The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-30-25

Posted on November 30, 2025December 2, 2025 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

George is back! Or, actually, George’s back. Technically, this picture isn’t really about George even though it is. It’s about what George is watching through the catio screen. From early spring to late fall, the view from the catio is trees. All trees. ALL THE TREES. We have no grass in the backyard – and not much in the front either – because there are SO MANY TREES. Now that it’s late fall, the leaves have all fallen, and there’s a new vista for the cats to visually explore – the neighboring backyards on the other side of the creek. It’s a brand new season for ‘Kitty Television’ and George seems fascinated. Not that the others aren’t interested but George is just all about watching anything new, and he’s very serious about being on overwatch for EVERYTHING.

Today also marks the end of the Thanksgiving weekend AND the very last day of the penultimate (next-to-the-last) month of the year. Tomorrow is December 1st, and the holiday season has now truly begun.

This year’s #HoHoHoReadathon is off to a fine start, with the Holiday Bingo Board on Wednesday and my review of the historical holiday-themed mystery, A Season for Spies (with a GIVEAWAY!), kicking off my participation in the event. (If you haven’t signed up for the #Readathon, just hop on over to Caffeinated Reviewer and join the fun. There’s still plenty of time to read your way to the holidays and participate in the giveaways!) Not every day during the #Readathon is going to feature a holiday story here at Reading Reality, but most will. It looks like most of the holiday books I picked up this year are holiday mysteries instead of holiday romances, so there’s going to be as much holiday mayhem as holiday cheer this time around. Then again, some holiday seasons are just like that!

Current Giveaways:

$5 Gift Card in A Season for Spies Black Friday Giveaway
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Fall 2025 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop
$10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in the Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Holiday Giveaway Event!

Blog Recap:

A- #BookReview: Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade
A- #AudioBookReview: 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi
2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon Holiday Book Bingo Challenge
Thanksgiving Day 2025: #GuestPost
B #BookReview: A Season for Spies by Iona Whishaw + #Giveaway
Stacking the Shelves (681)

Coming This Week:

Holly Jolly Giveaway Hop
The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah and Agatha Christie (#BookReview, #2025HoHoHoRat)
A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (#AudioBookReview, #2025HoHoHoRat)
We Will Rise Again edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz and Malka Older (#BookReview)
A Christmas Witness by Charles Todd (#BookReview, #2025HoHoHoRat)

2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon Holiday Book Bingo Challenge

Posted on November 26, 2025November 25, 2025 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | book reviews> Giveaways> Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon

Welcome to the Holiday Book Bingo Challenge portion of the 2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon, hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer!

The sign-up page for the #2025HoHoHoRAT can be found here – and you’ll definitely want to find it so you can participate in ALL of the Elves’ Challenges.

The challenge here at Reading Reality is a Book Bingo. Complete one BINGO! (row, column, diagonal or four-corners) to be entered into my $15 Amazon Gift Card giveaway (International winners can receive either an equivalent gift card from their local Amazon or a book from Better World Books). More bingos equals more entries, and a coverall (complete the board) gets you even more entries!

When you complete a bingo, either comment on this post to let me know which line or bingo you’ve completed and with what books, or tag me on Instagram @reading_reality (that’s “reading underscore reality”) using the hashtag #2025HoHoHoRAT so I’m sure to get your entry. (Please be sure to include your link number from the sign up page HERE at Caffeinated Reviewer. Anyone can participate in the challenge but you must sign up for the Readathon to be eligible for the giveaway.)

This year’s Bingo Board is a 4X4 square. The bad news is that a 4X4 square doesn’t have a convenient central square for a FREE SPACE. The good news is that this time around there are TWO FREE SPACES in opposite corners, making that Four Corners Bingo easy-peasy.

Only one book per square and only one square per book. A Christmas mystery romance audiobook ARC with snow on the cover AND in the title cannot be used to fill six boxes. Sorry not sorry.)

Let’s play BINGO!

PARTICIPANT GIVEAWAY

Claim your bingos here! (There should be a line for each bingo to claim and each bingo gets you more chances.)

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-23-25

Posted on November 23, 2025November 22, 2025 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

This was a TERRIFIC reading week – even though it was very little like the reading week I expected. C’est la reading vie.

In upcoming big news, the 2025 Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon begins Wednesday. I’m already putting the final touches on the ‘Holiday Book Bingo Board’ I’m posting this year. But that’s not UNTIL Wednesday, so there’s still plenty of time for participants to sign up over at Caffeinated Reviewer! This is definitely a case of the more the merrier, so come be merry with us!

Today’s cat picture represents the exhaustion of the run-up to the holidays. Well, it does for humans. For the cats, it’s a successful attempt at holding their favorite human in place, at home, where he belongs, so that they can use him as a backrest and ‘security human’ for the night. Every night!