2025 Q4 Wrap-Up: all the books I read, and what I have to say about them.

Do We Owe Books a Full Read?

Have you ever closed a book halfway through and felt a quiet sense of guilt? In this episode of The Bookish Key, I’m sitting with a question that has followed me through many reading seasons, and that might feel familiar to you too. This is a personal reflection on expectations, freedom, and what it really means to honor our reading life. If you’ve ever struggled between finishing a book out of principle and putting it down out of honesty, I hope this conversation feels like a gentle companion. ~ Hi, I'm Elly (she/her) and I'm an educational content creator. You can find me elsewhere as Ellyskey, sharing my reading life and reflections on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Pagebound, as well as on social media for cozy content, body-doubling, creativity, and slow moments. ✨Where to find me: twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ellyskey instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellyskey tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellyskey bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ellyskey.bsky.social goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ellyskey storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ellyskey pagebound: https://pagebound.co/users/ellyskey more: https://beacons.ai/ellyskey contact: ellyskey.info@gmail.com Intro and outro jingle by @UncleGuaro - ⁠https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro [https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro]

"Once Upon a Time..." - the Truth about Fairy Tales

There’s something that happens when we hear the words “Once upon a time…” The room softens. The world shifts. The rules change. In this episode, we step back into the world of fairy tales — not as glittery bedtime stories, but as ancient, layered narratives that carry memory, ritual, fear, transformation, and a surprising amount of darkness. We’ll talk about where fairy tales come from, how they differ from myths, why their structure is almost mathematical, and how scholars like Vladimir Propp and Bruno Bettelheim helped us see what’s happening beneath the surface. We’ll wander through symbolism, initiation rituals, and the strange baroque world of Giambattista Basile — and we’ll gently question the idea that fairy tales were ever meant to be simple… or purely for children. This is a cozy, reflective deep dive into the stories that shaped us — and that we may not have fully understood the first time we heard them. Tea optional, curiosity required. 🌙 ~ Hi, I'm Elly (she/her) and I'm an educational content creator. You can find me elsewhere as Ellyskey, sharing my reading life and reflections on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Pagebound, as well as on social media for cozy content, body-doubling, creativity, and slow moments. ✨Where to find me: twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ellyskey instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellyskey tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellyskey bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ellyskey.bsky.social goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ellyskey storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ellyskey pagebound: https://pagebound.co/users/ellyskey more: https://beacons.ai/ellyskey contact: ellyskey.info@gmail.com Intro and outro jingle by @UncleGuaro - ⁠⁠⁠https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro [https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro]

The Emotional Weight Of The TBR

In this episode of The Bookish Key, I’m reflecting on something many readers carry quietly: the emotional weight of the TBR. Beyond being a simple list of books to read, a TBR can hold excitement, expectations, pressure, and even guilt. In this episode, I explore how our unread books can represent different versions of ourselves, how our reading intentions change over time, and why letting go of certain books can be an act of honesty rather than failure. ~ Hi, I'm Elly (she/her) and I'm an educational content creator. You can find me elsewhere as Ellyskey, sharing my reading life and reflections on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Pagebound, as well as on social media for cozy content, body-doubling, creativity, and slow moments. ✨Where to find me: twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ellyskey instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellyskey tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellyskey bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ellyskey.bsky.social goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ellyskey storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ellyskey pagebound: https://pagebound.co/users/ellyskey more: https://beacons.ai/ellyskey contact: ellyskey.info@gmail.com Intro and outro jingle by @UncleGuaro - ⁠⁠https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro [https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro]

2025 Q4 Wrap-Up: all the books I read, and what I have to say about them.

In this episode of The Bookish Key, I’m looking back at my reading life during the last quarter of 2025. From quiet favorites to books that surprised me (and a few that didn’t quite work), this is a reflective wrap-up of everything I read and how each story fit into that season of my life. Rather than rankings or scores, I’m sharing honest thoughts, lingering feelings, and the moments these books created: what stayed with me, what challenged me, and what I might still be thinking about long after turning the last page. A gentle, personal recap for anyone who enjoys looking at reading as a timeline of moods, curiosity, and growth — and maybe finding a few new additions for their own TBR along the way. ~ Join our seasonal bookish challenge! Discord: https://discord.gg/mPkkexxbQw Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/926b868b-6dd3-45da-9a2c-0dfb9047b36d Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/25073-snow-white Books mentioned: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien › https://amzn.to/47ivpH3 Il Principe della Nebbia by Carlos Ruiz Zafon › https://amzn.to/4nkQuVG Landline by Rainbow Rowell › https://amzn.to/4qqkS3Z Dracula by Bram Stoker › https://amzn.to/4owYOTj Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang › https://amzn.to/4oBuAP1 Good Guy by Kate Meader › https://amzn.to/42XHRt1 The Cruel Prince by Holly Black › https://amzn.to/4qqunQz Pumpkin Spice and Not so Nice by › https://amzn.to/3L7Hiqq Il Battesimo di Sangue by Natascia Luchetti › https://amzn.to/4qJO4mP Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie › https://amzn.to/4oBFNiK Green Tea by J. Sheridan Le Fanu › https://amzn.to/4reVP3N Mr. Justice Harbottle by J. Sheridan Le Fanu › https://amzn.to/4rbtpYC Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu › https://amzn.to/4rDIvG6 Imaginary Friend by Steven Chbosky › https://amzn.to/3L6Nf79 Notes On a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig › https://amzn.to/4qzf7B9 Alchemised by SenLynYu › https://amzn.to/4qsj8He The Midnight Library by Matt Haig › https://amzn.to/4rCIIZR ›› all links are affiliated ~ Hi, I'm Elly (she/her) and I'm an educational content creator. You can find me elsewhere as Ellyskey, sharing my reading life and reflections on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Pagebound, as well as on social media for cozy content, body-doubling, creativity, and slow moments. ✨Where to find me: twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ellyskey instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellyskey tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellyskey bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ellyskey.bsky.social goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ellyskey storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ellyskey pagebound: https://pagebound.co/users/ellyskey more: https://beacons.ai/ellyskey contact: ellyskey.info@gmail.com Intro jingle by @UncleGuaro - https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro [https://zaap.bio/uncleguaro]

Hi! A bookish introduction

Hi, and welcome in! In this first episode of The Bookish Key, I’m opening the door and inviting you into my reading life. This is an introduction — to me, to this podcast, and to the kind of bookish space I’m trying to create. We’ll talk about why I wanted to start The Bookish Key, what reading means to me beyond lists and ratings, and how I hope this podcast can be a gentle, thoughtful place to reflect on books as experiences: the moods they hold, the moments they accompany us through, and the versions of ourselves we meet while reading. This episode is a small beginning, made with care, curiosity, and a lot of love for stories. If you’re someone who reads slowly, emotionally, enthusiastically — or all three — I hope you’ll feel at home here. Thank you for being part of the very first chapter. ~ Hi, I'm Elly (she/her) and I'm an educational content creator. You can find me elsewhere as Ellyskey, sharing my reading life and reflections on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Pagebound, as well as on social media for cozy content, body-doubling, creativity, and slow moments. ✨Where to find me: twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ellyskey instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellyskey tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellyskey bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ellyskey.bsky.social goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ellyskey storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ellyskey pagebound: https://pagebound.co/users/ellyskey more: https://beacons.ai/ellyskey contact: ellyskey.info@gmail.com