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Here are ten books scheduled to be released this winter that I’d like to read.

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

Publication Date: January 3

Why It Interests Me: It’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White

Publication Date: January 11

Why It Interests Me: I love the idea of having an organized house, but the actual process of figuring out how to organize things makes me feel anxious and overwhelmed. Maybe this book can help?

This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua

Publication Date: January 17

Why It Interests Me: Dreams don’t always come true…or at least not in the way one thinks they will. My ears perked up when the blurb mentioned this begins after the main character’s application to attend her dream college was rejected. it will be interesting to see what adventures she has as she figures out what to do instead.

Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler

Publication Date: January 17

Why It Interests Me: Stalking is such an interesting (albeit disturbing) topic. I hope this will be a good exploration of what encourages someone to behave that way.

Transitional: How to Live Your Authentic Life by Munroe Bergdorf

Publication Date: February 1

Why It Interests Me:  It’s interesting to read the perspectives of people who have experience gender dysphoria and who have transitioned. I’ve never really had to think about many of the topics they’ve needed to figure out, and I hope to learn all sorts of helpful stuff in this memoir.

Cold People by Tom Rob Smith

Publication Date: February 7

Why It Interests Me: Antarctica is a harsh environment. It would be extremely difficult for people to survive there longterm without regular replenishment of their supplies from the outside world, so I’m curious to see if these characters will figure out how to do it.

The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn

Publication Date: February 7

Why It Interests Me: Losing a friendship can be just as painful as losing a romantic partner, and yet there are very few books that talk about what happens when friends are no longer part of each other’s lives. This looks like a great read.

Venco by Cherie Dimaline

Publication Date: February 7

Why It Interests Me: The thought of a magical spoon makes me giggle. Isn’t it marvellous when authors come up with creative stuff like this?

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Publication Date: February 21

Why It Interests Me: Some paranormal horror stories rely on honestly rather flimsy reasons for characters to want to remain in a home that turns out to be haunted, but I can see how the promise of a large cash prize and a a quiet place to write would be enticing for a lot of people!

My Dear Henry – a Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalyan Bayron

Publication Date: March 7

Why It Interests Me: I’ve never actually read the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. Maybe this will convince me to give it a try so I can compare and contrast these books?

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Since this week’s topic is a freebie post and the holiday season is rapidly approaching, I decided to use it to share some quotes about presents. This is an inclusive topic that can be applied to many different solstice and winter celebrations that are currently happening or will soon be happening.

Literal presents are mentioned in this list, but there are also quotes about the gifts we all sometimes receive in life that can’t be wrapped up or bought in any store.

“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” 

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.” 

― Charles Dickens

“Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” 

― Pablo Picasso

“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.” 

― Eleanor Roosevelt

“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” 

― Émile Zola

“A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return” 

― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita

“If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.” 

― Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby

“Time, as far as my father was concerned, was a gift you gave to other people.” 

― Michelle Obama, Becoming

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All of these series have been on my TBR for ages. Someday I do plan to read them!

1. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) by Rick Riordan

2. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin

3. The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson

5. Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1) by Anne Rice

6. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss

7. Dune (Dune #1) by Frank Herbert

8. Foundation (Foundation, #1) by Isaac Asimov

9. The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

10. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, #1) by Alexander McCall Smith

If you’ve read any of these series, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them.

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Here are ten of my favorite words. I like the way they roll off my tongue.

1. Aurora

2. Idyllic

3. Moiety

4. Scintilla

5. Coalesce

6. Jovial

7. Onomatopoeia

8. Lagoon

9. Dulcet

10.  Zephyr

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Volcanoes were my geographic term of choice for this week’s prompt.

Who else was a little scared of volcanoes when you were a child? I saw so many cartoons about characters falling into them or suddenly being surrounded by lava that I think I believed people in real life experienced the same thing more often than is generally the case, too.

If you’ve ever seen lava or a volcano in person, I’d love to hear your stories about those experiences in the comment section below.

In the meantime, here are ten fiction and non-fiction books that include the word volcano in their titles.

1. A Volcanic Affair by Xanthia Rhodes

2. In the Shadow of the Volcano by Caryn Jenner

3. On The Volcano by James Nelson

4. Volcanoes: Fire and Life by Jon Chad

5. Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount Saint Helens by Patricia Lauber

6. A Private Volcano: A modern novel of science and imagination by Lance Sieveking

7. Aerial Geology: A High-Altitude Tour of North America’s Spectacular Volcanoes, Canyons, Glaciers, Lakes, Craters, and Peaks by Mary Caperton Morton

8. Volcano Watch (Forensic Geology #3) by Toni Dwiggins

9. Ring of Fire: An Encyclopedia of the Pacific Rim’s Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes by Bethany D. Rinard Hinga

10. The House on the Volcano by Virginia Nielsen

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I had some fantastic science teachers in elementary school, but my science teachers in later grades were unfortunately not so good at sharing their love of chemistry, biology, and other topics with their students in ways that I could relate to.

Luckily, adults have much more say in what they learn about, so I have rekindled my appreciation for science with books like these.

1. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

2. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

3. Cosmos by Carl Sagan

4. Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them by Randy Christensen

5. Darwin’s Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott

6. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel

7. The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization by Brian M. Fagan

8. The Vaccine: Inside the Race to Conquer the COVID-19 Pandemic by Joe Miller

9. My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Brian Switek

10. The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise Of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Michael Shnayerson

What did you think of science classes when you were a student? Can you recommend any other nonfiction books about science?