Always Me

Happy Saturday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my my first update on my January progress for the year long reading challenge called the  2026 Popsugar Reading Challenge .  In January, I completed 11 books for a total of 11 read so far out of 50 total books on my tbr.  I'd say that's excellent progress so far.I think I'm going to have good reading year!  You can see my original tbr here .  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in January for this challenge: 17. A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics ❋   ❋  ❋ An Unwanted Guest  by Shari Lapena  was hit and miss for me and it didn't hold my attention as much as I was wishing it would. My favorite part was that one of the characters has the same first name as me. That was a bit exciting! My review is also on  Goodreads  and  The StoryGraph . 38. A book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title ❋   ❋  ❋ James and the Giant Pe...

      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 Anne'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  2026 Popsugar Reading Challenge  books,  Dungeon Crawler Carl  ( Dungeon Crawler Carl  #1) by Matt Dinniman .  This sounds like so much fun and it's been recommended to me more times than I can...

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my January update for  Bookforager's Picture Prompt Book Bingo 2026 .  I'm actually shocked I was able to get to 1 of the 16 books on my list so soon - and I'm quite surprised as to which one I was able to pick up first.  Anyway, without further ado, keep reading to see my thoughts on the book I read this month for this challenge: 10. A large, old key ❋   ❋  ❋   ❋ The Housemaid  ( The Housemaid  #1) by Freida McFadden  is a thriller I was originally planning to read on audiobook before I saw movie adaptation, but that never ended up happening since I was still 150 down the audiobook waitlist at that time. I ended up caving after months of waiting for the audiobook and decided to read the large print copy my mom had borrowed from the library (she had to wait awhile for the large print as well).  This might actually be the first large print book I've ever read.  Anyway, this thriller w...

        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: Katherine by Anya Seton Published: 1954, this edition August 1957 Genre: Historical romance My Copy: Format: Mass market paperback Pages: 637 Where I Acquired It: Yard sale Summary (From Goodreads): This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant 14th century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plant...

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I'm sharing my my first update on my January progress for the year long reading challenge called  The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge .  You can see my original tbr  here .  In January, I completed 11 books for a total of 11 read so far out of 52 total books on my tbr.  I'd say that's excellent progress so far.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in January for the rest of this challenge: 43. A Goodreads recommendation for you ❋   DNF'd @ 20% I very quickly realized that  Dandadan, Vol. 1  ( Dan Da Dan  #1) by Yukinobu Tatsu  wasn't for me at all.  I mean, what the heck?  Why is this so popular? My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph . 42. Includes a handwritten interior font ❋   ❋  ❋   ❋ Not Quite Dead Yet  by Holly Jackson  is a pretty great adult debut mystery thriller. I did forget a couple of times though that it was adult...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my first update on my January progress for the year long Read Queerly 2026 which is hosted by Alexx @  Enthralled Bookworm .  In January, I completed 2 books for a total of 2 read so far out of 16 total books on my tbr.  You can see my original tbr here.  Keep reading to see the sixteen books on my tbr for this challenge: 3. Trans kids: A queer middle grade book featuring a trans kid/s ❋   ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ Another Kind  by Trevor Bream and illustrated by Cait May  is an MG graphic novel that I wish I'd had in my life right when it was released rather than come into nearly five years late, but better late than never I suppose.  As you might have guessed, I absolutely loved it.  If you're at all interested in found family, you can't miss this sci-fi fantasy adventure.  The "cryptid" kids are absolutely delightful.  In its own way, it reminds me of a combination of The Hous...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025, but I've decided to continue that series I've been working on with Favorite Books Beginning With The Letter V & W.  I've got quite a few for both, but I've decided to divide up the last five letters of the alphabet into two groups just due to the number of favorites in each letter. Without further ado, here we go in alphabetical order by title: Vicious ( Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab Vienna Blood ( Liebermann Papers #2) by Frank Tallis Vision in Silver ( The Others #3) by Anne Bishop Voices in the Snow ( Black Winter #1) by Darcy Coates Where the Drowned Girls Go ( Wayward Children #7) by Seanan McGuire The Whispering Skull ( Lockwood & Co. #2) by Jonathan Stroud The Wicked King ( The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black Winter ( The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 6 ( Witch H...

Happy Monday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my first update on my January progress for the year long  Beat The Backlist 2026  reading challenge, hosted by Austine Decker.  You can see my original tbr  here .  In January, I completed 3 books for a total of 3 read so far out of 24 total books on my tbr.  Pretty good progress so far, I'd say.  Without further ado, keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in January: 3. acronyms: there are a lot of acronyms in the story or the title includes one ❋   ❋  ❋   ❋ True Beauty Vol. 3  ( True Beauty  #3)   by Yaongyi  is a series that I wasn't expecting to like nearly as much as I do.  I'm glad I got started in on it.  Anyway, I wasn't expecting the flashback between Suho and Seojun to be so heavy. Wow! Now, I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series and maybe I'll even give the tv series adaptation a try since I see it's availa...