timing it so that it spools out the narrative just right. It was especially interesting to read this one since it is based on a true story in my home state. #JumpStartSummer

Today my work started out half day Friday summer schedule. I look forward to this all year. This weekend I want to #JumpStartSummer by making a start on my summer reading TBR. I want to finish Happy Land and start at least one other of this stack.

I love this series so much. Jane Casey has done a great job building an ongoing storyline for her main characters and weaving it into cases that keep the reader guessing. I was honestly not sure how either thread was going to resolve. You definitely need to start at the beginning with this series because you‘d miss a lot jumping in randomly.

This was my #BookSpin for May

We would all be in trouble. I keep thinking about this passage from this month‘s #SheSaid book.

I‘m excited to read my #BookSpin for this month. The Maeve Kerrigan books are my favorite series that‘s still active. This one just came out, and the only downside is having to wait a year for the next one.

I‘ve already knocked out my #DoubleSpin for May. I watched this show on Netflix and wanted to see how the book was. It was pretty different from the show, with a lot of changes to the storyline. But it was a quick read and the characters were still interesting even though they were changed for TV.

Ten books finished in April. I didn‘t quite make a bingo, but it was still a good reading month. My favorites were the new Finlay Donovan and The Bright Side Running Club.

In mid-May I start having half-day Fridays for the summer, so I hope that means I have more time to read. Here‘s my #BookSpinBingo list for the month.

I read this for a reading challenge prompt and was afraid it would be too sad but ultimately it was uplifting and affirming of friendship. I hadn‘t read this author before. The story was inspired by her own experience and was similar to Sophie Cousens in that it was a light read with some depth.

This book got on my radar bc it was Amazon‘s book of the year. I think the story is award worthy but it wasn‘t as engaging as I‘d hoped. I wanted more about the players and less football play by play. It‘s still worth reading!

This was my #BookSpin for April

I finally got a chance to read the latest Finlay book and it did not disappoint. I love all these characters and the fun ways they keep getting involved with crimes. This one brings in Mrs. Haggerty, the nosey neighbor, even more. Can‘t wait for the next one.

I‘m always interested in learning more about women who haven‘t gotten as much attention in the history books. One of The Six was Sally Ride and one was Judy Resnik, but the others are lesser known (at least to me). Astronauts are so interesting to me, but I have no desire to leave Earth! It was somewhat melancholy reading this after reading Challenger.

March recap: 14 books finished & two bingos. 9 fiction, 5 nonfiction. My top choices for the month were The Favorites and Challenger. I wanted to read more nonfiction last month and I did!

I‘m still reading my last March book, but now I‘ll be ready for April. I always say I can‘t believe it‘s another month already, but Spring is definitely here in North Carolina. Everything is covered in pollen.

If you love figure skating, villains, intense competition, and couples who are both terrible and perfect for each other, you‘ll love this book. I tore through it in just a couple of days. I‘m actually surprised by how much I loved it since I hate its inspiration, Wuthering Heights. Even though that classic doesn‘t work for me, this modern take and the nods to the original were really fun.

Switching to fiction now that my hold for this anticipated read came in from the library. A little March Madness in the background

This was pretty interesting if a tiny bit long. I realized about halfway through that I‘d heard about this when it was in the news several years ago. My main thought though was why any of these women put up with “Ethan” at all.

A picture from Elle Cosimano‘s event tonight at my favorite indie bookstore, Quail Ridge Books. Let me tell you, she wants you to sign up for her newsletter.

I had fun at Quail Ridge Books listening to Elle Cosimano talk about the Findlay Donovan series. She was in conversation with author Esme Addison so I bought both books! Happy to attend with @OriginalCyn620

Both of my #BookSpin picks are finished! They were interesting and I learned a lot from both. I love to read nonfiction but now I need to finish some fast-paced novels!

I love reading about notable women whose accomplishments are not as well known now. If you‘re looking to read about a mafia trial this is not that — that case is only a small part of the book. The rest of it is about a Black woman who became an attorney when that was rare and it covers her full life. It‘s by her grandson but he doesn‘t lionize her; her flaws are on view. It also has an added element of family lore vs public record.

Weekend reading! I‘ve heard so many great reviews of this one. It‘s a mystery set in the the tech industry but I‘ve been assured that the tech stuff isn‘t too much for an average reader.

I‘ve really enjoyed all the books I‘ve read by Gillian McAllister bc she always does something a little different. This one was enjoyable, with an opening mystery that kept me guessing. It‘s more of a relationship drama than a thriller, especially after the first section. I think it‘s more enjoyable if you go in with that expectation.

This was an incredibly thorough look at what led up to the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The author starts all the way back in the beginning of the space race to show how systemic failures, political maneuvers, and human hubris, led to the dangers being ignored. Some of the science/engineering vocabulary was a bit beyond me. But I really appreciated how much he humanized the people involved, especially the astronauts and their families.