Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Can’t-Wait Books for the 2nd Half of 2016

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The Second Half of 2016.

Organized by release month, here are the books I can’t wait to read between now and the end of 2016… emphasis on the now. I want them all NOW.

July:

1) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling: I have a feeling this will be on ALL the lists this week. I can’t wait to read it… although what I really want is to go see the production live in London! Sigh. I can dream, can’t I?

2) Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty: I loved both of the books that I’ve read by this author, and can’t wait for more.

3) Saga, volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan: Brilliant series. Gimme, gimme, gimme.

4) Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally: I haven’t been reading much YA lately, but this series always makes me happy.

August:

5) To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey: Finally, a new book from the author of The Snow Child!

September:

6) The Wonder by Emma Donoghue: Sounds amazing.

7) Leave Me by Gayle Forman: Can’t wait to check out this author’s first novel for adults!

8) Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs: A collection of stories to go with the Miss Peregrine series? Yes, please.

October:

9) Yesternight by Cat Winters: This might be the book I’m most excited about. I’ve loved every single book by this author!

10) Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult: You can always count on Jodi Picoult to make you think and to make you cry — two ingredients for a super read!

What books are you most eager to read during the rest of 2016? Please share your TTT links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

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6Jun2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Reasons I Love Commitment-Free Reading

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Reasons I Love X — could be a certain book, character, author, your indie bookstore, a fandom, a tv show, reading, a hobby, a genre. Honestly anything you want to gush about.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post (“DisembARCing”, here) about why I was quitting the ARC merry-go-round and sticking to reading what I want, when I want from here on out. So far, it’s been great! I’ve gotten through the remaining ARCs I’d already committed to, and meanwhile, I’m picking my books based on my whims and fancies.

Here are my ten reasons that I love my new approach to reading:

1) I’m excited about reading again! It’s totally fine to pick something random off my shelf, read a library book, or jump on a brand new release. I can do whatever I want!

2) I’m only reading books that I really want to read. I don’t feel pressured by the calendar or my ARC spreadsheet (yes, I have one) to read a certain book on a certain date.

3) I can change course mid-stream. Maybe I planned to read book X this week… but you know what? Not in the mood so much anymore. And not a problem — it’s on to book Y!

4) I’m enjoying a healthy mix of old and new and everything in between. Sure, I still read new releases, but I’m also much more open to reading books on my shelves.

5) Re-reading? Not a problem. I’m setting the pace here, and if I feel like taking time for an old favorite, I will.

6) I can dive into a series and read straight through, if that’s what I feel like doing. This year, I finally read the Miss Peregrine series (wrap-up post here) and all of Buffy season 9, and it was fun, fun, fun to go on a mad binge with no pressure or deadlines.

7) There’s a lot more spontaneity to my reading, and that’s a good thing. I like wandering by my book piles and picking up whatever catches my eye. And if it doesn’t suit my mood at that moment, I put it back and take something else.

8) Did I mention the lack of pressure? NO PRESSURE! It’s totally up to me and me alone if I want to read a given book during a given week, or if I want to set aside a book I’ve started because it’s just not the right time or I just don’t feel like it right in that moment.

9) I love the idea that I’m not beholden to anyone when it comes to my reading. It’s not like we sign in blood or promise our first-borns in exchange for ARCs, but accepting ARCs does come with an tacit understanding that a review or at least a mention will follow, preferably within a reasonable period of time around the publication date. I still like to read certain books and authors as close to the release date as possible… but no one can make me feel bad if I don’t!

10) Okay, coming up with 10 is actually hard… so I’ll just wrap it up by saying that my new, casual approach to deciding what to read when is putting a new spring in my step! It sounds crazy to even say, but it’s just so liberating to read without worrying about commitments!

Now, this doesn’t mean that I’ll never, ever request another ARC ever again in my entire life. But it does mean that I’m going to be selective, and sparing, and only get back on the ARC roller coaster for books that I know I absolutely want to read.

So that’s my top 10 for this open-ended TTT topic! What’s your list about this week? Share your links and let me know!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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16May2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten recent books I bought on a whim

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Books I Picked Up On A Whim.

Usually, my reading and buying habits are pretty planned out in advance, but the big exception is when I attend our library’s book sales every fall and spring. These sales are huge! Lasting for five days, with all books selling for $3 or less, the sales are just a mecca for booklovers, and I try never to miss them. According to the sale website, they typically have 500,000 books — amazing! Here’s a pic from the most recent book sale:

Okay, so when I first started going to the Big Book Sale (that’s its official name), I’d always take a list with me — all the books I hoped to find among the thousands and thousands of books available. Over the years, I’ve learned that I’ll always find something great, but not necessarily anything from my list.

So, long-winded introduction aside, the last time I bought books on a whim was at the spring sale, when I came home with 41 books for $58! A bunch of those were for my daughter, but here’s a shot of my amazing book haul:

Some of my random, on-a-whim finds from this outing are:

1) The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart

2) The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

3) The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists by Gideon Defoe

4) White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

5) In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

6) Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn

7) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

8) The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman

9) The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

10) This cool-looking old grammar book (which I think is a 1940s reissue of a 1917 book) — because I can be a total nerd sometimes:

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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28Mar2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Of My Most Recent 5-Star Reads

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads.

I feel like I’ve already praised most of these to death, but hey — if a book is that good, it’s always worth talking about again! My top ten, in no particular order:

1) Breakup by Dana Stabenow: I can’t help raving about this terrific series!

2) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: My first Christie, finally!

3) Lock In by John Scalzi (review): Fascinating sci-fi.

4) All the Winters After by Seré Prince Halverson (review): Love and Alaska – what could be better?

5) The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian (review): Disturbing, shocking, and moving.

6) In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (review): So far, every one of this author’s books has been a 5-star read for me.

7) Uprooted by Naomi Novik (review): Utterly magical and absorbing.

8) Alex + Ada by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn (review): An amazing graphic novel trilogy.

9) Depth by Lev AC Rosen (review): Sci-fi noir — a detective story set in the drowned city of New York.

10) The Marvels by Brian Selznick (review): This author continues to amaze with his words-and-pictures approach to storytelling.

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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21Mar2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books I really love… but haven’t talked about in a while.

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/In A While.

Hmmm. I guess that rules out Outlander! 🙂

Here are a bunch of books that I do really love, but don’t seem to have included on any of my lists in a while:

1) Kindred by Octavia Butler: A powerful tale of time travel, set in the 1970s and the antebellum South.

2) All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen: A clever, funny, fast-paced steampunk comedy.

3) Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst: Set in a graveyard, with cops and ghosts. Unique, to say the least.

4) 11/22/63 by Stephen King: Another time-travel masterpiece.

5) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker: Such a beautiful story (here’s my review).

6) The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian: One of the spookiest ghost stories I’ve ever read.

7) My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki: A book about a Japanese TV show sponsored by the American beef industry? Yes, the topic sounds odd, but it’s an incredible book.

8) Deerskin by Robin McKinley: A fairy tale that’s dark and disturbing; not a children’s book.

9) The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint: Another ghost story, this one about love and connections.

10) Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn: Word lovers unite! If you enjoy clever word play, you can’t miss with this book.

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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14Mar2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on my Spring 2016 TBR List

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR.

Here are a bunch of upcoming new releases that I can’t wait to read!

1) Fellside by M. R. Carey

2) Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

3) The Fireman by Joe Hill

4) At the Edge of Summer by Jessica Brockmole

5) My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

6) You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina LaCour

7) Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally

8) Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

9) Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

10) Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

What books are you most eager to read this spring? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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29Feb2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books to read if you’re in the mood for shocking twists

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Books To Read If You Are In The Mood For X… which means lot of room for individual interpretation… which makes checking out other bloggers’ lists so much fun.

My spin on the this week’s topic is all about the big shockers. When’s the last time you read a book that made you gasp with a sudden game-changing reveal? Or something that made you have to go all the way back to the beginning to see how it all looks different now that you know what you know? Or even (see #1 below) something as basic as assuming a certain character is the THE most important character, only to see him/her killed off in the very first book in a huge series?

My ten books with the biggest game-changing shockers — those “what did I just read???” moments — are:

1) A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin: You know what I mean, right? That heartbreaking moment when the character you love DOESN’T get a last-minute reprieve from the executioner? Damn you, GRRM, for killing off the people I expect to win! And he just keeps doing it and doing it and doing it.

For the rest, I’m not going to include any comments. Because even knowing that there’s a twist, or knowing what kind of twist it is, can really take away from the impact of that OMG! WTF! moment.

2) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (review)

3) Everything, Everything by Nicola Joon (review)

4) The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler (info)

5) Fingersmith by Sara Waters (info)

6) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (review)

7) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (review)

8) Hater by David Moody

9) The Uninvited by Cat Winters (review)

10) Then and Always by Dani Atkins (review)

Have you read any books with mind-blowing twists? Please let me know in the comments! And if you’ve written a TTT post this week, please share your link and I’ll come check it out. Thanks!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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22Feb2016

Top Ten Tuesday: My ten most unusual (or uncomfortable) reads from the last 12 months

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently (last yearish) That Weren’t My Typical Genre/Type of Book (or that were outside of your (my) comfort zone).

I’m not sure that I actually have a comfort zone when it comes to reading, or what could possibly be outside it. I read a lot of different genres, and can’t think of much of anything that would actually be uncomfortable for me to read. Well, apart from extreme violence, hard-core porn, gratuitous brutality, and… I don’t know… books about car racing? Okay, I guess there are some things I just won’t read.

In any case…

For purposes of this list, I think I’ll focus on books that are a little different from what I might be most likely to read, for a variety of different reasons. My top ten unusual reading choices from the past year are:

1) The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (review): I read very little non-fiction, and might not have picked this one up on my own if not for my book group. I’m so glad I read it! It’s a marvelous piece of historical storytelling that is moving and informative and so very readable.

2) Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman (review): I am just not a short-story reader. I get bored, my mind wanders, and I’m dying to get back to “real” reading (i.e., novels). But I discovered that I can tolerate short story audiobooks, and having Neil Gaiman narrate his own stories made this one a pleasure.

3) The Expats by Chris Pavone (review): I don’t gravitate toward spy thrillers all that often. I don’t remember why exactly I was drawn to this book, but I’m glad I read it and want to read more by this author.

4) The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy (review): It’s not that I don’t read horror, although I haven’t read quite as much lately. But The Dead Lands was certainly an uncomfortable read, despite being a great story. So icky and full of scary creepiness and nastiness. But really worth reading!

5) All I Love and Know by Judith Frank (review): This one actually made me uncomfortable because of its political stridency. I was surprised, because I’d expected to really enjoy this book, but found it so preachy that it made me unhappy.

6 & 7) Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (review) and The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (review): I love science fiction, but it’s been several years since I’ve read any of the classics. Both of these books were terrific.

8) Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (review): I wouldn’t call this an unusual choice for me, exactly — but I was uncomfortable with the questions marks surrounding this book, including whether we really understand the author’s wishes and whether she truly wanted this book to see the light of day.

9) The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand (review): Not a bad book, but romance is definitely not my genre. I mean, I love a good love story, but this was a bit too much for me.

10) My final book is perhaps a weird choice, but I think it’s got to be Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer (review): I never thought I’d want to read another book related to the Twilight universe, but this gender-swapped version of the original story was a quick read and satisfied my curiosity.

What books made your list this week? Please share your links!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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15Feb2016

Top Ten Tuesday: The soundtrack of my reading life

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic has to do with books and music, and since the suggested approach didn’t really call to me, I thought I’d put my own spin on it.

My TTT list this week is about my reading habits, as described by 10 songs:

1) The Sounds of Silence: There’s nothing I like better than having a quiet room to read in. No music, no TV, no people… just me, a book, and maybe some birdsong or rain sounds coming in through the windows.

2) Forever Young: I’m a fully grown adult, but I keep coming back to YA fiction. There’s something so immediate and emotional about YA books, isn’t there?

3) Time Warp: Time travel books are always a favorite.

4) Walking on the Moon: I love to read anything about space travel, whether sci fi, or non-fiction about the space program, or even astronauts’ memoirs.

5) Thrift Shop: Nothing better than a used book store for spending a few hours lost among the stacks! My best finds are all from used book stores.

6) Time After Time: I do love to re-read! If I really and truly love a book, then once is never enough.

7) (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction: I try, and I try, and I try, and I try… but sometimes there’s no choice but to DNF.

8) Let the Sunshine In: One of my very favorite things to do is read outdoors on a sunny day. A blanket in the sun, or sitting somewhere on the grass, with clear blue skies and the sun on my face… bliss!

9) All You Need Is Love: Because even though I don’t read much in the romance genre, I’m still a sucker for a great, momentous, unforgettable love story.

10) Where Do We Go From Here?: Okay, this one might be a stretch — but if you’re a Buffy fan, then no doubt you’ve watched the season 6 musical episode (“Once More With Feeling”) a time or two (or a couple of dozen times, if you’re like me)… in which case, you absolutely know this song (and maybe sing along???). So where do we go from here… is what I ask myself every single time I finish a great book and just can’t imagine what to read next.

What was your musical theme this week? Share your link, please, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I host a Book Blog Meme Directory, and I’m always looking for new additions! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

8Feb2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten extra special love stories

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is a Valentine’s Day freebie, meaning we can come up with our own take on the theme.

I’m keeping it simple, and going with a list of love stories that have really stayed with me:

Love Across Time

Jamie and Claire, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Henry and Clare, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Richard and Elise, Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson

Married Love

Rosetta and Jeremiah, I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Don and Rosie, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Unrequited Love

Severus Snape and Lily Evans, the Harry Potter series

Sidney Carton and Lucie Manette, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Love Between Friends

Maddie and Julie, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Supernatural Love

Matthew and Diana, All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

Mercy and Adam, Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

Happy Valentine’s Day!

What kind of Valentine theme did you pick this week? Please share your links so I can check out your TTT posts!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly features, Shelf Control and Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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