Top Ten Tuesday & Top 5 Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2025

It’s Tuesday… the listiest day of the week!

I enjoy two different Tuesday memes, and once again, their topics align this week — so I’m linking up with both.

snowy10

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 Goals for 2025, with the prompt: How many books do you want to read this year? Are you hoping to read outside your comfort zone? Are there books you meant to read last year but never got to? Are there new-to-you authors you’re hoping to read?

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — and the topic is Top 5 bookish resolutions for 2025, with the prompt: What are 5 bookish resolutions you want to achieve in 2025? Any reading challenges you will be signing up for? Or would you like to focus on a specific genre or diversity to read more from? (Click here to see Meeghan’s upcoming T5T topics for January – March)

Isn’t it great when Tuesday topics fit together? I’m not necessarily answering their specific prompt questions — focusing more on my reading and book-shelving habits than on the specific books I want to read. (And not that much has changed from this time last year — I could probably just copy and paste my entire post from 2024 and call it a day!)

My goals are less about numbers, genres, or challenges. Instead, I’ll talk about my intentions: I intend to improve some of my reading and bookish habits, although my focus may shift during the year. Below are goals (intentions) that I’ll try to keep in mind as 2025 rolls along.

Read whatever I feel like, as much as I can. I say this every year… and every year it’s worth repeating! I’m always happiest when I read without a plan. It’s a wonderful feeling! Apart from ARCs and book group books, this is the approach that works for me… which is why I tend not to participate in very few (if any) reading challenges.

Keep ARC requests manageable, and keep up with the ARCs I’ve committed to. I’m a little over-extended for the first few months of 2025, but once I read all my February and March ARCs, my commitments should be much more under control. I intend to slow down on requesting any additional ARCs, other than ARCs for books I intend to read upon release no matter what.

Plan ahead to make time for my book group books. We have our book-of-the-month picks all set for 2025, and I’d like to be more thoughtful about planning my reading time so I include these books without feeling pressure or worrying about deadlines.

Commit to reading (or sampling) my priority series for 2025, which I highlighted in my series-to-read post for this year.

Keep my Goodreads challenge goal realistic. I’ve ended up exceeding my Goodreads challenge goal during each of the past several years, but that has a lot to do with including graphic novels and children’s books in the mix. Which is great, and I love when that happens, but I don’t want to assume it’ll be true every year. I’m starting with a more modest number to keep the pressure off and allow time for reading bigger books too, if I feel like it. And if I find myself ahead of target by mid-year, I can always adjust to a more ambitious goal.

Remember to note the format of the books I read. This isn’t a big deal, but I’ve been noticing that I tend to read certain genres via audiobook and others via print, and I probably should say which is which in my reviews. Not that it truly matters, but the audio experience can be very different than the print experience, and even just for my own reference, I’d like to be more consistent about classifying books correctly.

Continue finding time for classics. I’ve been participating in the Classics Club spins for the past couple of years, which I love — but I have a big list of classics yet to read, and I’d like to carve out some time for at least one or two outside of the “spin cycle”.

Continue to pare down the number of physical books on my shelves, and be mindful about which I keep and which I send on their way. 2024 was the year where one of my dreams came true, and I finally installed my very own Little Free Library. I’ve begun sorting my many, many books into keepers and non-keepers. For the ones I no longer feel the need to own, I’m trying to sell the ones in best condition on Pango Books, and most of the others are going into the LFL.

Do a big audiobook reread: I’ve been wanting to do an audio re-read of the Green Creek series by TJ Klune. I haven’t started yet — the books are long, and I only want to start when I know I’ll have both the time and the focus to listen to the four books in the series straight through.

What are your bookish goals for 2025? Whatever they may be… wishing you lots of bookish delights!

Top 5 Tuesday (on a Wednesday!): Top 5 “new” authors of 2024

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

Note: I’m a day late, but it’s the thought that counts! And my thought it that it’s perfectly okay to do Top 5 Tuesday on a Wednesday!

Last week’s topic was was Top 5 old authors of 2024 (which I interpreted as “old-to-me”), so it makes sense that this week’s topic would be Top 5 new authors of 2024! Meeghan’s prompt is: Tell us all about your favourite new authors. Either debut authors from 2024, or new-to-you this year..

To follow up from last week’s post, I’m going with new-to-me authors — authors whose books I tried for the first time in 2024… and loved!

My five are:

1: Carley Fortune

Read in 2024:

2: Ali Brady

Read in 2024:

3: Meg Shaffer

Read in 2024:

4: Emilia Hart

Read in 2024:

5: Julie Leong

Read in 2024:

There are even more new-to-me authors whose books I enjoyed in 2024… but I’ll stop at five!

Which new or new-to-you authors did you enjoy in 2024?

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 “old” authors of 2024

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 old authors of 2024, and the prompt is: This was a newbie wrap up topic last year, but you guys loved it!! Tell us about your fave authors you read books from this year who you’ve previously read books by.

Fun idea! Sorry to the authors I’m calling “old”!! You know what I mean… Here are five not-new-to-me authors whose books I read this year:

1: Abby Jimenez

Read in 2024:

  • The Friend Zone
  • The Happy Ever After Playlist
  • Life’s Too Short

Previously read:

  • Part of Your World
  • Yours Truly
  • Just for the Summer

2: Suzanne Allain

Read in 2024:

  • The Ladies Rewrite the Rules
  • Miss Lattimore’s Letter
  • The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right

Previously read:

  • Mr. Malcolm’s List

3: Rachel Harrison

Read in 2024:

  • The Veil
  • So Thirsty
  • The Return

Previously read:

  • Cackle
  • Such Sharp Teeth
  • Black Sheep

4: Kelly Armstrong

Read in 2024:

  • Finding Mr. Write
  • I’ll Be Waiting
  • Disturbing the Dead
  • Schemes & Scandals

Previously read:

  • A Stitch in Time series (four books plus novellas)
  • A Rip Through Time series (books 1 and 2)

5: Lev AC Rosen

Read in 2024:

  • Rough Pages
  • Camp
  • Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)

Previously read:

  • Lavender House series (books 1 and 2)
  • Depth
  • All Men of Genius
  • Emmett

I could go on — looking at my 2024 reading list, I see so many authors who’ve been on my reading lists in previous years! But I’ll stop at five. These are all authors I can count on for great reading!

Which “old” authors did you enjoy in 2024?

Tuesday’s topic: Favorite book covers from 2024

Lately, I’ve been bouncing back and forth for my Tuesday posts, switching between the Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday memes, depending on their topics for the week. This week, I’m doing them both!!

First up… Top Ten Tuesday:

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… and since I like the Top 5 Tuesday topic this week, I’ll use it for both memes.

And speaking of Top 5 Tuesday:

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 covers of 2024, and the prompt is: What are some of your favourite covers that you have seen this year? Maybe these were reprints, redesigns or alternate covers that came out this year, or maybe they are brand new books!! Whatever they are, tell us all the pretties you have been coveting.

For my list of favorite covers, I’m looking at books I’ve read in 2024 — not necessarily books published in 2024. (My list, my rules!)

Here’s a selection of covers I loved this past year:

  1. Weyward by Emilia Hart
  2. The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman
  3. Schemes & Scandals by Kelley Armstrong
  4. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  5. Until Next Summer by Ali Brady
  6. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
  7. Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes
  8. Camp by L. C. Rosen
  9. The Guncle by Steven Rowley
  10. The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

What do you think of my cover choices? Do any particularly catch your eye? What were your favorite book covers this past year?

Also, I’d love to know what freebie topics other people came up with!

If you posted a list for TTT or T5T, please share your link!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Top 5 Tuesday: (Freebie) A handful of books for election day

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is a Freebie — we choose our own topics! Since it’s election day today, and it’s hard to think about anything else, I thought I’d go with a list of books that all tie into voting, the presidency, or elections in some way.

  1. Our War by Craig DiLouie
  2. Election by Tom Perotta
  3. Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
  4. Primary Colors by Anonymous
  5. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 by Hunter S. Thompson
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

What was your freebie topic today?

Halloween posts for Tuesday!

Lately, I’ve been bouncing back and forth for my Tuesday posts, alternating between the Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday memes, depending on their topics for the week. This week, both are Halloween themed… so I’m doing them both!!

First up… it’s Top Ten Tuesday:

halloweentop10

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 Halloween freebie! For my Halloween post, I’m going to focus on horror novels on my to-read list (updated for 2024). I’ve done this topic a few times in the past several years, and given the state of my TBR list, it’s time to do it again.

Noted with shame: Some of these books were on my Halloween horror TBR list last year! So, you know, I’m not exactly great at following through…

Still, here are a bunch I really do want to get to… including a few upcoming 2025 new books.

  1. Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
  2. Dread Nation by Justine Ireland
  3. The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
  4. Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
  5. Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
  6. The Return by Rachel Harrison
  7. Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker
  8. Overgrowth by Mira Grant (upcoming 2025 new release)
  9. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (upcoming 2025 new release)
  10. My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie (upcoming 2025 new release)

Are any of these on your TBR too? Which ones look best to you? And if you’ve read any, let me know what you thought!

Next, let’s take a look at this week’s Top 5 Tuesday:

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books to recommend for Halloween, and the prompt is: It’s trick or treat time — are you going to tell us your best scary books or cutesy Halloween tales?

My picks are mainly ghost stories, plus a funny/clever fantasy that I reread every October!

Save

  1. The Uninvited by Cat Winters (review)
  2. The Veil by Rachel Harrison (review)
  3. Thornhill by Pam Smy (review)
  4. I’ll be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong (review)
  5. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (review) — I’m reading this one again right now! Such a fun annual tradition.

What books do you recommend for Halloween? I love a good ghost story — do you have any favorites? Save

Save

Save

In case it’s not obvious, I’ll probably be spending my Halloween with my nose in a book! Wishing you all a happy Halloween, whatever you’ll be doing!Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 orange books

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 orange books, and the prompt is: Earlier this year we did yellow books and red books, but it’s now time for Halloween. What are your favourite orange covered books?

What fun… and a great excuse to shuffle books on my bookshelves and check out all the covers! I ended up with more orange books than I expected to find — here are five that stand out:

  1. There There by Tommy Orange (even the author’s name fits the theme!)
  2. Never Fall for Your Fiancé by Virginia Heath
  3. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
  4. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
  5. Ravensong by TJ Klune

Definitely getting a fall vibe from all these!

What orange books are on your shelves?

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 non-human characters

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 non-human characters, and the prompt is: So many books have non-human characters — animals or supernatural creatures… maybe even a park bench. Who are your favourite non-human characters?

It’s hard to narrow these down to just five, since there are so many to choose from! Here are five I love:

  1. Mosscap (robot) — A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I love everything about Mosscap (full name: Splendid Speckled Mosscap), and this book and its sequel are just so wonderful.
  2. S.T. (crow) — Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton: A crow narrating a post-apocalyptic story with plenty of attitude. Awesome.
  3. Viv (orc) — Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: An orc, retired from her fighting days, who dreams about a peaceful life with good coffee.
  4. Matthew de Clermont (vampire) — All Souls series by Deborah Harkness: There are any number of great vampires in fiction, but Matthew is so suave and smart that he consistently makes my list of favorites.
  5. Alien (unnamed) — The Humans by Matt Haig: This non-human visitor to our world takes the form of an earthling and learns important truths about being human. Such a great book.

I feel like this list just scratches the surface — I haven’t even included my favorite dogs of fiction! Dogs, cats, horses, and more… they’ll have to wait for another list!

What (or who) are your favorite non-human characters in fiction?

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Hugo winners

It’s another fun topic for Top 5 Tuesday! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 award-winning books, and the prompt is: You can pick a specific award or just any book you’ve read that’s ever won an award. What are your faves?

I love following genre-specific awards, and the Hugo picks are always exciting. Here are my top 5 Hugo award winners from recent years:

  1. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher — Best Novella, 2023
  2. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers — Best Novella, 2022
  3. Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire — Best Series, 2022 (first book: Every Heart a Doorway)
  4. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey — Best Series, 2020 (first book: Leviathan Wakes)
  5. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal — Best Novel, 2019

Of course, there are plenty more Hugo winners and nominees that I’ve loved… not to mention all the ones I still want to read!

Click here to see the complete Hugo history. So many books for my TBR!

What book awards do you follow? Do you have any favorite award-winners to recommend?

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 anticipated 5 star reads

It’s another fun topic for Top 5 Tuesday! This weekly meme is hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 anticipated 5 star reads, and the prompt is: What books on your TBR do you think might make your top 5 books of the year, or will get that coveted five-star rating?

I have high hopes for so many of my upcoming reads! Sticking to books to read (or being released) in 2024, my top five are:

  1. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
  2. So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
  3. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
  4. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
  5. I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong

What are your 5-star predictions for the rest of 2024?