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: Characters I’d follow on social media
A fun topic this week which required a bit of catching up by me. I don't want to admit to being clueless when it comes to social media, but I only know Instagram and blogging. After a fair amount of social platform polling (and trolling) here's what I got: 10. Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)-Facebook. Once I... Continue Reading →
Reading Challenge Recap: Part 2…looking ahead
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 →
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: Best books of 2019
After wading through my reading highs and lows, these 10 titles floated to the top. A weirdly eclectic mix, I gotta say, a byproduct of my reading co-challenge. Just for fun, I included my star ratings. *Note that I'm not the most generous 5-star giver, but three books this year captured my heart. I bumped... Continue Reading →
2020 Reading Challenge: Bookish Jay and the Reading Mermaid
Thank you for joining The Scented Library and The Redolent Mermaid for our third reading challenge! Julie and I enjoy reading and even better, reading with friends. Below are the prompts we created as a guide to reading outside the box. Feel free to join us in challenging ourselves to read them all or simply... Continue Reading →
TTT: Winter TBR
10. The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke Okay, listing this title has become an inside joke due to the fact it's filled a tbr spot every month since January. I've put off this Beowulf reimaging all year, but must check off the "retelling" prompt for my reading challenge. It's now or never. And the... Continue Reading →
Top Ten Tuesday: Wintry reads
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 →
Top Ten Tuesday: Do old reading habits die hard?
I used to think so, but in my mellowing (call it maturing if you like) reader life, I've found tendencies evolve over time. I've dropped old habits with ease. Below are the major reading changes I've experienced in the last 7-8 years. *Audio books. I wouldn't get half the reading done I do without them.... Continue Reading →