Hello all, It's year no. 6 (!) of our Reading Challenge. Julie and I derive great fun and pleasure from composing, and in Julie's case, completing, these yearly challenges. I do try, but I'm the worst reading procrastinator. You do not want to meet my TBR in a dark alley, it's a beast. If you... Continue Reading →
Reading Challenge year 5! Bookish Jay and the Reading Mermaid
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 →
2021 Reading Challenge: Bookish Jay and the Reading Mermaid
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 →
Top Ten Tuesday: Covers I love from the last decade
Not done with those Best of the Decade posts, quite yet. Specific to books which I've personally read. (I really wanted to do this as a topic last year) so here goes... 10. We Were Liars e. lockhart I had some issues with the plot, but love the way the cover evokes a state of... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: 2020 releases
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 →
Top Ten Tuesday: bookmark love!
I'm stoked for this week's topic because I GEEK bookmarks. I'm a collector with too damn many, and I have no shame. 7. Not today Lego Vader. I'm sitting on more books that I can currently handle. Printables are more fun than using your grocery store receipt or junk mail to hold your place. Check... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: Books you Autumn know about
All puns aside, what labels a book as possessing autumnal vibes? Does it have to be set during fall? Contain a mysterious, bleak or brooding tone? Feature fall-ish cover art? The books I chose [almost all classics, I own nothing new which fit] contain at least one or a combination of the three elements within.... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish tropes: love em/leave em edition
This Tuesday we're dishing or dissin' book tropes. A trope is a commonly used theme or plot device. There are a few bookish themes that ring my chimes every time, while others make me cringe with each encounter. Declaring my bookish love it or leave it judgments below: 10. Breaking away from the plot to... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: Beloved Children’s books
I truly love this week's prompt, but I'll be honest--I did no soul-searching to dig up my childhood favorites. Instead, I listed the first few that came to mind. I limited the list to legitimate childhood years-strictly below age thirteen. I recommend them all. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes- by DuBose Heyward, Marjorie... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: favorite (fill-in) *Eye-opening reads*
The topic this Tuesday is top 10 fill-in your favorite genre. Eye-opening books may not be my favorite (or even a genre) but it's the theme I felt compelled to write on this week. Influenced by the spirit of the truth-telling finale in the gut-wrenching HBO series, Chernobyl, I relate ten favorite eye-opening reads. I... Continue Reading →