What my 2025 reading looked like and some possible plans for 2026...

Hey there, book friends!  Hope you all had a great holiday season and weren't 'too busy' (is that even possible - ha!).  Also I'm enjoying hearing what you liked best in your reading life for 2025 and what might come in 2026.  Decided I'd share a bit here about my 2025 reading adventures.

I had a 'goal' (which I don't actually do anymore, but somehow I always want to mention a number) of 100 for 2025.  I did not get to that level.  I finished 89 books and that was fine.  Some of those books were quite lengthy.  And I listened to a number of book podcasts, which lessens my audiobook time.  

I reread/caught up on two full mystery series.  The first I completed was by Elly Griffiths and was her Ruth Galloway series.  It has 14 books and I'd love for there to be a 15th.  Maybe at some point.  The second series that I completed was Julia Spencer-Fleming's series featuring Clare Fergusson (Episcopal priest) and Russ Van Alstyne (Chief of Police).  This series has 10 books now and I was glad to revisit the earlier books and get to read the new one, At Midnight Comes The Cry.  It had been about 5 years since the last book.

I also attended the two book groups that I've been part of for many years.  My favorite book that the Mystery Book Group read and discussed was The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen.  The Afternoon Book Group reads a wide assortment of book types, but my favorite was probably The Women by Kristin Hannah.  My favorite book of all for 2025 was The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith.  It's very long, as most of the books in that series tend to be.  However, I love these books featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott and am delighted when a new one (this was #8) is available.

Think that's about all to share for 2025.  Will move on to my sorta-ish plans for 2026.  

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First of all, I'll be sharing what both the book groups I attend will be reading for Jan-June of 2026 in separate posts in the next week or so.  The Mystery Book Group will be having the first meeting on Thursday evening and we'll be talking about the first book in Elly Griffiths' new series, The Frozen People.

I'm pretty excited as I've heard some good things about the books both groups are planning on discussing.  Yay!  You guys can let me know if you've read any of them and have thoughts on them when I share the upcoming lists.  

I'm not going to have a set goal for 2026 reading.  We'll just stick with 100 and see if that happens.  I do plan to continue to do some rereading/catching up on series that I enjoy.  There is a new book coming out in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series, The Star From Calcutta and, as it will be #5, rereading the previous books might be fun.  There is also a series by Jennifer Chiaverini that features The Elm Creek Quilters.  I have read a bunch of them (#23 is coming in April), but I'm thinking about starting at the beginning again and making my way through them.  We'll see what I decide.  I need to figure out where I left off in my reading of that series and calculate how many I am behind.

Think that's about all I have to share.  I'm going to enjoy my reading in 2026.  Not continue a book if it isn't working for me.  Enjoy reading in print and on my Kindle and also listening to books on audio.  Maybe reread some old favorites from my shelves.  Mostly, I want to have fun.  Hope you guys do the same.  Take care and we'll 'talk' again soon.           

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2026!

 

Wishing everyone a very happy and peaceful 2026!  I'm going to repeat some thoughts I shared as a New Year's Day post in 2019.  My special word for 2026 will again be...PERSEVERE.  As in 'never quitting again' - in my life journeys of all types - reading, health, movement, and, most importantly, in my quest to be kind, loving, sensitive, and spiritual.

I love looking at pictures of mountains and love contemplating mountain vistas.  In every mountain range, there is up and there is down.  There are hard roads that test your strength and there are easier ones where one can coast.  Life is like that in many ways.  Endurance and perseverance are needed for both the ups and the downs.

So this year, my aim is to PERSEVERE through the good and the not so good and keep my goals in mind for all aspects of my life.  And definitely enjoy the journey.  Thanks so much for stopping by, for being my dear friends, and may you all have a very Happy New Year! 

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas....truly!  Wishing each and every one of you much 'Peace', 'Love', and 'Joy'.  I am very, very blessed to have each of you in my life and I'm hoping your holiday season is filled with good smells, good food, good fellowship, good feelings.  And if you're not in that sort of place right now...well...and sometimes we are not, I'm wishing you an extra measure of 'Peace'.  Happy Holidays - however you celebrate them!

I think I have shared these same words for several years here, but I just wanted to say that I know there are several dear blogging friends out there who have lost family and friends who were beloved to them this year.  It bears repeating that I wish you each an extra measure of peace at this time.  Sometimes the holidays are sad when we are missing loved ones.  Please do take care and I hope to be back 'full-time' in 2026.  We will have much to talk about with new books and what we've read in 2025.   

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

Wishing each of you, my dear friends, a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I feel very blessed to get to talk about books and life and all kinds of things with you.  Take care, please.  Hope your day is pleasant and, if you are celebrating this holiday, my wish is that you enjoy some good visiting with family or friends and some tasty treats!   

Break extended for a bit, but I've got some fun events to share soon...

Hey book friends!  Hope you guys are doing well and having some good fall reading.  I have been more than a bit busy and will continue to be for a time.  However, I wanted to check in and give a bit of a teaser for what I hope to share soon (or maybe in early 2026).

The picture above is from a trip my husband and I took to Phoenix recently and it's the Arizona Biltmore.  My husband had a work conference that took place there and I tagged along (as I do when it's somewhere fun that I want to visit).  We had a great time.  The weather was perfect.  After he finished his conference, we stayed another few days for more golf for him and more beautiful walking for me.  Oh, and also I visited the Poisoned Pen Bookstore twice and got to attend author events each time.  See, I said I had fun things to share!

I hope to do one post about the Arizona Biltmore with pictures because I participated in a 'History Tour' there and it was a lot of fun and informative.  That hotel and resort area has been open for 95 years, so lots to tell.  

I'll also do two posts about my trips to the Poisoned Pen and about the 4 authors that I got see.  Plus about their books, etc.  

If I don't get back before Thanksgiving (which we are hosting), I wish each of you that celebrate that holiday a lovely time.  Take care and happy reading!  Talk to you soon!

A short break...back soon...

 

Thought I would share this pretty fall picture just because of the lovely colors.  Not that it was taken in my area - ha!  I'm fairly certain that I took it some years ago in New Mexico on one of our trips there.  Anyway, I am going to take a short break - just a couple of weeks.  We are going to be busy with a number of things including some family time, etc.  Don't have too much fun without me.  I should be back around soon and will update on my reading, my book groups (attended a new one that was interesting), and whatever else I can think of.  Take care!  Happy Halloween!    

Waiting on Wednesday - The Seven Rings

 

'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about.  I love doing this, letting the 'word' spread about authors and series that I enjoy.   Hope you'll stop by often and see what I'm 'waiting' on.

This week's selection may seem a little odd in some ways.  It is indeed the 3rd book in a trilogy written by the very, very prolific Nora Roberts.  I have read this author's books for a really long time.  I am especially fond of her crime novel series under her J.D. Robb name.  However, I have also loved many of her trilogies that feature magic, romance, and also some suspense.  This week's book is the completion of the 'Lost Bride Trilogy'.  The first two books are Inheritance and The Mirror.  I own both of these, but have not read them as yet.  I've found that these trilogies make me really anxious for the next book so this time I decided to wait until all three were available so I can move right on to the next.  Have you read any of this trilogy as yet or have you enjoyed other 'magic' trilogies by this author?  Do tell!  

The Seven Rings: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 3

by Nora Roberts

Publication Date: November 18

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author Nora Roberts concludes her compelling Lost Bride trilogy as two women—one dead, one alive—prepare for a terrifying final showdown…

Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean, in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house—a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed.

After Sonya, her boyfriend, Trey, and their friends are forced to hear, see—and feel—the suffering of the house’s many ghosts as their torment is reenacted by the evil presence, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story, putting the picture together, unearthing small treasures, and uncovering the moments of joy that existed among the sorrows. She’s determined to bring light to this haunted place—to fill it with people, with life and hope, once again.

But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover, to come at her in frightening forms. They may be illusions—but illusions can be powerful enough to wound and kill. She feeds on fear, and lies are her weapon. This dark-hearted witch wants to be mistress of Poole Manor, at any cost. And Sonya will need to fight a battle across two realms to finally take possession of the house on the clifftop—and of her own future…

A few pictures from our trip to Yellowstone Park...

I wanted to share a few shots of our trip to Yellowstone Park and so here they are.  We went the last week in August and that seemed to be a good time to visit.  Less people because most schools had started, but there were quite comfortable temperatures.  It was our first visit to the area and we went with another couple that we've been friends with for a long, long time.  We did have a lot of fun.  

I will say that I am a person who tends to have motion sickness.  Always have had.  It's the reason that cruises don't sound fun to me and, though I love mountains, the windy up-and-down roads affect me as well.  I didn't take as many pictures because I had to take meds (happily the lower-dose so that I was actually awake - ha!) for 9 of the 10 days we were gone.  Have to have them when I fly as well.  So, I was a little 'off', but still able to enjoy.  

If you haven't been to this part of the world, I think it's worth it. 

 

I shared this photo in an earlier post, but wanted to say that the mountains here are the Tetons.  This was actually outside the boundary of Yellowstone in the southern region.

There are lots of grand vistas and you can see in the lower part the edge of where we stood and then how far down the Yellowstone River actually was.  Just beautiful.

Another picture of the Yellowstone River.  The house where we stayed actually backed up to the river and there were canoes and kayaks and other boats going by.  Lots of ducks, swans, birds of all kinds.  My husband and his friend did a bit of fishing, but they didn't catch anything.  Fun though anyway.

This is 'Old Faithful' erupting.  Turned out that the day we visited Old Faithful, it rained most of the day.  We ended up wearing some 'lovely' yellow ponchos as we waited for the eruption.  There were a lot of people waiting, even though it was pretty much pouring.  Ha!  Afterwards, we were glad to go to the visitor center and learn more.  There were several visitor centers to stop and see all over Yellowstone.  Well worth walking through.

This was the 'Mud Caldron' area.  There were walkways and trails all around that visitors can stop and experience.  One does want to stay on the walkways, etc. because the steam is serious.  The park rangers have signs and warnings all around.  Some people though don't seem to want to follow the rules.

The 'Devil's Thumb' area.  It's really fascinating to see and also, as I said above, to go to the visitor centers and see the exhibits about how and why this happens. 

Can you say, 'Hello, Mr. Bison?' - ha!  There are many, many of these creatures in Yellowstone.  You can see them on the hillsides, in the valleys, and just walking down the road - usually right in the middle.  I took this shot out the car window.  

Another creature that I wasn't quite as anxious to say 'Hello' - a bear.  We got several shots of this one, but you can understand why the visitors that have tele-photo lenses get the better pictures.  After seeing Mr. Bear (guess he was a Mr., maybe a Ms.), I jumped back in the car.  There were a bunch of people that didn't do that though.  Some were close on the right side of the picture.  A couple of the photographers with those tele-photo lenses started shouting at the people to get back in their cars - the bear was coming.  Some did and some did not - silly people!

The last two pictures I'll share are of some wildflowers.  I think we were a little late in the season for flowers, but I enjoyed getting a couple of pictures.

Last wildflower picture.  And last picture I'll share.  As I said, hope you get to visit this area at some point if you haven't.  It's definitely a wonderful and picturesque place.

Waiting on Wednesday - A Box Full Of Darkness

 

'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about.  I love doing this, letting the 'word' spread about authors and series that I enjoy.   Hope you'll stop by often and see what I'm 'waiting' on.

Since this is October, I felt like I should feature a book I'm 'waiting on' that contains some 'spooky' or 'Gothic' aspects.  And you can always count on Simone St. James for those.  I have read several of her books and enjoyed them.  My favorite of those is still The Broken Girls.  I wrote about that one here.  However, I also enjoyed another book by this author that was set in Fell, New York.  It was The Sun Down Motel and I shared my thoughts about it here.  St. James' new book is also set in Fell and I think 'spooky' is a good description.  It won't be available until January, but I'll be looking forward to trying it.  What do you think?  Spooky enough?  Have you read any books by Simone St. James?  

A Box Full Of Darkness

by Simone St. James

Publication Date:  January 20th

Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York. A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For the Esmie siblings—Violet, Vail, and Dodie—the final straw was the shocking disappearance of their little brother. It started as a normal game of hide-and-seek. The three closed their eyes and counted to ten while Ben went to hide. But this time, they never found their brother—he was gone and the ongoing search efforts turned up no clues.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, Violet, Vail, and Dodie were each haunted by visions and frightening events that made them leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years.

And now after two decades running from their past, it’s time for a homecoming. Because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared. If the ghosts of Fell don’t get to them first.

A Box Full of Darkness is another propulsive thriller from the author of The Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases, a surprising horror story from a writer who is “particularly gifted at doling out twists” (The New York Times).

A bit about my September reading and a thank you to all...

Hey everyone!  First of all, thank you so much for being so kind and supportive with my post last week regarding the passing of my friend, Nan.  It's hard to think you won't be able to share things with a friend who has been your friend for such a long time.  However, she would be so, so touched by how many people in the blogging/reading world loved her, remembered her, and will miss her.  She was a good, good soul.

The picture I've posted here is from our trip to Yellowstone recently.  I'm planning on having another post on Friday with more pictures.  We had a great time and I'll share just a few of these.  A couple of animals, some wildflowers, and some other places that we stopped and looked and were amazed.  

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I read 6 books during the month of September.  Three of these were rereads and three were new to me.  I'm not going to write reviews of them, but I will say a little bit about a few.

My favorite of the bunch was the new addition to the Cormoran Strike mystery series by Robert Galbraith.  It's called The Hallmarked Man and is the 8th book in that series.  A long, long book with over 900 pages.  Took a bit of time to read (and listen to as I did a read/listen), but I did enjoy it a lot and loved catching up with Strike and Robin.  Who knows when the next one will come out?  I'll be waiting though.

I also read the book that the mystery book group that I attend will be discussing for our October meeting (which will be tomorrow evening).  That one was The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.  I will admit that I'm not a big reader of non-fiction and also not a big fan of 'true crime' books.  However, this one was interesting.  I did get a bit weary of hearing about how the thief's mother enabled him in many ways to go on 'acquiring' his art for years and years.  He was a talented thief.  Will be curious how our discussion goes. 

I also read the first two books in the Inspector Lynley mystery series by Elizabeth George.  The titles are A Great Deliverance and Payment In Blood. These were both rereads, but it had been a really long time since I read them for the first time.  The latest book in the series, the 22nd I think, was published in September.  It's A Slowly Dying Cause.  I'd been thinking about whether to reread the series (I've only read 6 of the books so far) or whether to jump in to the latest.  Still on the fence a bit about that.  I have watched the two TV adaptations.  The newest one of those came out recently with a new cast.  As one might expect, it's a bit different from the previous adaptation.  And both are a bit different from the books.  I actually like both, so I think I'll continue to watch if there are more TV shows and I might think about reading one a month in the series.  Have you read any of these books or watched either of the TV adaptations?

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And now we are into October.  This year is passing quickly or so it seems.  This time of year I usually tend to read some 'spooky' books, so we'll see how my reading goes in that regard.  Hope all of you have a good week and I'll have a 'Waiting on Wednesday' post that will indeed include a 'spooky'-sounding book that I'd like to try.  Will probably have my Yellowstone pictures up on Friday.  Take care and enjoy your 'Fall' reading.