It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 29

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome to the last Monday of December. The new year will be here soon. Have you set any resolutions for 2026? I'm not a fan, but I do set goals for myself. 

Hope you all had a nice holiday last week. We had so many fun things going on. My final closing of 2025 happened on December 23, and I did my best to keep the rest of the week light on work stuff. We went to New York City for the first time since the pandemic. On Christmas Eve, we visited my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and the nephew. We hosted Christmas Day with all our kids here. Then on Saturday, we went to the Snowport Holiday Market in Boston. Sunday, I relaxed as much as I could because today it is back to work. 

As far as reading goes, I was able to accomplish most of what I wanted to. 

I finished my Advent devotional by Cynthia Ruchti. 

I posted my review of Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken by Craig Yoe at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. You can read it here.

I finished The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. You can read my review here. 

I also finished Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron. That review is posted here.

I have also been reading I Heard The Bells Christmas novella collection by the Fab Four authors. Not sure if I will finish it before the year's end.

I've opted not to carry over anything else I had planned to read in 2025 but did not get to. Making my blog and my life a clean slate in the new year is important to me. I might come back to them, but I like a fresh start. I also updated my book spreadsheets for the new year. 

I've posted events below, but I plan to keep it lighter than previous years, unless something truly catches my eye. As of right now, I have only two reviews scheduled through mid-April. 

The next book I am reading is the novel Hooked by Cailtin Rother. It is scheduled for release at the beginning of February. After that, I hope to get into my list of books from this year's winter reading list. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

Grabbed these with some Kindle credits I had from shipping over the holidays.

Operation Mistletoe by Elizabeth Maddrey

Away in a Manager by Rhys Bowen

The Inn at Holiday Bay: Christmas in the Country by Kathi Daley

Then I grabbed these two with Audible credits.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: 

Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Next is Now: How to Move Forward When Distruption, Doubt, 

and Discomfort Hit All at Once by Leigh Brown (She recommended Ben's book.)

Upcoming Events

Hooked by Catilin Rother - January (Review)

Tender Dreams, Harsh Reality by John Beilharz - Jan 26 (Interview)

Artsy Rambler by Evy and Rich Journey - Feb 3 (Spotlight)

Winter's Season by R. J. Koreto - Feb 13 (Spotlight)

Hook, Line, and Murder by GG Calpo - Mar 2 (Interview)

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Recently, at Christmas Year Round, I asked readers when they take down their Christmas decorations. You can find that here. For my weekly Christmas... in the News post, I shared a link to PBS News' photos of Christmas celebrations around the world, Fox News' report on a revived family tradition that went viral on social media, and ABC News/Good Morning America's report on post-Christmas sales and gift card tips. You can find that post here. 

I posted my final 2025 writing goals update at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. Though I didn't have the year I intended, God definitely gave me the year I needed. You can check out that post here.

At Laura's Little Houses, you will find my "Top 5 Favorite Episodes from Little House on the Prairie - Season 6" here. I also posted an update on where the readers of that blog are coming from here.

That's a wrap on 2025's Monday memes. Hope you enjoy your week! I look forward to visiting you today. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 1

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome to December, everyone! Are you excited? I am. It will be nuts around here, but this is my favorite time of year. I will be cracking open my new Advent devotional to keep me focused despite the chaos. 

The Lil' Princess returned to Wilmington on Sunday, but it was so wonderful having her home for a few days. The family came over on Thursday. I cooked, which I love. Christmas decorations are slowly making their way up, and most of my shopping is done. 

Here are a few photos from my week:

Our brokerage collected peanut butter for a local food pantry 

Travis supervising me putting lights on the tree

Two of my more recent additions to the decor--I won the barn and was gifted the truck

We saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Saturday 

Let's get to my reading and blogging. I started this Advent devotional by Cynthia Ruchti on Sunday. I bought it over the summer and have eagerly waited to read it. 

I need to get my review of Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken by Craig Yoe posted soon.

Posted a recview of Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. You will find the link when you get to that part of my post. 

Cracked open The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. The review will be posted before the end of the year.  

My review of Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson was posted Tuesday. Check it out here.

I am dismally behind in my reading of Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron, but I am reading it. This review will also be posted before year end. 

Not likely I will read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. I have four closings this month, the last one happening two days before Christmas. Lord, give me a bit of time to read. 

No matter what, I am tackling my TBR pile after this. Instead of setting a reading goal for 2026, I might just set a goal of reading 75% from my TBR pile. Do you think I can do it? 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

I grabbed The Time Keepers: Save the Pilmgrims by Jeff Trogan as a freebie on Friday. 

Upcoming Events

• Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop - Dec 3 (Spotlight)
• Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin - Dec 15 (First Chapter Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. We are talking Hallmark movies, decorating, and greater demand for real trees. Check it out here.

Posted my review of Ms. Pennypicle's Puzzle Quest here. I have another one to post, so fingers crossed I get to it this week. 

The only thing I posted at Laura's Little Houses was a Thanksgiving message with a quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder. You can find that here.

That's it for this week. I have a heck of a day ahead of me, so likely won't visit until later in the day. See you the!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Sep 29

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome to the last Monday in September. That sure went by quickly. Hope you had a great weekend. I took a partial day off on Saturday and spent some time in the kitchen before heading out to The Big E with the family. Earlier in the week, HB Real Estate celebrated its fourth annual Mums and Martinis. We visited a local nursery to grab fall plants and decor before heading out to lunch at one of our local restaurants. Such a fun time. Here are some photos:

Part of my Mums and Martinis haul

Pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips and blueberry muffins in a brownie pan

Hubby and I standing in front of the Midway

Travis, Dwight, and Theo are adorned with The Big E Parade bling

Want to know what I read this week? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zero. Just didn't have the time or the energy. I feel productive coming into this week, however, because my meal plans for the entire month of October are done. 

If you missed it, I posted my First Chapter Review of Ride a Dark Trail by Winter Austin on Tuesday. You can read it here.

I started this poetry collection two weeks ago for a November review, Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson. 

Want to continue Eleanor Roosevelt's Nightly Prayer by Donn Mitchell, which is a NetGalley download.

The Man Next Door, another romantic comedy by Sheila Roberts, is next.

I want to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. 

Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein and The Curiosities by W.H. Eatons are middle-grade NetGalley downloads I need to read. 

I am awaiting the arrival of The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright for an October review. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

I grabbed these books on Booktrovert.

Upcoming Events

• The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright - Oct 29 (Review)
• One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches by Kayleigh Kavanagh - Oct 30 (Spotlight)
• The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts - Oct 31 (Review)
• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)

The latest Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. This week, we are talking about the expansion into the Midwest of Spirit Christmas, new Christmas ornaments at Magic Kingdom, and the "Great American Christmas" holiday movie lineup. You can read my post here.

Nothing new at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. My quarterly goals update should be coming soon. 

Wrote a post at Laura's Little Houses about my Top Five Favorite Episodes from Little House on the Prairie - Season 2. You can find it here.

Waiting to hear back on writing-related news, so nothing fun to share yet. Hope you enjoy your week.