• Home
  • Our Authors
  • Blog
  • Events & Giveaways
  • Privacy Policy

Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Bookish Goodies Under the Tree

January 2, 2025 By Karen Witemeyer


Did any of you get books or book-themed items under the tree this year? I ended up with a great assortment of fun, bookish gifts.

My son and newest daughter-in-law gave me a gorgeous nativity snow globe whose base is a stack of books. Love it!

My daughter gave me a new board game called Illiterati – a cooperative game where our team of librarians work together to save the world from illiteracy, one word at a time. I love the historical flavor and cooperative play. More details to follow!

My sweet husband got me a new Kindle cover, featuring a drool-worthy bookcase (with ladder!) and a fun new bookish t-shirt.

Game Time

Our family are big board game players, especially at Christmas when we have time for day-long gaming marathons. On the third day of Christmas, we played Illiterati, and I was contantly geeking out over all the book-lover elements. If you love classic literature and puns, you would love this game even before you start playing.

First – The box, when opened, looks like a giant book.


Second – There are literary puns everywhere!

The instructions themselves start with this quote: “It was the best of time, it was the worst of times. It was the age of illiteracy, it was the age of . . . the Illiterati.” Then one paragraph down, is this quote: “And yet, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good book must be in want of . . . more books.”

The players of a legendary order known as the League of Librarians, the guardians of truth and knowledge whose sacred duty is to preserve books for future generations.

And here are a sample of the books we are working with:


I picked a sampling of my favorite title puns. In case it’s hard to read in the photo, here are the titles and the quotes that appear at the bottom:

  • Circumnavigating the Globe in 80 Minutes – “They said it couldn’t be done, but Phineas Smog believed that with a good attitude any pizza could become a personal pizza. He saw no reason why this was any different.”
  • The Accountant of Monte Cristo – “Little did the CEO know that the accountant had been biding his time, waiting to release the W-2 that would cause certain financial ruin.”
  • Knights of the Hexagonal Table – “Our sequel begins with Sir Pythagoras commenting that from his angle, the damsel seemed very acute, but he was quickly chastised for making such an obtuse comment.
  • Fandom of the Soap Opera – “The Fandom of the Soap Opera is there . . . inside your mind.”
  • A Tale of Two Kitties – “It was the best of felines. It was the worst of felines.”
  • Sword in the Scone – “And having pulled the sword from the scone, Arthur assembled his brunch companions around the fabled hexogonal breakfast nook.”
  • Hubris and Haughtiness – “Eloise Pennet had a dowry that consisted of 3 acres of land, several swans, and a very large bucket of fancy spoons, and that made her the most eligible woman in town.”
  • Big White Whale – “‘Whale, whale, whale . . . what do we have here?’ sneered Captain Baha as he looked in the eyes of his blubbery archnemesis.”

Third – You get to make words and work together to bind your books and survive the Illiterati attacks.


While your objective is to spell the words that are part of your book card challenge, you must simply make word to survive, for if too many letters are leftover when time is called, the library might burn down!

We played a relatively easy level as we were learning the game, but I look forward to trying the next step up. There are also optional rules for single player and junior players for kids who are young readers.

My book-loving heart enjoyed this game so well. I highly reocmmend it!

Find it on Amazon here.

Did you receive any books or bookish items for Christmas this year?

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Facebook profile

Karen Witemeyer

For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Karen is a multiple award-winning author and a firm believer in the power of happy endings. She is an avid cross-stitcher, tea drinker, and gospel hymn singer who makes her home in Abilene, TX with her heroic husband who vanquishes laundry dragons and dirty dish villains whenever she's on deadline. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.
My Facebook profile

Latest posts by Karen Witemeyer (see all)

  • An Ode to Some Like It Scot - May 15, 2025
  • Karen’s Favorites - May 4, 2025
  • Spring Reading Bouquet - May 1, 2025
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading...
«
»

Filed Under: Books, Christmas, Family, Reading Tagged With: Board Games, Bookish Christmas, Illiterati

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

LINKS IN COMMENTS

Please note: If you include a link or links in your comment (URLs or email addresses), your comment will not post right away. It will wait for a moderator to approve it, which may take some time.

Comments

  1. Betty Strohecker says

    January 2, 2025 at 7:54 am

    I didn’t receive any books, but did get a gift card and ordered some books for myself, including Cloaked in Beauty, and gave books to friends.

    I must get Illiterati! Thanks for the detailed description. My brother has his masters in English and is quite a collector of the classics. Sounds like fun.

    Happy New Year!

    • Karen Witemeyer says

      January 2, 2025 at 9:08 am

      I bet you would really enjoy Illiterati, Betty. I hope to play it again before my daughter goes back to college. She’s the only one in the family who really enjoys word games, so it might be a while before I can play again. Ha!

  2. Joy says

    January 2, 2025 at 8:05 am

    While I didn’t receive any books for Christmas (gasp!), my family all came through with bookish gifts (phew!). Among them were two puzzles and a miniature house kit that is a mini corner bookstore. I’m currently in the process of making 185 miniature books that go with it. LOL That game sounds like a lot of fun so I’ll be adding that to my wish list!

    • Karen Witemeyer says

      January 2, 2025 at 9:08 am

      185 miniature books??? That’s a LOT. But I bet the bookstore will be fabulous when you complete it. So fun!

  3. D’Ann Mateer says

    January 2, 2025 at 9:46 am

    Such fun bookish gifts1 I got two bookish puzzles which I’ll use as rewards for meeting goals. 🙂 I put that game on my wish list. Sounds like so much fun!

    • Karen Witemeyer says

      January 2, 2025 at 10:22 am

      My husband got me a puzzle board that is like the puzzle table you posted about a while back. No legs of its own, but it has little drawers and a turntable. I’m excited to try it out. 🙂

Search Site

Monthly Archives

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

  • Home Again May 28, 2025
  • Garden Time May 27, 2025
  • Decade birthdays May 26, 2025

Disclosure

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the pages on this site may be "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, someone will receive an affiliate commission. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Copyright © 2025 Inspired by Life & Fiction | Website Design by Robin

%d