Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is BOOKS SET IN ANOTHER TIME. 

And I had a lot of fun coming up with ten of my favorite historical fiction reads...all set in very different times and places. 

King and Goddess by Judith Tarr

(Egypt, 15th century B.C.)

Jerusalem by Cecelia Holland

(Holy Land, 1187 AD)

Picture Maker by Penina Keen Spinka

(North America & Greenland, 14th century)

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

(Italy, 1327)

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

(Paris, 1490)

Tokkaido Road by Lucia St. Clair Robson

(Feudal Japan, 17th century)

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

(Istanbul, 16th century)

The Canterbury Papers by Judith Koll Healey

(England, 12th century during reign of King John)

The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner

(A novel of Queen Isabella of Castile, 1451-1504)

Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

(A novel of Katherine Parr, 1512-1548)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is:  BOOKS I NEVER REVIEWED.  Which should have been an easy one to figure out. But I wavered over which ten books to choose. Should I choose ten books from off my own shelves? Books I rated 5 stars on Goodreads? Books I read before I ever started blogging? Romances in honor of February? Classics? Favorite kid books?

See how I sometimes way overthink things? 

So, I decided to write down some of the reasons why I don't review all of the books I read instead. Whether there will be 10 or not is yet to be seen.  

REASONS WHY I DON'T REVIEW EVERY BOOK I READ:

1. The book is too long or the plot is too complicated to be easily summed up in one or two paragraphs. Writing really long reviews is not my thing. And I can't decide if it's because I'm too tired, or just lazy. Or because I just can't think of anything profound to say. 

2. Everyone else has already read and reviewed the book. If I've seen it on three or more blogs, I don't always feel it necessary to review it myself. Though there are exceptions.

3. I didn't really like the book. I don't like to write negative reviews or comments, so if I hated the way a book ended, or didn't even make it to the end, I'm not going to mention it on my blog. I prefer to write about the books I did really like instead.

4. The book is only a 3-star read. There's nothing really wrong with it, but I didn't end up loving it. It's a middling read soon to be forgotten...and I just never know what to say about those kinds of books.

5. And sometimes a book is so amazing I don't know how to put into words all the things I loved about it. Though I do try to at least mention those books on one of my Randomness or Quick recommendation posts.

There you have it. 5 reasons I don't review every book I read. Oh! I just thought of a sixth reason. I read a lot of books (last year I read over 200) and frankly, I don't have it in me to even try to review that many books. Because I read for fun, and forcing myself to try and review every book I read just feels like work. And who wants blogging to feel like that? 

Happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS ON MY FALL 2024 TO READ LIST. 

Easy topic, right? 

My hardest thing was chiseling my list down to just these ten eleven books. 

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

The Next Everest by Jim Davidson

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvinic

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Cold Light of Day by Elizabeth Goddard

Novice by Taran Matheru

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's theme:  BOOKS THAT PROVIDE A MUCH NEEDED ESCAPE.

For me, I turn to more light-hearted, magical reads when I need an escape from real life:  books with humor & heart, quirky friendships, cute dogs, exotic settings, swoony romances, a touch of the supernatural, and of course, a happy ending. But really, any favorite book can be a welcome escape! Here are ten of mine:

Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Silverborne by Patricia Briggs

The Confessor by Daniel Silva

The Gargoyle Gets His Girl by Kristen Painter

(Though all of Painter's Nocturne Falls books are favs.)

Something From the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Altar of Eden by James Rollins

The Match by Sarah Adams 

Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein

My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

(Or any of Jane Austen's books really.)

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

This list of books could be A LOT longer; I have so many books that I turn to when I need an escape from real life. But I think I better stop here. Can't wait to check out your favorite escapes.

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is a Throwback Freebie where you choose a past Top Ten Tuesday topic to do. And I thought I would do my own take on Opening Lines.  

So, here are my Top Ten Fun First Lines From Some Recent Reads:

"I was not born a monster."

(Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim)

"Addie Macrae's internal compass was irreparably damaged."

(Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley)

"What baffled them was the skeleton."

(This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer)

"Madi Morgan had never been good with decisions, especially when it came to life or death situations. And cake was definitely life or death."

(Love On Camera by Dana LeCheminant)

"Boo couldn't think of a worse way to die."

(One Last Shot by Susan May Warren)

"My face is melting."

(Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill)

"Cousin Edna Fairchild had designed her life on the principle that far fields were greener."

(The Chocolate Cobweb by Charlotte Armstrong)

"If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I love a happy ending. That butterlies-in-your-stomach, rush-of-serotonin, breathless, euphoric, wrapped-up-in-a-bow happy ending."

(Only and Forever by Chloe Liese)

"Blood leaves no stain on a Warden's grey cloak."

(Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher)

"The fairy tales in Jen's imagination leaned toward the dark, Grimm variety, but in the real world, the worst monsters looked like everyone else."

(On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is MAY FLOWERS. But since that's such a broad category, I decided to narrow my list down to books and titles with gardens in them. 

Enjoy!

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

 

The Wishing Garden by Christy Yorke

The White Garden by Stephanie Barron

Wild Designs by Katie Fforde

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose

A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install

The Kew Gardens Girls by Posy Lovell

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams

I've read the first seven books on this list, but not the last three. 

Those are on my TBR list however. 

Got any favorite "garden" books?

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's them is a Love Freebie in honor of Valentine's Day. But instead of doing a list of favorite romances, which I've done in the past, I decided to center my top ten list this week around a game I love to play instead:  CHESS.   So here's my list of 10 books with a chess theme on the cover or in the title. 

The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte

The Eight by Katherine Neville

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis 

Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris

Bishop's Knight by Katie Reus

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

Curiosity by Gary Blackwood

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

Hunter's Green by Phyllis A. Whitney

Horrorscape by Nenia Campbell

Happy Reading!