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: The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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Book Review: The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
book review the running bibliophile the reunion dinner

The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the second book in the Busybodies Collection on Amazon Prime. It opens to an Asian American family gathering to celebrate the Chinese New Year when one of the guest unexpectedly dies. The cops are called, and the family matriarch is trying to figure out who committed murder.

I enjoyed the first short story in this series so much that I decided to read the next in the series. These are all stand alone stories by different authors and are available to borrow for free or purchase from Amazon Prime.

Unfortunately, I didn't care for this installment as the first one as I didn't care for the characters as much, and the main character seemed a little overbearing. However, I did like learning a little about the Chinese New Year, some of the food served, and a tradition or two. 

What kept me from rating this story higher is that I absolutely hated the ending of the story. I won't say more as I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read it. Three out of five stars is what I gave The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

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