Top Reasons Why My TBR List Never Ever Shrinks

Libraries!

recommendations and assistance from knowledgeable librarians and staff
eye-catching displays
everything's free (for accounts in good standing:-), including access to ebooks & audiobooks, streaming content...

[collage images from top to bottom, then left to right: 1. an assortment of LGBTQUIA+ non-fiction titles arranges on a 3-tiered round wooden display shelf 2. "Celebrate Pride" sign atop the same 3-tiered display from a different angle showing an assortment of fiction and non-fiction titles 3. cover art for The Dreadful Duke by Grace Burrowes 4. cover art for Not Bad for a Girl by Anastasia Ryan 5. cover art for The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo]

Teasers

excerpts from the next installment in a series or from other authors at the end of books

[4 paperback books: Earls Trip by Jenny Holliday and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, both aranged with their spines up; For the Wolf & For the Throne - both by Hannah Whitten (and requested after reading an excerpt at the end of another awesome Kimberly Lemming book), with front cover art of women in profile wearing cloaks, facing up

Online Book Reviewers, My Own Book-Hoarding Tendencies, New Releases from Authors Whose Work Was Previously Reviewed by Me, Sentimental Favorites, Intriguing Non-fiction Topics

hooked by contagious enthusiasm
joyous privilege of proximity to lots of books
prior good reading experiences grant benefit of the doubt
guaranteed comfort reads
opportunities to expand the scope of understanding the world - past, present & future

[3 images clockwise: 1. a horizontal bookstack from top to bottom - For the Wolf, For the Throne, You Should Be So Lucky, Earls Trip 2. two horizontal bookstacks 3. The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby, People in Glass Houses by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle]

[cover art for Teacher by James Eric Riley]

Comments

Tapping into Your Power

The following two books celebrate powerful characters who overcome their fears to manifest their greatness for the benefit of themselves, their loved ones and communities. So satisfying. [2 books from left to right: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff] A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna contemporary speculative romance Berkeley, July 2025 Sera's story of navigating otherness was worth the wait. The advantages, responsibilities, and consequences of being powerful are explored with nuanced observations, humor, and compassion. Themes on distinctions between family by blood, choice, and intention weave throughout this poignant tale about paying attention and recognizing personal details as fundamental to the evolution of one's perspective on who and what are valuable. One of my favorite passages from the end of chapter nineteen: Like this was a thing that had, somehow, become...

Beach Reads That Sizzle (in Many Ways)

It's a miracle that so many actual and imagined human young survive into adulthood, and then on to old age. The following books offer entertaining and provocative tales of challenges, misadventures, and triumphs. [a collage of 4 images: upper left - It Had to Be You hardcover Thorndike Press large print edition set on the edge of a small table between 2 chairs; upper right - a "BEACH" tote bag in a striped beach chair along with a paperback ARC of Up in Smoke; lower left - a paperback copy of An Evening at the Hotel on a wood table next to a beach umbrella; lower right - a paperback copy of All Super-Heroes Need PR] All Super-Heroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens contemporary speculative romance Amazon Publishing, May 2025 Vanessa's story delivers a riveting aliens-among-us origin story, a fake romance with unexpected twists, and nuanced workplace interpersonal dynamics that offer drama, humor, razor sharp social commentary, and visceral memories of past chi...

TWWBF Grand Finale Gratitude & More Books

The 6th and grand finale The Write Women Book Fest 2025 event last weekend was phenomenal! It exceeded our most ambitious hopes during these very challenging times. Many, many heartfelt thanks to the each of the featured authors, tabling authors & their assistants, TWWBF Poet Laureate Aressa V. Williams, performing poets, storytime readers in the children's area, narrators, author and publishing services professionals... Special thanks to the 2/3 of the TBR Trio who attended, a dynamic IG influencer, and each and every attendee who engaged with participants and bought books and merch. And to the volunteers, Bowie Comfort Inn staff, the team at South Bowie Branch Library, and as always, our conscientious, tireless team of dedicated TWWBF voluntolders, expressions of gratitude beyond words! [a "The Write Women Book Fest" journal, a tote bag with "Maria Secoy Romantic Suspense" and a smaller "Thank you" tote bag] [a collage of 3 images: left - pla...

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