Books/Reading
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Here’s a set of mini reviews for the titles I read in September: The Dungeon Book: Quirky and entertaining, an epic fantasy about slaying dragons as told by Cornelius the Skull. It took me a little bit of time to get into this one but I’m glad I stuck with it. The ending is a…
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August was another good reading month with several historical fiction/fantasy reads I thoroughly enjoyed. Lady Tremaine: This is a retelling of Cinderella from the stepmother’s point of view. I really enjoyed the thoughtful, realistic portrayal of a woman forced to make choices for her herself, her daughters and her stepdaughter. The author broke apart the…
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July was a really good reading month for me. I finished 6 titles including 3 fiction and 3 nonfiction. Here are my thoughts on those: Mortedant’s Peril by RJ Barker: Entertaining but not a favorite. The plot dragged quite a bit for me, although I did like the world-building and the characters. This is the…
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This month closed out HRCYED 2.0 for me and also was the end of my 2-month personal curriculum on the Silk Road. July will kick off HRCYED 3.0, with my Law of Fives Bingo continuing thru the end of the year. Additionally, I’ll be focusing on Oceanography for my July/August 2026 personal curriculum topic. More…
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The HRCYED (Hardest Reading Challenge You’ll Ever Do) 2.0 version is coming to an end for me. I started a little early last year (on June 26, 2025), so my challenge has just another day or so left as I’m writing this but since I won’t get any other books finished to add to it,…
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May was a super busy month life-wise, so only limited titles finished up this month. Here are their summaries: The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula: This was my Caffeine and Legends book box title for May. It’s the first in what I think will be a 2-book series (or maybe 3?). It’s a clever use of…
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I know it’s halfway through May already but better late than never, I guess? Here’s what I read in April: The Architect of New York: An historical fiction about the life of Rafael Guastavino, the Spanish architect responsible for much of New York’s Gilded Age architecture, as told through the eyes of his son (who…
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No crafting in this post, but if you’re interested in other things occupying my brain space in Q1, this is for you. I am making slow but relatively steady progress filling out my Law of Fives bingo card. You can see the entire list on the dedicated page here. The new-to-me authors is just 1…
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March was another good reading month for me. I have started a personal curriculum (which I’ll do a separate post on shortly) but the theme for March/April is birds and you can see that reflected in several titles I read this month. Here’s my thoughts on the 6 books I finished in March. Bog Queen…
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February was a good reading month, thanks to some vacation days/travel days. Here are my mini reviews for the titles I read. Clockwork Boys/The Wonder Engine: This is a duology by one of my favorite authors, T. Kingfisher. Classic epic adventure tale with a band of misfits done with Kingfisher’s signature down-to-earth and slightly snarky/ironic…
