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! 

It's been a hot minute since I posted on my blog, even for my favorite weekly meme. February turned into a busy month and some things had to fall by the wayside (although I did manage to post my first review of the year last week). Besides regular life busy-ness, we did a fun family road trip to Las Vegas and California. We surprised our two youngest kids (the only ones living at home these days) with tickets to see U2 in Vegas. After two days there, they flew home (poor suckers had to work and go to school) and my husband and I continued on to California for a few days. I barely cracked open the book I took with me, but that's okay. It was a wonderful vacay. Highlights included:

We actually did do some bookish things, come to think of it. On our way to Santa Barbara, we stopped in Solvang, a charming Danish-style tourist town. There's a bookshop there that houses a small, but informative Hans Christian Andersen museum. They also have a cute Little Mermaid statue in the center of town in homage to the beloved author. In Santa Barbara, we stayed with my husband's cousin and his family. They have five very energetic kids, who love to listen to books read aloud. It was sweet to have them draped all over us while we read them stories. I won't post the pictures to protect the children's privacy, but it was super cute.

I actually broke the book-buying ban I started in January in California as well (although I didn't even realize it until hours later). My great-great grandfather was an early settler of San Bernardino. I bought this postcard history of the city at their Historical and Railroad Museum:

My husband says that purchasing it doesn't really count against my ban because (1) It was more of a donation to the museum than a book purchase, (2) The book is for research purposes, not entertainment value, and (3) He's the one who handed over the cash, so technically, he bought it, not me! LOL. 

At any rate, we had a great time on our trip. Between that and being busy with other things, I just haven't had a lot of hours to devote to my blog. I do appreciate those of you who dropped in to check on me during my absence. It's nice to be missed.

After that TL;DR intro, let's (finally) dive into TTT (hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl). This week's prompt is: Top Ten Book Covers Featuring Things Found in Nature. I'm always up for a nice, easy topic, although I did change it up just a wee bit. While scrolling through my TBR list on Goodreads, I was surprised to see how many of the book titles on there feature animal names, specifically birds and insects. It was a cinch to find ten for this nature-y prompt.

- in no particular order - 

1. Peking Duck and Cover by Vivien Chien—This is the tenth installment in one of my favorite cozy mystery series. As Chinese New Year approaches, Lana Lee and her fellow business owners at Cleveland's Asia Village are getting ready for a big holiday celebration to bring in customers and good luck for all. The festivities take a dark turn when a lion dancer is murdered. Lana once again calls on her inner Nancy Drew to solve a crime.

2. Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce—Set in 1950, this historical novel features a spinster schoolteacher who decides to shuck off the gloominess of post-World War II London and set out on a grand expedition. Determined to fulfill her childhood dream of finding the mythical Golden Beetle of New Caledonia, she and an unlikely companion discover the freedom and joy of travel, friendship, and adventure.

3. The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh—With timelines in both World War I and II, this historical novel pays tribute to the brave British women who served as motorcycle dispatch riders on the Western Front during both conflicts. Our fictional heroines learn about courage, sacrifice, love, and resilience through their life-changing war experiences. 

4. He Should Have Told the Bees by Amanda Cox—Beekeeper Beckett Walsh loves working with her father in their family's apiary. When he dies unexpectedly, naming a woman Beckett doesn't know as a new part owner in the business, she's shocked and angry. Callie Peterson is just as flummoxed, but she needs the money selling the apiary could bring in. As the two women clash over the odd situation they suddenly find themselves in, they will untangle a knot of family secrets that will change everything for both of them.

5. The Night Raven by Sarah Painter—Urban fantasy really isn't my thing, but the Crow Investigations series sounds promising, so I'm going to give it a whirl. In this first installment, private investigator Lydia Crow is called in to head up an investigation into her cousin's disappearance. The incident is causing tension between four magical families who have been abiding by a tentative truce for almost 100 years. Can Lydia find her cousin before all hell breaks loose?

6. The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang—This historical novel features two women—a soprano in need of a career boost and a Chinatown seamstress who's desperate to flee an arranged marriage—whose lives intersect when they are brought together by a railroad baron who owns a valuable collection of Chinese antiques. The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 rocks all of their worlds, leaving an intriguing mystery behind for the women to solve.

7. A Hundred Crickets Singing by Cathy Gohlke—The title of this book is enough to give me nightmares (I hate crickets!), but the story sounds like one I'd like. It's a dual-timeline novel that features two women living in the same home 83 years apart. When a vicious storm rips through her Appalachian estate, revealing a hidden room and an old trunk, Celia Percy opens a Pandora's box of secrets and lies that stretch back to the Civil War and the people—both free and enslaved—who lived at the home at that time. 

8. Olive Bright, Pigeoneer by Stephanie Graves—This series debut introduces 22-year-old Olive Bright, who raises pigeons in a quiet English village. World War II is raging and she's desperate to do her bit to help. When a covert intelligence operation comes calling, asking for her pigeons, Olive gets her wish. As she does her secret work, a woman in her town is murdered near Olive's pigeon loft. Does the killing have something to do with Olive's clandestine job? Is she in danger? Olive must find the answers before she becomes the next victim.

9. Dragonfly by Leila Meacham—World War II novels are hard for me to resist. Obviously. In this one, a group of very different Americans are brought together to form an elite spy ring. Secret identities intact, they are dropped into Nazi-occupied Paris, where they are not to be in contact with one another. When one of them ends up in front of a firing squad, the others are left to question what is real and what is simply another subterfuge.

10. Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon—Emerson, Massachusetts, is a wealthy suburb full of influential families. When a teenage girl dies after a night of partying with three other local kids, a police investigation is launched. The authorities pry into their families' lives, revealing secrets, suspicions, and, finally, the shocking truth. 

Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are your favorite books that fit this theme? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.