2026 Holiday Reading Challenge | The Running Bibliophile

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Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself. Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned. The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list. To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as l...
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Book Review: Going Rogue, Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine (Stephanie Plum, #29) by Janet Evanovich

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Book Review of Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine (Stephanie Plum, #29) by Janet Evanovich
Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine (Stephanie Plum, #29) by Janet Evanovich was published on November 1, 2022.  The novel opens with Stephanie Plum arriving at the bonds office on a Monday morning, and office manager Connie Rosolli isn't there.  When Stephanie finally gets into the office, the file room has been tossed.  Then comes the ransom call, which sends Stephanie on the hunt for a mysterious coin that she needs to get Connie released.

The Stephanie Plum book series is one that I've come to love and enjoy when I need a light read that will give me some laughs.  Right off the start, this edition has yet again made me think it's now being ghost written because Lula is asking if one of the people bonded out by Vinnie is Joe Morelli's grandmother.  Lula already know who she is, so this is what made me think that it's ghost written.  If the author just wanted to reintroduce Bella, there had to be a better way to do this.

With that being said, I absolutely loved this latest edition and felt like the writing was a bit more mature than some of the previous books in the series.  The storyline was an interesting one, and I loved that we got to know Bella as more than an afterthought.  I actually found myself liking her, and I hope she comes around to liking Stephanie . . . although, it does seem like she is on that trajectory.  Another great thing is that Vinnie had a larger part in Going Rogue:  Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine.  He didn't seem quite so weasely  this time around.

Stephanie seems a bit more mature, and I like to see characters have some progression.  There is even a bit of marriage discussion between her and another character . . . you'll have to read the story to see who she's talking about it with.  All in all, I had a blast reading Going Rogue:  Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine (Stephanie Plum, #29) by Janet Evanovich, and I give it five out of five stars.

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