Follow along on my fragrant chronicles
Hello bookish buddies. I'm back to celebrate year number 5(!) of the Bookish Jay and Reading Mermaid challenge with Julie from The Redolent Mermaid. Our collaboration has outlasted many a celebrity marriage, and I'd argue, possesses more substance than most. We look forward to generating these lists for you, and for us, every year. What... Continue Reading →
Here it is...The Scented Library and The Redolent Mermaid's fourth annual reading challenge! We've almost made it to 2021, *small sigh of relief, hearts full of hope and fingers crossed. If you, like myself, didn't complete 2020's challenge, no judgement. It turns out I'm not a pandemic reader and I'm ok with that. We all... Continue Reading →
5-star ratings should be given few and far between. Not that I'm ironfisted or anything, it's just that I reserve the highest rating for those special books I consider to be nothing short of legendary. Books possessing that elusive combination of powerful story, enjoyability, plus top-quality writing garner my legendary status. The last two years... Continue Reading →
The year 2019 has come and gone but before I put it to rest, I decided to finish off my reading challenge reviews. Yes, I know we are nearly a week into halfway through January 2020 and I’ve started a brand new reading challenge. But, the ghosts of last year’s reads are haunting my brain, rattling... Continue Reading →
Surely, scores of lovely new titles will grace the shelves in 2020, but for the life of me, I struggled to find any I want to read. The top one is a must, while the others are possible contenders. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Prequels are hit-or-miss, yet, I'm admittedly intrigued... Continue Reading →
The year 2019 has come and gone but before I put it to rest, I decided to finish off my reading challenge reviews. Yes, I know we are nearly a week into 2020 and I've started a brand new reading challenge. But, the ghosts of last year's reads are haunting my brain, rattling around and... Continue Reading →
Cozy holiday novels could be popular titles for today's topic, but I don't read them. Depressing literary fiction is more in my wheelhouse, however, I chose to bridge the gap by listing books with wintry settings that I recommend. [Only a few qualify as bleak and literary]. The Snow Child by Eown Ivey. Bittersweet magical... Continue Reading →
The most important attribute for any character is multi-faceted behavior. Those who grow and learn, question and falter, are both heroes and failures become the most memorable to me. 10. Unreliable. My real-life friends and family are solid as rocks, but in fiction I prefer a character with skewed perception or less than forth-coming narration.... Continue Reading →
The Nickel Boys | Colson Whitehead (Bildungsroman reading challenge prompt) ★★★★☆ Audio narration | JD Jackson ★★★★★ "Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida."- Goodreads *note* I listened to the Penguin Random House audio and the narrator... Continue Reading →
These 5 books could not be more different. A testament to both my eclectic reading style and to the variety of book prompts brought to you by the Bookish Jay and Reading Mermaid's Challenge, co-hosted by The Redolent Mermaid and yours truly. Whether you identify with historical reads, epic adventures or risque Victorian ghost tales,... Continue Reading →
The Scented Library 