Reading Update

We're halfway through 2026. HALFWAY! That means it's time for a check that absolutely no one asked for, and yet here we all are. Outside of a month-by-month basis, I haven't actually been looking at my overall stats. Though I have been watching my graphs on StroyGraph because they bring me joy. The amount of "dark" themed books I've read in the last six months says a lot about me. Like it's the second-highest graph. By one book! Which considering both of my books I'm currently reading, it's about to reach my highest graph. 

I've hit one goal already this year, I've read 10, and still counting, books from my physical TBR! I actually haven't counted how many Silent Book Club events I've been to this year. Maybe it's seven. I missed one of my Edmonds SBCs because I was out of town. However, I've been to a couple of other SBC chapters this year. Plus, I have a huge Silent Book Club event at the Space Needle, and I'm so excited to attend! So, I should be able to hit this goal by the end of the year, maybe sooner! 

As far as BINGO goes, I'm actually super close to this goal! I've hit two of three BINGOs I wanted, and I'm so close to hitting a third. I've never hit a BINGO goal before, so I'm super excited that this one is so close to happening! 

Oddly enough, I'm ahead on both books and pages that I want to read. Usually, I'm thousands of pages behind at this point, so really excited that this year the opposite is true! Currently, I'm sitting at 45 of 75 books (ahead by 7 books), and I've read 8,055 of 14,000 (ahead by about 960 pages). 

Basically, this all adds up to having a reading slump coming my way soon. I thought it was last month, then I devoured a ton of books in the middle of the month. It might be this month because somehow I booked myself with so many fun things to do. But, who knows, maybe it'll sneak up on me. But it has to be coming, because I'm too far ahead on my goals, and it's weird.

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous folks at Breaking the Spine.

Woods Bay is a quiet Washington town known for the kind of beauty that makes it easy to forget what came before.

Jenna Willcot rarely leaves home, her world narrowed by years of severe anxiety. When she discovers that her partner, who tragically died in a car accident, secretly booked her a stay at a horror-themed rental cabin in Woods Bay, she can’t bring herself to cancel it. The trip feels like a final gift. A last push forward.

Twenty-five years ago, eleven people were killed on the very land where Jenna’s cabin now stands. The truth was never fully uncovered, and Woods Bay moved on the way small towns do: quietly.

Jenna’s arrival coincides with the discovery of a new body just outside town. Then another. As fear spreads and old secrets resurface, Jenna teams up with locals Erica and Steve to survive what’s unfolding and uncover what still lingers in Woods Bay.

Some places don’t let the past stay buried.
Woods Bay is one of them.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

Before Dracula, there were The Brides. . .

1903. Sir John Seward, survivor of Count Dracula’s murderous campaign ten years before, takes up a post as a psychiatric doctor at an Oxford public asylum. There, a new patient arrives whose traumatic experiences resurrect horrors John has spent a decade trying to forget.

1884. Mafalda Lowell journeys from London to Budapest to care for her recently widowed aunt Reka. She uncovers the chilling truth about her uncle’s death, and writes to her secret love Lucy North for comfort. Chaperoned by former schoolfriend Eliza and lady’s maid Alice, Lucy travels across the continent to be with her beloved.

Only Alice, beset by nightmares and terrifying visions, notices the strange black-clad man who seems to follow them wherever they go. When Eliza is struck down with a mysterious wasting illness, her doctor orders her to take the healing waters of Transylvania, a journey with devastating consequences.

There was meant to be four . . .

A dual timeline novel, told through letters, diary entries, psychiatric reports, that places women at the centre of literature's most famous vampire story.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

         

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes, the cover initially catches our eye, drawing us to take a closer look at a book. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

Jamie Newcross wants to disappear. His wife and baby girl have abandoned him, and his only wish is to retreat from society. Because, as it turns out, Jamie Newcross is also being haunted. Every house, condo, or apartment he moves into is plagued with ghosts—at the end of the bed or when pulling back the shower curtain. He hasn’t been able to sleep in weeks. 

But Jamie has a plan. He posts queries online and finds someone wanting to get rid of their Lion—the world’s most advanced self-driving car—a sleek, private, contained vessel that is one-hundred percent safe. Or so he thought.  

Because now, Jamie has woken up to the Lion speeding down a dark road, the hood is dented—wait, is that blood?—and the car will not respond, or stop, or let him out.  

As the miles rack up and Jamie becomes increasingly complicit in his car’s choices, he's forced to face the tragic past he has kept buried. Driven is a taut, near-future fever-dream. Mason Coile delivers another one-sitting read that blends science fiction and psychological horror to explore loneliness, grief, and the things that make us human.

HAPPY READING!!

July Spotlight

 

Have you ever visited a forest or an abandoned building and gotten a bad vibe? There are places that are rife with rumors of hauntings, monsters, and sinister phenomena that can’t be explained. And there are just as many sites that are the confirmed home of disasters, murders, and man-made mistakes. Everyone’s heard about the Bermuda Triangle, but do you know these chilling sites?

There’s a lake tucked high in the frozen Himalayan Mountains . . . and it’s full of skeletons.Mount This mysterious mountain in California inspired the I AM cult and is said to host UFOs, bigfoots, and lizard people.Nahanni National Called the “Valley of the Headless Men,” this national park in northern Canada is famous for legends of a hidden gold mine . . . and a series of decapitated miners.Pine Best known as the home of the Jersey Devil, this desolate pine forest has also hosted pirates, the mafia, and moonshiners.Ciudad This fabled pre-Columbian “Lost City of the Monkey God” in Honduras doesn’t want to be found, and explorers seeking it have met violent ends.

HAPPY READING!!

June Wrap Up

Not bad, not bad. June got busy for me, all of a sudden, I was finding things to do left and right. Upside, all good things, well, minus taking the car in for maintenance. That turned into a whole thing and is a whole actual story.  Anyway, I did manage to squeeze in some reading. I stuck to smaller books, so I didn't feel like I was struggling through the month. Managed to knock out three books that I own, and three from the library. So an even split! How to Survive Camping was a holdout from May, and the others, well, P. Dejeli Clark's book was to jump into one I already own. I wanted to read them as much as I could. As for Happy Marriage, I'm obsessed with this series, and I will be reading at least volume 3, mayhaps even volume 4, this month.

Greer Stothers' book was easily my favorite read this month, and I'm so bummed that I have to wait until next year to jump back into this series. However, they are giving us a new book this year. So I can't be too mad.

Honestly, my all around stat for last month were great as well. Plus, I jumped into the Library Reading Challenge toward the end of June. One, I realized adults can join in. Two, I do love a tote bag. Lastly, three, I love that I can track everything with an app. While I do love pen and paper things, I feel like I'd lose it or it would get damaged. So the app is great!

Now, on to the actual stats:

Books Read: 6
BINGO Books: 2

Pages Read: 1165

Two BINGO books this month. TWO! Plus, I landed an actual BINGO! I knew How to Survive Camping: The Lady in Chains was going to be a BINGO book. I was saving my folklore square specifically for this book. However! I didn't expect Crossroads to end up being a BINGO book, but there was a cat in the book. Not just in passing, either, Pennylane was in quite a few pages. Which took care of the with a cat square!

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous folks at Breaking the Spine.

Enter a world of dungeons and dragons, magic and manticores, and goblins and gargoyles . . . 

Bait doesn't remember a time before the dungeon. Before the dragon stole her from her cot. She doesn't know what her name was before she was handed over to the monstrous denizens of the dungeon beneath the sorcerer's tower. Luckily for Bait, they decided not to eat her. And so she grew up in the dark – the goblins her adopted family, a vengeful minotaur her protector, a sentient skull her tutor, and a blob of corridor slime her main source of nutrition.

But the labyrinthine dungeon, with its haunted halls, buried temples and forgotten magics, draws treasure hunters like moths to flame. And as the outside world starts to intrude, Bait will learn what it means to be monstrous and she will have to decide where she truly belongs.

HAPPY READING!!

New Release Tuesday

 

The sleepy town of Cedar Lake Falls is best known as the shooting location of the campy ’80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Michael had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.

Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They've changed since high school—Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy's still stoned—and they're looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?

One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they'd left behind.

HAPPY READING!!

Cover Runway Sunday

        

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we all know we do it. Sometimes, the cover initially catches our eye, drawing us to take a closer look at a book. It's the first thing we see, our first impression. Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite book covers. Coming soon!

There are many ways to bring down the man who betrayed you—and Myria Cadessa has thought of them all.

Cracking the Elysius Vault should’ve made Myria the richest thief in all Carintheum. Instead, it shattered her crew and left her rotting in jail while her double-crossing master walked away with everything that should’ve been hers.


But now she’s out, and it’s time to settle the score. Reunite her crew? A pleasure. Steal back everything her erstwhile leader took? And then some. She’ll just need to trick the king of all tricksters, with the law on her heels, and a troublesome new ally whose loyalties seem as conflicted as his feelings for Myria. It’s the most audacious heist she’s ever attempted, but she failed her crew once. This time, she’ll make it right—at any cost.


A Complement of Scoundrels is a bold, raucous journey through the underbelly of an empire where the devil’s rules reign, and morality, loyalty, and friendship are values few can afford. But where there’s a wit, there’s a way—and Myria has plenty of that.

HAPPY READING!!

Mini Reviews

 

I loved Ring Shout, and I wanted to read more by P. Djeli Clark. So I thought I'd jump into the Dead Djinn Universe. Which meant starting with A Dead Djinn in Cairo. I liked using a smaller book to introduce the world and characters. This was a wild ride for only forty-three pages. It was definitely a great way to dip my toe into this universe. Sha’arawi was great, and I found myself wanting to know about them. And maybe see them kick some more butt.

This broke my entire soul. Holy crap. This was so well done that it was hard to put down because your heart just goes out to Chris. She's just been through so much, and I kept hoping she'd realize what she was doing and not do it. Because I spent the whole book not a hundred percent sure that this was what the tin said it was. Then again, Chris wasn't the only one seeing things. This was absolutely devastating and such a good read. It may have ripped my heart out toward the end, but I'd definitely read another book by Laurel Hightower. Even if she ripped my heart out again.

I love this series! Which is odd because I really didn't think this was going to be for me, but it's just so not to root for Suyi. She just deserves so many nice things, and Lord Kudo is trying his best to give her those things. But of course, even though so many good things happen in this book, it had to end with something terrible. Also, a cliff hanger?! I put the third volume on hold; the second, I realized how this one was going to end. I could feel it coming. But the way Lord Kudo came for her, burning the world down. Everyone deserves someone to come for them, so that when they're in trouble. 

HAPPY READING!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we haven't yet read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released, but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous folks at Breaking the Spine.

Terrifying true tales to keep you up at night—from TikTok sensation Sebastian Krahl
This deeply horrifying collection of 50 chilling stories is not for the faint of heart. Collected and told by viral true crime storyteller Sebastian Krahl, these true tales dive into the unexplained, the unsettling, and the unimaginable, with frightening and gruesome real-life accounts of murder, mystery, abduction, hauntings, and so much more.
From popular creator Sebastian Krahl—With over 9.5 million total followers, Sebastian Krahl (@Sebastiank22) is known for his well-researched and detailed recountings of true crime, paranormal encounters, unsolved mysteries, and more.
True, and truly scary—These stories don’t shy away from the darkest corners of reality—read them with the lights on.
Discover stories
A set of haunted bunk beds who turned a family's dreams into a nightmare. A woman whose ghost solved her own murder. A kidnapping victim who was kept in a box for years. An alien encounter from one of the real-life men in black. A murderer who lived in his victims' home for days. A set of creepy reincarnated twins.

Are you scared yet?

HAPPY READING!!