Space Station Mir

 I'm a day late, and new authors seems more do-able than all bookish discoveries--plus, I think these were my most important bookish discoveries in 2025 anyway. Happy (late) Top Ten Tuesday! Best New-to-Me Authors in 2025 Jessica Topper and Amanda Usen--Grouping them together since I've only read their joint Matzo Ballers Hanukkah romance series. Technically, I finished the first book on December 31, 2024, but I read three of them in 2025 (and one already in 2026!), so I think it's fair to count them as new-to-me approximately as of 2025. I just love their joyful, sexy, Jewish brand of Hanukkah romance: they're both incredibly funny and compelling writers who create complex and interesting characters from the get-go. I will definitely continue reading the Matzo Baller series and probably check out some of their other books as well. J. Penner--I became absolutely obsessed with their Adenashire cozy fantasy books in 2025! They are definitely now on the must-read list for ...

 Woof. This was--I guess kind of an average reading year? Mostly good or decent reads, a few mediocre ones or ones that weren't for me. The books I'm including below are the ones I've thought about most this year--particularly The Feather Thief and Better Living Through Birding --it's hard to imagine I only read them in 2025! I guess I'm officially a nonfiction fan now. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Best Books I Read in 2025 Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott--I loved Baba Yaga as a kid and I love this modern, Jewish take on the story The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson--I'd recommend this to anyone. Just a fascinating story--I never knew how much I wanted to know about fly-tying and the mystery of dead nineteenth century birds Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins--Another gut-wrenching Hunger Games triumph--and maybe unfortunately one more for our times  Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie ...

 My reading slowed down a bit while I was busy in December and then I got very sick at the end of December (still kind of sick, honestly), so my reading slowed down. I knew I needed a really engaging book while I was ill, so I pulled out Sunrise on the Reaping   and it was everything I could have hoped! Can always count on Collins for a propulsive read, with substance, even. Books Read in December 2025 Gap Year by Lindsey Goldstein--This was an eARC I received from the publisher about a woman in her 40s who gets divorced and goes on a "gap year" in Ecuador while her 18-year-old daughter is on one in Spain. I found the Ecuador content interesting but I wasn't that into the writing or character. I do wish there were more books about older female protagonists taking journeys like this though. The Menorah Matchmaker (Matzo Ballers Hanukkah Romance #3) by Amanda Usen The Rugelach Road Trip (Matzo Ballers Hanukkah Romance #4) by Jessica Topper--I read the first two Matzo Baller...

 As usual, it's that time again to adjust the Top Ten Tuesday topic because tonight is the third night of Hanukkah. Hanukkah always starts on the 25th of Kislev but that sometimes needs some adjusting on the Gregorian calendar. Happy third night to my fellow celebrants, and happy almost-winter and/or winter holidays to everyone else! Since I also missed last week's topic, I've decided to share some cozy snowy reads--the topic was books set in snowy places but Jana added cozy and I like that as well-- to get into the wintery mood as well as some books I'd like for Hanukkah. Books Set in (Cozy) Snowy Places Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliott--This one is set during Hanukkah in Maine and NYC, so lots of cozy snow and wintry scenes in this evocative Hanukkah romance--and yes, it does involve a lot of food... The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis--Narnia is, of course, not an entirely nice place when the Pevensie children enter it, yet Mr. Tumnus, Mr. and Mrs....

I've been offline a bit since I spent the first week of December visiting a friend in Australia (!) and then this next week catching up on things, but here I finally am catching up on blog posts! Books Read in November 2025 How About Now by Kate Baer--I heard about this poetry collection on Cup of Jo and a few other online venues, and I'm so glad I did! I really enjoyed these paeans to millenial womanhood.  Don't Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino (Book club read)--Another feisty young Jewish woman in 1960, a time period that doesn't work for her personality--this was a little one-note but very amusing tone and I have it on good authority that it perfectly evokes Atlantic City/Jersey shore in that time period. Winterfrost Market (Tales of Midwinter Haven #1) by Jenny Sandiford--This is a perfect cozy fantasy read with a strong romantic subplot. I really admire how the author builds a diverse wintry world with some high fantastical stakes and literally "cozies...

Thanks to my book clubs, I've been exposed to more books out of my comfort zone--and every once in a while, I'm very grateful. And even if a book isn't my thing, it's still worth it to me to get to discuss it with other people, so it's a win/win for me! That said, I'm finding that I enjoy books from almost any genre and of almost any type--it really just depends on the book itself. Years ago, I would have said that romances and poetry weren't my thing, whereas, now, I'd consider both in my regular rotation. Even a year ago, I might have said mysteries weren't my thing, but now, I find myself reading a few every now and then. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Books I Enjoyed That Were Outside My Comfort Zone The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson--This may be the best book I've read this year, and I wouldn't have read it without a book club. The first few chapters were tedious at times, ...

Well, this is about to get interesting! I've been feeling the need to revamp my bookshelves gradually creeping up, so maybe this will inspire me to get started. It is a little hard to "randomly" grab when my shelves are organized by genre and/or TBR--I should maybe just grab from the TBR shelves--books I haven't wanted to read in years but haven't wanted to give away😭... Happy Top Ten Tuesday! The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed From my Shelf   ( Stand in front of your book collection, close your eyes, point to a title, and write it down. If you have shelves, point to your physical books.) The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien--I own multiple editions, but the one I randomly pointed to is the beautiful gold-edged hardback from the LOTR set my husband bought me for our first anniversary. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey--My husband's stepmom gave this to him, and I'm still the only one of us who's read it. Fairly obvious but hel...