Monday, October 19, 2026
Top Ten Tuesday - Things That Make Up My Perfect Day
⛈ Rain - I believe the word is pluviophile that describes someone who finds happiness, comfort, and peace in rainy weather, and that’s most definitely me. Throw in a thunderstorm or two, and make the rain last all day and into the night, and I'm as happy as a pig in mud.
⛄ Cold - Combine the rain with 50-60 degree weather, and I'm happier than TWO pigs in mud.
📙 Book - Can’t have the rain and cold weather without a good book to read. Preferably, a new book by Kristin Hannah or Kate Quinn.
🧣 Blanket - Got to wrap up the rain, cold temp, and the book all in a nice, cozy, warm blanket.
🪑 Chair - In this case, it would be my recliner, but I hope someday to have a big, comfy, plushy oversized chair to sit and read in.
🍮 Hot Cocoa - I’m not a coffee drinker. (I really do wish I liked it). So, it’s hot cocoa with mini-marshmallows instead.
🎥 Movie - After I’ve read all day, I want to relax with a rom-com movie. The last good one I watched was The Love Hypothesis. Is there one you’d recommend?
🍲 Soup - Can’t have cold weather without a bowl of soup. My favorites are my taco soup, potato soup, and hamburger soup, so I’d pick one of those to indulge in.
🍫 Chocolate - Dessert would be something chocolate - maybe some Rocky Road ice cream.
😴 Sleep - Hopefully, I would end my wonderful day with a restful night’s sleep.
How about you? What’s your idea of a perfect day?
Sunday, October 18, 2026
More Advance Reader Copies Available
Two more new advance reader copies are in my little free library. Also, I added a few more cards with codes to downloadable audiobooks. Only one download is available per card. Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Top Ten Tuesday - Book Covers with Autumn Colors
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Advance Reader Copies in the Sullivan Book Nook
Two advance reader copies from authors Meg Anderson and Alys Cummings are now available in my little free library. If you take one, please consider returning it when you finish so others can enjoy it too. Thank you! 📚
Friday, October 2, 2026
Review - The Undercover Bookshop
AUTHOR: Katherine Reay
NARRATOR: Fiona Hardingham
RELEASE DATE: October 6th, 2026
RATING: Digital book - ★★★ Audiobook - ★★★★
Summary (from Goodreads): During the winter of 1950 in the small Cotswold village of Great Rollright, amateur sleuth Gemma Brown starts to suspect that the town’s best baker, Ursula Beurton, is a Soviet spy, tumbling her headlong into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that ends with a decision that will lead her to the Undercover Bookshop and change her life forever.
Recently moved to the English Cotswolds, Gemma Brown desperately wants to create the kind of idyllic life she’s read about in her favorite mystery novels, with herself as the leading lady. But fitting in proves difficult as Gemma is more adept at solving mysteries and setting up the village’s first bookstore than she is at baking cakes or grasping social niceties. Nevertheless, she finds a friend in Peggy, a young woman recently moved to town herself, and Ursula Beurton, who is not only the village’s best baker but an enigmatic figure who sparks controversy in the small-town gossip network.
As Gemma spends more time with Ursula, she begins to suspect all those novels are affecting her thinking. The oddities she starts to notice must be her imagination because, if not, they point to something far more dangerous than winning the local baking contest or being placed on the church committee. Could her neighbor be a real spy?
Following her instincts and a few skills learned through fiction, Gemma soon becomes embroiled in an international intrigue involving the village’s mysterious benefactor, Lady Marchmont, MI5, and the KGB. In an unexpected twist, however, Ursula asks Gemma for a favor which may endanger all their lives as their next chapter unfolds in Gemma’s new venture, the Undercover Bookshop.
REVIEW: Speaking as a librarian, whenever I see “Library” or “Bookshop” in a title, then I am all in right away. And while I don’t read many books based on Russian events during the first few years after World War II, I do enjoy Katherine Reay’s writing, so I took a chance on The Undercover Bookshop. If you love that era and historical fiction, in general, then you will probably enjoy this book. I will admit that I didn’t know until the very end, while reading the author’s notes, that the story was based on an actual female Soviet spy, so that was some interesting information. There’s a little bit of romance and a lot of mystery and suspense in this book, which kept me intrigued throughout, even when the plot tended to lag a bit. There aren’t any graphic scenes, nudity, or cursing, so readers who like clean stories will appreciate that. Overall, I would recommend it, especially if you enjoy historical fiction about Russian spies and the years following World War II.
NOTE: I gave the digital version of this book three stars, but I gave the audiobook version four stars because I absolutely adore the narrator, Fiona Hardingham. She always does such an amazing job. I would listen to her read Old McDonald Had a Farm and be perfectly content.
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