Get Lost in Literature

I was looking for a yearly reading challenge that I’d be able to complete in a year, and I found the inaugural Speccy Fiction Challenge hosted by Book’d Out . The rules say, “It allows you to choose from the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, (though the focus is skewed towards the first two), and their myriad of subgenres.” And since I read a crapton of fantasy, I thought this might be an achievable challenge. There are 4 levels/goals: Spectator who can set their own goal, Squint read and review 3 books from 3 categories, Stare is 6 books, and Survey is 12. I’m aiming to at least achieve ‘Stare’ and read 6 books from 6 categories, but if I make it to 6 with time to spare, I’m going to try to get to 12. CATEGORIES: Published in 2026   A speculative novella (less than 250pgs)   A translated speculative novel   The first book in a speculative fiction duology/trilogy/series   Romantic speculative fiction   Speculative fict...

I discovered this reading challenge by Gregory Road in December of 2024, ten years too late to be a long-term participant. I was disappointed to learn 2025 was to be the final year of the challenge but made the decision to join in the fun while it lasted. The challenge was designed to be a reading challenge for people who struggle with reading challenges, offering a wide variety of topics for participants to choose from.  I challenged myself to the Baker's Dozen: 13 books - Choose one category from any of the thirteen topics provided except for the wildcard books,  thinking it would give me the best shot at actually completing the challenge. Thirteen would be one more book than my GoodReads Challenge so it seemed like an okay goal. Imagine how stunned I was that I hit book 13 by July, surpassing my GoodReads Challenge, and I hadn't had to go out of my way to track down suitable books. These are the categories and books I chose: 1. Basic Genres - Biography .  American Ph...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "A few years back I was running out of money so I volunteered for a research study at the University of Pennsylvania." Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak I can't say the first line wowed me, but it did stoke my curiosity... What kind of research study? This book didn't wait long to reveal a complex character and creepy vibes. Book Blogger Hop Q:    How many books did you read in 2025? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A:    I read 20 books in 2025. Which doesn't sound like a lot when some book bloggers are reading several hundred a year, but for me and the small amount of time I have to read, it is a lot. Plus, I only challenged myself to 12, so I'm proud of the number.

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List. Six of these books I already own, one of them isn’t being published until after the new year, and let’s be honest… there’s no way I’ll get to all of these this winter, some of these will rollover into a Spring-to-read list. But I’ll have fun seeing how far I get. 1. Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory by Lenny Shulman 2. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros 3. The Brides of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire 4. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo 5. The Night Ship by Jess Kidd 6. The Alchemised by SenLinYu 7. Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer 8. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig 9. All Systems Red by Martha Wells 10. Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books Set in Snowy Places . I quite like the theme, perfect for the time of year, and it gets me away from listing the same favorites again and again, which makes me look like I've never read anything else. 1. Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey . A childless couple's lives are changed when a young girl arrives in a blizzard. 2. Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey . A single mother takes her child to go live in the woods with a mysterious recluse. 3. Call of the Wild by Jack London . The life of a dog fighting for survival in the Klondike. 4. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden . A fairytale that takes place in rural Russia, a young girl who can see spirits is oppressed by her new stepmother. 5. White Fang by Jack London . Similar to Call of the Wild  this is the story of a wolf-dog living a kill-or-be-killed adventure. 6. A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall . Newly engaged Theo Scott is going to meet her fiance's family for the f...

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving (assuming you celebrated it). The Sunday Post is a news meme hosted by TheCaffeinatedReviewer . I will be posting on the first Sunday of each month and I hope you'll join me. I thought the weather in November was relatively mild for the season. The one disappointment was that when it was sunny it was also cold and windy but when it was warm we had rain. But now that its December the temperature is plunging fast. I read three books in November: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 1984 by George Orwell (which was a politically loaded review) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig I did manage to find time to resume the book blog memes I participate in, and it's nice to be back connecting with the community. Everyone posts unique answers to the prompts, it's always so fun to read the answers. I haven't read a horror novel all year, so I picked up a copy of Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak . So far, it's about a li...