The Smell of Ink/Lukten av Trykksverte

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...

It's Tuesday and thus time for another Top Ten Tuesday post courtesy of  That Artsy Reader Girl . As the theme of the week was a Halloween freebie, I decided writing a top ten list of spooky tales set in Britain, most of them being in England and Scotland. Anyway, here's my spine-chilling list. The Plague Stones by James Brogden Description from Goodreads From the critically acclaimed author of Hekla's Children comes a dark and haunting tale of our world and the next. Fleeing from a traumatic break-in, Londoners Paul and Tricia Feenan sell up to escape to the isolated Holiwell village where Tricia has inherited a property. Scattered throughout the settlement are centuries-old stones used during the Great Plague as boundary markers. No plague-sufferer was permitted to pass them and enter the village. The plague diminished, and the village survived unscathed, but since then each year the village trustees have insisted on an ancient ceremony to renew the village boundaries, u...

As I've got a weak spot for Scotland and all things spooky, I couldn't resist buying and reading Hidden Haunts: Scotland by W. J. Gilbert for obvious reasons and today I'll post my review of this book. 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 Craigmillar Castle, George Heriot’s School, and Royal Circus, offering a fresh and chilling perspective on Edinb...

I recently read the non-fiction book Every Camp Has A Crystal Lake by Connor Flynn and today I'll post my review of the book. Description from Goodreads Summer camp, recess and amusement parks provided me many thrills during my childhood and no doubt for many of you. They are places of fun and enjoyment, however; when the sun goes down and the lights turn off, there are chills that lie beneath. From haunted dorms, ghost coasters and monsters under the staircase, my friends and I have had to fend off many spooky things. The historical locations in the pages of Every Camp Has A Crystal Lake are filled with many puzzling stories... try not to become the next chapter! My Thoughts on the Book I liked the idea of this book, but I felt it was so poorly executed, with little talk about the paranormal encounters and stories, and the backstory of locations and what-not, I almost felt a bit cheated. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled in the sense that I've read quite a few well researched boo...