I probably don't need to say this, but will say it anyway. Whatta year!  Given that this month's theme focuses on humor, I thought I'd offer up lists of humorous reads for your consideration. After all, laughter is the best medicine, right? And a great stress-reliever. Or so they say. (And who is "they" anyway...? Oh, never mind! Blame my digression on the caffeine-fueled hamster-powered wheels of my brain.) Before I start listing, let me point you to this Blood Red Pencil interview  with romantic comedy author Rich Amooi . A former Silicon Valley radio personality and wedding DJ, Rich now writes romantic comedies full-time. And if romantic comedies are your forte, after checking out Rich's website  you might want to pop over to this Popsugar list: 25 Fluffy Romance Novels That Will Make Your Heart Feel So Full .  On to other lists, starting with genre-specific and non-fiction. I tried to pick lists that were created (or at least updated) this year, just to ha...

Right on the heels of our month exploring humor (September) is our month on FEAR (October). So hang onto your hats, turn on the lights, and muffle the screams (or not), because I've rounded up some lists of scary reads for you to indulge in (or avoid).  Let's start at the top and go all out with Daryl Chen's 20 Scariest Books of All Times over at the Reader's Digest site. The post includes covers and short summaries, so you can pick and choose how you prefer your frights. Stephen King is well represented in the previous list, and his works appear as well in Buzzfeed's 23 Books That are Actually Really, Really Scary . ADDENDUM : King also appears prominently in another Buzzfeed article: 23 Books That Actually Freaked People Out So Badly, They Had To Stop Reading. (And here's a shout-out to my local indie bookstore, Towne Center Books , for mentioning this particular list. Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay Okay, I'm officially freaked o...

Since we are focusing on the humorous side of things this month at the Blood Red Pencil, it's only right that I provide some light-hearted reading possibilities for your consideration. Let's start with mysteries (because I am all about the mysteries). Stop, You're Killing Me! Has a great list of humorous mysteries . The list is alphabetical by author, starting with Douglas Adams and ending with Sue Owens Wright.  Parker Memorial Library (no relation!) in Massachusetts includes a list of humorous mysteries for you to peruse.  Listopia over at Goodreads has a Humorous Mysteries list also (of course!), with 227 books.   But that's NOTHING compared to the 2,916 books on the Listopia Humorous Romance Books list.  You can also check out the list over at Fiction Obsessed on Best Funny Romance Novels to Read . Image by Prawny from Pixabay To building family bonding over belly laughs, you might want to glance through one of the following lists...

It may be the end of July, but the reading never stops. For your browsing pleasure, please check out the lists below. You'll probably find plenty to add to your TBR (to-be-read) virtual or paper-based stacks of books for the rest of summer and beyond. The Booklist Reader has a list of authors and books to tackle for various July events, including Canada Day, the Fourth of July, P.T. Barnum's birthday, and Bastille Day. (Note: the list is nine years old, but hey, some authors never go out of date.) BookBrowse lists their Best book for July 2019 . You'll find all kinds and flavors here. Click on a cover to learn more about a particular book. For the Fourth of July, the Cincinnati Public Library has recommendations for all ages and tastes. To stretch the timeframe a bit, Listopia's Best Children's Books about Summer provides plenty for small fry to devour—251 books in all. Now, to mysteries, because that's my favorite genre.  The Cozy Mystery List Blog ...

It's JUNE, the start of summer and perhaps a little more reading time for us all. If you delve into this list of June holidays , there's a mountain of holiday themes to plan your reading around. So, without further ado, here are a few holiday-themed June reading lists. Earlier this month, BRP blogger Maryann Miller offered up some Father's Day reads . Here are a few additional lists to consider: The Cozy Mystery List has a goodly sample right here .  Mystery Fanfare never lets me down, and won't let you down either. Here are some offerings for Father's Day .   Goodreads Listopia has a Fathers: Good, Bad and Surrogate list of books to consider.  Another Listopia has 260 picture books about fathers for the younger set.   Now, how about the rest of the month? Well, June is Gay Pride month. Image by Jasmin Sessler from Pixabay Hold your rainbow flag high with pride with these book lists: The McQuade Library created a Listopia of the LGBTQIA ...

The many faces of April, from April Fool's Day to Easter to "April showers bring May flowers." Claude Shafer   (The Tacoma Times), Public Domain   As we close in on the end of April, I figure we can't turn our backs on the month without a quick look at what books might be out there with an April Fool's theme. Let's start with mysteries. (After all, mysteries are basically designed to mess with readers' minds, and then jump out, shouting "Fooled you!" at the end.) We have this handful from the Cozy Mystery List . Hurray for Janet Rudolph, whose Mystery Fanfare blog always comes through for holiday/special day reads. April's Fool's is no exception .  Moving away from murder and mayhem... The blog Borrow.Read.Repeat. offers " Laugh-out-loud reads " for April Fool's Day. Listopia has Hoover Library's Insatiable Reads' April Fools (It's Always Good to Laugh) list, including Howl: A collection of the ...

Just because St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, it doesn't mean we can't read books with a bit of a "green theme." Other holidays in March offer some themes as well. How about Pi Day (March 14?) or the Ides of March (March 15)? Or spring equinox (March 20)? Sooooo let's see what's out there to whet your reading appetite. Let's start with St. Patrick's. Wear (or plant?) some green this month. National Library of Ireland on The Commons [No restrictions] The Cozy Mystery List site has a roll-call of St. Paddy's Day mysteries . And, of course, Mystery Fanfare offers up St. Patrick's Day crime fiction from cozy to noir, with recommendations of Irish crime writers thrown in for good measure. The holiday seems to invite romance. Why is that, do you think? Here is the Listopia link for 123 romance books for St. Patrick's Day. Check out the "Shamrocks and Clovers" book list —some for kids, some for adults. For the kidd...

Home to Thanksgiving. George Henry Durrie [Public domain] Published by Currier and Ives. Thanksgiving is upon us—the season for gratitude and overeating in the good old U.S. of A. So, while you are digesting pumpkin pie and partaking of spiced cider (or perhaps something stronger), why not curl up with a good book and nourish your mind and imagination? Here are some lists where you can find Thanksgiving-themed stories, from mysteries to children's books to romances and more…  Let's start with Murder & Mayhem , because, well, why not? They have a delicious list of seven mysteries to start off our feast .  Where would we be without a plethora of offerings from the Cozy Mystery List ? Probably starving!  Here is Mystery Fanfare with some additional tasty entrees in the mystery genre. Moving beyond mysteries, Goodreads will definitely provide you with plenty to chew on. Let's start with their " Listopia list of Listopia lists " for Thanksgiving-...

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 12 (the actual date being November 11), but why limit thinking about and honoring our veterans on just a single day? And how about reading a book (or two) that would help us learn more about and appreciate the men and women who have served and are serving their country? The following lists offer some possibilities for you to consider. I'll start with mystery-related reads, since mysteries are "my thing": Mystery Fanfare by Janet Rudolph salutes Veterans Day mysteries in this post , mentioning Jacqueline Winspear's series with protagonist Maise Dobbs (a World War I nurse veteran), as well as Charles Todd's two series featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge (post-World War I) and battlefield nurse Bess Crawford (World War I). You can read more of her suggestions here .  A 2007 In Reference to Murder post by BV Lawson highlighting mystery series for Veterans Day includes the series by John D. MacDonald featuring Travis McGee, a...

It’s October— the nights are getting longer and colder, and thoughts turn to ghosts, pumpkins (pies or Jack-o-Lanterns or headless horsemen ), and the great beyond. If you are looking for a season-appropriate book to snuggle up with on Halloween, keep reading for places to start your exploration. Online mystery lists are a great place to find Halloween-themed stories, from the cozy end of the spectrum to the dark and devious: The Mystery Fanfare blog , run by mystery aficionado Janet Rudolph, offers a looooooong list of Halloween crime fiction (what is it about mystery writers and Halloween, I wonder?). Head over to the not-entirely-cozy Cozy Mystery List to find Halloween-themed mysteries to fit your mood , from BEDEVILED EGGS by Laura Childs and VAMPIRES, BONES, AND TREACLE SCONES by Kaitlyn Dunnett, to THE WITCHFINDER by Loren D. Estleman and TRICKS (87th PRECINCT) by Ed McBain. Nightstand Book Reviews offers up a list of 55 Halloween mysteries , some brand new and some c...