Spell the month in books: December 2025

Posted on December 8, 2025 by WordsAndPeace

Spell the month in books:
December 2025
Click on the logo to join
#SpellTheMonthInBooks

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I discovered this meme thanks to Marianne @ Let’s read.
“The idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles”,
and there’s an accompanying theme.

December:
Giftable
Books you would give or would like to receive as a gift

So I am going with books on my TBR.
If you feel like Santa, you are most than welcome to pick one for me. Just kidding.

Dandelion Wine
(The) Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro
(The) Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
Embers
(The) Maze in the Heart of the Castle
The Big Book of Female Detectives
End of Oulipo?: An Attempt to Exhaust a Movement
Recursion

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Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury
I’m really impressed by this author, and there’s so much more I want to read by him.
The last I read was The Illustrated Man.
I may actually read Dandelion Wine during #ShortStorySeptember

The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro, by Edogawa Rampo
I was so impressed by The Black Lizard / Beast in the Shadows, so I really want to read more by Edogawa.

The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature,
edited by J. Thomas Rimer
By now, you probably know my love of Japanese lit, so this is a must.
The abridged version is still 896 pages, so it should do it 😉

Embers, by Sándor Márai
I don’t often read Hungarian classics (the last one I read was a classic scifi),
but when I do, I always enjoy them. Time to discover this one soon!

The Maze in the Heart of the Castle, by Dorothy Gilman
I so so enjoyed Gilman’s Mrs Pollifax, I need to read more of her standalones

The Big Book of Female Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler
I’m currently listening to another of his anthologies, The Big Book of Christmas mysteries, and I really enjoy his choice and short introductions before each story, so one day, I’ll get to that one.

End of Oulipo?: An Attempt to Exhaust a Movement,
by Lauren Elkin andVeronica Scott Esposito
I love Oulipo authors, Italo Calvino and Georges Perec for instance, so I need to read these two long essays on the topic.

Recursion, by Blake Crouch
I have enjoyed a few books by Crouch, like Upgrade, so I need to get to this one!

Have YOU read
or are YOU planning to read any of these ?
Please leave the link to your own post,
so I can visit.

#SciFiMonth 2025: Science-Fiction A-Z

Posted on November 11, 2025 by WordsAndPeace

Science-Fiction A-Z
#scifimonth 2025

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Disclaimer:
I post this on a Tuesday, it doesn’t completey work for Top Ten Tuesday, not even double 10 lol. Still, some Top Ten Tuesday readers may be interested. We all love lists, don’t we?
I didn’t even do the #scifimonth prompt, covers with one color. Maybe another time.

A few years ago, Tammy posted her list of Science-Fiction A-Z during
#scifimonth.
So time has come for mine. We actually have only one in common!
Fo some letters, I had a lot of choice, so I went with books I enjoyed a lot.

Only a few are still on my TBR (O, Q, Y),
and I had to cheat for a couple of letters (LuX), and author instead of book title for Z: Zelazny).

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Click on the covers to read my review or more info on the book

Have YOU read
or are YOU planning to read any of these?
Please leave the link to your own post,
if you did a similar one.

Six degrees of separation: Always the castle

Posted on November 1, 2025 by WordsAndPeace

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
Always the castle

This fun meme is hosted by
Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest
(see there the origin of the meme and how it works
– posted the first Saturday of every month)

Today, we are supposed to start from We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson.
I haven’t read it, but it’s on my TBR!
I decided to pick titles in my shelves having the word always, and then the word castle.

Click on the title to access my reviews

ALWAYS

1. The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain

MY VERDICT:
I really enjoy Cain’s voice here again, with his grittiness, his rough, toxic, and ambiguous characters.

2. We’ll Always Have Paris, by Ray Bradbury
This one is on my TBR. I enjoy more and more this author’s writing!
“In We’ll Always Have Paris—a new collection of never-before-published stories—the inimitable Bradbury once again does what few writers have ever done as well. He delights us with prose that soars and sings. He surprises and inspires, exposing truths and provoking deep thought. He imagines great things and poignantly observes human foibles and frailties.”

THE CASTLE

3. Castle in the Sky, vol. 1-4, by Hayao Miyazaki
I read this series in 2019, alas I didn’t write any review, so I don’t remember much. It’s a manga with the drawings from the anime. I loved it, like for (almost!) everything Miyazaki did.

4. The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole
Oh my, another book I read in 2019 and never reviewed! And don’t remember.

5. The Castle of Crossed Destinies, by Italo Calvino
This one is on my TBR. Definitely want to read more by Calvino!
“A group of travelers chance to meet, first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their tales. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives, and a fantastic, surreal, and chaotic history of all human consciousness.”

6. The Maze in the Heart of the Castle, by Dorothy Gilman
Also on my TBR.
I have read many books by Dorothy Gilman, but never a fantasy, so I’m really curious what she did with that genre.

So we started by living in the castle and ended up in the heart of it!

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Visit other chains here

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HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?
IF YOU HAVE CREATED A CHAIN,
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LINK IN A COMMENT