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 House On Tradd Street (Tradd Street, #1) by Karen White

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Book Review of The House On Tradd Street (Tradd Street, #1) by Karen White
The House On Tradd Street (Tradd Street #1) by Karen White is the first book in a series about Melanie, a real estate agent, who lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She recently inherited a home in Charleston that's supposedly haunted by ghosts of the past, and she's in the process of renovating it to sell. When an author requests access to the house to investigate it's history, strange things start happening.

I found out about this series when the book club I belong to was reading the first book in a spin off of the Tradd Street series. I enjoyed the spin off so much that I had to give this book a whirl. Boy, was I glad that I did because I absolutely loved The House On Tradd Street.

Stories that have a bit of paranormal elements in it have always interested me, and I don't mind a little bit of romance either. This book has both of those elements along with a mystery. It was right up my alley. 

The book takes place mainly in Charleston, South Carolina, but it also mentions Mount Pleasant and Isle of Palms, both of which are also in South Carolina. I loved the fact that it mentioned places in Charleston that were real as I have vacationed there a few times. It's nice to be able to picture the places the author wrote about. The other two locations are suburbs of Charleston and places I have visited as well. I actually love going to the beach in Isle of Palms.

The characters were a mish mash of likable and unlikeable. The main character was quite likable in my opinion. At first, I didn't like the writer named Jack Trenholm, but he grew on me. By the end of the story, I found him to be quite the charmer. As for the ghosts in the house, one was nice, and the other was scary, which gave The House On Tradd Street some very ominous vibes. Karen White did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters, and the story, together. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!!

Five out of five stars is what I gave The House On Tradd Street (Tradd Street, #1) by Karen White. If you like cozy mysteries, this is one you should definitely put on your to be read list.

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