The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

It's Friday and perhaps it's time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of  Book Nook Bits  and the topic of the week was 2024 reading wrap up. The further prompts for this week's topic. What were the best books you read in 2024? Any disappointments? Did you meet your reading goals? Did you read any 2024 releases? Did you discover any new favorite authors? Tell us all about your most memorable reads of the year! Last year I set a reading goal of 100 books and I surpassed it by reading 108 books. Some were good, some were not so good, but I can't expect to enjoy them all. A couple of my favourite reads last year includes If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio and The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis. I also read some fun 2024 releases, such as Hidden Haunts: Scotland by W. J. Gilbert, Food To Die For by Amy Bruni, and The Hollow Dead by Darcy Coates. That said, of the 108 books I read, a lot of them were not horror/paranormal, but overall I had a fun reading year.

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for a new Top Ten Tuesday courtesy of  That Artsy Reader Girl  and as it's New Year's Eve today (Happy New Year, by the way), the theme of the week is fittingly enough best books I read in 2024. Here's my ten picks for today. Hidden Haunts: Scotland by W. J. Gilbert Description from Goodreads Uncovering the world's hidden hauntings, one chilling story at a time. Hidden Scotland delves into the lesser-known ghost stories that quietly persist in the shadows of Scotland's rich supernatural history. As you turn each page, you’ll discover eerie tales often overlooked by mainstream paranormal accounts, with a focus on both Edinburgh and the broader Scottish landscape. Embark on a journey through the haunted streets of Edinburgh’s Old Town, where sites like the Governor's House in Edinburgh Castle and Chessels Court unveil the city's dark and mysterious past. Beyond the Old Town, explore ghostly echoes in places like Cra...

It's Tuesday again, and probably time for another Top Ten Tuesday post courtesy of  That Artsy Reader Girl . It's a bit of free for all this week in terms of themes and as I missed out on the destination titles prompt last month, I decided to do that one today. Here's my ten picks. SCRAVIR - While Whitby Sleeps by C. M. Vassie Description from Goodreads Contemporary Gothic Thriller The explosive reimagining of Whitby's darkest hour. The famous Goth Weekend is in full swing. but while a mysterious guest star's music rocks the Pavilion, emaciated corpses are appearing in the streets. Dark forces are mingling with the thrill seekers. Outsider Daniel Murray has never believed in the supernatural. Local girl Tiffany Harek is not so sure. If they are to survive the next 48 hours they must wise up. Fast. The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis Description from Goodreads When orphans Ben and Jennet arrive in the seaside town of Whitby to stay with Alice Boston, they have no ide...

Even though I'm technically having a hiatus for my book blogging at the moment, I still wanted to announce the 2025 Diversity Reading Challenge, just in case anyone wanted to participate in it and start planning their TBR pile. I’m not going to make any categories or levels for this challenge, as I want it to be a bit flexible. Read as many books as you feel like reading and yes, it can be children’s books, graphic novels, e-books, non-fiction, audio books, poetry and you-name-it. As it is a diversity reading challenge, it would be mean to exclude some types of reading materials, right? Now, what is diversity you might ask? What I mean by diversity is, but not limited to; People of colour/non-caucasian characters/authors Native Americans and other indigenous people LGBTQIA+ Authors/characters defining themselves as trans, intersex, genderfluid or similar Refugees Religious minorities Mental illnesses/disorders Neurodiversity (like ADHD and autism) Feminist themes/issues Physical/m...

Happy Halloween/Samhain everyone. As it is finally Halloween, I figured out I would post a review of the short story collection The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural by Agatha Christie, which I read earlier this month. Description from Goodreads From the Queen of Suspense, an all-new collection of her spookiest and most sinister stories, including an Agatha Christie story never before published in the USA, The Wife of Kenite! For lovers of the supernatural and the macabre comes this collection of ghostly and chilling stories from legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. Fantastic psychic visions, specters looming in the shadows, encounters with deities, a man who switches bodies with a cat—be sure to keep the light on whilst reading these tales. The Last Séance gathers twenty stories, some featuring Christie’s beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, in one haunting compendium that explores all things occult and paranormal, and is an essential omnibus for Christie fans...

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another Top Five Wednesday post courtesy of the  Top Five Wednesday Goodreads group  and today's topic was books about books. Here's my five picks. Cotton Cleopatra F VIII: The Abbess's Tale by Dominic Selwood Description from Goodreads In World War Two, Oxford academic Dr Iana Jenkins discovers an unknown medieval chronicle by the nun Mary of Shaftesbury. Mary confides that she was at Glastonbury Abbey in 1191 when its monks exhumed the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. However, the great abbey's celebrations turn to terror when the mortal remains of Arthur and Guinevere turn out to be not what they seem, and horror reigns. When all else fails, can Wulfrun - a priestess of the Old Religion from the forest - save the abbey from what has been unleashed. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Description from Goodreads A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysteri...