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?
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 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?
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 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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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 May Flowers, with the prompt: This is a companion to the April Showers topic from last month. Interpret however you’d like: books with flowers on the cover, colorful covers, books set in springtime, books where flowers/plants are a common theme, titles with flower names in them, characters named after flowers, covers that are as pretty as flowers, books featuring gardens, etc.
I did a version of this TTT topic just two years ago, featuring books with flower names in the titles… so rather than repeating myself, I thought I’d take a different approach. This time around, my top 10 are books where flowers or gardens are a plot element.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Where You’re Planted by Melanie Sweeney
The Lark by E. Nesbit
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukayama
Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Mandy by Julie Andres Edwards
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Digging In by Loretta Nyhan
Have you read any books that fit my topic? What books make you think of May flowers?
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 Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today, with the prompt: These could be authors who have passed away or retired/are taking a long hiatus from writing. You could also spin this and share authors who have switched to a genre you’re not interested in.
Tricky… After giving this some thought, what I’ve come up with is a wishlist of sorts. I’d love more books from all of these authors! Some authors on my list are no longer with us, and others either haven’t released anything for several years, seem to have stopped writing fiction, have retired from writing… or in one case, wrapped up a series I really wish had more books!
The Dearly Departed:
Jane Austen: Of course! Needs no explanation.
Georgette Heyer: Included with an asterisk… she was such a prolific writer that there’s a daunting list of her books that I still haven’t read. I’m in no danger of running out… but still, wouldn’t it be nice if she were still producing more?
Mary Stewart: Now, to be fair, I’ve only read one of her books! But one of my reading goals is to read many more, and I’m eager to keep exploring.
It’s Been a While:
Tamora Pierce: She hasn’t released a new book in quite some time (and at least according to chatter on Reddit, is dealing with serious health issues that make another book sound questionable). Her Tortall books are so wonderful — it would be lovely to get more stories set in that world.
Trish Doller: I loved Float Plan and the other books in the series, and I’m just hoping she’ll have another book soon! I don’t see anything listed as upcoming on Goodreads, and it’s been a few years since her last Beck Sisters book!
Robin McKinley: Author of some of my favorite fantasy and fairy tale books. As far as I can see, it’s been more than ten years since her last published book, but online chatter tells me that she’s supposedly working on a new novel. Here’s hoping!
No More Fiction?
Nicole Peeler: Nicole Peeler wrote a fantasy series that I loved, Jane True, but that wrapped up about ten years ago, and she does not appear to still be writing fiction. Jane True is a great series! More people should know about it, in my humble opinion.
Amy Stewart: It’s been about five years since Amy Stewart wrapped up her Kopp Sisters series. She’s been publishing non-fiction since then, but I do wish she’d go back to the world of the Kopp Sisters… or just write more fiction of any sort!
Wishing for more in a series:
Charlaine Harris: Yes, yes, I know she’s still writing, and I’m happy she is! But — I do wish she’d write more in the Gunnie Rose series, which has actually already ended! That’s all… just a silly little wish on my part.
Officially Retired:
Mary Doria Russell: Officially retired from writing fiction (although still very active on social media). I’ve loved her historical fiction and science fiction (The Sparrow remains an all-time favorite).
What authors do you wish had more books for you to read?
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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 a freebie, which means we all come up with our own topics. I’ve done freebie posts focusing on backlist books a few times (here are my lists from 2025 and 2024), and thought I’d come back with some new and updated picks.
Below are backlist books from favorite authors, all of which I’d like to make time for. I’ve read these authors’ more recent books, and now want to go back to earlier books and see what I might have missed!
TJ Klune: Murmuration was originally pubished in 2016, and is being reissued in November 2026. How could I possibly resist? I love this new cover.
Kelley Armstrong: After finishing her Rockton and Haven’s Rock series, I’m curious about her supernatural series, Women of the Otherworld, starting with Bitten.
Jenny Colgan: I have a handful of her early books to read — and while some that I’ve tried feel pretty dated, I’m still up for trying Amanda’s Wedding, and possibly others as well.
Colleen Oakley: I’ve enjoyed several of her books… and this earlier one is sitting on my bookshelf.
Sally Hepworth: The Secrets of Midwives is the only one of her books that I haven’t read yet, and I think I need to fix that.
Ariel Lawhon: I’ve now read two of her more recent books with my book group. I Was Anastasia sounds like something I’d find appealing.
Rachel Koller Croft: I loved her disco vampire book, We Love the Nightlife, and definitely need to read this earlier release as well.
Jennifer Weiner: Every time I read a book by this author, I’m eager to read even more. Mrs. Everything was released in 2019 and I’ve been meaning to read it ever since.
Katherine Center: I believe I have only two of her early books yet to read. The Lost Husband is the one I’m most likely to pick up.
Julia Quinn: I gobbled up the Bridgertons series, so why not read the prequel series too?
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 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!
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!
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 About/Set In Places on My Bucket List. I think this list will be very similar to a recent TTT about armchair travel… but I’ll try to avoid too much duplication (although books #1 and #2 just can’t be helped!)
Here are my top 10 books with bucket list destinations:
1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Bucket list destination: Scotland
Not exactly shocking to see Outlander on a TTT list of mine… but this is the book that first made me dream of a trip to Scotland, and I’m still determined to make it happen!
2. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery Bucket list destination: Prince Edward Island
3. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute Bucket list destination: Australia
4. Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch Bucket list destination: Santorini, Greece
5. Jane Was Here by Nicole Jacobsen & Devynn Dayton Bucket list destination: A Jane Austen tour of England!
6. Diavola by Jennifer Thorne Bucket list destination: Tuscany
(although the experiences described in this horror book are definitely not on my bucket list!)
7. The Love Haters by Katherine Center Bucket list destination: Florida Keys
8. Off the Map by Trish Doller Bucket list destination: Ireland
9. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Bucket list destination: Ontario (ideally, summer by a lake in Ontario!)
10. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert Bucket list destination: Moloka’i, Hawaii
(I’ve been to other of the Hawaiian islands, but not Moloka’i — and I’ll take any excuse for a trip to Hawaii!)
What books made your list this week?
Share your link, and I’ll come check out your top 10!
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
Bookshelf Fantasies 