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 actually supposed to be My Ten Most Recent Reads (maybe share a one-sentence review to go with?).  I have either already reviewed or am planning to review the last 10 books I read, so I decided to twist the topic to make it a better fit for me.  I’m sharing the last books I read but have no plans to review on the blog, mainly just because they’re older reads and/or I just didn’t have enough to say about them to even write a mini review.

* * * * *

The Last 10 Books I Read but Don’t Plan to Review on the Blog

1. ALEX, APPROXIMATELY by Jenn Bennett (4 STARS)

This was my 5th Jenn Bennett novel and probably my favorite yet.  Loved the enemies to lovers plot with a You’ve Got Mail twist.

2. AUTOBOYOGRAPHY by Christina Lauren (5 STARS)

I had been avoiding this book, afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype, but wow, it really blew me away. Such a moving, beautiful, cute, and all around special story and I adored all of the characters, especially Tanner.

3. THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES by Jackie Fraser (3 STARS)

This book actually releases today and I had somewhat mixed feelings about it.  I loved the setting – a bookshop in Scotland and I liked the main character, Thea.  I also love a good second chance romance.  So why mixed feelings?  I wasn’t the biggest fan of her second chance guy.  I guess he was supposed to be a cute grumpy type, but for some reason, it just didn’t work for me this time even though it normally does.  I also thought the pacing was slow at times.  It was still a nice read overall but just didn’t captivate me the way I expected it to.

4. BOYFRIEND MATERIAL by Alexis Hall (4.5 STARS)

I love a good fake dating story and this one totally delivers.  The main characters, Luc and Oliver, are wonderful, both individually and together.  Plus, there’s tons of humor so that was a bonus as well.

5. THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by T.J. Klune (5 STARS)

I think every other blogger out there has said everything there is to say about this book, but it is truly one of the most special and unique books I’ve ever read.  Truly magical and it had me crying happy tears by the end.  I adored all of the children so much, especially Lucy and Chauncey.

6. CODE GIRLS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE AMERICAN WOMEN CODE BREAKERS WHO HELPED WIN WWII by Liza Mundy (3.5 STARS)

One of my goals this year has been to read more nonfiction and this is one of the books I have read so far in 2021.  Since I enjoy WWII historical fiction so much, I picked this book up since I had never heard of these women code breakers before.  It’s a pretty interesting read, although a little dry at times. I definitely recommend the audio version.

7. EXCUSE ME WHILE I UGLY CRY by Joya Goffney (4 STARS)

This book actually releases today and although I enjoyed it, I just didn’t have enough to say about it to review it in full on the blog.  Imagine having your journal, with all of your innermost secrets and private thoughts, land in the worst possible hands. This is exactly what happens to Quinn, the main character. And not only does her journal end up in the wrong hands, but the person who has it decides to blackmail her with it.  This is a wonderful story about facing your fears, figuring out who you are and who your true friends are.  There’s also the possibility of a romance but that takes a backseat to the coming of age storyline.

8. HIDDEN FIGURES by Margot Lee Shetterly (4 STARS)

This is another nonfiction book I read this year, mainly because I loved the film of the same name so much.  This was a great read, although slightly different from the film in that it focuses much more on the science and the history and a little less on the personal lives of the individual women.

9. A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama (5 STARS)

Also part of my quest to read more nonfiction.  This was such a fascinating inside look at Obama’s political rise from his younger years up through his Presidency.  It’s volume 1 of what will be a 2 volume memoir so this one runs up through the mission where we finally got bin Laden.  It’s basically a record of every major event that happened during those years and Obama’s thoughts at the times as well as his hindsight reflections on those events.  I really enjoyed that he talked about both his successes and his failures, and how things affected him both politically and personally.  I also highly recommend the audio version.

10. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE trilogy by Laini Taylor (4 STARS – Books 1 & 2, 3 STARS – Book 3)

This trilogy had been sitting on my shelf for several years so I decided it was time to finally knock it off my TBR.  I really enjoyed the series overall, although not quite as much as the wonderful Strange the Dreamer series.  The world building was very impressive, I loved all of the main characters, and I especially loved the seraphim versus chimaera premise.  The series finale was a bit of a let down for me, mainly just because it introduced new characters and I just wasn’t invested in them at all and felt they were in the way of the characters I wanted to read about.

* * * * * *

Question:  Have you read any of these?

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 actually supposed to be Books I’d Gladly Throw Into the Ocean, but I honestly couldn’t think of ten books that aroused that kind of negative reaction in me.  Required readings for school came to mind since, by nature, I hate to be told what to read and remember going into every required reading assignment fully expecting to hate the book. (Yeah, I was super mature, haha!)  Instead of sharing the books I hated though, I’d rather share the ones that surprised me because I not only didn’t hate them, but I actually kind of loved them.

* * * * *

Books I Was Required to Read for School But Didn’t Hate

1. MACBETH by William Shakespeare – I was one of the few in my English classes who actually got excited when it was time to read a play from Shakespeare.  Macbeth was probably my favorite of the ones we had to read and I chalk it up as an early sign that I would grow up to love witchy reads so much, lol.

2. BELOVED by Toni Morrison – This book was actually one of my first required readings in college and to this day, it’s one of the most haunting I’ve ever read.  I don’t know if enjoy is the right word to use here since the subject matter deals with the horror and brutality of slavery, but it’s a read that has stayed with me for years now.

3. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou – I’ve never been one to read much in the way of nonfiction so I probably groaned out loud when this book was assigned, especially since at the time, I actually had no idea who Maya Angelou was.  Her story blew me away though and led me to read as many of her poems as I could get my hands on.  As one who also never read much poetry, this is a testament to just how incredible writer she is.

4. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen  – This book was my first experience with an enemies to lovers romance and, to this day, it’s still a favorite of mine.

5. JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte  – I fell in love with this book as soon as I realized the protagonist was an underdog.  Anyone who follows my blog knows I’m a sucker for a good story that features an underdog.  Add in a mad woman in the attic and this was a riveting read for me.

6. THE TELL-TALE HEART AND OTHER WRITINGS by Edgar Allan Poe – I fully expected to hate everything Poe had written since I’ve never been much of a horror fan, but my goodness, his short stories were absolutely mesmerizing to me as a teen.  The creepy atmospheric quality, the psychological horror, etc.  It’s one of the few units in school where I was truly bummed once it was over.

7. THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin – I had to read this book my senior year in high school and don’t know if this was actually a great read or not, but I remember being fascinated by it, I think in part because, with very rare exception, pretty much all we had been assigned as required reading up to this point were dead white male authors.  The Awakening was probably the first real “feminist” book I had read and it was very eye opening.

8. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee – I always refer to this as the first “grown up” book I ever read.  It was assigned to me as required reading in the 8th grade and as someone who had spent her childhood reading Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, E. B. White, etc., this book was just such a stark contrast with its focus on Scout’s loss of innocence as she witnesses racism at work in her sleepy Southern town. It was another of those reads that just blew me away and that has stuck with me all these years later.

9. THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton – I had to read this one in middle school too and I was just struck by how gritty and moving the story is while at the same time being a story about family, friendship, and brotherhood.

10. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding – This was my first experience with a dystopian novel and I remember being completely glued to the book wondering what was going to happen to these boys if they didn’t make it back to civilization soon.  It was fascinating and terrifying.

* * * * * *

Question:  What were some of your favorite required reads from your school days?

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 Funny Book Titles.  This was surprisingly challenging, I guess because we all don’t think the same things are funny.  That said, I always love a good pun or a clever play on words when it comes to well known titles like Game of Thrones or The Fault in Our Stars so I decided to share some cozy mystery titles that I thought were pretty amusing.

* * * * *

Cozy Mystery Titles That Made Me Chuckle

1. NACHO AVERAGE MURDER by Maddie Day

2. THE MALT IN OUR STARS (A LITERARY PUB MYSTERY) by Sarah Fox

3. A GAME OF CONES by Abby Collette

4. ARSENIC AND ADOBO by Mia P. Manansala

5. A BREW TO A KILL (A COFFEEHOUSE MYSTERY) by Cleo Coyle

6. DEATH GONE A-RYE (A BREAD SHOP MYSTERY) by Winnie Archer

7. MURDER IN THE COOKBOOK NOOK by Ellery Adams

8. GROUNDS FOR MURDER (A COFFEE LOVER’S MYSTERY) by Tara Lush

9. IT CANNOLI BE MURDER by Catherine Bruns

10. GINGER SNAPPED by Gail Oust

* * * * * *

Question:  What’s your idea of a funny book title?  Do you enjoy puns or do they make you roll your eyes?

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 Spring Cleaning Freebie (for example, books you’re planning to get rid of for whatever reason, books you’d like to clean off your TBR by either reading them or deciding you’re not interested, books that feel fresh and clean to you after winter is over, etc.).  I decided to focus on book that I have taken off my TBR so far this year.  I guess that’s technically “winter cleaning” but whatever.

As most who follow me know, one of my big goals for the year is to read more of the books I own and another is to finish up (or at least make some progress) on some series that have been lingering on my TBR for years.  I’ve gotten off to a pretty good start on these two goals.  I’ve read 19 books from my bookshelves and 5 of those are books from series I’ve been way behind on.  Not only have I read a lot of my own books, but I’ve also made some hard decisions regarding some series have been lingering on my shelves for years now and decided to purge them from my TBR.  It was hard because my heart is telling me that I’ve invested time in the series and should continue, but the more practical side of me says that if I haven’t read book 2 five years after reading book 1, I’m just not that into it and need to move on.  In most cases, I can’t even remember the basic premise of the series or the names of any characters and just don’t have any interest in re-reading the first book to re-familiarize myself with it.

* * * * *

Spring Cleaning My TBR

What I Read

1. THE ROSE & THE DAGGER by Renee Ahdieh

2. DARKDAWN by Jay Kristoff

3. A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT  by Sarah J. Maas

4. A REAPER AT THE GATES by Sabaa Tahir

5. THE TOLL by Neal Shusterman

What I Purged

6. GOLDEN SON by Pierce Brown

7. BLOOD OF A THOUSAND STARS by Rhoda Belleza

8. THE INFINITE SEA by Rick Yancey

9. EVER THE BRAVE by Erin Summerill

10. LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater

* * * * * *

Question:  Have you read any of these?  Am I missing out if I give up on those five series?