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2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


27 / 30 books. 90% done!

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


39 / 50 books. 78% done!

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (2)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee
- Texas (3)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (2)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- Australia (6)
- Austria (1)
- Canada (2)
- England (21)
- Fiji (1)
- France (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Mexico (1)
- New Zealand (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Bahamas (1)
- Vatican City (1)

My Progress:


34 / 51 states. 67% done!

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


24 / 25 books. 96% done!

2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

My Progress:


29 / 50 books. 58% done!

Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


38 / 52 books. 73% done!

2026 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


34 / 52 books. 65% done!

2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


22 / 40 books. 55% done!

2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


24 / 51 books. 47% done!

2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


19 / 25 books. 76% done!

2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


44 / 52 books. 85% done!

Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)

My Progress:


54 / 65 books. 83% done!

2026 Countdown Reading Challenge

My Progress:


55 / 55 books. 100% done!

2026 Series Reading Challenge


23 / 36 books. 64% done!

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

My Progress:


70 / 125 books. 56% done!

2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge

My Progress:


9 / 9 books. 100% done!

2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

My Progress:


36 / 60 books. 60% done!

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 40 books. 25% done!

European Reading Challenge 2026

My Progress:


7 / 50 books. 14% done!

2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

My Progress:


67 / 125 books. 54% done!

2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

My Progress:


4 / 5 challenges. 80% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


98 / 100 names. 98% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


76 / 80 skills. 95% done!
Tuesday, August 09, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: The Next Few in the Queue


Because of our big move, continued remodeling, and just life, my Top Ten Tuesday posts are about the only thing happening here at BBB! Thanks for hanging in there with me during all the chaos. It's hard to feel settled when there are still boxes to be unpacked, cabinets to be hung, light fixtures that need installing, and on and on and on. I long for the day when everything is back to normal. In the meantime, I'm learning patience and gratitude, so there's that...

I have to say, though, that today's prompt—Top Ten Books With Hilarious Titles—has me stumped. Other than cozy mysteries (which often have punny titles, some of them quite clever), I really don't read funny books. I'm not sure why this is since I do love to laugh. My brain is mush this morning thanks to a wild storm that kept me awake last night, so I can't even come up with an interesting way to twist the topic. I didn't want to miss out on the TTT fun, though, so today I'm just going to list the next ten books I'm thinking about reading. Mood may get in the way, so this list isn't set in stone. We'll see what actually happens. Ha ha.

If you want to join in this fun weekly meme, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Edited to add: I don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but I'm unable to comment on some of your blogs. I keep getting "Not Acceptable!" errors. Googling tells me the issue has something to do with Wordpress and the JetPack plugin. Even when I'm logged in to WP with my correct username and password, the plugin won't let me in. Super annoying. Anyone else having this problem? Know how to fix it?

Top Ten Books I *Might* Read Next


1. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer—Marg over at The Intrepid Reader suggested we do a buddy read of this World War II novel, so I started reading it yesterday. It's a dual-timeline story about secrets, war, love, and learning to use one's voice. I'm enjoying it so far.

2. Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley—Speaking of cozies, I just got a copy of this one from the publisher. It's the first in a new series set in a Wisconsin pizzeria. Sounds delicious!

3. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton—I mentioned this book last week on my TTT list about books I want to read that are set in Scotland. While sorting through my personal library in preparation for moving, I realized I own copies of most of the books in the Scottish Bookshop series. For the first installment, though, I'm going to have to hit up the library. There's a little bit of a waiting list for The Cracked Spine, but it should move fast.


4. A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee—Another discovery I made (or a re-discovery, really) while purging my books was this YA historical mystery series. It's about a secret detective agency made up of Victorican women. I read most of the books as they came out and enjoyed them, but I never finished the series. Since I own all of them, I think I'm going to re-read them starting with this first installment.

5. The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick—This contemporary novel sounds fun. It's about a woman who makes ends meet by working as a maid. In her spare time, she escapes into books and dreams of writing her own. When her employer—a bestselling author—dies, she's given the opportunity to finish the writer's last novel, a task that will change her own life forever.

6. The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa—Is a book set in 1996 really considered historical fiction? I was a college sophomore then and it really doesn't seem like that long ago! Anyway, this novel is set in Dublin in 1996. It's about a woman who is living her best life when she receives a life-or-death plea from the daughter she placed for adoption thirty years ago. I'm always up for an adoption story, so this sounds right up my alley.

7. Hypnosis is For Hacks by Tamara Berry—I enjoyed the first book in this cozy mystery series, so I'm excited to read this second installment. The series stars a sham medium and is lots of fun so far.

8. The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick—This historical has been on my TBR for too long. I just picked up a copy from the library so I can finally get it read. It concerns the wrongful commitment of a privileged young woman to a home for wayward girls and her sister, who's determined to rescue her, even if it means incarcerating herself. 

9. Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March—Another series opener, this historical mystery is based on a true story about two women who fell from a clock tower in colonial India. The accident looks a lot like murder, which leads Captain Jim Agnihotri to investigate.

10. Hide by Kiersten White—I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this novel on here before, but it sounds so good that I'm going to mention it again. The story concerns a vicious hide-and-seek competition held in an abandoned amusement park. The winner snags a pile of cash big enough to change their lives forever. Mack is determined to win, but something not quite of this world has been let loose in the playing field...

There you go, the ten books I will might read next. What do you think of my picks? Have you read any of them? What funny titles did you highlight on your list today? 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!

Tuesday, August 02, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: TBR Reads Set in My Ancestral Homeland


When I saw today's prompt—Top Ten Books Set in Places I'd Love to Visit (Real or Fictional)—it sounded familiar. I was sure I'd done this topic before sometime in the past and yet, no matter how hard I searched my blog, I couldn't find a list with that theme. Although a few settings came immediately to mind (Hogwarts, Avonlea, Narnia, etc.), I struggled to come up with a bigger list than that, even though there are many settings that come alive so vividly in books that I long to step foot inside them. Nevertheless, I decided to focus on just one of those places: Scotland. You may remember that I traveled to the U.K. last year for sightseeing and family history exploration and that I did, indeed, visit the country. It enchanted me so much that I've been planning a return trip ever since I got home (in fact, we've been putting a lot of our new home purchased on a British Airways credit card to rack up travel points). So, today, I'm going to cheat a little and share with you ten books on my TBR that are set in a place I would love to revisit. 

If you want to join in the TTT fun, head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Top Ten Books On My TBR Set in a Place I Would Love to Revisit (Scotland):
- in no particular order - 


1.  Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin—As much as I love his homeland and mysteries, I've never read anything by this Scottish author. Knots and Crosses is the first installment in his well-known Inspector Rebus series and I think it's high time I read it!


2. Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine—Libby Snow's third great-grandmother was obsessed with the legend of Ulla, a Viking maiden who washed up on shore with the almost lifeless body of her husband, inspiring fantastical tales and epic poems. When Libby, an archaeologist, receives permission to dig in the place Ulla allegedly appeared on Scotland's western coast, she discovers the bones of a much newer corpse. The stories of Ulla and Libby entwine with that of the dead woman as Libby searches for answers to explain the murder that caused her death.


3. Loch Down Abbey by Beth Cowan-Erskine—Another murder mystery, this one revolves around the Inverkillen Family, residents of the titular home. With a mysterious illness running rampant through Scotland, the whole country is in a panic. The Inverkillens are already dealing with an alarming toilet paper shortage and Nanny's inconvenient death when Lord Inverkillen is found dead. Because of the lockdown keeping everyone at home, the only suspects in his murder are members of his family and staff. It's up to the head housekeeper to figure out who did him in.


4. 500 Miles From You by Jenny Colgan—Colgan is a Scottish author who writes fun, upbeat rom-coms. This one is the third entry in her Scottish Bookshop series. I enjoyed the first two and am looking forward to this newest installment. 


5. Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon—Written in the 1930s, this if the first book in a trilogy about a woman whose quiet pastoral life in Scotland is changed forever by World War I.


6. Lockdown by Peter May—Speaking of lockdowns, I'm intrigued by the premise of this novel by one of my favorite Scottish mystery writers. I thought it was set in Scotland, but it's actually set in London. Oops! Oh well, it still sounds compelling, especially since it was written over 15 years ago but so closely mirrors what we've all experienced recently with the global pandemic.


7. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton—This is the first installment in a cozy mystery series set in an Edinburgh bookshop. It features an American armchair traveler who makes an impulsive decision to accept a position at a bookstore in Scotland. Things get off to a cracking start when a valuable artifact goes missing and her boss's sister gets herself murdered. 


8. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley—Another series opener, this one revolves around a woman who retreats to Scotland to write a novel based on a 1708 Jacobite effort to return an exiled James Stewart to his homeland in order to reclaim his crown. Writing from the perspective of one of her own ancestors, the writer soon realizes her strange obsession with the story may be a case of ancestral memory, making her the only person who knows what really happened that fateful day...


9. The Distant Echo by Val McDermid—McDermid is another Scottish mystery writer that I somehow have not read yet. This novel is the first in her Inspector Kate Pirie series and centers around a cold case homicide that opens old wounds and exposes long-buried secrets. 


10. Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland—Mac is working on a compilation of local folktales and legends when her only child, Arthur, insists she needs an assistant to help her. Lucie, who moves into a cottage on Mac's property, seems a little too interested in the secrets Mac's working hard to protect. Unbeknownst to Mac, Lucie has secrets of her own.

There you go, ten (okay, nine) books on my TBR list that are set in beautiful Scotland. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Are there any others I should add to my list? Which books did you highlight today? 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!  

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Moving Woes and Seasonal Slows


It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything here at BBB and you can probably guess why. We made the big move to our new/old house. The remodel is nowhere near finished, but we moved all our stuff in anyway. It was a grueling weekend of moving in record-breaking heat (and that's saying something in Arizona!) that left us all exhausted. We never would have survived it without our ward (church congregation) and other friends helping us.  After a week in an AirBnB, everyone except me voted to officially move into the house despite the fact that it had no functioning sinks, no kitchen countertops, no appliances, a big hole in the master bathroom (the delivery of a custom window has been delayed), etc., etc. I'm a gal who likes her creature comforts, so it's been an experience to say the least. The sink and appliance situation is supposed to be rectified today. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, the remodeling goes on. The entire house pretty much looks like this right now:


We still don't have railings for the stairs and loft. The washer and dryer are in boxes in the garage, so the laundry situation is getting a little out of control...


Boxes, boxes, and more boxes everywhere you look!


At least my husband has a sense of humor. He built this couch out of some of our food storage. The Mormons in the audience are laughing right now—if you know, you know. Ha ha. The t.v. that is supposed to go on the wall wasn't delivered when it was supposed to be and we still haven't bought a new couch to replace the one we sold prior to the move. More items for the ole to-do list...

Annnyyywaaayyy, the good news is progress is being made on the house. It's just slow. Also, I'm really learning to appreciate things I've always taken for granted, like sinks and master bedroom showers. And, I'm back for Top Ten Tuesday. Yay! I've missed participating and interacting with you all. If you haven't gotten on the TTT train yet, you really should. Just hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Today's guilt trip prompt is Top Ten Books From My Past Seasonal TBR Posts I STILL Haven't Read (submitted by Dedra at A Book Wanderer).  I'd venture to guess I'm not the only one who loves creating these lists, yet fails to actually complete them. I looked back at my seasonal lists for 2021 to see how many of my picks I read. Here's how it panned out:

Check marks denote books read. Titles link to reviews I posted here on the blog or on Goodreads.


In a Book Club Far Away by Tif Marcelo
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser 
The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale
Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen
The Vines by Shelley Nolden
The Kew Garden Girls by Posy Lovell


The Block by Ben Oliver
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva
Girl in the Walls by A.J. Gnuse
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
Are We There Yet? by Kathleen West
You'll Thank Me For This by Nina Siegal


Searcher of the Dead by Nancy Herriman
The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn
The Hours Count by Jillian Cantor
A Cup of Silver Linings by Karen Hawkins
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
The Pact by Sharon Bolton 


Survive the Night by Riley Sager (also on the Summer TBR—oops!) ✔
Where Echoes Lie by Shannon Schuren
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (re-read)
The Gold in These Hills by Joanne Bischof
What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson ✔


The Haunting Season by various authors
God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney
A View Most Glorious by Regina Scott
The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani
The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Unmissing by Minka Kent
The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer


Poison Lillies by Katie Tallo
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey
Futureface by Alex Wagner
The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick
Stiff by Mary Roach

Out of 60 intended reads, I only managed to tackle 21 (really only 20 since one book was on two lists). Ouch! Will these dismal stats keep me from making more overly ambitious seasonal TBR lists in the future? Of course not. They're way too much fun to resist. 

How have you been doing with your seasonal TBR lists? Have you read any of the books I've listed here? Are there any reads on these lists that I absolutely cannot miss? I'd love to know your opinion. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT! 

Friday, July 08, 2022

Which ONE Book Should You Read This Year? Twenty Awesome Book Bloggers (Including Yours Truly) Chime In...


I was so thrilled when my book blogging buddy, Carol of Reading Ladies Book Club, asked me to be a part of a fun collab. For her annual One Great Summer Read event, she asks a group of book bloggers from all over the U.S. and beyond to recommend just one favorite book from their reading year. We came up with a great list, if I do say so myself! What book did I recommend? Which titles did the other bloggers choose? Click the logo above to find out...

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Readin'

<i>Readin'</i>
Beach Thriller by Jamie Day

Listenin'

<i>Listenin'</i>
Hidden Rooms by Kate Michaelson



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2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

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2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction