Art by neondemon.jpg
My talented friend Luciano Oliveira, (AKA neondemon.jpg) has created this lovely portrait of my two cats and me! Includes nods to Hello Kitty, Lush, The National, Ash, The Smiths, and even my mobility aids! I love it.
If you love it, too, you should check out his art portfolio or follow him on Instagram. He is open for commissions!
Since I was a kid, I’ve loved learning about different cultures and places via postcards and pen pals. My first pen pal was Cédrine from Tarbes, France. Now, thanks to The Internet, I get to talk to folks all over the world!
For several years now, I’ve spoken with my Brazilian “pen pal” Luciano almost every day. We joke that we’re “music twins” because we love so much of the same music. We first bonded over our love of Ash and since have found that we both adore Jessica Lea Mayfield and many others.
This past September, I saw Jessica Lea Mayfield open for Lucero. After Mayfield’s set, I got to speak with her and told her all about Luciano (he’s one of her top ten listeners on Spotify!). Neither of us had a Sharpie, so instead of signing the CD booklet I brought or the vinyl I bought, she wrote to Luciano with a pink pen on a random postcard for The Friendly Toast that I had with me!
Long story short: Luciano was inspired by me to write about his Top 25 Albums of 2025! There’s some overlap, which is no surprise given that we’re music twins, but I’ve also discovered some new tunes. You can find it on Tumblr and his blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Needless to say, I think Luciano is very talented. Check out his art portfolio or follow him on Instagram! And cross your fingers that Ash, Jessica Lea Mayfield, and more artists make their way to Brazil!
This past year was rough for me. For the first time in my life, I had Reader’s Block. I won’t name names (or titles!), but two books in a row rubbed me the wrong way. They were just not good. Or maybe all the other books I read were just that much better? However you look at it, I just had a really hard time getting back into reading after those two no-good books. And ages ago, I adopted the practice of not finishing books that I didn’t like because life’s too short! But sometimes, one has to read a bad book (or two!) because of … obligations.
Anyhow! The good news is I’m outta that funk! The book that saved me was The Taylors by Jen Calonita. A middle grade book about a group of girls named after Taylor Swift broke the curse! It even gave me goosebumps.
Right after The Taylors, I found myself reading my book of the year, Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Who would’ve thought that this graduate of Space Camp would fall hard for a sapphic, historical fiction novel about the first female astronauts at NASA?
Rounding out my favorite reads of the year:
This past year, I wrote book reviews on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, and this blog. I logged my book reading on both Goodreads and StoryGraph. I think it’s important to continue to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads because those are still so vital for authors.
Without further ado, here’s what I read in 2025!
If you were a fan of the fantastic, gorgeous Jem and the Holograms comics from BOOM! Studios, you’re in luck: BOOM! Direct Reserve has launched the JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS: TRULY OUTRAGEOUS COMIC COLLECTION Kickstarter campaign. This will mark the first time that these fabulous comics will be collected in their entirety in deluxe hardcover editions. If you’re a fan of the original cartoon series and missed out on the comics, now is your chance to reserve your copies. Rewards range from the deluxe hardcover of volume 1 at $60 to the $1500 “Ultimate Battle of the Bands Collection,” which includes The Stingers Sound Set, The Misfits Music Set, and Jem and the Holograms Starlight Set (with each volume 1 signed by Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell). This project has already reached its goal, so you have until Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM EST to back it.
This book is a must for Taylor Swift fans. I compulsively read Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) because I was so consumed with the characters, the drama, and the Taylor Swift Easter eggs. There’s even a nod to one of my favorite (non-Taylor) singers! Elizabeth Eulberg does an excellent job with the characters’ individual voices. I’ve been using Love Stories as a benchmark for other young adult novels with multiple narrators. The recommended age for ‘Love Stories’ is 12-18, and the content does skew young (they’re high school freshmen), so one should feel comfortable sharing with mature middle grade readers who have read Jen Calonita’s companion book The Taylors.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pop Culture Omnivore 