Top Ten Tuesday: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

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 The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf.

It was hard to be totally random, since I have a pretty good idea of where all my books live — but I made a valiant attempt to close my eyes, circle my arms around a few times, and then point!

Here are the 10 I landed on:

Lute by Jennifer Thorne

Read? Yes!
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? Absolutely gorgeous. (review)

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Read? Yes!
Rating? 4.5 stars
Thoughts? A slim, affecting collection of interconnected stories about Army families. I read this before I started blogging, so I don’t have a review to share — but I highly recommend this book!

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? Another pre-blogging read, and my 2nd Sarah Waters book (after Fingersmith, which is amazing). This one is terrific too!

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? So powerful. A must-read. (review)

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

Read? No (not yet!)
Rating? n/a
Thoughts? I absolutely intend to read this book! I’ve heard such good things.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Read? Yes!
Rating? 3 stars
Thoughts? This is the 3rd book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. I had very mixed feelings about the trilogy as a whole, and at over 800 pages, this book really required determination to finish. Still, I liked the overall story enough to see it through. (review)

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? If you check out my review, you’ll see the word “beautiful” repeated over and over again — and I stand by it!

Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Read? Yes!
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? I’m surprised that I didn’t write a review at the time, but I know I loved this 2nd Kopp Sisters book, and have since read every book in the series!

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Read? Yes
Rating? 5 stars
Thoughts? I picked up this hardcover edition years ago at a library sale, because my battered old paperback got lost somewhere between moves over the ages since I first read it. I intend to reread this book at some point!

Wings to the Kingdom by Cherie Priest

Read? No
Rating? n/a
Thoughts? This is the 2nd book in the Eden Moore trilogy. I own all three… and haven’t touched them yet, despite the years they’ve been sitting on my shelf. The covers are all amazing and ghostly, and I’m committed to reading them… eventually.

Spinning around the room and randomly pointing at books was strangely fun! (And a good reminder that I still have tons of unread books on my shelves…)

How did you do with this week’s random picking?

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

17Dec2019

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for winter 2019/2020

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 about our winter reading plans.

Last week, my TTT was all about the ARCs I have coming up at the start of the new year. This week, I’m focusing on other books I’m looking forward to reading — some upcoming new releases, some books I’ve bought recently, and one that I’ve had for way too long and really need to get to.

The first four on my list are all new volumes in ongoing series, and just thinking about them makes me happy.

1) Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children, #5) by Seanan McGuire: This book comes out in early January, and I can’t wait! I love this series so much, and I’m especially excited for this one because it picks up where one of my favorites (Down Among the Sticks and Bones) left off.

2) No Fixed Line (Kate Shugak, #22) by Dana Stabenow: I love this series, the Alaska setting, and Kate herself, who is just an awesome lead character. I’ve been itching for more Kate — so excited for this upcoming January release!

3) Imaginary Numbers (InCryptid, #9) by Seanan McGuire: Yup, even more Seanan McGuire! And yes, I do love everything she writes. The InCryptid series is really fun, and I’m super excited for this book, especially since I won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. (Thanks, Goodreads!)

4) Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson, #12) by Patricia Briggs: Mercy is one of my favorite lead characters, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her and her pack.

Other (non-series) books I’m looking forward to reading:

5) Well Met by Jen DeLuca: I’ve been on a roll with cute romances lately, and this story, set at a RenFaire, sounds adorable.

6) Alice by Christina Henry: I’m officially in love with Christina Henry’s writing, so it’s time to go back and read the books I’ve missed.

7) The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri: This is my book club’s pick for January, and I’m really determined to make more of an effort to keep up with our monthly reads this year.

8) Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey: From the Goodreads blurb: “The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.” Um, yes please! I love Sarah Gailey’s writing, and this sounds pretty amazing.

9) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: I finally picked up a copy, so this is high on my priority list! Maybe even this week…

10) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: I bought this when it came out in 2018 — it’s about time that I finally read it!

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

19Feb2019

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads

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 LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads.

It’s nice to be able to give some love to stellar books that not enough people know about! Here are some of my top-rated reads, all with fewer than 2,000 ratings on Goodreads. Where available, I’m including links to my reviews, so check ’em out if you’re interested!

1) All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen (1,463 ratings): A super-charming steampunk adventure, with nods to Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. I think I’m due for a re-read!

2) Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (1,292 ratings): An Austen-esque novel about a whaling community in Australia in the early 1900s. Such a great read! (my review)

3) Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells (943 ratings): The end of the world, as brought about by a cosmetics company. Scary yet kind of funny in a bizarre sort of way. (my review)

4) Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel (358 ratings): Why haven’t more people read this book?? I rave about this book whenever I get a chance — a mash-up of Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice that works perfectly. (my review)

5) Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst (933 ratings): I read this book years ago, but remember being charmed by the shenanigans of the ghosts in a California cemetery.

6) Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn (1,468 ratings): I can’t for the life of me figure out why more people haven’t read this terrific book and its sequel, The Wild Dead. The world-building and storytelling are amazing. (my review)

7) Miniatures by John Scalzi (1,808 ratings): This collection of short fiction is adorable and highly entertaining. (my review)

8) Unequal Affection by Lara S. Ormiston (1,857 ratings): Yet another Austen-influenced book! This is one of the best riffs off of Pride and Prejudice that I’ve encountered — not a retelling exactly, but a continuation with an alternate ending. What if Elizabeth had accepted Mr. Darcy’s first proposal? This book explores what might have happened, and is a wonderful read. (my review)

9) All the Winters After by Sere Prince Halverson (1,534 ratings): A beautiful story about love, second chances, and survival, set in one of my very favorite places, Alaska. (my review)

10) The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander (1,591 ratings): As I wrote on Goodreads: Weird, wonderful, beautiful, tragic. If you’re wondering how elephants could possibly fit into a story about the “radium girls” tragedy, check out this inventive, powerful novella. (my review)

Have you read any of these? What are your top underrated books?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link so I can check out your list!

29Jan2019

Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Read 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 The Ten Most Recent Additions to My To-Read List.

My TBR list grows pretty much every day… and here are the ten books I’ve added most recently:

1) Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

2) Golden State by Ben Winters

3) Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

4) The Truth About Animals by Lucy Cooke

5) The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

6) The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn

7) Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

8) The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan

And two without covers yet — but they’re recently announced additions to beloved series, so HECK YEAH I want to read these:

9) No Fixed Line (Kate Shugak #22) by Dana Stabenow

10) Kopp Sisters on the March (Kopp Sisters #5) by Amy Stewart

Source: Amy Stewart’s website

What books have you recently added to your TBR list?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link so I can check out your list!

18Dec2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for winter 2018/2019

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 reading plans for this winter.

My main reading plan for this winter is to read the books I’ve recently acquired — basically, books that I had to have IMMEDIATELY and spent actual money on! My terrible tendency is to rush to buy books, and then once I get them, suddenly have other books that I need to read first… and so they sit there, unloved and unread, for months and months.

So, top priority for the next few months will be these books — my newest acquisitions:

1) Becoming by Michelle Obama

2) A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne M. Harris

3) Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar

4) The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

5) Death of an Eye by Dana Stabenow

6) In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

7) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

8) The White Darkness by David Grann

9) We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory

10) One of the Austen-inspired books I’ve picked up at recent library sales — either Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski or Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos… or both!