Happy Tuesday everyone! Since Valentine's Day will soon be upon us, today's TTT prompt is no surprise: a love/Valentine's freebie. I'm not a romance reader and freebies always throw me for a loop, so I'm going to go with a lazy twist on the topic and talk about library LOVE. Even though I have hundreds of unread books on my shelves, you can still find me at my local library quite often. I will never not enjoy browsing their shelves to find new treasures to read at home. I'm also addicted to Libby, where I can borrow the library's audiobooks and e-books. In addition to all the goodies inside, the library closest to my home is surrounded by a nature preserve where you can stroll along the paths, watch ducks glide in the lake, and enjoy the quiet peace of being out in nature (although you're actually in the middle of a busy suburb). There's so much to LOVE about libraries generally and my local one specifically. What do you LOVE about yours? 

Like everyone else, I've been playing with Chat GPT's caricature-making feature. I thought this one, which the website titled "Relaxed Reader in the Library," was especially funny. If only my library had comfy recliners and fuzzy blankets to curl up with, I would probably never leave! Ha ha. I also love that it shows me listening to an audiobook and reading a paper book at the same time. I'm good, but I'm not that good. And what's with my crazy eyes? I guess I'm just really excited about visiting the library! If nothing else, AI is always good for a laugh...

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Coach by Jason Reynolds—I thought Reynolds' excellent Track series was over seven years ago when the last book was published, but then Coach came out in 2025. Yay! Like its predecessors, it's an encouraging read full of humor and heart. Narrated by the author's best friend, singer/actor Guy Lockard, the audiobooks are especially well done. 

You can see my review of Coach here. Blogger flagged the review as containing "sensitive content." It's really just a content warning for my content warning, which is silly, but whatever.

2. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey—I've heard nothing but good things about this historical mystery. I started it yesterday and I'm already thoroughly engrossed. It's set in Yorkshire, England, in 1979 when the area was the target of a serial killer dubbed the Yorkshire Strangler. Using the real murders as a backdrop, the novel features a curious 12-year-old girl who is determined to find the identity of the killer. As she uses her keen observation skills to observe "suspicious" doings in her neighborhood, she discovers surprising truths about the people around her, including her family and herself.

3. Of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith—This is the first installment in a historical mystery series about a London barrister who becomes a reluctant amateur sleuth when he discovers the dead body of a powerful, well-known judge on his doorstep. 

4. The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chien—As you will soon see, I'm trying to make progress in series I'm in the middle of, so I grabbed this mystery, the 11th installment in a fun cozy mystery series set in a family-owned Chinese restaurant in Ohio. In this adventure, Lana Lee is called on to help P.I. Lydia Shepard solve a series of thefts and murders in the Asian community.

5. Murder in the East End by Jennifer Ashley—I enjoy the Below Stairs Mystery series, which is set in Victorian London. In this 4th installment, cook Kat Holloway, who moonlights as an amateur sleuth, can't look away when she learns that children are mysteriously disappearing from a local orphanage. Can she figure out what is going on before more kids vanish?

6. The Island by Adrian McKinty—I'm always in for a vacation-gone-horribly-wrong adventure, so I grabbed this thriller about a family who makes a rash decision while on holiday that leaves them stranded on a remote Australian island with a group of sinister hosts. Despite the promising premise, I ended up DNFing this baby because the characters are depthless caricatures, the plot gets ridiculous, and the dialogue is just laughably bad. No thanks.

7. Severe and Unusual Weather by Jessie Ann Foley—Foley's Sorry For Your Loss was one of my favorite reads of 2019. I've been meaning to read more by her and her newest, a middle-grade magical realism novel about an unlikely friendship, sounds like a good one.

8. Stabbed in the Baklava by Tina Kashian—The Kebab Kitchen mystery books make up another fun cozy series, also set in a family-owned restaurant. This time it's a Mediterranean eatery on the New Jersey shore. In this second installment, Lucy Berberian is in charge of catering a high-profile wedding that goes terribly wrong when the groom is murdered. Worse, Lucy's ex-boyfriend is accused of the crime. He may be infuriating, but she knows he's no killer. Once again, she finds herself playing Nancy Drew in order to solve a crime.

9. The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper—I've read a couple of books by this Australian author and enjoyed them, so I grabbed her 2020 novel on audio when I saw that it was available on Libby. The story revolves around a young orphan who is taking in by a brother and sister intent on nurturing her impressive match skills. As the child ages, she realizes there's more to her guardians than meets the eye. When one of her guardians has a strange reaction upon seeing a certain painting in a gallery, her charge vows to find out just what her hosts are hiding.

So, since I started writing this post this morning, I have been listening to The Girl in the Painting. The narrator does a nice job, except that she takes a big breath after every paragraph, it seems. Now that I've noticed it, I can't unnotice it, and it's driving me crazy. So, I'm going to return the audiobook and pick up a paper copy of the novel because I'm enjoying the story so far.

10. Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton—My focus really should be on finishing series I've already started instead of beginning new ones, but...This is the first book in a crime series by an author whose books I've enjoyed in the past. It's about an English detective out on medical leave who is drawn into investigating the disappearance of a man who vanished at a local music festival. With tensions between the town's permanent residents and its weekender population reaching a boiling point, she fears the conflict may have gotten deadly.

There you have it, the last(ish) ten books I checked out of the library. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What topic did you choose for today's freebie prompt? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

So, you know how Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter? Well, someone forgot to inform Arizona. We've barely had any cold weather at all. Instead, we're breaking winter heat records. It was 83 degrees today and it's supposed to be 86 on Wednesday! That's just insane. Ick. Why do I live here?

In other news, today is Tuesday, meaning we have a new TTT topic du jour: Top Ten Book Covers Featuring Cool/Pretty/Unique/etc. Typography. I enjoy a fun font as much as anyone, but since I didn't get a chance to do last week's prompt—Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025—I'm going to do that one today instead. As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025 

1. Bluebird by Sharon Cameron—Okay, this one is a cheat. Not only is it a re-discovery, but I also experienced it last month. Ahem. ANYway, I first read (and loved) Bluebird when it was published in 2016. The story captivated me because it was such a gripping and moving read. Even though I have read tons of World War II fiction, it's one that has really stayed with me. I recommended it to my book club, which prompted a reread. Guess what? Although I remembered some of the twists, Bluebird still kept me riveted. My husband just finished it for the first time and loved it as well. My book club is meeting in a few hours to discuss the novel. I can't wait!

Here's the publisher's blurb: A historical novel, set in postwar New York City.

But Eva hasn't come to America for secrets or power. She hasn't even come for a new life. She has come to America for one thing: justice. And the Nazi that has escaped its net. 

2. Kindle Scribe—I've been a dedicated Kindle Fire user for a long time, but when I saw some ads pushing the Kindle Scribe, I decided to try it out. My husband gifted me one for an early birthday/Christmas present, and I love it. Instead of taking notes on paper while I read, I now use the "Notebook" feature on my Scribe. I prefer writing them by hand, but it's much easier on my Scribe since I can easily add and erase information while keeping my notes looking neat and orderly. Toggling between two screens isn't the easiest thing to do on this device, but otherwise, I really dig it for distraction-free reading and note-taking. I'm itching to get the new ColorSoft version, not gonna lie, but at $679.99, it's a wee bit out of my price range!

3. Connie Berry—My favorite author discovery of 2025 is mystery writer Connie Berry. Last year, I enjoyed the first four books in her Kate Hamilton series, which stars an American antiquities dealer who solves mysteries in her adopted U.K. home. There are two more full-length novels and a novella in the series so far, and I'm planning to read all of them in 2026.

4. Audiobooks + cross-stitching = a winning combination—I've enjoyed cross-stitching since I was in my 20s, but I haven't always done it consistently. I rediscovered the hobby during the Covid lockdown when I got bored with just reading all the time (Right? I didn't know that could happen!). I would stitch for hours while watching t.v. with the kids. A few years later, I stopped stitching when I started having trouble with severe tendonitis in my hands. After having surgery in mid-2025, I am able to enjoy cross-stitching without pain again. Huzzah! However, I'm no longer much of a t.v. watcher. Enter audiobooks. Now, I can enjoy my two favorite hobbies at one time. With that discovery, I hope 2026 will be the year I finally finish the birth announcement I've been working on for my granddaughter, who turns three this year!

5. Celebrity memoirs on audio—Maybe it's because I'm not big on t.v. or maybe it's because I'm really old, but I don't care much about celebrities. Their dramatic, glamorous, disastrous lives are just not of much interest to me. Shockingly, I've actually listened to two celebrity memoirs over the last few months: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey and Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins. Both are narrated by the authors. Both are funny, poignant, interesting, and entertaining. The former is weirdly reverent and irreverent at the same time; for a book about spirituality, it's actually quite crude. The latter is better written and more engaging than I thought it would be. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed either book as much had I read them. Listening to the authors' own words in their own voices seems to be the key for me. I'm not saying I'll be listening to a lot of celebrity memoirs in the future (although I admit to being on the waitlist for Dick Van Dyke's 100 Rules for Living to 100 on Libby), but I did discover that I don't hate them. Who knew? P.S. My husband and I also enjoyed listening to Surrender by Bono a couple years ago.

6. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins—I read the original Hunger Games trilogy as the books came out, and I have never reread them, although I've definitely thought about doing so. Finally reading this much-anticipated prequel reintroduced me to the HG world, reminding me how engrossed I was by the books, and rekindling my desire for a reread of the original trilogy. Will it happen this year? May the odds be ever in my favor...

7. Barbara Ross—This cozy mystery author is another writer I discovered last year. I enjoyed the first book in her Maine Clambake Mystery series in 2025 and am currently reading the second installment. The story revolves around a New Yorker who returns to her Maine hometown to help save her family's long-running clambake business. Along with that, she gets to tangle with family drama, troubles with townspeople, a new boyfriend no one approves of, and, oh yeah, murder. 

8. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt—When books are really hyped up, I tend to avoid them rather than snatch them up. And, you have to admit, the plot of this novel sounds a bit strange. An octopus narrator? Count me out. Then, it came up as an "Available Now" audiobook on Libby and I remembered how much Athena had been raving about the greatness of the audio version, so I caved. Spoiler alert: I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures. Spoiler alert #2: Athena was right—the book is excellent on audio.

9. The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman—As a member of the Whitney Academy, I'm invited every year to help judge the Whitney Awards, which is a program that celebrates fiction written by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This year, one of the finalists in the Middle Grade category is The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman. I enjoyed Hartman's first book, but I was still a little skeptical of her sophomore effort becuase its plot sounds a little...odd. Plus, animal narrators and I don't always get along. I read it anyway, and loved it for its uniqueness and heartwarming vibe. Guess who agrees with me about its awesomeness? The American Library Association. The book just received a well-deserved Newbery Honor Award. Congratulations!

10. Books read counter—Another bookish gift my husband got me for my birthday/Christmas was this cute counter for my desk. I enjoy tracking what I read on Goodreads, but it's also fun to count my books this way. My husband purchased this particular one on Amazon (he's addicted), but there are all kinds of cute ones on Etsy as well.

There you go, ten bookish discoveries I made in 2025 (and one re-discovery from this year). What did you discover last year? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. If you posted for last week's TTT, leave me a link so I can check out your 2025 discoveries.

Happy TTT! 

Unlike the rest of you, I have been totally slacking on reading bookish books in 2026. I've read a few featuring characters who like to read, but books weren't mentioned enough to really make it a "bookish" read, you know? To be honest, I'm not sure if that will change much in February or not. I'm just going to pick up whatever catches my eye this month and go with it. One thing I do plan to read is all the wonderful reviews you all have been posting for this challenge. Keep it up!

I like a shivery ghost story, but I prefer atmospheric spine-tinglers over the kind of terrifying tales that are bound to give me nightmares. The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly, a horror lite novel written for the middle-grade set, fits that bill quite nicely. It's creepier than your average children's book, but it never gets too dark or graphic for its intended audience. In fact, in spite of its grim subject matter, it's actually a rather upbeat and hopeful read. This is a good place to start for young readers who want to dip their toes into the supernatural/horror genre, or for wimpy adults like me who just want a touch of scary sans night terrors. 

The story stars Lila Clement, an 11-year-old Arizona girl who's often accused of being melodramatic, immature, and "too much." And, okay, a lot of the time she is making what turns out to be a big to-do about nothing. Not this time, though. When the eccentric grandfather she never knew dies, she travels with her family to Ohio. After an almost-accident on the road that leaves them all a little shaken, Lila discovers that she can now see ghosts. This is unfortunate considering that she'll be staying in the haunted inn that her Grandpa Clem owned for the forseeable future. When her newly-deceased relation appears to Lila, insisting that he did not die of a heart attack but was, in fact, murdered, she sets out to figure out who killed Grandpa Clem and why. She soon discovers that the Castle Hill Inn isn't just a spooky old hotel, Clem wasn't just an ordinary old man, and she's not just a drama queen who's being left behind by friends who think she's too babyish. In Castle Hill, Lila has an important mission to perform, a new pal to help her accomplish it, and maybe, just maybe, a place where her "too much" is exactly right.  

Lila is a fun narrator who will help kids who are labeled "extra" feel seen. She's sympathetic, sensitive, caring, and brave. Her new friend, Teddy, makes an appealing right-hand man with his compassion, curiosity, and reluctant courage. Along with Lila's younger brother, the kids make an unlikely but intrepid team who tackle a murder mystery, a host of ghosts with varying needs, and a malevolent force who doesn't want them to succeed. What unfolds is an exciting story with lots of action, suspense, and ghostly encounters. While it's predictable, it's also a quick, entertaining page-turner that's creepier than you might expect. In spite of that, it teaches some healthy, healing lessons about death that can help kids grappling to understand death or dealing with the loss of a loved one find comfort. The Last Resort may not be the right reading choice for younger middle-graders or those who are particularly sensitive; for the rest of us, though, it's an eerie, enjoyable read that will provide shivers but not nightmares.

The Last Resort is the first installment in a planned series (a trilogy, maybe?). The second book, The Claiming by Jasmine Warga, came out earlier this month. In addition to reading the books, you're supposed to be able to launch an extra "experience" using a phone app that lets readers have their own ghost-hunting fun. By scanning the books' illustrations, you're supposed to be able to "talk' to the ghosts in the stories, solve puzzles within the pictures, and encounter further mysteries. It all sounds super cool. Unfortunately, despite trying multiple times on both my phone and PC, I could not get the "Launch Experience" button to work for me. Maybe it functions better with a paper book than an e-book? I don't know, but I feel like I'm missing out...bummer.

(Readalikes: reminds me of The Inn Between by Marina Cohen)

To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of The Last Resort from the generous folks at Scholastic via those at NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

2026 has barely started and it's already speeding by! I'm still playing catch up after being gone for two weeks over the holidays, so this week's TTT prompt—Top Ten Goals for 2026 (bookish or otherwise)—is going to be a bit difficult as I haven't made any concrete New Year's resolutions yet, not for me personally or for my blog. I have some vague ideas of what I'd like to accomplish here at BBB. We'll see if I hit ten or not.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2026 

I don't know about you, but I'm one of those readers who's always looking ahead to what exciting new books are on the publishing horizon. Of course, I love this week's TTT prompt: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in 2026. I've actually already read several of the 2026 titles I had been most looking forward to, but there are always more I want to get my hot little hands on. I'm going to list the ones I've already read first, with links to my reviews on Goodreads, so you can see my thoughts on them if you're interested. Then, I'll list ten more that I still want to read. I'm sure there are hot new up-and-comers that I'm not even aware of, so I'm looking forward to perusing your lists to see what other books I should be watching for. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

2026 Releases I've Already Read:

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (available January 20, 2026) **** stars

Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane (available January 20, 2026) ** stars

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (available February 17, 2026) **** stars

Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson (available March 3, 2026) *** stars

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson (available March 17, 2026) **** stars

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (available April 26, 2026) **** stars

When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore (available May 26, 2026) ***1/2 stars

1. Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum (available January 13, 2026)—Historical fiction author Blum pens her first contemporary novel with this bookish murder mystery featuring two novelists whose relationship becomes very sketchy very fast. 

2. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (available February 3, 2026)—Another bookish read, this one features a new widow who is shocked when she's informed that her late husband left her a birthday gift at their local indie. The present is twelve books, one for each month of the first year without him, to help comfort and guide her through the grieving process. She vlogs about her reading and reading-inspired adventures, finding a global support system that carries her through a difficult year.

3. The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (available February 17, 2026)—New bookish books for the win! Quinn's latest and greatest centers around a young woman who finds refuge from her struggles in the real world in the reading room at the Boston Library. When she discovers a hidden doorway leading to a secret library where lonely souls can literally disappear inside their favorite books, she's dazzled. Then, she's confronted by a frightening enemy who's a danger to everyone the library has sheltered. As she escapes through various books, she must figure out how to defeat this threatening foe.

4. A Kingdom of Shadows by Emily Bain Murphy (available March 3, 2026)—The first book in a new middle grade fantasy series, this novel introduces a trio of young thieves who live in a world of increasing darkness and despair. When a stranger tells them about a lake of light, they embark on a quest across the kingdom to bring light and life back to their dimming world. Naturally, they get more than they bargain for...

5. The Keeper by Tana French (available March 31, 2026)—This is the final book in French's trilogy starring retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper. Now living in a small Irish village, he's become apart of the tight-knit community's fetes and feuds. When a local young woman is found dead in a river, tearing the townspeople in two over ages-old issues, Cal's fiancèe urges him to stay out of the whole mess. Unfortunately for her, his copper instincts and loyalty to his village mean he has to investigate, even if it makes them a target.

6. Last One Out by Jane Harper (available April 14, 2026)—Even though Harper's newest seems to be getting very mixed reviews, I'm excited to read it. The standalone novel is set in a New South Wales mining town that's been left to rot. Ro's son vanished from the ghost town five years ago while working on an oral history of the place. On the anniversary of his disappearance, the distraught mother returns to the abandoned village determined to figure out what happened to her missing child.

7. Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister (available May 5, 2026)—I always look forward to a new McAllister thriller. This one has an intriguing premise: while staying in a remote Texas cabin with her daughter, Simone wakes up one morning to find the young woman missing. In her place is a phone with a ransom message. When Simone responds, she discovers that her daughter's kidnappers don't want money; instead, they want her to do something unthinkable. How far will she go to save her daughter?

8. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (available May 5, 2026)—From the author of The Help comes a new historical novel set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. When the lives of three females—an 11-year-old orphan, a struggling old maid, and a fiery woman with a past—converge, the trio form an unlikely team that will change all of their lives forever.

9. An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (available May 19, 2026)—Armstrong's A Rip Through Time is one of my very favorite historical mystery series. In this fifth installment, our girl Mallory—a modern-day homicide detective trapped in Victorian Scotland—and her employer, undertaker Duncan Gray, are summoned to the home of a wealthy woman. Assuming she has a dead body for them to take care of, they're stunned to find that she actually has a request from the ghost of her dead maid to investigate the maid's murder. Although they're skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, which does indeed present an intriguing mystery.

10. A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (available June 23, 2026)—This historical novel stars Eunice Carter, Manhattan's first Black prosecutor, who becomes assistant DA for the city of New York. Determined to bring down crime boss Lucky Luciano, she decides to catch him through his hand in prostitution. With the help of Polly Adler, owner of a high-class brothel business, she works day and night to bring Lucky to his knees, no matter the consequences to themselves.

There you go, ten 2026 releases I'm looking forward to reading. How about you? Which up-and-coming titles are you dying to get your hands on? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Welcome to the 2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge! Thanks to my Christmastime vacation, I'm a little late getting things going this month. From now on, I will post these updates at the beginning of the month, not in the middle of it. 

I've read four books so far this year and none of them have been bookish in nature. There are some 2026 new releases with bookish themes that I'm looking forward to. I have ARCs for some of them, so I may get to them in January. We'll see.

Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum (available January 13, 2026)—Historical fiction author Blum pens her first contemporary novel with this bookish murder mystery featuring two novelists whose relationship becomes very sketchy very fast. 

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (available February 3, 2026)—Another bookish read, this one features a new widow who is shocked when she's informed that her late husband left her a birthday gift at their local indie. The present is twelve books, one for each month of the first year without him, to help comfort and guide her through the grieving process. She vlogs about her reading and reading-inspired adventures, finding a global support system that carries her through a difficult year.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (available February 17, 2026)—Quinn's latest and greatest centers around a young woman who finds refuge from her struggles in the real world in the reading room at the Boston Library. When she discovers a hidden doorway leading to a secret library where lonely souls can literally disappear inside their favorite books, she's dazzled. Then, she's confronted by a frightening enemy who's a danger to everyone the library has sheltered. As she escapes through various books, she must figure out how to defeat this threatening foe.

How about you? Do you have any bookish books on tap for January? 

Happy 2026! Having returned last night from spending most of the Christmas/New Year holiday season in the Holy Land, my body and mind are still struggling to figure out what day it is, what continent I'm on, and what I need to do now. My Christmas decorations are still up, but it already feels like January is half over. It's a weird feeling, like I'm half in the new year, half in the old. I'll catch up with everything...eventually.

Usually, I love the beginning of a new year when I can spend lots of happy hours examining my reading stats and reviewing how I did on my goals and challenges. Today, I started updating everything so I could put together a wrap-up post for 2025, before realizing I'm too tired and lazy to put in all that work! I'm ready to push 2025 behind me and move on. I'll be working on updating the blog for the new year over the next few days.

For those of you who wanted to know how my trip went, it was amazing! Truly. We spent 8 days in Israel and 3 in Jordan with a fun tour group made up of members of our church, our American guide (Steven Harper, a scholar, author, and professor associated with Brigham Young University), and various local guides. Together, we visited tons of Biblical, historical, and cultural sites in both countries, including:

- Bethlehem (the birthplace of Jesus)

- Jerusalem's Old City, including the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock/the Western Wall (important religious sites for Muslims, Jews, and Christians)

- Nazareth (hometown of Jesus)

- the Dead Sea

- the River Jordan (where Jesus was baptized)

- Petra

- Masada National Park

- the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies

- Ceasarea Philippi and Maritima (Herodian city/palace ruins)

- Capernaum

- the Sea of Galilee 

- Jericho (the oldest city in the world)

- and much, much more