I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney

I've had a couple of books by Ellen Forney on my reading wishlist for quite a while. I Love Led Zeppelin was one of them. 

I read the ebook edition of I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney, which is a comic book that is (semi??) autobiographical in nature.

I Love Led Zeppelin is different than what I thought it would be. I thought it was a graphic novel with a plot that revolved around someone who loves the band, Led Zeppelin. 

Instead, I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney is a series of comics she has written alone or in collaboration with others. It's also (ssemi??) autobiographical, which isn't what I expected either.

Some of the various comics were good, some were so-so, and others were simply meh. This was my third read for 2026.

Below is more about I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney from the author's website:

Eisner-nominated I Love Led Zeppelin collects full-page comics published in magazines and weekly newspapers, including the L.A. Weekly, Seattle's The Stranger, and BUST Magazine. Stories include "How to Smoke Pot and Stay Out of Jail,” "How to Twirl Your Tassels In Opposite Directions,” "How to Sew an Amputated Finger Back On,” and "The Final Soundtrack," a death fantasy involving blood, glamour, and Led Zeppelin, and collaborations with Margaret Cho, Kristin Gore, Camille Paglia, and Dan Savage. Introduction by Sherman Alexie.

I am giving I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Check Out the Psychology Behind Reading Several Books at Once!

 

I usually read several books at a time. I fall into categories one and two. What about you? Do you read multiple books at once? If so, which category do you fall into?

Top Ten Tuesday - New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2025!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to read several books by new to me authors. Below are the top ten authors whom I enjoyed reading books written by the most in 2025.

1. Samantha Hunt

2. Erle Stanley Gardner

3. Ekwaeke Emezi

4. R. J. Palacio

5. Charlotte McConaghy

6. Hilary Green

7. Patti Callahan

8. Juliet Blackwell

9. Marie Benedict

10. Oyinkan Braithwaite

Which authors topped your list of new to you authors in 2025?

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is my second read of 2026! I listened to the unabridged audio version of this novel through Hoopla for a book club pick later on this month. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is a long listen at 16 hours, 15 minutes, which is very nicely narrated by Moira Quick.

Normally, I don't gravitate towards reading science fiction or fantasy reads. They're usually not my thing. However, this year, I decided to join a book club, which meets monthly and Gideon the Ninth was this month's pick to read and discuss.

There are pros and cons for for me in terms of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. 

I loved the world building and the mystery involved in this novel. The writing is good overall. The narration for the audio edition is excellent. I also enjoyed the snarkiness of the leading character, Gideon. 

I disliked the fact that it was initially difficult for me to get onto this novel for two reasons. Reason one is that there were so many characters with odd names to keep track of and they had nicknames or were called by different names throughout the novel, that trying to keep track of who was who was a chore. At the start of the audiobook edition, there is a list of characters and who they are, but this is not easy to refer like it would be in a physical book or ebook. Additionally, I found it difficult initially to figure out the storyline for this science fiction/fantasy read, which was kind of a turn off for me. It wasn't until several chapters in when the storyline FINALLY became interesting to me.

Below is the publisher's summary for Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir from Chirp's website:

The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense. Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.

I am giving Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is the first novel in the 'Locked Tomb' series. I will be skipping the rest of the novels in the series. It's a great read if you like great world building, mystery, fantasy or science fiction books. There just is not strong desire for me to finish this series.

Until my next post, happy reading!

MORE NEW TO ME LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES IN LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA!! ROUND TWO!!

Once again, my husband and I found ourselves in Livermore, California this weekend. 

We found five new to us Little Free Libraries while in Livermore yesterday. We could have found more of them, but it was starting to grow darker and colder. We stopped for the evening and enjoyed an early dinner.

We only left and took books from three of the five Little Free Libraries we found this weekend.

Below are our latest Little Free Library finds. Enjoy!!

This LFL seems to be popular with Bookcrossers.

This LFL is cute!

This LFL is cute and had dog treats and a water bowl for dog walkers. Only books for children.

Another cute LFL with nice landscaping surrounding it.

A very small LFL!! Nothing interesting in terms of books to bring home with me.

Have you found any Little Free Libraries lately?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Seven New to Me Little Free Libraries in Livermore, California!!

This was the 1st LFL we found. It had a ton of books, but none that I wanted.

 

This LFL was pretty picked over and had mostly books for kids.

I found 3 books from this LFL to take home with me and left 3 books inside.

This was the last LFL find for the day. Cute, there were no books I wanted.

This was my favorite LFL find for the day! So unique!

This is one of the smallest LFLs I've encountered.

I love seeing repurposed objects being used as LFLs! This one was messy inside though.

Over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, my husband and I found seven new to us Little Free Libraries in Livermore, California!! 

We've found plenty of Little Free Libraries in Livermore over the years the past 12 years (approximately 19 of them). There are still plenty of Little Free Libraries we haven't visited yet in Livermore, California.

So many Little Libraries to find, so little time it seems to find more!! 

Earlier this month, I revisited two local LFLs and  dropped off books for other to find.

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Goals For 2026

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Below are my ten bookish goals for 2026!!

1. Read 52 books (or more) in 2026!!

I read 83 books in 2025, so I should be able to reach this reading goal.

2. Join and participate in a book club this year

I've taken part in various book clubs over the years, but I have never participated in one long term.

The good news is that I have signed up to participate in a book club through my local public library, which occurs on a monthly basis. I hope to enjoy both the novels featured for this book club and also the people I will be interacting with during the book.

3. Make more use of the services provided by the public library

I've signed up for both Kanopy and Hoopla. I look forward to using both programs to watch movies and read or listen to books. In fact, I will be listening to the audio version of the book selected for the public library book club I will be attending. I am already using Kanopy, but would like to make more use of it more in 2026.

4. Read twelve physical books from my 'tbr' pile

I have plenty of digital books in the form of ebooks and audiobooks. But it is time I return to reading and move some of my physical books along by leaving them inside various Little Free Libraries.

5. Knit either a genre snake or genre baby blanket

Okay, here's the explanation for number five. I am an avid knitter as well as an avid reader. So, I would like to combine my two favorite hobbies in a meaningful way.. Based on the various genres I read last year in 2025, I would like to knit either a striped snake plushie using different colors to represent the various genres I read in 2025. Or knit a striped baby blanket using different colors to represent the various genres I read for this blanket. Which idea sounds more appealing - a  snake plushie or a baby blanket?

6. Buddy read in February 2026

I have paired up to read Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates with another avid reader! This will be my first time doing a buddy read. I look forward to reading a book with another person and discussing the book as we read it. I'd love to have another book buddy lined up later in the year!

7. Learn skills to create a podcast

It's been a dream of mine to start a bookish podcast and grow my audience in a different way. Our public library had offered a six-week podcast essentials workshop later this year, but it has been cancelled. So, now I will be looking into other options.

8. Social Media Ambassador for our public library

On New Year's Eve, I signed up to be a Social Media Ambassador for our public library!! It will be a low key way to help promote our public library by sharing what I love about the public library itself, promote library events, and so on. I am excited about participating and promoting our public library.

9. Create an Online Book Group/Club

I am not sure how this would/will play out exactly quite yet. This online book group/club would be a focused/themed club in terms of topic. Ideas include reading all Joyce Carol Oates novels, historical fiction novels, cozy mystery novels, The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, the Perry Mason series of novels by Erle Stanley Gardner, indie published books, etc.  Or something similar.

Is anyone interested in this type of small group reading club?

10. Attend an in person author event

Prior to the pandemic, I use to attend live author events and book festivals regularly until the pandemic hit. Now all the author events I've attended have been virtual ones. I'd like to start attending author events again in person this year. Granted, they'd have to be ones I am interested in attending.

What are your bookish goals in 2026?

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!!

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. today and always. I really enjoyed reading and highly recommend reading Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Here's what I really enjoyed learning about over the course of reading Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.:

* Learn the Civil Rights Movement through Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and perspective.
* Read a detailed history of the Civil Rights Movement with special emphasis on Birmingham, Alabama, which in 1963 was the most racially segregated city in the USA at the time.
* MLK, Jr. goes on to describe why 1963 was the right time for the 'Negro Revolution' to begin and he also emphasized why the Birmingham Campaign was the perfect starting point for this revolution.
* MLK, Jr. also describe's what direct nonviolent action is, why it was used, and why it is so powerful.
* Read MLK's letter from jail in Birmingham, Alabama, which was his response to a published statement by eight clergymen who felt King's activities at the time were 'unwise and untimely'. Not everyone agreed with how to proceed/move forward, which is also discussed in the book
* MLK, Jr. emphasized 'Why We Can't Wait' was so important.
* The afterward by Jesse L. Jackson was also worth the read as well.
* And so much more!

I really learned so much through reading Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. The information I've learned through reading Why We Can't Wait has only enriched my understanding of American history as it pertains to the Civil Rights Movement.

Click on the above link to read my full review for Why We Can't Wait.

Happy National Thesaurus Day!!