Always Me

  Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to  Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by  Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: The Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty Published: 2020 (my copy), originally 1885 Genre: Historical adventure My Copy: Format: Trade Paperback (with absolutely miniscule print!) Pages: 124 Where I Acquired It: I won it! Summary (From Goodreads): The Dragon and The Raven is a tale of England before it was England, back in the days when the Saxons were dealing with the raiding Vikings during the 9th century. The story follows young Edmund who is forced, at only fourteen years of age, to become a warrior and defend his land. Edmund becomes a member of a crew on the ship called The Dra...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my seventh update and mini reviews for the  Read Around the World Challenge .  Of the 46 books for the 46 European countries on my original  tbr , I managed to complete 5 in July for a total of 33 completed so far.  You can check out my profile here on the challenge website  here .  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read this month: ❋   ❋  ❋   ❋ A Death in Malta: An Assassination and a Family's Quest for Justice  by Paul Caruana Galizia  had been on my radar for quite awhile.  I knew this was a recent case, but for some reason I had it stuck in my head that it from a long time ago. What they went through is horrifying. My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . ❋   ❋ The premise of  Blackout  ( Blackout  #1) by Marc Elsberg  sounded interesting, but it just fell off for me midway through.  It's marketed as a thriller, but I w...

Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome to my seventh and final  2025 Popsugar Reading Challenge  update with mini reviews!   In July, I read 6 books for a total of 50 completed out of 50.  I can't believe I finished my challenge!  I found a lot of great books with this year's challenge.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in July:  ❋   ❋ I liked the idea of  The Sanatorium  ( Detective Elin Warner  #1) by Sarah Pearse , but it just didn't work out for me. The first maybe fifth of it seemed like it could have potential, but after that it just lost me. I wish there was a lot more atmosphere for the setting than there was, and the main character was just irritating. But, there was a note left behind in it from the previous owner. It's a double side square from Arizona Inn on 2200 Elm St., Tucson, Arizona and has some real gems on it from what I can make out. For example: "When you stop you drop," "Keep going forw...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Beach/ Beachy Reads, but I've decided to continue that series I've been working on and feature my Favorite Books Beginning With The Letter P.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Peter Darling by Austin Chant Phantom Pains ( The Arcadia Project #2) by Mishell Baker Piranesi by Suzanne Clarke Posthumous Education ( Fred, the Vampire Accountant #8) by Drew Hayes A Prayer for the Crown-Shy ( Monk & Robot #2) by Becky Chambers The Prestige by Christopher Priest The Princess Bride by William Goldman The Priory of the Orange Tree ( The Roots of Chaos #1) by Samantha Shannon Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Protect the Prince ( Crown of Shards #2) by Jennifer Estep What are some of your favorite books beginning with the letter O?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

    Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.  Welcome back again!  Today, I'm featuring four favorite tracks from Diane Arkenstone (the ex-wife of David Arkenstone).  I love her music just as much as his and I'm surprised that I haven't featured her here before.  Give a listen to: Road to Camelot , Ascension , Beyond the Mist , and Elements of Nature : You are invited to the ...

Happy Sunday everyone! Today, I'm sharing my announcement and tbr for the Nevermore-athon which will run all of August and is hosted by Chaos in Bookland  with co-hosts amy from ‪@ AmyMcCaw ‬, Barbora from ‪@ bookworm.wander‬ , judith from ‪@ judithcakelover‬ , and Elena from @ they_read_and_spin .  As a fan of Netflix's Wednesday (and I'm really looking forward to season 2), this readathon caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a try.  This round (my first) we're competing in the Poe Cup.  There are five teams to choose from and I've decided to join the Black Cats.  Each team has a bingo board.  You get 25 points per prompt you complete and 100 points per row completed.  There is also an overall group book and a team book.  I'm aiming to complete the overall group book, team book, and one row of four prompts.  Keep reading to see what I'm planning on reading for this challenge: Overall Group Book My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Ve...

Happy Saturday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my plans for the August 2025 Bingo Round of the  Trope-ical Readathon  which is hosted by  Jenjenreviews .  It will run the entire month of August and as usual I'm joining Team Fantasy this time around.  This time is a bit different than usual as instead of the regular challenge, this time we've got unique bingo boards to complete that are based around your choice of team.  There are 25 squares with different prompts in each, and I've made a tbr featuring the five spaces of the bingo I hope to earn (the N column).  You can follow along on  BlueSky  and  Discord , if you like.  Keep reading to see the books I hope to complete for my bingo: Prophecy My choice: The Briar King ( Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone #1) by Greg Keyes - I've never read this author, but I've heard he's one to try if you like epic fantasy. Gods or Mythology My choice: His Face is the Sun ( Throne of Khetara #1) b...

      On Friday's I take part in two weekly link ups - The Friday 56, currently hosted by  Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books , and Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader .  For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.  Happy Friday everyone!  This week I'm spotlighting one of my Spell It Out Reading Challenge 2025 books,  The Lost Girls of Paris  by Pam Jenoff .  A friend gave me this one and it sounds pretty fascinating.  Beginning:  Grace New York, 1946 If not for the s...

  Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to  Books from the Backlog , the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by  Carole's Random Life in Books .  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon. This Week's Neglected Book: The Troubled Man ( Kurt Wallander #10) by Henning Mankell Published: 2012 (this edition) Genre: Mystery crime thriller My Copy: Format: Trade Paperback  Pages: 481 Where I Acquired It: A yard sale Summary (From Goodreads): A retired navy officer has vanished in a forest near Stockholm. Kurt Wallander is prepared to stay out of the relatively straightforward investigation—which is, after all, another detective’s responsibility—but the missing man is his daughter’s father-in-law. With his typical disregard for rules and regulations, Wallander is soon pursuing his own brand of...

        Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Books Set in/Take Place During X and I've decided to features Books Set In The Old West.  I don't read Westerns all that often, but I do get a kick out of the genre when it's mixed with fantasy, horror, sci-fi, or steampunk elements which all of my picks are today.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Boneyard ( Deadlands #3) by Seanan McGuire The Curse of Jacob Tracy ( Jacob Tracy #1) by Henry Messinger Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist The Doctor and the Rough Rider ( Weird West Tales #3) by Mike Resnick My Calamity Jane ( The Lady Janies #3) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente The Six-Gun Tarot ( Golgotha #1) by R.S. Belcher Wake of Vultures ( The Shadow #1) by Lila Bowen Walk the E...