Always Me

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 7 favorites from the soundtrack of  Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) which if you haven't seen it yet it's delightful.  Honestly, it was just comforting to see these characters again - even that cold yet stylish villain Feathers McGraw (that little penguin even gets his own Max Cady and Bl...

  Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to my first  2025 Popsugar Reading Challenge  update with mini reviews!   In January, I somehow managed to complete 13 books out of a total 50 books. Wow!  That's progress!  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in January: ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  by Rebecca Skloot  is a must read and I'm glad I finally decided to take all of the recommendations and read it. It's fascinating read, but absolutely terrifying. I'm glad her name is more known now at least. My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋ Well,  The Thieves of Ostia  ( The Roman Mysteries  #1) by Caroline Lawrence  was a fun little adventure. I wish I'd read this back when it was brand new. I'm sure I would have loved it even more. I'm glad glad I decided to take all of the recommendations I've gotten for this over the years even i...

    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  Beat The Backlist 2025  books,  The Hammer  by K.J. Parker .  It's been a long time since I've read this author, but I remember enjoying his style of fantasy. Beginning: When Giovanni was seven years old...

            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: Kingdom of the Grail by Judith Tarr Published: January 1, 2000 Genre: Historical Fantasy My Copy: Format: Paperback Pages: 456 Where I Acquired It: Antique Shop Summary (From Goodreads): The wizard Merlin, imprisoned within an enchanted forest since the fall of Camelot, receives a visitor possessing strong magical talent. His name is Roland, a knight and warrior who has sworn to free the legendary sorcerer. But, to save the wizard, Roland must first confront an old, powerful enemy of Merlin's on a quest for the Holy Grail. Why Did I Add It?...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my first update for my January progress on the year long  Beat The Backlist 2025  reading challenge, hosted by  Austine Decker .  You can see my original tbr  here .  In January, I completed 5 out of 24 books on my tbr.  Without further ado, keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in January: ❋   ❋  ❋   ❋ The Haunting of Blackwood House  ( The Haunting of Blackwood House  #1)   by Darcy Coates  even if it might have been just a bit too long.  If you like ghost stories and haunted house stories, you'll have to give it a try. I'm so glad I decided to start reading Darcy Coates. I love her style and I have so much to explore.   My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . ❋   ❋  ❋ Murder Your Employer  by Rupert Holmes  has a fantastic concept with a fun sense humor, but it doesn't need to be nearly as long as it...

Happy Tuesday!  Today, I'm sharing my January update for my 12 Challenge 2025 .  This month I managed to complete 3 of the 12 books recommended to me.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on what I've read for this challenge in January:  ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ A Guest in the House  by Emily Carroll  is dripping with a creepy and mysterious atmosphere.  The art is gorgeous, and I really appreciate the use of color.  I do wish the ending was a little less open though.  I definitely need to read more from this author in the future. My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ The Great Fortune  ( Balkan Trilogy  #1) by Olivia Manning  was first put on my radar for my 12 Challenge 2025.  I'm glad it was because I can see why it is now considered a classic.  I haven't read many books set in Romania and I liked all of the details that made it feel real.  I haven't decided whether or not...

    Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Favorite New-To-Me Authors I Discovered In 2024.  I tried quite a few new authors, but these are the ones that really stood out.  Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by name: Katherine Arden Brom Alena Bruzas Marc J. Gregson Louie Stowell Sajni Patel Randy Ribay Kamome Shirahama Benjamin Stevenson Robin Wasley Have you read any of these authors?  Have you read any of their books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

Happy Monday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my first 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 3 in January.  You can check out my profile here on the challenge website  here .  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read: ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋ The Nazis Knew My Name  by Magda Hellinger  is an incredible story of survival during the Holocaust.  While the writing style in some sections didn't make a five star read for me, it's still an essential read.   My review is on Goodreads , The StoryGraph , and the Read Around The World Challenge website . ❋   ❋  ❋ Discourse on the Origin of Inequality  by Jean-Jacques Rousseau  is a classic I'm glad I tackled.  It's certainly interesting and brings up topics that are still relevant in the present.  That said, though, I feel like I should ...

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 two favorites I've heard recently from Mark Kroos .  I was listening to his album Down Along the Lines of Joy and really enjoyed the sound.  All 10 songs are good, but my top two are Petals Change and Pedals Press the Floor : You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

 Happy Sunday everyone! Today I'm sharing my thoughts on the book I read in January for  Choose Your Own Adventure: Year In Adelia, The Boardgame , an additional challenge to  G. @ Book Roast 's  Magical Readathon .  You can see my full tbr  here .  Without further ado, check out my mini review below: ❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ This Wretched Valley  by Jenny Kiefer  is an atmospheric horror novel with a solid survivalist thriller element.  I'll be honest and say that the cover totally caught my eye.  It's so creepy!  The story is pretty great too and I found myself quite invested in the characters and the mystery of the woods.  I've never done rock climbing before - too scary for me - so just that element was more than enough for me.  There are plenty of other freaky and gory things going on here as well.  I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future and I might have to make a trip down to Lo...