Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
Just for fun, here are two versions of the song. I couldn’t pick.
Category: News/Misc. Page 18 of 240
I read 30 titles (and haven’t finished 4) this month. Which is a pretty good start to the year.
The Month in Reading
(thanks to Bookmory for the image)
TBR Piles
| Audio | E-book | Physical | Goodreads Want-to-Read |
NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2025 |
4 | 89 | 112 | 192 | 11 |
| 1st of the Month |
4 | 89 | 112 | 192 | 11 |
| Added | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| Read/ Listened |
2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
| Current Total | 3 | 89 | 112 | 193 | 9 |
My TBR Range
(feel free to click on the chart if you want a version that’s a little easier to read)
Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 26
Self-/Independent Published: 4
| Genre | This Month | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s | 3 (10%) | 3 (10%) |
| Fantasy | 4 (13%) | 4 (13%) |
| General Fiction/ Literature | 3 (10%) | 3 (10%) |
| Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller | 10 (33%) | 10 (33%) |
| Non-Fiction | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) |
| Science Fiction | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) |
| Theology/ Christian Living | 2 (7%) | 2 (7%) |
| Urban Fantasy | 5 (17%) | 5 (17%) |
| “Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) |
Review-ish Things Posted
Books of the Month
- Dogged by Michael R. Fletcher: Wardogs Don’t Give Up
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Ace Atkins: A Tale of Sussudio and Spies by rest of post title
- Slow Theology by A J Swoboda, Nijay K Gupta: No Quick Fixes. Just Wisdom.
- Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson: Gas Station Magicians, Uncommon Creatures, and Wolves Without Enough Skin.title by rest of post title
Other Recommended Reads
- A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
- Mississippi Blue 42 by Eli Cranor: There Ain’t Nothing But The Blues In Mississippi
- PUB DAY REPOST: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire: Quieting the Dead
- A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
- The Goodness of God in the Gift of Scripture by Uche Anizor: An Encouraging Read
- She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan: Historic China with a Hint of Fantasy
- The Hunted by Steven Max Russo: Who is the Predator, Who is the Prey?
- Essentials of Christian Theology edited by Nathan D Holsteen and Michael J Svigel: A Solid Attempt at Doing Too Much in a Small Package
- Grandpappy’s Corner: I Am a Highly Dangerous Warrior! by Raquel D’Apice, Heather Fox (Illustrator): A Great Starter-Fantasy Talee
- Grandpappy’s Corner: Olivia by Ian Falconer: Not a Book for a Tired Parent/Grandparent
Other Things I Posted
- The Irresponsible Reader in 2025: Thoughts, Thanks, and Stats
- Book Blogger Hop: Reading New Genres in the New Year
- Fantasy with Friends: Is Fantasy Still Not Taken “Seriously” in Some Circles?
- Counting My Literary Chickens Before They Hatch: My January TBR
- Grandpappy’s Favorites of 2025
- My Favorite Audiobooks of 2025
- My Favorite Non-Fiction Books of 2025
- Opening Lines: All the Best Dogs by Emily Jenkins
- My Favorite Non-Crime Fiction of 2025
- My Favorite Crime/Mystery/Detective/Thriller Fiction of 2025
- My Favorite Theology/Christian Living Books of 2025
- Fantasy with Friends: What Are Your Favorite Depictions of Fae?
- New Year Bookish Resolutions Book Tag 2026
- 2026 Plans and Challenges
- Fantasy with Friends: What Do You Think of Romantasy as a Category?
- HC Chats with Glen Gabel about Through the Corner of Circles and some other stuff
- Book Blogger Hop: Book Blogger Hop: Book and Snack Combinations
- Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2025 (pared-down version)
- Captivating Character of January: Dancer
Spotlights and Cover Reveals
- PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: Fairest Hunter by M.K. Felix
- Cover Reveal: The Re-Emergence by Alan K. Dell
- BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Lianna and the Hombit by Valinora Troy
Music Mondays
- MUSIC MONDAY: “Folsom Prison Blues” by Sawyer Hill
- MUSIC MONDAY: “End of You” by Poppy, Amy Lee, Courtney LaPlante
WWW Wednesdays
- WWW Wednesday—January 7, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—January 14, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—January 21, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—January 28, 2026
Saturday Miscellanies
- Saturday Miscellany—1/3/26
- Saturday Miscellany—1/10/26
- Saturday Miscellany—1/17/26
- Saturday Miscellany—1/24/26
- Saturday Miscellany—1/31/26
Enough about me—how Was Your Month?
Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.
This week’s prompt is:
What do you think of the current trend for cozy fantasy? Why do you think it is currently so popular? What makes a good cozy fantasy?
What do I think about them? I love ‘em! Even the ones that haven’t really wowed me, I relish spending time in them. Why? It’s in the name. Cozy. They’re comfortable, they’re warm, it’s perfect escapism—a cool world (largely generic fantasy that readers can plug into instantly), characters that are largely loveable doing relatable things, with an almost sure guarantee of a comforting ending.
Why do I think they’re so popular right now? Read the description I just sketched out and then spend 5 minutes (at the most) on your favorite social media platform. I think that explains it.
I pretty much already addressed the last question—but there’s a little more that makes a good cozy fantasy. There’s some good friendships, there’s some personal growth—at least for the protagonist, maybe for some friends, too. That’ll focus on a career change for the protagonist, finding their place in a new community, and so on. There might be (but it’s not necessary) a hint of romance. You’ll have a lot of fantasy tropes, species, and features—but the focus will almost certainly not be on a typical fantasy story. Instead, it’ll be something mundane—e.g., opening a coffee shop, a cocktail bar, inventing nachos and karaoke while working on a treasure map. Some gentle humor, too—a laugh-out-loud moment or two, but mostly just warm humor.
Writing this up reminded me of a couple of cozy fantasy novels I’ve been meaning to buy and read. I think I’ll go do that now.
I’m sure some of the other posts in response to this prompt will be more thoughtful. I’m looking forward to reading them. Do you have responses to this? (either for the comment section below or from your own post)
Another late one, but I got to go spend some time with Grandcritter #2 to celebrate a birthday, so…yeah, this gets pushed off.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Words of Wisdom from Fantasy Books—I typically put posts from fellow bloggers at the end of these lists, but this seems like the right one to lead with this week.
Don Winslow has a new book this week, so he’s doing the rounds. These two interviews are worth your time: ‘We Have to Speak Out’: Don Winslow on Fighting Trump and Coming Out of Retirement and Crime writer Don Winslow is fresh out of retirement with renewed conviction
Tolkien: Immortality Is the Trap in Middle-earth—”Most fantasy treats immortality as the prize. Tolkien treats it as a sentence.”
Pros and Cons of Self Publishing—the next installment in this great series from Willow Wraith Press
Do You Like to Read Your Age/Eras?—I don’t know that I considered things from this point of view before. Been churning in my mind since, though.
Book Blogging Slumps—smart advice I’d do well to follow. I mean my forcing myself to do something (or fall asleep while trying) and then beating myself up for it before and after strategy has its charms (and I have years of experience with it). But maybe I could try this once or twice.
Eight Years of Reading, Writing, and Finding My Voice—I don’t remember not seeing Gina’s posts floating around. So 8 doesn’t seem long enough for her blog to have been around. Congrats on this landmark!
Captivating Character of January—Feels like kind of a cheat here where Carol picks two characters… 🙂 Check out Carol’s picks and the others in the linkparty.
Monthly Manga Mania Featuring Firsty Duelist: Go! Go! Loser Ranger! by Negi Haruba—It’s time for Firsty Duelist’s Manga Post–and this one looks fun. (what is this kid doing to me?)
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week :
“Prisons are the saddest places in the world.
Prisons and children’s cancer wards.
The difference is that in the children’s wards there’s hope.”
—”Collision” from The Final Score by Don Winslow
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Storms of Deliverance by Larry Higdon
Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt
Three Slices by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson, Chuck Wendig
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman
And I mentioned the releases of: Staked by Kevin Hearne, Broken Hero by Jonathan Wood, All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, Where it Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman, and The Murder Quadrille by Fidelis Morgan
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
The Final Score by Don Winslow—Six “short novels” by the master. I might quibble with the label he attaches to the stories, but that’s probably the only complaint I have about this collection. More to come from me on this—possibly a lot.
Monster in the Moonlight by Annelise Ryan—Morgan Carter is on the hunt for a werewolf-ish creature. Or a human that might be worse.
It’s the last Friday of the month, so it’s time for my Most Captivating Character of the Month post. This is a tough one this month—I can think of a dozen I could talk about. I could cop-out and go with Harry Dresden—but what can be said about him that hasn’t been said 160 times? So, I’m going to go with Dancer from Jarod K. Anderson’s Strange Animals. She stands out in a way few others do (not that you could tell from my post about the novel, since I didn’t mention her, but…)
TV’s Boyd Crowder (I don’t remember the book version well enough), West Wing’s Ainsley Hayes, and The Cinder Spires‘ Folly–to name just a few–have ways of putting together a sentence while they’re talking that make you pay attention (at the very least). Between the vocabulary, word order, surprising figures of speech, etc., readers/viewers like me cannot help but be drawn to them. Dancer joined that company before her first conversation was over. I’d show you some samples if I hadn’t read a “please don’t quote from this” ARC.
She’s obsessed with making formless hats–and then selling/giving them away to people. She seems to be almost constantly armed with sarsaparilla tea (which I’ve never tasted, but by the end of the novel, was craving) and shares it when she has the opportunity. Also, if she enjoys your encounter, she’ll inevitably leave a tin cup of it behind, so you have to come find her to return it–and will then have another conversation and cup of tea (and likely, another cup to return sometime).
Dancer is a large woman, over 6’ tall, and in her mid-50s. She is probably the most Zen character I’ve encountered since Jeff Lebowski. She’s laid back, loves nature, is generous, seems to laugh at just about everything (not in a mocking way), cares about people…and generally, she abides.
Possibly the best thing about her is that in this world, she’s a Muggle. The most Muggle-y Muggle around, but she knows a person who insists she can see things that Dancer cannot. Dancer doesn’t argue with her (at least by the time we meet them), she doesn’t question her grasp on reality or anything like that. She accepts that it’s possible and lets them talk about it. And then when Dancer meets someone else saying he saw something like that, she just puts the two together and leaves it alone.
That’s a special kind of chill. And a sign of a captivating character.
What character would you name for last month?
It’s the last Friday of the month, so it’s time for my Most Captivating Character of the Month post. This is a tough one this month—I can think of a dozen I could talk about. I could cop-out and go with Harry Dresden—but what can be said about him that hasn’t been said 160 times? So, I’m going to go with Dancer from Jarod K. Anderson’s Strange Animals</strong>. She stands out in a way few others do (not that you could tell from my post about the novel, since I didn’t mention her, but…)
TV’s Boyd Crowder (I don’t remember the book version well enough), West Wing’s Ainsley Hayes, and The Cinder Spires‘ Folly–to name just a few–have ways of putting together a sentence while they’re talking that make you pay attention (at the very least). Between the vocabulary, word order, surprising figures of speech, etc., readers/viewers like me cannot help but be drawn to them. Dancer joined that company before her first conversation was over. I’d show you some samples if I hadn’t read a “please don’t quote from this” ARC.
She’s obsessed with making formless hats–and then selling/giving them away to people. She seems to be almost constantly armed with sarsaparilla tea (which I’ve never tasted, but by the end of the novel, was craving) and shares it when she has the opportunity. Also, if she enjoys your encounter, she’ll inevitably leave a tin cup of it behind, so you have to come find her to return it–and will then have another conversation and cup of tea (and likely, another cup to return sometime).
Dancer is a large woman, over 6’ tall, and in her mid-50s. She is probably the most Zen character I’ve encountered since Jeff Lebowski. She’s laid back, loves nature, is generous, seems to laugh at just about everything (not in a mocking way), cares about people…and generally, she abides.
Possibly the best thing about her is that in this world, she’s a Muggle. The most Muggle-y Muggle around, but she knows a person who insists she can see things that Dancer cannot. Dancer doesn’t argue with her (at least by the time we meet them), she doesn’t question her grasp on reality or anything like that. She accepts that it’s possible and lets them talk about it. And then when Dancer meets someone else saying he saw something like that, she just puts the two together and leaves it alone.
That’s a special kind of chill. And a sign of a captivating character.
What character would you name for last month?
It’s been a slow week here as far as posting goes. Hopefully things pick up for the rest of the week–in the meantime, let’s catch up on what I’m reading.
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
 |
 |
 |
| The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays by Harper Lee |
The Final Score by Don Winslow |
The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard, read by Stephanie Németh-Parker |
Since both the Winslow and Lee books are collections of shorter works, my plan is to jump back and forth between them for the next couple of days.
I’m intrigued by the mystery in The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, but I’m not sure I’m sold on the rest of it. It’s more believable than any Finley Donovan adventure, and less frantic. But there’s the same kind of appeal to it.
What did you recently finish reading?
 |
 |
| The Troubled Deep by Rob Parker |
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas, read by Louisa Zhu |
Rob Parker gets better with every book. I wonder about the viability of this series long-term, but this book was a knock-out.
Unlike the above, I’m not sure about the mysteries at the core of The Librarians, but the rest of it was pretty good, if a little soap-opera-esque.
What do you think you’ll read next?
 |
 |
| Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett |
That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers |
I honestly only have the vaguest ideas about what these two books are about anymore (memory is fleeting)–at the moment, it’s seeing what the authors have produced that keeps my attention (and a trust that me of months-ago made good choices). Give me a few days, and I can be a bit more articulate.
How are you closing out the month? If you’re in one of those areas getting hit by the winter storms–hope you’re doing okay and have a good supply of necessities (food, water, heat, and things to read)
The topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesdays is the Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2025
I’ve done this (or something similar) the last few years (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), and have come to look forward to it. It’s one more chance to talk about people I quite enjoy talking about. Hopefully, these names get to continue to pop up on this here site for years to come. I just enjoyed getting to know these authors via their work. I’d love to interact with them, too–if any of those listed here read this and want to participate in anything with me. Please let me know.
I typically say something about each author, but I ran out of time/energy. I hope to finish this soon, but for now–here are the names. Click the links to learn more about 9 of them.
Here’s this year’s list.
(alphabetically)
 |
 Katherine Addison
|
 |
 Ryka Aoki
|
 |
 Mai Corland
|
 |
 Z.S. Diamanti
In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put them on this list, click here. |
 |
 Adrian M. Gibson
In case you’re curious about what I said about the works that put her on this list, click here. |
 |
 Michael Michel
In case you’re curious about what I said about the books that put him on this list, click here. |
 |
 Jason Pargin
|
 |
 Sadir S. Samir
|
 |
Zephaniah Sole
In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put him on this list, click here. |
 |
 Thomas Trang
In case you’re curious about what I said about the book that put her on this list, click here. |
I thought this was going to be a beefier list this week, but apparently I didn’t save all the things I meant to. Or I spent more time reading books than surfing than I thought I did (very likely). Quality over quantity, let’s say.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Libro.fm Reports Growth in 2025, Launches Annual Subscription—some promising news from my audiobook dealer of choice. While I’m thinking of it, feel free to use this referral link if you decide to subscribe or buy a book, would help me out a bit.
The world’s most powerful literary critic is on TikTok—I was actually tempted to use the app now just so I can watch this guy. Resisted, but was tempted.
The Best Book Covers of the Last Decade—You all know that I’m a sucker for “Best Cover”-type posts. This is no exception.
INTERVIEW: with author Jim Butcher—Beth Tabler and Jim Butcher, who can resist the combo? Who would want to?
How Psychological Thrillers Critique the American Dream
Your To-Be-Read Pile Might Be Lying to You—worth reading if only for the Deliah Dawson e-book TBR wisdom
Ranking Classic Children’s Picture Books—someone has the guts to say what we’re all thinking about Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Goodnight Moon (other helpful stuff here, too…)
Arty Picturebooks!—Another good Picture Book post, this one from The Orangutan Librarian
A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
SFF Addicts Ep. 186: Scott Lynch talks the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Heists, Mental Health & More—I enjoyed this one so much I might listen again. (and not just to hyperfixate on the hints Lynch gives about future news)
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week :
“There are moments in your life that are perfect. You know they won’t last long, you know they’re rare, you know that they might not ever come again. If you pay attention, you can feel those moments happening to you.”—Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
and…(this one got stuck in my head)
“All three of us twitch-jumped except for Molly and Lara.”—Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
The Next to Last Word by Michael P.V. Barrett
Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
I mentioned the releases of strong>Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (and I should really get around to books 2-11 someday) and The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Twelve Months by Jim Butcher—because I don’t think I’ve mentioned it enough in the last three weeks, the new Dresden Files novel dropped this week. I’m in fanboy heaven. If you’re a Dresden-fan, you don’t need to be reminded (I assume) that it’s out. If you’re not, I don’t know that this is a book for you–but let me tell you, the 17 books you need to read first will knock your socks off. (might just be easier to read them barefoot)
There Be Dragons Here by S.L. Rowland—The latest Cozy Fantasy Adventure from Rowland looks very promising, a 182 year-old former adventurer is tasked with taking an old friend’s ashes to their final resting place.
Nine Goblins: A Tale of Low Fantasy and High Mischief by T. Kingfisher—Nine goblins find themselves behind enemy lines and have to face just about every fantasy race you can think of (humans worst of all) to get home.
(the cat is absolutely not necessary)
Book Blogger Hop
This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:
Which book pairs perfectly with a certain snack in your opinion?
I’ve talked about drinking while reading before, and attempted to come up with some pairings of drinks and books. But if I’ve done snacks/foods before, I’ve forgotten it.
There’s a danger in pairing some things with books. Silence of the Dead pretty much makes you want pie—having some handy would probably lead to overindulgence. Brownies/cookies with a Mercy Thompson book would lead to that, too. A Dresden Files novel could make you want Burger King. Spenser novels will make you want Dunkin’.
Really, I could go on like that. Maybe it’s just a reflection of my self-control (or lack thereof)—a good pairing between book and snack is going to lead to problems.
Which isn’t to say I’m not a fan of snacking while reading—in moderation, of course*—but you’ve got to be careful. You don’t want anything too greasy, buttery, sticky, or that will otherwise damage the cover/pages. It should be something that you don’t need both hands for (you need one to hold the book/eReader, right?). It probably should be pretty simple—nothing you have to focus on, just mindlessly grab and move mouth-ward, without losing focus/taking your eyes off the book.
* In case my physician is reading this, I have to say this.
Of course, I could be wrong, and I’m looking forward to seeing what others are thinking/saying.