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 Occupations in the Title.
This is a fun one! Here are books from my recent reading years that fit the prompt:
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 a High Page Count. I’ve definitely done variations on this topic before, focusing on the longest books I’ve ever read, plus the longest read in particular years (here are my lists from 2021 and 2017/2018) — but it’s been a while, so why not give the topic an update?
To kick things off, here are (more or less*) the longest books I’ve ever read, according to my Goodreads stats:
*this is actually somewhat changeable, depending on the edition… but let’s just say these are among the longest I’ve ever read!
A Breath of Snow and Ashes – 1488 pages
Les Misérables – 1463 pages
The Fiery Cross – 1443 pages
A Storm of Swords – 1177 pages
The Stand – 1152 pages
Shogun – 1152 pages
A Dance with Dragons – 1125 pages
Under the Dome – 1074 pages
A Feast for Crows – 1060 pages
War and Remembrance – 1042 pages
(Hmmm… I suppose without Diana Gabaldon, George R. R. Martin, and Stephen King, I’d have a lot more free reading time on my hands!)
To keep things fresh, I’ll add in the longest books I’ve read from 2022 until now. My ten longest recent books are:
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon – 902 pages
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot – 796 pages
Paper Girls: The Complete Story by Brian K. Vaughan – 784 pages
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros – 623 pages
Fairy Tale by Stephen King – 607 pages
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – 593 pages
Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) by James S. A. Corey – 560 pages
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan – 546 pages
My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand et. al. – 546 pages
Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse, #6) by James S. A. Corey – 541 pages
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab – 535 pages
More Gabaldon and King… and yes, that makes 11 books, simply because the 11th longest book is too good to leave off my list!
Which are the longest books you’ve read in the past few years?
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 Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump, with the prompt: Which books would you recommend to someone dealing with the dreaded book slump? No book is grabbing their attention or making them excited to sit down and read and they are suffering for it.
Of course, no one book is going to work for everyone — but here are ten that grabbed me right from the start and never let me go, which is just what we all need when a slump hits.
1. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal: This story of women astronauts is set during an accelerated space race after a meteor strike changes the future of life on Earth. It’s gripping and fascinating, and the characters are unforgettable. (review)
2. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: Sometimes, all you need is a bit of cozy fantasy and great coffee! This book is understated and charming. (review)
3. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio: One of the strangest concepts for a novel, and it’s amazing! (review)
4. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi: Outright silliness can be the perfect antidote to a slump… and what’s sillier than a book about the moon turning to cheese? (review)
5. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab: A tense, layered vampire story that spans centuries — I couldn’t put it down. (review)
6. Weyward by Emilia Hart: I loved everything about this beautifully written witchy tale. (review)
7. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: A gorgeous romance with a beautiful setting and complicated characters. Prepare to be swept away to a sunny summer lake! (review)
8. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto: More silliness! And so much fun. (review)
9. Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn: A group of older women approaching retirement from life as assassins — unique and funny. (review)
10. The Guncle by Steven Rowley: This book’s lighthearted surface hides deeper emotions and beautiful connections. Lovely, and also lots of fun. (review)
What books would you recommend to break a reading slump?
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 Genre freebie, with the prompt: Pick any genre you’d like and build a list around it. You can even narrow the topic if you’d like, such as: thrillers with unreliable narrators, fantasy romance with fae characters, or historical romance with suspense elements.
I considered and discarded a bunch of options before settling on time travel as my theme for the week. I’m sure I must have covered this topic before — many times!! — but it’s just such a good one, and there are always more books to add.
Here are some favorite, beloved time travel books*… plus a smaller handful that I read but didn’t love, although in most cases, there were at least a few elements to appreciate.
*Technically, these aren’t all exactly time travel. Some just have time-related weirdness (such as extraordinarily long lives) that make me include them in this category!
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 Beach/Beachy Reads, with the prompt: Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.
I love books with a summer vibe, and all of these take place at or near a beach of some sort… or at least include a brief visit! Here are ten of my favorites:
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s is a Freebie/Throwback, with the prompt: Come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again! Looking back at earlier TTT topics, I thought I’d go back and provide an update on my freebie topic from spring 2024: Backlist Books To Read.
What you’ll see below is a duplicate of my 2024 list… but with notes on which books I’ve read, which I’m still interested in, and which I’m not planning to pursue. I’ve actually read a decent amount of these… yay, me!
Here’s my 2025 update on my 2024 backlist post:
1. Kristin Hannah – Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: I read The Nightingale earlier this year, and loved it! My review is here. I’d still like to get to the other two, and probably more beyond that.
2. TJ Klune: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
(Note: Same book; original cover on the left, new cover for the 2025 reissue on the right)
2025 update: Read it, loved it! My review is here. I do have a few other early books by TJ Klune marked as to-read:
I’m not necessarily rushing to pick these up — but please do let me know if you’ve read them and recommend them!
3. William Kent Krueger: Backlist title (series) identified in 2024:
2025 update: Probably going to pass. I’m not really looking to get involved in even more series at the moment, and mysteries aren’t my go-to genre in any case.
4. Dana Stabenow: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: Again, probably not. I do love this author, but I think I’ll hold off on any backlist titles, and will look forward to her upcoming 2026 new release, The Harvey Girl.
5. Abby Jimenez: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: Yes! Read them all! I didn’t love this trilogy quite as much as the Part of Your World trilogy… but I still enjoyed all of these (especially the 2nd book) and I’m glad I read them!
6. Rachel Harrison: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: Yes! This book was so creepy and disturbing, and I loved it! My review is here. And now, I’m eagerly awaiting her 2025 new release, Play Nice, coming this fall.
7. Kelley Armstrong: Backlist titles identified in 2024 (two different series starters):
2025 update: I read City of the Lost, book #1 in the Rockton series, and I’m eager to continue! In fact, I’m hoping to start the 2nd book this month. As for the Cainsville series, this will remain a “maybe someday” read for me, but I don’t feel any urgency about it.
8. Jenny Colgan: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: I did read Where Have All the Boys Gone (review)… and didn’t especially love it. I have a feeling that her earlier books may all feel a bit dated to me at this point, so I don’t think I’ll follow through with any others. (But who knows? Never say never, when it comes to favorite authors…)
9. Eva Ibbotson: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: I didn’t get to any of these, but still want to!
10. Katherine Center: Backlist titles identified in 2024:
2025 update: I didn’t get to either of these… but I still intend to! And then I’ll have made it through all of her backlist books.
BONUS PICKS: Because why stop at 10? Here are a few more authors I’m adding to my 2025 list, whose backlists I need to explore:
Victoria Schwab: After loving both The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (review) and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (watch for my review later this week!), I’m feeling like I really should try her YA fiction too. Any favorites? Suggestions on where to start?
Jennifer Weiner: I’ve read lots of her books, but there are plenty more that I’ve missed over the years. The two highest on my priority list are Mrs. Everything and Big Summer.
Colleen Oakley: I’ve read her more recent books, but still need to get to You Were There Too and Before I Go.
Have you read any of my backlist picks? Any you especially recommend?
If you wrote a freebie post this week, what topic did you choose? 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 here’s hoping the Library Hold Fairy works her magic and gets them to me quickly!
Featured authors:
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstong
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Every Summer After (deluxe edition) by Carley Fortune (yes, I’ve read this one already, but I’m dying over the gorgeousness of this new edition!)
Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words by John McWhorter (to satisfy my inner grammar geek)
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Overgrowth by Mira Grant (I read this already as an ARC, but feel like I NEED a hardcover edition for my shelves)
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (not due out until the fall, but I’m already waiting for it!)
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 Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State. I’m including some authors who are no longer living, but who are certainly very much associated with my (adopted) home state of California!
Although I’m not a native, I’ve been living in California for almost all of my adult life — so it’s home! Here are a selection of books by authors who either live or lived in California. I love my literary neighbors!
Featured authors:
Jasmine Guillory
John Steinbeck
Gail Carriger
Armistead Maupin
Daniel Handler
Nina Lacour
Isabel Allende
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ray Bradbury
Lisa See
It actually was a bit of a challenge to come up with my list this week — I had to do a bit of fact-checking to make sure that authors who I thought live/lived in California actually did! Did anyone else struggle with this week’s prompt?
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 the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title, with the prompt: Choose a word and find ten books with that word in the title.
I’m in countdown mode until a family wedding at the end of May, so that’s what’s been on my brain, and that’s the word I’m going for! Here are teneleven books — most of which I’ve read, plus one releasing in May that I can’t wait to read — with WEDDING in the title:
Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong — May new release!
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 that Surprised Me (in a good or bad way).
I’ve decided to embrace positivity! I’m going to talk about books that provided me with surprises that made me happy, intrigued, or otherwise amused and delighted.
My top 10 are:
Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
What surprised me: I picked up this book just to read the chapters about Survivor… and ended up reading the whole thing, start to finish. I did not expect to be that fascinated by a book about TV!
What surprised me: Everything! I am not a sports fan. At all. I picked this book up, way back when, after hearing an interview with the author. I did not expect a book about football to interest me in the slightest, but I just couldn’t put it down.
(And yes, this is my 2nd non-fiction book in a row… I am not usually a non-fiction reader, so any time I enjoy a non-fiction book, it’s pretty surprising!)
What surprised me: I was under the impression that this book would be more “literary fiction” than what I enjoy, so I disregarded it whenever it popped up on my recommendations list. Once I finally gave it a try, I was immediately hooked.
Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley
What surprised me: I misread the synopsis for this book and had a completely wrong impression of what it would be about! It worked out fine — I ended up loving the book — but seeing what the plot actually was was definitely a surprise for me.
What surprised me: The intricacy of the language and world-building. The Goblin Emperor is one of my favorite books, but the first time I read it, the storytelling style was not at all what I expected in a fantasy novel. The use of language itself as a key part of the story was one of the biggest surprises. This book is a masterpiece, and I had no idea before I picked it up and started reading it.
What surprised me: With the main character described as someone who hates books, I was prepared to dislike this book (which I got as a “blind date with a book” — otherwise, I probably never would have picked it up). It turns out, the book is delightful, and the issue around hating books is more nuanced than it might seem. And anyway, this is a sweet, upbeat romance — in a bookstore!! — that’s just so much fun.
What surprised me: I was skeptical — did we need another Hunger Games prequel? Surprise! The answer is yes. The story of Haymitch and the 50th Hunger Games pulled me in right away and was impossible to put down.
What surprised me: I suppose I can’t really say this one surprised me — whenever I pick up a John Scalzi book, I know it’ll be amazing. And yet, before reading this one, I just couldn’t imagine how a book about the moon turning to cheese could possible work. But it does! In totally fabulous ways.
What surprised me: Based on the cover, I thought this book would be a bit on the corny side… but it was actually really fun and endearing. I was surprised by how much I liked it!
Bookshelf Fantasies 