It’s barely Tuesday anymore, so I’m cutting it close, but I wanted to participate in Top Ten Tuesday one last time for the curtain closed on 2025. (Edit: Whoops, I crashed while finishing it up. Ugh, I have to back post again!)
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf.
These are in order from least to most recently acquired. Surprisingly, only like one of them is from Christmas. It’s because I got the rest of them so recently – I didn’t want to clutter up my bookshelf with even more books I haven’t read yet, haha – so I didn’t really ask for any for Christmas. Almost all of them are gifts, though. Anyway, without further ado, let’s be off!
What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Hollow by Karina Halle
The Glass Scientists: Volume Three by S.H. Cotugno
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
What books have you recently added to your bookshelf? When and where did you get them? Which ones have you already read? Which ones are you looking forward to the most?
As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!
I’m a little later than usual with this, but not too late. These last few weeks have just been flying by, as they usually do, and I’ve been a little busier since it’s the holiday season. But I still want to wrap up the past week.
Last week, I managed to post more than I usually do during the week of Christmas. I’m not quite sure how, though. These two weeks around Christmas and New Year’s are always a little rough like that. But I did it somehow, and I’d at least like to match the number of posts from last week during this week. I also didn’t really read last week, but I’m not surprised or annoyed about that. I can’t remember the last time I was reading a book over the week of Christmas – it’s just not something I really do because it’s busy.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the Weekly Wrap-Up!
Wednesday 12/24: Christmas Eve
Last Wednesday was the day before Christmas. So, to everyone who celebrates, here’s a belated Merry Christmas Eve!! 🦌🎅🔔🕯️ I didn’t really bake any cookies on this day this year like a normally do, but I still had a wonderful time with my spouse and dinner with my family. (I did do some baking this year, it was just on the Saturday before Christmas and one batch of Christmas Day itself. Christmas Eve just wasn’t the day this year.)
Thursday 12/25: Christmas Day / Birthstone Book Covers
On Thursday, I managed to squeeze a post out, so I got to wish everyone well on Christmas. But since I’m wrapping up the week, I’ll say it again: Merry Christmas!! 🎄🎁❄️🌟 I hope that everyone who celebrates had a great holiday. I spent more time with my family and some time with my husband’s family and it was really nice.
I was also able to post something before the day was out last Thursday. I participated in Birthstone Book Covers at a more reasonable time for the first time in months. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun little post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.
Each month, for the post, you feature book covers that are either the same color of the month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. This month was December, and its birthstones are tanzanite, zircon and turquoise. So the colors are all different shades of blue and cyan.
Last Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays again. Two weeks in a row – almost a streak! First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words. It’s where you guess what book the post is highlighting based on the book’s first words.
Sunday 12/28: The Glass Scientists: Volume Three Review
On Sunday, I finally got my review out for the final volume of The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno. And now I’m all caught up on my reviews! But yeah, I really enjoyed this story, both in its original form of a webcomic (that’s still finishing up) and the three graphic novels that came out of it, with their extra stuff. This was such a great reimagining of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Like the first two volumes, I gave it ★★★★★.
So yeah, I ended up being more active on the blog than I thought I would, but my novel reading was pretty much the same as it usually is around Christmas – nearly non-existent. Oh well, maybe next year I’ll actually read around the holiday for once. We’ll see, I guess.
I’ve actually managed to pick a book to read next and I’m almost done with it. You’ll see what it is when I review it, hopefully later this week. After I’m done with it, though, I’m not sure which novel I’ll go with next. It’s still between most of the same books as it’s been, however.
For blogging this week, I want to get my end of the year post out, as well as either my December 2025 reading wrap-up or my list for the Most Interesting Looking Books of January 2026. And at least one more post to match last week’s amount of posting.
Regarding stuff outside books and blogging, it was pretty much just relaxing and Christmas stuff last week. Basically, what I expected, because it is the usual for that week. My spouse and I will focus on being healthier after the New Year. For now, it’s just holidays and relaxing.
Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
So. Yeah. I don’t think this is gonna be much of a wrap-up, seeing as I didn’t post at all last week. But I thought that this might get me back into the groove, and we’ve had a few holidays since then, so I have a little bit to talk about.
Anyway, I don’t have anything else to say. So let’s get on with the wrap-up.
Sunday 12/24: Christmas Eve
Merry (very late) Christmas Eve!! 🦌🎅🔔🕯️ I was baking up a storm the weekend before Christmas, and didn’t have the time or energy to read, unfortunately. But I made a bunch of delicious cookies!
Monday 12/25: Christmas Day
Speaking of which, here’s another very late holiday well wishing for y’all – Merry Christmas!! 🎄🎁❄️🌟 I had a wonderful but busy day, and it was super nice to spend time with family that I only see a couple of times a year. I really missed them. I hope anyone who reads this blog who also celebrates Christmas also had a great holiday.
Sunday 12/31: New Year’s Eve
Here’s yet another late holiday sentiment: Happy New Year’s Eve!! 🎇🎆 I was unfortunately sick this past weekend, so I didn’t feel up to doing anything, which sucked. But I hope everyone else had a nice last day of 2023!
Monday 1/1: New Year’s Day
For this one, I’m actually not that overdue! Happy New Year!! 🥂🍻 Yesterday, I was still under the weather – but this time with something else. My spouse was as well, so we took it easy and had a lazy day relaxing at home. I hope everyone has had a great start to 2024 so far, regardless!
💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁
So yeah, I haven’t done anything regarding the blog since right before Christmas, but my spouse has been off work and I’ve been distracted. That, and de-stressing from all the stuff I did to prepare for Christmas. And then of course, I got sick, and am still sick (though I’m feeling a little better, which is why I’m finally posting).
For the rest of the week, I still wanna relax a bunch and spend a lot of time with my spouse since they’re still off work. So I probably won’t be posting much this week, but hopefully I’ll post at least a couple of times. I’m also hoping to get back into reading – I hit quite the slump in December.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day/night!
So, um, the title of this post is a little misleading. Technically, this is almost a “three weeks-ly” wrap-up. But that sounds dumb, so I’m still gonna call this a Weekly Wrap-Up.
Anyway, I haven’t really been too active on the blog this month. December is always a busier month for me, and to be honest, as much as I adore it, the holiday season stresses me out. Just a tiny bit. So I kind of took it easy this month. Sorry.
Anyway, let’s talk about the stuff I have done on the blog, since my last weekly wrap-up.
Wednesday 12/6: WWW Wednesday
Two and a half weeks ago, on Wednesday, I finally participated in another WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
Two Saturdays ago, I participated in Spell the Month in Books for December 2023. Spell the Month in Books is a monthly post created and hosted by Jana @ Reviews from the Stacks.
Thursday 12/21: Birthstone Book Covers / Reading & Recipes
Two days ago, this past Thursday, I ended up double posting. The first post that I did was Birthstone Book Covers. Birthstone Book Covers is a monthly post created and hosted by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black.
The second post that I did on Thursday was a new thing that I thought up a few weeks ago. It’s called Reading & Recipes, and for it I showcase the thing I baked or cooked most recently and discuss the book I was reading at the time a little.
Friday 12/22: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries Review
Yesterday I finally, finally, finally posted my review for Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I absolutely loved the book and I gave it ★★★★★.
So yeah, I haven’t been all that active so far this December. I’m hoping to post more than I have been next week, but no promises. Also, I probably won’t be posting tomorrow or the next day, as they are Christmas Eve and Christmas, and I want to spend all my time with family and friends. Plus, I’ll probably be tired from holiday stuff. I’m already pretty boned now actually – I’ve been busy making a ton of cookies these last couple days! (Not to mention wrapping presents the day before that!)
And… that’s kind of it for this wrap-up. I don’t have as much to say this time, I know, but like I said: I’ve been busy the last few days. I’ll probably end up reading books I get for Christmas next (if I get books for Christmas), and then I’ll read something else.
But yeah, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic day/night! Also, to everyone who celebrates, Merry Christmas!! 🎄❄️🔔🎁
So, like Thanksgiving, I wanted to do something a little special for the holiday. For Christmas, I’ve decided to post about books that I’ve received as gifts, particularly from different Christmases (though, once I run out of Christmas books, I’ll have to branch out to Books I Got As Gifts Just In General, haha).
For the first Christmas post, I wanted to share a series of books that I unwrapped under the tree… I want to say Christmas 2005? I’m pretty sure that’s it, yeah. This series was the first three books in Georgia Byng’s Molly Moon series.
This series was seriously special to me. I actually first read the first installment, Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism before Christmas of that year. It was in our school library, and I remember seeing someone reading it in like October 2005. I asked if I could borrow it for a sec to read the front flap (it was a hardcover edition), and then decided to read it after she finished it and returned it to the library.
And then I read it, loved it, reread my favorite scenes, and then checked it out again like six weeks later to do the same thing again. My parents – sorry, “Santa” – could see how much that I enjoyed the book, and got me a copy of my own for Christmas that year.
As well as the two sequels that had been released.
And I proceeded to devour both of them during the rest of winter break that year.
So yeah, I really liked this series. Even though, looking back, Molly Moon (the character) was totally “not like other girls,” very overpowered, and even a little Mary Sue-esque; the plot was fun, the writing was engaging, and I liked the setting and magic system (before it started getting ridiculous in like book four or five, but this is really only about the first three books, so we’re going to ignore the rest of the series).
Now, admittedly, I haven’t read any of these books in years – though I do remember a lot about them. But because of this, I can’t really say if this series is nearly as interesting or engaging for older teens or adults (probably not). I’m mostly just reminiscing about my favorite bookish Christmas gift(s) ever. Because this series definitely was that. There’s a few reasons why I still remember this Christmas so vividly, even after all of these years, and the Molly Moon series is definitely one of them. So even though I can’t tell you how it compares to modern middle-grade/younger YA, I do recommend it, based on how much I enjoyed and reread it, to tween-age girls.
So, to close off this post, I’m going to end it with the info and synopsis of the first book. What books are your guys’ favorites that you’ve gotten for Christmas? Did you read the Molly Moon books growing up? Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!!
Title & Author:Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
Series: Molly Moon [Book #1]
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Supernatural
Release Date: 2002
Book Description
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hypnotism
Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move and he’ll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret…
Leslie over at Books Are the New Black created a monthly post called Birthstone Book Covers. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title. As you can imagine, several people love it as well, and I too, agreed. It just seemed like so much fun, that, when I discovered it, I had to join in too!
I also couldn’t wait anymore, so despite it being December – AKA the lastmonth of the freaking year – I’m doing this. (I don’t care if January is literally two weeks away!!)
December has three different birthstones: Tanzanite, Zircon, and Turquoise.
If you want to participate too, just follow these simple (and fun) rules: • Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post. • Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone. • HAVE FUN! • Nominate people if you want!
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary
Defend the Dawn (Defy the Night #2) by Brigid Kemmerer
