It’s Tuesday once again, so welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday post! Surprise surprise, I’m going rogue again this week. The original topic is books set in snowy places, but as we will be setting our winter 2025 TBR next week, it’s time for me to look back on my fall 2025 one. This was the season of the annually returning yet dreaded reading slump, so reflecting on this TBR is interesting. How many books did I manage to knock off?
Top Ten Tuesday was 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.
- Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater – Although this book is pretty atmospheric and the whole series breathes fall vibes, I didn’t manage to pick this one up. This book has been in my “up next” queue on the Storygraph since like October, but the reading slump dictated otherwise and I let my mood decide. I’m still planning to read this book before the end of the year, because I have the feeling that this won’t work well anymore when the days start getting longer again.
- Arcana Academy by Elise Kova – I read this one and my high expectations aside, I was very, very disappointed. This book does too much of spoon feeding which leaves no room for your own imagination and therefore both characters and plot falls flat. Such a bummer for such an unique magic system, but I doubt I will be picking up the sequel. (Review)
- The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson – this book has been on my TBR even longer than the first one on this list and is also in the same “up next” queue. Safe to say that this one also fell victim to my reading slump and mood dictating what I wanted to read. The fact that this book was pretty popular but the hype fizzling out quickly doesn’t help for me. I’m afraid the popularity was short-lived. I hope I will knock this one of before we ring in the new year, but I’m unsure how many long fantasy books I can manage until hitting another possible slump.
- Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage – No, I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I read another cowboy romance nevertheless and whereas that was a smooth read, it fell flat for me. Furthermore, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Done and Dusted, the first book in this “Rebel Blue Ranch” series. So, who knows whenever I’ll pick this second book up.
- Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad – This also fell victim to my reading slump, yay.
- Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai – Somehow I did manage to read this one amidst the slump, surprisingly enough. Nonfiction is definitely not my go-to genre, but I managed to finish this book in one day.
- Twisted Lies by Ana Huang – At this point, I doubt I will ever read this book. I didn’t feel the urge at all and this has been the case since like early 2024.
- Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa – I blame the reading slump, because I didn’t pick this up either.
- The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde – Again, a book I totally forgot about and didn’t feel the urge to pick up. My mood is weird sometimes.
- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree – What a surprise, I actually did read this book! I still have to review it though, but whereas I overcame the reading slump, I’m now struggling with writing reviews. Oh the irony.
In the end, I managed to knock 3 books off my fall 2025 TBR, I’m slightly disappointed. I definitely blame the reading slump, because I needed to let my mood decide my reading. I’m not sure if this always has been the best choice, but still a choice.
How did you do on your fall 2025 TBR? Will you take any of the leftovers to your winter TBR? You have unfinished business with them after all 😉
