Top Ten Tuesday: Book Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To

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 a freebie, which means we each come up with whatever we feel like writing about. I decided to go with the books being adapted for TV or movies in the coming year that I’m most excited for.

This is really the golden age of TV (and movies)! At least, for book lovers it is. Here are some adaptations coming soon(ish) that I’ll want to check out:

1) Pachinko – currently airing on Apple TV, based on the book by Min Jin Lee. I don’t have Apple TV and wasn’t planning to sign up… but this is really tempting me.

2) Daisy Jones & the Six – no release date yet, but it’ll be coming to Amazon… eventually. The show started filming in fall 2021 and stars Riley Keough as Daisy and Sam Claflin as Billy. Can’t wait to see how this turns out!

3) The Time Traveler’s Wife – coming to HBO in May 2022. This is a favorite book, but I did not like the 2009 movie version, which completely missed what made the book so special. I have high hopes for this new adaptation, which stars Rose Leslie and Theo James.

4) Persuasion – a new version! I actually love the 1995 film, but I don’t hate the idea of a fresh take either. Coming to Netflix sometime in 2022, this adaptation stars Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis.

5) The Storied Life of AJ Fikry – The movie is supposedly filming now. I haven’t found a confirmed release date, but estimates are 2022 or 2023. Kunal Nayyar (of Big Bang Theory) has the lead role.

6) Killers of the Flower Moon – another one coming to Apple TV! Argh, I really may have to bite the bullet and subscribe. There isn’t a firm release date set as far as I’ve seen, but it looks like it’ll be late 2022 or early 2023.

7) House of the Dragon – Based on George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, this Game of Thrones prequel series will be huge, I’m sure. Airing August 2021 on HBO… and yes, I’ll probably watch, despite the awful taste left behind by the end of GoT.

8) Where the Crawdads Sing – coming to theaters in July 2022. I’m eager to see if a movie can do justice to the characters.

9) Kindred – Absolutely yes to the adaptation of this fabulous work by the great Octavia Butler. No release date yet, but it’s being adapted for TV by FX. Find out more here.

10) An Offer From A Gentleman – Okay, yes, it’s a little soon to be hungry for season 3 of Bridgerton… but what else are we supposed to do after binging season 2?

What TV/movie adaptations are you most excited about? And what was your TTT topic this week?

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

29Mar2022

Top Ten Tuesday: 21st Century Books I Think Will Become Classics

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 21st Century Books I Think Will Become Classics.

This is a hard one! And what do we mean by classics anyway? I’m going with ten books that I think will be read and discussed for many years to come — or at least, for some of these, books that I think SHOULD be read and discussed, even if they’re a bit under the radar right now.

My list skews mostly toward science fiction and fantasy, with a couple of others mixed in as well.

Here are my top 10:

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: I know this one is already being taught in high schools. So beautiful and powerful.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: This book probably got a fresh wave of readers thanks to the TV adaptation.
The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller: It was hard to choose between this book and Circe! Both are wonderful. It’s so impressive to see classic stories made so fresh and compelling.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: Gorgeous storytelling build on Russian fairy tale elements.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: Simply my favorite piece of fantasy world-building! Deserves to be much more widely read.
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor: This novella, combinating Afro-futurism and science fiction storytelling, provides a fresh voice in the sci-fi/fantasy world.
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey: The entire Expanse series is super impressive — a great achievement in the world of science fiction.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Heart-breaking every time I read it, as well as an innovative approach to storytelling.
The Martian by Andy Weir: Geek fiction for the win! This deserves to be a sci-fi classic.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: So strange and beautiful. I think this book needs to be read more than once to fully absorb it.

What books made your list this week? Do we have any in common?

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

22Mar2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With an Adjective In the Title

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 an Adjective In the Title. To be honest, it’s nice to get a TTT topic that’s relatively easy to do!

Here are my 10:

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung
Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond
An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris

What books made your list this week? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

15Feb2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Too Good to Review Properly

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 Too Good to Review Properly .

I definitely have plenty of these! Many of these are book group books or literary fiction books that impressed me in different ways or are so well-known and written about that I felt like I had nothing to add. And somehow the idea of reviewing a classic (other than by saying — wow, I read this! and I liked it!) seems a little beyond my scope!

In any case, below are ten books that I loved — but apparently had no words when it came to writing a review (other than just handing out 5 stars, of course).

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

What books made your list this week?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

8Feb2022

Top Ten Tuesday: It’s all about LOVE… My ten favorite love stories from this past year of reading (new & improved for 2022)

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 Love Freebie, which means we all put our own spin on the topic of LOVE.

Just like I did for the February Love Freebie TTT posts in 2020 and 2021, I’m going to keep it simple and highlight my ten favorite love stories that I read in the past year:

1. Heartstopper graphic novels by Alice Oseman: I just want to give the main characters all the hugs! These books are sweet and funny and also heart-breaking at times.

2. The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer: Reading a romance novel with a Jewish holiday as its central plot point was so much fun.

3. Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev: I’m loving this author’s series of Austen adaptations! (Next one will be an Emma retelling, and I can’t wait!)

4. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon: You didn’t think I’d write a list of favorite love stories and not include Outlander, did you? There’s SO much going on in this book — battles and danger and journeys and more — but Jamie and Claire’s love story is still the heart and soul of the series.

5. Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell: A terrific science fiction adventure with a compelling romance at its center.

6. All the Feels by Olivia Dade: Another fun, steamy romance set in the same fanfic-centric world as Spoiler Alert.

7. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry: I loved this friends-to-lovers-to-not-friends-to-lovers tale! It’s quirky and funny and sincere, and just so much fun.

8. The Stand-In by Lily Chu: I had a great time listening to this audiobook, about an ordinary woman introduced to the glamorous world of movie stars, and finding love along the way.

9. Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau: Another falling-in-love-with-a-celebrity romance, but with baked goods!! I mean, how could I possibly resist?

10. The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo: A lovely story about family and connection and yes, finding true love.

What were the best love stories you read during the past year?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link and let me know your topic!

And PS – Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!

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And PPS — Since this post is going up on February 8th…

Happy Anniversary to us! 24 years ago today, my husband and I said “I do” in a cute little wedding chapel in Reno, Nevada!

1Feb2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Character Names in the Titles

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 Names/Character Names In the Titles. I did something similar for a freebie TTT topic several years ago (here), and although it’s tempting, I’m not going to repeat any for today’s list!

Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (review)
Gwendy’s Button Box by Richard Chizmar and Stephen King (review)
Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior (review)
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir (review)
Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti (review)
Beth & Amy by Virginia Kantra (review)
Velveteen vs the Junior Super Patriots by Seanan McGuire
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

What books made your list this week?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

25Jan2022

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2021

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 New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2021.

There were way more than 10, and it’s so hard to choose favorites… but I’ll go with these ten, whose books I really enjoyed:

Julia Quinn (I read ALL the Bridgerton books!)
Rosie Danan
Sarah Morgenthaler
Crystal Maldonado
Kristen O’Neal
C. Robert Cargill
Adrian Tchaikovsky
William Kent Krueger
Everina Maxwell
Emiko Jean

What new-to-you authors did you discover in 2021? Any particular favorites? Do we have any in common?

Please share your link so I can check out your top 10!

18Jan2022

Top Ten Tuesday: 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To

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 2021 Releases I Was Excited to Read But Didn’t Get To. So, so many of these!

Here are 10 that fit the topic — all of which I still really want to read!

Have you read any of these? Which ones should I tackle first?

If you posted a TTT list this week, please share your link!

11Jan2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection

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 Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection. I did buy a LOT of books at the end of 2021 — but I think I’ve share most of those already.

Usually, I build these posts around my physical books purchases, but to switch things up, here are my 10 most recent additions to my Kindle library:

Have you read any of these? Which ones do you think should be my priorities to read?

If you posted a TTT list this week, please share your link!

4Jan2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the First Half of 2022

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 Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the First Half of 2022. While one of my goals this year is to read the books I already own, I can’t help feeling excited about a bunch of new releases that will be coming my way too!

My 10 most anticipated new releases for the first half of 2022 are:

Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children, #7) by Seanan McGuire (1/4 — my copy arrives today!)
An Impossible Imposter (Veronica Speedwell, #7) by Deanna Raybourn (2/14)
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle (3/1)
Spelunking Through Hell (Incryptids, #11) by Seanan McGuire (3/1)
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (3/15)
Reputation by Lex Croucher (4/5)
The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth (4/5)
To Marry and to Meddle (The Regency Vows, #3) by Martha Waters (4/5)
Book of Night by Holly Black (5/3)
Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean (5/31)