At the start of every year, I look back on what I read the previous year, an activity that I always enjoy. Check out my year in review: https://theludicreader.com/2026/01/01/my-reading-year-in-review-2025/
If you are interested in reading my reviews, that‘s where they are. I‘d love for you to subscribe.
Happy New Year, everyone.

I am late with my appreciation, but these lovely gifts were most appreciated all the same.
@Deblovestoread @dabbe @Chrissyreadit @Mitch @AmyG
Thank you, my friends.

In anticipation of tomorrow‘s Christmas dinner for 23. I hope you all celebrated in a way meaningful to you. Happy holidays, Littens!

@ReadingRachael thank you so much for my lovely #jolabokaflod book, bookmarks, and chocolate. I was delighted by everything. And thanks to @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing my favourite swap of the year!

Last night a former student and his wife came for dinner and we discussed Stoner, our first bookclub of three. (We are already planning another meeting in the summer when they come home again.) I really enjoyed this book, a quiet story of one man‘s life which is changed when he takes a college English course. Academia, a failed marriage, an affair, and always an abiding love for the written word. It‘s a great book that we all loved.

@ReadingRachael your #jolabokaflod gift has arrived! Can‘t wait to open it on the 24th.
@MaleficentBookDragon

Thank you, @ShelleyBooksie , you sure know how to make a gal‘s day!

My #jolabokaflod swap is on route from the Maritimes to Ontario.
@MaleficentBookDragon @Jess861

Ike and Buddy Lee have nothing in common except that their sons fell in love and were recently murdered. The two men, both of whom have had their share of trouble with the law, join forces to track down who killed their boys. This is a straightforward revenge thriller, with a side of introspection. I enjoyed it.

Two of my favourite words: snow day!
Finished this YA thriller last night. Kelsey‘s mother goes missing from their fortress-like house. That‘s weird because her mom hasn‘t left the house in 17 years. Then masked men show up and all hell breaks loose, sweeping Kelsey and her potential new “love” interest up in some made-for-teens action. It was okay, but not memorable.

A brother tries to find out what happened to his sister in this cold case true crime story with a connection to my home town. I found it slow moving, but it‘s thorough and well-written.

A fast-paced story about 18-year-old Josie Moraine who lives in New Orleans and dreams of going to college, a dream she doubts will ever come true. She counts among her friends, Willie, the madam who operates the brothel where her mother is employed, and Patrick, the son of the man who owns the bookstore where she works and lives. Different from other books by this author, but like everything else I have read, I loved it.

I enjoyed this YA novel about Hadley and Braden, who meet and fall in love during junior year, but then face some very real obstacles. The characters were sympathetic and the writing was very good for a debut. I really wanted those crazy kids to work out. I also love the cover.

This is YA novel about Colt and Julia, two teens from opposite ends of the social/financial spectrum who embark on a secret relationships is well-written but doesn‘t really end up going anywhere. Light pick.

The find of the day at the Read NB book sale in Moncton was a book by Thomas H. Cook …and one I have not yet read, too. Today was the last day and so things were pretty picked over, but I got all these plus three dictionaries for my classroom for $10.

Look what arrived today, @dabbe !!!
Although the strike is not over, postal workers have begun rotating strikes, meaning we will occasionally get mail.

I liked the first half better than the last half. A woman alone in a isolated house she and her girlfriend are renovating gets unexpected company when a family of five shows up on her doorstep, the father claiming he used to live there and asking if he can show his wife and kids around. Started its life on CreepyPasta and thus it felt disjointed to me. A soft pick.

Grateful to have received these lovely #fallswapcards from @BookwormAHN @Bookwormjillk @TheBookHippie @KadaGul @Cuilin @CrowCAH @ShelleyBooksie @WildAlaskaBibliophile @Deblovestoread
Especially because Canada Post is on strike as of this morning. Again. 🤬

We‘ll be discussing this book tonight at book club. I started it at the beginning of Sept and just finished it last night. Tiny font, many pages and I kept falling asleep. It would have been a DNF for me if it wasn‘t a book club book. Fido runs into her old friend Helen on the street after a 7 year “estrangement “ and gets tangled up in Helen‘s marital problems. 🥱

My third book by this YA author and another 5 ⭐️ read that made me cry. Cash and his best friend Delaney are leaving behind their lives in Sawyer, TN, to attend a private school in CT on full scholarships because of an amazing scientific find. Delaney has nothing to stay in TN for; her mother is a drug addict. Cash lives with his grandparents, because his mother died of an overdose. Friendship, poetry, love, family: it‘s all here. I ❤️ Zentner.

This gothic horror novel about an autistic trans boy sent to a school that is supposed to turn him into the perfect subservient wife is heartbreaking, horrifying and political. I've read two books by this author and loved them both. Perfect Sunday reading on my deck.

@KadaGul look what arrived in the post. Thanks so much for this over-the-top #fallcardswap!
I was confused about the return address, though. 😂

First Bookoutlet haul of the 2025-26 school year. The Good Ones and Our Kind of Game came home with me. #sorrynotsorry

New school year means new books for my class library…except for Finding Grace and Save Me (don‘t judge me; I am completely obsessed with Maxton Hall) #sorrynotsorry

Back during Covid, my son colour blocked all my tbr books (that would fit on the one set of shelves I had for them). This morning, I thought I would reorganize them alphabetically and integrate the books in my bedroom because, frankly, it‘s impossible to find anything. In doing so, I discovered….I need more shelves. 😂🤣🤪

I spent today…my last before school starts properly….flat on my back after my first Shingrix jab yesterday. I felt like shit. 🤣 I did finish this book, though, which I really liked. The story starts with the birth of Cora‘s second child, a son, and follows his life (and the lives of his older sister, Maia and his mom), imagining its trajectory based on the name he‘s been given: Bear, Julian, or Gordon (the name of his abusive father.) 4⭐️

My #fallcardswap offerings are ready for the post office. @TheBookHippie

Finished this on the last weekend before heading back to school. The story of a group of people from different backgrounds whose lives converge in unexpectedly tender and devastating ways. I enjoyed this read, but wasn‘t a fan of the ending. The writing was fresh and interesting, especially considering it was a debut.

The annual Boys and Girls Club book sale started today so….#sorry not sorry. To be fair, some of these belong to my daughter. Also, I will likely go again on Sunday.

Sloan never tells the truth and it‘s gotten her into hot water her whole life. Then she meets the Lockhart family and as a reader you‘re supposed to wonder who‘s lying to whom? It‘s mindless entertainment, but it‘s all tell and none of the characters‘ motivations are ever adequately examined. It was just okay for me.

While this book strains credulity on just about every level, it was a quick read, which is just what I needed after my last book. Ash is suspicious of her mother‘s new bf, the too-good-to-be-true Nick Radcliffe. So she does some digging. Ripped from the grifter headlines.

Although the writing was beautiful, this family drama about siblings Alice and August and their fraught relationship with their free-spirited mother, Charlotte, didn‘t quite land for me…especially the disjointed (although perhaps that was intentional) second part.

@dabbe
Spectacular day on the river. I brought a book, but I spent all my time in the water.

Couldn‘t put this one down despite its subject matter which is not graphic but still difficult. Sara and her husband Damien move to a remote house in the Irish countryside where something extremely disturbing took place decades prior. Sara is on shaky ground anyway, seeing as her husband is a controlling asshole, but as she learns more about the house, she finds her own voice again. I really liked it.

I have now read all four of Winstead‘s books. This one, about a young woman trying to come to terms with her father‘s death by getting involved in an online community of true crime sleuths, would likely come in third place after Midnight is the Darkest Hour and The Last Housewife. Despite the nods to some things that hold a special place in my heart (online communities for one) & being a page turner, it didn‘t quite land.

I was delighted to host a little contingent of Litsy folk from NB today in honour of Denise‘s visit. Pictured here are l-r @DinoMom @ShelleyBooksie , me, @dabbe and @merelybookish . I hadn‘t met any of my fellow NB Littens before, so it was terrific.
Readers unite!

This book took forever for me to finish. I am not sure why: it is smart, thoughtful and well written. A woman returns to her alma mater to teach a mini course about podcasting and revisits the death of her roommate.

Brand new Halifax bookstore, Egghead Books. If you are ever in the area, check it out.

@ShelleyBooksie I arrived home from visiting the kids in Halifax today and this delightful birthday gift was waiting for me. The book mark is appropriate; the tea cups adorable and the book definitely on my list of most coveted. Thank you so much for thinking of me. Looking forward to *finally* meeting you this summer!

@Chrissyreadit #tagyoureit

Well, this book has boats. It was my first Elizabeth Hay and I remember liking it a lot…as I have liked all the other books I have read since.

#serenesaturdays @TheBookHippie

Tunes blasting, cleaning house (purging and getting in all the nooks and crannies) is oddly satisfying and calming.
Weird, right?

I have been puttering all day in anticipation of @dabbe 's arrival and now it is time for a little Prosecco/reading break.

If you liked The Book of Lost Things or A Monster Calls, I think you would really love this story about a young boy who moves to Brighton with his mother and new stepfather. Made me cry.

@Chrissyreadit not sure if this fits the bill for #tagyoureit but here is my contribution.

It‘s been a dog‘s age since I have read anything by Jodi Picoult and I had never heard of her co-author, but I 5⭐️ loved this one. Told from the perspectives of a mother whose 18 year old son has been accused of murdering his girlfriend, Lily, and Lily‘s own perspective from the months leading up to her death, this book is thoughtful and heartbreaking. Yes, it‘s topical, but I didn‘t feel emotionally manipulated. I did, however, feel emotional. 💔

600+ more pages with Johnny and Shannon. I laughed. I teared up. There were some pulse pounding moments. Did it need to be this long? No. Were there some things that got on my nerves? Yes. But I really liked the main characters and was content to spend this time with them. I won‘t be reading any more of the series as I expect it will be more of the same.

#WDNCW @dabbe
I don‘t care that some people might think I am too liberal. I‘m 🇨🇦. Even the people I know who identify as conservative would describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal…and in our last federal election they all voted liberal so we wouldn‘t have our own version of the current US hellscape here. #sorrynotsorry

Happy Canada Day! @dabbe I will take you to this very spot when you come to visit!

I mean, I guess it says everything that you need to know when I tell you that I now must go buy the sequel…and I never read sequels. There was definitely some stuff about this book that made me cringe, but it was also laugh-out-loud funny and the two main characters are likeable. You weren‘t wrong, @TheSpineView .

Today is the first day of my summer holidays and it is 30 degrees Celsius of perfection on my deck. Just finished this book which was 80% delightful and 20% 🤷‍♀️, which makes it a pick for me. We'll be discussing it at bookclub on Monday night.