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 Nationalities In The Title with the prompt providing example such as The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Mexican Gothic, An American Marriage, etc. Well, clearly I can’t use those! But I did manage to come up with ten others…
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (review)
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith (review)
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 Bookish Places I’ve Visited with the prompt: Share all the cool places you’ve been that are bookish or tied to books! This includes neat libraries, book stores, places featured in books, places inspired by books, author homes/places they’ve stayed, etc. You can also share your bucket list of the bookish places you’d like to visit someday. (submitted by Susan @Bloggin’ ’bout Books)
Here are nine places I’ve been that have some connection to books — plus one that I really want to get to:
Note: Images from online sources are credited; uncredited images are from my camera roll.
1. Forks, Washington: A road trip last summer took me through the Olympic Peninsula, and I totally fangirled out over the Twilight-ness of it all.
2. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: I love everything about the annual festival in Ashland, Oregon, and hope to make it an annual tradition.
3. New York Public Library: Iconic! Need I say more?
5. Harry Potter World at Universal Studios: Okay, sure, this is mainly based on the movies… but close enough!
6. Muir Woods: This national monument, just a quick drive from where I live, is one of my favorite local destinations, and has the added bonus of being an important site in the world of the October Daye series. Every time I visit, I hope to catch a glimpse of Toby and Tybalt. Hasn’t happened yet, but I can dream!
7. Salem, Massachusetts: Connected to so many books, and I found the small park with the names of the witch trial victims incredibly moving (despite being hemmed in on all sides by so much witchy kitsch)
8. Powell’s, Portland, OR: This immense bookstore is just as amazing as everyone says! I was so happy to finally get a chance to visit last year.
9. Florence, Italy: I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Florence during college, and read The Agony and The Ecstasy immediately before the trip, then planned my sight-seeing around checking out as many Michelangelo masterpieces as possible.
10. Jane Austen’s House, Chawton, UK: Finally, one from my bucket list! I don’t know when this will happen, but someday, I absolutely want to get to this Jane Austen landmark!
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 Series I Want to Catch Up On (or series you’d like to start)
I generally start each year with a post about my series reading goals (here’s the version I shared for 2026), where I share my intentions regarding new-to-me series that I plan (or hope) to start. For today’s post, I decided to focus on the next books in series that I’m already involved with. Most of these are series that I’m totally committed to, basically just checking my calendar until the next installment is available — and a couple are series where I’ve read a book or two and feel interested in continuing, but perhaps a little less motivated to dive in the second I get hold of them.
In no particular order, here are the top ten next installments from series I’m reading — can’t wait to get to all of these!
1. October Daye by Seanan McGuire
Up next: A Divided Duty #20 in the series Release date: September 2026
2. Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire
Up next: A Song of Sugar Sparrows #12 in the series Release date: January 2027
3. InCryptids by Seanan McGuire
Up next: Pride and Poltergeists #16 in the series Release date: March 2027
(Yes, that’s three from three different series by Seanan McGuire!! Moving on…)
4. Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs
Up next: Steel Rain (no cover yet — this is an earlier book in the series) #7 in the series Release date: April 2027
5. Haven’s Rock by Kelley Armstrong
Up next: Last Resort at Haven’s Rock #5 in the series (series finale) Release date: February 2027
6. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Up next: We Chase Shadows #2 in the series Release date: September 2026
7. The Marys by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
Up next: My Imaginary Mary #2 in the series Published: 2022
8. Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Up next: Well Versed #5 in the series Release date: September 2026
9. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Up next: The Neverfear #3 in the series Release date: September 2026
10. Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart
Up next: Roundabout #2 in the series Release date: January 2027
What series do you hope to start or continue?
If you posted a TTT list this week, please share your link!
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 Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years, with the prompt: … the idea is to share what you were reading on August 11th of 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.
I love this concept! What fun to look back at past years and see what books were in my hands! Based on my Goodreads history, I was able to get a pretty good idea of what books I was reading at this time for each of the last 10 Augusts.
So many years of reading… so many great memories! I’d completely forgotten about some of these — it’s nice to get a reminder, and to see the variety of genres and topics I’ve read over these last ten summers.
What memorable books have you read over the last decade of Augusts?
If you posted a TTT list this week, please share your link!
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 a cover freebie, with the prompt: Pick any topic related to book covers. You can make up your own topic or pick one from the list of previous ones!
I decided to go with spaceships… historic, modern, or science fiction! Anything involving space flight counts from where I’m standing!
Here’s my batch of 10:
An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Spaceman by Mike Massimino
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Serenity: Those Left Behind (graphic novel)
Space by James A. Michener
What books have you read (or do you have on your TBR) with spaceships on the covers?
If you posted a TTT list this week, please share your link!
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 Bookish Wishes, with the prompt: List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!
When wishlists come up as a TTT prompt, I typically don’t share a link… but what the heck! I’ll jump in with my Amazon wishlist this time around. Really, I’m not terribly comfortable asking people for anything! Mainly, I’m posting this to say — here are books I want to get my hands on… and eventually, I may end up treating myself to at least one or two.
A couple of these are books that I read via the library and would love to own; one I just purchased in hardcover using a gift card, but would love to get a Kindle edition; and one is an upcoming new release that I already know I’ll need!
The Children by Melissa Albert
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
The Calamity Club by Katheryn Stockett
Kin by Tayari Jones
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher (not out yet; release date 8/25/2026)
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.
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!
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 Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read.
My picks this week include a classic I should have read by now and a bunch of books that have been sitting on my shelves for way too long.
In no particular order, my top 10 are:
1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 2. Venetia by Georgette Heyer 3. Vicious by V. E. Schwab
4. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert 5. Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong 6. Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler
7. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah 8. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik 9. Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery 10. Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede
Do you see any here that you’d particularly recommend?
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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 My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors, with the prompt: Pick your ten favorite authors and your favorite book written by each one of them.
For me, the challenge is narrowing the list down to just one title per author — because if I love an author, there’s a good chance that I love MANY of their books. So, I’ll be highlighting one terrific book for each author on my list — not necessarily my one and only favorite, but one that I think is particularly great!
1. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows by Diana Gabaldon: As I tend to do, I’m starting my list with a book from the Outlander world. If forced to pick an actual favorite, I’d probably have to go with the first Outlander book, since it’s our introduction to these amazing characters and their lives. But, to change things up, I’m highlighting this novella, which perhaps isn’t as well known. It provides an emotional backstory for events in a key character’s life, and fans of the book series absolutely should read this one!
2. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer: I’ve loved every single book I’ve read by Meg Shaffer. The Lost Story was my first, and I was blown away! (review)
3. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King: There are so many Stephen King books I could include! I’m picking The Eyes of the Dragon because it has such a unique feel — a fantasy tale, but with plenty of King twists. I’ve returned to this book several times already, and have enjoyed it each time. (review)
4. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer: Of all the Heyer books I’ve read and loved, this is the one that really made me laugh. It’s delightful. (review)
5. Sunshine by Robin McKinley: McKinley’s version of a vampire story is unique and wonderfully written. I’m due for a reread! (review)
6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: I loved the mix of the story-within-a-story and the contemporary romance aspects. (review)
7. The Women by Kristin Hannah: Any of her recent historical novels could have been my pick for this list. The Women was especially powerful and stayed with me long after I finished reading it. (review)
8. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See: Again, an author with so many books that I loved. This one in particular introduced me to a culture and community that I’d never encountered before, and I found it fascinating. (review)
9. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong: I picked this book because it’s the first book in the Rockton series, which quickly became one of my all-time favorite series. But there are so many others I could just as easily have picked, including first books from the Stitch in Time and A Rip Through Time series, as well as her stand-alone horror and romance books. (review)
10. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan: I’ve loved everything this author has written… and her first novel was especially memorable. (review)
Have you read books by any of these authors? Do we have any favorites in common?
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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 Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters. I’ve decided to focus on supporting character from one particular series.
Last week marked the series finale of the Outlander TV series — but the book series continues, with author Diana Gabaldon still working on book #10, A Blessing For A Warrior Going Out. There’s no release date yet — here’s hoping it’s not too far off!
I have a lot of feelings about the series finale… but putting plot aside, what stays with me is how many wonderful characters are important to the story. With Outlander on my mind, I thought I’d highlight ten favorite supporting/secondary characters from the book series. (Yes, many of these appear in the TV version as well, but often with altered storylines and/or personality traits, so I’m focusing on the books!)
Just a bit of my Outlander collection!
My top ten are:
Brianna Randall Fraser MacKenzie: Bree is a controversial pick — plenty of people dislike her, particularly early in the series when she’s kind of bratty and mean to Claire (and it is NOT okay to be mean to Claire). Bree really grows up (and grew on me) over the course of the series. She’s smart, she’s fierce, she’s welcomed Jamie into her life, and she’s become a terrific daughter at long last. Plus, gotta love a woman who does things like inventing matches and plumbing in her spare time.
Roger MacKenzie: Total sweetheart and all-around wonderful soul. He’s devoted to Bree, is a man of faith, and has stuck with the Fraser clan despite truly terrible things happening to him because of his association with them
Ian Murray (Young Ian): The little baby nephew Jamie bonded with before being sent off to prison post-Culloden grew up into a teen in need of rescue, an adopted Mohawk warrior, and a surrogate son to Jamie. Ian’s devotion to the Frasers, to his wife, and to Rollo (RIP) are lovely.
Lord John Grey: Lord John gets his own books to star in (and they’re well worth checking out, for those who haven’t explored outside of the main Outlander volumes), but he’s also a fantastic friend to Jamie, Claire, and Brianna.
Hal Grey, Duke of Pardloe: He doesn’t appear much in the TV version, but book readers know and love Hal for his wit, his devotion to family, and the endlessly entertaining dynamic whenever he and Claire are in the same scene.
Fergus Fraser: From a wee French pickpocket to an American patriot of the printing press, Fergus is an excellent son to Jamie, with a lovely marriage and family. He lights up his moments on the page.
Dougal MacKenzie: Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that he’s the catalyst for so much of what happens early in the series.
Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser: While book Murtagh doesn’t last nearly as long as TV Murtagh, he’s a crucial character nonetheless. Jamie’s godfather has his back no matter what, and comes through for him in critical moments.
Jenny Fraser Murray: I love Jenny’s fire, her devotion to her husband and children, her brother, and their home. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and is just glorious whenever she gets a moment to shine.
Rollo, Adso, Donas, and the other animals of Outlander: I mentioned Rollo earlier in relation to Ian… but honestly, the various animals of this series deserve a shout-out of their own!
Stopping at ten means I have to omit so many others! So I’ll just a quick word of praise for all the rest of Diana Gabaldon’s amazing characters… including Marsali, Rachel, Denzel, Dottie, all the various grandchildren, William (can’t forget William!), Mother Hildegard… well, I could just go on and on until I name every single one!
If you’re an Outlander fan: who are your favorite supporting characters?
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Bookshelf Fantasies 