Top Ten Tuesday – Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books.  This is a great topic for this week since we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving here in the U.S. later this week.

Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Books

 

1. Books provide me with the ultimate escape when reality is just too much to deal with. I think they saved my mental health during the pandemic.

2. Books have led this introvert to find her people in the online bookish community. I’m so thankful for all of you!

3. Audiobooks have given me a way to make even the most mundane tasks like driving and folding laundry less tedious.

4. Because of books, we have libraries, which are one of the greatest community resources we have.

5. Along similar lines, because of books, we have bookstores, which are my favorite places to quietly browse when I’m out and about and decide I need some downtime.

6. Books of all genres always give me food for thought, which I think is so important.  Sometimes they reaffirm something I already believe, but often times, they challenge me to think about something in a different way.

7. Books appeal to my sense of wanderlust and allow me to travel to places I’ll probably never make it to in my real life.

8. Even though books provide me great comfort, they have also led me to expand my horizons technologically speaking, in terms of creating this blog and constant troubleshooting it, starting a bookstagram account, etc.  I never could have imagined myself doing any of that if not for my intense love of books.

9. Books teach me so much. I read a lot of historical fiction and I love that I’m always learning new things about historical events that I thought I was pretty well-schooled in.

10. I’m speaking mainly of my own community here, but I love when people are passionate enough about books that when someone in a position of authority advocates the banning and burning of books, they can band together and vote that person out of office.

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Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Can’t Wait Wednesday – CANADIAN BOYFRIEND by Jenny Holiday

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is CANADIAN BOYFRIEND by Jenny Holiday.  I’ve been getting more and more into sports romances lately so this fun one between a hockey player and a ballet teacher caught my eye, especially since it’s written by Jenny Holiday, whose Christmas novels I’ve really enjoyed.

CANADIAN BOYFRIEND by Jenny Holiday

by Forever

Publication Date:  January 30, 2024

 

Goodreads:

Fate brings together a ballet teacher and a hockey player in this big-hearted novel about second chances and taking risks by the bestselling author Entertainment Weekly calls the “master of witty banter.”

Once upon a time teenage Aurora Evans met a hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. And soon, he was the perfect fake boyfriend, a get-out-of-jail-free card for all kinds of sticky situations. I can’t go to prom. I’m going to be visiting my boyfriend in Canada. He was just what she needed to cover her social awkwardness. He never had to know. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again…

Years later, Aurora is teaching kids’ dance classes and battling panic and eating disorders—souvenirs from her failed ballet career—when pro hockey player Mike Martin walks in with his daughter. Mike’s honesty about his struggles with widowhood helps Aurora confront some of her own demons, and the two forge an unlikely friendship. There’s just one problem: Mike is the boy she spent years pretending was her “Canadian boyfriend.”

The longer she keeps her secret, the more she knows it will shatter the trust between them. But to have the life she wants, she needs to tackle the most important thing of all—believing in herself.

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Titles That Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Book Titles That Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines.  This is such a fun topic but also one that I found to be super challenging. I’m not sure the ones I picked would actually make good newspaper headlines, but I’m going to try to explain what my thought process was for picking each of the titles I chose.

Book Titles That Would Make Great Newspaper Headlines

 

1. CHECK & MATE  –  In my head, I see this one as possibly being political in nature, particularly with some of the manueverings we’ve seen lately.

2. THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER   – This one also made me think of politics, but something more global. Russia immediately came to mind.

3. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS – This title made me think of a either an article advertising an upcoming holiday event or perhaps reviewing the event.

4. CARRIE SOTO IS BACK  – I imagine this was probably TJR’s intention, but this one definitely feels like it could be a news headline announcing a big comeback.

5. THE FINE PRINT – I could see this being the title of one of those buyer beware kind of articles warning people about scams.

6. NONE OF THIS IS TRUE – My local paper prints so many downright heated letters to the editor about local politics and other local hot button issues and I could easily see this one being a title to one of those letters.

7. HOW NOT TO FALL IN LOVE  –  This just screams headline in the Style/Leisure section of the paper to me.

8. THIS SPELLS DISASTER – I can easily imagine this one as an op-ed headline since so many of those seems to predict doom and gloom lately.

9. THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND  –  Minus the sh*t obviously, this sounds like it could be a headline announcing a scientific discovery.

10. BETTER THAN FICTION  –  This one jumped out at me as perfect for one of those stories you read about where something so outlandish has happened, you can hardly believe it’s true.

 

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Question:  Do you agree with my selections and rationale for choosing them? 

Can’t Wait Wednesday – NOSY NEIGHBORS by Freya Sampson

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is NOSY NEIGHBORS by Freya Sampson. I’ve read two other books from Sampson and I just love how heartwarming her reads are and how she likes to feature a strong sense of community as well as unlikely friendships.

NOSY NEIGHBORS by Freya Sampson

by Berkley

Publication Date:  April 2, 2024

 

Goodreads:

Two neighbors-at-war band together to stop a dangerous criminal in their midst in this enthralling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Lost Ticket.

Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, and especially not in crumbling Shelley House. According to her neighbors, she’s prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling is Shelley House’s longest resident, and if you believe the other tenants, she’s as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Except there’s a good reason Dorothy spends her days spying on her neighbors—a closely guarded secret that no else knows and the reason Dorothy barely leaves her beloved home.

When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home. But when someone starts to play dirty and viciously targets one of the residents, Dorothy and Kat suspect foul play in their community. After the police close the investigation, it’s up to this improbable pair to bring a criminal to justice.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Before the End of 2023

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is a freebie and I feel like I’ve already posted everything spooky season related I wanted to, so today I’m sharing ten books I’m determined to read before the end of the year.

Also, just a side note, that I have been having tremendous issues with the comment feature on my site since last Thursday.  I think it’s related to a Jetpack plugin, either a bad update or a conflict with another plugin, and I’ve been trying to resolve it but I’m not tech savvy and just don’t know who is having issues commenting or what the specific errors are. If you are still unable to comment on my posts, can you either DM me on twitter (x) or on Instagram with any specific error messages that you’re seeing?  Thanks!

10 Before the End of 2023

   

 

1. CHECK & MATE by Ali Hazelwood  –  “In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.”

2. A DEMON’S GUIDE TO WOOING A WITCH by Sarah Hawley  – “Calladia Cunnington curses the day she met Astaroth the demon, but when he shows up memoryless, why does she find him so helpless . . . and sort of hot?”

3. WOKE UP LIKE THIS by Amy Lea – “Planning the perfect prom is one last “to do” on ultra-organized Charlotte Wu’s high school bucket list. So far, so good, if not for a decorating accident that sends Charlotte crash-landing off a ladder, face-first into her obnoxiously ripped archnemesis J. T. Renner. Worse? When Charlotte wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed at thirty years old, with her bearded fiancé, Renner, by her side…Navigating a series of adventures and a confounding new normal, Charlotte and Renner will do whatever it takes to find a way back to seventeen. But when―and if―they do, what then?”

4. THE FAKE MATE by Lana Ferguson  – “Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

5. BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree – “When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn’t always what we seek. In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & LattesNew York Times bestselling author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.”

6. JUST DON’T FALL by Emma St. Clair – “Just Don’t Fall is a small town, closed door hockey romcom with all the fake dating, brother’s best friend vibes. You’ll get smoking chemistry and characters to root for but NO spice. (Yes, you read that right–a low spice hockey romance.) Perfect for fans of sports romance who want a less heat.”

7. THE PREDICTABLE HEARTBREAKS OF IMOGEN FINCH by Jacqueline Firkins  –  “A beautiful story of friendship, and second chances at love.

8. HOMERUN PROPOSAL by Maren Moore – “Cocky pitcher. Player on and off the field. The life of every party. And the same guy I’ve crushed on in secret since we were kids. He’s always been out of my league. That is until he signs the dotted line on a proposal that wasn’t meant for him, and offers to teach me… everything. His one and only condition? Don’t get attached. Easier said than done when my heart is involved. Now, it’s a whole new ballgame..”

9. DO YOUR WORST by Rosie Danan  –  “Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become enemies-with-benefits in this steamy romance.”

10. HUNT ON DARK WATERS by Katee Robert  –  Witches and pirates! “Sail the magical high seas with this first book in a new sexy fantasy romance series from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash-hit Neon Gods.”

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA by T.J. Klune

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune.  I had no idea there was going to be a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea so this news just made my month when I heard it.  It’s still almost a year out but I think this is one of those books that deserves as much early buzz as possible and I just cannot wait to be back in this world again and to get Arthur’s story.

SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA by T.J. Klune

by Tor Books

Publication Date:  September 10, 2024

 

Goodreads:

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade. Featuring gorgeous orange sprayed edges!

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Atmospheric Reads to add to Your TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Atmospheric Books (The Novelry explains this concept as: “A novel feels atmospheric when the setting and the narrative are deeply involved with one another; when characters and plot are physically embedded in their surroundings, and a near-tangible mood lifts from the pages and wraps itself around the reader.” Study.com explains that, “The atmosphere is how a writer constructs their piece to convey feelings, emotions, and mood to the reader. The atmosphere in literature might be tense, fast-paced, mysterious, spooky, whimsical, or joyful and can be found in poetry, stories, novels, and series.”)

I honestly don’t know if the reads I picked are truly atmospheric reads or if their covers are just what I think of when I hear the word atmospheric.  They all definitely have the same overall vibe anyway, haha.

Atmospheric Reads to add to Your TBR

   

 

 

1. DAISY DARKER by Alice Feeney

2. THE HACIENDA by Isabel Cañas

3. THE BOOK OF COLD CASES by Simone St. James

4. THE BOOK OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman

5. VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Cañas

6. THE NATURE OF WITCHES by Rachel Griffin

7. THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden

8. SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young

9. BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT by Rachel Griffin

10. THE WILDERWOMEN by Ruth Emmie Lang

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – HAPPILY NEVER AFTER by Lynn Painter

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is HAPPILY NEVER AFTER by Lynn Painter. Lynn Painter has quickly become one of my favorite rom com writers and the premise for this new book sounds hilarious!

HAPPILY NEVER AFTER by Lynn Painter

by Berkley

Publication Date:  March 12, 2024

 

Goodreads:

Their name? The objectors.
Their job? To break off weddings as hired.
Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.

When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her wedding that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their “I object!”

During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.

Max and Sophie start working together, the two love cynics going from wedding to wedding, and she’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. Sophie looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony, where she gets to save the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As they spend more time together, however, they realize their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.

And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to her getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Weather Events in the Title

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is  Books with Weather Events/Words in the Title/on the Cover.  This one was harder than I thought it would be, but I did finally manage to find ten titles that fit the topic.

Books with Weather Events in the Title

storm swords

 

 

1. A STORM OF SWORDS by George R. R. Martin

2. THE SNOW CHILD by Eowyn Ivey

3. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein

4. A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES by Diana Gabaldon

5. LET IT SNOW by Beth Moran

6. HURRICANE SUMMER by Asha Ashanti Bromfield

7. THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah

8. PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan

9. PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

10. EMPIRE OF STORMS by Sarah J. Maas

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Jobs I Would Love to Have

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Bookish Jobs I Would Do For Free (Real or Imaginary).  I tweaked the topic just a bit since I don’t see myself doing much for free these days, haha. Instead, I’ve broken the jobs down into what I consider to be somewhat realistic options if I were to ever decide to make a career change versus jobs I would love to do if such jobs even existed and if I have the skill/creativity to do them.

Bookish Jobs I Would Love to Have

 

Semi-Realistic Ones Based on My Actual Skill Set:

1. Any job in publishing –  If I could go back in time and plot a different career path for myself, I definitely would have loved to go into publishing and relocate to New York.

2. Librarian – Another option I would love since it would mean interacting with readers all day and helping them find books I hope they will love.

3. Book Shop Owner, ideally the owner of a shop that is part bookstore, part wine bar or bakery – Same as number 2, but with the added bonus of food and/or wine.

4. Literary Agent – What a thrill it would be to discover and represent new authors!

5. Elementary School Reading Teacher – While I was a teacher many years ago, I was a high school English teacher. If I could go back and do things differently, I think I would have loved teaching young children the joys of reading.

 

Dream Jobs If They Actually Exist and/or I Actually Had the Skill to Do Them:

6. Professional Bookworm – Who wouldn’t want to get paid to just read all day?

7. Book Cover Designer – If I had any artistic ability, this would be such an amazing job.

8. Book Club Coordinator – This doesn’t really exist but I think it would be so much fun to help people who are looking for book clubs to find one that is perfect for them.

9. Designer of Bookish Merchandise – There’s just something about bookish merch that brings me so much joy so I really wish I had the artistic talent to design and sell merch of my own.

10. College Professor who specializes in teaching Contemporary Romance – I think this one springs from both my love of contemporary romance novels and my desire to defend the genre against those who always belittle it.

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Question:  What would be your dream bookish job?