Tag: reading challenges

2025 End of Year Book Survey

Posted January 28, 2026 by Haze in Book Tags / 5 Comments

I found Jamie’s End of Year Book Survey through Jana @ The Artsy Reader Girl two years ago and I’m doing it again this year, albeit really late! Please feel free to do this too if you haven’t already, and leave a comment with your link so I can check out your answers!

You can also check out my 2023 End of Year Book Survey and 2024 End of Year Book Survey if you’re curious!

2025 Reading Stats

Click here to check out My Year In Books in detail. You can also use it to check yours.

Number of books you read: 124
Number of re-reads: 24 out of 124!
Number of books you DNFed: I didn’t keep track of them!
Number of pages you read: 50,837
Most read genre: Fantasy at 63 books
Number of new-to-you authors you discovered: 53

Firsts and Lasts

First book you read: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Last book you read: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

Best In Books

1. Best book you read in 2025:
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. Maybe I’m cheating because it’s a series, but they are just so good! If you want to see the top ten best books I read in 2025, I have a Top Ten Tuesday post featuring them!

2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t:
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan. I was so excited about a Malaysian author writing Malaysian historical fiction, and it could’ve been good except the characters weren’t believable at all. One character’s behaviors in particular was so implausible that I would’ve dnf’d if it was any other book.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read:
Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum. This is one of those stories that you think you know because it’s well-known in pop culture, but it’s the first time for me reading the book and whole collection, and I’m so suprised by how much more there is to the stories! I never really cared for the story we know, but now I’m a fan of the books!

4. Book you “pushed” the most people to read (and they did):
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. This is one of my all-time favorite books by a Malaysian author writing Malaysian historical fantasy, and I managed to get my bookclub to read it! They all enjoyed it (at least they said they did! 😂) and we had a great discussion about it.

5. Best first book in a series you started in 2025. Best sequel of 2025. Best series ender of 2025.
Started: I’m not counting Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman here because I read it in 2024 first. So The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal is the next best one!
Sequel: The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal.
Ender: I’m not counting Book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl because it’s not the end of the series, and I’m also not counting Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, because it’s not a series ender even though it was written last, so The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal is the next best one!

It just so happened I read the whole Lady Astronaut series in 2025, and the other series contenders didn’t qualify for one reason or other, but I had a good year of finishing series in general!

6. Favorite new-to-you author you discovered in 2025:
Fredrik Backman and/or John Scalzi. Backman’s book that I read was just so heartwarming and beautiful, and Scalzi is so much fun. I’m going to enjoy so many more books by these authors!

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone:
I actually read a variety of different genres but there was one subject matter I read in 2025 that I’m most ignorant about and that’s art, so The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. There were other nonfiction I loved more, but this was a topic I don’t typically read about.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. No question. I can’t get enough of them, I still can’t. I love them all so much! I loved the first book and I thought the rest couldn’t keep getting better but they did! I am obsessed and I want more!

9. Book you read in 2025 that you are most likely to re-read in 2026?
I don’t think there are any books I read in 2025 that I’d want to read again this year except the Dungeon Crawler Carl series if I need a refresher before reading the next book. Heck, I might reread them just for fun anyway!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2025:
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. It’s gorgeous!

11. Most memorable character of 2025:
Oooh, this is tough! I have so many if we count the rereads because I reread so many favorites in 2025, but if we stick to only new reads, it’s definitely Cathy Ames from East of Eden. She kind of haunts me!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2025:
Stoner by John Williams. I don’t know what it is about it but it’s just so well-written. It reads so easy, flows so well, it’s just beautiful.

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2025:
It’s surprising to me too, but What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I think it was the way he talked about his life; the writing, the running, the audacity of assuming success – which I found both so arrogant but also admirable. It made me wonder how I would live my life differently if I assumed success for everything I do, and it made me want to live that way, so we’ll see how that changes my life!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2025 to finally read:
Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum. I cannot believe I have never read any of the Oz books until 2025! They are so good and I think I would’ve loved them as a child.

15. Favorite quote from a book you read in 2025:
I have so many! But these are some of the ones I’m trying to take to heart;

“Nobody can take care of you the way you need to take care of yourself. It’s your job to take care of yourself like that.” – The Wedding People by Alison Espach

“Don’t cheat your friendships. Don’t ask them to mean less to you than they do, or think they only have value if they’re a stop on the way to a *real* relationship. All relationships are real. Friendship can be as deep as the ocean. It’s all a kind of love, and love isn’t any one kind of thing.” – Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

“I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. I find spending an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone, as well as four or five hours alone at my desk, to be neither difficult nor boring. I’ve had this tendency ever since I was young, when, given a choice, I much preferred reading books on my own or concentrating on listening to music over being with someone else. I could always think of things to do by myself.” – What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

16. Shortest and longest books you read in 2024:
Shortest: The Main Dish by Michael Ruhlman (1hour 11mins)
Longest: Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum (1796 pages)

17. Book that shocked you the most:
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. Perhaps I should say that it shocked me with how blatant the killings were when I read it early in the year, but we are now in January 2026 and have had some shockingly blatant killings happen already and I’m just numb at this point.

18. OTP, One True Pairing, of the year (you will go down with this ship!):
Emily Wilde and Wendell from the Emily Wilde books!

19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year:
I answered Carl and Donut from Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman last year, and I’m going to answer them again this year. It counts because I read the majority of the series this year and reread the first two books too. What I said in 2024 and still think for 2025: “I love their dynamic, I love their chemistry, I love the way they work together, I love how hilarious they are! I love them!”

20. Favorite book you read in 2025 from an author you’ve read previously:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. This was an incredible book and one that sticks with me.

21. Best book you read in 2025 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else:
Stoner by John Williams. This was recommended by a bookclub member. I resisted reading it for so long until I finally read it and was surprised by how well-written it was.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2025:
Nicole from The Relentless Moon, book 3 of the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal. Nicole appears in the other books but is not the protagonist of the series except for in book 3, but she really shines in book 3 and I fell in love with her.

23. Best 2025 debut you read:
I don’t think I read a single debut in 2025!

24. Most vivid setting you read this year:
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I mean, it was such a great book, but so vivid and brutal.

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read:
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman was definitely the most fun, but in the interest of giving other books a fair chance, The Dispatcher series by John Scalzi was really fun too!

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2024:
I am a crybaby and an emotional reader. Everything makes me cry so I’m sure there are a lot more than these but these are just the ones I remember most; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, The Relentless Moon, book 3 of the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal, and seriously, almost all the books in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.

27. Hidden gem of the year:
This is a reread but I have to plug it because it’s just so good and not well-known enough. I need more people to know about it; The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo.

28. Most unique book you read in 2025:
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. It has the most unique premise, I’d say. The MCs are newlyweds, but the husband had just been diagnosed with a condition that will slowly transform him into a shark. It sounds funny, but it’s a serious book and quite heartbreaking.

29. Book that made you the maddest (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it):
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, for obvious reasons that I’ve already mentioned.

My Blogging/Bookish Life

I am forgoing this part of the Survey because I feel like I haven’t been very present with my blogging life at all and don’t have answers for them. Hopefully next year will be better.

Looking Ahead in 2026

1. Book you are most anticipating in 2026 (non-debut):
Some of the books I’m anticipating for 2026 made it to my Top Ten Tuesday post, but Book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series didn’t make it to the list because the cover image wasn’t out yet at the time. It’s out now (just the cover image!) and the book’s expected release date is May 12, 2026, so I am just giddy with excitement!

2. 2026 debut you are most anticipating:
If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle, releasing June 18, 2026. I am so excited for this because I love bookish books and I love the whole idea for this book – a reader wishes for her favorite romance author to write her life into a book, and gets her wish, except the author is writing a thriller this time, and the MC has to live it!

3. Sequel you are most anticipating in 2026:
I answered All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan, the sequel to Long Live Evil last year, but it didn’t come out last year unfortunately. But it’s expected to be released May 12, 2026, now, and I’m still very excited for it!

4. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2026?
I am really hoping to get my reading life more manageable; read more intentionally, write my reviews more promptly, be more present on the blog, make more connections with other bloggers, maybe write a few discussion posts, maybe write a couple of posts about my other hobbies outside of reading. Fingers crossed!

What are your answers to these questions? If you do this survey, let me know so I can visit your post and check out your answers. You can also leave your answers in the comments!

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2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

Posted December 29, 2025 by Haze in Reading Challenges / 3 Comments


The aim of the Nonfiction Reader Challenge is to encourage you to make nonfiction part of your reading experience during the year. It’s hosted by Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out, please click on the link to find out more and to sign up!

HOW IT WORKS

You can select, read and review a book from the categories listed below during the year for a total of up to 12 books; OR select, read and review any nonfiction book. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format.

Choose a goal:
Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories
Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories
Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category
Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year.

Categories:
History
Memoir/Biography
True Crime
Science
Health
Food
South East Asia
Humour (Humor)
Lost or found
Television
Subculture
Published in 2026

Nonfiction Grazer

I will be going for the Nonfiction Grazer goal; I have a few nonfiction books in mind that I’ll list below and cross off as I finish them, but otherwise I just want to share the nonfiction I read through the year!

The Books

I will be crossing them off and/or listing them here as I go. Check back often to see what I’ve read!

  1. Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green – finished
  2. Dare to Lead by Brené Brown – finished
  3. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
  4. Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
  5. Eve by Cat Bohannon
  6. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  7. Educated by Tara Westover
  8. The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
  9. Into the Wild by John Krakauer
  10. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie
  11. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
  12. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
  13. This Isn’t Happening by Stephen Hyden

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The 52 Book Club’s 2026 Reading Challenge

Posted December 29, 2025 by Haze in Reading Challenges / 0 Comments

I have loved and completed The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge in 2024 and 2025 on the blog these last couple of years, and I see no reason to stop participating for 2026 too! I’m excited for these prompts and looking forward to seeing what books I end up reading for them.

The 52 Book Club’s annual reading challenge is made up of 52 unique prompts. The goal is to match one book to each prompt, for a total of fifty-two books over the course of the year. Prompts are related to everything from specific titles, to cover designs, authors, genres, settings, themes, characters, etc. (Think of it like a giant bookish scavenger hunt!) We encourage participants to try books outside of their regular reading comfort zones and push themselves to read more, read differently, and get creative with it!

Visit The 52 Book Club to find out more and join the challenge!

Below is the 52 Book Club’s list of prompts for 2026. These prompts are linked to Goodreads Lists of books that fit each prompt. I copy and pasted them from here, for easy access, and so I can link to each prompt with the books I finish.

The 2025 Goodreads Lists:

  1. Set in an ancient civilization
  2. Kangaroo word on the cover – The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens
  3. Written without quotation marks
  4. Has a dust jacket – The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
  5. Featuring a conspiracy – The Will of the Many by James Islington
  6. Title starts with the letter “O”
  7. Title starts with the letter “P”
  8. A three-syllable word in the title – The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens
  9. Featuring a natural disaster
  10. Spans a decade or more – The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
  11. Requires suspension of disbelief
  12. A genre-defining read
  13. Bookface
  14. Includes a character list – The Strength of the Few by James Islington
  15. Subtitle with a comma
  16. Deus Ex Machina
  17. Author’s bio mentions their dog
  18. Provokes strong emotion
  19. A nosy neighbour character – The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
  20. Day of the week in the title
  21. Written in the 1800s
  22. Spotted in a TV series or movie
  23. Grumpy sunshine trope
  24. Uneven number of chapters
  25. Includes a red herring – The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
  26. Title in a serif font
  27. Two or more authors, one pseudonym
  28. From a series at least eight books long
  29. Set in the Arctic or Antarctic
  30. Author related to another author
  31. Author related to author in prompt 30
  32. Publisher starting with the letter “B”
  33. A standalone fantasy novel
  34. Inspired by the top-grossing movie the year you were born
  35. Character with a secret identity
  36. Award-winning book from last year – Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
  37. Started on the 26th of the month
  38. Domestic fiction
  39. A book that cost you nothing
  40. Author’s first and last name start with same letter – Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane
  41. A guide to…
  42. Includes a handwritten interior font
  43. A Goodreads recommendation for you
  44. Literary Device: Personification – Strange Houses by Uketsu
  45. Biographical fiction
  46. Non-fiction about character in prompt 45
  47. A diacritical mark on the cover – Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
  48. Related to the word “Nemesis” – Better Than Revenge by Kasie West
  49. From the 800s of the Dewey Decimal System
  50. Set in a castle
  51. Includes a map – Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
  52. Published in 2026

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Monthly Wrap Up | November 2025

Posted December 5, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

November 2025 Wrap Up

I actually didn’t realize it was a new month already! I mean, I realized it was December but I completely forgot what that means and that I had stuff to get done. I missed the deadline for a couple of books I was supposed to finish in November as well because I wasn’t connecting the fact that time was actually passing. I’m still playing catch up!

Adding to that, my husband recently changed webhosts for our websites, which caused issues with my blog that was a pain to fix, and there might be some I haven’t even realized yet! I think one of the biggest issue is the broken links on my page that I didn’t even realize until recently, because I haven’t been present on the blog! Please forgive me if you came across any issues on my blog, or come across any more issues. I’m still fixing stuff and catching up on things from being unwell last month.

I’ll say one thing; one of the things I’d been catching up on is crocheting Christmas gifts in time for Christmas. And while I feel the pressure of trying to finish as soon as I can, I also get to listen to a lot of audiobooks while crocheting, so that’s a win!

My November 2025 TBR Intentions

I did pretty good with 6 out of 9, I think! I truly intended to read the other 3 as well, but I lost track of the time with due dates and deadlines. Oh well.

  1. Dracula by Bram Stoker
  2. Christine by Stephen King
  3. Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King
  4. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
  5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  6. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  7. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  8. Watership Down by Richard Adams
  9. Falling by T.J. Newman

Books Read in November 2025

  1. Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith
  2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
  3. Christine by Stephen King
  4. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
  5. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
  6. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
  7. Falling by T.J. Newman
  8. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
  9. The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
  10. Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi
  11. Travel by Bullet by John Scalzi
  12. Constituent Service by John Scalzi
  13. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  14. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  15. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Notable Books This Month

I have to say the John Scalzi books were my favorites this month! I’d heard a lot about John Scalzi but haven’t read any of his works. These titles just happened to be available on Audible Plus, and they were short and I was curious and now I feel like I want to read more John Scalzi!

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer was also really good. I made the mistake of listening to it to sleep when I had about two hours more to go on the audiobook. Things got real at that point and I was so worked up and upset I couldn’t sleep.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia was another surprise. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I did and I was very pleasantly surprised!

There were a lot of other great books as well, of course, with some of my favorite authors like Stephen King and T. Kingfisher, but none of them were surprises because I knew they’d be good, so they’re not noteworthy compared to these other ones this month.

December 2025 TBR Intentions

I’m going to take it easy this December with reading obligations. I do have a couple of books I’d like to read before the end of the year, and also a couple of BOTMs for bookclubs, but otherwise I’ll read whatever I please! I’m leaning towards easy, light-hearted romance, possibly even Christmas-themed!

  1. Emma by Jane Austen
  2. Stoner by John Williams
  3. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
  4. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

How was your month in November? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful December with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap Up | October 2025

Posted November 7, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

October 2025 Wrap Up

I’m late with my wrap up this month. I having some health issues and dealing with some adverse side effects so I haven’t been as active both physically and mentally recently. I’ve left a lot of tasks undone too, and I have so many book reviews to catch up on. I’m recovering though and definitely hopeful that next month will be better.

My October 2025 TBR Intentions

I did pretty good on my October TBR intentions, but there were a couple of books I didn’t get to that I still want to eventually. I did manage to read three Stephen King books, which I’m very happy about because that means I’m making progress with my Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge! I’d been slow-moving with the challenge but Halloween season often comes with lots of SK buddy reads and I’m not complaining.

  1. The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman
  2. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman
  3. This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman
  4. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
  5. A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher
  6. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
  7. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
  8. Falling by T.J. Newman

Books Read in October 2025

  1. A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher
  2. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
  3. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
  4. The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman
  5. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman
  6. This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman
  7. The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
  8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  9. Carrie by Stephen King
  10. Duma Key by Stephen King
  11. The Running Man by Stephen King
  12. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

Notable Books This Month

I am still so obsessed with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series! I finally finished them to the most recently released, but I am anxiously anticipating the next books and I love that I’m still so passionate about them. I don’t usually do well with long-running series because I lose interest or they start to get repetitive, but I don’t feel that way about this series and I truly hope it stays that way until the end.

A Sorceress Comes to Call was also a standout. T. Kingfisher is one of my automatic-read authors, and this book has become one of my favorites by her. I also have Hemlock & Silver on my TBR, and I’m excited to read that next.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened was an interesting surprise. It’s my in-person bookclub’s BOTM, and my first book by the author. I expected something humorous, yes, but I was surprised by Lawson’s brand of humor. I listened to this on audio with the author narrating, and I love how audacious and unapologetic she is. She finds humor in some serious shit too, which I find a little disconcerting, but I can’t help but love her.

November 2025 TBR Intentions

I signed up for quite a few spooky reads during Halloween season and I’m still paying the price. I also have some classics I’m doing for The Classics Club challenge.

  1. Dracula by Bram Stoker
  2. Christine by Stephen King
  3. Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King
  4. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
  5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  6. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  7. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  8. Watership Down by Richard Adams
  9. Falling by T.J. Newman

How was your month in October? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful November with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books on My Fall 2025 TBR

Posted September 22, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 22 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List 

Most of these books were already included in my September intended TBR but I haven’t gotten to them and we have just about a week left in the month. Hopefully, I’ll get to them some time this fall! I also realize that I have three Stephen King titles on this list, but to be fair, they are all actual buddy reads that I signed up for that have fall deadlines, plus I realized I need to amp up my Stephen King reading if I want to finish my Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge in a timely manner!

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2025 TBR

  1. The Wedding People by Alison Espach – I have heard interesting things about this book. It seems like a light-hearted book but apparently there are some heavy themes, but it looks like there are generally great reviews for it.
  2. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston – I have read another book by the author, and I really like the sound of the plot for this book.
  3. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman – It’s the BOTM for my in-person bookclub this month, meeting this weekend! I really hope I can finish it by then!
  4. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab – I have enjoyed several of the author’s books, but I like some more than others. I hope this is one of the good ones!
  5. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – I really enjoyed The First Law Trilogy and I’d already read the first few chapters of this one and found it really intriguing too! It’s a thicker book but hopefully I can dive in soon.
  6. A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher – I initially started this book a few days ago but realized that I had more time on it (library deadline) than I had on Between Two Fires, so I’m putting it down and reading the other one first!
  7. Falling by T.J. Newman – The plot sounds fascinating when I heard it and I’m excited to get to it soon!
  8. Duma Key by Stephen King – I have read this before and remember loving it, but I don’t remember a single thing about it. It’s a buddy read so I decided to reread it with everyone else for the discussion.
  9. Christine by Stephen King – Another buddy read! I recently watched the movie but haven’t yet read the book. My husband has watched many of King’s film adaptations and is a fan of his works, but the only King book he has read that I have not is this one! I have to remedy that (on both sides)!
  10. The Running Man by Stephen King – And yet another buddy read; my online bookclub has a lot of serious Stephen King fans!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Book Review | The Long Walk by Stephen King

Posted August 13, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping… with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently…

For the Reading Challenge(s):
The Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge

The Reason

For the The Stephen King Constant Reader Challenge and because the movie is coming out soon, I wanted to reread to refresh.

The Quotes

“They’re animals, all right. But why are you so goddam sure that makes us human beings?”

“Any game looks straight if everyone is being cheated at once.”

“Crowd was to be pleased. Crowd was to be worshipped and feared. Ultimately, Crowd was to be made sacrifice unto.”

“They walked on, somehow in step, although all three of them were bent forever in different shapes by the pains that pulled them.”

The Narrator(s)

Kirby Heyborne. Not a big deal but there were some parts where I felt his inflection didn’t fit the part. Otherwise, it was good listening.

My Thoughts

Stephen King’s psychological horror is always so chilling to me. I’ve read this book before but had forgotten much of it and recently I’d been wanting to read it again because the movie was coming out later this year. I’d been wondering how this could be a full length book when all they do is walk and nothing else happens.

Well, never underestimate the power of King’s storytelling. There are backstories, conversations, philosophizing… in addition to the things happening directly to the plotline. It turns out reading about their walk itself is incredibly fascinating, sometimes horrifying. King is so good at describing the feel of the ground, the movement of their feet, the landscape they walk across, and so much more. But still, the best parts are the psychological thought processes as they walk.

There’s a challenge among some fans of the book where they walk while listening to the audiobook according to the rules of the story. They walk for the whole time they’re listening to the book, and they’re not supposed to go slower than the walkers in the book. It sounds “fun” and immersive, and maybe one day, when I’m a lot fitter, I’ll do it.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Sunday Post | 10 August 2025

Posted August 9, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 12 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Superhuman!

Last week I was very responsible. I caught up with almost all my book reviews, updated my reading challenges, did some journaling, got a lot of cleaning and reorganizing done, ran a couple of 5ks, and did some meal planning ahead of time. Am I even human?!

I am proud of me but now I’m not sure if I can ever perform at this level ever again!

It’s not all work and no play though. I read some really good books too, and watched a couple of scary movies – I don’t know why we chose scary movies, it just turned out that way.

On my watchlist:
We watched The Monkey and Nosferatu, and they were both really creepy but The Monkey had a little more levity than Nosferatu. I enjoy a little bit of morbid humor sometimes. The Monkey is an adaptation of a Stephen King story and we all know I love Stephen King.

Nosferatu has got an amazing cast and the acting from every one of them was superb. It was so intense, I couldn’t stand it, I had to take breaks in between. If you like horror, I highly recommend both these movies!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman – I ended up getting this book from the library on a “skip the line” basis and I jumped on it because I’d been wanting to read it for a while. So glad I did! I loved it!
  2. The Long Walk by Stephen King – Also a “skip the line” borrow. And a reread, but it’s been a while. I love how so much of King’s books are psychological. I didn’t remember how he managed to write a whole book out of people just walking, but he did it so well and I’m excited to watch the film adaptation coming out soon!
  3. Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca – Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life featured this book in her Top Ten Tuesday Beachy Reads post a couple of weeks ago and I was intrigued! I got the book a couple of days ago and finished it yesterday because it was so good! Thanks for the rec, Erin!

Books I’m reading:

  1. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – I had a false start last week and got distracted by several other books that “skipped the line” so I’m trying again this week.

Last Week on The Blog

I finished so many book reviews!! I’m almost all caught up, but I’m reading just a little faster than I’m reviewing and I feel like I need new rules that I can’t start a book until I’m done reviewing the one I just finished! I know I don’t have to take reviewing so seriously and I do sometimes skip them, but it’s important to me to record the books I’ve read somewhere, otherwise I’ll forget them and feel like I need to read them again.

This Week

I haven’t gotten started on any of the books on my August TBR yet. After I finish The Keeper of Hidden Books, I’ll get started on them, I promise!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | 3 August 2025

Posted August 2, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 10 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Happy August!

I did very well last week on my fitness! I ran 5k on the treadmill three times last week after months of not running at all. It might just be that I’m feeling a little more motivated coming back to it after so long, but I fully intend on keeping it up as consistently as possible in the next few months. Fingers crossed!

I also did some more back-to-school prep; setting up my student ID, shopping for backpacks (I haven’t found one but I’m doing the research!), academic calendars, stationery, and other miscellanous things. I’m excited about going back to school and I’m making a bigger deal out of it than necessary! One more month to go and I’m counting down the days!

On my watchlist:
We watched Deep Cover and it was one of the funnest, most hilarious shows I’ve watched in a while. Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed are three actors I’ve enjoyed, and they have such great chemistry together here. It gave me so much pleasure to watch them and I highly recommend the movie if you want a good laugh.

We also watched Untamed with Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, and others, and it was really good too. I didn’t like Eric Bana’s character very much, in fact there were a lot of characters whose morals were questionable, but I did love Lily Santiago’s character, and the storytelling really pulled me in.

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – Finished for the nth time and I’m happily surprised that I still love it as much as ever. This is the 4th time I’m reading it in 4 years and I was afraid I might get tired of it, but I didn’t! I’m not going to push it though, I think I’m going to leave it for a couple of years before I reread again.
  2. Revival by Stephen King – This is objectively a good story but I didn’t connect with it as much as I hoped. I’m not sure if it’s because it was overhyped and I went in with overly high expectations, or if I maybe rushed through the book too quickly. To be fair, I do tend to rush through my first time reading exciting books and there are several SK books that I loved more in the rereading.
  3. The Crêpes of Wrath by Sarah Fox – I read it for the punny title and I do enjoy cozy mysteries. This one was okay, I enjoyed it well enough, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

Books I’m reading:

  1. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – I just started it. It’s been on my TBR so long, I’m glad to finally be reading this!

Last Week on The Blog

I spent some time doing admin on the blog! I’ve been leaving the “challenges” section of my book reviews blank because I hadn’t been deliberate about reading books for the challenges, but I finally took a look at them and have updated The 52 Book Club’s 2025 Reading Challenge with books that fit! I’m not done with the updates and the challenges aren’t finished, but I’m glad to see I’m not as far behind as I thought!

This Week

I’m going to finish The Keeper of Hidden Books and get started on other books on my August TBR. I’ll also continue with the reading challenge updates.

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Monthly Wrap Up | February 2025

Posted March 1, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 1 Comment

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

February 2025 Wrap Up

February was a little better. I’m still disorganized but doing better with getting things done and cleaning up the disorganization bit by bit. The first part of February was bad, but things improved later and I’m trying to keep things going on an upward trajectory.

The weather has started to get nicer, and I started running outdoors again! That makes me so happy and gives me a little bit of grounding that I needed. My body is sore because it’s gotten used to being lazy this past winter, but I’ll just do what I can when I can. At the very least, it’s nice to just be outside in the comfortably cool weather.

My February 2025 TBR Intentions

I ended up reading different books because of mood and library loan deadlines! I’ll come back to the ones I haven’t read soon though!

  1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
  2. The Terror by Dan Simmons
  3. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  4. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
  5. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Books Read in February 2025

  1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
  2. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  3. Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
  4. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  5. How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis
  6. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
  7. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  8. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Notable Books This Month

Children of Time and All Systems Red are rereads, but they were necessary because Children of Time is quite complex and I needed to refresh my memory before moving on to the next books. All Systems Red was the chosen BOTM for my in-person bookclub and I had to reread to refresh my memory for discussion as well. I enjoyed them both very much the second time around!

Vicious was a stand out; I had no expectations going in but was very pleasantly surprised. It had me at the edge of my seat and I had to keep reading because I needed to know what happened next.

The Frozen River was another surprise! I had not expected to be excited while reading about events that happened such a long time ago or that it would keep me so worked up that I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep. It’s based on true events and real people, and unfortunately it’s not completely accurate to what really happened, but this version of events was very well-written and satisfying and I loved reading it.

March 2025 TBR Intentions

Most of these are BOTMs and/or buddy reads that have a March deadline. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish all of them, but I’d like to try!

  1. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
  2. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
  3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
  4. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
  5. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  6. The Terror by Dan Simmons
  7. All The Living and The Dead by Hayley Campbell

How was your month in February What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful March with lots of great books!

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