pickSilly me meant to take a picture yesterday while we actually had a fire going. Instead, here's our empty fireplace 😂 ANYWAY book 3 + companion for the Chronicle of Ixia. There's a lot going on here as a bunch of threads are wrapped up for the trilogy (the Chronicles consist of three interlocking trilogies, plus a crapton of short stories). It gets intense, but also feels like the pace suddenly slows way, way down right at the end. Still, very ⬇
so-soThere were promising aspects to this debut fantasy novel from Indigenous writer Tonia Laird but also some weaknesses. The characters were not especially likable and the fantasy elements were not explained well. I'm not inclined to read the sequel but haven't ruled it out completely.
#gottacatchemall (Moltress: revenge plot) @PuddleJumper
(And long may we.)
The follow-up to The Genius Under the Table is far bleaker and intended for an older audience. Yvgeny is doing well with his art, and he loves Leningrad... the restrictive way of life is just how things are. But then the “liberation“ of Afghanistan threatens him with the draft and he winds up on harsh roads he never expected.
Definitely messages here for us in the U.S.
Just logged the last two books for #GottaCatchEmAll 2025.
Today is the last day to log, right? @PuddleJumper
Excited for this year's challenge! 🥳
pickContinuing my reread of the Chronicles of Ixia - as with the first book/companion, Snyder has published Valek's POV as a companion for Magic Study. I enjoyed reading these in tandem even more, as Yelena and Valek aren't together for large chunks of time, meaning that The Study of Magic has more of its own story and was less repetitive. Thoroughly enjoyable.
My first book of 2026 is actually two books 😂 Poison Study, written from the FMC's POV, was published in 2005. In 2023, the author published The Study of Poisons, which is the same story except from the MMC's POV. I found a handy-dandy graphic on IG that had a suggested alternate-chapter reading schedule to keep the two books moving side by side. I really enjoyed this series when I first read it about ten years ago, so I'm excited to revisit it ⬇
#GottaCatchemAll Alola has finished and we will be moving on to the Kalos region!
If you want a catch card graphic then please log your books before January 11th
I'll do a final stat update and show how many books were logged etc
If you want to join the 2026 challenge all the info is here: https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2924043
pickThis reread of an old favourite completes my Gotta Catch Em All and 52 Book Club challenges for the year! I love Bilbo and the dwarves!
#gottacatchemall (Rockruff: mountains) @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (adventure story)
pickI picked up an old “Canadian Educational Edition“ of this play about the murder of Thomas Becket. The notes helped but I expect I still missed a good number of references in Eliot's verse. The story was seasonal, as the drama took place during the Yuletide season.
#gottacatchemall (Lycanrock Dusk: TBR 2+ years) @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (told in verse)
pickVery charming and cozy watching these two work hard to figure each other out and grow closer. I wound up looking qualia since it never came up in the book, and understanding this concept of fleeting moments and one-time experiences really heightened my experience of this quiet, slow-paced story. #Manga #LGBTQIA
#GottaCatchEmAll - Includes a Betrayal; Orange Cover @PuddleJumper
#192030 @Librarybelle
#BookChain #BookSpinBingo 2d