libraryperilous browses her own stacks yet again in 2025

Hello, and happy 2025!

I'm Diana, and I read science fiction, historical fantasy, historical mysteries, and a smattering of classics. I also like nonfiction about birds and the ocean, but I don't read it often. I read a number of middle grade novels each year, as well as picture books.

In 2025, I plan on renewing my interest in jigsaw puzzles and classic films, and pitchers and catchers report next month. The Mets were so close last season! I really enjoyed watching volleyball and surfing during the Olympics, so I plan on renewing my interest in lesser sports this year as well.

Other than diversifying my hobbies, I have no 2025 resolutions. I'm going to try to be a little less stressed out about bad news and a little more proactive about the issues I care about. I'm going to try to eat a little more healthfully and exercise a little more. But I'm not going to be on a tight schedule about any of this or set specific goals.

I am going to try to do quarterly deep dives on topics of interest. My first topic is stained glass. No, I will not be learning to make stained glass. I just will learn more about it. We'll see how long I can maintain this idea. Will I make it to a second quarter topic?

Happy reading in 2025 to all!

Best book of 2024:

Frontera: Please read this book.

Happy 2025 to you too! Happy New Thread, may you read many great books :)

Happy New Reading Year! I look forward to vicariously learning through your deep dives.

Happy new year, Diana! Ok, ok, I'll read Frontera. Hold placed 😊

Looking forward to many more book bullets from you this year!

>1 libraryperilous: Happy New Year and New Thread, Diana! I look forward to many more well-aimed book bullets in 2025.

Happy New Year and have a wonderful reading year in 2025.

Happy new year and happy new thread!

Happy New Year and happy new thread! That will be an interesting topic.

Happy New Year, Diana!

Here’s to another great year of reading! Making note of Frontera…

>1 libraryperilous: I think your idea of quarterly dives into a set topic is interesting and I'll be following your progress. Stained glass is an interesting medium on a number of levels (preservation, story-telling, etc.)

Hi Diana! I really like your plans for 2025 - agree with you about reading more and keeping stress levels down. We can't control outside events, but we can always try to control our reactions and our own actions.

Stained glass is so beautiful - great topic to take a deep dive in. Thank you for the recommendation on Frontera! Happy New Year and happy deep diving. :)

Happy New Year and happy new thread! I hope you have a great year in books and in life. Looking forward to your explorations into stained glass!

Thank you, everyone! Thanks for stopping by, and happy 2025 reading to you all!

I am, once again, massively behind on your threads. Apologies!

I haven't been reading so no stained glass tidbits to impart yet. :(

I have been working jigsaw puzzles and have discovered—woe unto my bank account!—that I like the fancy, expensive puzzles. Especially Trevell.

If I've inspired you to read to read Frontera, yay! I hope you find it moving, as I did.

>17 libraryperilous: Well now I want to try a Trevell puzzle...

I have Frontera out from the library but haven't read it yet. I might tackle it after I finish The Annotated Pride and Prejudice.

A bookfluencer I like a lot (wickedreads) just recommended Brighter Than the Sun, which seems like it might share some themes with Frontera. I checked it out from the library and will let you know my thoughts!

>17 libraryperilous: & >18 curioussquared: Well now I will be looking for those puzzles as well. (But I need to get a dedicated puzzle table first.)

>18 curioussquared: Looking forward to your thoughts on both books!

>18 curioussquared:, >19 clamairy: They're only available from a couple of North American retailers, as far as I know: Puzzledly and RoseWillie. RoseWillie ships from Canada, so there's a modest shipping fee. As of right now (lol), the US dollar is stronger than the Canadian one, so you save on the puzzles themselves and that quickly offsets the shipping. Trevell makes 99-piece puzzles that aren't too expensive, so you could try one and see if you like them. The pieces are so soft!

>19 clamairy: I bought a portable tilting stand with a nice puzzle board on Amazon. All of the dedicated tables I priced were too expensive or bulky.

>18 curioussquared:, >19 clamairy: Do either of you have favorite puzzle brands or brands you've sworn off? I've found this Reddit sub helpful for reviews of both brands and puzzles. I'm thinking of doing a puzzle thread here in the pub.

>20 libraryperilous: I haven't done any for years. I am looking to start again. Knitting causes some hand pain, and I'm trying not to pick up my phone when I'm streaming something. I thought about getting the board and putting it on top of all the crap on my coffee table. But I kept imagining the cat jumping onto a corner of it and sending everything flying... A board on a dedicated stand might be a very good option. Thank you.

>21 clamairy: Even if you get a dedicated table, good luck with the cat, They just love to help.

>21 clamairy: Hmm, this stand might not be catproof enough on its own. It slides a bit on smooth surfaces. I haven't tried putting a flat towel under it.

>22 haydninvienna: My mom's current kitty is indifferent, but her last two cats were jealous of the puzzles.

>21 clamairy: Oh, fun! I hope you enjoy it if you get started again! re: hand pain, some brands, like Cobble Hill and Ravensburger, make larger-sized pieces for some of their puzzles. And Cobble Hill's 500-piece puzzles are larger than other companies' 500-piece puzzles. So if the hand pain occurs during puzzling, there might be some options to try.

>20 libraryperilous: A puzzle thread would be great!

I am a big fan of Cavallini jigsaws, and also Lawrence King's "World of" series. Pomegranate also make some lovely ones; I especially like the images by Olga Suvorova

The Merry Jigsaw is now open for business!

Non-puzzlers welcome, too, of course.

24 I have several Cavallini and Pomegranates, and the Harlem Renaissance and Gatsby "World of" puzzles on my wishlist. Glad to hear they are good brands!

Some personal news:



Her name is Coconut Sugarcane Orange Grove, but you can call her Coco if you want to.

Edited to add photo description: Coco is a smallish tuxedo cat, probably around 1 year old. Her stomach, neck, and legs mostly are white. Her back, ears, nose, and tail are black. She has a white patch around her left eye. In this photo, she is sitting half-moon on a gray sheet, looking off into the distance.

1. Off Menu: Cute YA graphic novel about a cook who discovers the chef at the restaurant has cut a deal with the fae to control their entire village and cut off any competition. Soup challenges the chef to a cooking contest and works to get the fae on her side. 4.5 stars.

2. Sea Legs: Disappointing middle grade graphic novel, more about a preteen's friendship with a girl who bullies her than life at sea. Not enough of the ship's cat. 3 stars.

3. A Whisper of Cardamom: Mainly complicated recipes, mostly desserts, that utilize spices to enhance depth of flavor. I was a little surprised that the author mainly repeats a handful of spices. Probably best suited to serious bakers who enjoy complex flavors. 4 stars.

4. Shiloh: A boy attempts to rescue an abused dog in rural, self-reliant and mind-your-beeswax West Virginia. 4.5 stars.

5. Bad Badger: Props to Maryrose Wood, who made bank for her publisher with the Ashton Place books, so now she gets to write charming animal adventure stories that don't sell as well. While I didn't love this one as much as Alice's Farm, this was a lovely story of friendship between a quirky, introverted badger and an autistic-coded seagull. When Gully goes missing, Septimus goes outside his comfort zone to find her. 4.5 stars.

6. An Irish Country Doctor: Charming historical fiction, set in a village outside Belfast, where modernity is beginning to intrude but a country doctor still has the respect and love of the townsfolk. 4.5 stars.

That's it. That's all I've read this year. I DNFed the new Scalzi. It felt like a philosophy lecture, not a novel. I prefer Scalzi in snarky, fast-paced adventure mode, and the moon cheese one was akin to Redshirts, which I also DNFed.

Coco is gorgeous! Congrats to you both for finding each other.

I did An Irish Country Doctor as an audiobook a decade or so ago, and really enjoyed it.

>28 clamairy: Thank you! She was the neighbor's barn cat, but she decided to move in with me. :)

She's very sweet, but I have never met a cat who throws as much litter when she buries her deposits. LOL.

My mom and I did An Irish Country Doctor for our book club's March pick. She's already read the next one in the series.

>26 libraryperilous: what a sweetie! Congrats!

>30 norabelle414: Thank you. She's a snuggler, too. :)

>26 libraryperilous: A true Jellicle! May you have many years of happiness together!

Jellicle Cats are black and white
Jellicle Cats are rather small
Jellicle Cats are clever and bright
And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.

Old Possum (T.S. Eliot), inevitably -- Song of the Jellicles

Yay for kitties. The litter throwing thing is just part of the inconvenience package they all come with. May her purring be constant.

Aww, Coco is gorgeous! May you have many happy years together.

>27 libraryperilous: Off-menu strongly appeals to me. I went to look it up and saw that the author also has a title in the same world called The restaurant at the edge of the world. "Ooh, a sequel too" I thought. But on closer inspection it is the same book; the UK publisher has changed the title for some reason. Glad I noticed before I ordered the same book twice!

Pretty little kitty! Have fun learning each other's ways.

Coco!!! She is gorgeous. Very happy for you :)

>27 libraryperilous: Bad Badger sounds very cute.

>26 libraryperilous: She's gorgeous! Tuxedo cats are awesome. Mine is a gray/white Tux so her coloring is less dramatic.

I have no doubt she's much happier being with you than being a barn cat on her own.

>26 libraryperilous: Coco is wonderful! Wishing you many happy years together :)

>32 hfglen: Thank you! She especially is talented at Jellicle vocals

>33 Bookmarque: Thank you! Litter throwing is another special talent. She does about triple of other cats I've had, lol.

>34 Sakerfalcon: Thank you! Off Menu's artwork was delightful, and i would read more in the universe. Bummer that there isn't a sequel!

>35 MrsLee: Thank you! We are enjoying each other so far. :)

>36 curioussquared: Thank you! She has a cute personality and meows, too. I think you would like Bad Badger, and it's a quick read.

>37 terriks: Thank you! This is my first tuxedo. They're so pretty! I bet the gray and white on your gal is very elegant!

>38 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you!

Coco is adjusting, but she's still a little bored with indoor life. She also is good about using her litter box. But she cries to go outside for restroom needs before giving in to the box. She was spayed a week ago, so I'm waiting a few more days to introduce better enrichment toys.

Still not reading. Mad about that. 😡

>26 libraryperilous: Congratulations! She's perfect. 😍

>26 libraryperilous: Very nice. Hopefully everyone is settling in and becoming accustomed to a new environment. (I love that she used to be a neighbor's barn cat. Clearly those accommodations were not up to her particular standards. You should probably feel honored.)

>40 LibraryLover23: Thank you. She really is!

>41 jillmwo: Thank you. She is settling in well and especially enjoys her daily Churu cat treat and feather time. I feel very honored that she chose me.

Still not reading much, so I embarked on a project to (re)read the books on my shelves. I have too many books and puzzles for both my current and future shelf space. I'm proud of myself for making a couple of donation runs already, of books I knew I would not (re)read. I took some to the local library and some to the local Goodwill.

7. Magicat: I don't really enjoy middle grade anymore, and this is a younger middle grade about a witch's cat who lands in England on Halloween. Hijinks ensue. I appreciate Barrington Stoke's commitment to dyslexia- and reluctant reader-friendly children's books. I hope their recent acquisition by Harper does not ruin their mission. 4 stars, down from 5 stars on my original read. One off the shelf!

8. The Flamingo Ballerina: Another younger middle grade, about Fifi, a flamingo who falls in love with ballet. It's a very soothing story of following your dreams and not letting bullies get you down. 4.5 stars, down from 5 stars. Keeping this one for now.

9. A Kitten Called Holly: Yet another younger middle grade, part of a series about a girl who rescues animals. Her vet mother and farmer father help her learn to care for each animal. This was fine. 4 stars, down from 5 stars. One more off the shelf!

10. Winter Magic: A younger middle grade collection of holiday stories about animals. Each features a hint of magic. Eh, it was fine. 3 stars, down from 4 stars. Three total off the shelf!

11. Kate and Frida: Ah, a grown-up book! My mom and I both liked Love and Saffron, so we read this loose sequel for our April book club. Frida, the daughter of one of main characters in the first novel, heads to Paris and then Bosnia to be a 'war journo dame' like Martha Gellhorn. She finds something different and harder than she bargained for, and her friendship with shy Seattle bookstore worker Kate helps them both grow. 4.5 stars. It's not as homey as the original, but there's the same emphasis on food, epistolary friendship, and books.

12. Orris and Timble Lost and Found: Sequel in a younger middle grade series about a wizened, storyteller rat and his young owl friend. When Timble doesn't visit Orris for a few days, the rat assumes their friendship is over. But then Timble returns with his own story to tell. This was sweet, and I liked it better than the first book. 4 stars.

13. The Mountain in the Sea: This is not a cli-fi thriller, and it's more speculative lit fic than genuine sci-fi. It's a thoughtful, sometimes cozy and sometimes claustrophobic, look at personhood. I read it slowly, over several days, as @jillmwo recommended on her thread. While I liked it and found all of the characters interesting, I wanted more of a real plot. And, for a novel about sentient octopuses, they are mostly an abstraction. Of course, this is part of the point Nayler is making, but I would have preferred an actual first contact thriller, or even a politicky look at diplomacy between the species. 4 stars. Another one off my shelf :)

If you're interested in The Mountain in the Sea or its themes, I think Lydia Millet's Mermaids in Paradise might appeal. It's very different in tone and pacing, but it has similar themes of personhood, climate change, and humans behaving like humans. Millet's breezy snark hides some philosophical musings on these topics.

Nope, still not reading much :(

Coconut is thriving :)

14. Creaky Acres: cute middle grade graphic novel about an accomplished preteen equestrienne who moves to a rural area and slowly learns to appreciate her new, rather quirky riding camp. 4 stars.

15. Love Poems: reread of one of the Everyman poetry anthologies. Taste in poetry is highly personal, but this collection is very white, very male, and very cishet. It's also heavy on metered poems. There are a handful of really great poems, including Robert Frost's sonnet, "Never Again Would Birds' Song Be the Same." I'd certainly include it in an anthology love poetry! But I mostly disliked the selection, and I think The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time is a superior anthology. 2 stars. One more off my shelf ;)

Creaky Acres sounds right up my alley! Adding to my wishlist.

>45 Sakerfalcon: Ha, I am not surprised. I also recommend Faith Hicks' Ride On. I think it's a stronger graphic novel: It deals with thornier friendship themes. Both are great for pony book readers. :)

Finished May with one additional book. Coconut currently is snubbing me. I worked puzzles a few days in a row and then was gone for several hours today. These are hateful tragedies, according to my cat.

16. The Green Kingdom: Caspia is from a small town in rural Maine. She is not thrilled to spend summer in Brooklyn. But, on her first night in the city, she discovers a cache of handwritten letters in a drawer. The letters, written from a botanist sister to her opera singer sister living in Brooklyn, contain clues to plants that can be found around Brooklyn. Caspia makes it her mission to solve each plant riddle and ends up putting down roots in Brooklyn. 4 stars.

17. The Wind in the Willows: reread, and I probably would have DNFed it except 1) I have more patience with classics and 2) I read it a chapter at a time. Until the last three chapters, the stories are more vignettes than a cohesive narrative. This is my third (fourth?) read, and this time, I noticed a fatal flaw. No, it's not the twee, with which I was fine. Dear readers, the problem is that the four main characters are deeply unlikable. Ratty is impatient and sharp-tongued. Mole is a naive dipshit. Toad is a selfish dipshit. Badger is a reclusive sharp tongue. Good god, men, touch grass. 3 stars, down from my original generous 4 stars.

I do love the prose of classics, particularly British classics, so I enjoyed that part of the reading experience.

Have just had the unpleasant experience of stumbling upon the bookish portmanteau 'romystery.'

>48 libraryperilous: I dislike The wind in the willows because the characters are so obviously men, not animals. And I loathe Toad.

>49 libraryperilous: That's a new one on me. I think I shall avoid it.

>48 libraryperilous: I felt similarly reading The Wind in the Willows last year. I kind of liked the friendship between the flawed characters, except Toad really stuck out to me as more of an asshole than everyone else. I think some people appreciate him as a depiction of someone struggling with a serious addiction, but is that really supposed to be explained to the intended audience - children?? I don't think so.

I did find it funny that a toad got sent to human prison.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland was great though

>51 norabelle414: Yeah, and the animals exist alongside people, but people can't recognize Toad in disguise? Wild. (I hadn't actually clocked the addiction parallel, and, as you say, I'm not sure that children would relate to more than the "Whee! Poop-poop is coming!" fascination Toad has with the motorcars.)

>52 jjwilson61: I stuck with the Jungle Cruise :)

>50 Sakerfalcon: Romance is a part of life for many people, but must it be in every genre? I also find it a bit mystifying, because series mysteries often already employ a romance subplot!

I managed to finish two (2) additional books in June.

18. This Land Is Our Land: YA graphic novel by the same duo who created Frontera, which I highly recommend everyone in the US read, especially now. This Land features a Mexican-American teen, living in the West Texas border town of El Paso, during a period when Border Patrol and local militias have conspired to ruin immigrant families' livelihoods and a white nationalist politician is stirring up even more hatred. Jaime just wants everyone to get along. He stumbles on an alien relic that chooses him as its host, and there might be no choice but to fight back against both the "Aliens are infiltrating our country!" politics and an actual alien invasion. This was good, but Frontera is much better. 4 stars.

19. So Far Gone: Jess Walter's prose could make a phone book interesting. This is the story of a man who goes off the grid, after punching his conspiracy theorist son-in-law at Thanksgiving, and then tries to find his grandchildren when said son-in-law's cult friends kidnap them. It's a broader story about how conspiracy theories impact everyday people. It's a story that was written before the 2024 election. I assume the mostly funny, mellow tone would be different, or the story more cynical, if Walter wrote it now. Also, you're not immune to propaganda if you're on the left, and this novel contains throwaway lines that are liberal conspiracy theories. Not to prove a point, mind you, but because the author is infected by the following conspiracies: nimbyism; unhoused = mentally ill drug abuser; degrowth. So, a half-star off for that and a half-star off for the last couple of chapters, which I think offered a too-neat resolution for the mess Walter's characters are in. Again, probably a different novel if Walter started writing it now. 4 stars.

Edited to add book numbering

20. Greenteeth: enjoyable cozy fantasy with some (ahem) teeth to it. At its core, this is the story of a lake monster learning how to be a good friend and reaping the rewards of that. Also, there's a Wild Hunt motif that forms a part of the plot. This feels a little like a book Alan Gardner might write. 4 stars.

21. Graciela in the Abyss: Graciela becomes an undersea ghost in this middle grade tale that reads like a folktale or a fable. My mom and I enjoyed this for our book club. 4 stars.

22. The Rushworth Family Plot: I continue to enjoy the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries, but this one is a little tedious. In particular, not even Claudia Gray can make Fanny Price interesting to me, and we spend many pages with Fanny and her insecure thoughts. I assume this is going to be a six-book series, and I'm excited for the next two. 4 stars

23. Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology: Lu and Ren go off on an eco-adventure, and the graphic novel does a good job of illustrating the concept of ecosystems. 4 stars.

24. The Enchanted Greenhouse: enjoyable cozy romantasy. Terlu the librarian was turned into a statue and is awakened on an island full of enchanted greenhouses. The greenhouses are failing one by one, and Terlu and the grumpy gardener, Yarrow, try to craft spells to save the greenhouses. This was too long, full of participial phrases, and entire paragraphs of questions (Terlu's musings) stand in for worldbuilding. Don't editors edit anymore? (No. They do not.) 4 stars. But the writing is clunky.

25. The House of Found Objects: fun middle grade mystery, set in Paris, that makes use of both the locale and secret codes that Bea and her friends must unravel around the city. 4 stars.

26. Automatic Noodle: cozy-ish cli-fi, set in a restaurant located in the nation of California, still struggling to recover from its war with the US. Androids have rights, but not too many, and the restaurant is bombed with 1-star reviews by some humans who hate robots. Sweet, and the ugly aspects of the setting never become too sad. However, it's a preachy novella, and it's pro-crypto currency. 4 stars.

27. Babe: The Gallant Pig: sweet middle grade story, definitely written in an earlier time when children's books were shorter, both the manuscript and the sentences. I actually prefer the movie. 4 stars.

28. Pocket Bear: Pocket Bear and other stuffed animals live out their lives in a secondhand shop. The sardonic cat narrator assists them in their midnight meetings and revelries. What happens when Pocket Bear and Bearwon are discovered to be valuable antique toys? 4.5 stars.

29. Renegade Girls: fabulous YA graphic novel, a little bit of a mashup of Ink Girls and I Shall Never Fall in Love. Three girls with a strong sense of justice infiltrate a sweatshop to expose the owner's cruel treatment of the immigrant girls and women he employs. The author's note explains the choices she made re: the historical record. I was persuaded by her arguments. @norabelle414, you might like this one! 4.5 stars.

30. Lost Evangeline: final Norendy tale from Kate DiCamillo. Her writing style is too precious for me. It worked in Edward Tulane precisely because it wasn't as treacly and some very sad things happened. I dunno, it just feels like this author talks down to kids, or maybe her intended audience is younger than I realize. 4 stars.

31. The Golden Necklace: successful start to a chapter book mystery series set on a contemporary Darjeeling tea plantation. I felt so naive reading this, because I kept saying to myself, "This still happens?!" Really well done, full of interesting information, especially about Nepalese and Tibetan minorities. 4.5 stars.

32. The Wanderer: Sophie and her cousins Cody and Brian sail with three uncles from Connecticut to Ireland. As the logs Cody and Sophie keep unfold, Sophie's own complicated relationship with the sea is revealed. 4.5 stars.

I'm not counting it toward the total, since it's a short story, but I enjoyed the latest Murderbot. Rapport circles back to ART (Perihelion) to show how it reacts to the new friendship it enjoys with Murderbot. 4 stars. We're getting a new Murderbot book in 2026, as well as a new standalone in Ann Leckie's Radch universe. :)

Edited: grammar

Good to see you, Diana!

I looooved The Wanderer as a kid. I should reread it. And I love Dick King-Smith, but Babe is probably my least favorite of his. I prefer his mouse books.

>56 libraryperilous: It's good to hear from you and catch up on your reading!

>56 libraryperilous: Welcome back! I have to admit I'm a little intrigued by The Golden Necklace.

>57 curioussquared: Thank you! Mouse books?!? Off to check those out. 😄

>58 Sakerfalcon: Thank you for stopping in!

>59 clamairy: Thanks! I'll try to be a little less infrequent. I definitely want to read more about the Darjeeling tea plantations, perhaps an adult novel or popular history. I really thought the story was set in the 1950s or so. It was a humbling read.

>60 libraryperilous: Three Terrible Trins, Martin's Mice, and Magnus Powermouse are my favorites!

>61 curioussquared: Thank you! These all sound super cute!

So, I've played Tiny Bookshop for a couple of days, and I'm bored with it. I loved the demo, so I bought it. Of course, I've now played too many hours to return it on Steam.

>62 libraryperilous: Oh no! I have gotten to the point where it's a little tedious because I only have a couple goals left but I turned on "automatically accept requests" in the accessibility settings and now I have to pay slightly less attention and thus can do something else while I play (listen to a podcast, eat dinner, etc.) and that was an improvement for me.

>63 norabelle414: Ooh, thanks for that tip! I'll try that and give it another chance. I don't really game often. I think I burn out on games pretty quickly. I don't even play the Steam edition of Wingspan much anymore. :(

Edited: numbering

My SantaThing entry is live: Diana's entry.

This year, I've requested sci-fi and spy novels. Feel free to leave suggestions. I love reading them! :)

Welp. The reading slump (since last November) continues. This is the longest slump I've had. There have been periods of my life where I didn't read avidly. That's different from a protracted slump.

33. Night Chef: A city raccoon who loves to cook rescues a fledgling crow and finds a forest restaurant. This is fine but not special. 3 stars.

34. A Christmas Witness: Inspector Rutledge is back and will have a novel-length mystery to solve in 2026! The author was not sure this series would continue without his deceased mother, who was the coauthor. It does have a new publisher, Mysterious Press. This entry is a clunky in its writing style. I suspect mom was the real talent behind their previous books. 4 stars, an adequate holiday mystery novella. I'm glad Rutledge, a favorite detective of mine, is back!

35. Coastal Blues: reread of an interior design book I like. Some of the advice suits my tastes. Most of it is too opulent or busy in its decor. 4 stars.

>56 libraryperilous: In particular, not even Claudia Gray can make Fanny Price interesting to me... Even in the early segments of the series, I felt she hadn't quite been able to deal fairly with Fanny Price.

>67 jillmwo: That's kinder than my way of putting it! I agree with you. For me, Fanny is Jane Austen's weakest character. I'm not sure Austen dealt fairly with Fanny Price either.

36. Tokyo Express: This didn't grab me as much as I expected. I loved the train and plane timetables aspect. The detectives and the secondary characters came alive for me, as postwar Japan. However, the mystery itself was a bit handwave-y. I couldn't tell if that was by design or because the author had run himself into walls. I suspect the former, but I'm not familiar with the author's other works. Certainly, it would fit the postwar alienation theme and the ingeniousness of the crime. There also were a number of repetitive passages, and I don't know if that's the original style, the translator's choice, or a proofreading error. 4 stars.

>68 libraryperilous: Funny you should say that. In preparation for the 250th anniversary of Jane's birth next month I have listened to the audiobooks of every one of her novels (including Sanditon) with the exception of Mansfield Park. I'm not sure I can make myself do it, even though I know I should as there's a sizable chance that listening to it will tickle a different part of my brain than reading it did.

Sorry you are still in a slump. I hope things look better soon!

>70 clamairy: I'm struggling to read Mansfield again, too. I do find more value in Emma Woodhouse now that I'm older. I'm convinced this will not happen with Fanny Price's story!

You might enjoy this BookTube video from Spinster's Library: Which Jane Austen Heroine Am I?

>71 curioussquared: Thank you. I hit up my local library and borrowed fourteen (14) books, including some in genres I don't normally read. I hope one hits the spot and sparks the spark!

>72 libraryperilous: That was hilarious!!! (I would have failed that quiz miserably.)

>70 clamairy: Oh, come on now. I'll read it with you, if you want. Mansfield Park is one of my favorites and the whole point behind Fanny Price as a character is that she is supposed to be viewed as the socially-inept, unattractive one. But she's also the one with the true moral compass holding steady throughout the novel. I know she's annoying at times in comparison with the two very charming and socially adept Crawfords, but I have always believed that she would bend a bit as well in later life.

>74 jillmwo: Okay! I will be sure to let you know when I start it. As I said, I will be listening to it. I already have it lined up in my Audible library.

Oh, present tense, how I loathe thee.

>76 libraryperilous: FWIW, I also loathe it in a novel. I know what the author is trying to accomplish but it just makes me growl at the book.

>77 jillmwo: BTW I started listening to Mansfield Park yesterday! I am enjoying it a bit more this time around.

>77 jillmwo: Same. I especially struggle with present tense in historical fiction. I don't need that sense of immediacy. I'm reading about people who have been dead these long centuries!

>78 clamairy: Happy 250th birthday, Jane!

>77 jillmwo: Well, just ping me a DM when you feel it's beginning to drag and you want to talk about it.

>76 libraryperilous:, >77 jillmwo: I agree with you both, heartily.

Merry Christmas and happy new year, Diana!

>82 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie! Merry everything to you, too!

Happy New Year, everyone! May all your 2026 reads be worth finishing, and may you all receive your fair share of book bullets.

My 2026 reading thread is here.