Tag Archive for: top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Titles That Would Make Great Band Names

 

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 Titles That Would Make Good Band Names.  I thought this was a fun topic and what surprised me as I was looking at the titles on my shelves was just how well so many titles would work as names for bands.  My only struggle was just picking 10!  Fantasy titles seem to work especially well, in my head anyway, lol.  I’m imagining the titles I’ve chosen as either head-banging 80’s hair bands or something a little more modern, like alternative bands.

My son looked at me strangely when I added Turtles All the Way Down to my list, but I say if Bowling For Soup, the Barenaked Ladies, and Toad the Wet Sprocket can be band names, why not Turtles All the Way Down?

 

via GIPHY

 

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Book Titles That Would Make Great Band Names

(in no particular order)

 

AURORA RISING

UNDERCOVER BROMANCE

THUNDERHEAD

SIX OF CROWS

SPINNING SILVER

RENEGADES

MY LADY JANE

WARCROSS

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN

 

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Could you see any of these titles as band names?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Enjoyed But Don’t Give Enough Love To

 

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 I Enjoyed but Rarely Talk About (This is for the books you liked, but rarely come up in conversation or rarely fit a TTT topic, etc.).  This is such a great topic for me because I always have those go-to belove books that I always gush about and that are always perfect fits for other Top Ten Tuesday topics, etc.  But there are so many other books that I’ve loved equally but have been very lax when it comes to showing them the love they deserve.

Some of the books I chose to spotlight this week are books I read and loved in my pre-blogger days and have neglected in favor of promoting newer, shinier reads.  Others, however, are those newer and shinier reads and I don’t honestly know why I haven’t hyped them more because I really enjoyed them.  That’s about to change now though…

 

 

via GIPHY

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Books I Enjoyed But Don’t Give Enough Love To

(in no particular order)

 

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier

History and fiction merge seamlessly in Tracy Chevalier’s luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Griet, the world of 1660s Holland comes dazzlingly alive in this richly imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired one of Vermeer’s most celebrated paintings.

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This was one of the works of historical fiction I ever read and I read it a few years before I started blogging.  I had always thought the painting was lovely so it was interesting to see how it came about through the eyes of the painting’s actual subject, a 16-year old girl named Griet.  I also loved the Holland setting.  This is what I would call a quietly beautiful book, which is probably why it doesn’t scream at me to pay more attention to it. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway, lol.

 

A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

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I really enjoyed this book and I think I haven’t talked more about it because I was so late to the game in reading it.  If you’re the last person in the world to read it, there’s no one else left to recommend it to. 🙂

 

ONE PLUS ONE by Jojo Moyes

One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages… maybe ever.

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I’ve enjoyed every book by JoJo Moyes that I’ve read, but when it comes to talking about books I love, I seem always neglect One Plus One in favor of the more popular Me Before You.  This one is definitely worth your time as well though.

 

THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch combines vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher’s calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

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The Goldfinch is a book I loved but don’t really talk about because it was such a super-hyped book when it came out and, again, I was late to the game reading it.  It’s also a nearly 800-page brick of a book.  That said, it’s still a fantastic read filled with complex characters and powerful themes.  It may have taken me forever to read it, but it’s a book that has stuck with me ever since.

 

RED WINTER by Annette Marie

Emi is the kamigakari. In a few short months, her life as a mortal will end and her new existence as the human host of a goddess will begin. Carefully hidden from those who would destroy her, she has prepared her mind, body, and soul to unite with the goddess-and not once has she doubted her chosen fate. Shiro is a yokai, a spirit of the earth, an enemy of the goddess Emi will soon host. Mystery shrouds his every move and his ruby eyes shine with cunning she can’t match and dares not trust. But she saved his life, and until his debt is paid, he is hers to command-whether she wants him or not. On the day they meet, everything Emi believes comes undone, swept away like snow upon the winter wind. For the first time, she wants to change her fate-but how can she erase a destiny already wrought in stone? Against the power of the gods, Shiro is her only hope… and hope is all she has left. 

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Red Winter is a fantasy series that I started reading over the Christmas holidays this past year and I immediately fell in love with it.  It’s another that I honestly have no idea why I haven’t promoted it more because it definitely deserves more love with its fabulous characters and unique use of Japanese mythology.

 

THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves

What if you had a second chance at first love?

Annika Rose likes being alone.
She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way. She just can’t read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others. Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn’t seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she’s not sure he’ll want to see her again after what happened all those years ago.

Annika Rose likes being alone.
Except that, actually, she doesn’t like being alone at all.

The Girl He Used to Know is an uplifting novel full of surprising revelations that keep you turning the page. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Gail Honeyman, Jill Santopolo and Sliding Doors.

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This is another of those quietly beautiful stories that just get lost in the noise of my brain when I’m shouting out book recs.  If you enjoy well-written second chance romances filled with characters you’ll become incredibly invested in, this is a great one.

 

THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE by Ruta Sepetys

A portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.

Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother’s birth through the lens of his camera. Photography–and fate–introduce him to Ana, whose family’s interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War–as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel’s photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

Includes vintage media reports, oral history commentary, photos, and more.

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I recently read and loved Ruta Sepetys’ latest work of historical fiction, but I feel like this is a book that is flying under the radar. It’s highly rated on Goodreads but I rarely hear anyone talking about it and of course I’ve never promoted it either.  It’s a fascinating look at what life was like in Spain under the rule of a dictator and definitely a unique read for me since I tend to stick so closely to WWII and WWI historical fiction.

 

AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN by Susan Meissner

From the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters–Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa–a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without–and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world, not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.

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This is definitely NOT a book I would recommend for reading while we’re facing the COVID-19 pandemic, but it really is a fantastic read.  I haven’t talked much about it just because it is such a heart-wrenching story, but as soon as I finished it, I immediately ordered two more of Meissner’s books because I loved her storytelling so much.

 

FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett

Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.

But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.

Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.

To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.

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I did review Foundryside on my blog in 2018 and gave it a good review but I haven’t really talked about it much since.  I’m reading the sequel right now and it’s just striking me all over again what a wonderful and unique fantasy it really is.  I love the characters and the worldbuilding is truly stellar.  And for those who have read it and are waiting on the sequel, let me say now that the story just gets better and better.  I’m trying to hurry up and finish this blog post right now so that I can get back to reading it!

 

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself — all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter’s story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida’s storytelling but remains suspicious of the author’s sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

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This is another beloved read from my pre-blogging days that I rarely mention now. My “review” from back when I read it describes it as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre all rolled into one book and for fans of Gothic lierature.

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Have you read any of these or do you plan to read any of them?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’ll Be Reading This Year Because of Blogger Recommendations

 

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 I Bought/Borrowed Because… (Fill in the blank. You can do 10 books you bought for the same reason, i.e., pretty cover, recommended by a friend, blurbed by a favorite authors, etc. OR you could do a different reason for each pick.)

I tweaked the topic a little bit because I want to share some books I’ll be reading this year, all because of your excellent reviews and recommendations.  In many cases, these are books I probably never would have chosen on my own, but you guys have such great taste in books so I’m very excited to read all of these.  A few of them are also books I had actually hoped to get to last year but ran out of time, so I’m making them a priority this year.

 

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Books I’ll Be Reading This Year Because of Blogger Recommendations

(in no particular order)

 

ALL SYSTEMS RED by Martha Wells

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.  But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.  But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

 

CIRCE by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

 

WANDERERS by Chuck Wendig

A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope.

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

 

POLARIS RISING by Jessie Mihalik

A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.  In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three High Houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.

Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.  But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .

 

FOOLISH HEARTS by Emma Mills

When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.

 

THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY by Alix E. Harrow

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.  Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding debut–step inside and discover its magic.

 

THE SIMPLE WILD by K.A. Tucker

Calla Fletcher wasn’t even two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.

She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot who helps keep her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.

Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. Soon, she finds herself forming an unexpected bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.

 

HOLLOW KINGDOM by Kira Jane Buxton

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle’s wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn’t quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies–from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim’s loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis–fail to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity’s extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.

 

THE CITY OF BRASS by S.A. Chakraborty

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.  After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for…

 

When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this fiercely compelling tale of survival, courage, and hope.

My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football.  My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.  Then the thief came.

There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.  Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?

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Have you read any of these or do you plan to read any of them?

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Reads That Will Put a Smile on Your Face

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 Genre Freebie (pick a genre and build a list around it! i.e., best/worst romances, non-fiction for travelers, memoirs for foodies, classics that feel timeless, romance novel kisses, science fiction that feels too real for comfort, women’s fiction for newbies, etc.).  I went a little rogue this week because I couldn’t really think of a genre I wanted to focus on. Instead, and especially in light of what’s going on in the world right now, I decided to focus on humor.  Specifically, I’m sharing books that I think are such fun reads they’ll put a smile on your face and will make you forget about your troubles for a little while.  All ten of these have plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and, at least for me anyway, were major mood lifters. My list is heavy on rom-coms and YA contemporaries, and you knew The Bromance Book Club and something by Christina Lauren would make an appearance, didn’t you? Anyway, here’s my list. Happy Tuesday!

 

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10 Reads That Will Put a Smile on Your Face

 

1. TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han

(Find out what it’s about…)

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2. MY LADY JANE by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, & Brodi Ashton

(Find out what it’s about…)

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3.  THE FLATSHARE by Beth O’Leary

(Find out what it’s about…)

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4. THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams

(Find out what it’s about…)

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5. SAVE THE DATE by Morgan Matson

(Find out what it’s about…)

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6. THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE by Mackenzi Lee

(Find out what it’s about…)

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7. WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandhya Menon

(Find out what it’s about…)

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8. RAYNE & DELILAH’s MIDNITE MATINEE by Jeff Zenter

(Find out what it’s about…)

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9. JOSH & HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING

(Find out what it’s about…)

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10. SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

(Find out what it’s about…)

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Question:  What are some of your favorite fun reads?

Top Ten Tuesday – My Spring 2020 Reading List

 

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 2020 Spring TBR. This was a pretty easy topic for me since I, of course, have tons of books I’m hoping to get to this spring.  The hardest part was trying to narrow down to just ten to share and I failed on that so you get to see 13 books I’m planning to read.

 

via GIPHY

 

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My Spring 2020 TBR

(in no particular order)

 

ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW by Kristan Higgins

Sometimes you have to break a family to fix it.  From New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins, a new novel examining a family at the breaking point in all its messy, difficult, wonderful complexity.

 

REAL MEN KNIT by Kwana Jackson

When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop. A big-hearted, warm, funny story of community, family and unexpected romance.

 

MASTER CLASS by Christina Dalcher

The future of every child is determined by one standardized measurement: their quotient (Q). Score high enough, and they attend a top tier school with a golden future ahead of them. Score low, and they are sent to a federally run boarding school with limited prospects for future employment. The purpose? Education costs are cut, teachers focus on the best students, and parents are happy. Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s elite schools. When her nine-year old daughter fails her next monthly test, her Q score drops to a disastrously low level and she is immediately forced to leave her top school for a federal school hundreds of miles away. As a teacher, Elena knows intimately the dangers of failure in their tiered educational system, but as a mother who just lost her child, all Elena wants is to be near her daughter again. And she will do the unthinkable to make it happen.

 

ADMISSION by Julie Buxbaum

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes an of-the-moment novel that peeks inside the private lives of the hypercompetitive and the hyperprivileged and takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country.

 

CHASING LUCKY by Jenn Bennett

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.  What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy…

 

SHOREFALL by Robert Jackson Bennett

In the second installment of The Founders Trilogy, the upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it’s not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won’t tolerate competition, and they’re willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.  But even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that’s not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees – especially Sancia.

Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself – before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground.

 

JACK KEROUAC IS DEAD TO ME by Gae Polisner

Fifteen-year-old JL Markham’s life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren’t the friends they once were.  With JL’s father gone on long term business, and her mother suffering from dissociative disorder, JL takes solace in the in the tropical butterflies she raises, and in her new, older boyfriend, Max Gordon. Max may be rough on the outside, but he has the soul of a poet (something Aubrey will never understand). Only, Max is about to graduate, and he’s going to hit the road – with or without JL.

JL can’t bear being left behind again. But what if devoting herself to Max not only means betraying her parents, but permanently losing the love of her best friend? What becomes of loyalty, when no one is loyal to you?

 

RUTHLESS GODS by Emily A. Duncan

Darkness never works alone…  Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become.  As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.  This is the second installment in the Something Dark and Holy series.

 

FEELS LIKE FALLING by Kristy Woodson Harvey

From “the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand) and the bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series comes an odd-couple tale of friendship that asks just how much our past choices define our happiness.

 

THE SECOND HOME by Christina Clancy

A debut novel set on Cape Cod that centers on a beloved family home and the summer that changed the lives of three siblings forever, perfect for readers of J. Courtney Sullivan and Elin Hilderbrand.

 

TO HAVE AND TO HOAX by Martha Waters

In this fresh and hilarious historical rom-com, an estranged husband and wife in Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attentionand maybe just win each other back in the process.

 

THE PRISONER’S WIFE by Maggie Brookes

Inspired by the true story of a daring deception that plunges a courageous young woman deep into the horrors of a Nazi POW camp to be with the man she loves.

 

THE LIES THAT BIND by Emily Giffin

In the irresistible new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace . . . The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth–in our relationships, careers, and deep within our own hearts.

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Do you plan to read any of these titles this Spring?

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favorite Authors to Follow on Social Media

 

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 Authors Who Have a Fun Social Media Presence.  Following authors on twitter is the best. I love reading their random musings about writing, politics, or whatever happens to be on their minds at any given moment.  I also love to follow them because, at least in the case of my favorites, they also tend to have the best sense of humor. The wit and sarcasm makes my day, and I’m also a sucker for author accounts that post about their pets. Stephen King tweeting about Molly, the thing of evil, for example, always cracks me up. Anyway, below are some of my favorites on twitter. Do we share any faves?

 

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My Favorite Authors to Follow on Social Media

 

1)  V.E. Schwab

 

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2)  Angie Thomas

 

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3)  Stephen King

 

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4)  C.G. Drews

 

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5)  Jenn Bennett

 

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6)  Marie Lu

 

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7)  Julie Murphy

 

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8)  Victoria Aveyard

 

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9)  Jay Kristoff

 

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10) Jenny Han

 

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Question:  Who are some of your favorite authors to follow on social media?

Top Ten Tuesday – Sometimes One Word is Enough: My Favorite One-Word Book Titles

 

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 Single-Word Titles.  As someone who has always struggled to be concise with their writing, there’s just something so impressive to me about single-word book titles.  It amazes me that authors are able to so perfectly capture the essence of the hundreds and hundreds of pages they’ve written with a single word.  And I don’t know about you guys, but I often find those one-word titles to be way more powerful than their multi-word counterparts.  In some cases, they perfectly capture the magic of a book, while in others, they succinctly convey the horrific vibe.  And yet in still others, they are deliberately ambiguous so as to keep you guessing as to their meaning.

Anyway, enough of that.  Below are ten of my favorite one-word titles.

 

via GIPHY

(Sorry. I just watched The Princess Bride and can’t get this quote out of my head.)

 

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My Favorite One-Word Book Titles

(in no particular order)

 

CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber

UPROOTED by Naomi Novik

GEEKERELLA by Ashley Poston

BELOVED by Toni Morrison

PRIDE by Ibi Zoboi

UNSUB by Meg Gardiner

VENGEFUL by V.C. Schwab

SCYTHE by Neal Shusterman

HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer

IT by Stephen King

 

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Do you have any favorite one-word book titles?

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Book Characters I’d Follow on Social Media

 

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 Characters I’d Follow On Social Media.  Okay, so anyone who follows me on my social media accounts knows that I’m the actual worst when it comes to social media.  I’m such an introvert and I never know what to post, what to say. I’m just a big bucket of awkward and it’s a never-ending struggle for me.  But even though I suck at it myself, I still love to follow people who are really good at social media. I also like to follow my fellow introverts so that we can revel in our awkwardness together.  Below are some characters from books I’ve read that I think I would enjoy following on social media for various reasons.

 

(Me as a meme)

 

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10 Book Characters I’d Follow on Social Media

(in no particular order)

 

NINA from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

SIMON from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

HAZEL from Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

SWEETIE from There’s Something About Sweetie by Sendhya Menon

WILLOWDEAN DIXON from Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

TIFFY from The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

LARA JEAN from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

CATH from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

EMIKA CHEN from Warcross by Marie Lu

REV from More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

 

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Who are some characters you would follow on social media if you could?

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Reads That Left Me with a Book Hangover

 

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 The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover.  I honestly couldn’t remember the last ten books that gave me a book hangover so I just went with ten that I actually could remember, lol.

For those who don’t know what a book hangover is, I think this fun graphic from Epic Reads sums it up pretty well.  For me, they are brought on when I have to say goodbye to my favorite characters in a beloved series or when I read a standalone that just puts my emotions through the wringer.

 

 

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10 Reads That Left Me with a Book Hangover

(in no particular order)

 

ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven

THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah

SHADES OF MAGIC series by V.E. Schwab

MONSTERS OF VERITY by Victoria Schwab

HARRY POTTER series by J.K. Rowling

THE HUNGER GAMES series by Suzanne Collins

ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas

THE WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY by Katherine Arden

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer

 

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Do you have books or series that have left you with book hangovers?

Top Ten Tuesday – Be My Valentine – My Favorite Book Covers that Feature Hearts

 

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 Love Freebie in honor of Valentine’s Day so I’ve decided to use the freebie to showcase some of my favorite covers that feature hearts.  I actually ended up with 13 but couldn’t decide which three to cut so I decided to keep them all.

 

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My Favorite Book Covers that Feature Hearts

(in no particular order)

 

HOW TO BUILD A HEART by Maria Padian

HEARTS MADE FOR BREAKING by Jen Klein

THE ANATOMICAL SHAPE OF A HEART by Jenn Bennett

FIRST & THEN by Emma Mills

ALEX & ELIZA by Melissa de la Cruz

CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT by Brigid Kemmerer

BEAUTIFUL BROKEN HEARTS by Kami Garcia

HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer

THE START OF ME AND YOU by Emery Lord

CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult

Do you have any favorite covers that feature hearts?