I should have been more attentive to our list of favorite books over the years and, unfortunately, wasn’t.
It seems, however, that you can pretty much track trends like you do poodle skirts or hairdos (or not), so thought I’d take a look back and see how the favorites have evolved.
These books cover a range of genres from contemporary fiction to historical fiction. (Pic link to my reviews.)
So, hmmm, interesting:
Have you noticed a trend in your reading choices? Not sure I see a pattern here, but I’d be willing to bet you read at least one of these! I haven’t looked at how my 2025 year shakes out yet—but that’s coming.
Coming Soon: »My Reading Challenges for 2025 »Favorite Books of 2025 »Book Review – We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
It’s the age-old conundrum—which first, the book or the movie? It appears I’ve managed to read several of these books prior to their release. Which ones have you read first?
Wicked poster courtesy Wikipedia.
Haven’t we all been bombarded with the new movies, Christmas theme or not, out now riding on the heels of the book’s popularity? Lots of promos and book trailers, especially the big-budget Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Have you seen them? This one released in theaters on November 21st starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. (Not one of the books I’ve read this year and not my thing.)
Of course, there is the wildly popular Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, originally released in 2012 (which I also didn’t read, not my thing), and my recent favorite, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, released in 2022. The book was excellent–the movie very good.
Another to watch is The Housemaids (book by Freida McFadden) which will star Sydney Sweeney. Gees, I didn’t read that one either!) The release date for the movie is expected to be December 19, 2025. (I read The Housemaid’s Secret but not The Housemaid, so I’ll be interested in the original.)
I did, however, read several others and the ones listed as coming out soon read like a NY Times or USA Today bestseller list.
And surprise, surprise, another popular book, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, starring Elle Fanning has a release date TBA. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot with this book. Elle plays the daughter of a Hooters waitress and former pro-wrestler who’ll make it big on OnlyFans. Now’s your chance to get all the skinny. ;) I’m looking forward to this one. How about you?
Also in development for 2026 and 2027, The Nightingale and The Women by Kristin Hannah. Are you kidding? Read both, but I can’t wait to see The Women on screen! One of my very favorite books ever and was a Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction of 2024 as well as an Editors’ Pick for Best Books of the Year 2024. Powerful, nostalgic, gripping. If you haven’t read it yet (fat chance), you must before the movie comes out.
Just a few others:
The Woman in Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware – released on Netflix starring Keira Knightley (started it–DNF).
The Husbands – Holly Gramazio – release date TBA – starring Juno Temple – FUN book! Recommended. The movie should be fun.
The Running Man – Stephen King – released on November 7 starring Glen Powell (but I don’t read Stephen King).
Of course, there were many more not listed here. How many of the above have you read? Look for audiobooks for these as well. Always a fast, easy way to get caught up on the latest of the books turned movie lists.
Yes, this is the last list of Christmas favorites for the season and then I’ll leave it up to you.
Today I’m presenting two: One is a novel turned into a movie and the other a surprisingly sweet Christmas movie that the CE picked out. (Of course, he is the romantic in the house, so you might suspect it’ll be predictable. It is.)
Christmas Book
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci October 28, 2014 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing ASIN: B001GUXJN8
What, you say? A Baldacci Christmas book? Yes, and you know I couldn’t resist requesting this one from my favorite library as I know and enjoy Baldacci books. Well, this one doesn’t disappoint.
It’s Christmas. Don’t expect it to be a heavy thriller. It’s easy reading. Lots of engaging characters from the wacky old lady to the main character, Tom Langdon, a journalist riding the rails of Twain’s historical account.
This is a disillusioned journalist (ex-war correspondent) who is trying to get to LA by Christmas to see his lady but aggravatingly enough, runs into the one he really loves, coincidentally on the same train. (Yeah, I know…but you have to have a little romance.)
I might have enjoyed a bit more on the scenery—it was a fascinating route—but loved the info on trains. Interestingly enough, it’s also my second Christmas review with a train as the first character, Meet Me at the Christmas Train Parade, the first.
It’s supposed to be a feel-good story—it’s the holidays. So it’s full of whimsical characters, a predictable plot, nice pace, and GULP! An avalanche! (Spoiler: The movie? It’s Hallmark. No one will die.)
I kept having to remind myself that this is the same Baldacci who writes “those” thrillers. Who knew? Add this one to your holiday TBR list. Read it—or watch the movie. (I must admit I haven’t seen the movie yet, but that is now on my holiday to be watched list.) So it’s a light-hearted romp on a holiday train—read it for the fun, the characters, and the little mystery that is satisfactorily solved at the end. We do love our happily ever afters!
The Movie – The Christmas Train
November 25, 2017 Starring Dermot Mulroney as Tom Langdon and Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Eleanor Carter with Danny Glover as Max Powers
The Christmas Train – available on the Hallmark Channel as well as streaming services (except Netflix) and subscription services such as Amazon Prime Video, Ruku, and Hulu.
The Movie – The Family Holiday
December 4, 2007 Starring Dave Coulier as Donald “Doc’ Holiday and Alexa Fischer as Elizabeth Rogers
This is supposed to be a “romantic” family comedy about a con man who owes money to the mob. Here’s the rub. He’s supposed to come into a twenty-million-dollar inheritance but must prove he has a family and is now an upright citizen. Oh, gawd…
Don’t look at me—this is a CE pick. I told you he was a romantic! So, how did I manage to get through the hour and a half movie? Really, I’m not sure, but I found myself hooked. It was the kids.
Must have been!
No, really, these are two cute kids. And a dog. yes! The dog!
Entirely predictable: Pretty woman comes to audition for a supposed nanny position, stays for… Well, now she’s stuck. The kids are cute and have more sense. The boy wants to split, but the little girl wants a family. And he needs the 20 mil.
Will this tug at your heartstrings? You betcha. Just look at those eyes. (Yes, the dog.)
This is one you can sit down with your own kids and watch. Silly, predictable, simple, a trope you’ve seen before. But the characters are sweet. Except for Doc of course. His transformation to family man is a bit unbelievable, but, hey, it’s Christmas. Miracles do happen.
I mentioned something last week about the advent of Holiday Books beginning to cross the bloggers’ post paths. I always marvel at the beautiful, colorful book covers. Somehow, though, I’m just not one to read Christmas-themed books and, granted, there are more than just cozy mysteries and Hallmark romances. But yes, this week I found a Traditional Detective Mystery and a Cozy Culinary Mystery that you are bound to love.
This week I discovered a murder mystery read and reviewed by Jen Lucas at Jen Med’s Book Reviews, White Christmas by Mark L Fowler. (Told you they weren’t all candy canes and romance.) I love her review of the story “packed with mystery and misdirection.” It’s a Tyler & Mills Mystery series that takes place in Stoke (UK) and does sound a bit cheeky. There is an amicable relationship between the two, respect, and a sense of humor. Sounds good!
Okay, then Tari Hann over at Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery wrote a lovely review for Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron. Yes! We will read a cozy mystery by Ellen Byron because (like Tari) we loved Cajun Country Mysteries. One of my absolute favs. It’s based around New Orleans and always atmospheric to the point of hearing that iconic music and spelling those Cajun fragrances at the street side cafes. Tari says of the protagonist, “Ricki was one busy shopkeeper this Christmas season…She had all her virtual plates spinning in the air as she tackled running the shop, helping her friends with a cookbook project, sleuthing a murder case…”
Who Started This Anyway?
Jodie, of That Happy Reader is again hosting the Christmas Reading Challenge for 2025 that she started in 2022. Her challenge runs from October 1 through December 31 (but you can start any time and read how ever many you want). She loves reading Christmas-themed books AND watching Hallmark Christmas movies! And who knows, I may add a Christmas movie as the CE loves those things.
Someone else have a holiday-themed challenge I missed? Want me to add it to this blog post? Send me the link. Otherwise, I’ll be looking for your Christmas book reviews—are there any you don’t recommend?
October harkens not just a change of season or weather for us, but personally, the mad dash to the end of the year beginning with our daughter’s birthday the middle of October. Then it’s on to Halloween, followed in quick succession with Thanksgiving in November and Christmas and end of year holidays.
Our trip to southern Illinois for her birthday found us exploring a botanical garden in Springfield, somewhat disappointing with not only the size but end of season flower displays. Usually, we love botanical gardens this time of year as they yield some interesting seeds (shush!), but there weren’t many of those yet either. We loved the bell tower though, the sound much like an active cathedral. Unusual trees—but unfortunately no name plates to tell us what they were. Also, our granddaughter arrived with her family to celebrate her mother’s birthday so we got to see our great-grandchildren. Good grief, have they grown!!
The CE and I joined the “Summer Sizzle” promo at our Y, attended extra exercise classes and were awarded our free t-shirts. Keeping with the social interaction, the Y also started a Bingo get-together once a month, using the holiday theme (Halloween for October, of course) for prizes and lunch (pumpkin pie—I suspect we’ll also have the pie again in November). Lunch was delicious and the Bingo (although it gave me flashbacks to the years I worked the Bingo kitchen for our kids’ high school bands) was fun.
October 8th marked our second year with our little rescue Pomeranian, Punkin, now seven years old. She’s pretty much housebroken at this point. She’s allowed me to pet her a couple times—but not approach her unbidden. Unfortunately, she’ll likely never understand what a toy is. She enjoys going outside now—but only when she’s ready. Also, she’s decided my treadmill is a good place to relax. At least it gets some use.
Well, needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of clean-up done on my garden—still trying for one last harvest, but with the consistent cool weather, nothing is ripening. That’s the end of the garden this year. (sad face)
Also, as you might have guessed, October saw more audiobooks than ebooks. We reviewed a total of thirteen books in October—for the first time the majority in audiobook form–with the CE contributing two (ebooks). As always, the major source of our books is the library (audiobooks as well as ebooks), NetGalley, author and publisher requests. The links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.
The CE gave five stars to Asa James, one of only two he read in October. I did enjoy several books, but only one to the extent of five stars—and that is Michael Connelly’s book, The Night Fire.
Favorite for October – The Night Fire by Michael Connelly
My Reading Challenges page…Another extremely busy month. Family, traveling, the last of the outdoor activities for the season. I’ll try to catch up with Challenges next month.
Yes, I’m still behind on catching up on reviews and my Goodreads landing page shows 159 of a goal of 150, so I’m at 105% of the challenge. I’ll have to catch the others up to figure out what I need to do to win the challenges for Audiobooks, Historical Fiction, and NetGalley, although I suspect the Audiobooks Challenge has been met.
Holiday Books
Are They Just Printed Hallmark Romances?
Yes, the holidays are quickly gaining on us and I usually have a spate of blogging buddies who read and review Christmas or holiday books—not something I usually read! So I wanted to include a shout-out to those who do. There are so many different kinds of holiday novels from romance to cozy mysteries that I thought it would be fun to highlight a few that I run across beginning with the post by Carla at Carla Loves to Read. You might find a whole new reason to check out a holiday book. Please read her blog tour review of Missing at Christmas by Deena Alexander.
Thank you sooo much for your visits and comments. I do appreciate your comments and apologize if I’m slow to respond. Keep those likes and comments coming—and I thank you for each and every one!
We got lucky with September weather, pretty temporate, comfortable, and enough heat to harken back lazy summer days. I really love September now, as after the kiddies go back to school and we are past Labor Day here in the US, families are home and prices on the road drop.
After we had all the cucumber juices (with cantaloupe juice) I could manage from our handy dandy juicer, and the yearly trial with dried or dehydrated cherry tomatoes (dried tomato candy), we started in on tomato juice from our neighbors garden. SOOO delish!
Then we had the opportunity to link up with our old Navy buddies and met them in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri (Osage Beach) at a lovely Airbnb along with our daughter who will shortly be celebrating a big birthday. Perfect location, the middle of everything, handy, beautifully decorated and the best screened in porch I’ve ever seen making for some delightful evenings of happy hour, chatting, and watching the sun go down.
The pic of the sunset taken by our daughter, Shannon.
We checked out HAHA Tonka State Park, Stark Caverns, Bignell Dam, and rented a tritoon to do some fishing. The boat was fun—but there were no bites.
The CE trying his luck bass fishing.
Last year came home with lots of trout—but that was in Arkansas. In Lake of the Ozarks—it’s bass.
Well, so I have a good reason why I flaked on posts in September. The tablet I bought to take with me so I could work on vacation is less than useless. Still, it was a great trip, got to be with our friends again and celebrate our daughter’s birthday.
We reviewed ten books in September—four of those in audiobook form, the CE contributing two and a half (?) He gave up half way into Mark Twain, an almost 1200 page biography. The source of the books is our library, NetGalley, author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.
Perhaps predictably, except for the Mark Twain book, the CE favored his two September reads with five stars. When asked which he’d choose for a September favorite, he said, “no question, The Tenth Trail Mark.” So there you have it:
My Reading Challenges page…Vacation month. What can I say? Definitely more talking and sight-seeing than reading.
The Goodreads landing page shows 143 of a goal of 150 or 95%. I have three yet to post for books read in September. I suspect I’m doing okay in the audiobook challenge as well, not so sure about NetGalley.
I always appreciate your visits and comments. Keeps those likes and comments coming—and thank you for all of them!
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who “is the best there is at sweeping historical drama” (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.
Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.
But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane’s body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.
Seventy years later, Colette—who has “redistributed” $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations—has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. IfColette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn’t the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she’s forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.
My Review:
A fascinating dual timeline plot featuring Colette Marceau, now late 80s. During the war, her mother Annabel was arrested by the Germans for theft. The family tradition was modeled under the Robin Hood tradition of robbing the rich to give to the poor, only in her family it was to steal from the despots and give to a worthy cause. In this instance, give back the matching bracelet to her mother’s best friend who owned the matching set that completed a butterfly design.
In the melee of the arrest, Colette’s little sister is kidnapped and her body found later floating in the Seine. Colette has blamed herself all her life for not watching her sister more closely as she was supposed to do.
Colette is now astonished to see the missing half of the bracelet sewn into the hem of her sister’s gown long years ago. It is to be on display in an exhibition. No one knows of Colette’s past, the jewels she’s stolen to continue family tradition or causes but it’s about to be fully exposed.
Perhaps she’ll finally discover who took her sister, what happened to the bracelet. In the meantime, she is forming a new “family,” not all of blood relatives. However, they’ll all have a role in piecing together how the jewels came to be in Boston seventy years later.
The prose and writing style are beautifully laid out and I greatly enjoyed the dual timeline, living the part of the Nazi occupation with mother and daughter’s assistance to the French Resistance. There are numerous quotables throughout:
“The more years one lived, the more indignities one was forced to endure.”
“…caring for someone wasn’t about fitting them into spaces that you’d already cut out. It was about allowing them to exist in their own way.”
“There is a difference between a life that honors the past and a life dictated by it.”
It’s a war fiction mystery and suspense that takes place over decades and for the most part plausible. Except for that one final denouement, I could believe it all happened—just as written.
Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars
Book Details:
Genre: War Fiction, Historical World War II Fiction Publisher: Gallery Books ISBN: 978-1982191757 ASIN: B0DHV7V1B4 Print Length: 384 pages Publication Date: June 17, 2025 Source: Local Library
The Author: Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling, USA Today bestselling, and #1 international bestselling author of The Paris Daughter, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into more than 30 languages and are sold all over the world.
Kristin has been writing professionally since the age of 16, when she began her career as a sportswriter, covering Major League Baseball and NHL hockey for a local magazine in Tampa Bay, Florida in the late 1990s. In addition to a long magazine writing career, primarily writing and reporting for PEOPLE magazine (as well as articles published in numerous other magazines, including American Baby, Men’s Health, Woman’s Day, and more), Kristin was also a frequent contributor to the national television morning show The Daily Buzz. She sold her first novel in 2004, and it debuted in February 2006.
Kristin was born just outside Boston, Massachusetts and spent her childhood there, as well as in Worthington, Ohio, and St. Petersburg, Florida. After graduating with a degree in journalism (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of Florida, she spent time living in Paris and Los Angeles and now lives in Orlando, with her husband and young son. She is also the co-founder and co-host of the popular weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.
Well, we certainly started out like it was August, but August petered out and started acting like Fall halfway into the month. Cool enough temps to warrant a sweater—it’s a cool wind that blows off those Great Lakes.
Still, some warm days and cool nights along with a couple gully washers produced an abundance of cucumbers and cantalopes, followed immediately by a surplus crop of cherry tomatoes. (I started adding cantaloupes to the cucumber juice—pretty good!) Not sure what happened to the Early Girl tomatoes, but hopefully we can dry enough cherry tomatoes to make several days of candy—so sweet and good. Also, in the crop this year, purple bell peppers and Japanese eggplant. I’ve started a second crop of peas and beans in the hope they’ll be ready to harvest prior to the end of the season—but realize I’m pushing my luck.
The August book pick at the Y Book Club wasThe Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I’d read it years ago for a library book club in 2020 and opted to listen to the audiobook this time. I enjoyed both but this application was to refresh my memory for the Y book club.
Once again, I love the insight brought to the novels by the participants. Most of us had never been aware of the “blue” people prior to reading the novel. While I voted 4.5 stars this time, I was surprised to see the average at four stars. Looking back at the vote for the same book by the earlier book club, was further surprised to see the average was the same. Four stars.
We reviewed thirteen books in August—half of those in audiobook form. The source of our books is our library, NetGalley, author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.
This is a tough one as I believe I set a record at three books with five stars in August, only one of those by a favorite author, the other two being new to me. I love Michael Connelly’s books, but really, have to give the nod this month to Alfred Lansing and his book Endurance. I’ve set the CE to reading Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. If you know anything about that masterful historical writer, you know his books are seldom under 700 pages. The CE will be reading it for awhile. (evil grin)
My Reading Challenges page…I’m behind again and doubt I’ll catch up in September as we will be taking a short vacation.
The Goodreads landing page shows 132 of a goal of 150 or 88%. I suspect I’m doing well in the audiobook challenge as well, but can’t vouch for the NetGalley goal. May have to reassess those goals.
As always, it’s your visits and comments that keep me going and I appreciate them all. Kids are back in school (they don’t wait for Labor Day around here) and now’s the time we enjoy a short trip.
Our trip to southern Illinois for her birthday found us exploring a botanical garden in Springfield, somewhat disappointing with not only the size but end of season flower displays. Usually, we love botanical gardens this time of year as they yield some interesting seeds (shush!), but there weren’t many of those yet either. We loved the bell tower though, the sound much like an active cathedral. Unusual trees—but unfortunately no name plates to tell us what they were. Also, our granddaughter arrived with her family to celebrate her mother’s birthday so we got to see our great-grandchildren. Good grief, have they grown!!
Punkin, now seven years old. She’s pretty much housebroken at this point. She’s allowed me to pet her a couple times—but not approach her unbidden. Unfortunately, she’ll likely never understand what a toy is. She enjoys going outside now—but only when she’s ready. Also, she’s decided my treadmill is a good place to relax. At least it gets some use.
Rosepoint Publishing 