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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 Books with Springy Covers
I couldn’t come up with a creative spin on this topic so I just went with books that had the word “spring” in the title. I ended up a pretty good list, I think, and unfortunately, more books added to my TBR! 😂 I hope you enjoy these!
Top Ten Books with Spring in the Title
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – This book has been on my TBR forever! I keep meaning to read it but haven’t gotten to it yet. It sounds like a very important book to read about the environment and I can’t believe it was written 50 years ago!
Rumours of Spring by Farah Bashir – This is a memoir about a girl in India and I must say I am intrigued! I came across it as I was looking for books for this list and it just caught my attention.
Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews – I’ve seen this author’s name everywhere and I thought I must have read at least one of her books but apparently not. Maybe it’s time to remedy that.
Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This is the third book in the Dragonlance Chronicles that I’m trying to do a reread on this year! I cannot wait to get to it!
Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie – Written under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott, it just reminds me I’ve still got many of the author’s books on my TBR!
The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett – I have heard good things about the author when it comes to historical fiction. I had a few of her books on my physical shelves at one point but I moved and had to give away a lot of books so she’s still on my TBR!
Black Spring by Henry Miller – I’m not sure I’m interested in this book, but the cover is very attention-getting and I had to include it.
Spring Fever by P.G. Wodehouse – The second book with this title on my list, but it sounded good, and I’ve been curious about the author’s works so it’s on the list!
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang – Historical fiction set in China with magical realism! I must read it!
A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker – This one is another one about the environment and I’m simultaneously wanting to read it and scared to. I think it’s important to educate ourselves though.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
March 2025 Wrap Up
The first couple of weeks in March was quite slow for me in terms of reading. I was in a bit of a slump and only finished two books in those two weeks. The good news is that the other six books happened in the second half of the month, so at least I got my reading mojo back!
My March 2025 TBR Intentions
I managed to read three books from my TBR, and cross one off as a dnf. I’m sorry, I loved Fourth Wing and I wanted to see the series through but I just didn’t feel excited about Onyx Storm as I was reading, and 25% in I just… didn’t want to pick it back up. Maybe I will finish it, one day, but it’s not a priority.
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (dnf)
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Terror by Dan Simmons
All The Living and The Dead by Hayley Campbell
Books Read in March 2025
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
The Main Dish by Michael Ruhlman
The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Notable Books This Month
The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman I stumbled upon The Main Dish by the author while browsing on Audible. It was only an hour or so long, so I listened to it out of curiosity, and I ended up wanting more so I borrowed this book from Libby. I didn’t expect to get so engrossed in it. The whole time I was reading it I was completely immersed in his world of food and cooking, it was such an experience! I enjoy cooking but I’ve always known I’d never be a professional chef because I don’t care enough for precision and finesse; this book made me consider enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America! I eventually came to my senses and realized that while I love reading about the life of a chef, I don’t think I’d do well as one. Still, it made me want to!
All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell This book blew my mind! It was the BOTM for my in-person bookclub that another member chose because it was one of their favorite books. I’ve had Stiff by Mary Roach on my TBR for ages and a morbid fascination about death and dying, so I thought this book would be really interesting. I expected something clinical and analytical, facts about the business of death, but it turned out to be much more emotional than that. It talked about what people in the death business did, but more importantly, it also talked about the people themselves; why they do it, how they got into it, the emotional toll it takes on them, ways they cope. There is a lot more to this book that I could go into; we had such an incredible discussion during our bookclub meeting for the book, but just suffice to say that I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about death and grieving.
April 2025 TBR Intentions
I wasn’t able to get to all the books I wanted to read last month but I’m hoping I’ll get them this month! Plus some others. I’m really looking forward to all of these!
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Stoner by John Williams
How was your month in March? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful April with lots of great books!
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 Books I Did Not Finish
There are many books I dnf’d because I didn’t like them but there were also some books that I think I might like but just wasn’t ready for. Today’s list is a mix of those I didn’t like and will never pick up again, and some that I know I want to try again one day.
Top Ten Books I Did Not Finish
Dracula by Bram Stoker – This one is a funny story because it’s not that I didn’t like the book, it’s that I listened to it on audio and somehow thought it would be a good idea to listen while sleeping. I was frightened awake by a nasty, scary, loud voice – Dracula’s voice, I presume, I didn’t wait long enough to find out. I quickly turned it off and hid under the covers and I just haven’t picked up the book again. I will eventually! Maybe on print and not before bed!
You, Me, and the Colors of Life by Noa C. Walker – I read up to 52% of the book. I don’t know what happens so this isn’t a spoiler, but I got the impression that things wasn’t going to end well for the MC. She has non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is the same cancer I had when I was 19, and I couldn’t keep reading thinking that she was going to die from it.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – I had really high hopes for this book and I think I got all the way to 90% of the book and then rage-quit because it kept getting worse for me. Here’s what I said in a review: “It was all so juvenile and nonsensical, and there were so many holes in the plot. I didn’t like any of the characters at all, and even Julian, who was supposed to be the most appealing and was portrayed as such, didn’t appeal to me at all. A lot of the book was repetitive and annoying, and I really didn’t like Scarlett and her sister Donatella.”
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton – This one came highly recommended and I really wanted to like it but I just didn’t. I love the idea, but the execution was disappointing. There was too much narration, too many big words, too much telling, too much effort going into trying to convince us how smart the crow was. I just didn’t care about the characters or the story. I dnf’d about 35% in.
I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – The language was beautiful but it was too much purple prose. It became not about the story but about the word-crafting, which is fine, but that’s not what I thought I was getting into. I dnf’d maybe 10% in, probably less, because I just couldn’t get through the story, I got so stuck on the words.
We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida – I only read two “chapters” but it looks like each chapter is an individual story about different people who were prescribed cats. They all seem unrelated to each other except for the cat thing, I can’t say for sure since I dnf’d, but I realized that maybe slice of life stories just aren’t for me. I was mostly bored.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Here’s my review from when I tried reading it in 2016: “I couldn’t get past the first 15%. It started so confusing with the characters names and change in POVs, but then I started to get it and it seemed promising. Then came pages and pages of descriptions about how Kelsier was using Allomancy… all the talk of Pushing and Pulling, and IronPush, PewterPull, etc. It’s much worse than what I’ve described here, it was just too tedious and boring.” Don’t come at me, Brando Sando fans! I’ve enjoyed his other books, and I’ve since read the first three books of the Stormlight Archives and loved them. Maybe 2016 me was just not ready for Mistborn but I’m open to trying again!
Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang – I borrowed this book because I wanted to read just that one story that the movie Arrival was based on – Story of Your Life. I loved it and intended to read the rest of the book, but didn’t get to them before I had to return the book. I’ve since read Exhalation by the author and loved it so I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this one!
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – I initially thought this book was about magical living, you know, the whimsical happy life kind of thing. I picked it up in 2016 when my father was sick and I needed something whimsical. It turned out to be a book about grief and I just couldn’t do it then because it was too close to home. One day, eventually.
Only A Monster by Vanessa Len – I try my best to support Malaysians where I can, so I got excited when I found out this story has a Malaysian MC and the author has Malaysian roots. It sounded like a great story and I was looking forward to reading it but unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the book. I couldn’t relate to the characters or the story, but I love that others seem to like it and I hope that adding it to my list might help it find other readers.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
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 Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List
I haven’t done a very good job of reading from my TBR so far this year, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have books on my TBR. It’s a symbol of hope. That I’ll actually read these books. We shall see. 😂
Top Ten Books on My Spring 2025 TBR
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst – I’ve posted this book on a few TBR lists already and I still haven’t read it! I don’t know what’s the holdup but I hope I’ll get to it this spring!
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman – The third book in the series; I read the first two months ago and I desperately want to continue the adventure. It’s so much fun!
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros – I didn’t like the second book as much as the first, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about this one, which scares me, but either way, I feel like I have to see it through.
The Lost Tarot by Sarah Henstra – The gorgeous cover reeled me in, and I love stories about divination, so it found its way into my TBR!
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston – Another one that’s been in my TBR for ages. It’s got good reviews so I really want to read it.
The Terror by Dan Simmons – I’m quite excited about this one. I’ve had it on the waitlist since December last year and it’s supposed to get to me soon! Fingers crossed!
Rose Madder by Stephen King – I’m on a personal Stephen King reading challenge and I heard great things about this book. It will be my first time reading it. I’m excited!
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore – I love mystery thrillers and this one intrigued me. I also heard a lot of good things about the book and author so I thought I’d try it.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett – I loved the first book, was a little disappointed with the second, but I love the characters and want to visit with them again!
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard – This one is so interesting; it’s a scifi with a time element, which I always love. Can’t wait to get to this!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
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 Books that Include/Feature…
Not exactly a plot device but definitely a sort of theme; I decided to go with books that feature divination. It made me realize that for someone who loves learning about divination tools, I don’t read a lot of fiction that features divination. Maybe some minor mention here and there, but not many that have divination as a main plot point.
I’m not sure that all the ones listed below do either because I haven’t read many of them, but searching for books that fit the theme certainly made me interested in reading them!
Top Ten Books that Feature… Divination
The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick – One of my favorite series, it features a form of card divination, but the beauty of the books are the characters and the relationships between them.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware – This one features tarot cards. I remember not really liking the story very much but being impressed with the accurate portrayal of tarot cards.
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick – Featuring the I Ching. I haven’t read the book but I watched the tv series and loved it. I don’t remember the I Ching in the show though.
The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – I have these books on my physical bookshelf but haven’t read them. They feature a form of tarot cards, but not exactly the same as real tarot I think. I love the Dragonlance series by these same authors!
All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue – The main character is a tarot reader who goes to a Catholic school in a conservative Irish town. I am hooked! It’s YA and looks like it’d be an easy read so maybe I’ll get to it soon.
Fated by Benedict Jacka – I haven’t read this one but I’ve heard some good things about it and I’m intrigued. The main character is Alex Verus who is a mage diviner and uses many different forms of divination. This is the first book of twelve.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig – I’m not sure if I’d consider this one a form of card divination, but it does have cards with magical powers.
The Lost Tarot by Sarah Henstra – I borrowed this from the library because of the title and the gorgeous cover. I don’t know what this is about except that it features tarot.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I have been wanting to read this series forever but never got around to it. I also love that there’s an actual tarot deck you can buy, my only issue with it is that I didn’t like the orange color, but I’m starting to change my mind about the color so we’ll see.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman – The alethiometer is the divination tool here, which is great because it’s different. I’d love to get my hands on one and figure out how it works if it was real. It sounds so fascinating when you read about it in the book and watch the film adaptations.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
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 Things Characters Have Said
I’m not good with today’s topic because I usually don’t remember or keep track of what characters have said, but I really enjoyed last week’s topic and decided I’d do the same topic but focused on the future this time. Unlike the ones set in the past, we don’t have a set basis for these timelines in comparison to our current time. I’m assuming they are set in the future based on context and technology, but who really knows? In any case, they’re all really good books and I enjoyed reading them all!
Top Ten Books Set In Another Time – The Future
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – Space travel, diverse species, and lots of intergalactic hijinks. This is one of my favorite books for found family, world building, and adventure. The best thing about it is the internal philosophy for learning to understand, live with, and love other diverse people.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – A dystopian future, but definitely set in the future based on context of what Panem used to be. I’ve read the trilogy so many times, but the last time was a while ago so I think I’m due for a reread!
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – Also dystopian and quite scary if you’re in it, but so fun to read about! I’ve read the first two books but stalled because I had other books and deadlines to get to. I think about this series every day and can’t wait to get back to it.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky – This one spans years and decades and centuries of the future! A whole species evolves over a long, long time, and I never expected it to be so amazing to read about!
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman – This book never specifies the timeline, but I’m assuming it’s in the future because certain relics from this story’s past are the things we are familiar with. The writing style is meandering and stream-of-consciousness style, but somehow it was easy for me to get into because it felt so interesting to me.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood – Another dystopian future. It seems quite self-contained though, and it’s only the first book in a series but it sets the stage and I’m interested in seeing what the next books bring.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – Space travel and alien encounters. This one is haunting and painful but so good and so worth it. I don’t think I’d want to reread it anytime soon because it’s quite heavy, but it’s a book that stays with you.
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper – Alien planet migration. It’s been a long time since I read this but I remember loving it very much and feeling fascinated by the characteristics of this new planet with its indigenous plants and animals. Probably time to revisit soon.
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – I think of this one often. It’s about a missionary who travels to a new planet to spread the word of god and has to leave his wife behind. The interaction he has with the inhabitants of the planet is really interesting, but the thing that I remember most about the book is the correspondence between him and his wife. I remember thinking it’s such a strong story about marriage and relationships. I really need to reread this one.
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee – This book was originally published in two separate parts, now combined to one. It’s set in a hedonistic world where people can do what they want, live dangerously, die and come back with a new body. They can custom design their bodies each time they come back, which I thought was interesting because it eliminates the external skin as part of their identity. Another one I’m wanting to reread.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
February 2025 Wrap Up
February was a little better. I’m still disorganized but doing better with getting things done and cleaning up the disorganization bit by bit. The first part of February was bad, but things improved later and I’m trying to keep things going on an upward trajectory.
The weather has started to get nicer, and I started running outdoors again! That makes me so happy and gives me a little bit of grounding that I needed. My body is sore because it’s gotten used to being lazy this past winter, but I’ll just do what I can when I can. At the very least, it’s nice to just be outside in the comfortably cool weather.
My February 2025 TBR Intentions
I ended up reading different books because of mood and library loan deadlines! I’ll come back to the ones I haven’t read soon though!
Children of Time and All Systems Red are rereads, but they were necessary because Children of Time is quite complex and I needed to refresh my memory before moving on to the next books. All Systems Red was the chosen BOTM for my in-person bookclub and I had to reread to refresh my memory for discussion as well. I enjoyed them both very much the second time around!
Vicious was a stand out; I had no expectations going in but was very pleasantly surprised. It had me at the edge of my seat and I had to keep reading because I needed to know what happened next.
The Frozen River was another surprise! I had not expected to be excited while reading about events that happened such a long time ago or that it would keep me so worked up that I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep. It’s based on true events and real people, and unfortunately it’s not completely accurate to what really happened, but this version of events was very well-written and satisfying and I loved reading it.
March 2025 TBR Intentions
Most of these are BOTMs and/or buddy reads that have a March deadline. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish all of them, but I’d like to try!
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Terror by Dan Simmons
All The Living and The Dead by Hayley Campbell
How was your month in February What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful March with lots of great books!
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
I decided to go with romances on my TBR because I haven’t been reading very many romances recently and I have a backlog! I’m also desperately needing some romance and I’m thinking of boycotting every other genre while I binge on some of these. If you’ve got more great romance books you loved, please recommend me some more!
Top Ten Romance Novels on My TBR
Better than Revenge by Kasie West – I loved Kasie West’s other books, and I haven’t kept up with some of her recent books. I’d like to catch up!
Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – This has been on my TBR for so long. I need to read it this year!
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston – I wasn’t initially interested in this one but I’ve heard such good things about it that I’m curious.
How to End A Love Story by Yulin Kuang – I’ve been seeing this book around and maybe it’s just because I’m desperately craving some romance, it went immediately onto my TBR.
Promchanted by Morgan Matson – I loved Morgan Matson’s other books as well and want to catch up with some of her newer ones that I hadn’t kept up with.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison – It’s been on my TBR for a while too but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa – I found this book in a Little Free Library near my house, so in the TBR it goes!
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter – I’ve heard so much about this author but haven’t read her. I hope she’s as good as I’m anticipating.
I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang – This one sounds really cute and I want to read it!
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren – I’ve enjoyed Christina Lauren’s books and I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one too.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
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 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To
There are so many good ones!! There’s really not enough time in the world to read all the books, but I’m going to try. This is why I need immortality, Book Gods and Goddesses!! But I’ll settle for a superpower that stops time if you can swing that.
Top Ten 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – This has been on my TBR since it came out last January because she’s a Malaysian author and I gotta support my fellow countrymen! I meant to read it sooner but I haven’t gotten around to it.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst – I picked it up purely because of the cover, but it sounds really good too and I hope I’ll get to it soon.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher – I’ve loved so many of this author’s books and I’m pretty sure I’ll love this one too. It’s got an interesting premise.
The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe – This is actually the sequel to The Girls I’ve Been, which I loved. I also loved a couple of other books by the same author so of course I need to read this one too!
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard – Saw it at my library’s featured shelf last year and have been borrowing and renewing it ever since, but still haven’t gotten around to it. 😅
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle – This one comes highly recommended by a friend whose book tastes I trust. I don’t know much about it, but I’m excited to read it.
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich – Another one I saw at the library. I have read The Sentence by the same author and really enjoyed it, and this one sounds even better!
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson – This is the fifth book in The Stormlight Archives and I’ve only just finished the first two books, so it’ll be a while until I get to this one.
The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin – I’m so excited she’s got a new book out, but The Keeper of Hidden Books is next!
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – Picked it up at the library’s featured shelf and really loving the sound of it. I can’t wait to read this.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
January 2025 Wrap Up
Hello, my friends! What even is this new year! A month has gone by and I feel like I haven’t found my feet yet. I’m still so frazzled and disorganized it’s not even funny! 😭
I’m doing the bare minimum, but of course, “bad habits” like reading are hard to get rid of, so I’m always reading even as I’m drowning in my disorganization. You could say that it’s partly because of my reading that everything is disorganized, I’m sticking my head in books to avoid handling stuff I need to do. 😅 Ah well, they’ll get done eventually.
My January 2025 TBR Intentions
I didn’t do very well with my TBR intentions even though the list isn’t very long, but 50% isn’t too bad.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Notable Books This Month
Two Stephen King books this month! One was a reread (‘Salem’s Lot) and the other (Joyland) is a new read. I loved them both, as if there could be any doubt!
Killers of the Flower Moon was really good; infuriating and emotional, but also educational, and we ended up watching the movie too.
I also finally read Shark Heart. It’s been on my TBR since last year but not prioritized because I thought it was a light-hearted magical realism story. It ended up being so much more emotional and heartfelt than I expected and I had a lot of great discussions come out of it.
Guillotine and Maus were also really good, but I haven’t written my reviews yet. They’ll be coming soon!
