January 2025

🌀This month I went down the rabbit hole with these books, podcasts, movies and TV shows! 🐰

Books

I devoured the entire “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” series by Holly Jackson by the end of the month. It had been a while since I read a Young Adult novel but now I see why they’re so popular! The story was so entertaining and the language flowed so effortlessly that I felt like I was speed-reading.

There’s “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” “Good Girl, Bad Blood,” “As Good as Dead” and a prequel novella that came out after the third book titled “Kill Joy.” ✔️✔️✔️

GIF courtesy of Daksha Giri (@dakshagiri)

I read 25 books last year! Check out the list of books here!

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Podcasts

Check out “The Con: Kaitlyn’s Baby.”

I did not see this podcast coming… Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s a scam like this.

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Movies

Watched “Nosferatu” on Jan. 15 starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård in the titular character. I absolutely loved the movie — particularly the feel and the setting. It reminded me of the book “The Woman in Black.” Every frame in the film felt like a fine art painting. It is very violent and gory, but isn’t that what we signed up for?

Also watched “The Substance” at the end of December which most definitely left an impression on me. It stars the iconic Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Refer to male gaze critique…

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TV Shows

It’s baaaaaaack! “Severance,” that is. The quirky quarter is back and it’s weirder than ever. I love it! We catch up with Mark, Helly, Irving and Dylan as they come back from their “outie” world. There is a major surprise twist at the end of the fourth episode. Fans of the show can also listen to a behind-the-scenes “Severance” podcast that drops immediately after each episode hosted by Adam Scott and Ben Stiller where they chat with actors and other key players from the show.

I got hooked! Have you seen “Mean Girl Murders” on Max?

Let’s talk books, art, podcasts, and living life creatively

Hello, friends!

Welcome to my book blog and digital scrapbook. Thank you for visiting. I am thrilled that you are here!

This blog is primarily for readers and book lovers. But full disclosure: I will occasionally write about provocative podcasts I’m listening to or TV shows and movies that I think are interesting, too.

My hope is that you will find these observations and recommendations entertaining — and maybe even a bit helpful when looking for what to read or listen to or watch next.

I will write about my favorite books, new authors I’m excited to read, book sales I encounter and more relevant topics I hope will be useful to my fellow readers.

I am a lifelong avid reader but picked up some serious speed about 8 years ago. Since then, I have kept a spreadsheet with all the books I’ve read and I often want to recommend some of my favorite reads to more people than just family and friends. 

Last year (2024) I set a personal goal to read 12 books and I’m happy to report that I doubled that goal by reading 25! This year I set a goal of 15 books and I have two books under my belt so far in 2025 so I should be just fine.

I am a writer and photographer based in Southern Arizona. I currently live in Tempe. I’ve written for publications like Upworthy and Buzzfeed and am currently a writer at Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise. Before that I was a digital producer for 3TV/azfamily and later for RightThisMinute.

The current goal is to share at least one article a week, but may post more often as we go along. Next up, I’ll be writing about the 25 books I read in 2024. 

I invite you to subscribe to my digital scrapbook as I embark on this new and exciting chapter of Alice in Pictureland. 

Please feel free to comment with your favorite books, what you’re currently reading, or what you would like to see in this blog.

Find me on Goodreads! Let’s have some fun, shall we?

💙 ab