I’ve seen a good number of “read what you own/read down your TBR” type of challenges talked about online over the past couple of years and this year, I felt it was high time that I did one of my own.
So, my take on this turned out to be Book of the Month club centric with a tip of the hat to Agatha All Along; Down the Reader’s Road(with each chosen title showcased on the side panel of this blog) has been pretty successful for me as my current total of completed books adds up to a baker’s dozen so far.
I did consider doing full on reviews for each one but as time went on, a year end look at my Top Three reads seemed to be the best bet:
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel takes a character from the Ramayana and tells her side of the story, transforming her from wicked stepmother to mystical warrior queen.
Kaikeyi begins life as a princess who discovers that she has magical abilities but is forced to suppress them due to the patriarchal nature of society. When she becomes the third wife of a prominent king, finding her way to use her gifts to help other women (as well as connect with the other queens) is rewarding in more ways than one.
However, when one of her stepsons starts to show godlike powers that he can barely control, hard choices have to be made that cost Kaikeyi dearly.
Not being familiar with the source material, I was completely drawn into this vividly described world and rooting for the leading lady all the way, despite some of the decisions that tested her spirit. As a debut novel, this book was definitely a royal triumph that will lead me to seek out the author’s other stories as soon as can be:
The Mayor of Maxwell Street, another debut novel, from Avery Cunningham is set in 1920s Chicago where an ambitious young debutante seeks out the title character as part of her journalistic ambitions.
Nelly Sawyer is meant to be marrying a suitable man in order to solidify her family’s horse breeding empire yet when tasked to find the secretive go-between for the underworld gangs of Chicago by a newspaper editor, she can’t resist the challenge.
With the help of new acquaintance Jay, Nelly takes quite a walk on the wild side with consequences that are more life changing than she could have imagined.
It’s a steady paced , absorbing read that focuses on character development along with some action. Think of this as a well made miniseries, one that might give you an idea of what Chicago was like for the twin brothers Smoke and Stack before they headed home to face Sinners:
Jennifer Close’s Marrying the Ketchups is a more modern day story, following a fractured family as each of them tries to cope with a changing world once the male mainstay, Bud Sullivan, passes away.
With eager to please Teddy running the family restaurant that desperately needs an upgrade, the return of wayward sister Gretchen is quite the shake up and even the supposedly perfect suburban wife and mother Jane realizes that her reality is not what she thought it would be. Figuring out what to do next is something they all have to decide on their own but still need a little support along the way.
I know that the plot may sound sobering but there are brilliant moments of humor and relatable character development that make the pages turn briskly here. I have read one of Close’s earlier works(The Hopefuls) so I had some familiarity with her writing but clearly this particular book was truly next level for her:
I do plan to continue this challenge in the new year and with any luck, make some serious progress. It’s nice to discover that your reading choices can turn out to be better than you expected and taking a chance on new literary horizons can be fun and formative to boot.
This is my last post of 2025 and it has to end on a couple of sad notes(par for the course this year, I’m afraid). Recently, the news of Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeline Wickham) departure from this life , due to cancer, has given her worldwide readers much to mourn. My sincere sympathies are sent to her loved ones.
Best known for her entertaining Shopaholic series featuring the well meaning but prone to impulsive purchases Becky Bloomwood, Kinsella wrote 30 books with titles aimed at teens and children as well as her adult audience. Her stand alone stories dealt with romance but also other subjects such as coping with trauma, found family and emotional development.
Kinsella outlasted the “chick lit” era of publishing and created a solid niche of stories that brought more than one generation together to embrace the touching and relatable struggles of her characters quite nicely.
At the moment, I am doing a reread of Christmas Shopaholic (not the book to start this series, btw, Confessions of a Shopaholic is the place for new readers to begin) in her memory and I have no doubt that many others are doing the same. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten:
The other sad note is the tragic passing of writer/actor/director Rob Reiner and his beloved wife Michele, a prominent photographer and producer. In such a miserable year as this, the news of this terrible event is especially difficult, although much more for their circle of family and friends and all of my deepest condolences goes out to them.
The less said about a certain disrespect to their memories the better, although as one Jane Austen character might say , their sorrowful situation should secure your compassion not your ridicule! Then again, one can not offer the fruits of a crop that they never grew in the first place.
If one good notion can come out of this horrible moment, it is that it shows the importance of living a good life. Not necessarily a wealthy or public one, just being a kind and caring person that people are all too happy to think well of when they are no longer with us is enough.
Part of Rob Reiner’s legacy as an entertainer was showing the many ways that love can make the world better.
Take for example, When Harry met Sally, which is a romantic story but at the core of it is the tale of two people with completely opposite outlooks on life who discover that the best way to deal with an ever changing world is with each other, facing it together.
Love doesn’t have to be romantic or set in the expected social formats to connect people but when you give it a honest chance, great things can happen. It takes time and patience but always worth a try.
Rob Reiner came back to that theme quite often in his work, whether it was about friends, family or fellow travelers on the stage we call life. Perhaps by this time next year, we can prove him right:
With the 250th birthday of our dear Jane Austen fast approaching this month(December 16, to be precise), choosing the best way to honor such an auspicious occasion was difficult indeed.
However, as I put my mind to the task of selecting just the proper approach for such a literary icon, the answer came as loud and clear as a bell; a musical soirée. After all, Jane was fond of music in her day and that has been reflected in many of her characters for better (Marianne Dashwood) and for worse(poor Mary Bennet!).
So, presented here for your entertainment is a gathering of Austen folk using quite a bit of creative license in the manner of Julia Quinn’s charming Bridgerton series to perform some very rollicking music pieces:
We begin with Miss Anne Eliot, lately of Kellylynch Hall, on the pianoforte to play in honor of a renewed acquaintance that promises to be a more congenial connection as time goes on, Double’s “The Captain of her Heart”:
Next, we have a duet from the newly married Mr and Mrs. Darcy ,who have chosen to recreate the first proposal of marriage between them that did not directly lead to their presently contented union.
As Mr. Darcy’s new father-in-law is wont to say”What do we live , but to make sport for our neighbors and be laughed at them in return?”, in that spirit, this rendition of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” is performed:
From our visitors from Mansfield Park, here’s another duet with Miss Mary Crawford on harp and Miss Fanny Price in song(accompanied on piano by her cousin Maria) with the assistance of Mr. Edmund Bertram, a rather playful number that might remind one of a sadly cancelled amateur theatre production of Lovers Vows.
For which young lady to be considered either the Brandy or the Monica of this particular version of “The Boy is Mine”, I allow the audience to discern for themselves:
For our finale, Miss Jane Fairfax is, as her aunt Bates repeatedly assures us, is most happy to delight us on the piano that was just sent to her.
Perhaps the musical gift came from her benefactor Col. Campbell or may perhaps someone else eager to gain her attentions before she went visiting to Highbury, as suggested to Miss Emma Woodhouse the other day.
Regardless, the sender was kind enough to include some Irish melodies with this gift, such as the late Sinead O’Connor’s beautifully composed “Nothing Compares to You”:
As our ensemble takes their bows, we here at LRG do wish the memory of Jane Austen and her brief yet spectacular body of work our very best, with fond hopes of this pleasure being repeated for another two hundred and fifty years or more.
As for our assembly of devoted readers, may we all take a delightful moment of celebration for all of the joy that Miss Austen’s books have given us, perhaps a bid of posh dancing might be in order indeed:
Well, the winter holiday season is definitely upon us and as a break from the seasonal frenzy all around me, I decided to join in on Seasons of Reading’s Yuletide Spirit reading challenge, held by Michelle Miller(who also has a separate series dedicated to the Christmas season).
For the challenge, you just need to select a level of holiday themed reading to go for; mine is Mistletoe which is between two to four books and I have three in this TBR at the moment. One is on order , the other arrived a couple of days ago and currently, I am in the midst of…
The Christmas Tree Farm:
In this third entry of Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series, we met Kira, a new arrival to town, who is surprised to learn that the quaint piece of property that she brought is a tree farm that everyone expects her to reopen in time for the holidays.
Due to spending more than she intended on the land, Kira finds that she has no other choice but to restart the business and finds unexpected help in the form of Bennet, a temporary visitor (his sister runs the local cafe) who has been recruited by the town to revive the farm as well as keep an eye out for a possible buried treasure on the grounds.
Since Kira is more fond of Bennet’s dogs(one of them is named Odie as in the Garfield comics!) than she is of him, this relationship is not off to a promising start to say the least. However, they do begin to slowly warm up to each other and by the time a major snow storm hits the area, those few sparks are ready to set off a roaring fire indeed!
I have read the first two books in this series (and there are more to follow after this one) and enjoyed them quite a bit. The “Gilmore Girls with a sexier edge”vibe of these stories works for me and that each book has a musical playlist attached to it especially helps for setting the right holiday romance mood here:
After that, my next pick is The Mistletoe Mystery, a novella from the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose.
Molly hasn’t had a good Christmas since her beloved grandmother died yet this year promises to be different. With her circumstances becoming much better than before and having Juan Michael to share this season with, Molly hopes to not have any mysterious events to look into.
However, a bizarre exchange during the Regency Grand Hotel’s Secret Santa party brings up a lot of questions about who she can trust, particularly when it comes to Juan Michael. Is Molly able to solve this mystery without having her heart broken into the bargain?
Since this book is still on its way to me via Better World Books, I hope to find out before Christmas Eve. Molly is a delight to know on page and if anyone fictional deserves a romantic happy ending, she’s the one:
Fortunately, the last book in this TBR is already awaiting to be opened, thanks to Book of the Month Club.
Good Spirits by B.K. Borison is best described as “A Christmas Carol meets The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” with our leading lady Harriet being haunted by a spirit of Christmas Past named Nolan.
With Harriet being a rather sweet natured soul, Nolan wonders why he was sent to haunt her in the first place. She is curious about that as well and the more they get to know each other, the distinct possibility that he’s the one in need of saving begins to cross their minds. Can this the case and if so, do they want to risk the love connection forged between them to earn a redemption by Christmas Eve?
This does sound charming and since I did read one of Borison’s other works this year(First Time Caller), this ought to the perfect holiday read for me. An added bonus is the ghost angle as one of my favorite sitcoms has similar themes in abundance:
If you’re interested in signing up for either the readathon or the challenge, there is a link in the second paragraph of this post that will steer you towards the correct website. As always, much thanks to Michelle Miller for getting us band of eager readers on the proper path this and every other year.
Look, I know good and well how chaotic this year alone has become, with more difficult challenges perhaps in the year to come. However, one thing to keep in mind as the end of the year approaches is that renewing your energy for what lies ahead is the best way to start off on the new adventures before us.
Also, appreciating the good that we do have in our lives such as family, friends or loved ones of all sorts are treasures that no one can truly rob us of, despite their dubious best efforts. While it’s hard to reimagine our lives from what they once were in the past, we can use our present moment in time to give ourselves a better future for all to share in.
So, let’s keep our spirits bright with some good books and of course, a classic song in our hearts:
