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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Covers/Titles with Things Found In Nature
Most of these are books I’ve read, but there are a couple that I haven’t yet read – The Priory of the Orange Tree, and The Fox Wife. All the ones I’ve read are books I’ve loved, and I have high expectations for the two I haven’t read.
Top Ten Covers/Titles with Things Found In Nature
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher – This is probably the most recent book I’ve read out of this list. I love T. Kingfisher and I love fairytale retellings, this one is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – I have not read this one. I have been wanting to, but the size of it is daunting! One of these days, though!
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper – This is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi stories. It’s been a while since I read it, so it’s probably time for a reread, but I remember being fascinated by the alien world, alien beings, and the incredible world-building.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – A heist story, a group of people with different skills brought together, found family. How could I not love this?
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black – Holly Black is one of my favorite authors. Her stories are so good, so simple, and yet so rich. This book is about the fae, the changeling, but told from a different POV.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway – Some have said that this book is boring because it’s only about a man fishing, but for me, it’s thrilling because I used to go fishing with my father when I was young, and there’s nothing like the thrill of having a fish caught on the hook but not yet landed. This book describes that feeling so vividly and I love that it was able to put into words what I never could.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman – Neil Gaiman is another one of my favorite authors and I would read anything he writes. I read this book for the second time a couple of years ago, and it was so much better the second time around. It was much scarier, and more horrifying, and so wonderful.
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel – This is an old book I haven’t revisited in a while. There have been some new books in the series since, but I haven’t read them. It’s probably time to reread from the beginning. All I can say is that I loved the story, and the wonderment of discovering things along with the characters.
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo – This is the newest book on this list, and that’s the only reason I haven’t read it. It was just released two weeks ago, and I’m impatiently waiting until I can read it! I’ve loved the author’s two other books, and I expect to love this one too!
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi – This book is set during WW2, and it’s one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve read. I probably read it around 20 years ago and I’ve forgotten most of the details, but that feeling of heartache still lingers even after all these years.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
The First Book Club Meeting
We had our first book club meeting this weekend! It was so much fun; we talked about our book of the month – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, it was just okay for most of us – and also got to know each other a little bit.
It’s still funny to me that not even a month ago I was joking about wanting a book club and then it happened. I have to call back the “I want a million dollars” joke, because it’s not really a joke, I do want a million dollars! Please, thank you, Universe!
Other than that, last week was pretty uneventful. I was a little low energy and not feeling my best, and I found myself falling asleep while reading a couple of times. I took a lot of naps!
Books I read last week:
I wasn’t really satisfied with the first two books I read last week. The Bookshop on the Corner started off fine but I ended up not really liking the story and characters. And Remarkably Bright Creatures was a bit of a disappointment because I thought it was going to be more octopus-centric than it was. One of my book club members said that she felt like the author could’ve omitted the octopus’ POV entirely from the story and it wouldn’t have changed the story, and I agree.
Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller made me very happy though! I listened to it on audio with Dave himself narrating, and it was wonderful to listen to his stories about his life, his family, his musical journey. I just finished it last night so I haven’t written a review yet, but the gist is that I love it, and I love him, and I feel so inspired!
My husband is a musician and a fan of the Foo Fighters, so I kept telling him little anecdotes from the book, and he got interested and put a hold on the audiobook to listen for himself, which made me so happy! I’ve been trying for the longest time to get my husband to read more and discuss books with me, and apparently, all I had to do was read books about music and musicians! I’m making a list and taking recommendations, so if you’ve got a good one, let me know!
I’m currently in the middle of The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz. And I’ve just started the first Murderbot Diaries on audio. I’m also still rereading The Count of Monte Cristo for the readalong, and I promised a friend that I’d start reading the Elements of Cadence series by Rebecca Ross this week.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had
I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for this topic and asked some of my bookish friends this question for fun. I ended up liking some of their answers more than my own, so I’ve stolen their ideas and added them here!
Top Ten Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had
My own ideas:
Books on my library waitlist always come at exactly the right time, staggered, and not all at once!
Invincibility to FOMO
Books I want to buy always just happen to be on sale when I want to buy them
Ability to stop time while I savor reading
Ability to remember every single detail of books I read – unless I want to reread, in which case, I forget everything except the fact I loved it, and get surprised all over again!
Automatically forget any accidental spoilers so books never get ruined for me
Ideas I stole:
Ability to read in every language
Always picking up the exact books with the exact tropes you want in the moment
Ability to know if you’ll like a book once you pick it up, so you don’t waste your time on books you wouldn’t like
The artistic prowess for bookbinding and fore-edge painting so all my books look unique and beautiful!
Oh, how I wish some of these were real and actual superpowers I could have! What bookish superpowers would you wish for?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
All the Legends, All the Lattes
I had a great reading week! I finished six books and they were all really good! Granted half of them were novellas and graphic novels, but still.
In particular, I finally read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, and omg, it totally lived up to the hype for me. I finished it in one sitting on Tuesday, neglected everything else I was supposed to do, and I don’t even regret it. I loved it so much and I cannot wait to read the prequel!
Books I read this week:
I’ve written reviews for most of them, and if you’re interested in what I thought about them, you can check them out! I’m not planning to write reviews for the Debbie Tung books, but I do want to mention them here and express how much I loved them and how relatable they are. It’s like she sees into my soul!
Other than reading and burying my head in books this week, I didn’t really do much else. But again, I don’t regret anything!
I’m reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt this week. Our book club is having its first meeting this weekend and this is our first book of the month! Yay!
I’m also reading The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan on audio, and rereading The Count of Monte Cristo. There’s a readalong happening for The Count of Monte Cristo and it’s one of my all-time favorite books so I couldn’t resist joining in!
I’m not sure if I should keep up the pretense of reading The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner. I still really want to, but I’m just not. How do I make myself read it?
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Love Freebie and I’m doing my Top Ten Favorite Book Relationships
Happy Valentine’s Day! This list will include all kinds of relationships; romantic, platonic, familial, symbiotic… I wanted to feature all the characters I love and their love for each other.
Top Ten Favorite Book Relationships
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables – I think the books represent the evolution of their relationship a lot better than the mini-series but it was just so sweet to see them grow up and grow older together. They were horrible to each other when they were children, but once they grew up, they were just perfect together.
Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth from A Song of Ice and Fire – An actual enemies to (sort-of) lovers story? I’d say respected comrade, but it’s clear they trauma-bonded in some way and feel deeply for each other. Look, I’m not saying that it’s a healthy relationship, but it was clearly a meaningful one. It was just amazing to see the way they had to trust each other, first out of necessity, then later out of respect and feelings.
Darrow and Sevro from the Red Rising series – Darrow and Sevro are my ride-or-die people. I can’t bear it when they are at odds with each other. I need them to be okay with each other, more than I need Darrow with Virginia. If anything happened to their relationship, I will riot!
Aurianne and Marcus from The Light Bearer – This is a very underrated book that I love with my whole heart. I love Aurianne because she’s one of the strongest, smartest, bravest woman I’ve ever met (read about), and Marcus is an incredibly intelligent strategist. And while they are both amazing as individuals, together they are the most powerful of power couples, and I love them!
Vargo, Ren, and Gray from the Rook and Rose series – This isn’t a throuple, I promise, but a very unique relationship that comes from complete love and trust for each other. I love Vargo especially because of how badass his reputation is to everyone else, but how vulnerable he is with Ren and Gray. I am in love with them all!
Pi and Richard Parker from Life of Pi – This was one of the most intense relationships I loved reading about. I don’t think Richard Parker loved Pi in any way except symbiotically, but they had such a beautiful relationship, nonetheless. I mean, not that it’s anything I’d want to aspire to, but in the context of the story. From fear of each other, to tolerance, to trust. Oh, I don’t know, it’s just such a complex thing to read about and it elicits so many feelings.
Rocky and Ryland Grace from Project Hail Mary – Amaze! I am in love with Rocky, and I love Ryland Grace more because I see him through Rocky’s POV. I love how they bonded. I love how they learned about each other, how they adapted and respected each other’s needs, customs, and more. It’s just such an example for how we should treat people different from us. Do you agree? Fist my bump!
Peter and Bea from The Book of Strange New Things – Full disclosure, it’s been 10 years since I read this book and I don’t remember very much, but I remember thinking that this was one of most interesting books I’ve ever read that showcased what a marriage was like, and this while Peter and his wife, Bea, lived on different planets for pretty much the whole book! You know what, I should probably reread this sometime soon.
Alice and Leonard from This Time Tomorrow – This was one of the more recent books I read, so you can read more about what I thought about the book here. Alice and Leonard are daughter and father, and I loved how they loved each other. I loved how present Leonard was for his daughter. I loved how Alice realized that having more time with her father was what was most important for her. It was just such a wholesome relationship, with all its beauty and bittersweetness.
Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games series – I’m sorry if it’s overdone and overrated, but there are so many reasons why I love The Hunger Games, and Peeta with Katniss is just one of the reasons. Peeta accepts Katniss as she is, with all her flaws, and he’s totally willing to die for her. It might have taken Katniss some time to feel her feelings, but that’s part of what I loved about their relationship; that it wasn’t insta-love. They had real reasons for falling for each other, each in their own time.
Who are your favorite book relationships? Why do you like them? Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Happy Lunar New Year!
As of this writing, I am exhausted because it’s the Lunar New Year and I’m prepping for our “traditional” new year meal (traditional to our family, not really to the culture as a whole). I’ve also been cleaning the house and doing laundry and all the extras, although I’ll admit that my definition of clean is probably not as strict as it used to be. Clean enough is good enough.
It’s just my husband and me this year, so I didn’t go overboard. I made crispy pork belly in the air fryer, and we had several side vegetable dishes to go with it. We’ll have enough leftovers for the next couple of days too, which is great! Are you celebrating the Lunar New Year?
I’ve also finally finished Season 3 of Veronica Mars, and it’s so apparent to me now how toxic Veronica’s relationship with Logan is. I used to ship them so much, but now I’m like, you guys need to stay away from each other. It’s funny that this time around I’m more invested with her relationship with Piz. Piz is so much better for her than Logan ever was.
I did start watching a couple of episodes of Season 4, but not liking it very much. Logan and Veronica’s relationship is as toxic as ever, maybe more. And Piz is nowhere to be seen. I don’t know if I’ll finish watching it. It’s more of a curiosity to see where it goes.
As for my reading last week, I finished Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley on audiobook, and I binged on The Improbable Meet-Cute Series, which were so much fun! I’m also currently reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng on audio and loving it so far.
I dnf’d two books, which I’m very proud of because dnf-ing doesn’t come easy to me. As it was, I spent way too long on them before I finally dnf’d, but it’s a practice and I’ll get better at it!
The books I dnf’d:
Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien – so apparently I’ve picked up this book before and dnf’d it then. I didn’t remember it but it started to get really familiar as I read, and instead of dnf-ing again, I kept reading past where I stopped last time because I thought maybe this time, I’d like it better. I didn’t.
Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi – This is the second book in the Legacy of Orïsha series, and I’m very disappointed because I wanted to like it. I dnf’d at 53% because there’s a character in the story that gave me the ick and I can’t get past it. I’d accept this character as a villain but it seemed like the author might be trying to redeem them, and I can’t. It’s too icky. I have more I want to say, so maybe I’ll write a separate post about it later.
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Recent Books I Read In One Sitting
Some of these books are novellas, and there’s also a gag book, but many of them are full-length novels which I finished very quickly because they were easy reads and so good I couldn’t put them down.
Top Ten Recent Books I Read In One Sitting
10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston – 336 pages. It’s a fun YA romance set around Christmas season. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, but I did!
The September House by Carissa Orlando– 344 pages. It’s so good, I couldn’t put it down! It was scary and horrifying, but also funny and insightful. It’s my favorite book of January!
All My Friends Are Dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John – 96 pages. Funny story; I came across this book while I was looking up another book on this list (Book Love by Debbie Tung), and this book came up in the “Readers also enjoyed…” section. It looked fun, so I went on Libby and it was available so I borrowed it, and opened it intending just to look inside. I ended up finishing the whole thing in maybe… 10 minutes? It was funny and sad, and I felt totally called out by the plant that said to stop buying their friends only to kill them slowly!
Book Love by Debbie Tung – 137 pages. I loved this book! I relate so much to it because of all the book related jokes and tales of the reading life.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – 498 pages. This isn’t a short book and it was also pretty intense, but it was so good and I just couldn’t put it down. I finished it way too fast, and I wanted more, but I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here with most of you.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher – 116 pages. I’m a huge fan of T. Kingfisher, and this was a short but really good story! I love this perspective of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle – 368 pages. I didn’t expect to love this so much when I started it because I thought they were horrible to each other, but it got really good and I loved how it all went down.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – 390 pages. I laughed out loud at so many parts in the story, and also cried at some places. I went in with zero expectations because I didn’t know about the hype at the time, but it became one of my favorite books in 2023.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 65 pages. This is a very short book, but so impactful. It says so much in so few pages, and it really makes you think. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What books did you finish in one sitting because they were just so good?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
“And I just want a million dollars…!”
Funny story, last week I posted about maybe starting an in-person book club. I was only kinda joking, but guess what?!
Yup, there’s a book club.
I asked around and ended up getting a handful of people who are interested, and that makes me so happy! It’s just getting started and our first meeting is going to be at the end of the month, so who knows what’s going to happen and if it will work out long term, but I really hope it does!
So I spent the first part of the week setting up a couple of platforms for our new bookclub, for book picks and voting on our first book, getting to know each other, and so on. I’m nervous and excited for our first meeting! It’s totally still open to new members, if you happen to live or know anyone who lives in Calgary! Just letting you all know it’s an open invitation!
As for everything else, I’m running behind and trying to catch up. I didn’t read a lot, but I managed to finish Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and I loved it! I’m still working on Stiletto, the second book in the Checquy Files series by Daniel O’Malley. I haven’t gotten much else done this week, unfortunately. The new month caught me by surprise, January went by so fast! How was January for you?
I’m sure I can finish Stiletto this week, and I have Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi up next on audiobook. On e-book, I’ve got Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien, and I’ve got Legends and Lattes as a physical copy from the library. I am looking forward to all of them!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023
I wasn’t sure if I had ten new authors I read in 2023, but apparently I did! Some of them I liked better than others, but I’m happy to say all of them are authors whose works I’d read again.
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023
M.R. Carey – I read the Rampart Trilogy and I loved it. He is also the author of The Girl With All The Gifts series, which was turned into a movie I remember enjoying. I didn’t know at the time it was based on books, but I’m curious to read the series.
Tomi Adeyemi – I read Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in the Legacy of Orisha series, and I’m intending to finish the series this year, hopefully.
Bonnie Garmus – I read Lessons in Chemistry. It looks like she’s only got a single book released, but if/when she writes more, I’ll be reading them.
Sarah Hogle – I read You Deserve Each Other. It was so well-written and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. It looks like she’s got plenty of books in the same vein and I’m going to make my way through them.
Allison Ashley – I read The Roommate Pact. Fun, light-hearted, heartwarming contemporary romance. I’ll be reading her other books as well.
Emma Straub – I read This Time Tomorrow, a time-travel story with a lovely father-daughter relationship I fell in love with. Apparently she’s the daughter of famed author Peter Straub. I’ve never read him, but I’ve seen many of his books around. I’m interested in reading more of her books as well as trying some of Peter Straub’s books.
Rebecca Yarros – I read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, and I’m obviously going to read the next books in this series!
Louis Erdrich – I read The Sentence. It was not what I expected at all. It was simultaneously so mundane and yet magical. I love the glimpse into the Native American world, and I want to read more from her.
Ashley Elston – I read 10 Blind Dates and it was such a joy to read that now I want to read more. There’s a sequel, and there are several other books I’m looking forward to.
Have you read any of these authors? Did you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Happiness Is…
We got to go to the zoo this week and see the Penguin Walk! I loved it! They were so adorable and I loved watching them walk! The big furry brown one is Augustus, and he was chirping so happily, omg! It’s lucky they cordoned off the space and had people controlling the crowd and protecting the penguins from me, because it was all I could do not to throw myself at them!
Happy!
I also went down to the Central Library this week because it’s been a while, and that’s another happy place for me! I wanted to browse books I might not have found on my own (like I don’t have enough books already anyway!), and I ended up with more books than I can carry, so I just took a couple and placed a hold for the rest.
I asked about book clubs because the library used to have a whole bunch of them listed in the programs guide, but apparently, they have no more book clubs now, ever since the pandemic. Which is really disappointing to hear.
Not so happy. =(
I’ve been looking for an in-person book club for a while but haven’t found one that would be right for me. Logistics is an issue for me so there are limited locations I can travel to, and there was a couple that seemed to be “dinner and book club” things, which would be too pricey for me. A book club at the library would’ve been perfect for me, but oh well. I’ll keep looking.
Or maybe I’ll start one! Does anyone live in Calgary, Canada, or knows someone who lives here and wants start a book club with me? Lol! (I’m only half-joking!)
As for reading, I’m also very happy because I managed to read three books that I’d been wanting to read for a while!
I finally finished The Rook by Daniel O’Malley, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, and by popular demand, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I loved how many of you were telling me to read it and how much you loved it. Well, I read it! And I loved it! Thank you for your enthusiasm for the book! I’ve written a review if you wanna know what I thought!
I have started on Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and I am loving it so far. I just got the second book in the Checquy series on audio today, and I’m excited to dive in as well! I’m happy I didn’t have to wait too long after finishing The Rook!
I am still planning to read The Dance of Anger. I know I said I’ll try to read it for last week, but I was caught up with other books and activities, and wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I’m still not ready to give up on it, but I’m not certain if I should give up on it for now and pick it up again a couple of weeks later. I’ll just play it by ear and see how I feel.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
