#OffMyShelf for short stories; anthology, or essays

I‘m really wishing I had taken a Russian literature class in college. I absolutely loved this short story collection. An incredible writer, Chekhov definitely transcends time. I can see why he‘s considered one of the greatest short story writers.

So this book is off my TBR shelf, but I‘m definitely keeping it & will revisit these stories often.

#2025OffMyShelf

Jasper apparently doesn‘t appreciate Russian literature.

#catsoflitsy

#NaturaLitsy #midwintersolace

I have many comfort reads—different ones for different comfort needs. The tagged is one (especially the audio version read by Steve West 🥰), along with their Kate Daniels series.

Other comfort reads include anything by Abby Jimenez, Kristen Callihan‘s VIP series, Dirty Secret by Mira Lyn Kelly, David Eddings‘s Belgariad & Mallorean series, Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, Pride & Prejudice, & HHGTTG

#firstlinefriday

“In the hospital yard there stands a small lodge surrounded by a perfect forest of burdocks, nettles, and wild hemp.”

#5JoysFriday

This has been a tough week with a lot of uncertainty.
1. A hot toddy and my favorite candle
2. I created a new bingo board for my #OffMyShelf reading challenge
3. This cat makes me laugh 😹
4. Finally got confirmation this morning that my move is still on 🎉
5. This cat loves to snuggle ❤️

A fun article from Atlas Obscura

“The writer Rabelais invented fake book titles that were bawdy send-ups of the French establishment in the early 16th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, servants‘ passages in wealthy households were often hidden by “jib doors,” bookshelves built directly into walls, and some of the more humorous-minded would put fake titles on the fake books.“

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/imaginary-books-nyc

I‘ve been so motivated with my #2025OffMyShelf challenge, I created a part 2!

These prompts are a bit broader to allow for a variety of interpretations.

I‘ve also put the Part 2 Reading Challenge on Story Graph. The links for SG as well as a jpg or pdf version of the bingo board are on my blog: http://wanderinglynn.com/2025/01/23/2025-off-my-shelf-reading-challenge-part-2/

#2025OffMyShelf2 #OffMyShelf2

“But people have grown better,” observed the bailiff.
“In what way?”
“Cleverer.”
“Cleverer, maybe, that‘s true, young man; but what‘s the use of that? What earthly good is cleverness to people on the brink of ruin? One can perish without cleverness. What‘s the good of cleverness to a huntsman if there is no game?”

From The Pipe. Written in 1887. Still relevant (or even more so) in 2025.

Book 2 in the love letters series (and there seems to be just the 2 books). Nathan might have edged out Maddox for book boyfriend. This is a beautiful story of childhood friends meeting as adults and finding love.

But, this book has dark underlying themes, including child abuse (verbal & physical), parental death, negative self-talk and suicidal thoughts—there is a content warning at the beginning of the book. So not a story for everyone.

#two4tuesday on Wednesday

1. Hm, several things, but mostly the political BS.

2. Tagged + the movie Office Space

I love a good second chance romance and Maddox & Hannah's story did not disappoint, even though 15 years is a long time. But they also got to know each other again as adults, which was lovely. Yes, the miscommunication went on a bit, but then they did have a grown up conversation, which I think showed the transition from hurt college students to adults.

Bonus, this story is performed by two amazing narrators, Andi Arndt & Jacob Morgan.

A book that‘s been on my shelf for over 5 years is now #OffMyShelf 🎉

While I thought the pacing was inconsistent between the various time periods, I did enjoy this story. And now I want to go to Provence. 🇫🇷

#weekendreads

I started On Democracy this morning—seemed like an appropriate weekend to read it.

I‘m about halfway through Carousel (#OffMyShelf a book that‘s been on my shelves for 5yrs or more), and should finish it this afternoon.

And I plan to read at least one story in Ward No. 6 (#OffMyShelf essays or short stories).

Major mixed feelings, which I explain (or maybe rant) in my review on SG. But basically while I started out not liking Charlie & feeling sympathy for Emma, by the end, I was all team Charlie but thought Emma was too self-centered.

And even though I knew, KNEW where Center was taking the Charlie storyline, it was still emotional whiplash.

So this might be a soft pick for me but major mixed feelings.

Thanks to everyone who entered my #49bdgiveaway
I wish I could send everyone a book. 📚 And I wish you all a great reading year.

I decided to draw 3 names & the winners are:

@CrowCAH
@Butterfinger
@Scochrane26

🎉🥳

Please email me your mailing address - lynn@wanderinglynn.com

Don Quixote is #OffMyShelf for the chunkster prompt 🎉 I pushed through to finished the last 200 pages today.

While I appreciate this novel's historical literary significance, I found I lost steam with the continuous monotony of the ludicrous conduct.

It‘s my first #chunksterchallenge2025 book 🎉

#5JoysFriday

1. It‘s my birthday week ♑️ & I love a good giveaway
2. My Italian visa arrived super fast & on my birthday #birthdaymagic
3. @PuddleJumper is hosting a Robin Hobb bookclub ❤️📚
4. I‘ve deleted all my Meta accounts including IG. 🎉 I‘m on Bluesky as wanderinglynn - https://bsky.app/profile/wanderinglynn.bsky.social - and BSky will soon be launching Flashes, a photo sharing site.
5. This kitten. He‘s the bestest. 💜🐱

🎉 ~24 hours left to enter! 🎉

To enter, repost this and tag one book on your wish list. Tag me & use the #49bdaygiveaway

Open internationally. Closes at 2000 EST on Friday, January 17. I‘ll draw a name and send the winner the book they tagged.

“And sin . . . is when you treat people like things.”

“When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they‘re getting worried that they won‘t like the truth.”

Terry Pratchett 💜💜💜

#two4tuesday

1. I actually love to watch it snow. ❄️
2. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Thanks for the tag @dabbe

After reading the Vulture article that came out yesterday on an author who was one of my top faves, I‘ve been scrolling social media reading others‘ thoughts.

Then I wrote down my own thoughts along with a list of fave fantasy/scifi authors/books: http://wanderinglynn.com/2025/01/14/processing-difficult-thoughts-or-in-the-alte...

Too many thoughts. Which is why I have the photo of Jasper.

It‘s my birthday and I want to share the fun. 🥳 So I‘m sharing the love with a birthday giveaway!

To enter, repost this and tag one book on your wish list. Tag me & use the #49bdaygiveaway

Open internationally. Closes at 2000 EST on Friday, January 17. I‘ll draw a name and send the winner the book they tagged.

Happy #hyggehour 🕗

📖 starting the tagged, which fits the #OffMyShelf prompt of on my shelf for over 5 years.
🫖 drinking cinnamon orange black tea from the Spice & Tea Exchange
🕯️enjoying my Capricorn Bergamot Boss candle from Whiskey River Soap Co.
🐱with Jasper supervising
🐦‍⬛ and my The Raven blanket
🎧 listening to an indie mix playlist
🐚 wishing I was someplace warm & tropical

Another book #OffMyShelf 🎉

I didn‘t know who she was before reading this. Sadly, I just didn‘t enjoy the writing. I thought the way she phrased things & her use of metaphors, well, the best way to describe it that it feels like you have to know her personally to get how she talks. I found chapters/stories to be disconnected.

Overall, this story was not my cup of tea, but others might find it meaningful and relatable.

#sundayfunday

After 2 DFNs, the tagged was my first completed book on Jan. 1. It‘s book 1 in the Walsh sibling series.

I‘d recommend this for readers who enjoy romances where both MCs have a bit of baggage & in the case of the MMC, an abusive childhood. That being said, there are several trigger warnings for this series, so it‘s not for everyone.

Not my cup of tea. While this was an original idea for a mystery novel, it was a bit of a slog to get through. Given that there's really no mystery (Tey was pretty upfront on finding Richard III not guilty), the book has no action. It's really an academic discussion about one king's history and reputation.

Another book #OffMyShelf 🎉 Plus, I‘m making excellent progress on my chunkster & have read at least 100 pages every day this month.

#OffMyShelf for published in the last 2 years prompt

I struggle to understand the hype. Maybe it‘s that I can't relate to Margo since she is 19yo single mom, college dropout. But the main issues are:
(1) I was bored. I skimmed a good portion & never lost the story because it never went anywhere. The synopsis is the *entire* story.
(2) with the title, I expected a more realistic book. But here, all the plot lines wrapped up too neatly positive.

#5JoysFriday

It‘s been a cold & snowy week. I was very happy my boss suspended the core days & let us telework all week. And this guy 👆🏻 kept me entertained the entire time.

“You are about to begin reading a new book, and to be honest you are a little tense.”

#firstlinefriday

I‘m almost halfway. I have mixed feelings so far as I have some concerns with the messaging and the switching between 1st POV and 3rd (sometimes on the same page) feels gimmicky. So I‘ll probably rate it as meh, and I think it‘s been overhyped.

#TLT 44/100

Not sure how the BBC came up with this list as it seems a bit random. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Some are too recent for my childhood. Some I didn‘t read until I was an adult.

Some faves: The Little Prince, Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland, Charlotte‘s Web, Mary Poppins, The Snowy Day

Some faves not on the list: The Tale of Desperaux, Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Julie and the Wolves, Ramona Quimby Age 8

#two4tuesday

1. Yes
2. Pick a romance book—they‘re all about second chances. 😉❤️🥰

For the 2nd chance prompt on the #OffMyShelf challenge.

I first started the tagged in Oct. The premise was intriguing & the beginning showed promise. However, as the story progressed, I lost interest & found that I was forcing myself to read, so I put it aside.

I came back to this book today & only got 2 chapters further than last time. I simply am not enjoying this. Too many things I disliked.

Now it‘s off my shelf & on my Pango shelf!

I learned of James Vukelich from his Ojibwe word of the day on IG where he teaches how we are all connected with everything around us. And in this book, he teaches that “aanik-” means “to be interconnected.

This is a beautiful work. Here, he attempts to explain Ojibwe teachings by translating those words & concepts into English—not an easy feat. Because, like many language translations, it's not an easy one-to-one construction.

#2025OffMyShelf

The first chunkster for the #ChunksterChallenge2025 that I‘m tackling is Don Quixote. The paperback edition I‘m reading has 940 pages. I failed to read it last year, so I added it to my #2025OffMyShelf reading challenge. I started it today & read 103 pages.

If/when I finish this one, I plan to tackle the bitsy chunkster The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next.

Thanks @Amiable for hosting!

1st book off my #OffMyShelf reading challenge. 🎉

This super short story—not quite 69 pgs double spaced with some illustrations—is barely a story. There's an interesting plot, there are interesting characters. But it needs to be fleshed out. No world building, no character development. The reader is just dropped into the middle of a tavern & given a few crumbs. A bare bones story, which feels more like an outline of a story. I‘m skipping book 2.

I'm still trying to reduce my TBR bookcase. My previous attempts were too grand, so I scaled back. My 2025 Off My Shelf Reading Challenge (complete with bingo board) has 24 prompts. Everyone is welcome to join!

More about the prompts:
https://wanderinglynn.com/2025/01/04/2025-off-my-shelf-reading-challenge/

Or join the challenge on StoryGraph:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/417717e0-08c2-4af5-b693-bdbdb41...

#OffMyShelf

@Lizpixie is hosting a month-long #JumpStart2025 readathon!

See her post to join in.

It was an up & down reading year, so I couldn‘t pick a fave from each month since some months I only did rereads (which I don‘t count in my annual stats). But here‘s my Top 12 Reads of 2024. And I posted a mini-review of each on my blog:
http://wanderinglynn.com/2024/12/30/top-12-reads-of-2024/

#two4tuesday

1. Either, but I prefer to see them by water, so it depends on which side of the water I‘m on.

2. apocalypse, animals, adventure

Thanks for the tag Lisa. 🐦‍⬛ If you haven‘t played, consider yourself tagged!

#TLT

I read 5 and I have one more on my sitting on bookshelf. Clearly not my genre 😆

#HauntedHollowSwap

Happy opening day! If you haven‘t already done so, please share a photo & tag me!

🖤🎃🧡👻🦇🖤

🧡🖤 Thank you #HauntedHollowSwap -pers! 🖤🧡

Everyone has confirmed sending their box. (Please note that some boxes are still en route.)

Now we wait for opening day, which is Wednesday, October 30 👻🧟‍♀️🦇🎃

#HHS #HHS24

#5JoysFriday

Top left: Puzzles! 🧩
Top right: Night of the Living Zoo 🧟‍♀️
Right middle: Jasper working on his modeling career 📸
Bottom right: he somehow got to the shelf above the clothes rod in my closet 🙈
Bottom left: 16 weeks vet visit for rabies vaccine & now weighs 5.4 pds. He was super good! He walked into his carrier on his own, never cried, & took it all in stride. 😺

Super cute Hawai‘i Foods puzzle that @DebinHawaii gifted me when I visited Honolulu.

Aloha! Here is what is says:

You‘re the pineapple of my eye. 🍍
Love everything a bao you.
Love you so mochi! 🍡
Ice, ice baby 🍧
It musubi love!
You drive me loco. 🍣

Thanks Deb! ❤️❤️❤️

Does anything go better with books than cats?

Not only is he on TOP of the 6‘ tall bookcase, he‘s laying on my book sleeves.

#two4tuesday

1. It‘s hard to have a fave because I love fruit. But I‘ll pick raspberries because they‘re delicious by themselves, in desserts, and in chocolate.

2. Tagged

#5JoysFriday

1. Sweet cuddlebug
2. He figured out how to get to the top of the door.
3. My yoga supervisor
4. Halloween accessories 🎃
5. Halloween tights arrived! The ones on the left glow in the dark 👻

#wondrouswednesday on Thursday

🌽 both are fun!
🎃 carve pumpkins
🌲 nature walk
🔥 bonfire
📚 books!
🍏 neither (makes my teeth ache thinking about it)
🥔 potato soup
🎃 pumpkin spice

#two4tuesday

1. No because I don‘t get trick-or-treaters.

2. Apocalyptic, animals, funny

#5JoysFriday

1-5 could be all this guy 👆🏻 But I‘m also joyful that:
☀️ the weather finally feels fallish—there‘s a lovely crispness in the air & I can finally wear sweatshirts & sweaters
🇮🇹 I‘ve successfully made it 2 weeks practicing Italian in Duolingo
⌨️ I‘ve already written two blog posts this month & am working on a third
🗳️ I voted! (DC mails out ballots & encourages mailing in/dropping them off at an official ballot box)