Top Ten Tuesday: Funny Book Titles

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 Funny Book Titles — always a fun topic to put together! I know I’ve featured at least some of these before… but here’s a collection of favorites:

Bite Me by Christopher Moore (funny because it’s a vampire book…)
The Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore (and yes, I could probably fill up this list with just this author’s book titles)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded by John Scalzi
Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby by Allyson Beatrice
Texts From Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Trusse (because grammar books are funny!)
Have You Eaten Grandma? by Gyles Brandreth (see what I mean about grammar books?)

What books are on your list? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

16Mar2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for spring 2021

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 2021 reading plans. So many great books to look forward to! Here are ten I’m especially excited for:

1) Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs: The 6th book in the Alpha & Omega series. Releases today — can’t wait to get started!

2) There There by Tommy Orange: A book group selection for this spring.

3) The Fall of Koli by M. R. Carey: The final book in the trilogy. I loved the first two — so excited for the conclusion!

4) Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock: A new collection of connected stories set in Alaska, by the author of The Smell of Other People’s Houses (one of my favorite books!).

5) The Lighth of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner: I loved her debut novel, The Sisters of the Winter Wood.

6) Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst: Looks like a sweet contemporary romance!

7) The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I’m so looking forward to reading more by this author.

8) The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser: A bookshop? In Scotland? Yes, please!

9) The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory: Sounds too weird and amazing to miss.

10) One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston: The upcoming new release from the author of Red, White & Royal Blue. This one sounds just as sweet and adorable.

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

9Mar2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Cleaning for my TBR

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 Spring Cleaning Freebie (for example, books you’re planning to get rid of for whatever reason, book’s 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.).

My Goodreads “want-to-read” shelf is up to 813 (!!!!) books, and I swear, I have no idea how it got so out of hand. For this week’s TTT, I’m listing 10 books from my to-read shelf that I don’t know why I added in the first place — time to say good-bye! Overall, this is a good reminder to go in and do some major pruning.

Onward we go! My top 10 are:

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler
A Stranger Came Ashore by Hollie Hunter
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
The Brideship Wife by Leslie Howard
Snowflake AZ by Marcus Sedgwick
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
Being Mrs Darcy by Lucy Marin
When Life Gives You Lemons by Fiona Gibson
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Since I don’t remember why I thought I’d want to read these in the first place, I think they all can go… unless someone can convince me otherwise. If you’ve read any of these books and think I should give them a try, please let me know!

What bookish spring cleaning is on your mind? Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

2Mar2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters Whose Jobs I Wish I Had

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 Characters Whose Jobs I Wish I Had.

My top 10 are:

Alanna (Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce): She’s a knight! How cool is that?
Alice Van Cleve (The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes): Pack horse librarian — I think it would be amazing to ride a horse through the mountains to deliver books.
April Whittier (Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade): Secret fanfic writer by night, geologist by day… it’s actually the geologist part that really appeals to me, not because that’s what I’d want to be, but because I love seeing fab women in science take center stage.
Emily Parker (Well Met by Jen DeLuca): Bookstore manager AND Ren Faire tavern wench!
Veronica Speedwell (Veronica Speedwell mysteries by Deanna Raybourn): Intrepid lepidopterist and Victorian era sleuth. A girl can dream, right?
Naomi Nagata (The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey): Because space adventuring would be awesome.
Norma Kopp (Kopp Sisters series by Amy Stewart): She trains messenger pigeons! Again, not that I specifically want to do that, but I think it’s awesome that Norma does it.
Meg Mackworth (Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn): A professional calligrapher, who actually makes money doing it. I wish I had the talent!
Claire Fraser (Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon): OK, this is a stretch, but I had to find a way to sneak Claire in. No, I wouldn’t actually want to be stuck practicing medicine in the 18th century, but I do think it’s awesome that she finds a way to introduce modern medical practices like instrument sterilization and antibiotics to the time she’s in. She even grows her own penicillin!
Mercy Thompson (Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs): I wouldn’t necessarily want to be a mechanic, but I love that Mercy is one! Again, it’s awesome to see a woman thriving in a traditionally male-dominated field. Go, Mercy!

What book characters’ jobs do you envy? Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

23Feb2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

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 That Made Me Laugh Out Loud.

I know I did a similar post last year for a top 5 list, but here goes again!

(Okay, that’s more than ten… I couldn’t decide which ones to leave out!)

What books make you laugh out loud? Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

16Feb2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Happy Mardi Gras! Purple, Yellow & Green Book Covers

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 Purple, Yellow, and/or Green Book Covers, in honor of Mardi Gras.

Fun and festive! And a great excuse to visit my bookshelves to find the right colors…

What green, purple, and yellow books are on your shelves?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

9Feb2021

Top Ten Tuesday: It’s all about LOVE… My ten favorite love stories from this past year of reading (new & improved for 2021)

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.

Just like I did for February 2020’s Love Freebie TTT, I’m going to keep it simple and highlight my ten favorite love stories that I read in the past year:

1. The Duke & I by Julia Quinn: Like just about everyone else, I have firmly jumped onto the Bridgerton bandwagon! I loved the Netflix show, and I’m finding the books pretty charming and fluffy too.

2. The Glamourist Histories by Mary Robinette Kowal: This five-volume historical-fiction-with-magic series is EVERYTHING, and includes one of my very favorite fictional couples, Jane and Vincent, who embody what a truly loving partnership of equals can and should be. LOVE these books.

3. Recipe For Persuasion by Sonali Dev: A spice-infused retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, set at a cooking competition show with sweet romance and great characters. Lots of fun.

4. Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black: I seem to take every opportunity to talk about these books! This is not a romance series, but there is a great love story mixed in with all the intrigue and scheming and magical goings-on.

5. Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald: I totally fell for the love story at the heart of this timey-wimey tale. Bonus points for taking place in Grand Central Station in New York, which is just an ultra-romantic setting, in my humble opinion.

6. Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: Sweet and sizzling romance, plus fanfic and fandoms and body positivity… great read!

7. A Stitch In Time by Kelley Armstrong: More timey-wimey goodness! A timeslip romance that’s well-done, full of mystery and passion, with an awesome setting in a haunted house on the moors.

8. Well Met and Well Played by Jen DeLuca: What could be better than romance at a Ren Faire? How about two romances at two Ren Faires? Can’t wait for book #3 to come out later this year.

9. The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan: I always love this author’s books, but this one especially appealed to me, and I loved the love story at its heart, which is both a story about a couple falling in love, but also about a woman finding love for the children she’s hired to take care of. All around sweet and lovely.

10. Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston: The Once Upon a Con series is so much fun, and the mismatched pair at the heart of this geeky love story are really sweet.

What were the best love stories you read during the past year?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link and let me know your topic!

And PS – Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!

Save

2Feb2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Kid-Lit Books Written Before I Was Born

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 Written Before I Was Born.

Oh dear. Is this topic just an under-handed way to get me to disclose how old I am???? Because I’ll tell you, relative to the majority of the book bloggers I know, sometimes I feel like I’m ANCIENT. (OK, so I’m in my 50s, which isn’t completely over the hill just yet!)

Anyhoo… I thought I’d zoom in on children’s books, written before I was born, that stand the test of time! Almost all of these are books that I read myself as a child, and then shared with my own kids too.

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1952)
All-of-a-Kind Family by Syndey Taylor (1951)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (1959)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (1962)
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1960)
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss (1962)
Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager (1956)

Honorable mention: I’d include these books as well, but I didn’t read them until I was an adult! Still, they definitely belong on a list of favorite children’s books — and they were certainly written before I was born:

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (1950)
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908)
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954)

Are any of these your favorites too?

What books written before you were born do you really love?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

26Jan2021

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020

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 New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020.

There were so many great authors whose works I got to experience for the first time in 2020! Here are 10 favorites (although I think I could come up with a lot more!)

Stephen Graham Jones
Constance Sayers
Emily M. Danforth
Paulette Jiles
Lisa Grunwald
Andrzej Sapkowski
TJ Klune
Veronica Roth
V. E. Schwab
Silvia Moreno-Garcia

What new-to-you authors did you discover in 2020? Any particular favorites? Do we have any in common?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

19Jan2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant To Read in 2020 (but didn’t get to)

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 Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To.

I recently did a similar post about the books I bought in 2020 but didn’t read. For this week’s prompt, I thought I’d look back at the quarterly TBR list Top Ten Tuesday posts from 2020, and see how well I did at reading the books I said I’d read.

Overall? Not too shabby!! Here are the books that are left, along with a note on whether I still plan to to read them. Starting with:

Winter 2020: Only two left unread:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Still plan to read? YES. High priority for 2021!
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: Still plan to read? YES. Also high priority!

Spring 2020:

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman: Still plan to read? YES
The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward: Still plan to read? Probably not — I seem to have lost interest.

Summer 2020 – I read all the books!

Fall 2020:

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse: Still plan to read? I’m thinking no. Even though I was excited for this initially, after reading a bunch of reviews and synopses, it just doesn’t draw me in.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On by Seanan McGuire: Still plan to read? YES. It’s Seanan McGuire, so the answer has to be YES.
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman: Still plan to read? YES for sure, but I just haven’t been feeling any urgency around this one. I do intend to read it eventually.

That’s seven, so I’ll also include unread books from my “most anticipated” posts from 2020:

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey: Still plan to read? YES. I don’t know why I didn’t get to it when it came out, but I do own a copy and absolutely want to read it.
Malorie by Josh Malerman: Still plan to read? Probably. I liked Bird Box, so I’m curious to see what comes next… but it doesn’t feel all that important to read any time soon.
Parable of the Sower (graphic novel): Still plan to read? YES. The novel of Parable of the Sower is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. I’ve been waiting to read the graphic novel until it suits my mood, but I definitely do plan to get to it.

What books did you mean to get to in 2020, but didn’t? Have you read any of the books on my list? And if so, which do you think should be top priority?

Here’s hoping we all get to our 2020 books, plus all the great books ahead in 2021!