Category Archives: Blog Hops

October 1, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Classic Books I Would Reread

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.

A vintage brown leather bag sitting on a white rock carved into the shape of what appears to be a low fence. The original topic for this week was “Books I Would or Wouldn’t Reread and Why.” As I’ve recently done blog hop posts about mostly contemporary books I wouldn’t read and have another one ready to go for next week’s WWBC theme, I decided to tweak this one a little and talk about classic novels I would like to reread someday.

From what I recall about their storylines, they were all memorable tales filled with characters that I found relatable or interesting in some way.

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

3. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

4. The Good Earth (House of Earth, #1) by Pearl S. Buck

5. Dracula by Bram Stoker*

6. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

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

8. Beowulf by Unknown

9. The Plague by Albert Camus

10. Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes, #1) by Bill Watterson**

*Well, other than the fact that the protagonist brushed off the stern warnings he was given from locals about venturing in Dracula’s territory. You’d think he would have taken them seriously when they told him not to go there. Ha!

** If there is such a thing as a classic comic strip, I’d argue that Calvin and Hobbes deserves to be counted as one. They somehow become funnier and more meaningful every time I reread them.

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Tagged as Classic Novels, Rereads, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

September 30, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers that Give off Fall Vibes

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Closeup photo of yellow autumn leaves still on the branch. After a long, hot, humid summer, autumn is such a relief.

No more heat waves.

No more forest fires.

No more air quality warnings (hopefully).

My seasonal allergies will rapidly improve after the first overnight freeze.

Pumpkin-flavoured stuff is everywhere.

Soon the leaves will change colour and be beautiful for several weeks.

And Halloween is only about a month away!

In honour of that, here are ten book covers that give off fall vibes:

Book cover for oncakes by Suzanne Walker. Image on cover shows a drawing of a witch holding a steaming pie and a young man standing next to her as he easts something out of a bowl with a content expression on his face.

1. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

Book cover for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Image on cover is a drawing of a tree that has yellow autumn leaves. The sky is orange, oddly enough.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Book cover for Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. Image on cover shows two friends lying in a pumpkin patch and gazing at each other with joy.

3. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

Book cover for Squashed by Joan Bauer. Image on cover shows pumpkin as well as the imprint of lipstick on the pumpkin and cover.

4. Squashed by Joan Bauer

Book cover for Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. Image on cover is of countless red and yellow leaves lying on top of each other in a large pile.

5. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Book cover for The Cider House Rules by John Irving. Image on cover shows a drawing of a red apple growing on an apple tree branch.

6. The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Book cover for A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. Image on cover shows four marigolds painted against a sky-blue background.

7. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

Book cover for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Image on cover shows an old mansion bathed in yellow and orange light. There are bare tree trunks framing this eerie scene as well.

8. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Book cover for The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. Image on cover shows a drawing of a young Asian girl wearing a loose blue tunic. Her hair is blowing back as she stares at a bird in front of a large full moon.

9. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Book cover for Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life (Wish, #10) by Suzanne Nelson. Image on cover shows a small maple leaf falling next to a pumpkin spice latte that is piled with whipped cream.

10. Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life (Wish, #10) by Suzanne Nelson

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September 24, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: How I Handle Bad Days

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.

These past several years have included some pretty tough times for my family, including death and multiple other relatives who have had health problems ranging from minor day surgeries to very serious diagnoses that needed emergency or urgent surgery and rehabilitation, radiation therapy, or other treatments afterwards.

Needless to say, my coping mechanism toolbox is well-stocked and has been heavily used since 2020.

This is what I’ve done to take care of myself when I was part of the support system for others:

Ignoring the news

I do what I can to help, but sometimes I simply haven’t had a single speck of leftover energy for paying attention to the terrible things that happen in our world. This isn’t something I’m proud of, it’s just the reality of life sometimes. You have to take care of your own basic needs before taking care of others.

A white woman walking her black dog in a forest. They look content and relaxed.

Not me. I just love this stock photo.

Exercising

Specifically, I have found weightlifting, kickboxing, dancing, and long, brisk walks to be distracting and helpful. It’s harder to keep worrying and ruminating when you’re doing a burpee, or trying to get an entire workout done with excellent form, or just saw the cutest dog ever walk by you on the trail. (Although I say that about multiple dogs per walk because they’re all delightful).

Ice Cream Sundaes

Yes, I mean the vegan or dairy-free kind. I’m so lucky to have lots of flavours to choose from these days as that wasn’t the case when I was a kid. Sometimes a sweet treat really hits the spot when you’re anxiously waiting for a text or call to see how the patient is doing. (I do not recommend sneaking a sundae into the hospital waiting room, though. Ha!)

Naps

The world can feel like a much more hopeful place if you can close your eyes for twenty minutes and get some rest.

Funny Shows

My spouse loves to watch dramatic, tense shows as a distraction. I need funny, silly things to watch instead where the worst thing that can possibly happen is that the family dog gets a second dinner one night due to a miscommunication.

Haircuts

There’s something refreshing about brief but important moments of self care like this. I like the sensation of having my head gently rubbed and my hair brushed in preparation for the haircut. It’s soothing.

Visiting the Library

It’s nice to be surrounded by people who are (hopefully) having good days when I’m having a bad one because it reminds me that this, too, shall pass. Also, books are a fantastic distraction from the painful stuff in life.

Body Scan Meditation

This is the best type of meditation if you ask me! There’s something so satisfying about focusing on relaxing one part of your body at a time.

I look forward to reading everyone else’s responses. There’s still room in my toolbox for other self-care options, although I hope I won’t have to use them anytime soon now that things seem to have calmed down for everyone.

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Tagged as Bad Mood, Coping Mechanisms, Personal Life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

September 23, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Two freshly picked apples and several apple leaves lying on an opened book that itself is lying on a wooden surface, possibly a picnic table. I have the full ten books this time, and I’m excited about all of them.

Brandy Norwood’s autobiography that I mentioned in one of my summer TBR posts has been pushed back to a March of 2026 release. I hope to feature it again on a winter or spring TBR list if the publication date remains more or less the same in several months.

There are a few Top Ten Tuesday bloggers who talked about some fabulous books I ended up adding to this list, so I will be thanking them today as well.

Book cover for Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese White. Image on cover is a painting of a pale-skinned child with dark brown hair wearing a bright red coat and green hat. She is smiling as she walks into a dark woods at dusk.

1. Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese White

Thank you to Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits for this recommendation.

Why I’m Interested: I love picture books and the woods, so this is going to be a fun read for me.

Book cover for The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson. Image on cover shows a painting of a foreboding statue or figure wearing a white hood and cloak and standing in the middle of a garden. Weirdly enough, all of the plants are blood red and there is blood dripping from the bottom of the painting as well.

2. The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson

Why I’m Interested: Two words for you all: cursed paintings. Such a scary topic as we slide into Halloween season.

Book cover for Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood. Image on cover shows a white cat standing underneath a neon light and looking up expectantly. Various parts of its fur are orange, red, green, yellow, or purple depending on which lights illuminate it.

3. Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood

Release Date: Today

Why I’m Interested: Chronic illness amidst a global pandemic sounds intense for sure…but you also don’t get to read about disabled characters in this setting very often. I’m intrigued and hoping this is fantastic.

Book cover for Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach. Image on cover shows a human face that is, oddly enough, comprised by dozens of ears, noses, eyes, lips, and pieces of skin that look like they were taken from a variety of donors. There is blue space between each piece and the pieces do not match up evenly.

4. Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

Thank you to AJ Sterkel for this recommendation.

Release Date: September 26

Why I’m Interested: I know a bit about organ transplants and cadaver skin being used to help heal burn victims but not about all of the other body parts that could be used to give the living better and longer lives. This could be quite interesting.

Book cover for The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee. Image on cover shows a painting of a frightened woman standing in the shadow slightly hunched over and looking over her right shoulder.

5. The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee

Release Date: September 30

Why I’m Interested: Yes, I know I may be repeating a few answers from this past summer, but this still sounds like such a good read. I love books that follow the same family through multiple generations.

Book cover for Good Spirits by B.K. Borison. Image on cover shows a man and woman embracing. Snow and autumn leaves are tumbling down around them as they kiss. They’re both wearing warm clothes and look cozy despite the cold.

6. Good Spirits by B.K. Borison

Release Date: October 7

Why I’m Interested: October is often a horror-heavy month for me because Halloween is my favourite holiday, but as I slowly drift away from (most) horror I’m finding other festive books to read. This one looks cute, especially given that I reread A Christmas Carol every December.

Book cover for Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia . Image on cover shows a heavily-muscled white man embracing a middle eastern woman who is wearing a purple dress as she floats underwater with him.

7. Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia

Release Date: October 14

Why I’m Interested: It looks silly and fun, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Book cover for Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines. Image on cover is a drawing of a black cat who has ten eyes on its head and octopus tentacles growing from its backside. The cat is winding its legs around someone who is wearing yellow trousers and using a cane.

8. Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines

Thank you to Annemieke @ A Dance With Books for this recommendation.

Release Date: October 21

Why I’m Interested: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of my favourite shows back in the day. I’ve always wondered what a slayer (or other chosen one) does after they retire.

Book cover for The Look by Michelle Obama. Image on cover shows Mrs. Obama wearing a stunning, floor-length, light blue gown. She’s standing at a window and looking out at the light and whatever is on the other side of that glass. She looks thoughtful.

9. The Look by Michelle Obama

Release Date: November 4

Why I’m Interested: Fashion is generally a topic that doesn’t’ interest me at all, but I’m hoping Mrs. Obama might throw some more stories in with the photos of her various outfits over the years.

Book cover for Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood. Image on cover shows Ms. Atwood smiling and holding one finger up to her lips as if to shush the viewer. She’s wearing a bright read sweater and red gloves, too.

10. Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood

Release Date: November 4

Why I’m Interested: I know almost nothing about Ms. Atwood’s personal life but am curious to change that.

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Tagged as TBR, TBR List, Top Ten Tuesday

September 17, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Authors I Wish More People Knew About

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 was a bit of a tricky topic for me because I have no idea which authors you all are already aware of. People that I read regularly might be well known to some of you and a brand new corner of the literary world to others. (And vice versa, of course!)

Let’s see if I can dig a bit deeper and find some new folks to mention. I’m including one recommendation of a good place to start for every person on this list as I know I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed when checking out a new author and seeing a long list of possibilities.

George MacDonald was a Scottish poet and author who lived in the 1800s and early 1900s and played a major role in creating the modern fantasy genre. C.S. Lewis was one of many writers who was inspired by him.

Read This First: “The Golden Key,” an allegorical fairy tale he wrote about death and the afterlife. He excelled at creating seemingly inconsequential details in stories that later pay off wonderfully…or at least that’s how I felt when I was a kid reading this!

Sonia Hartl is a contemporary fantasy writer who loves playing around with audience’s assumptions about what should happen next.

Read This First: “The Lost Girls,” a more realistic take on what would happen if vampires were real and actually went around falling in love with teenage girls. That is to say, a one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old man who is romantically interested in a sixteen-year-old girl probably doesn’t have good intentions and should not be trusted any further than you can throw him.

Claire Keegan is a contemporary fiction author who writes gentle but honest stories about (mostly) rural settings.

Read This First: “Foster,” a novella about an eleven-year-old girl who is sent to live with childless relatives in the countryside for the summer as her mother deals with a difficult pregnancy. This was such a kind and hopeful story that I’d love to see expanded into a tv series that shows more of their lives and what happens next. The relatives welcomed the main character with opened arms and loved her just as if she were their own child. It was so wholesome.

Nnedi Okorafor is a contemporary science fiction and fantasy author who writes dark fantasy and science fiction set in Africa. I mention the setting because it plays such a huge role in her characters’ lives in all of the books from her I’ve read. She’s another author whose work I wish would be made into some films.

Read This First:”Remote Control,” a novella about a preteen girl who has an accident that helps her develop the ability to kill or to heal people just by touching them. This was such a page turner because she didn’t know what was happening at first or what to do with her gift.

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September 16, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Scents for Candles

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Thank you to Heather @ The Frozen Library for submitting this theme!

Star anise soaking in some dark tea in a white teacup. Beside the teacup on a wooden table are two slices of dehydrated oranges. Scents are an allergy, migraine, and headache trigger for me, so my first reaction to scented candles, along with any other scented item other than most types of food, is to run away from them as fast as my legs can carry me ;).

I’m going to tweak this topic just a little so I can answer it better.

1) Turkish Delight for The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. I was well into adulthood before I realized that this type of candy actually exists and was not made up for this book. There are many different flavours of Turkish delight, but the kind I tried tasted a little floral and sweet which might make for a good candle scent.

2) Chocolate for Chocolat. I craved chocolate so much while reading this.

3) Sugar for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1). Yes, chocolate could be also included here, but so could bubble gum, cinnamon, blueberries, roast dinners, gum drops, and all sorts of other delicious scents.

4) Peaches from James and the Giant Peach. They’re such a delicious fruit and scent.

5) Flowers from Flowers for Algernon.

6) Tea from The Tea Rose (The Tea Rose, #1). I feel like there aren’t enough tea-scented possibilities out there for people who enjoy scents.

7) Black coffee from Black Coffee (Hercule Poirot, #7.5). Now this is one scent I actually do enjoy!

8) Nutmeg from Silver Nutmeg. It makes me feel a bit fancy to use this spice.

9) Gingerbread from The Gingerbread Man. What a heavenly scent this is.

10) Oranges from The Christmas Orange. Citrus scents can be nice.

And that is my list. Heather, I hope I stuck closely enough to your idea and that there are many scented candles in your future.

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Tagged as Bookish Stuff, Top Ten Tuesday

September 10, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: What Is My Superpower?

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 believe that the last time we had this topic I talked about my uncanny ability to look away from the screen just as something exciting happens in a show. It’s not something I ever do on purpose, I simply get a little bored sometimes depending on which show my spouse picked.

Let’s pick another answer this time.

A white woman wearing a grey sweatshirt is listening to a conch shell at the beach on an overcast and what appears to be somewhat chilly day. Listening is another superpower of mine. I’m good at making people feel heard – so far as I’ve been told – and helping them to figure out what to do without actually ever giving advice.

Here’s the thing: most people don’t need advice in most cases in my experience, especially if they’re not directly asking for you to tell them what to do.

There are often factors outsiders aren’t aware of, or they’ve already tried X, Y, and Z without success and truly do not need yet another well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful person suggesting those options for the tenth time this week.

What they need is a sympathetic ear and someone to validate how difficult and frustrating life can be at times. If they feel heard, seen, and maybe even loved depending on how close I am to them, it can become much easier to try something new, pick themselves up and try again after disappointment, work on one of their flaws, or tackle whatever else it is they’re struggling with that can rarely if ever be fixed by an outsider.

It’s sort of like dancing in that I try to match their energy and glide into the rhythm of the conversation without pushing it into any particular direction.

They’re smart. They’ll figure it out on their own. 🙂

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Tagged as Listening, Personal Life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

September 9, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favourite Villains

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A pale-skinned person wearing jeans is sitting in the park and reading a book as the sunlight streams down onto the grass and trees. The one thing all of these books have in common are their memorable and scary villains. Thank goodness villains can’t go traipsing around to visit other books because we’d all be in trouble if these folks teamed up!

No, I won’t be going into detail there. I’d rather new readers be surprised by these villains than know ahead of time what to expect from them.

1. The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2) by Thomas Harris

2. Misery by Stephen King

3. Matilda by Roald Dahl

4. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

5. Othello by William Shakespeare

6. Animal Farm by George Orwell

7. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

8. Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1) by V.C. Andrews

9. The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King

10. 1984 by George Orwell

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September 3, 2025 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Keep Meaning to Read (but Haven’t)

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.

A dozen hardbacked books placed with their spines sticking up. The angle of the photo isn’t quite high enough to read their titles, but you can see their white pages and the yellow wall behind them. Since I’m such a huge mood reader, some books hang around on my TBR list for a very long time. Here are some of them:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2. Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert

3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

5. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

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

Now I’m drawing a blank at what else to add!

12 Comments

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Tagged as TBR List, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

September 2, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Occupations in the Title

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A fisherman walking in thigh-deep water and carrying a large net. Thank you to Lisa of Hopewell for submitting this topic! Here are ten books with occupations in their titles.