Christopher | Plucked from the Stacks – Plucked from the Stacks

Who’s Still Here?: Ten Books Waiting on My TBR Shelf

It’s been a minute since I’ve participated in Top Ten Tuesday—so first, hey all! This week’s topic is all about books I’ve listed on previous seasonal TBR posts that I still haven’t read. However, I’m not great at seasonal planning. I hardly ever know what I’m going to read next until I’m already holding the book.

Cybils Awards 2021: The End

It seems hard to believe, but it’s time to turn the page on the 2021 Cybils Awards for children’s and young adult literature. As a Round One Panelist in the Young Adult Fiction category, I had the absolute pleasure of reading eighty-two amazing nominees and helping narrow them down to seven finalists.

For Once, I’m Speechless: Eleven Books I Haven’t Reviewed

2022 has officially arrived … somehow. And while I’d like to talk about new beginnings and all the bright things I’m hopeful for this year, I keep thinking of one of my grandmother’s refrains: however your year opens is how it will close. If that turns true, then I’m taking the year off. See y’all in 2023.

My Mother’s Silence by Lauren Westwood

After her twin sister, Ginny, died in what everyone assumed was a tragic accident, Skye Turner knew she couldn’t stay in the Scottish Highlands. Not when her mother blamed her for what happened. Fifteen years and a music career in the U.S. later, though, she returns, dredging up the same old secrets and gossip. But soon she hears rumblings of moments that don’t quite fit into her memory of that night. Unsure of whether she can trust her memory or the people around her, she begins an investigation that could finally reveal some answers—or pull her already fractured family even further apart.

Can’t Wait for … The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

When looking for a new read, I rarely have anything specific in mind. Maybe I want a thriller, or maybe I want political nonfiction. It’s one of those things—I’ll know it when I see it. Well, today I’ve seen it. Great title. Great cover. Great blurb. Perfect timing for Can’t Wait Wednesday, huh?

Once Upon a Seaside Murder by Maggie Blackburn

Summer Merriweather finds herself dealing with many of the same issues she faced the last time I checked in with her. She’s slowly coming to turn with her mother Hildy’s death. She’s debating her future, and whether it involves returning to academia or staying in Brigid’s Island and running her newly inherited store, Beach Reads Bookshop. And oh yeah. Murder and mystery are lurking around every corner.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

Anyone who gets too close to Persephone May winds up hurt. After yet another workplace accident, she finds herself at a crossroads, unable to stay where she is yet not knowing where she should go. It’s fortunate, then, that she receives an email from her friend Hyacinth, inviting her to the mysterious Wile Isle. While she originally accepts with ideas of insulating herself from the outside world, she soon finds a land filled questions, but also just maybe the answers she’s been looking for.

Can’t Wait for … The Guest Room

Snow is once again moving into my area and I would love nothing more than to curl up on my couch with a good book. A wicked thriller, with twists, turns, and a pulse-pounding ending? Yeah, that’s the perfect way to wait out the flurries. And I think I’ve found the perfect book for just such an occasion. The only downside? It’s not out until the end of the month. I can’t wait.

Ten Cozy Mysteries for the First Half of 2022

Nonfiction November Week 5: The Growing TBR Pile

Well, another November has officially come and (almost) gone, so that means it’s time to wrap up Nonfiction November. It’s a truncated week, but it’s always one of my favorites. Here’s the prompt we’re working with, which is being hosted by Jaymi at The OC BookGirl.