just for fun

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 9/30/25]

September 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

September has been a productive reading month for me! I have added a few fall- and Halloween-themed cozy mysteries to my TBR list, preparing myself for my favorite time of the year. And, of course, I’m still sticking to my original plan and going for the classics that I have yet to read (though I did not finish one this month).

Here are the books I read in September.

Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd)

Rating: 3/5

Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 3.5/5

Lock Every Door (Riley Sager)

Rating: 2.5/5

They All Fall Down (Roxanne St. Claire)

Rating: 3/5

It Began With a Lie (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 3.5/5

Killer Content (Kiley Roache)

Rating: 4/5

The Girls Are All So Nice Here (L.E. Flynn)

Rating: 4.5/5

***

I am currently reading The Girl From Rawblood (Catriona Ward) and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë).

Progress: 57/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 8/31/25]

August 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

I think I’m back on track, at least with my reading challenge updates! Since I posted the catch-up blog on the 6th, I have finished six more books, including another classic (The Wind in the Willows).

I am very excited because we’re creeping ever nearer to fall and there are a few books I’ve been saving, ones that I feel are best read curled up under a fuzzy blanket with a candle burning and a mug of tea in hand. I can’t wait!

The Last One at the Wedding (Jason Rekulak)

Rating: 3/5

Friends Like These (Kimberly McCreight)

Rating: 4/5

I Think I Was Murdered (Colleen Coble/Rick Acker)

Rating: 3/5

A Cornucopia of Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

City of Ghosts (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane) and Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd).

Progress: 50/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 8/6/25]

August 6, 2025 — Leave a comment

So, the blog has been on a bit of a hiatus for reasons that I will explain in a separate post. The only thing I’ve kept up with over the past two months is The Mostly Music 2025 Playlist, which means, of course, that I haven’t updated my reading challenge since May. But I am rectifying that right now! There will be another post at the end of this month, just to get back on track. For now, let me fill you in on all I’ve read in June and July.

You Shouldn’t Have Come Here (Jeneva Rose)

Rating: 3/5

The Collected (K.R. Alexander)

Rating: 2.5/5

There’s No Way I’d Die First (Lisa Springer)

Rating: 3/5

Rock, Paper, Scissors (Alice Feeney)

Rating: 4/5

Summer Rental (Rektok Ross)

Rating: 3/5

Spring Harvest (Rektok Ross)

Rating: 4/5

Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

Rating: 2/5

Clown in a Cornfield (Adam Cesare)

Rating: 2/5

Carnival Kills (Caesar Daniels)

Rating: 3/5

Red Hot Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4.5/5

They’re Watching You (Chelsea Ichaso)

Rating: 4/5

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Lois Duncan)

Rating: 2/5

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight (Kalynn Bayron)

Rating: 2.5/5

***

I am currently reading A Cornucopia of Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek) and I Think I Was Murdered (Colleen Coble).

Progress: 44/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 5/31/25]

May 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

Y’all are going to laugh that it took this long, but I finally bought a Kindle. I’ve had Kindle Unlimited for two years, and I’ve been reading like a fiend on my phone. However, I decided I needed something with a bigger/adjustable display (after frequent headaches from the constant eye strain of looking at my phone and the computers at work). I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite and so far, I’m enjoying it immensely.

Anyway, I’m telling you that to tell you this: I’ve been sailing through novels since the device arrived! May has been productive. So much so, in fact, that I changed my goal for the year. I am now aiming for 75 books instead of 50.

Here is what I have finished over the past month.

The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas)

Rating: 3.5/5

Satan’s Affair (H.D. Carlton)

Rating: 3/5

The Summer She Went Missing (Chelsea Ichaso)

Rating: 4/5

No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally)

Rating: 4/5

Hide (Kiersten White)

Rating: 3/5

Such Quiet Girls (Noelle West Ihli)

Rating: 3.5/4

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

Rating: 3/5

The Final Scene (Steph Nelson)

Rating: 3.5/5

The Collector (K.R. Alexander)

Rating: 2.5/5

***

I am currently reading Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), The Collected (K.R. Alexander), and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here (Jeneva Rose).

Progress: 31/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 4/30/25]

April 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

Hello! I hope you have had a fantabulous April. Mine has been…well, I guess I’d say wash, rinse, repeat. Lol. Same shit, different month. However, I did read six books, so that’s at least one improvement, right?

Here are the books I finished with my ratings.

Every Summer After (Carley Fortune)

Rating: 4/5

A Peach of a Murder (Livia J. Washburn)

Rating: 3/5

The Stranger in Her House (John Marrs)

Rating: 4/5

The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Rating: 2/5

Murder in Cottonwood Springs (Dianne Harman)

Rating: 2.5/3

Home Before Dark (Riley Sager)

Rating: 3.5/5

***

I am currently reading Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally), and The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas).

Progress: 22/50

I Took a Vacation in February…

April 7, 2025 — Leave a comment

I visited my brother in Colorado for his birthday. He and my sister-in-law have moved since I last saw them, and their new home is in the middle of nowhere. Actually, it’s in an area considered to be a ghost town, which is right up my alley, haha! Needless to say, I wanted to explore all the deserted structures nearby, but we also visited Bishop Castle, North Lake, Monument Lake, a few cemeteries, and Lathrop State Park.

It sounds like we were constantly running around; however, we had plenty of downtime, too. We lazed around the house with a fire going, watching horror movies and TV shows (mostly of the cooking variety). My brother caught up on “Outer Banks,” and his wife and I got him hooked on “Squid Game.”

It was so relaxing. I didn’t want to come back. We’re already planning my next trip. I want to go out in the summer, because I always seem to go when it’s cold. On the other hand, Marilyn Manson is touring in September and has stops in both Denver and Albuquerque, soooo…

Anyway, here are some photos from my trip.

The most haunted building in Trinidad
Monument Lake
North Lake
Bishop Castle
Lathrop State Park
This was at one of the cemeteries in Aguilar
Same cemetery
Another Aguilar cemetery
Walsenburg cemetery
Not far from where my brother and his wife live. I Googled it and the area is defined as a ghost town.

Who Is a Band or Artist You Listen to That Might Surprise People? [QOTW, 4/6/25]

April 6, 2025 — 1 Comment
  • “I listen to Kelly Clarkson. Girl can SANG!” – Alchemy Within
  • “Pearly Drops. Been listening to them quite often lately.” – K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “The Zombies.” – Naked Sunday
  • “I used to have a secret love for some 2000’s pop, like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha.” – Deathmare
  • “The Byrds.” – The Immaculate Crows
  • “80’s/90’s country! Sawyer Brown is a fave. Other than that, I listen to a lot of girl pop with my daughter. Olivia Rodrigo is punk AF.” – Deadly Vices
  • “Colbie Caillat.” – Seethe
  • “Limp Bizkit. I’ll own it.” – Gillsaw
  • “Kool and the Gang. Fucking love those guys, and they don’t have a single bad song!” – Robbie Ekblom, Jr.
  • “Taking Back Sunday. People are really surprised to hear I like a lot of emo bands.” – Encircled Throne

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 3/30/25]

March 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

March has been a slow month for me. I’m not really sure why, but I’ve only finished four books over the past thirty days. Here they are, with my ratings, and may I do better in April!

We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer)

Rating: 4/5

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Rating: 3/5

The House Across the Lake (Riley Sager)

Rating: 4/5

The October Society: Season Two (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 4/5

***

I am currently reading The Stranger in Her House (John Marrs) and Every Summer After (Carley Fortune).

Progress: 16/50

If You Could Collaborate With Any Artist, Living or Dead, Who Would It Be? [QOTW, 3/17/25]

March 23, 2025 — Leave a comment
  • “So hard to choose one, but I’d probably have to go with Layne Staley. His style is so unique and full of vibe and emotion. 1B would be Emily Armstrong, new Linkin Park singer. Great songwriting with Dead Sara and new LP stuff and great voice.” – Deadly Vices
  • “Trent Reznor!” – Winter in May
  • “Peter Spilles of Project Pitchfork! His music inspired me to start writing many years ago.” – K.A.R.L. (Kill All Remaining Life)
  • “Trey Anastasio [Phish].” – Til Fauna
  • “Tommy Stinson [The Replacements/Bash & Pop]. Just a great songwriter.” – naked sunday
  • “Love to work with Impending Doom.” – Encircled Throne
  • “I’m gonna get shit for this, but I wouldn’t be the man I am today: Marilyn Manson.” – Deathmare
  • “Devin Townsend, for sure. He breaks all rules and molds.” – Gillsaw
  • “Frank Black of The Pixies.” – Revolution Rabbit Deluxe
  • “Coheed and Cambria.” – Overlay
  • “Jonathan Davis.” – After the Apocalypse
  • “Idles.” – Televised Mind

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 2/28/25]

February 28, 2025 — Leave a comment

I finished six books in February! And one of those was A Tale of Two Cities (finally). Unfortunately, the Dickens novel was my only classic this month. I’ll do better in March.

Anyway, here are the books I read over the past 28 days, and my rating of each.

The Murder of Sleepy Hollow (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

Unholy Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

Rating: 5/5

Babydoll (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 4/5

Nettle & Bone (T. Kingfisher)

Rating: 4/5

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer) and The House Across the Lake (Riley Sager).

Progress: 12/50