Wednesday Reading Meme
I've started a new challenge! Since my current ones are winding down, I started the Deck of Cards challenge at Crazy Challenge Connection at Goodreads. This one is a teeny bit different: each card has an assigned prompt, and once you have all your cards you have to work on the five in your "hand" before you can move on. Then once you've completed a prompt for one of the cards in your hand, you then shift the next card into the deck into that spot. Something new!
What I Just Finished Reading: Busy week! I read 3 novels, 3 novellas, and 1 short story. I'm busy today so I'm not going to list them here, but reviews below.
I also DNFed Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. I know, I know, it's a classic, but I was sooooo bored.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I've just started The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick, about three people traveling to an experimental retreat that promises to scrub away your grief while you sleep. It's interesting so far.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: Next will be Escape! by Stephen Fishbach, who is a two-time Survivor player who had written a fictional book about... a reality TV show that takes place on an island. Hmmm.
81. And To All A Good Bite by David Rosenfelt
Andy defends a man accused of killing the rich art collector he suspects of causing a fire that killed his girlfriend.
During the fire, Jeff wasn’t able to get to the top floor to save his girlfriend, but he did save a puppy whom he named Rufus, which is of course how he knows Andy. Andy takes care of Rufus while he’s on the case, which is… kind of boring. Andy figures the fire the year before is connected to the crime, but it takes a while to connect the dots. Meanwhile, there’s not really any fun banter and my oh my, are they ever getting blase with Marcus’ death count. (Though that impressive display was probably the best part of the book.)
This is the last currently published tale (with another due in July) and I’m disappointed.
Dates Read: May 19 to 21, 2026
Page Count: 296
3 out of 5 stars
+ Crazy Challenge Potluck - dog on cover (32/50)
82. Gringos and Flamingos by Scott Nelson
A Kiwi and his wife travel through South America.
In this short and sparse non-fiction tale, Scott and his wife travel through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. While Scott is a decent writer, I felt like I’d been thrown into about chapter 4 of the story. No lead-up to how they got there, no idea who anybody is, just right into a trek from one dirt poor village to the next, with references to The Book (still don’t know what travel guide they were using.)
Some parts of the book were really interesting, like visiting church catacombs in Lima or getting a tour of a working prison by one of the actual prisoners. But mostly it’s a progression through overwhelming squalor and poverty, where dead dogs litter the roadside and people defecate in the dirt. And the travels felt exploitive, as the author basically admits he realized at the end of the book.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 117
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - set in Peru (32/46)
83. Unknown Caller by Lisa Unger
A crisis hotline worker thinks she is being stalked by someone from her past.
Charlie is a suicide prevention style worker who had a tragic event in her past. This short story jumps between her time in high school when she was struggling with friendships and loneliness and the current day, when a caller seems to know her secrets.
At first I was super hyped for this because I could envision a couple of really good possible twists. But in the end Ms.Unger went with a pretty straightforward and extremely predictable story that was telegraphed from the get-go. I knew exactly what was going to happen, so I was very disappointed. The overall message also came across as very preachy.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 66
2 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - title starts with U (33/46)
84. Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood
A centuries-old vampire finds herself stuck with an amnesiac slayer.
This is such a fun little story. Vampire Ethel has been around for hundreds of years, but she’s retained her playful spirit and joy for (un)life. Slayers are trained for years and made immortal to hunt vampires, and this particular slayer named Lazlo has been on Ethel’s case for centuries. When he gets hit in the head he can’t remember who he is, and before you can say “enemies to lovers,” well…
I absolutely adored exuberant Ethel and her quick-thinking escapes, and the initial part of the story and her growing friendship with Lazlo I also loved. Things got a little pear-shaped for me when Lazlo started getting all up in Ethel’s space. I can tend to find that “big guy crowding smaller person” thing creepy if not done right, and with this being a novella there just wasn’t the set-up for it. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 94
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - red cover (34/46)
85. Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson
A woman finds the course of her life changed due to an encounter on an elevator.
Tam is acting director of a grocery chain when the board of directors brings in an outside (male) source for the actual job. She expects to be fired, only to discover that he admires her work. His compliments and a renewed friendship from her past find Tam contrasting her former life as a free-spirited boho type with her now buttoned-down and bland life with clout-chasing family and a controlling fiancee.
I really liked Tam as a compassionate, savvy businesswoman and had a hard time reconciling that Tam with the meek version of herself at home. Though I suppose that’s the point, that women don’t realize the slow progression of control and justify the actions instead of seeing it for what it is. It still made some sections of this novella hard to stomach. The feel-good ending really worked, but I could have done without the final resolution between Tam and her boss, which I felt really diluted the point of her empowerment.
Date Read: May 23, 2026
Page Count: 128
4 out of 5 stars
86. Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart
Astronauts returning from a groundbreaking trip to Titan find things are subtly different on Earth upon their return.
If you’ve ever debated whether it was really Berenstein Bears and not Berenstain Bears, this is the book for you! Billionaire Jack Ward is working with NASA to send an exploratory vessel to Titan in hopes of colonization. Among them are three astronauts, an untrained astrophysicist, and two civilians: Ryan, who saved Jack from an assassination attempt, and Stitch, the laidlack winner of a lottery to go into space.
All of the six are so different, and I loved them all. (Well, maybe not Mike.) We follow their home lives and prep, their friendship, and eventually the found family that they become. But weirdness abounds when they get home. Ryan’s wife is missing her appendectomy scar, for one thing.
The six are desperate to find answers, and the conspiracy grows and grows, and so does the tension. Expertly written, this had me on the edge of my seat.
Warning: this is the first book and the sequel doesn’t come out until January, so there is no resolution here. I’ll be on that January waiting list, though!
Dates Read: May 23 to 24, 2026
Page Count: 296
5 out of 5 stars
+ Crazy Challenge Potluck - published 2025 or 2026 (33/50)
+ Crazy Challenge Deck of Cards - wealthy character (01/52)
87. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Mma. Precious Ramotswe uses her inheritance to open the first ladies’ detective agency in Botswana.
There are no crazy mysteries or wild twists here. Just a sweet, gentle story about a proud woman who loves her country, who made bad choices early in life and is resolved not to repeat them, who stands up for herself and for others, and who relishes her independence as a newly minted detective. I loved Precious.
There’s something about this book that is so relaxing. I just sunk into the slow rhythm of the prose that matched life in Botswana, and I enjoyed the mostly straightforward cases that Precious took on. This was a nice change and I quite enjoyed it.
Dates Read: May 24 to 25, 2026
Page Count: 235
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - set in Africa (35/46)
+ Crazy Challenge Deck of Cards - character who is father of at least one daughter (02/52)
.
What I Just Finished Reading: Busy week! I read 3 novels, 3 novellas, and 1 short story. I'm busy today so I'm not going to list them here, but reviews below.
I also DNFed Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. I know, I know, it's a classic, but I was sooooo bored.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I've just started The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick, about three people traveling to an experimental retreat that promises to scrub away your grief while you sleep. It's interesting so far.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: Next will be Escape! by Stephen Fishbach, who is a two-time Survivor player who had written a fictional book about... a reality TV show that takes place on an island. Hmmm.
81. And To All A Good Bite by David Rosenfelt
Andy defends a man accused of killing the rich art collector he suspects of causing a fire that killed his girlfriend.
During the fire, Jeff wasn’t able to get to the top floor to save his girlfriend, but he did save a puppy whom he named Rufus, which is of course how he knows Andy. Andy takes care of Rufus while he’s on the case, which is… kind of boring. Andy figures the fire the year before is connected to the crime, but it takes a while to connect the dots. Meanwhile, there’s not really any fun banter and my oh my, are they ever getting blase with Marcus’ death count. (Though that impressive display was probably the best part of the book.)
This is the last currently published tale (with another due in July) and I’m disappointed.
Dates Read: May 19 to 21, 2026
Page Count: 296
3 out of 5 stars
+ Crazy Challenge Potluck - dog on cover (32/50)
82. Gringos and Flamingos by Scott Nelson
A Kiwi and his wife travel through South America.
In this short and sparse non-fiction tale, Scott and his wife travel through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. While Scott is a decent writer, I felt like I’d been thrown into about chapter 4 of the story. No lead-up to how they got there, no idea who anybody is, just right into a trek from one dirt poor village to the next, with references to The Book (still don’t know what travel guide they were using.)
Some parts of the book were really interesting, like visiting church catacombs in Lima or getting a tour of a working prison by one of the actual prisoners. But mostly it’s a progression through overwhelming squalor and poverty, where dead dogs litter the roadside and people defecate in the dirt. And the travels felt exploitive, as the author basically admits he realized at the end of the book.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 117
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - set in Peru (32/46)
83. Unknown Caller by Lisa Unger
A crisis hotline worker thinks she is being stalked by someone from her past.
Charlie is a suicide prevention style worker who had a tragic event in her past. This short story jumps between her time in high school when she was struggling with friendships and loneliness and the current day, when a caller seems to know her secrets.
At first I was super hyped for this because I could envision a couple of really good possible twists. But in the end Ms.Unger went with a pretty straightforward and extremely predictable story that was telegraphed from the get-go. I knew exactly what was going to happen, so I was very disappointed. The overall message also came across as very preachy.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 66
2 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - title starts with U (33/46)
84. Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood
A centuries-old vampire finds herself stuck with an amnesiac slayer.
This is such a fun little story. Vampire Ethel has been around for hundreds of years, but she’s retained her playful spirit and joy for (un)life. Slayers are trained for years and made immortal to hunt vampires, and this particular slayer named Lazlo has been on Ethel’s case for centuries. When he gets hit in the head he can’t remember who he is, and before you can say “enemies to lovers,” well…
I absolutely adored exuberant Ethel and her quick-thinking escapes, and the initial part of the story and her growing friendship with Lazlo I also loved. Things got a little pear-shaped for me when Lazlo started getting all up in Ethel’s space. I can tend to find that “big guy crowding smaller person” thing creepy if not done right, and with this being a novella there just wasn’t the set-up for it. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one.
Date Read: May 22, 2026
Page Count: 94
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - red cover (34/46)
85. Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson
A woman finds the course of her life changed due to an encounter on an elevator.
Tam is acting director of a grocery chain when the board of directors brings in an outside (male) source for the actual job. She expects to be fired, only to discover that he admires her work. His compliments and a renewed friendship from her past find Tam contrasting her former life as a free-spirited boho type with her now buttoned-down and bland life with clout-chasing family and a controlling fiancee.
I really liked Tam as a compassionate, savvy businesswoman and had a hard time reconciling that Tam with the meek version of herself at home. Though I suppose that’s the point, that women don’t realize the slow progression of control and justify the actions instead of seeing it for what it is. It still made some sections of this novella hard to stomach. The feel-good ending really worked, but I could have done without the final resolution between Tam and her boss, which I felt really diluted the point of her empowerment.
Date Read: May 23, 2026
Page Count: 128
4 out of 5 stars
86. Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart
Astronauts returning from a groundbreaking trip to Titan find things are subtly different on Earth upon their return.
If you’ve ever debated whether it was really Berenstein Bears and not Berenstain Bears, this is the book for you! Billionaire Jack Ward is working with NASA to send an exploratory vessel to Titan in hopes of colonization. Among them are three astronauts, an untrained astrophysicist, and two civilians: Ryan, who saved Jack from an assassination attempt, and Stitch, the laidlack winner of a lottery to go into space.
All of the six are so different, and I loved them all. (Well, maybe not Mike.) We follow their home lives and prep, their friendship, and eventually the found family that they become. But weirdness abounds when they get home. Ryan’s wife is missing her appendectomy scar, for one thing.
The six are desperate to find answers, and the conspiracy grows and grows, and so does the tension. Expertly written, this had me on the edge of my seat.
Warning: this is the first book and the sequel doesn’t come out until January, so there is no resolution here. I’ll be on that January waiting list, though!
Dates Read: May 23 to 24, 2026
Page Count: 296
5 out of 5 stars
+ Crazy Challenge Potluck - published 2025 or 2026 (33/50)
+ Crazy Challenge Deck of Cards - wealthy character (01/52)
87. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Mma. Precious Ramotswe uses her inheritance to open the first ladies’ detective agency in Botswana.
There are no crazy mysteries or wild twists here. Just a sweet, gentle story about a proud woman who loves her country, who made bad choices early in life and is resolved not to repeat them, who stands up for herself and for others, and who relishes her independence as a newly minted detective. I loved Precious.
There’s something about this book that is so relaxing. I just sunk into the slow rhythm of the prose that matched life in Botswana, and I enjoyed the mostly straightforward cases that Precious took on. This was a nice change and I quite enjoyed it.
Dates Read: May 24 to 25, 2026
Page Count: 235
4 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges Penguins - set in Africa (35/46)
+ Crazy Challenge Deck of Cards - character who is father of at least one daughter (02/52)
.