Whether or Not to Shop This Weekend

Though I certainly don't want to be up at 3AM to buy groceries. As I said this week, I made sure to get enough groceries by Tuesday to avoid the Thanksgiving Eve grocery store crowds. 

And for the record, I did not wake up at 3AM yesterday or even today. I did get out yesterday, but waited until lunch time to get to McDonald's, then stopping at the Goodwill nearby. Was surprised not to see Goodwill crowded and to not see merchandise, especially clothes, dropped on the floor. One of the McDonald's in my town is across from Target. I didn't bother looking to see how packed the parking lot at Target was. I also had to get cat food at the Dollar Tree, which was also surprisingly not crowded either. I guess the crowds start to thin out by lunch time. 

As for today, just going anywhere at all remains unknown right now. Not even certain about ordering anything online. 

2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

 Another I have been doing for several years.

You can select, read and review a book from the categories listed below during the year for a total of up to 12 books; OR select, read and review any nonfiction book. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.

Choose a goal:

Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories

Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories

Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category

Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year.

Categories:

1. History
2. Memoir/Biography
3. True Crime
4. Science
5. Health
6. Food
7. Travel
8. Garden 
9. Myth, Legend and Folklore
10. Islands 
11. How-To
12. Published in 2025

Book Challenge by Erin 22.0

 

Categories:

• 5 points: Freebie – read a book that is at least 200 pages:

• 10 points: read a book you intended to read in 2024 but didn’t get to it (or you added to your TBR in 2024):

• 10 points: read a book with a main character who is an artist (performer, writer, musician, dancer):

• 15 points: read a book with a picture of a sunset or sunrise on its cover:

• 20 points: (chosen by Ashley NL) read a book recommended by book clubs of Jenna Bush, Oprah Winfrey, or Reese Witherspoon :
https://www.today.com/shop/read-with-jenna
https://www.oprahdaily.com/.../g230.../oprah-book-club-list/
https://reesesbookclub.com/picks

• 20 points: (chosen by Dani D) read a book whose title starts with letter "I," but not I or any contraction of I (no I Will, I'm, I'll, I've...) :
Examples: Instructions for Dancing, Internment, Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting
Articles “The” and “An” are okay (i.e. The Informant or An Idiot Abroad)

• 25 points: read a book with a specific city/town name in the title (i.e. Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie, The Paris Library by Janet S Charles, The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin, Dongri to Dubai by S Hussain Zaidi):

• 30 points: read a book with a female villain:

https://www.bustle.com/.../171391-the-15-best-female...
https://www.goodreads.com/.../15420.Best_Female_Villains

• 30 points: read a book written by an author whose first name is Erin or surname is Gray:

• 35 points: (chosen by Joanna D) read a book about climate change/climate fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/.../36205.Cli_Fi_Climate_Change...

2025 Alphabet Soup – Author Edition Reading Challenge

This will be the second year I've done the Author Edition of Alphabet Soup, after years of just doing the Title Edition.

2025 Alphabet Soup – Author Edition Reading Challenge

Just for Fun!

It’s An Alphabet Challenge!

Start keeping track of your authors and by December 31, 2025

your bowls must be filled by one author for each letter of the Alphabet.

Be sure to include the book title too.

 Details

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2025 until December 31st, 2025.

You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

You do not need to link up each spoonful.

Make a page or a post or a GoodReads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls. I keep track of mine on my Challenge Page.

Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!

It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has an author whose first name, middle, or last name starts with every letter of the alphabet.

My books:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M 

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

Another I have been doing for years is now up for 2025.

The Alphabet Soup Challenge means that by December 31, 2025

your bowls must be filled with one book for each letter of the Alphabet.

Each Letter Counts As 1 Spoonful

Details

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2025 until December 31st, 2025.

You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

Children’s Books and Novellas are acceptable but they need to be over 50 Pages. 

You do not need to link up each spoonful.

Grab a notebook or make a page or a post or a GoodReads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls. I keep track of mine on my Challenge Page. 

Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged! 

It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.

You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles as shown below.

 The First Main Word Needs To Be

The Letter You Are Counting 

Except For that pesky Q, X, AND Z titles then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title. This year I have decided to allow book titles starting with EX for the X prompt.

My books:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Thanksgiving Humor--Thursday 13

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

 

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today. I'm sharing some new ones and old favorites.

Book Discussion: Nominees for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards

 

When I saw the Goodreads Choice Awards nominees are now up for the first round of votings, I was excited, then shocked to see that a grand total of one book I'd read this year was nominated. I was thus only able to vote for that one. The one book I have read among the 2024 GR nominees is:

As far as other nominees go, there are several I have heard about, but not read, because I cannot find them at my library and don't want to spend money on them if I think (or even know!) I'll never read them again. I might try to look for e-books to borrow, but the drawbacks to this idea are 1) I can only take reading so many e-books 2) The particular book may not be available on the e-book services available through my public library and 3) Even if the book is on the service, if it's a new and popular one, it will likely have a long wait, often up to six months. (I often don't want to wait that long!) 

Two others have also posted blog entires on the  Goodreads awards. This one said how she felt out of touch, not having heard of some of the books nominated and having read some that she did not finish (DNF). There are also many I didn't know about either. Just how did she or I miss these and how did they get nominated? She also questioned why people are using the term "romantasy." 

Another blogger wondered about the following:

I believe this year they even took away the "Write in" nominees unless that was last year because they added a whopping TWO genre categories but yet still leave out a TON for the YA categories. I mean seriously, just SciFi/Fantasy and Fiction? That's it? You lump Paranormal, SciFi, Fantasy, Dystopian all into one category and then "the rest" goes into another? When adults get a "contemporary" and its own thriller, horror, SciFi, Fantasy, "Romantasy" categories? It's ridiculous!

Now that she has alerted readers to this, I too wonder why all forms of Fantasy can't be included under one category for the YA books. 

Again, there are lots of nominated books I have heard of but have been unable to find without having to buy them. And the fact that they've been nominated makes me want to read them even more. 

2025 NoveList Reading Challenge

 This is my third year of doing this challenge.

January: Mix things up with a genre blend:

February: Fall in love with an LGBTQIA+ romance:

March: Stay up to date with a book about current social issues:

April: Read a book with neurodivergent characters:

May: Enjoy a larger-than-life cinematic book:

June: Lighten up with a funny or whimsical graphic novel:

July: Enjoy a chilling summer with must-read horror:

August: Read a cli-fi, solarpunk, or hopepunk book:

September: Read a book set in the decade you were born:

October: Try an award-winning audiobook or graphic novel:

November: Tempt your tastebuds with a culinary read:

December: Go meta with books about books:  

Trying to Avoid Store Crowds

With Thanksgiving this week, one thing I am dreading is getting to the grocery store before the holiday and trying to avoid the crowds. I had to pick up something on Thanksgiving Day last year and when I arrived at Safeway, there was literally no place to park. Walgreens and Target were both closed, and only one line was a Rite Aid. So I went back to Safeway and found an empty parking space, and was able  to get what I needed. I was willing to fight the crowds on this one; getting into the store to begin with was the real challenge here.

But I'm hoping to avoid all this for this year. I already made a store run yesterday, but even before that I went to Dollar Tree to stock up on bathroom items before the holiday. These are things I don't want to have to rush down on Thanksgiving Day to get. And since I have Tuesdays off, I plan to get drinks for my potluck at work then, as well as something to take on Thursday. I'm going to a friend's for the holiday, the same one I went to last year. I really enjoyed it then. I plan to get a pie for that one. I was going to ry to make a no-bake pie, but since I have never tried such a recipe, I decided to get one at the store. Maybe another time I will try a no-bake pie, perhaps for Christmas. I'm going the store on Tuesday won't be crowded like that depicted in this photo.

And I would never even think of shopping on Friday early in the morning. If a grocery emergency should arise that day, I will wait until later in the day, hoping the crowds thin out by that time.

The 52 Book Club’s 2025 Reading Challenge

One of the ones I always look forward to doing. It's now here!

1. Pun in the title:
2. Character with red hair:
3. Title starts with M:
4. Title starts with N:
5. Plot includes a heist:
6. Genre One: Set in spring:
7. Genre Two: Set in summer:
8. Genre Three: Set in autumn:
9. Genre Four: Set in winter:
10. Author's last name is also a first name:
11. A prequel:
12. Has a moon on the cover:
13. Title is ten letters or less:
14. Climate fiction:
15. Includes Latin American history:
16. Author has won Edgar Award:
17. Told in verse:
18. Character who can fly:
19. Has short chapters:
20. Fairy tale retelling:
21. Character's name in the title:
22. Found family trope:
23. A sprayed edge:
24. Title is a spoiler:
25. Breaks the fourth wall:
26. More than a million copies sold:
27. Features a magician:
28. Crossover (set in a shared universe):
29. Shares universe with Prompt 28:
30. In the public domain:
31. Audiobook has multiple narrators:
32. Includes a diary entry:
33. Standalone novel:
34. Direction in the title:
35. Written in 3rd person:
36. Final sentence is less than six words long:
37. Genre chosen for you by someone else:
38. Adventure story:
39. Has an epigraph:
40. Stream of consciousness narrative:
41. Cover font is in a primary color:
42. Non-human antagonist:
43. Explores social class:
44. Celebrity on the cover:
45. Author releases more than one book a year:
46. Read in a "-ber" month:
47. "I think it was blue":
48. Related to the word "puzzle":
49. Set in a country with an active volcano:
50. Set in the 1940s:
51. 300-400 pages long:
52. Published in 2025:

She Reads Romance Books 2025 Romance Book Reading Challenge

 Doing this one again.

By focusing on the major categories, this gives you a lot of room to explore whatever romance book tropes you want within those categories. Like enemies to lovers? You could read this trope every month of the year for each challenge or mix it up along the way.

January – Contemporary Romance

February – Erotic Romance

March – Romantic Comedy

April – Historical Romance

May – Fantasy  Romance

June – Queer Romance

July – Sports Romance

August – Dark Romance

September – New Adult Romance

October – Paranormal Romance

November – Romantic Suspense

December – Holiday Romance

13 Nonfiction Books I Have Read This Year

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

Because this is a book topic, I will also be posting it to the Book Blog Discussion Challenge, at Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight. 

Since November is Nonfiction month, I decided to include a list of some of the nonfiction I have read this year so far (not just in November!) and how/why I chose them. Just choosing 13 was difficult, since I'm sure I've read more than that number of nonfiction books! These are not listed in any particular order.

1. My Name is Mary--Mary Fisher: My most recent read on this list. I was looking for a book by an author who's HIV positive (for this challenge) and came across this one is my library's database. What I did not know was that this author spoke at the Republican Convention in 1992, making me think I probably shouldn't read it! But at least it was before Trump!
2. Favorite Dog Stories--James Herriot: I went looking for All Creatures Great and Small at the library, but did not see it! The database says they have it! I was in a hurry, and was looking for an animal-related memoir and saw this one. It was a short, easy read. Also during November.
3. Killers of the Flower Moon--David Grann: I just had to read this one after hearing about the movie (I have not watched it). There was a wait at the library for this one, so I guess others had the same thing in mind.
4. Sourdough Sagas--Herbert L. Heller: I mentioned this one in another post I made to both challenges in June, on new-to-me authors I've read this year. As I said then, an older friend gave me some books he'd had, including this one, one of the first books I read this year. The subject of this story collection was a new one to me: pioneering and gold in Alaska from 1883 to 1923. 
5. Paris: The Memoir--Paris Hilton: I honestly don't know why I chose this, but I may have been curious. All I want to say about this 😉
6. Into the Wild--Jon Krakauer: One I had known about for sometime, but did not get around to reading until this past year. I may have heard about the film first, but have not attempted to watch it, even after reading the book.
7. Broad Band--Claire E. Evans: One of the challenges I'm doing this year includes reading books from each of the Dewey Decimal System numbers (thus adding to how much nonfiction I've read so far this year). I was having a hard time choosing something for the 000s. I had tried to get this one earlier in the year, but It was checked out, and I put it on hold, but it never came back when it was supposed to! I decided against it for the time being, but checked it out later when it was in.
8. World of Wonders--Aimee Nezhukumatathil: I needed a book on climate change. I chose this one since it was the one I could find at the library that I had not read already, per my Goodreads account.
9. Savage Beauty--Nancy Milford: I knew very little about Edna St. Vincent Millay before reading this. I was looking for a book on a poet or writer. I was also looking for a book mentioned in a TV show or streamed series, and found out after I was finished reading this book that it is one of the books from the Rory Gilmore Reading List, so I went back to add it to the challenges that called for the TV show/streaming series category.
10. Rolling Warrior--Judith Heumann: I saw this one while looking for a book by a disabled author. It's a very thought-provoking memoir about how one girl paralyzed by polio who fought for her rights after she was denied a chance to go to school and to get a teacher's license because of her disability.
11. Rebel Chef--Dominique Crenn: Chose this one when looking for a food memoir. So many of the ones I found when I looked for such books I had already read. I wanted to read a new, one so this what I picked.
12. Lilibet: An Intimate Portrait of Elizabeth II--Carolly Erickson: I was looking for a book on a woman who ruled. This one looked good. Unfortunately it's a little outdated, as it was published a year before the wedding of Charles and Camilla.
13. The Mountain is You--Brianna Wiest: Every year I seem to have the self-help prompt, and it's become a dreaded genre of mine. I basically read the book, with no self-help intended. This book was no exception. Do any of you read self-help and do you intend to follow what the book says? This wasn't the only self-help I read this year, BTW.

These are just some of the nonfiction books I have read this year so far. I know I'll  get at least one in December. I've read many true crime books, as I have had that prompt many times.

Read With Allison’s 2025 Reading Challenge

 My third time doing this one.

1. 2024 bestseller
2. Set in winter:
3. Highest rated book on TBR:
4. Genre: Fantasy:
5. You and author share first initial:
6. Five words in title:
7. Gold lettering on cover:
8. Set in a  city known for its nightlife:
9. Book gifted to you:
10. Genre: Romance:
11. Ugly cover:
12. By two authors:
13. In a series:
14. Five-star prediction:
15. Cover with a night sky:
16. Set in a small town:
17. Indie author:
18. Book from a subscription box:
19. Out of your comfort zone:
20. Audiobook:
21. About secrets:
22. Multiple POVs:
23. Set at a lake:
24. Book you've owned longer than one year:
25. Illustrated cover:
26. Genre: Contemporary Fiction:
27. Title starts with E:
28. Recommended by a friend:
29. About revenge:
30. Library book:
31. Mood read:
32. Number in title:
33. Two books by the same author (1):
34. Two books by the same author (2):
35. Book with a  map:
36. Genre: Mystery:
37. About friendship:
38. Set somewhere you wouldn't want to visit:
39. Underhyped book:
40. Mostly black cover:
41. Book that scares you:
42. Character's name in title:
43. Genre: Thriller:
44. Set in a different time period:
45. About travel:
46. Book you've been putting off:
47. Book adapted to TV/movie:
48. Holiday scene on cover:
49. 2025 new release:
50. Book you think will surprise you:
51. Popular book:
52. Reread a favorite book:

Booklist Queen’s 2025 Reading Challenge

 Another favorite of mine is now up for 2025.

1. Meant to read last year:
2. Goodreads Winner in 2024:
3. Romantasy:
4. About siblings:
5. Book becoming movie/show in 2025:
6. Spy thriller:
7. Women's fiction:
8. Title starts with C:
9. Nonfiction book about health:
10. Twist ending:
11. Published in 2015:
12. Fiction & Nonfiction by same author:
13. Fiction & Nonfiction by same author:
14. Mythology retelling:
15. Own but haven't read:
16. Set in the Middle East:
17. Sequel:
18. Debut author:
19. Heartwarming story:
20. Book that took a while to read:
21. Classic recommenced to you:
22. Villain as protagonist:
23. Set in the summer:
24. 2024 bestseller:
25. Green cover:
26. Bottom of TBR:
27. Author from Africa:
28. Book that makes you cry:
29. About a politician:
30. Popular book you've never read:
31. Illustrated book:
32. Audiobook with multiple narrators:
33. Set in the suburbs:
34. Dark academia:
35. Intriguing cover:
36. Five-star read:
37. About an immigrant:
38. Banned book:
39. Set in the 1960s:
40. With chapter titles:
41. Dystopian fiction:
42. Author you love:
43. Multigenerational story:
44. Animal in the title:
45. 2025 new release:
46. Out of your comfort zone:
47. Thought-provoking historical fiction:
48. Book everyone is talking about:
49. Romance book:
50. Bestselling memoir:
51. YA fiction:
52. Reread a favorite:

2025 Reading Challenge--Reader Haven

 A new one to me this past year that I will join again.

Read a book that(s)…

1. Been on your TBR list for 3+ years
2. Recommended by a friend
3. In a genre you don’t usually read
4. By a debut author
5. By a bestselling author
6. Nominated for a literary prize
7. Set during a historical time period you don’t know much about
8. Set on a mountain, in a forest, or in a rural area
9. Set on a college campus or in a museum
10. Written in first-person POV
11. Set during fall (or has leaves on the cover)
12. Set during summer (or has a sun on the cover)
13. Has a movie or TV adaptation
14. Gives you cozy vibes
15. Gives you spooky vibes
16. Published before 1940
17. Published before 1970
18. Published before 2000
19. Published last year (2024)
20. Features a culture/religion different from your own
21. Has a person’s face on the cover
22. A retelling of a fairy tale, myth, or classic novel
23. A non-fiction book about a topic that interests you
24. Has 400,000+ Goodreads ratings
25. Has >30,000 Goodreads ratings
26. Less than 250 pages
27. More than 500 pages
28. Set in a country you don’t know much about

2024 Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge

 Another favorite seasonal challenge. I will get as many books as I can during the time indicated.

Here we are at the holiday season again! Time to sign up for the Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon co-event!

Dates: Monday, November 25 through Tuesday, December 31

Three ways to participate:

1. Challenge - Pick a level
2. Readathon - read as much (or as little) as you want
3. Participate in both!

AND new this year....a fun (optional) BINGO challenge! 

Regarding the reading of Christmas books, for the readathon, you do not have to read only Christmas books. I am always reading regular genres along with Christmas books during the season. Please do try to read at least one though.

For the reading challenge (and the BINGO challenge), these must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, children's books (we even have a level for them!), etc.

Reading Challenge Levels:
--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books, or more (this is the fanatic level!)

Additional levels:

--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above

My Books:

1. A Bad Kitty Christmas--Nick Bruel (Free Space)
2. The Nutcracker--Susan Jeffers (Red as Main Color on Cover)
3. A Piñata in a Pine Tree--Pat Mora (Pine Tree on Cover)
4. Santa Baby--Lisa Jackson & others (Holiday song in title)
5. Best in Snow--David Rosenfelt (Snow in Title)
6. The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas--Laura Murray
7. The Real Santa--Nancy Redd
8. The Twelve Jays of Christmas--Donna Andrews (Mystery)
9. Zoe's Rescue Zoo: The Runaway Reindeer--Amelia Cobb (Reindeer on Cover)

Challenge completed on December 19

Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2025

 Another I have been doing for years now. I always get as many books as possible each year.

A) Read only cozy mysteries of your choice (see link above for more details).

My books:

1. 
   

What An Animal Reading Challenge 2025

 Another favorite now up for 2025.

1. Any book read for this challenge has to have an animal that plays a major role in the book (which could be fiction or non-fiction.) It also counts if a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like). In the past, books would qualify if an animal is in the title or on the cover, but that alone no longer qualifies. This challenge is for books related to animals and just because they are in the title or on the cover, doesn't mean it's about an animal. 

These are the levels.

Level 1 - Read 6 books

Level 2 - Read 7-12

Level 3 - Read 13-20 

Level 4 - Read 21 or more

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...

3. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.

4. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.

5. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).

My Books:

1.