BB #11: Bookish Deinfluencing, Christmas Movie Rec & iPad Mini E-Reader Setup
Your mid-week serving of all things bookish and beyond!
Hey book besties, welcome to Bookish Brunch! A mid-week break to catch up. Grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and let's dive into what I’ve been reading, what I’ve been loving and a sprinkle of fun. Share with me in the comments or chat what you’ve been up to!
BB #11: Bookish Deinfluencing, Christmas Movie Rec & iPad Mini E-Reader Setup
Welcome back to another cozy edition of Bookish Brunch—your weekly dose of all things books, vibes, and everything in between. This week, we finally shake off the hurricane clean-up (we are in full repair mode and will be for a while) and settle back into fall since the temperatures dropped here. And I’ve got so much to share with you! If you’ve been feeling the pressure of keeping up with every book trend, this issue’s all about fighting that. Plus, I’ve got a review of the first Christmas movie I watched this season, some seriously unexpected international music finds, and the latest on my reading journey of course.
Here’s what you can expect inside:
Bookish Deinfluencing: Let's tackle the consumerism pressure in the book community and why you don’t need every special edition or bookish gadget.
Christmas Movie Review: Kicking off the season with ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas on the Hallmark Channel!
Music Discoveries: Bollywood metal is now a thing in my playlist, plus meet the Italian Ed Sheeran.
E-Reader Setup: How I’m trying to turn my iPad mini into the perfect eReader and my favorite accessories so far.
Reading Update: This week, I dove into a cute spooky story, a family-centered holiday novel, and a book that gives major nods to an all-time favorite of mine!
Fun Fact: Did you know Halloween’s origins are rooted in Irish tradition? I’ve got a TikTok to explore that spooky history together.
Grab your PSL and let’s dive in!
Catch you inside,
Francesca 🧡📚
It’s Scorpio season! Let’s do this!
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What’s New This Week
First, some community housekeeping. I’m still a little behind on content schedule due to all the hurricanes. So I’ll be updating the book database this weekend hopefully. And I know the October Insider is also late. It’s about halfway done but it may turn into a Oct/Nov mash up.
In Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge news, I’m so excited about the fresh new look of the challenge next year. It’s the first time it’s getting a major face life since we launched it in 2019. If everything goes according to plan, you’ll hear all about it mid November. If you’re a paid Substack member, I dropped another sneak peak in the Chat. Don’t forget we are still running a 20% off lifetime from now thru December.
I have two TikToks to share this week that are literally the best! This first one wins the internet. No explanation needed. Instant follow. Because who doesn’t need some monster romance in their life, am I right?
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And then I found this account that is working on a home library project (it’s not finished, so you’ll have to follow along with me to see the end result). The idea is actually genius if you also have stairs like this in your house.
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Also, something new I found on TikTok this week is that Halloween started in Ireland.
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On the blog:
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This week is all about dark romance on the blog! I’ve been working on these lists for a while now and was able to get them finished just in time for Halloween. Spooky season is the perfect time to pick up a dark romance and test your boundaries. Of course, check ALL the trigger warnings when going into any of these. But have fun!
And in case you missed it, a few weeks ago I posted a Spicy Booktok approved halloween romance books list. But you can also check out some of our older halloween book recs below:
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Community posts you may have missed:
Don’t forget to download the September Insider and 2024 Holiday Reading Guide
