Hi, Hey, Hello, and Happy New Year!
Thank you for joining me on this very blustery second day of 2026! I’m so happy to share a spot of time with you! How the heck are you?!
What can I get started for you? I’m brewing up some black tea with milk and honey (obviously) but also have coffee or any herbal tea your heart could desire and could whip up some hot cocoa quickly, if you’d like! Don’t be shy 😉
Let’s have a seat at the kitchen table while we catch up, shall we?
The Other Side of The Holiday Whirlwind
We’re coming up on the tail end of a two week stay-cation over the holidays and it was so very lovely to have some serious down time!
We enjoyed some shopping and a Birthday Party, lots of reading and cozy gaming, big family meals and quiet mornings filled with tea and cookies in matching (but not matching) PJs.
I’m equally ready for “real life” to kick back in next week and wholly dreading it.
How did the last couple of weeks shake out for you? Did you enjoy some time off from your typical schedule?
2025 in Books
I have to say, I am so very proud of myself for reaching a Personal Best in the Reading Department in 2025!
I intentionally don’t set lofty reading goals each year because I truly want to read for FUN and not feel pressured by any ideas of grandeur, but 2025 proved to be a wonderful reading year full so many good books and, in the end, I totaled out at 56 books!
Yes, TEOTWAWKI took me to just before midnight on the 31st, but I did finish it! Goodness, that was a more challenging book to get through than I anticipated due to the topic… though there were spots of hope sprinkled in between all the rest that carried me through.
My first book of 2026 is The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and is just the reflective, short chapter experience I needed to kick off the year. It also kicks off my intention to work through my physical and digital TBR this year. Both are e x t e n s i v e.
How’d your 2025 in books round out? Do you have any goals for reading in 2026? Are you reading anything currently? Do tell! You know I’m always happy to chat about books 😉
That’s All Folks!
At least for now 🙂 There’s plenty more to share but I’ll save some insights and happenings for the days ahead in an effort to get my blogging groove back. But first, I’m off to catch up on reading all you’ve written while I spent some time away from the computer.
As always, thanks to Natalie for continuing to host us for the #weekendcoffeeshare. She’s asking us to link up in the comments now after some struggles with the linky platform, so please pop around and see what others are up to!
Wishing you a lovely slide through the first days of 2026!
Onward,
Melissa
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I’m glad you had an enjoyable staycation and congrats on reading so many books, Melissa! I have “Everything Is Tuberculosis” on my TBR list. I think I’ve read all of John Green’s books published before that one. Thank you for your coffee share. Have a great weekend and best wishes for 2026!
Hi Natalie! If you enjoy John Green’s writing, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy Everything is Tuberculosis. Easy, insightful read!
Hope the week ahead is a wonderful one for you!
I’m glad you had a nice holiday! I love the pics you shared, especially the pajamas! Your days sounded wonderful. We had a nice time with family and made new memories. I hardly read in 2025 and really want to make it a priority this year. I’m reading Small Magics by H. Byron Ballard for a online book club. Wishing you an amazing year!
I’m glad you had a nice holiday as well, Kathleen. Cheers to all the reading our hands, heads, and hearts can handle in the year ahead! I’m off to look into Small Magics!
Glad you had a good holiday! I read a lot in 2025 – so easy with the library across the road and a bus journey to work! I’m not making any reading goals or plans since we will be travelling this year, but will do my best!
Oh man…I’d be a HUGE trouble in the best way) if I had a library right across the street from me! I hope all your travels go wonderfully! I look forward to reading about them on the blog 🙂
It is awesome that you got to enjoy some time off AND equally awesome that you feel ready to get back. That means you have a life you love 🙂 I have one more week of vacation left. I took an extra long, three weeks off this year, for two reasons: to spend time with my daughter and due to an important school assignment that is due mid-January. I don’t like stressing last minute so I divided the school work I knew I had to do into small portions, doing a little every week. The first draft is completed, but I have to work with it a little more to get it just right. Since I have one more week left there is no stress, and I’ve had plenty of time to relax during the holidays. I am very content with how everything turned out. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
I’m so glad to hear you prioritized your needs and wants during your break to allow for success on all fronts! I have no doubt you’ll finish up your project perfectly <3 Living a life you love shows in such lovely ways, doesn't it?
I forgot to say that I love the yellow cup!
Ah! Thank you! I simply adore it and so appreciate the gentle reminder it provides 🙂
There is nothing as relaxing as a stay-cation over the holidays. We had a similar winter break with quiet mornings, good food, reading, and board games. It was lovely.
Congrats on your 2025 reading goal. I have a sizable To-Be-Read list. My husband gifted me the first book in The Witches of Scotland series, so it’s on the list. I’m currently reading “The Light Seers Tarot” and “Thursday Murder Club.”
I hope you have a great weekend.
I’m so glad your break was filled with all the right things 🙂 What a great reading experience you’re having! I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Witches of Scotland series when/if you’d like to share!
I tend to get overwhelmed with my TBR. Last year, when I switched to StoryGraph, I set a goal to limit the To Read Pile to 50 books. That worked for me. So, I just reworked it, again, as we enter 2026.
For years, I’ve been setting my annual reading goal at 40 books and managing somewhere between 40 and 50. Fifty-six is impressive!
Hi Joy! I love the idea of limiting my TBR each year to a set number! I wonder, when you set your limit, how do you keep track of new books you’d like to add once you’ve read what’s already on the list so you don’t forget about them?! Congratulations on all your 2025 reading! Cheers to a fabulous year ahead!
Congratulations on doing such a great job with your reading in 2025! I resisted reading Everything is Tuberculosis last year, but I ended up finding it to be an excellent book. I hope to read more fantasy books next year so I will be watching to see what you might recommend.
Hi Deb! Your comment came through, just fine. Sometimes there’s a weird delay, but I haven’t figured out quite what the problem is yet!
I really enjoyed Everything is Tuberculosis and hope you will, too!
I hope your year is off to a wonderful start!
I am not terribly sure my comment posted…
Hopefully, there is just a short delay.
Wow, you’ve definitely done a lot of reading over 2025! I no longer set reading goals either. Happy 2026!
Thank you, Astrid! Happy 2026!
Happy New Year, Melissa!
Happy New Year!
I keep seeing Everything Is Tuberculosis everywhere – I need to get it on my hold list! Although I admit that the title has scared me away for awhile. ha. But apparently everyone really loves it, so I’m counting on that being the case for me too. 🙂 I loved The Anthropocene Reviewed.
Hi Lisa! Yes, the title of Everything is Tuberculosis conveys a but of an ick or fear factor, but it’s really a wonderful book full of so much history and information. And, as a tiny spoiler (but not really), I am in New Mexico because my Grandma was diagnosed with Tuberculosis in her teens and it was recommended she move here. I learned a lot about the history of NM and TB in this book 🙂
I hope your week and new year are off to a fantastic start!
Happy New Year, Melissa! Love your Storygraph wrap up. I just raced through Dawn by Octavia Butler, which is part of a trilogy, and I am halfway through book 2, Adulthood Rites, now. I am loving it so far. It’s full of aliens!
This was a great 2 week vacation, with lots of celebrations, family, good food, and adventures. But yes I am ready to get back into real life (sort of). Today here in New England it’s below freezing and just rough being outside. I’m indoors sipping coffee and tea, and trying to motivate myself to do my paid work 😉
Happy New Year, Jessica! I hope it’s warmed up a bit for you outside, but being inside sipping warm beverages is the best place to be so… 😉
I have Octavia’s Lilith’s Brood (the three Xenogenesis books in one) on my TBR this year! I got it in 2024 (!) in Denver at a tiny local bookstore and am excited to finally dive in! I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
I hope the week ahead goes smoothly and the paid work gets done easily. Our slide back into the groove has been smooth so far but I *am knocking wood!
Good luck with Lilith’s Brood. I did finish the whole trilogy in (…checks Storygraph…)about 10 days. Once I started I had to know how it ended and I kept waking up so early so I had plenty of reading time! And we did get a string of warmer weather last week, which was a nice break from shivering. Enjoy the groove.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed Lilith’s Brood! I haven’t taken the dive yet, but will this year, for sure!
Yay on your awesome reading!