BW39: October Spooktacular

 

Happy Sunday! It's that time of year to put together your spooky reading list for our October spooktacular.  The first books that always come to mind are Frankenstein or Dracula which surprisingly defy all expectations from their movie counterparts, so if you've never read them, now would be a good time to do so.  And then there are the reimagined takes on the stories which are just as good.  

 Frankenstein Reimagined   -  Dean Koontz Prodigal son was excellent which lead me to read the whole series. 

 Dracula Reimagined - Dacre Stoker as well as Kim Newman are great go to authors.

Spooky doesn't equal horror.  I have a really hard time with blood and guts horror books or movies. I had to hide my eyes several times during the viewing of the latest series of Alien Earth. LOL! It was scary good, but oh my goodness.  

Stories with emotional, pee in your pants scary, moments filled with tension that make you laugh or cry.  Mind bending stories with devious and conniving characters and lots of twists and turns. Stories that make you think and go whoa, I didn't see that coming. From psychological thrillers that entertain, thrill, or shock to cozy mysteries for the faint of heart, there is a little bit of something for every one. 

Seven Fairytale Retellings Transformed into Horror -  The Book Eaters is currently on my list to read.

Build Your Spooky Season TBR With These New October Releases!

Ghost Themed Cozy Mystery Series

Happy Reading! 

BW38: Autumn is upon us

 

Happy Sunday! Autumn is upon us as nature paints the landscape with yellow, red, orange, purple, and more while we walk through crackling leaves, crisp air and the fragrant smells of pumpkin and cinnamon and woodsmoke. Fall is also a great time to curl up, nice and cozy, with a good book or two or three with Fall vibes, that reminds you of fall, set in the fall, has fall in the title, is all about pumpkin baking or a pumpkin criminal.  So many ways to go with our Autumn reads.   

Autumn Fires

by 

Robert Louis Stevenson

In the other gardens

   And all up in the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

   See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over, 

   And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

   The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

   Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

   Fires in the fall! 

Happy reading! 

BW37: 52 Books Bingo: Picaresque Literature

 

Happy Sunday.  Our next 52 Books Bingo category is Picaresque literature which according to litreactor:  "typically describes a low-born hero or rogue who uses his wits to wander through various branches of society without truly belonging to any of them, moving from adventure to adventure."  The  picaresque genre was established with the anonymously published Lazarillo De Tormes in the 1500's  during the Spanish inquisition. 

The Picaresque Novel: What It is and Why You Should Try Reading One

The Greatest Picaresque Books of All Time - a huge interesting and eclectic list in which I've read very few such as Don Quixote, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Gulliver's Travels, Hopscotch, White Noise, Glory Road, and the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy.

Beyond Dickens: 8 Picaresque Novels For The Modern Reader

Happy reading! 

BW36: Quintessential literature

 

Happy Sunday! What is Quintessential literature?  Well, that depends on your point of view.  What do you consider significant, or which book do you think has literary merit, has historical significance?  What does the world at large think? Whose definition do you go by?   

Mental Floss 13 Quintessential Gen X Books

Book Bub's 76 Books and Novels That Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime.  I've read 23 and several on the shelves waiting to be read. 

Penguin Random House The Must-Read Books of 2025 (So Far)  An eclectic list of which I've read other books by most of the authors but not these books. 

I'm still working my way through Peter Boxall's 1001 Books to Read before you Die. Periodically I'll thumb through the pages, check off the books I've read, notate which ones I have on my shelves, and mark the ones I know I'll never read. But then again, my interests might change in 10 years, so they'll get a second or third chance. 

Have you discovered that there are books you wouldn't have read ten, twenty, thirty years ago, that now they spark your interest? Yes, me too. 

 Happy reading!

BW35: September Dragon of the Month: Dulcy

 

Happy Sunday and Welcome to September which is Happy Cat Month, National Sewing Month, National Courtesy Month, and Self Improvement month to name a few.   This week we celebrate Labor Day, Pierce your ears day, Skyscraper day, Bring your manners to work day, Be late to something day, Fight procrastination day and the all important read a book day.  Hopefully not all at the same time. *grin*

Our dragon of the month is Dulcy from the Sonic cartoon and comic series.   According to Sonic Retro: 

"Dulcy is one of the most powerful Freedom Fighters next to Sonic. However, due to her inexperience, she often does a poor job when it comes to landing. She sucks her thumb, occasionally gets disoriented, thinking that she's talking to her "ma" Sabina, is claustrophobic, and likes the color purple and chocolate."

Our next 52 Books bingo category fits right in with our A to Z and Back Again letter of the week which is Rain Forest. 

James Rollins is one of my favorite authors and his mystery thriller Amazonia is an excellent read. 

From Goodreads Rainforests and Jungles of the World The Poisonwood Bible, Heart of Darkness, Congo, and The Lost City of Z are must reads. 

32 Books Set In The Amazon Rainforest That Will Make you Feel Like You’re There  - Mostly nonfiction

Ten Great Books set in the Amazon Rainforest - Mostly fiction

Happy armchair travels! 

BW34: Science

 

Happy Sunday!  Let's dabble with science this week, either fact or fiction. There are so many ways to go with this subject.  Star Wars, Star Trek, the cosmos, history, research, time, space, extraterrestrials, artificial intelligence, etc. 

Books About Space That Are Out of this World

Crossroads of Science and Fiction

10 Fiction Books About Scientists That Will Blow Your Mind

100 or so Books that shaped a Century of Science

Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

Have fun! 

BW33: Thought Provoking

 

Happy Sunday!  One of our 52 Book Bingo categories and our A to Z and Back Again, coincides with T which stands for thought provoking.  I just finished one which was a bit thought provoking - Orbital by Samantha Harvey.  It was a small book at 224 pages, but very dense.  I thought it would be a good book to read in bed to put me to sleep. Which it did, but like the book, for the past week my brain circled all night, same as the book, orbiting around and around the earth, detailing list after list of things, places, points, etc giving me much to think about.   Wonderful writing and a good example of list writing for other writers, but not much of a plot.  

The most thought provoking book you’ve ever read

10 Thought-Provoking Books You Must Read

"I Couldn't Bring Myself To Pick Up Another Book For Weeks": Avid Readers Are Sharing The Most Life-Changing Book They've Ever Read

13 Books That Will Make You Think For Days

57 Books That Truly Make You Think

Happy reading!

BW32: Underrated or under appreciated books or authors

 

Happy Sunday!  This week I am thinking about underrated or under appreciated literature, whether it be classic or modern, written by a well known or obscure author, or just simply forgotten in time.  Books that may be brilliant, books with compelling characters, or thought provoking.  Or books that simply aren't everyone's cup of tea.  What is one book or author you think is underrated and everyone should read? 

10 Underrated Books Worth Reading

20 Notoriously Underrated Writers You Should Be Reading

10 Under-the-Radar Fantasy and Science Fiction Books From 2020

Books That Went Under the Radar in 2023, Read Harder 2024

18 Under-The-Radar Books That Deserve More Hype

Best Underrated/Overlooked Classics

Happy Reading! 

BW31: August Dragon of the Month: Smaug the Golden Dragon

 

Courtesy of John Howe

Happy Sunday!  Hello to August and Happiness Happens month, International Pirate Month, Peach and Picnic month as well as Romance Awareness Month.  Today also just happens to be Sisters Day, Friendship day, and International Forgiveness Day.  Interesting how those three things all fall on the same day.  August is also full of birthdays and anniversaries for our family clan, so it will be a busy month.

Our dragon of the month is  Smaug the Golden Dragon from J.R.R.Tolkien's The Hobbit.

“Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,

While hammers fell like ringing bells

In places deep, where dark things sleep,

In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord

There many a gleaming golden hoard

They shaped and wrought, and light they caught

To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung

The flowering stars, on crowns they hung

The dragon-fire, in twisted wire

They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day,

To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves

And harps of gold; where no man delves

There lay they long, and many a song

Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the height,

The wind was moaning in the night.

The fire was red, it flaming spread;

The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale

And men looked up with faces pale;

The dragon's ire more fierce than fire

Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon;

The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.

They fled their hall to dying fall

Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the misty mountains grim

To dungeons deep and caverns dim

We must away, ere break of day,

To win our harps and gold from him!”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Ah, the benefits of getting older. I read The Hobbit again a couple years back, having read it for the first time way back in my 20's and didn't remember much. Gollum, the goblins, the spiders, all so very creepy. The dragon! Oh my goodness. I don't know if I would have had the courage to talk to him. Bilbo really was brave wasn't he? The Hobbit is a wonderful story of one who didn't want to be a hero but stepped up to the plate and blasted it out of the ball park.  If you haven't read it yet, maybe give it a go this year. 

Happy Reading!

BW30: Walking and Wandering

Happy Sunday!   This week our armchair adventures have us walking and wandering as we wind our way across, around, up and down paths and trails through the Appalachians to the Silk road to the Japanese Monk trails. 

Looking for books about impractically long walks

Novels on Walking

An Appalachian Trail Reading List

Fighting Monks and Burning Mountains: Misadventures on a Buddhist Pilgrimage

10 Books on the Shikoku Pilgrimage

Silk Road Books

16 Must-Read Books on Slow Travel

The 50 Best Hiking, Trekking, and Walking Books of All Time

Have fun!

 

BW29: X is for Xerophyte

 

Happy Sunday! X is for Xerophyte which is a drought tolerant plant. We can go many different ways with this topic and read books set on earth or planets which matches up with our 52 Books Bingo Category with Setting as Character. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books about Drought

15 Fantasy Books with Desert Settings

5 Mystery and Thrillers Set in Times of Drought

50 Must-Read Books Set In Space

Book where the setting almost feels like a character.

Happy Reading! 

BW28: Y is for Yesterday!

 

Happy Sunday! Today is Embrace Your Geekness Day and why that reminds me of yesterday I have no idea. Probably because in the past (and present) I have been surrounded by brainiacs and geeks as well as a few dorks. July 15th, by the way, is Be a Dork Day. So whether you are a geek or a dork or somewhere in-between, embrace it. 

Books With Nerdy, Geeky, or Genius Heroes and Heroines

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books With Nerds

Awkward Protagonists Who Find Their Place In The World

Introverted heroines/hero or very shy/painfully shy heroine/hero.

Stories about Yesterday

Happy Reading!