Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Hugo winners

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s another fun topic for Top 5 Tuesday! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 award-winning books, and the prompt is: You can pick a specific award or just any book you’ve read that’s ever won an award. What are your faves?

I love following genre-specific awards, and the Hugo picks are always exciting. Here are my top 5 Hugo award winners from recent years:

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher — Best Novella, 2023
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers — Best Novella, 2022
Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire — Best Series, 2022 (first book: Every Heart a Doorway)
The Expanse by James S. A. Corey — Best Series, 2020 (first book: Leviathan Wakes)
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal — Best Novel, 2019

Of course, there are plenty more Hugo winners and nominees that I’ve loved… not to mention all the ones I still want to read!

Click here to see the complete Hugo history. So many books for my TBR!

What book awards do you follow? Do you have any favorite award-winners to recommend?

1Oct2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Living up to the hype… or not.

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 Read/Avoided Because of the Hype (and did you make the right choice?).

The hype machine can be crazy at times, and my first instinct is usually to avoid books where it’s in overdrive. You know the ones — the books that everyone seems to be gushing about at all possible times. And yet, sometimes those books end up being just what I need, despite my initial hesitation.

My list is focused on hyped books that I’ve read… some with good results, and some definitely the opposite.

These ultra-hyped books did not work for me:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: I disliked so much about this book.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I know people loved this book, but it never clicked for me. In general, I don’t do well with books about people performing magic in this way. What are the rules? What are the limits? I didn’t buy into it at all.
It End with Us by Colleen Hoover: Hiding the fact that this book is about an abusive relationship is just one of its many faults.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: Promoting this book as laugh-out-loud funny and then starting it off with a rape scene is not okay.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: I liked the sound of the setup, but too many coincidences sank this story for me.

Not to fear! Some much-hyped books really deserve all the buzz and more! Among my favorites:

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto: This book is so silly and over the top, but really hits the spot when you need something ridiculous to escape into.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: Tears! Tears everywhere! And I couldn’t put it down.
The Martian by Andy Weir: I feel like a lot of books have tried to mimic the vibe of The Martian in the years since it was published, but the hype about this book was so well deserved.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: Loved everything about this cozy fantasy.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I couldn’t decide which of these two books to include on this week’s list… so added them both! I feel like these two books pushed TJR into a whole new level of hype… and amazing writing.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: When the buzz was building for this book, I scoffed. How could I possibly enjoy a book about gaming? Fortunately, the hype for this one was spot on, and I’m so glad I read it. One of the best books of 2022.

Yes, that’s more than ten books in all. I just couldn’t narrow down the second part of my list!

Which hyped books worked for you? Which didn’t?

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

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24Sep2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2024 TBR List

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 on My Fall 2024 to-Read List.

Is it fall already? Where did the summer go? I did pretty well with my summer 2024 TBR list, with just one book still to read, and I’m including it in my fall reading plans. Other than that, my list this week includes an upcoming new release, books from my shelves, and one old favorite that’s become an annual reading tradition.

In the interest of not repeating myself, I’m not including any of the books already featured in my list of anticipated new releases for the 2nd half of 2024… but yes, I still intend to read all of those too!

My top 10 for fall are:

Extinction by Douglas Preston: I haven’t read this type of science thriller in a while, and I think I’m up for it.
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny: My annual October reading tradition. Always a blast!
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins: I needed an LGBTQ+ romance for a reading challenge, and this one came highly recommended.
On Her Own by Lihi Lapid: A recent new release that sounded promising based on the reviews I’ve seen.
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston: My summer holdover — which I’ve been looking forward to, but just haven’t gotten around to reading yet.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: I love the sound of this book!
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I think I have a reading block when it comes to this book… but I’m determined to finally get through it!
The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Alain: The only upcoming new release on this list. This author’s books are always such fun!
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi: I feel like I’m the last person left who hasn’t read this book, and it’s about time to fix that.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer: I love this author’s newest novel, The Lost Story, so I’m eager to read this one too.

What books are you most excited to read this fall? Do we have any in common?

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

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10Sep2024

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 anticipated 5 star reads

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s another fun topic for Top 5 Tuesday! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 anticipated 5 star reads, and the prompt is: What books on your TBR do you think might make your top 5 books of the year, or will get that coveted five-star rating?

I have high hopes for so many of my upcoming reads! Sticking to books to read (or being released) in 2024, my top five are:

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong

What are your 5-star predictions for the rest of 2024?

3Sep2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Involving Food (That are Not Cookbooks)

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 Involving Food (That are Not Cookbooks). Yummmmm.

Here are ten (mostly) recent reads that feature food… and which left me hungry!

1. Songs for the Broken-Hearted by Ayelet Tsabari: So many wonderful descriptions of Yemenite Jewish food! (review)

2. The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais: About restaurants and family, and filled with mouth-watering dishes. (review)

3. Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev: Love on a cooking reality show! (review)

4. The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan: You could really include most Jenny Colgan books on this list! So many of her books center around bakeries or sweetshops, and even include recipes! (review)

5. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki: I just finished this book over the weekend, and it left me with huge cravings for donuts. Especially cake donuts… (review)

6. Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau: Speaking of donuts… (review)

7. The Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh: Among other delights, this book includes a scone-baking competition. Delish… (review)

8. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey: A YA book with a main character whose cooking is central to her journey. (review)

9. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han: Throughout this YA trilogy, the main character bakes and bakes and bakes.

10. A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstong: In this timeslip romance, the main character supports herself and her sisters by opening a bakery, and thanks to her time-traveling ways, introduces chocolate chip cookies to her Victorian-era family. (review)

What books have you read recently that feature amazing food? If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link!

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27Aug2024

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 books with found family

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Top 5 Tuesday post — but this week’s topic is too good to pass up! It’s always fun to see what topics the meme’s host comes up with, and I really should make the effort to participate more often. This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books with found family — which just happens to be a storytelling trope that I love. Found family, to me, is unrelated people coming together and forming a bond that creates a new, meaningful family connection — oftentimes, more supportive and reliable than whatever biological/legal family they came from. Found family stories can be found in many different genres — some of my favorites occur in fantasy, but there are plenty more to choose from.

As always, it’s hard to stick to only five, but I’ve done my best to focus on true favorites:

My favorite found families:

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss: The daughters of famous and infamous (fictional) scientists come together and form a sisterhood of their own. (review)
The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen: The 2nd book in an excellent detective series, this is my only non-fantasy pick on this week’s list. Set in 1950s San Francisco, a gay detective forced off the police force after being violently outed finds a new family within the LGBTQ+ community… and solves crimes too! (review)
Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire: The children who find their way to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children have journeyed to strange new lands through magical portals, then found themselves without a place to belong back in the real world. But together, they create a new, supportive family, and find a true home. There are 9 books available so far; #10 will be released in January. (See my review of #9, here)
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: There are no words for the loveliness of this story of outcast children and the adults who protect them and give them a family for the first time in their lives. (review)
October Daye series by Seanan McGuire: Oops, that’s two out of five by Seanan McGuire! But this series is just a marvelous example of people choosing one another and making an explicit decision to become a family. The found family aspect grows as the series progresses — there are 18 books so far, and more to come! (Here’s my review of the book shown above.)

What are your favorite books with found families?

20Aug2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Is there room for me? Bookish families I’d like to join (or at least visit… )

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 Relationship Freebie (Pick a relationship type and choose characters who fit that relationship as it relates to you. So, characters you’d like to date, be friends with, be enemies with, etc. Bookish families you’d like to be a part of, characters you’d want as your siblings, pets you’d like to take for yourself, etc.).

I love reading about big or unusual or quirky bookish families, so that’s my theme for this week. Below are ten families I’d love to join… or at least, have Sunday brunch with or visit for the holidays… or just pop in for tea now and then.

Frasers – Outlander – Was there any doubt that I’d include Outlander folks on this list? I wouldn’t want to be around for all the terrible things that happen to these people, but would happily attend one of their big (joyful) gatherings on Fraser’s Ridge.
Weasleys – Harry Potter — I want Molly to knit me a sweater!
Bridgertons — I mean, no, I could do without all the pressure to make a good match, but I’d down for afternoon tea and cakes with Violet and whoever else is around.
Price-Healy family – Incryptids – Yes, there’s a lot of weaponry involved… but this family of cryptozoologists is all sorts of awesome (and there are religious talking mice involved!)
Bennetts – Green Creek series – So a family of werewolves might not be the safest place to be on an ongoing basis, but their Sunday traditions are awesome.
All-of-a-Kind Family – What is their last name??? I couldn’t find it… but they must have one, right? In any case, I grew up on these stories, and thought living with these five sisters must have been the ideal childhood.
Chen family (Aunties) – Dial A for Aunties series – Oh, the Aunties would drive me batty… but isn’t it good to know that your family will have your back no matter what, even when it comes to hiding a body?
Hastings – A Stitch in Time – The sisters in this family all get an adventure going through a time stitch, and I’d like to join them!
De Clermonts – All Souls – I’m not saying I’d actually want to be a vampire or witch… but I’d enjoy hanging out at one of the family’s fabulous castles and hear about how they lived over the centuries.
Not a single family – Game of Thrones – Too many opportunities to end up dead, gruesomely. (Clearly, my ideas failed me by #10)

Would you want to join any of these families? Are there other fictional families you love?

What was your TTT topic this week? Please share your link!

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6Aug2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favorite Books from Ten Series

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 Ten Favorite Books from Ten Series.

I almost skipped this week’s TTT — this topic is a tough one! I love so many series, and choosing a favorite book from a favorite series is like choosing a favorite child. Don’t make me pick!!

I’d be tempted to just go with the first book from each series, because hey — if the first book didn’t hook me, why would I keep going? But, I feel like I’ve featured first books in series before (for example, here), so instead I’m focusing on books other than the first. The books I’ve chosen all have something about them that makes them stand out. I’m not playing favorites… but all these books are noteworthy!

My top ten are:

Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal

Series: The Glamourist Histories
Book #: 3 (of 5)
Published: 2013

Why this book? The entire series is excellent, so picking a favorite is especially hard. Here in book #3, the setup is just so good, and I really enjoyed the introduction of new political realities and new directions for certain characters.

Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi

Series: Old Man’s War
Book #: 4 (of 6)
Published: 2008

Why this book? I actually love the first book in the series best of all, but Zoe’s Tale is just so clever. Basically, this 4th book retells everything that’s already happened in the series, but from a different character’s perspective. I know some people who’ve stopped after book 3, but I always urge them to give Zoe’s Tale a try.

Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey

Series: The Expanse
Book #: 9 (of 9)
Published: 2021

Why this book? Because it pulls off the seemingly impossible feat of providing a stellar ending to a complicated (and excellent) series.

Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire

Series: Incryptids
Book #: 4 (of 13 – so far)
Published: 2015

Why this book? This is a somewhat random choice, since the whole series is really fun. This one shifts the action to Australia, which is new for the series, and introduces new characters and monsters in a really engaging way. With this many books in an ongoing series, it’s notable when an earlier book really sticks with a reader, and this one does.

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev

Series: The Rajes
Book #: 3 (of 4)
Published: 2021

Why this book? Each of the four books in the series retells a Jane Austen novel, and this one works especially well. I loved the setup, the characters, and the plot development.

Breakup by Dana Stabenow

Series: Kate Shugak
Book #: 7 (of 23 – so far)
Published: 1997

Why this book? For a series that goes to some pretty dark places, this 7th book is actually very funny. If you’re binging the series, it’s a really enjoyable moment of lightness before more tragic events come in the next few books.

A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstrong

Series: A Stitch in Time
Book #: 2 (of 4)
Published: 2021

Why this book? The timeslip story in this installment resolves a mystery introduced in the first book. The characters are terrific, and there’s a lot of emotion mixed in with the adventure.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Series: Bridgertons
Book #: 4 (of 8)
Published: 2002

Why this book? First of all, it’s the only one I’ve read twice! I love all the Bridgerton kids, but Colin and Penelope’s romance is a special treat. (And it’s my most recent foray into the series, since I just reread it, so it’s freshest in my mind…)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Series: Wayward Children
Book #: 2 (of 9 – so far)
Published: 2017

Why this book? The story in this installment is particularly haunting and beautifully written. I’ve enjoyed each book, but this one is a stand-out.

A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon

Series: Outlander
Book #: 8.5 (of 9 – so far)
Published: 2012

Why this book? OK, let’s be real. My choice for a favorite in the Outlander series should absolutely be (and truly is) the first book, Outlander. But that’s kind of obvious… so instead I’ll highlight this excellent novella, which fills in the blanks of a particular character’s family history and is simply excellent storytelling. I know a lot of Outlander fans focus just on the main novels (or, Big Enormous Books, as the author refers to them) — but skipping the novellas and other related novels means missing out on a lot of content that adds so much to the overall Outlander-verse.

How did you do with this week’s topic? Did you have as hard a time as I did with narrowing down the choices?

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

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23Jul2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Debut Novels I Enjoyed

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 Debut Novels I Enjoyed.

I had to go digging a bit, since I don’t necessarily know which of the books I’ve loved have been debut novels. But after a little research, here’s what I’ve come up with.

My top ten debut novels:

Rosemary & Rue (October Daye, #1) by Seanan McGuire (review)
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (review)
Old Man’s War (Old Man’s War, #1) by John Scalzi
The Martian by Andy Weir (review)
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (review)
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal (review)
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan (review)
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Measure by Nikki Erlick (review)
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (review)

Which debut novels have you really enjoyed? Please share your links!

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9Jul2024

Top Ten Tuesday — Throwback Freebie: Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences

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. The prompt for this week’s TTT is: Throwback Freebie (Pick a TTT topic that has been previously done. Maybe you missed it, weren’t blogging then, or you’d like to update an old list you made.)

I decided to go with a topic that I last did in 2021 and really liked: Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences . My 2021 post is here; read on for a new, refreshed list. All books listed are books I’ve read since then.

I managed to find many more than I expected to! For purposes of this post, I’m sticking to ten… but I’m bookmarking this topic for myself, so I can come back to it next time I need a freebie theme.

My top ten picks for books with complete sentences as titles: