2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge
2026 52 Club Reading Challenge
2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge
2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)
2026 Countdown Reading Challenge
Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo
2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge
2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)
2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge
European Reading Challenge 2026
2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)
2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
The Life Skills Reading Challenge
Showing posts with label 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 02, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: December Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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I can't believe this is the last monthly post I'll do for the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Crazy! I hope you've had fun with this laidback challenge and will join with me to do it again in 2026. I'll make a sign-up post for that soon.
November was a good month for me and bookish books. I read these four:
Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson (available March 17, 2026)—This is the fourth book in the highly entertaining Ernest Cunningham mystery series. In this outing, our hero is in a privately-owned bank to beg for a loan for the private detective agency he wants to start. Much to his astonishment, he finds himself in the middle of a robbery with a bank full of thieves. As the tension builds, someone is murdered, and time is running out for all of the hostages. It's up to Ernest to figure out what in the world is going on.
While the novel isn't overtly bookish, Ernest is a lover of classic mysteries as well as an author who writes about the crimes he solves. All the books in this series are clever, funny, and twisty. I love them all!
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose—In this third volume of Prose's popular mystery series starring Molly the Maid, an Antiques Roadshow-type program is taping an episode at the Regency Grand Hotel. Molly brings some of her Gran's garage sale treasures for evaluation, never expecting that one of them will be almost priceless in value. Before she knows it, the item has been stolen. The event prompts Molly to learn more about her Gran's mysterious past, which reveals new information about both Molly and her beloved grandmother.
This installment is more about Gran than it is about Molly (one of the reasons I didn't like it as much as the previous books). We learn about her from diary entries. Since the diary is a book and both Gran and Molly love to read, I think this one counts as bookish, don't you?
The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner by Erin Stewart—This middle-grade novel is about a girl who's grieving the recent loss of her adored father, who knew how to make even the most mundane moments magical. In spite of the crippling anxiety that has kept her mostly at home since his death, she ventures out to an author signing for her very favorite book series. When Zoey receives a special pencil from her favorite writer, she's inspired to write her own stories, which magically start coming to life. With this tool, she can return her life to normal. Or can she?
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand—A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite all-time books, so I was excited to read this YA novel that's a spin-off of the classic story. Holly, a deceased teen, is a failed Scrooge who has been assigned to work for Project Scrooge as the Ghost of Christmas Past. She's burned out with the job when a hot new Scrooge candidate perks her interest way up. Before she knows it, she's falling in love with the young man she's supposed to be saving. Not only could she lose her job, but she may also lose the chance to move on in her afterlife. What's a ghost to do?
I wanted this book to be more like the original novel instead of just a teenage love story, so I was a little disappointed by it. It was just an average read for me.
How about you? What bookish books did you read in November?
I've already read one bookish book in December and am reading this middle-grade novel based on Grimm's fairy tales right now:
Grimmworld: The Big Bad Wolf by Michaelbrent Collings—Willow and Jake Grimm, descendants of the famous Grimm brothers, are Grimmwalkers, who are able to walk between the real world and the Grimmworld (where there are no happy endings). On the hunt for their missing father, they will encounter all sorts of fantastical creatures and challenges.
How about you? What bookish books do you plan to read before the end of the year?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your December reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Newest Installment in Charming Maid Mystery Series My Least Favorite of the Bunch
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Note: While The Maid's Secret can be read as a standalone, it's more enjoyable if you've already read the previous books in the series. This newest installment contains minor spoilers that may reveal plot surprises from its predecessors. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.
The Regency Grand is abuzz with excitement over the taping of an episode of Hidden Treasures, an antiques appraisal tv show hosted by a popular celebrity couple, that is happening in the Grand Tearoom. Even Molly Gray has gotten caught up in the hoopla, bringing for appraisal bits and bobs from the yard sale "gems" Gran picked up over the years. She's shocked when one of them is deemed priceless by the astounded hosts. Selling the item will provide her with a dizzying sum—enough to not just pay for her upcoming wedding, but also to change her life completely. Before the transaction goes through, however, the valuable piece is stolen. Once again, the intrepid maid will use her keen observation skills to help Detective Stark solve a puzzling case.
While all this is happening, Molly discovers another treasure: her Gran's diary. The grandmother who raised her never discussed her mysterious past. Reading Flora Gray's story will give Molly unprecedented insight into her Gran's identity as well as her own.
I've enjoyed all of the books in Nita Prose's delightful Maid series, and this third outing is no exception, even if The Maid's Secret is my least favorite of the installments. This novel is a departure from its predecessors for three reasons: it's not a murder mystery, it's told from two points-of-view, and it uses an alternating timeline structure. The first one is no big deal; in fact, it's an effective way to change things up, keeping the series from getting too formulaic. Telling the tale in two different timelines in both Gran's and Molly's voices, though? Meh. Neither device worked well for me, I'm afraid. As much as I like Flora as a character (at least as a senior citizen—she's rather insufferable as a young woman), there's nothing original about her back story, which makes it fairly dull and predictable. Molly's unique personality and perspective is what gives this series its freshness, and she gets much less page time in The Maid's Secret than she does in the other books. I wanted to spend more time watching her solve the heist than learning about Gran's past. Like I said above, the book is still entertaining; I just didn't love it like I have the other books.
Because I was reading The Maid's Secret for book club (we read the first two books together and all of use enjoyed them), my husband decided to read it as well, even though he hasn't read the first 2 1/2 installments. His verdict? "It was okay, but there's nothing very original about it." A new member of my book club, who hasn't read the rest of the series, DNFd The Maid's Secret because she was bored, not really caring about the characters. Those of us in the book club who had read the previous books agree this newest one is our least favorite of the bunch, but we were still invested in the story because we have learned to love the characters (especially Molly) over the course of the series. Hence my warning at the beginning of this review. Although this book can be read as a standalone, it's much more enjoyable if you've read the previous books and already care about the characters. For me, I just hope Prose goes back to murder and more Molly in the next installment.
(Readalikes: the other books in the series, The Maid; The Mystery Guest; and The Mistletoe Mystery [a holiday novella])
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Maid's Secret from my local indie, Changing Hands Bookstore, with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
Monday, November 03, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: November Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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October flew by and, somehow, it's now November 3rd. Honestly, I don't know how that happened! With less than two months left in the year, 2025 is almost gone. Crazy. Anyway, I only managed to read two bookish books in October:
The Garden Just Beyond by Lindsey Leavitt—I talked about this middle-grade fantasy in last month's post. Its main character is very bookish. Her attic room/library is her sanctuary.
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani—I reread this adult novel about a woman living in the titular small, Southern town, who learns that the man who raised her was not her biological father. This shocking revelation sends her on a quest to find herself that pushes her to look beyond the confines of her mundane life in rural Virginia.
Ave Maria Mulligan loves to read. Her best friend drives a bookmobile, where the two exchange heartfelt conversations, advice, and reading recommendations.
How about you? Did you read any bookish books in October?
For November, I'm going to keep working through the books I want to finish before the year ends. None of them are overtly bookish, at least not that I know of, but the one I'm reading now does have a bookish element, so I'm going to count it, even if it's not a big part of the story. I'm getting desperate here! Ha ha.
Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson (coming March 17, 2026)—I've got an e-ARC of this book, the third full-length novel in the always enjoyable Ernest Cunningham mystery series. (It's actually the fourth installment, but Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret, the third, is a novella, albeit one that is on the longer side.) Before puzzling murders started finding Ernest, his job was penning how-to books about the craft of writing murder mysteries. Now, he's a memoirist, entertaining readers by recounting the real-life murders with which he's been involved. Thinking he might be able to make actual money as a private detective, he is trying to secure a bank loan in order to launch a business. After multiple rejections, he is summoned to an out-of-the-way bank by its co-director. To Ernest's surprise, the executive asks him to solve a mystery—the man's co-director has disappeared—in exchange for the loan. Before our hero really has the chance to start his reluctant investigation, he finds himself being held hostage by a nervous bank robber. Then someone is murdered. The bank is on lockdown, with no way in or out, so the killer can only be one of the hostages. Who did the dirty deed? And why? It's up to Ernest to find out before he or, worse, his fianceè, becomes the next victim.
This series is clever and funny. I've enjoyed all the books and, not surprisingly, I'm loving this one so far.
How about you? Do you have any bookish books on the docket for November?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your November reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: October Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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Happy October! I hope you're able to enjoy some nice, cool Fall weather where you are. Temperatures here in the Phoenix area have dropped from three digits to only two, so that's something, even if we're still in the upper 90s. Ugh.
Enough unpleasantness, let's talk about bookish books. I read three of them in September:
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas—As indicated by the title, this murder mystery revolves around several employees of a quiet library in Austin, Texas. Although the co-workers know each other, it's not until they're faced with solving two murders related to their workplace, that they really begin to trust and rely on each other. As they reveal their secrets to each other, they create a bond that helps them find out what really happened to the murder victims.
As much as I liked the premise of this novel, it didn't end up working very well for me. The story is mostly about the characters and their interpersonal relationships, not about the plot, which made the book a bit of a slog. It took me awhile to read it because it was just so putdownable. Bummer.
Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson—This middle-grade verse novel is set in 1963 in a mostly white neighborhood in Philadelphia. It stars Cooper Dale, a Black bookworm who's just starting fifth grade. Over the course of the school year, she experiences anxiety, fear, racism, sadness, and worry as well as triumph, joy, acceptance, and love. Through it all, she relies on wise words from her father, the Bible, Martin Luther King, Jr., and her favorite poet, Langston Hughes. Although the book deals with some tough subjects, it's ultimately a hopeful, uplifting read.
Murder By Memory by Olivia Waite—I'm not sure if this novella really counts as bookish, but since it has books on the cover and it references "the library" a lot, I'm going with it. The story is set on a spaceship where people can live forever by changing up their physical bodies whenever they feel like it. If you need a break between lifetimes, you can store your mind in the ship's vast library, where it will be kept safe until you need it again. When ship detective Dorothy Gentleman is yanked out of her rest involuntarily, she's confused. Especially when she spies a dead body nearby. As she investigates the murder, she's shocked to discover that someone is purposely erasing minds from the library. Who would do such a dastardly thing? And why? It's up to her to find out.
I'm not a big fan of short fiction because I like to sink into stories, especially when they involve complicated world-building. Murder By Memory has an interesting premise and world, but I didn't feel like 100 pages was enough to really do any of it justice. Because of that, this was just an okay read for me. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it were a full-length novel.
How about you? What bookish books did you read in September?
For the last three months of the year, I'm going to try to read all the books on my "Read Before the End of the Year" list. None of them are overtly bookish, so we'll see what happens. I did start this one yesterday:
The Garden Just Beyond by Lindsey Leavitt—It's a middle-grade book about a family who's known for the life-changing dinners they serve to paying guests. Diners think the magic is in the garden-fresh produce the family uses, but what they don't know is that the garden actually is magic, and the food it produces is able to manipulate people's emotions. When a suspicious person buys up all the property neighboring their secluded farm, the family worries that someone is trying to steal their secrets and run their thriving business into the ground.
Our narrator is Maggie Gartner, a 14-year-old girl who's socially awkward and counts her books as her only real friends. Her attic bedroom is filled with a library of family history records, journals, account books, and so on. It's her happy place, the one spot where she feels truly at home.
Do you have any bookish books on tap for October?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your October reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Thursday, September 04, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: September Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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I'm late to post again this month. September is already getting away from me and it's barely even started. Yikes! This is going to be a quick post, too, because I only read two bookish books in August. They were:
The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows—This historical novel, which I listened to on audio, takes place in a small West Virigina town in 1938. When a wealthy socialite from Washington, D.C. is cut off by her father, who insists she needs to learn how to live independently, she is forced to take a job with the Federal Writers' Project. She is tasked with writing a town history of a berg in the middle of nowhere, exactly where she does not want to be. As she gets to know the quirky Romeyn family, however, she finds her attitude toward many things changing.
Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman—Goodman's newest mystery/thriller stars an antiquities museum director who is invited back to the privately-owned Greek island where she once lived for a summer during a writers' retreat. Unable to write after suffering a heartbreaking betrayal, she has done her best to put the whole terrible experience behind her. Now, fifteen years later, she vows to go back and confront those who did her wrong. She counted on drama, but not a dead body...
Those are the only bookish books I read last month. How about you? What bookish reads did you enjoy in August?
I'm not sure yet what exactly I'll be reading this month. Here are three possibilities:
The Lamplighter's Bookshop by Sophie Austin—I like the sound of this historical novel. It's about a woman who is left penniless after her father wracks up enormous debts with his gambling, leaving her and her mother destitute. In order to keep them from the poorhouse, the daughter applies for a position at a bookstore. Much to her chagrin, she's not the only one who wants the job. Can she and her handsome, enigmatic competitor find a way to work together so they both win?
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (available September 30, 2025)—I was fortunate to receive an e-ARC of this novel from NetGalley. When a murder at their workplace shatters the peace and refuge they've found at the library, a ragtag group of librarians must band together to save the library they love.
The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble (available March 3, 2026)—Okay, so I don't actually have a copy of this book, which doesn't come out until next year, but I'm praying to the gods of NetGalley and Edelweiss that I can snag an e-ARC. It sounds like a great bookish read.
Based on real circumstances, this historical novel is set in 1915 Manhattan where a vicious censor named Anthony Comstock is eagerly outlawing the publication of any works he deems inappropriate or dangerous. The three Applebaum sisters, owners of a Book Row bookstore, are determined to stop him at any cost.
What about you? What bookish books are you planning to read in September?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your September reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Friday, August 01, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: August Book Ideas and Link-Up For Reviews
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July was a crazy month for me, but I did manage to read four bookish books. Not too bad. I didn't love any of them, but I enjoyed all of them for the most part. Here's what I read:
Rabbit, Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon—This middle-grade book is about two cousins who barely know each other because their mothers have been estranged for years. When the girls are brought together for their grandparents' anniversary celebration, they become quick friends. Together, they vow to get to solve the mystery of why their mothers can't stand each other.
Bee is a voracious reader. Her cousin, Alice, isn't so hot on books, but her parents encourage their children to read by having a weekly family readathon. The girls talk books and swap their favorite reads.
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark—This mystery/thriller stars ghostwriter Olivia Dumont, whose been blacklisted after accusing a colleague of misogyny. Unable to get work, she reluctantly agrees to take a job working for a famous horror writer who happens to be her estranged father. The ailing man is finally ready to write a tell all about the mysterious deaths of two of his children decades earlier. He needs Olivia's help. For professional and personal reasons, she can't refuse.
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego—In this And Then There Were None-ish mystery, a group of writers are invited to attend a themed house party on a remote island owned by a famous author, whose identity has remained hidden for decades. The writers are challenged with puzzles and games that quickly become sinister in nature. When guests begin dying, it becomes clear that there's much, much more to this party than meets the eye.
No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack—The second volume in an entertaining murder mystery series, this book also features a group of authors gathering for a special event—a wedding on California's Catalina Island. Things start going awry from the get-go and only get worse as a storm descends, trapping everyone on an island with a killer.
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt—Set in 1967-1968, this middle-grade historical novel is about a seventh grader who is convinced that his English teacher hates him. While all the other kids get to leave school for religious school, he is stuck with a woman who makes him do classroom chores and, even worse, read Shakespeare. To his surprise, Holling takes a shine to the Bard. As he finds wisdom in the poet's words, he also learns valuable lessons as he faces all the challenges of middle school and life in a turbulent time in history.
What bookish books did you read in July?
I'm not sure what I'm going to read in August, but I'm considering these:
The Bookbinder's Secret by A.D. Bell (available January 13, 2026)—In turn-of-the-century Oxford, Lily Delaney is frustrated by her stunted life. She's bound to her father's failing bookshop while not being able to progress in a male-dominated field. When she discovers a 50-year-old letter hidden in the binding of a burned book, her curiosity is piqued by its contents, which tell a tale of love and murder. As Lily looks for more letters, she finds herself embroiled in what soon becomes a very risky search for some dangerous answers.
I just received an ARC of The Bookbinder's Secret from the publisher and I'm eager to dig in!
The French Bookshop Murder by Greg Mosse (available September 18, 2025)—This upcoming cozy series debut sounds fun. It's about an Englishwoman who decides to open a bookstore in a village in the South of France. She's settling into her new town when a dead body is discovered in the local church. As a stranger and the last person to see the deceased alive, the Englishwoman becomes the prime suspect in the victim's murder. She didn't do it. Who did?
What bookish books are you planning to read in August?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your August reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: A Bookish Books Combo Platter
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Happy Tuesday, book people! Can you believe it's the first of July already? It's hotter than the dickens here in the Arizona desert. It's 110 degrees outside and, after running errands out in the heat (not my idea), my brain is officially fried. Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a freebie and since I do a post for the Bookish Books Reading Challenge on the first day of each month, I'm going to make things easy on myself and combine them.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Seven Bookish Books I Read in June and Three I Want to Read in July
I went crazy with bookish books in June. Here are the seven I read in the order I finished them (title links lead to my reviews on Goodreads or here at BBB):
1. The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (available November 18, 2025)—Macmillan is one of my go-to mystery/thriller authors because her novels are usually engrossing page turners. Her newest is different than her previous books, more cerebral and less edge-of-your-seat exciting. It concerns an ancient piece of fabric that is said to contain a clue to the whereabouts of a rare manuscript that two warring female secret societies would kill (and have killed) to possess. When a grad student receives international attention for her translation of an important folio, she unwittingly lands herself in the middle of the societies' deadly feud. What exactly is she dealing with and how can she protect herself and those she loves from some very dangerous women?
2. Same Page by Elly Swartz—This middle-grade novel centers around a timely topic: book banning. Bess Stein, who has just been elected 6th grade class president, is dismayed when the book vending machine she installs at her school comes under fire for containing "inappropriate" literature. How can she convince the powers that be that banning books is wrong?
3. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (available August 26, 2025)—Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator who lives and works at her family's private library. When a knowing British woman appears after hours in the Christie Room claiming to be the Queen of Crime's ghost, Tory reluctantly humors the eccentric stranger. "Mrs. Christie" informs the conservator that she's come to help Tory solve a murder that is about to be committed. Tory dismisses the woman's loony talk—until a murder occurs and the "ghost" offers observations so spot on that Tory can't help believing that "Mrs. Christie" may just be telling the truth about her otherworldly identity.
4. A Death At Seascape House by Emma Jameson—The first book in a cozy mystery series set on an idyllic British island, complete with white sand beaches (Yes, they really exist in England. Who knew?), this opener introduces us to Jemima Jago. The librarian is sent to St. Morwenna to catalog a private collection of historical documents about Cornish history. Before she can get started, she discovers the dead body of a crotchety old busybody. Thanks to the reputation Jemima earned as a teenager on St. Morwenna, she quickly becomes the prime suspect in the victim's murder. In order to clear her name, she'll have to find the real killer before she's next.
5. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict—In order to prove their worth to their male colleagues, five female crime writers come together to solve the real-life mystery of a young English nurse who was murdered while on a quick holiday in France. As Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham put their heads together to track down a killer, they also find friendship, empathy, and support.
6. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery—Written almost 20 years after Anne of Green Gables, this children's novel is the first in a series starring a newly-orphaned girl who is sent to live with her estranged family in an unfamiliar town. As she tries to get used to her new life, the imaginative child experiences many ups and downs.
7. Murder Past Due by Miranda James—This book is the first installment in a cozy mystery series that revolves around Charlie Harris, a Mississippi librarian, and his Maine coon, Diesel. When an old classmate of Charlie's, now a famous author, is killed, the librarian finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Although the detective on the case demands that he leave the sleuthing to the professionals, Charlie can't seem to stop himself from playing Hercules Poirot. Whodunit?
For July, I'm planning to read:
8. Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon—I just started this middle-grade book about two 12-year-old cousins who are communicating in secret in order to find out what happened between their mothers to tear their family apart. Bee is a voracious reader, while Alice is such a reluctant one that her parents pay her for each book she reads. Books are one of the things that the girls, who come from very different backgrounds, bond over.
9. The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (available August 26, 2025)—The time space is a library of books filled with the memories of the dead, one that can be accessed only by special timepieces that were passed down from father-to-son, although they're now mostly possessed by the government. Lisavet Levy is an 11-year-old girl who was hidden in the time space in 1938 by her watchmaker father, who never returned to collect her. When she discovers that government agents are destroying books in the time space, she sets out to save the precious volumes.
10. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 2 by Beth Brower—It seems like everyone I know IRL loves this series. The first book was a quick, fun read, so I'm up for continuing on. In this second installment, Emma continues to get used to her new life living under the thumb of her insufferable uncle, who has squandered away her inheritance. Although she can't afford to buy even one beloved book to keep her company, Emma finds amusement in the eccentric people around her.
There you go, seven bookish books I read in June and three I hope to read in July. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's your favorite bookish book? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your July reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Monday, June 02, 2025
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: June Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
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It's hard to believe it's June already. Where did May go? It zipped right on by me! I did manage to read five bookish books during May, though. Here they are:
Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (available August 19, 2025)—This middle-grade novel is set in the Oklahoma Panhandle in 1935. In the midst of interminable dust storms, failing crops, neighbors leaving en masse for California, and dust sickness felling friends and family, the Stantons are desperately trying to hold onto their farm. Joanna and Howe, 12-year-old twins, are trying to keep their parents' dream alive, but with their father off looking for work in the West, one disaster after another strikes, leaving only worry in its wake. What will happen to the Stantons if the dust doesn't stop blowing?
Howe would rather read and write poetry than farm any day. He's too afraid to tell his hardworking father that he wants to be a writer when he grows up, so he reads Emily Dickinson in secret and pens poems that he hides in the hayloft. When Joanna discovers his notebook of poems, he's forced to confess his secret to his sister.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware—I read this thriller when it first came out way back in 2016. Ware is publishing a sequel (The Woman in Suite 11, available July 8, 2025), so I decided to reread this one. It's about Lo Blacklock, a journalist who is invited on the exclusive maiden voyage of a small, luxury cruise ship. One night, she hears a scream coming from next door followed by what sounds like a body hitting the water. When she raises the alarm, she's told no one is staying in the cabin next to hers—in spite of the fact that Lo met the room's occupant the previous day. Although she had been drinking too much and taking anti-depressants, Lo knows what she saw. She's not going crazy. Is she?
Lo is a journalist who writes for a living. She also loves to read. One of her favorites is Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, which plays an important role in the story. (I also read The Woman in Suite 11, but books are barely mentioned, so I'm not counting it as a bookish book.)
Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack—This murder mystery involves a group of mystery writers who are brought together for a promotional book tour in Italy. Connor Smith—a major drama king—insists that someone has been trying to kill him. He enlists the help of Eleanor Dash, his archenemy, who becomes convinced that Connor is actually telling the truth. As the tour participants are plagued by odd, unlucky "accidents," Eleanor realizes that Connor's not the only one in a killer's crosshairs. Someone is trying to eliminate her as well, but who? And why?
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lyon: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower—As indicated by its title, this short historical novel is told through the journal entries of the titular character. Without a farthing to her name, Emma is forced to live under the critical eye of her miserly cousin in the home that is her inheritance and his residence. While she makes desperate attempts to access her allowance, with which she would like to accumulate a nice library of her beloved books, she makes observations about the quirky people around her.
Emma is a very bookish character. She is constantly woe-is-me-ing over her empty bookshelves. She also refers non-stop to literary works.
The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens—I'm actually not sure whether to include this novel or not because, despite its title, it's really not about books at all. Reading is barely referenced in the story. The heroine does work in a library (although she has no library degree), but she's also a Bosnian refugee and that's what the book is really about. The Quiet Librarian is a gripping read; it's just not very bookish.
Did you read any bookish books in May?
I'm not sure what I'm going to read in June exactly, although I did finish a bookish book yesterday, which I'll talk about in next month's post. Here are a few I'm considering:
No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack—This is the second book in the fun murder mystery series starring Eleanor Dash that I mentioned above. Eleanor is a bestselling mystery writer who is attending the wedding of her best friend on Catalina Island. When Eleanor receives a note warning that someone is going to die at the event, she braces herself for another impending murder investigation.
Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay—The first in a cozy mystery series, this book stars Lindsey, the director of a public library. When an editor comes to town, Lindsey's best friend, Beth, sees it as an opportunity to sell her children's book. Beth's boyfriend, a famous author, blocks her attempts. When he is found murdered, Beth becomes the prime suspect. It's up to Lindsey to clear her best friend of any wrongdoing.
Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (available August 25, 2025)—This murder mystery doesn't come out for a couple months, but I have an eARC. The story sounds like lots of fun! It stars a book conservator and the ghost of a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie who team up to catch a killer.
What bookish books are you planning to read in June?
If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your June reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
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2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
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