Abi @ Scribbles & Stories

February Wrap-Up | Finishing three great book series in one month Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 February was my birthday month, and I celebrated turning 26 in a very quiet way. I had all you can eat dinner in a Chinese restaurant with some family and friends, then on my birthday itself I went into a local city centre to do some shopping with my partner. I did get a little bit spoiled, so I feel very lucky.

My February reading wrap up, featuring me completing the Game Changers series! Do I need to watch #HeatedRivalry again?

Read With Me #6 | Spend a week with me as I try to tackle a 700+ page fantasy Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 It’s been a while (too long!) since I did one if these reading diary posts, and I thought it would be fun to do one that’s all focused on one book. I’m reading The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons, a 731 page epic fantasy. It’s book 2 of 5 in the Chorus of Dragons series, and will be the longest book I’ve read in physical format in a very long time.

Read With Me #6 | Spend a week with me as I try to tackle a 700+ page fantasy

2026 Reading Challenge | It’s time for a different approach Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I can't believe I finally get to say this, but I defeated my 2025 Reading Challenge! The goal for 25 in 2025 was for me to read 25 books that I owned before the start of the year. The eventual aim of all my reading challenges is for me to not have a stockpile of books that have been on my list for years, so that I'm able to just acquire new books as and when I want to read them.

2026 Reading Challenge | It’s time for a different approach

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I can't believe I finally get to say this, but I defeated my 2025 Reading Challenge! The goal for 25 in 2025 was for me to read 25 books that I owned before the start of the year. The eventual aim of all my…

January Wrap-Up | Getting bitten by the Heated Rivalry bug Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 January has been a bit of a blur of a month, and I'm not even sure what to say about it. It's taken me a while but I think I have slowly figured out where I want to go with my reading goals for 2026. I feel I've even made some pretty sensible decisions! I didn't get to blog as much as I wanted to, since usually the January/end-of-year posts are my favourite.

January Wrap-Up | Getting bitten by the Heated Rivalry bug

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 January has been a bit of a blur of a month, and I'm not even sure what to say about it. It's taken me a while but I think I have slowly figured out where I want to go with my reading goals for 2026. I feel I've…

A Year in Review 2025 | Looking back on a year for change Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Somehow, we've done it again. It's been a whole year! I'd say this one has been up and down, but overall I'm proud of a lot of the things I've done, and I've made memories I'll never forget. This year marked my first trip abroad in over a decade, and it was truly the best two weeks of my life.

A Year in Review 2025 | Looking back on a year for change

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Somehow, we've done it again. It's been a whole year! I'd say this one has been up and down, but overall I'm proud of a lot of the things I've done, and I've made memories I'll never forget. This year marked my…

December Wrap-Up | Long-awaited reads, and learning to relax Hello, my lovely lemons! 🎅🏻 December has been an absolute whirlwind. Between trying to buy Christmas presents, keep track of Christmas presents, wrap Christmas presents(!!) and have hobbies and/or a life, I feel like my feet have barely touched the ground. I always struggle somewhat to hold on this time of year, but this time it’s been drastic. I’m writing this intro on the 14th, and we still don’t have a Christmas tree up in our house - usually I do that on the 1st!

December Wrap-Up | Long-awaited reads, and learning to relax

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I hope Santa brings Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Now believe it or not, I think over the course of the past couple years I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying books. I know that it feels much better to buy a single book that you really want, than to stockpile a bunch of titles you're slightly interested in. So in reality, I think if Santa brought me ten whole new books, I would be a little put off.

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I hope Santa brings

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Now believe it or not, I think over the course of the past couple years I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying books. I know that it feels much better to buy a single book that you really want, than to stockpile a bunch…

November Wrap-Up | Crochet, cinema, and Caraval Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 November went by so quickly. It feels like the days are just disappearing lately, and the end of the year is really creeping up on us! But I can say it’s given me a little boost to try to hit my reading goals, and I seem to have overcome the slump. I've finally started one of the biggest series on my TBR, as well as a new game and a lot of Christmas craft projects.

November Wrap-Up | Crochet, cinema, and Caraval

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 November went by so quickly. It feels like the days are just disappearing lately, and the end of the year is really creeping up on us! But I can say it’s given me a little boost to try to hit my reading goals, and I seem to…

October Wrap-Up | A seasonal dip and a distinct lack of spooky Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 October was a weird month for me. The days are getting shorter, the clocks went back, and everything feels dark and a little gloomy. I've spent most of the month wishing I could stay in bed. I can really feel the autumn/winter reading slump lapping at my heels, and it shows. 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25 in 2025 challenge 🔁 = reread ❤️ = favourite 🎧 = audiobook 😸 = OOCZ Challenge…

October Wrap-Up | A seasonal dip and a distinct lack of spooky

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 October was a weird month for me. The days are getting shorter, the clocks went back, and everything feels dark and a little gloomy. I've spent most of the month wishing I could stay in bed. I can really feel…

WWW Wednesday 05/11/25 | A new book and an old favourite Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I'm still working on my October wrap-up, but I thought it would be nice to share a little update about what I'm reading at the moment. Mostly I just wanted to gush about my most recent book purchase. What are you currently reading? Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks | I missed my annual Halloween reread, but it’s better late than never.

WWW Wednesday 05/11/25 | A new book and an old favourite

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I'm still working on my October wrap-up, but I thought it would be nice to share a little update about what I'm reading at the moment. Mostly I just wanted to gush about my most recent book purchase. What are you…

WWW Wednesday 15/10/25 | Featuring three very different genres Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 How are you all doing this fine Wednesday? It has been an effort to get myself back into a good space with blogging, but I feel like I've done a lot of healing recently. So I'm easing myself in with a nice weekly blog meme. What are you currently reading? The Only One Left by Riley Sager…

WWW Wednesday 15/10/25 | Featuring three very different genres

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 How are you all doing this fine Wednesday? It has been an effort to get myself back into a good space with blogging, but I feel like I've done a lot of healing recently. So I'm easing myself in with a nice…

September Wrap-Up | A brilliant holiday with some mediocre reads Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 What a month September has been. I spent the first two weeks of the month on a life-changing trip around the Mediterranean, baking in Spanish temperatures. Then I got home and the mornings are dark, pumpkin spice lattes are back, and it feels like autumn is already in full swing. Don't get me wrong - I'm certainly happy to embrace the later half of the year.

September Wrap-Up | A brilliant holiday with some mediocre reads

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 What a month September has been. I spent the first two weeks of the month on a life-changing trip around the Mediterranean, baking in Spanish temperatures. Then I got home and the mornings are dark, pumpkin…

August Wrap-Up | We’re all going on a summer holiday Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Oh, August. A month culminating in me taking my first trip abroad in 14 years. So it's safe to say I have spent most of the month running around in a terrified panic. Who let me be responsible for a whole trip outside the country? 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25 in 2025 challenge 🔁 = reread ❤️ = favourite 🎧 = audiobook 😸 = OOCZ Challenge…

August Wrap-Up | We’re all going on a summer holiday

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Oh, August. A month culminating in me taking my first trip abroad in 14 years. So it's safe to say I have spent most of the month running around in a terrified panic. Who let me be responsible for a whole trip outside…

Mid-Year Book Freak Out 2025 | So many good reads, and more still to come Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 It's officially time for my favourite tag of the year! Thank you so much to the lovely Caro @ The Bookcheshire Cat for tagging me and reminding me it's the best time of the year! I'm a little bit beyond the middle of the year since I'm writing this up in July August, but I still can't believe we're already halfway through 2025.

Mid-Year Book Freak Out 2025 | So many good reads, and more still to come

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 It's officially time for my favourite tag of the year! Thank you so much to the lovely Caro @ The Bookcheshire Cat for tagging me and reminding me it's the best time of the year! I'm a little bit…

July Wrap-Up | Breaking news: local reader actually picks up books from TBR! Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 If you’d told me a year ago that I would have a gym membership and be doing Pilates workouts before work, I would’ve laughed you out of the building. But this seems to be the reality I’ve found myself in! And I’ve found it’s slowly helping me care for myself more, loosening the hold my bad habits have over me.

July Wrap-Up | Breaking news: local reader actually picks up books from TBR!

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 If you’d told me a year ago that I would have a gym membership and be doing Pilates workouts before work, I would’ve laughed you out of the building. But this seems to be the reality I’ve found…

Read With Me #5 | Pulling my motivation back from the brink Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I've been feeling so sick of my doomscrolling and lack of motivation for reading and writing, so I though I would attempt to kill three birds with one stone and throw my effort into another Read With Me post! It's been months, and I really miss these fun little updates. They really work wonders for helping me drum up the enthusiasm to both read books and write about them, so I thought it would be the perfect way to…

Read With Me #5 | Pulling my motivation back from the brink

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I've been feeling so sick of my doomscrolling and lack of motivation for reading and writing, so I though I would attempt to kill three birds with one stone and throw my effort into another Read With Me post!…

June Wrap-Up | I started going to the gym?? Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 April and May were both months that felt sort of like a write-off in a lot of ways. And by the time June rolled around I was tired. Especially tired of feeling like I was wasting my life being addicted to a toxic relationship with my phone. When the scrolling started to make me feel noticeably worse rather than (briefly) better I decided it really was time to start being present more in my life.

June Wrap-Up | I started going to the gym??

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 April and May were both months that felt sort of like a write-off in a lot of ways. And by the time June rolled around I was tired. Especially tired of feeling like I was wasting my life being addicted to a toxic relationship…

May Wrap-Up | Time for a new hyperfocus Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 May has been a weird month. I've been up, down, and generally all over the place, and it has truly felt like this month lasted forever. I'm looking back at the beginning of the month and I can hardly reconcile that it's only been a matter of weeks since then. 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25 in 2025 challenge 🔁 = reread ❤️ = favourite 🎧 = audiobook 😸 = OOCZ Challenge…

May Wrap-Up | Time for a new hyperfocus

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 May has been a weird month. I've been up, down, and generally all over the place, and it has truly felt like this month lasted forever. I'm looking back at the beginning of the month and I can hardly reconcile that it's only been a…

Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag 2025 | I’ve had some pretty varied reads! Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 We are long overdue for another book tag, in my opinion! Luckily, I have one for you today. I'm definitely a little late to the game on this, since it's supposed to be about Q1 and we are now firmly in the middle of Q2, but I'll stick to answering the questions with book from January-March.

better late than never 🙈 here's my quarter year crisis book tag!

April Wrap-Up | Manga, TV, and a long weekend away Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Spring has sprung! The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer (though I'm still feeling the consequences of losing an hour for daylight savings) and I have my first mini getaway of the year. 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25 in 2025 challenge 🔁 = reread ❤️ = favourite 🎧 = audiobook 😸 = OOCZ Challenge…

April Wrap-Up | Manga, TV, and a long weekend away

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Spring has sprung! The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer (though I'm still feeling the consequences of losing an hour for daylight savings) and I have my first mini getaway of the year. 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25…

The Murderbot Diaries | My thoughts on the new TV series trailer Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Today’s post is a bit of an impromptu one, courtesy of a new release I didn’t even know was happening. If a sign was ever needed that I don’t keep up with current events, it’s the fact I didn’t even know an adaptation was being filmed for one of my favourite book series of all time.

The Murderbot Diaries | My thoughts on the new TV series trailer

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Today’s post is a bit of an impromptu one, courtesy of a new release I didn’t even know was happening. If a sign was ever needed that I don’t keep up with current events, it’s the fact I didn’t even know an…

March Wrap-Up | Reading freaky horror and fluffy manga Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Well, March has honestly been a bit of a blur. But in a good way! I'm getting settled in to my new routine with work, although it's still tough adjusting to the lack of free time. Cooking a meal on a night is about all I feel I have time for - though I could definitely get more hobbies in if I didn't keep getting sucked into watching TikTok.

the contrast in my reading this month = 💀 vs 🌸

me: i'm doing so well not buying books this year!

also me: wow, this 10 volume box set of Komi Can't Communicate is such good value!

WWW Wednesday 12/03/25 | Getting absorbed into the Southern Reach Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I just wanted to hop in with a little WWW Wednesday and update you all on what I've been reading lately! I have to say, my reading the past two weeks has come almost entirely in the form of audiobooks. I'm very much still learning how to manage my free time around a 9-5, so I'm getting it all in on my drives to and from work.

WWW Wednesday 12/03/25 | Getting absorbed into the Southern Reach

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 I just wanted to hop in with a little WWW Wednesday and update you all on what I've been reading lately! I have to say, my reading the past two weeks has come almost entirely in the form of audiobooks. I'm…

February Wrap-Up | Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 How are you all faring? This month was a busy one - I got a job offer, turned 25, and started training for my new position. This has meant a lot of change, new routines, and finding solace in audiobooks. 📚 = TBR book 📝 = 25 in 2025 challenge 🔁 = reread ❤️ = favourite 🎧 = audiobook 😸 = OOCZ Challenge…

february reading wrap up time ✨

#readingwrapup #booksky

2024 Wrapped | I documented every book I bought for the whole year Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 It's been a while since I last did a book haul post, (my last one was in 2021!!) but I think they are a really fun format, and I have very fond memories of writing that one. Since I was documenting all the books I bought in my monthly wrap-ups, I suddenly realised I had all the data to make a list of every book I acquired over the entire year.

2024 Wrapped | I documented every book I bought for the whole year

Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 It's been a while since I last did a book haul post, (my last one was in 2021!!) but I think they are a really fun format, and I have very fond memories of writing that one. Since I was documenting all…

Last, Current, Next | A fail, a win, and a palette cleanser Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 How is everyone doing? February treating you well? I started my new job this week, so I haven’t had a huge amount of free time while I’m adjusting to a completely new schedule. I’m waking up at 6:30 and I still haven’t figured out what time I need to go to sleep at to not feel totally exhausted in the mornings.

just a little update on what my reading has looked like lately ✨

#readingupdate #booksky #currentlyreading

Reading Challenge Time! | Swapping my screen time for reading Hello, my lovely lemons! 🍋 Since this is my last week off before my new job starts (I got a job!), I thought I’d get one last week-long reading challenge in! This is one I was first inspired to try months ago, when I read Morgan’s post about swapping screen time with reading for a week. I’ve toyed with the idea since then but never actually started it.

swapping screen time for reading isn't for the faint of heart...

i documented my journey trying to read for the 27 hours 54 minutes i spent on my phone the week before 📱📖

#readingchallenge #booksky #screentime

Book cover of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

day 6 of the #bookchallenge 📖 choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. one book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews, just covers.

#booksky #20daybookchallenge #gideontheninth #thelockedtomb

nearly always complete for me... if i can't finish it all in one go, the chances of me finishing it at all are low 📚