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the way, did you know that the National Archives is looking for people who can read cursive to volunteer to transcribe historical documents?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!

4Jun2026

Spell the Month in Books: June

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. To participate, find a book title that starts with each letter in the month’s name, make a list, share your link, and that’s it! You can share anytime by the end of the month. Some months have additional themes, but feel free to participate however you’d like!

It looks like themes haven’t been added for a while, so I’ll make up my own. June means the start of summer, and what better way to welcome those sunny, beachy vibes than to highlight books with “summer” in the title? I tried to stick with books I’ve actually read… but ended up having to include a TBR book for the letter N!

Here are my JUNE books:

J:

Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez

U:

Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

N:

The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson

E:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Happy June! Here’s to blue skies, warm beaches, and gorgeous sunshine-filled days!

If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

6May2026

Spell the Month in Books: May

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I didn’t see a theme posted for May, so I decided to go with one of my own. My book list for May is focused on May Flowers… books covers with at least a flower or two! With only three letters to work with, it’s a quick list to put together… although as usual, “Y” books are the hardest to find.

Here are my MAY books:

M:

Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

A:

The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay

Y:

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

Happy May! Wishing everyone a month filled with flowers!

If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

21Apr2026

Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers

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 April Showers, with the prompt: Interpret this however you’d like: rainy day reads, books that make you cry, books that give you happy tears, books to wash away a bad reading experience, books set in rainy places, books with rain/raindrops/umbrellas on the cover, blue book covers, etc.

I’ve decided to go with the rain theme: “Rain” in the title, or rain on the cover, or a cover/title that’s rain-adjacent (hence the umbrella covers!). Here are my ten:

In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire: Story set in the world of the Wayward Children series
Nothing But the Rain by Naomi Salman: On my TBR
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie: I have a copy of the paperback on my shelf, but haven’t read it yet
Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes: And yet another owned but not read!
Rainwater by Sandra Brown: A book group book from over five years ago
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer: An umbrella not just on the cover, but important to the plot! (amazing book)
The Umbrella Academy graphic novel series: I’ve read the first volume in this series — this is the image from the Netflix series, but I like the look of it much better than the book cover
Gathering Storm by Maggie Craig: Terrific historical fiction… and storms are rain-adjacent!
Soulless by Gail Carriger: OK, granted, it’s the Parasol Protectorate series… but the cover image looks much more like an umbrella than a parasol to me
Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra: Read with a book group something like 20 years ago! I don’t think I understood more than half of it… but I do like the title and cover

What April Showers books did you feature this week?

Share your link, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

14Apr2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Describe Me/My Life

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 Titles That Describe Me/My Life, with the prompt: Example titles: Well Traveled could describe you if you like to travel, Hotshot Doc could describe you if you’re an awesome doctor, Falling into Place could describe a life where things are starting to work out, An Infinite Love Story could describe your relationship, It Could Have Been Her could describe a thing you’re happy you avoided or a path you could have taken but didn’t. You can explain your choices or not, and they can be as specific or as abstract as you’d like.

Fun challenge! I searched my bookshelves, and here’s what I’ve come up with:

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: Coffee and books sum up my life pretty accurately!
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan: My husband is the family cook… and yes, I know how lucky I am!
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune: I love planning vacations, and try to find something new to explore each summer.
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire: Fields, trails, paths by the beach… get me outside with space to walk and appreciate the views, and I’m happy.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain: I haven’t made it to Camelot, but I’m originally from Connecticut, and even though it still feels like home, I’ve lived far away from there most of my adult life.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: My fandoms bring me joy! It’s the little pop culture moments that add a bit of zing.
Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan: Sweets are my weakness, and I will never say no to meeting a friend at a bakery
Finding Fraser by KC Dyer: Reading Outlander for the first time, over 15 years ago, not only introduced me to a favorite series and characters but also led me to my book group, which brings me so much joy.
Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire: Dancing has been a big part of my life since childhood! Not in a polished performance — but in the chaotic way that recreational dancing brings people together and provides endless enjoyment and fresh challenges
A House for Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi: Being a mom — even now that my kids are grown — means the world to me.

Do you have book titles that describe your life?

Share your link, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

8Apr2026

Spell the Month in Books: April

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This month’s theme is a choice: Easter OR Pastel Covers. I’m going pastels… because I can’t figure out how to do an Easter theme (I don’t think I know of enough books with bunnies on the cover!)

Here are my APRIL books:

A:

Angel’s Peak by Robyn Carr

P:

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon

R:

Reputation by Lex Croucher

I:

In the Quick by Kate Hope Day

L:

The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain

I hope everyone is having a great start to April! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

10Mar2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers

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 Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers.

My original thought was to go in order from 1 to 10, and stick with books I’ve actually read. However… I got stuck on #6 and #8, and rather than adding books that I haven’t read, I’m skipping those and adding in a couple of others.

So, here we have ordinal numbers mainly from 1 – 10, plus two teens!

*First Sign of Danger* by Kelley Armstrong

*The Bookshop of Second Chances* by Jackie Fraser

*The Third Rule of Time Travel* by Philip Fracassi

*The Tenth Good Thing About Barney* by Judith Viorst

*The Thirteenth Husband* by Greer Macallister

(I considered including two books that have been recommended to me at various times, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert and Eighth Grave after Dark by Darynda Jones — but since I doubt I’ll ever read either one, decided to drop them!)

What books made your list this week?

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

7Mar2026

Spell the Month in Books: March

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This month’s theme is a choice: Take your pick from Pi Day, March Madness, or Green Covers. I’m going with Pi Day… or more specifically PIE day… meaning, any book with some sort of baked goods on the cover! Because… yummmmm… I need more delicious desserts in my life.

Here are my MARCH books:

M:

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

A:

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

R:

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

C:

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

H:

Homemade Humble Pie by Annette Smith

Wishing everyone a very happy March (and lots of yummy pie to eat)! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

13Feb2026

Spell the Month in Books: February

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This month’s theme is a freebie — so any topic we want! Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I’m going to focus on romance books… and just to keep it fun and a bit more challenging, I’m not allowing myself to double up on any authors.

Here are my FEBRUARY books:

F:

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory

E:

Every Summer After by
Carley Fortune

B:

Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin

R:

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

U:

Until Next Summer by
Ali Brady

A:

All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath

R:

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Y:

Yours Truly by
Abby Jimenez

Wishing everyone a very happy February! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

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: