*Top Ten Tuesday* Books with Colors in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is books with the word (blank) in the title. I'm twisting it just a smidgen and featuring books with colors in the title. And these all came from my bookshelves. Let's go. 

The Olive Branch by Jo Thomas

              

Red August by Peggy Estes

Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Owning Violet by Monica Murphy

Blue Ridge Reunion by Mia Ross

Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

There you go. Ten books with colors in the title, and I didn't technically duplicate a single color. What is your favorite book with a color in the title? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your list. - Katie 

*Book Blogger Hop* Do I Have Enough Shelves for my Books

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is: 

Do you have enough shelves for all your books? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Nope. I sure the fuck do not. In fact I currently have several stacks of books on the floor of my office just waiting for me to find the energy to box up the middle grade and lower books taking up space on my shelves to put them in storage so I can display the adult books since my kids are past those reading levels now anyway. And you might be thinking "But Katie, why are you keeping those books at all then?" Because maybe my children will eventually have children, and their children will want to read all these books I've collected. Or they'll sit in storage and then it will be the kids job to do something with them when I die. It's really a win-win for me at that point. 

What about you? Do you have enough shelf space for all your books?

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your answer. - Katie 

*Top Ten Tuesday* Books that Surprised Me (22 April 2025)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is books that surprised me. But I typically go into books largely blind. I basically never read book blurbs before reading, and while serious book hype will absolutely get me to buy a book when I find it on sale for Kindle or at the thrift store, I usually forget the specificity of the hype by the time I start reading. And it's hard to be surprised by a book when you go into reading it with no expectations. So instead I'm going to focus on books that I enjoyed even though they made me mad while I was reading them. Let's go. 

Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - We can all agree that the patriarchy sucks, right? We get treated to a whole lot of the sucky patriarchy in Lessons in Chemistry, but Elizabeth Zott just kind of bulldozes her way through the bullshit. 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune - The first book in this series felt light-hearted and fun. This book was heavy and deep, with a lot of potentially triggering political bullshit. It was still a great book, but I hated the events described in large portions of it. 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Do I even need to explain why this one made the list?

From the Moon I Watched Her by Emily English Medley - This book read like the memoir of a female child raised in a cult. There were so many messed up things that happened to Stephanie that I couldn't help but be mad, but the book kept me pretty engaged too. 

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner - This is a story about women who are mistreated by men, typically men who are close to them. I'm kind of starting to see a theme in my choices of books this week. 

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold - This is not the Damsel that Netflix turned into a movie, but both stories have a similar feeling to them, and in both cases they feature young women being lied to and tricked by a young prince and his family. There's that trend again. 

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris - This is the story of a woman who survived Auschwitz only to end up in a Russian gulag because of how she survived Auschwitz. She was judged for what she did to survive, and her actions didn't even harm others. This was just such a powerful story. 

Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel - This is non-fiction about the lives of a few members of 2-16 Infantry Division out of Ft. Riley, Kansas after a deployment to Iraq during the surge. My husband served in this unit during this time, so this felt a bit personal to me, and it highlights the way we let our veterans down every single day, after they've sacrificed because they believed they were protecting us. 

Counting the Cost by Jill "Duggar" Dillard - She came to fame by being one of the 19 Kids and Counting on TLC, and while it had been obvious for a while that the family was run by a rather horrible person, seeing it through Jill's eyes was heartbreaking. I always felt sorry for the daughters growing up that way, but it seems that the older girls were lucky enough to get married to actually decent guys. 

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - This historical fiction shows the lives of two young Chinese women who emigrate to America under somewhat false pretenses (although they don't realize that at the time, and had no say in the matter anyway). Then they get to America and are treated very poorly by the patriarch of the family they've been sold/married into. And there's that theme again. 

So there we have it. Ten books that I enjoyed even though they pissed me off while I was reading them. Have you read any of these books? If so, did they piss you off too?

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below. - Katie 

*Stacking the Shelves* 19 April 2025

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme run by Reading Reality in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon, winning through Goodreads First Reads giveaways or buying in an actual store. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. I've separated the books based on how I obtained them, as per usual. And since I skipped a week, this is two week's worth of books. Let's go. 

Purchased

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis - I added the audiobook of this to my previous ebook purchase so that I could finish the book in time for a book club meeting the next day. Adding the audio was only $1.99 though.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton - I grabbed this on sale for just $1.99 because not only did I enjoy The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Turton, but also a book club friend just bought the physical copy of this and I have FOMO. 

Malas by Marcela Fuentes - I got this on sale for just $1.99 because it had been recommended in one of my book clubs, so I have a feeling it will eventually be a book selection. Now I own it. 

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister - I got this on sale for a mere $1.99. I don't remember why I thought I needed to buy this one, but with 14 different book clubs, there's an okay chance this will eventually be picked as a read. 

This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99, because I requested it on Netgalley and was denied...Of course, I still need to buy the first book in the duology, but that's Future Katie's problem. 

Vampires: A Handbook of History and Lore of the Undead by Agnes Hollyhock - I grabbed this on sale for just $3.99 because I'm starting a cult (The Church of Vampire Jesus) and I need some inspiration for our "bible". I am still looking for more founding members so...

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari - I grabbed this on sale for a mere $1.99 because the covers of the books in this series always grab my attention. 

A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets by Kate Khavari - I got this one for just $2.99, which means I own all of the books in the series that are currently published, and I got them all on sale. Go me. 

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore - I got this on sale for just $1.99. With a title like that, I could totally see at least one of my 14 book clubs picking this at some point. 

The Rising: The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant - I grabbed this whole trilogy omnibus for just $2.99. Now I just need to read it. 

High-Protein Plant-Based Diet for Beginners by Maya A. Howard - I grabbed this cookbook for just $.99 because I got it on Netgalley but didn't have time to really try any of the recipes before it was archived. Now I can. 

Everless by Sara Holland - I grabbed this on sale for a mere $1.99 because I have a weird obsession with books with hourglasses on the cover. I'd also already bought the sequel in July of last year, so now I can at least start at the beginning when I get around to reading it (if I get around to reading it). 

Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert - I grabbed this on sale for just $3.99 because I don't know jack squat about the Tulsa Race Massacre, and I should rectify that. This will help. 

Clean Eating Meal Prep by Emily Kyle and Phil Kyle - I grabbed this on sale for just $2.99 because I'm tired of being overweight, so I'm hoping that this might help me make some dietary changes that will help remedy that. Of course I have to read it first. 

Giveaway Wins

In This Crystal Sky by Nox Zephyrus

Open Your Eyes: Discover Who You Are in the Realm of the Spirit by Vince Baker and Vasyl Pechko

The Family We Choose by Lamar and Liana Golden

Addicted to the Unthinkable by Kiva Hart

The Goldilocks Team by Minal Joshi Jaeckli

The Strategic Procrastination and Stealthwork Model by S.A. Chapman

A Tropical Frontier: The Brigand by Tim Robinson

The Psychology of Leadership by Sebastien Page

Not Quite My Tempo by Dom Thatcher

Emotionally Invested by Mary Clements Evans

Who Will Remember by C.S. Harris

Good News About the World Falling Apart by Ananda Forest

A Rival Mating by Wren Elton

Outmarket the Competition by Nick Doyle

Vegan Diet and Healthy Cookbook Bundle by Jordan Riley

The Commander and the Ship by Steven Alford

Grit and Grace by Sara Corckran

And that is all the books I got over the past two weeks. Not a single freebie in the bunch, except for all the Goodreads wins which were free for me at least. Any of them sound like something I should read sooner rather than later? 

What new books have you added to your shelves lately? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your new pretties. - Katie 

*Book Blogger Hop* 18 April 2025

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is: 

Do you know the Night Song in the Jungle? (submitted by Aishwariya @ Aishwariya's LittLog)

And the really short answer is no. But I couldn't just leave it at that, so I went to Google. Turns out it's a choir/oboe composition based on a Rudyard Kipling poem. So now we now. I'm still not familiar and I did not go so far as to actually listen to it. 

Did you know The Night Song in the Jungle before this week?

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can return the visit. - Katie 

*Review* Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

 

Genre: Mystery

Published: July 16, 2024

Pages: 344

In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges—a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman's job his father once did now that he's returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local—local enough to call out Beck by name—and that means they are Beck's problem.

Beck's investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she's a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there's something Mercy that doesn't sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them.

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program and also received an ebook version through Netgalley (before I'd noticed the notification about the win through Goodreads). Ultimately I borrowed the audiobook through my library. This is my honest review. 

I probably would not have finished this book as quickly as I did if I'd been reading with my eyeballs. I've found that I really struggle to enjoy books with seemingly perfect male action heroes because I can't help thinking about the double-standard that would apply if the character were a woman. However, Porter Beck isn't actually perfect and his position and skills were reasonably explained and connected. Also,  Brinley is a badass woman with some serious skills of her own. But it could have taken me a while to get to that part of the story. 

Other highlights of the story included Mercy, the teenage hacker chick who would probably also be awesome at chess. She seems to be 300 steps ahead of everyone else, except she can't predict every wild card. 

Overall I give Shades of Mercy 3.8375 out of 5 stars and would definitely read more from this author. - Katie 

Amazon

Bruce Borgos lives and writes from the Nevada desert where he works hard every day to prove his high school guidance counselor had good instincts when he said “You’ll never be an astronaut.” He has a lifelong obsession with words and stories and a fascination with how telephones work. When not writing, you can usually find him at the local wine store.

Visit his website at: https://www.bruceborgos.com/

or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BruceBorgos

or catch him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/bruceborgos

*Platypire Read-A-Thon* April 2025

It's the middle of April and I'm only just now getting to this list because I've been in a funk and busy. I think I need to cut back on my extra-curricular activities, and I think the first that is going to go is going to be the choir. The eight hour a month commitment for practice is just eating into my time a little too much, and with the shows in May, I'm definitely going to be overwhelmed because of it. It's been fun, but it's not a hobby I want to continue to pursue. I think I may need to pare down my book clubs as well, because 13 is maybe really too many. That will be tougher to do though, because I'll have to figure out which ones to let go. Or maybe I'll just have to attend some of them more sporadically than I have been. But that's a problem for future Katie. First step is getting rid of the choir, but I have to see this season's commitment through. At least through May I'm still in the choir. But you're not here to hear about me overextending myself socially. You're here for the books! So let's get to it. Since it is already the middle of the month, I'm going to go ahead and list the books I've read accordingly. Let's go. 

Reviewed

Read

Currently Reading

To Be Read

Reviewed

Read

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (March '25)

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (March '25) 

Countdown by Johan Ottosen (March '25)

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (March '25)

Gild by Raven Kennedy

Currently Reading

Russia's War on Everybody: And What It Means for You by Keir Giles (August '24) 35%

The Big Sugar by Mary Logue (August '24) 1%

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (August '24) pg 7

Lizzie by Edward Rand (August '24) 18%

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi (August '24) pg 208

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (August '24) 22%

Hitler's Aristocrats by Susan Ronald (August '24) 37%

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August '24) pg 66

Scarlet City by Rebekah Haas (August '24) pg 21

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (August '24) 17%

Credence by Penelope Douglas (August '24) 1%

You Like it Darker by Stephen King (August '24) 5%

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (August '24) Pg. 171

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult (August '24) 6%

Dune by Frank Herbert (September '24) Pg. 15

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman (September '24) 9%

The Magus by John Fowles (October '24) Pg. 162

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (October '24) 14%

Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas (October '24) Pg. 12

'Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson (December '24) 41%

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (January '25) 21%

The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence (February '25) 23%

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (March '25) Pg. 48

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings (March '25) 3%

The Undead Kama Sutra by Mario Acevedo (March '25) Pg. 155

Divergent by Veronica Roth (April '25) 1%

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins (April '25) Pg. 40

I Am Legend: And Other Stories by Richard Matheson (April '25) Pg. 172

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (April '25) 13%

Fairy Tale by Stephen King (April '25) 37%

9001 for Manufacturing or Assembly by Fred Dobb (April '25) Pg. 89

To Be Read

Songlight by Moira Buffini (September '24)

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche (September '24)

Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley (September '24)

The False Pawn by A.E. Asavi (September '24)

Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey (September '24)

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong (September '24)

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig (September '24)

Sunderworld, Vol. 1 by Ranson Riggs (September '24)

Lonely Places by Kate Anderson (October '24)

The Kiss of the Nightingale by Adi Denner (October '24)

Potions and Proposals by Kate Callaghan (October '24)

Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee (October '24)

Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood (October '24)

This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells (October '24)

My Husband the Murderer by Charlotte Barnes (November '24)

Killing Me Soufflé by Ellie Alexander (November '24)

A Tale Told by Traitors by Renee Dugan (November' 24)

A Story Spun in Scarlet by Renee Dugan (November '24)

Whirly World by Brandon Jones (November '24)

Try Not to Die in a Dark Fairytale by Mark Tullius and Evan Baughfman (November '24)

House of Marionne by J. Elle (November '24)

The Mirror by Nora Roberts (November '24)

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher (November '24)

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (December '24)

Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney (December '24)

Tis' the Season for Secrets by Kate Callaghan (December '24)

A Christmas Wish on Arran by Ellie Henderson (December '24)

Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney (December '24)

Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge by Kjersti Herland Johnsen (December '24)

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson (December '24)

Flopping in a Winter Wonderland by Jason June (December '24)

Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters (December '24)

This is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley (December '24)

The Tanglewood Bookshop by Lilac Mills (December '24)

Snow is Falling by Sarah Bennett (December '24)

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki (January '25)

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao (January '25)

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson (January '25)

Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow (January '25)

The Rival by Emma Lord (January '25)

The Empress by Kristin Cast (January '25)

No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally (January '25)

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard (January '25)

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley (January '25)

Circe by Madeline Miller (February '25)

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith (February '25)

The Night Ends With Fire by K.X. Song (February '25)

The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon (February '25)

The Locke Institute: Books 1&2 by A.R. Witham (February '25)

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (February '25)

The Viscount St. Albans by Natania Barron (February '25)

The Two Hungers of Prince Fierre by Darcy Ash (February '25)

The Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows (February '25)

A Happy Beginning by B.A. Richards (February '25)

All Better Now by Neal Schusterman (February '25)

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson (February '25)

Identikill by K.R. Alexander (February '25)

Fog and Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen (March '25)

Colliders by Steve Foley (March '25)

eMortal by Steve Schafer (March '25)

Odin's Child by Siri Pettersen (March '25)

Woman of Wolves by Jess McFarlane (March '25)

Kingdom of the Two Moons by Alexandra Thomashoff (March '25)

The Black Shards by Had Phillip (March '25)

The Secrets We Save by Del E Fox (March '25)

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (March '25)

Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon (April '25)

The Final Wife by Jenny Blackhurst (April '25)

Shake the Jar by Kevin Barry O'Connor (April '25)

The Good Parents by Jessica Huntley (April '25)

The Shivers Collection by Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Catriona Ward, Grady Hendrix, and Owen King (April '25)

A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner (April '25)

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson (April '25)

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin (April '25)

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben (April '25)

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao (April '25)

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree (April '25)

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy (April '25)

The Pucking Wrong Number by C.R. Jane (April '25)

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid (April '25)

Love's Arrival by Amanda Speights (April '25)

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (April '25)

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (April '25)

11/22/63 by Stephen King (April '25)

So I've got a bunch of books added to the list, and some of them I probably won't really plan on starting until after the end of the month because they are the books for my early month book club meetings, and I just usually read them in a frantic attempt to finish in time. This is why I need to cull my book clubs because my time management for reading the books has been abysmal. But this is where I'm at at my reading list. My TBR is just getting longer and longer with all the Netgalley books I keep adding and then not touching, but I have been doing an okay job of reading one of my old Netgalley approvals per month so far. I still need to pick one for April though so I should get on that soon. Any of these books that you think I should really make more effort to read than others? - Katie 

*Top Ten Tuesday* My Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is my unpopular bookish opinions, which can include things such as opinions around being a book reviewer or opinions about books that seem to differ from the majority. This will probably be a mix of things, and we'll see if I can even get to ten. Let's go. 

Unpopular Opinion #1: I like movie edition covers on books. That doesn't mean I go out and buy an extra copy because it's the movie tie-in edition (they're not cool special editions with sprayed edges and extra content after all), but if I find them at the thrift store I will buy them, even as an extra copy. 

Unpopular Opinion #2: While we're talking about cool special editions with sprayed edges, I hate seeing sprayed edge books placed "backwards" on the shelf to showcase the sprayed edges. I get it, you bought that edition for the pretty edges, you want to show them off. I want to see the title of the book. And I am secretly judging you for doing that (well, I guess it's not a secret now). 

Unpopular Opinion #3: I don't like how it seems like every book released now is getting multiple special editions. Don't get me wrong, I love getting extra exclusive content by purchasing at a certain location, but I'm not trying to throw elbows to get the Target exclusive Onyx Storm, and deciding exactly which special edition of How My Neighbor Stole Christmas to buy was not my idea of a good time. I also suffer from FOMO, so special editions make me feel like I need to buy the book new (so mission accomplished for the publisher) instead of waiting to find it at the thrift store or just as an ebook. 

Unpopular Opinion #4: Audiobooks are a lesser form of book. Now this doesn't mean that I'm judging you if you only reading audiobooks, because I also read audiobooks, just not exclusively. What I mean by a lesser form is that while you still experience the story with an audiobook, it does not have the added benefit of helping to solidify the spelling of words like a physical or ebook does. And I view them differently for myself and prefer to keep audiobooks to only 1/3 of my reading. I'd still prefer people read audiobooks than not read anything at all though. 

Unpopular Opinion #5: Dog ear-ing books should be punishable by dismemberment. Even if they are books you own, you should lose fingers at the very least for not using a bookmark in a book. This is a hill I'm willing to die on. 

Unpopular Opinion #6: It is absolutely valid to judge books by their covers. There are far too many books in the world for me to agonize over what I should read next based on the book blurb. It is much quicker to pick the cover vibes that are speaking to me at a given time. And they usually don't let me down. 

Unpopular Opinion #7: Not all book clubs are created equal. I'm actually working on a post reviewing all 13 book clubs that I'm currently in, because I need to cut back some and getting it on "paper" will help me decide which ones have the worst vibes for me, and obviously those will be the ones to go. 

Unpopular Opinion #8: Supporting authors with problematic political views is the same thing as supporting those political views. Even though I love the Harry Potter world, I no longer purchase Harry Potter merch since finding out what a terrible human being J.K. Rowling is. Other authors I will not support because they are problematic include Neil Gaiman and Jamie McGuire. 

And I think that's it. I'm really struggling to think of any other unpopular bookish opinions I have, so we're leaving it at 8. Feel free to argue with me in the comments. You're wrong, but you can argue with me anyway. 

What are some of your unpopular bookish opinions? If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can check out your list of (potentially wrong) opinions. - Katie 

*Platypire Read-A-Thon* March 2025 Results

March has been over, which means it's time for me to give you a rundown of how my reading and reviewing went for the month. I had every intention of getting this posted by the 1st, and failed spectacularly at that. I even had the draft started and a large chunk of the work done because I burned myself out on blogging and went into a funk for about the past three weeks. So I'm plotting ways to get and stay consistent that won't result in the serious burnout, and so far, I'm just going to cut my book reviewing expectations in half. I'm no longer trying to get two reviews posted per day, and in fact, I'm currently just going to aim to post once a day. If I have a #TopTenTuesday post to publish, there will be no expectation of a review that day. This here is my post for April 13th. And while I plan on getting some drafts put together today, they will be there for me to publish later. But anyway, let's see how my reading went in March. 

Reviewed

Read

Currently Reading

To Be Read

Reviewed

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike

The Taekwonderoos: Rescue at Rattling Ridge by Michael Panzner

Santa Overboard by Carolyn McBride

Alycat and the Sunday Scaries by Alysson Foti Bourque

Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham

Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure by Maren Morris and Karina Argow

A Year at Marshywood by Marina McLune

Everyone Gets a Turn by Marianne Dubuc

The Story of the Forest by Linda Grant

Making Sense of Dog Senses by Stephanie Gibeault

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

A Bold Pumpkin Plan by Katy Hudson

Tabula Rasa by Paul L. Centeno

Do Not Eat Like a Tiger Shark by Etta Kaner

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Eliza Dee's Universes by Rebecca Finch Vitsmun

The Human Trial by Audrey Gale

Turkey's Birthday Bash by Wendi Silvano

Hot Dutch Daydream by Kristy Boyce

How to Put a Dinosaur to Bed by Alycia Pace

Twisted by Emily McIntire

The Oogly Boogly Googly Goose by Lucas Light

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

Zandi's Song by Zandile Ndhlovu

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Monsters at School by Laura Baker

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

The Day I Had a Dinosaur by Ashley Wall

Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph

The Blue Canoe by Sheryl McFarlane

The Griffin's Egg by Cole Poindexter

Two Little Black Kittens by S.E. Stanley

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

The Moon Children by E.G. Creel

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder

Diwali by Sital Gorasia Chapman

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

A Tall Tale: How Ostriches Got Their Long Necks and Long Legs by Scott Sollers

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

The Not So Wicked Witch by Bethan Stevans

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

Tali and the Toucan by Mira Z. Amiras

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Scooper and Dumper the Pumpkin Parade by Lindsay Ward

Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Slippery, Spicy, Tingly: A Kimchi Mystery by Yangsook Choi

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

Our Building by Joseph Coelho

Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao

The Little Christmas Tree by Thomas Meyer

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

Let's Go, Kitty! by Holly Rosensweig

Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru

There's a Robot in my Socks by Meredith Rusu

Read

Quicksilver by Callie Hart (January '25)

Filthy Rich Vampire by Geneva Lee (March '25)

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (February '25)

Coup de Grace by Paul Centeno (February '25)

One House Left by Vincent Ralph (March '25)

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (March '25)

James by Percival Everett (March '25)

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (March '25)

Tales from the Otherworlds by Various Authors (March '25)

Daughters of the Fatherland by Jericho J Johnson (March '25)

Song of the Deep by C.H. Lyn

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Bad Luck by Pseudonymous Bosch

Scythe and Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Currently Reading

Russia's War on Everybody: And What It Means for You by Keir Giles (August '24) 35%

The Big Sugar by Mary Logue (August '24) 1%

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (August '24) pg 7

Lizzie by Edward Rand (August '24) 18%

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi (August '24) pg 208

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (August '24) 22%

Hitler's Aristocrats by Susan Ronald (August '24) 37%

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August '24) pg 66

Scarlet City by Rebekah Haas (August '24) pg 21

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (August '24) 17%

Credence by Penelope Douglas (August '24) 1%

You Like it Darker by Stephen King (August '24) 5%

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (August '24) Pg. 171

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult (August '24) 6%

Dune by Frank Herbert (September '24) Pg. 15

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman (September '24) 9%

The Magus by John Fowles (October '24) Pg. 162

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (October '24) 14%

Five Brothers by Penelope Douglas (October '24) Pg. 12

'Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson (December '24) 41%

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (January '25) 21%

The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence (February '25) 23%

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (March '25) Pg. 14

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (March '25) 5%

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (March '25) Pg. 48

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings (March '25) 3%

The Undead Kama Sutra by Mario Acevedo (March '25) Pg. 155

To Be Read

Songlight by Moira Buffini (September '24)

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche (September '24)

Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley (September '24)

The False Pawn by A.E. Asavi (September '24)

Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey (September '24)

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong (September '24)

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig (September '24)

Sunderworld, Vol. 1 by Ranson Riggs (September '24)

Lonely Places by Kate Anderson (October '24)

The Kiss of the Nightingale by Adi Denner (October '24)

Potions and Proposals by Kate Callaghan (October '24)

Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee (October '24)

Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood (October '24)

This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells (October '24)

My Husband the Murderer by Charlotte Barnes (November '24)

Killing Me Soufflé by Ellie Alexander (November '24)

A Tale Told by Traitors by Renee Dugan (November' 24)

A Story Spun in Scarlet by Renee Dugan (November '24)

Whirly World by Brandon Jones (November '24)

Try Not to Die in a Dark Fairytale by Mark Tullius and Evan Baughfman (November '24)

House of Marionne by J. Elle (November '24)

The Mirror by Nora Roberts (November '24)

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher (November '24)

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (December '24)

Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney (December '24)

Tis' the Season for Secrets by Kate Callaghan (December '24)

A Christmas Wish on Arran by Ellie Henderson (December '24)

Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney (December '24)

Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge by Kjersti Herland Johnsen (December '24)

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson (December '24)

Flopping in a Winter Wonderland by Jason June (December '24)

Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters (December '24)

This is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley (December '24)

The Tanglewood Bookshop by Lilac Mills (December '24)

Snow is Falling by Sarah Bennett (December '24)

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki (January '25)

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao (January '25)

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson (January '25)

Star-Crossed Egg Tarts by Jennifer J. Chow (January '25)

The Rival by Emma Lord (January '25)

The Empress by Kristin Cast (January '25)

No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally (January '25)

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard (January '25)

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley (January '25)

Circe by Madeline Miller (February '25)

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith (February '25)

The Night Ends With Fire by K.X. Song (February '25)

The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon (February '25)

The Locke Institute: Books 1&2 by A.R. Witham (February '25)

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (February '25)

The Viscount St. Albans by Natania Barron (February '25)

The Two Hungers of Prince Fierre by Darcy Ash (February '25)

The Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows (February '25)

A Happy Beginning by B.A. Richards (February '25)

All Better Now by Neal Schusterman (February '25)

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson (February '25)

Identikill by K.R. Alexander (February '25)

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (March '25)

Fog and Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen (March '25)

Colliders by Steve Foley (March '25)

Countdown by Johan Ottosen (March '25)

eMortal by Steve Schafer (March '25)

Odin's Child by Siri Pettersen (March '25)

Woman of Wolves by Jess McFarlane (March '25)

Kingdom of the Two Moons by Alexandra Thomashoff (March '25)

The Black Shards by Had Phillip (March '25)

The Secrets We Save by Del E Fox (March '25)

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (March '25)

So 7 of the 17 books I read in March were not originally on the list, but four of those were audiobooks and another should have been on the list as it was a book club book. Then I also started two books that weren't on the list, bringing the total of non-list books in March up to 9, kind of. That's not great. Like I'm glad I'm still getting reading done, and audiobooks do change things up some, especially when I get them from the library because library books don't make the list. Even with the burn out, I got a lot of reviews posted in March too (and that really helps to show why I'm feeling burnt out I think). I also have a bunch of handwritten reviews that I got done in March that have yet to make their way to the blog, so even with the burn out, I'm still in a good place as long as I get back into it, and should be able to recoup some of the loss I've seen the past three weeks. Here's to hoping the rest of April goes smoothly for me. - Katie