Top Ten Tuesday: Getting fancy: Books with titles in a cursive font

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 with Handwriting on the Cover.

The topic got me thinking: Do kids still learn to write in cursive these days? I’m guessing not. I used to have a fairly nice cursive handwriting… and now when I attempt it, it’s mainly a big, messy scrawl. Sigh. I love how quick and easy it is to use a keyboard, but it’s a bit sad to think about handwriting as a lost art.

By the way, did you know that the National Archives is looking for people who can read cursive to volunteer to transcribe historical documents? Sounds like a really fun project… that I’ll bookmark for when I have more free time in my life! Learn more here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/01/12/national-archives-needs-citizen-archivists-cursive/77493951007/

Back to the books! Rather than focusing on actual handwriting, I just started looking through my physical and digital shelves for book titles in cursive fonts… and found more than I expected! Here’s a round-up of 13 that I really like… because I couldn’t decide which to drop to get to ten.

Cinnamon & Gunpowder by Eli Brown
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath
The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay
Off the Map by Trish Doller
Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery
Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Reputation by Lex Croucher
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub
The One That Got Away by Mike Gayle
Love Lettering by Kate Claybourn

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

27May2026

Life and art on a phonescreen

Posted in Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

A little moment of serendipity…

My phone lockscreen is set to randomly shuffle photos from my camera roll, changing every hour on the hour. I never know what will turn up… and I like it that way.

And when I woke up to start my day yesterday, I found that I had a lovely bit of syncing up going on:

On the left, my phone lockscreen. On the right, my current audiobook.

Both images: Joshua trees / Joshua Tree National Park

Pretty cool, huh?

23May2026

Birthstone Book Covers: May = Emerald!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I participated in Birthstone Books Covers for the first time in August, and now I’m hooked! Leslie at Books Are the New Black hosts this fun monthly meme — and since I love anything related to spotlighting amazing book covers, I just had to jump in.

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Blac k ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone. Have fun!

May’s birthstone is emerald. I love a vibrant green!

According to gia.edu:

Emerald, the birthstone for May, has been beloved for millennia, evoking rebirth and renewal. Widely regarded as the definition of green, emerald is the perfect color for spring. From the poetic description of Ireland as “the Emerald isle” to the vibrant green of the famed gemstone itself—the May birthstone emerald has captured hearts and minds through the ages.

Variations of this rich green color suggest soothing, lush gardens. Legend has it that emerald has the power to make its wearer more intelligent and quick-witted, and it was once believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Today, it’s the gemstone given for the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries.

More emeralds (via Levys Fine Jewelry):

Onward to the books!

I had fun scanning all my shelves to hunt for emeralds… here’s what I found:

Do you have any favorite emerald book covers to share?

23Apr2026

Birthstone Book Covers: April = Diamond!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Blac k ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

April’s birthstone is diamond, and who doesn’t love a little bling?

According to gia.edu:

Diamond forms under high temperature and pressure conditions that exist only about 100 miles beneath the earth’s surface. Diamond’s carbon atoms are bonded in essentially the same way in all directions. Another mineral, graphite, also contains only carbon, but its formation process and crystal structure are very different. Graphite is so soft that you can write with it, while diamond is so hard that you can only scratch it with another diamond.

Also worth noting: Diamond is the April birthstone, but also the gem that marks the 60th and 75th wedding anniversaries.

A few more diamonds (via Pinterest):

Onward to the books!

Diamond is a tricky one to find in terms of color covers… so I looked for either diamond-like cover colors or covers with actual diamonds on them!

Do you have any favorite diamond book covers to share?

17Mar2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Green Book Covers (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!)

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 Green Book Covers (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today!)

Here are ~~ten~~ twelve from my shelves — some that I’ve read, and some on my TBR. Yes, I’m including more than 10 — I added a whole bunch, and couldn’t decide which to cut!

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K Rowling
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Grey
Sula by Toni Morrison
Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
A Storms of Swords by George R. R. Martin
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

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

14Mar2026

Birthstone Book Covers: March = Aquamarine!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Blac k ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

I love the beautiful color of aquamarines!

According to gemstones.com:

Aquamarine is the blue to green-blue gemstone variety of beryl. It is the birthstone for March. The name aquamarine comes from two Latin words aqua marinus meaning “water of the sea”. The color comes from trace amounts of iron in the stone. Aquamarine is typically greenish blue in nature, so it is heat treated to remove the yellow component, and to produce a true-blue color. Brazil is the largest producer of aquamarine, but fine quality stones can be found around the world.

A famous example of aquamarines:

Onward to the books!

Searching my physical and virtual shelves for some pretty amethysts… and here’s what I’ve found:

Do you have any favorite aquamarine book covers to share?

21Feb2026

Birthstone Book Covers: February = Amethyst!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Blac k ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

Amethysts are among my favorite gems, although — alas — I don’t believe I actually have any amethyst jewelry. The color is so pretty!

According to gemstones.com:

Amethyst was prized by ancient civilizations and was closely associated with spirituality, faith, and wisdom. The color purple has long been associated with royalty and the aristocracy. It is the birthstone for February. The color of amethyst ranges from light to intense purple. The lighter lilac or lavender variety is often called Rose de France amethyst. The most prized amethyst is transparent and exhibits an intense, uniform, purple color with red flashes.

Samples of amethyst jewelry:

Onward to the books!

Searching my physical and virtual shelves for some pretty amethysts… and here’s what I’ve found:

Do you have any favorite amethyst book covers to share?

3Feb2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Book covers with interesting typography

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 Book Covers Featuring Cool/Pretty/Unique/etc. Typography, with the prompt Typography is the art of arranging letters so they look visually appealing and more interesting than, for example, the body text of this blog post you’re reading now.

I’m not always great at visuals and graphics (my artistic side is… let’s say… rather under-developed). Still, perusing my shelves, I was able to find books where the cover lettering feels different and really fits the theme or subject:

Paperbacks From Hell by Grady Hendrix
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
White Cat by Holly Black
I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
You Suck by Christopher Moore
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

I also have in mind a couple of series with iconic typography:

Can you think of any others, similar to Harry Potter and Outlander, where the font/typography is so strongly associated with the book series?

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

22Jan2026

Birthstone Book Covers: January = Garnet!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

January is my daughter’s birth month, so I’ve been buying her garnet-colored gifts all her life! I must say, though, that I’ve never given her a book with a garnet cover! Clearly a major oversight!

According to Thomas Michael Jewelry:

Garnet is January’s birthstone. Garnets symbolize eternal friendship, loyalty and a light heart. There is evidence of garnet jewelry found in Bronze age burials in Eastern Europe. Garnet jewelry has been discovered in ancient Egypt and Sumeria. Garnets were treasured in jewelry by the Greek and Roman cultures as well as Pre-Columbian Aztec and Native American cultures. In Medieval times, garnets were thought to possess medicinal powers and were thought to protect one from poisons, wounds and bad dreams. They were thought to relieve fevers, hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases.

Samples of garnet jewelry:

Onward to the books!

Garnets! Garnets everywhere!

Or at least, on two Outlander series book covers, which makes me very happy.

But I suppose I should include some non-Outlander books too… so here are a few more with hints of garnet that I found on my shelves:

Do you have any favorite garnet book covers to share?

21Dec2025

Birthstone Book Covers: December = Turquoise!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

December has three official birthstones: tanzanite, zircon, and turquoise. I’ve always loved the look of turquoise, so that’s the one I’m choosing to highlight.