Category Archives: Blog Hops

November 19, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books That Influenced My Life

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

About a dozen lightbulbs are scattered on a white surface in a dark room. Despite not being screwed into anything, one of the lightbulbs is emitting light and therefore allowing the viewer to see what is in this space.

This is a bit of a slippery topic for me because of how my idea of an influential book has evolved over time.

A title that meant the world to me as a kid or a teenager may not have the same effect on me as an adult, for example. This doesn’t detract from how much I loved it at those life stages, but not everything is going to feel the same for a reader depending on when they pick it up and what circumstances they’re currently going through.

Change is a normal part of life, after all.

Here are some books that meant the world to me the first time I read them.

The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Ishmael (Ishmael, #1) by Daniel Quinn

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present by Howard Zinn

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou’s Autobiography, #1) by Maya Angelou

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Would I feel the same way about them today? It’s hard to tell, but maybe!

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November 18, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Modern Books You Think Will Be Classics In The Future


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Thank you to Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders for submitting this topic. It’s something I think about regularly and can’t wait to see how everyone else responds to. 

Two pink gerbera flowers are lying on an antique hardcover book that’s also been wrapped in a white lace ribbon.It’s hard to tell which books will become classics. Not every bestseller is actually well written or will continue to affect readers in twenty or fifty years. Likewise, I have no doubt there are some true gems out there that may have had middling to poor sales but will eventually be rediscovered and taught in classrooms all across the world.

Here are some books I think might pass the test of time…but we’ll have to wait to see if I’m right!

1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

2. My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novels, #1) by Elena Ferrante

3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

4. The Deep by Rivers Solomon

5. Everfair (Everfair, #1) by Nisi Shawl

6. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

I was not able to come up with a full ten answers this week. Here’s hoping you all were able to do that.

 

 

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November 12, 2025 · 1:00 am

 Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Things I’m Thankful For

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

I love this topic!

A little white heart that has the phrase “I am grateful” printed onto it. There is a tiny red heart next to the phrase and a piece of twine attached to the heart, probably so it can be hung somewhere. This year I am grateful for…

Modern Medicine

A world without vaccines, antibiotics, antivirals, radiation and chemotherapy, contraception, anesthesia and painkillers in general, surgery, and other treatments for what ails us would include so much unnecessary suffering. History books are filled with stories about what happened before we had accesses to these things, and they are anything but easy to read.

 

People Who Do “Dirty” Jobs

That is to say, the people who pick vegetables, prepare meat, clean toilets, unclog pipes, monitor sewage, gather up garbage, scrub everything, empty bedpans, dress wounds, and do the other thousand and one jobs that keep the rest of us living in safe, clean places.

 

Books

With all of the difficult things going on in the world today, books provide such a welcomed respite from bad news.

 

Loved Ones

I am lucky to have such good relationships with my spouse, parents, siblings, sister-in-law, nephews, and other relatives.

 

Noise-Cancelling Earphones

Yes, really! Last summer was hot, humid, and didn’t always have good air quality, so I unfortunately had more migraines than I typically would. There’s nothing like the relief of noise-cancelling earphones when you’re in sensory overload and even the smallest sounds feel painfully loud.

 

Jokes 

It makes me so happy when people who are talented at cracking jokes share their gift with the world. Laughter can be like medicine for one’s soul.

 

All of You

You make the Internet and the WWBC a better place!

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November 11, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books About World War I


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Given that today is Remembrance Day, which commemorates the end of World War I and is also known is Armistice Day or Veterans Day depending on which country you live in, I will be sharing ten books about this war in my post. I tried to pick books about this subject that aren’t as well known.

Three grey and roughly hewn stone crosses in a German military cemetery from World War I. The sky is blue and the grass is green. It’s a peaceful scene. War isn’t something I like to read about, so this still fits the original “books outside of my comfort zone” theme as well!

1. The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War by Chad L. Williams

2. The First World War in Posters, from the Imperial War Museum, London by Joseph Darracott

3. Chronicle of Youth: The War Diary, 1913-1917 by Vera Brittain

4. Falsehood in Wartime: Propaganda Lies of the First World War by Arthur Ponsonby

5. The Forbidden Zone: A Nurse’s Impressions of the First World War by Mary Borden

6. The Poems of Wilfred Owen by Jon Stallworthy

7. Love Letters of the Great War by Mandy Kirkby

8. 1915: The Death Of Innocence by Lyn Macdonald

9. Bill the Bastard: The Story Of Australia’s Greatest War Horse by Roland Perry

10. Sword and Blossom: A British Officer’s Enduring Love for a Japanese Woman by Peter Pagnamenta

May we someday live in a world where war is nothing but a distant memory.

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November 5, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Strange or Useless Talent I Have

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

This time I am linking back to my previous answer to this question.

A grey, white, and black striped kitty is lying on a wooden surface outdoors, possibly a patio, and gazing at the viewer. Other than regularly looking away from tv shows and films just before something important happens, I am every cat’s best friend. They would like nothing more than to follow me around and go on feline-friendly adventures while I would like nothing more than for them to pick a new human to bond with.

No, I do not hate cats. In fact, I’d happily share my home with a few of them if it were possible.

This is an utterly useless talent because I am terribly allergic to cats and can’t even stand near them without coughing and wheezing, much less give them the affection they desire.

I suspect that they love me so much because I do my best to ignore them. While other people might squeal and rush after kitty, I keep a respectful distance.

According to cat logic, of course, this means that I am a well-mannered human and should be rewarded with a cuddle.

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November 4, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A little red squirrel sitting up and staring at the photographer. This photo was taken outdoors and the leaves are turning yellow for the autumn. The grass is still green.

Not my photo. I simply love squirrels and autumn.

I  am not sure how to write for the introduction to this post this week. Just like all of you, I assume, my TBR list is a long one. Eventually, I hope to read all of these titles.

As usual, this includes a variety of genres. I admire those of you who can stick to one genre all of the time, but I find it more enjoyable to bounce around from one to the next.

1. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

2. Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison

3. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

4. Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys, #1) by Aiden Thomas

5. White Light: The Elemental Role of Phosphorus-in Our Cells, in Our Food, and in Our World by Jack Lohmann

6. The Antidote by Karen Russell

7. The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator)

8. When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution’s Greatest Romance by Riley Black

9. Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

10. Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1) by Seanan McGuire

 

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October 29, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Scary Books I’ve Recommended and Why

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Black and white sketch of a ghost who is floating through the air with their arms outstretched. They look like a cartoon ghost covered in a white sheet with two eye holes cut into the sheet. Very cute. I feel like I recommend a lot of the same books here over and over again.

In an attempt to break out of that pattern, here are some scary and I’d argue also Halloween-friendly books I think anyone who likes that sort of stuff should read them.

So far as I recall, I have only occasionally talked about (most of?) them on my blog in the past.

 

1. The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Why: If you’ve ever picked up a book about a teenage girl who is seduced by a 100+-year-old vampire and wondered what their lives would actually be like a few decades after they met, you might really like this twist on that trope. Let’s just say it’s not exactly Twilight. 😂

2. Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) by Toni Morrison

Why: The most terrifying moments in this story have nothing at all to do with the paranormal. To me, that realism and willingness to dive deeply into real-life issues makes a tale ten times scarier!

 

3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Why: The twist ending is fantastic. If you haven’t seen the Will Smith film based on this story, it was also really well done and is definitely worth watching.

 

4. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Why: It’s a deeply satisfying ghost story that feels more realistic and tragic to me than many other corners of this genre due to the Woman in Black’s reason for not finding peace after death.

 

5. The Last of What I Am: A Novel by Abigail Cutter

Why:The character development was excellent. Don’t allow the idea of reading about a Confederate soldier turn you off from picking this tale up. This was in no way a defence of racism, slavery, or anything abhorrent like that. Tom was a well-rounded and interesting person who was tangled up in something much bigger than himself and who had grown in all sorts of incredible ways since his death.

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October 28, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Gory Halloween Movies


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

 

A grey background filled with drawings of dozens of pieces of candy corn that are more or less spread out equally. Here are the Halloween posts I’ve written for Top Ten Tuesday in previous years: Free Horror Stories, My Favourite Halloween Treats, Halloween Picture Books,  Halloween Things I’ve Never Done,  Things I Love About Halloween, and LGBTQ+ Horror Novels, and The Best Ghost Stories I’ve Read.

I love this holiday! Happy (almost) Halloween to everyone who will also be celebrating it in a few days.

As I’m really not a big fan of blood or gore, most but certainly not all of the Halloween movies I watch are marketed to younger audiences. I love the fact that there’s such a wide range of options for this holiday. Not everything Halloween-related has to be terrifying, after all.

These were all great films. Some are better for teens and adults while others can be enjoyed by all ages. So much depends on the specific ages and interests of everyone involved.

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

2. Hocus Pocus

3. A House With a Clock on Its Walls

4. Coco

5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

6. Monsters, Inc.

7. Beetlejuice

8. Edward Scissorhands

9. The Sixth Sense

10. I Am Legend

11. The Others

12. Get Out

13. The Babadook

14. The Addams Family

15. The Witch

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October 22, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Things That Scare Me

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

We’ve done this topic before, but I’m once again not looking at my old answers. I think it’s more fun to mix things up and maybe give some responses I didn’t share previously. (Or maybe they’ll all be the same? Someday I may go back and check, but today won’t be that day.)

There are plenty of serious things in real life that scare me, of course, but I’m trying to focus on lighthearted Halloween-themed answers today so that everyone will feel comfortable responding.

Please don’t take this post as a sign that I’m ignoring the troubles of the world because I’m not. I’m just trying to avoid topics that will spark unwanted debates on hot topics in my comment section. Ha!

A brown skinned’s person’s handed holding up a paper sign that has the word “scary” written on it. The words have been mounted on a few decorative layers of purple and blue paper for added effect. The Woods 

There’s no one around to help and no street signs to guide you if you get lost. You’re on your own.

 

Awakening Angry Spirits

No, movie characters, you do NOT need to steal that trinket from the graveyard or ignore the locals’ warnings about staying out of the woods. You will have a much better time in life if you mind your own business and assume that strangers who tell you something is dangerous are doing so for a very good reason.

 

Time Travel

Visiting the past doesn’t seem that fun to me. I’d rather stay here where we have antibiotics, the Internet, and air conditioning.

 

Sexy Monsters 

I don’t care if they’re vampires, zombies, werewolves, Sasquatch, ghosts, or something similar. The fact that they’re trying to lure humans closer to them is more than enough reason for me to run away.

It’s sort of like anglerfish who emit light from their antennas in order to attract prey. If they’re irresistibly alluring but clearly not human, this could be a sign that you’re about to be turned into dinner!

(But no offence intended to those of you who like these sorts of stories, of course. I just get danger vibes from this type of character).

 

Curses

You can eventually outrun or outsmart most other foes, but you – or a book character –  can’t possibly fool a curse. It will follow you no matter where you go.

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October 21, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Halloween Reads


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

An empty spider web that has been woven in a wheat field that looks ready to be harvested. There are a few beads of water in the web, and the sky looks overcast and like it might rain again soon. Jana wants us to talk about cozy stories this week.

Given that we’re deep into Halloween season, I want to talk about scary stories that also have cozy elements to them.

Let’s smash those two ideas and see what I can come up with!

1. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

2. Cackle by Rachel Harrison

3. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

5. The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

6. A Fever of the Blood (Frey & McGray, #2) by Óscar de Muriel

7. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

8. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

9. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

10. Fangs by Sarah Andersen

11. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

If you like these genres, what are some of your favourite dark fantasy or cozy horror reads?

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