I completely relate to book buy and reading being hobbies that I enjoy way too much 😅 Oh my goodness! You edition of Phantom of the Opera is stunning 😍😍 I hope you enjoy Godkiller! I've heard mixed reviews about the second and I'm worried to check it out

Best wishes with what you choose to read in 2025. I hope you get some great books with fantastic stories. Happy reading!

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I read Mountain in the Sea earlier this year, it was definitely a 4* read for me. I wanted to make sure you are going into it with the right expectations. Most of the negative reviews seem to be mostly people reading this book with the wrong expectations. Knowing that you have an interest in how the brain works and how it works differently, I think you might find this book interesting as long as you go into it with the right expectations. First, there is no "weird new species that might be alien." Some other reviews that I have seen are people expecting it to be something of a mystery/thriller or people expecting the octopus to be a main character or something. It isn't any of these things. Yes, there is an octopus but it is not a main character. Yes there is murder involved, but it isn't really a mystery or a thriller (except for one scene that is a bit actiony). It is mostly about consciousness and sentience and what it means to be conscious or sentient. It uses 4 POVs to explore the difference and similarities between those concepts in octopus, humans, and AI. This book is truly a Sci-Fi novel in as much as it really is just as much about AI as it is about octopus also the characters are supposed to represent ideas and not really for emotional attachment or fully knowing their motives. I hope this helps!

I am really interested in reading Wool! It's been on my radar for years. Great haul, so many different types of books!

What a great book haul!! & I can’t wait for our buddy read 😊 Maybe in the early months of next year?

LOVE your goal to do low spend for 2025. I'm also doing the same 🤩I definitely agree that reading and book buying are TWO separate hobbies. I am unfortunately into both as well (and I assume many other book lovers). I think I want to read NeuroDiversity! I want to know more and get a better idea about what neurodivergent is. Do you have any other recommendations on it as well? But WOW you definitely did have a lot of books in this haul. 😍 But technically saved money because a good chunk of them were thrifted 😏 I'm not super familiar with many with of the books you talked about except Six of Crows but still an exciting haul -- especially the last book The Phoenix Keeper. The edition IS gorgeous.

Hi Cat! A handful of these are on my TBR. I would also like to read Laziness Does Not Exist and Sorrow and Bliss. I read The Art of Gathering years ago and I loved it and still think about it every time I'm gathering with people. I've been meaning to re-read it. I hear you on the financial goals. 😊

So ominous, your last book haul 😳😂 Great haul though, definitely seems like you’ll be set for a while! It’s so hard to not buy books though, I always want to buy them even though I am overwhelmed by my physical TBR, haha. That little edition of Phantom is so cute!! Secondhand books are just the best, so many good finds! I really want to read The Fifth Season series too, maybe in 2025. And you know I’m so excited you picked up Six of Crows! 😍

Ooooh I was so hoping for a montage of ALL the stickers being removed at the end! 😂 I love the ones that peel off easily, I don’t understand why anyone would ever put anything else on a book! Anywayyy side note! Such a great haul, they all sound like intentional and thought through purchases, which are always fine to me. Although I get the need to spend a bit less, I definitely need to be a bit more mindful next year as well. I think Shawnna at good_tired talked about the mountain under the sea and loved it. I haven’t heard about any of the Swedish books, but they sound good! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on all of these as you get to them! Love the culture gift card as well.

I saw the Notebook Therapy ad on my instagram... and I was SO tempted to get it. Seeing your video just makes me really want to get it 😭 I just stopped browsing the store earlier today... is this video a sign to just buy it?? Love the cute decors you have all over your house for xmas 🧡 and the sound effects LOL.

This was such a lovely vlog, and what a delicious looking banana bread 😊

I still need to finish reading Strong Female Character!

I love that you do a yearly personal review. That's a great idea. I have a love/hate relationship with goals as well. I tend to have very broad goals each year, like 2024 is my Year of Yes. Sometimes I'll have a word for the year. So other goals, more specific goals, tend to form themselves around those bigger goals and I always hold the smaller ones up to the big word/big goal to make sure it's in keeping with what I really want to accomplish. Ooh, getting the inbox to 0 is a GREAT goal. Maybe I should do the same. 🤣

I still haven't made much progress on The Final Empire. I'm enjoying it but I just haven't sat down to pick it up in a while. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Yummm! So cozy! 💖

The Bees sounds so good!!

This was so cozy and right when I saw the 3D puzzle I knew it was Livraria Lello! I’m so happy you got to visit Portugal 💕💕 I love puzzles so much but I’ve never done a 3D one before 💕

I really want to re-read A Winter’s Promise and finish the series next year!! 💕

Love banana bread! Yummmmm

So cozy! 💜

I'm sad that Monstress didn't work out for you. I've really want to read these books. I can't remember which books I read or enjoyed in October. But I do think it was also a bit of a reading slump month 🤣

Loved hearing all your end of year goals!! I hope you’re able to complete them all!

I'm still so sad I wasn't able to participate in Neurovember 🥲things were so busy with moving over to the new house. I'm sorry the Stuff Your Kindle Day book didn't turn out. I'm not sure who does the labels for the books, it might be whoever is "hosting" the event on their website and if they communicated with the authors?

Thank you for bringing The Bees back for me. I have it on my shelves and was excited to read it, but my enthusiasm was spoiled by random comments and I loved hearing you talk about it. 🫶🏽. Cemetery Boys is on my radar and TBR...I was so excited to hear your praise for it! I can't wait to read it. ✨

Wow, what a great month you had! Extra motivation from the challenge of course, but I’m so happy you found some new favorites! I’ve heard about Cemetery Boys, or seen it perhaps, I’m glad you loved it so much!I’m hoping to get to Strong female character next year, there is a title for it at my library, but it says it’s not in, but not on loan either, so I’m hoping they’ve ordered it, as I requested. But last time they did that, they let me know so 🤷‍♀️ I’ll give it some time. I thought it was so fun you tried Afrotistic! I get what you mean, it’s hard to criticize a book like that, but you also don’t have to enjoy it. Like you said, you are probably not the target audience. The cover looks more like a middle grade book to me. The mind’s eye sounds interesting as well, the brain is so cool. Great job with this whole event and your reading for it! 🎉 That’s a really cool achievement 😊 👏👏👏

I love the new bookshelf!! You had such a FULL month. SO MANY BOOKS. With Lady of Dragons, I find that a lot of books now a days just like to slap labels onto the book to bring more hype/reads around it. Especially from the publisher. I'm not a huge fan of it since it'll set me with certain expectations, and I'd feel lied to. Super frustrating. Strong Female Character sounds like an awesome book! I absolutely hate how critical doctors/psychologist are expecting people to fit into the frame 100%. That's so cool that you're listening to Fourth Wing in multiple languages! That's super smart! That's definitely a good way to practice your language -- I might do that for myself as well 🤩Unfortunately, I didn't read much in November, lots of break days & couldn't participate in Neuronovember but I'm excited to participate next year!!

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I loved your October wrap up. 🫶🏽. I was grateful to hear your thoughts on Monstress because I've been curious about it for a long time. I felt very similarly to you about Remarkably Bright Creatures. 🐙

You're not late at all!! Books are never on a timeline 😂 I love your criticism of Healing Season of Pottery. I agree that it's definitely a privilege to stay at home and take a break to find yourself. I... totally forgot about Fate Inked in Blood LOLOL. Thanks for reminding me. Maybe I'll read it by the end of next year. October has been a rough month, and so was November. My average rating went down so much that it put me in a reading slump for December. Luckily it's over with now 🥰

Great wrap up! Seems like a pretty good reading month despite some disappointments. I’m so glad you liked A Fate Inked In Blood overall, I’m hoping to get to that in 2025! I feel like romantasy these days is usually quite predictable unfortunately, haha. And yay for RBC!! Just love that book, so cozy and heartwarming. I wanted more Marcellus too, that’s my only complaint, I could do a whole book of just him, haha. He needs a spinoff novella or something 😉

Love the intro ^^ Seems like you had a couple of meh reads but overall a really good month! Especially with that reread, it sounds really good. I think I have Slow productivity on my want to read, maybe from your tbr video, I can't remember (never can), but I'm not sure when I would actually pick it up, so thanks for reviewing it! I might get something out of it but... I'm not in the mood for nonfiction at the moment (sadly) so it's probably not realistic that I will read it anytime soon! Wishful thinking 😂 The pottery one sounds very frustrating to me haha! I don't know how much it explained her feelings or whatever, but I feel like if you are going to write about a heavier kind of topic, there should at least be some heaviness to it. And not just a cozy little quick fix. Who is that helping? I feel like that just adds to the problem itself, where you feel like you "should" be able to do things but you can't. Or for other people who don't get it, and expect people to shake it off and just go try pottery. I mean that can help but like... you know ^^ I'm annoyed! 😆 I agree about Marcellus, I was expecting more from him too. RBC didn't rock my world, but it was a very sweet story and I'm glad I read it! I probably needed it. It was like those Snickers commercials where someone is not themselves and then they get some chocolate and feel better 😊

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Lovely vlog as always! I love the cat cafe! And the egg tarts? Looks delicious 🤤

Sending this to my husband & family LMAO. These are all super solid ideas that I think would fit many readers!

This was such a beautiful and soothing vlog. ✨🫶🏽

This is so interesting. I want to… decide on a timeline for a BIG project for next year that I still haven’t set a real deadline for. 🎉

These are all such great ideas 😍🥰

Lots of great ideas! 😊 I love that they are all very simple yet creative and personalizable, if that’s a word 😅 I would love a bookish day for a gift, just going with me to browse for books, sit in a cafe to read, or just fix all the food and things at home so I can just read and not worry about anything 😊 I’m a princess like that haha! High maintenance but quite cost effective XD

I NEED that platypus sweater 😍 It's so cute! My fiance and I both got each other embossers without knowing last christmas so it's definitely a great gift for book lovers 😂 I have the same japanese train book nook! Great ideas!!

I cosign all of these ideas! My friend gifted me an embosser a few years ago and it was the best gift ever. My husband bought some book nooks and built them for our bookshelves - I love them. I thought your friendship bracelet idea was really cute and creative. I hadn't thought about making it a bookish gift ... I also loved the personalized bookmark idea. You are a genius gift giver. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Which one is your favorite book idea?

I love the reflections for the end of the year! That's definitely something I want to try to do end of this year but... I didn't really plan anything in 2024. But I'm definitely going to do some reflection haha. If you figure out what to do with cooking and making things easier, definitely let me know as well because... I'm also struggling a lot with it 😅 Maybe you can make a video for putting books in the little libraries? 2 birds 1 stone! Clean out your house, and an extra video for you 🥰 I'm rooting for you to get the 200 subs!! I believe in you 🤩 You reminded me about the photo album, we had professional photos done this year for our "wedding" aka, we paid for professional wedding photos in the wedding dress because we just signed papers for our marriage but I never got around to printing it 🤣 Lots of awesome goals! So maybe my goals might to copy you for (1) printing the album, and (2) doing the reflections!

I want to talk about increasing your KZbin channel and video views. How to improve your video views. Can you give me some time? I will explain to you. Check your email inbox. I have sent the email.,,,,

Same! I have nothing that really solidifies the transition into the new year/Winter for me, but I might say Beartown whenever I get around to it because of the snow 😂You did remind me to add Onyx Storm onto my TBR (I Finally finished Fourth Wing!! I really like the world/setting... but I really didn't like the romance 😳) Which is a shocker to me but personally, I didn't think they had chemistry. Everything else about Fourth Wing though?? Love it. Can't wait to see your plans for 2025!

Seeing other people struggle (with bloopers) while recording makes me feel so much better haha because SAME haha 💕💕 I also want to get a better meal plan system. Including grocery shopping and all the things. I want to try the meal boxes but I feel like they are way too expensive!

Those sound like some great goals. Good luck on achieving all of them! Also, Jolabokaflod sounds lovely 🥰