In our first wind up of October, I look at books most recently read and reflected upon, roam through some of the most compelling literary writing around the blogosphere, pause over earlier posts th…

I love doing these “year” clulb reading events! I’ve done several over the years. This time it is 1949. Simon @ Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings host …

It’s Fall here as last week. We finally had a day that needed jeans, socks, real shoes, and a sweatshirt! It’s been 90+ for so much of this summer. Today I’m sharing a mix of Fall…

Nora (Pear Jelly) on Bluesky or Instagram hosts #SpinsterSeptember. This is my first year participating. You can read my introduction post with several good book suggestions here. Typical me, I did…

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/sched…

This week I look back at books read and the conversations they’ve sparked, plough through a crop of compelling literary pieces from across the blogosphere, bring a few earlier posts back into view,…

A roundup of books I read in July and August 2026 including several titles for WIT Month.

The Christmas Reading Challenge is hosted by Jodie @ That Happy Reader. Since many publishers release their holiday stories in September and October, the challenge starts on October 1, 2026 and run…

Following a little break, I turn this week to books newly read and discussed, wander through some of the most engaging literary writing to appear on the blogosphere, revisit earlier posts worth red…

Blogger Bookish Beck hosts Short Story September to get us into reading short fiction! You can read my introductory post here. This year is my first time participating in this event. I have never r…

My Interest The power went out [again!!] a few weeks back and I picked up my rarely touched Kindle [I read Kindle books on my phone] to save my phone battery power. I hunted around and found this b…

The Atomic Weight of Love: A Novel by Elizabeth J. Church [my review is linked] and Snapper: A Novel by Brian Kimberling both use a strong pattern of birds (this book’s review is a rare one o…

This week’s topic is: Indie Freebie (This topic encompasses a lot: your favorite indie bookstores, indie books, indie authors, indie publishers/presses, indie books on your to-read list, indi…

My Interest If you read here regularly you know I studied Political Science and Russian & East European Studies back in the first years of the 1980s for my Bachelor’s degree. You may also…

In this week’s slightly shorter wind up I focus on books read and reviewed, keep up with a variety of literary anniversaries (including Read a New Book Month, National Read a Book Day, Roald Dahl D…

This Month This month, Six Degrees is starting with your book group’s current selection (if you’re not in a book group, start with the book that you’re currently reading). How to “do” Six Degrees S…

Author/playwright “Josephine Tey” aka Elizabeth Mackintosh, is my candidate for Spinster Poster Girl [above]. Her book, Daughter of Time, is excellent. It’s the tie, isn’t it? Mark of a true spinst…

Winding Up the Week #482 https://t.co/rSHzUzvEGB via @GaiaBird1 #Booklovers #AmReading #Books #BookReview #Reading #bookbloggers #ToveTrove #FrankensteinDay @HarareReview

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

In spite of where I live I am not a huge Country Western fan. I liked Dolly Parton though. I liked her because she set up the Imagination Library that sends my grandson books. I liked her because s…

This is a new reading event for me. I usually run at the phrase “short stories.” I decided to the let this even help me both with my reading slump since the end of my long commute and 2…

Welcome to another #LetsDiscuss. This time I'm using the prompt from the Aria @ Book Nook Bits, and her Let's Talk Bookish prompt for August, which asks about: Mental Health & Books.

This week I turn to books recently read and reviewed, roam through some of the most engaging literary writing to surface on the blogosphere, mark a handful of notable anniversaries (including Tove …

My Interest Typical me–post my announcement of Women in Translation Month with two book choices, then for the third year running, read neither of them! This past weekend, Book Jotter’s …

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

This week’s topic–Book Series I Want to Catch Up On (or series you’d like to start), is very timely for a few reasons: I just started a series I just learned a favorite series has ended…

This week I delve into books newly read and reviewed, roam through some of the most compelling literary commentary on the blogosphere, mark a variety of celebrations (from Tove Jansson & Moomi…

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/sched…

I return to the Finnish archipelago for Tove & Moomin Month with the latest addition to my Tove Trove library – a reading of ‘The Summer Book’, Tove Jansson’s portrait of a grandmo…

Translation of Ukraine’s literature serves as a means of cultural resistance by preserving and promoting knowledge of Ukraine.

Translation of Ukraine’s literature serves as a means of cultural resistance by preserving and promoting knowledge of Ukraine.

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!. What is the spin? It’s easy. At your blog, before next Sunday 16th August, 2026 create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that r…

Today’s topic has us using Mr. Pebody’s Wayback Machine! [Anyone else lovingly remember this cartoon?] We will be re-visiting 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2…

My Interest SPOILER ALERT!! Spoilers everywhere! The Story Ned is an upper-middle-class husband and father of one child who suddenly finds himself out of a job. With day care almost as much as thei…

Following my two week hiatus, I turn to books read and reviewed across the Internet, explore standout literary writing, note a range of anniversaries (including Tove Jansson Day, National Book Love…

My Interest I’ve admired [I’d say “enjoyed” but the stories aren’t always happy so “admired” is a better choice] both of the “books” of Claire …

Synopsis: “Hope is on the horizon, but her greatest battle is about to begin. . . From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Dear Mrs Bird, Dear Miss Lake returns us to wartime London, wh…

My Interest This book has been on my TBR since it was published this winter. I love a good nonfiction foodie book, and this one ticked every box! I forgot about #ParisinJuly2026 so had to scramble …

A short week for me means a brief message rather than my usual weekly wind up. You will, however, still see announcements for both Tove Jansson & Moomin Month and Women in Translation Month 20…

The Blurb On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 18…

July is coming to an end, and so to is Paris in July! I just had time to squeeze in one more read set in France, and only just enough time...

As many of you know, August is #WITMonth (Women in Translation), a celebration of books by women writers, initially written in languages other than English and then translated for English-speaking …

Meytal Radzinski started Women in Translation Month in 2013, You can read more about it by clicking her linked name and then by clicking here. Below are links to my past Women in Translation Month …

This week’s topic was supposed to be: Books I HAD to Have Immediately but Still Haven’t Read (this is a throwback topic from 2022–read my 2022 post here). So I looked at my TTT TBR type…

Thank you again to blogger Words and Peace for again hosting the wonderful summer bookish event, #ParisinJuly2026. My Interest I forgot all about #ParisinJuly2026! I admit it! I did! So out of…

This week’s round up moves from recently read and reviewed books to notable pieces of literary writing across the blogosphere, alongside a handful of anniversaries worth marking (including the birt…