Top Ten Tuesday: Things Getting in the Way of Reading

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Things Getting in the Way of Reading.

I could probably just say REAL LIFE and leave it at that, but that wouldn’t fill up a top 10 list! So here we go — some specific reasons why I never end up reading quite as much as I’d like to:

1. Work. I mean, this one’s obvious. If only I had those extra 8 – 10 hours to do with as I pleased… just think of all the books!

2. Family time: Not that I mind! I love spending time with family.

3. Streaming: Netflix, I see you! I love my streaming habits, so I don’t regret the time I spend devouring good TV.

4. Blogging: It’s true — time spent blogging about reading means time not actually spent reading.

5. Jigsaw puzzles: I’ll go a month without taking out a puzzle, but once I start one, I’m pretty obsessive about working on it until I finish.

6. Other puzzles: I also have a subscription to New York Times games, so every day I need to do the daily crossword, the mini, Spelling Bee, and more.

7. Chatting with friends: Again, not that I mind! I usually listen to audiobooks during my walks, but that’s also a good time to catch up on phone calls and check in with people. Can’t do both at the same time.

8. Driving with others: Driving is my other prime audiobook listening time, but obviously, can’t do that when I’m giving someone else a ride.

I can’t really think of anything that truly gets in the way, so I’ll wrap up with:

9. Sleepiness: I always read in bed… but there are days where I just can’t stay awake enough to concentrate and have to give it up. Silly things like needing to sleep interfering with my reading habits!

10. Bad lighting: Just an occasional annoyance, but I can’t stand settling in at a coffee shop for a quick reading break, and then not being able to see the page in front of me!

What gets in the way of your reading?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

9May2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Recommend to Others the Most

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Recommend to Others the Most.

I feel like I have a tendency to rave about the same books over and over again (*cough* Outlander *cough*), so I’m going to make an effort in this post to spread the love a bit. My focus this time around will be books I’ve recommended a bunch in the last few years. How’s that for non-specific?

Here are my 10:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

I read this book a long time ago, but I find myself recommending it at least a few times each year!

Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow

Believe it or not, the 23rd book in the series was just released this year! I love the characters and plotlines in this Alaska-based series so much… and yes, before you ask, you really do need to start at the beginning. It’s worth it, I promise!

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Not only is this book delightfully creepy, it’s also amazing on audiobook. In fact, this is the first audiobook that made me truly fall in love with the listening experience — something about the narrator’s delivery absolutely drew me in and wouldn’t let go.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

Such a weird and wonderful book! With a chapter for each day of the month of October, it’s easy to see why some people (i.e., me!) make an annual tradition of re-reading this book.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Actually, I recommend the entire Folk of the Air trilogy… a lot! I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Holly Black, but these books really are special.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

For anyone who tells me that they’re too scared to try a Stephen King book, this is the one I try to push into their hands. His storytelling gifts shine in a fantasy tale just as much as in horror.

Emily Starr trilogy by L. M. Montgomery

I’m very, very late to the joys of L. M. Montgomery’s fictional worlds, and I’m trying to make up for lost time! I could easily recommend the Anne books, or The Blue Castle, or Jane of Lantern Hill… but for whatever reason, these Emily books just make me really happy.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

I could put pretty much any book by this author on my list! I’ve loved them all — but The Calculating Stars really spoke to me and moved me. I recommend everything she’s written, but this is the book I consider a stand-out!

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

And now for something a little lighter! This series (4 books) is sweet and romantic, and I love the RenFaire settings. Great escapist romance — and who doesn’t need that every once in a while?

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Not only is this the 1st in a terrific sci-fi series, and not only is the writing smart, funny, and engaging… but Old Man’s War is also the first book to turn my reading-averse teen into someone who wouldn’t put the book down, and then immediately demanded the sequel as soon as he finished it. And that right there makes this a book to recommend!

Have you read any of my recommended books? Which books do you recommend the most?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

2May2023

Top Ten Tuesday: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf.

It was hard to be totally random, since I have a pretty good idea of where all my books live — but I made a valiant attempt to close my eyes, circle my arms around a few times, and then point!

Here are the 10 I landed on:

Lute by Jennifer Thorne

Read? Yes!
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? Absolutely gorgeous. (review)

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Read? Yes!
Rating? 4.5 stars
Thoughts? A slim, affecting collection of interconnected stories about Army families. I read this before I started blogging, so I don’t have a review to share — but I highly recommend this book!

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? Another pre-blogging read, and my 2nd Sarah Waters book (after Fingersmith, which is amazing). This one is terrific too!

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? So powerful. A must-read. (review)

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

Read? No (not yet!)
Rating? n/a
Thoughts? I absolutely intend to read this book! I’ve heard such good things.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Read? Yes!
Rating? 3 stars
Thoughts? This is the 3rd book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. I had very mixed feelings about the trilogy as a whole, and at over 800 pages, this book really required determination to finish. Still, I liked the overall story enough to see it through. (review)

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? If you check out my review, you’ll see the word “beautiful” repeated over and over again — and I stand by it!

Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Read? Yes!
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? I’m surprised that I didn’t write a review at the time, but I know I loved this 2nd Kopp Sisters book, and have since read every book in the series!

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? I picked up this hardcover edition years ago at a library sale, because my battered old paperback got lost somewhere between moves over the ages since I first read it. I intend to reread this book at some point!

Wings to the Kingdom by Cherie Priest

Read? No
Rating? n/a
Thoughts? This is the 2nd book in the Eden Moore trilogy. I own all three… and haven’t touched them yet, despite the years they’ve been sitting on my shelf. The covers are all amazing and ghostly, and I’m committed to reading them… eventually.

Spinning around the room and randomly pointing at books was strangely fun! (And a good reminder that I still have tons of unread books on my shelves…)

How did you do with this week’s random picking?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

25Apr2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Audiobook Narrators

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Favorite Audiobook Narrators. I do love audiobooks, and definitely have some narrators I especially love to listen to.

*Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com*

Here are my 10:

Julia Whelan – I’ve listened to so many audiobooks that she’s narrated, but favorites include Thank You For Listening (which she also wrote), The Giver of Stars, and Daisy Jones & The Six.
Moira Quirk: Narrator of the Custard Protocol and Finishing School series by Gail Carriger, and also the excellent The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk.
Wil Wheaton: Does a great job with John Scalzi’s books. Most recently, I loved his hilarious presentation of The Kaiju Preservation Society.
Zachary Quinto: Another Scalzi narrator — he’s great in the Dispatcher series of audiobooks.
Mary Robinette Kowal: Besides being an absolutely awesome author, she’s also a wonderful audiobook narrator. In addition to her own books, I’ve loved her narration for Seanan McGuire’s many audiobooks.
Lorelei King: Terrific narration of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
Davina Porter: Narrates the Outlander series, and that’s not easy! She’s convincing as an 18th century Scottish Highlander as well as a 20th century British nurse.
Jeff Woodman: In another of Diana Gabaldon’s series, Jeff Woodman is the perfect narrator for the Lord John books — his delivery as Lord John is fabulous.
Juliet Stevenson: There’s not another narrator I’d rather listen to for Jane Austen audiobooks.
Christina Moore: I love her narration of Amy Stewart’s Kopp Sisters books. She gives such personality to each of the characters.

Who are your favorite audiobook narrators? Do we have any in common?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

11Apr2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with animals on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Titles with Animals In Them and/or Covers with Animals On Them. I love looking at interesting book covers, so I’m going with the book cover theme. Here are my 10:

Hollow Kingdome by Kira Jane Buxton
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
American Hippo by Sarah Gailey
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones

What books made your list this week? If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

28Mar2023

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 books with the 5 Ws in the title

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m not particularly reliable when it comes to sticking with a meme every week, but I do always enjoy seeing what the Top 5 Tuesday topics are! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books with the 5 W’s in the title — which Meeghan is defining as who, what, when, where, why in book titles. What fun! It was hard to narrow it down, so I decided to include only books that I’ve actually read, and finally I came up with a list of books, one per “W”.

My books with one of the five Ws in the title:

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Lioness Quartet, #3) by Tamora Pierce
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
When Sorrows Come (October Daye, #15) by Seanan McGuire
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler & Maira Kalman

Just for fun… I’m wondering:

Who recommended the books on your list?
What about them caught your eye?
When did you read them?
Where did you get your copies?
Why would you recommend them to other readers?

Or, to keep it simple: What books made your list this week?

14Mar2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for spring 2023

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is about our spring 2023 reading plans. So many exciting new books to choose from!

Here are 10 books I’m especially looking forward to this spring:

The Poisoner’s Ring by Kelley Armstrong
Said No One Ever by Stephanie Eding
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
Not the Ones Dead by Dana Stabenow
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
To Swoon and To Spar by Martha Waters
Infinity Gate by M. R. Carey
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean

What books will you be reading this spring? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

7Mar2023

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 books with one word titles

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I haven’t done a Top 5 Tuesday post in quite a while, but when I went looking for inspiration for today’s post (not into this week’s Top 10 Tuesday), I realized that there are some awesome new topics available for T5T! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books with one word titles. I’ve done a similar post in the past, but it was over a year ago… so this time around, I’m only including books I’ve read in the past 12 months.

My top 5 books with one word titles:

Spare by Prince Harry
Lute by Jennifer Thorne
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Persuasion by Jane Austen

What books made your list this week?

As always, if you have a TTT or T5T post this week, please share your link!

21Feb2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Heroines

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Favorite Heroines. This felt like a familiar topic to me, but it looks like it’s been many years since I put together a similar list, and by now I have plenty of new ones to highlight!

Here are ten of my favorites (hint: the first one will not be a surprise!):

Claire Fraser – Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
Mercy Thompson – Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
October Daye – October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
Erin, Mac, Tiffany and KJ – Paper Girls graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan
Zinnia Gray – A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
Mika Moon – The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Marra – Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Beatrice Clayborn – The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk
Jane Ellsworth – Glamourist Histories series by Mary Robinette Kowal
Sunny Nwazue – The Nsibidi Scripts series by Nnedi Okorafor

Who are your favorite heroines?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

14Feb2023

Top Ten Tuesday: It’s all about LOVE… My ten favorite love stories from this past year of reading (new & improved for 2023)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Love Freebie, which means we all put our own spin on the topic of LOVE.

Focusing on my favorite love stories from the books I’ve read recently has become my go-to topic for the “love freebie” TTT topic — I’ve been keeping it going since 2020! Here are my ten favorite love stories that I read in the past year:

1. Boyfriend Material and Husband Material by Alexis Hall: I read both of these in 2022, and loved the development of the main characters’ relationship.

2. Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean: This secretly-a-princess duology is a wonderful treat, and I really enjoyed the main character’s romantic dilemmas.

3. An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan: The 5th and final book in the Mure series is a wonderful wrap-up (despite my frustration over one dangling plotline). So many of the characters get happily-ever-afters, which is great, because five books in, I adore these characters so much.

4. The Comeback by Lily Chu: The romance — between a non-famous woman and her incognito houseguest who ends up being one of K-pop’s biggest idols of all times — is definitely wish-fulfillment, but it’s just so much fun. Loved the audiobook!

5. The No-Show by Beth O’Leary: This book is heart-breaking as well as entertaining, and it takes quite a while to feel anything but exasperated with the male lead… but then? Boom. Loved this book, and highly recommend reading it with as little info in advance as possible.

6. Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond: I’m including this here because it’s so, so silly, and because I’m pretty sure this is the only book I’ve ever read with a romance between a woman who works in her family’s escape room business and the (literal) Prince of Hell.

7. By the Book by Jasmine Guillory: What’s not to love about a modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast?

8. A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss: I love a good small-town, new-chance-at-love story, and this one has so many great ingredients — lovely setting, a café, a sea rescue, and grown-ups in relationships!

9. Heading Over the Hill by Judy Leigh: Main characters Dawnie and Billy are absolutely #couplegoals! I need to read more (much more!) by this author.

10. The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale by Stephanie Eding: When’s the last time you read a romance with a single, pregnant woman as the main character? This was a first for me, and I really enjoyed it.