Tag Archives: Top Ten Tuesday

November 4, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

A little red squirrel sitting up and staring at the photographer. This photo was taken outdoors and the leaves are turning yellow for the autumn. The grass is still green.

Not my photo. I simply love squirrels and autumn.

I am not sure how to write for the introduction to this post this week. Just like all of you, I assume, my TBR list is a long one. Eventually, I hope to read all of these titles.

As usual, this includes a variety of genres. I admire those of you who can stick to one genre all of the time, but I find it more enjoyable to bounce around from one to the next.

1. My Friends by Fredrik Backman

2. Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison

3. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

4. Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys, #1) by Aiden Thomas

5. White Light: The Elemental Role of Phosphorus-in Our Cells, in Our Food, and in Our World by Jack Lohmann

6. The Antidote by Karen Russell

7. The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator)

8. When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution’s Greatest Romance by Riley Black

9. Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

10. Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1) by Seanan McGuire

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October 28, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Gory Halloween Movies

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A grey background filled with drawings of dozens of pieces of candy corn that are more or less spread out equally. Here are the Halloween posts I’ve written for Top Ten Tuesday in previous years: Free Horror Stories, My Favourite Halloween Treats, Halloween Picture Books, Halloween Things I’ve Never Done, Things I Love About Halloween, and LGBTQ+ Horror Novels, and The Best Ghost Stories I’ve Read.

I love this holiday! Happy (almost) Halloween to everyone who will also be celebrating it in a few days.

As I’m really not a big fan of blood or gore, most but certainly not all of the Halloween movies I watch are marketed to younger audiences. I love the fact that there’s such a wide range of options for this holiday. Not everything Halloween-related has to be terrifying, after all.

These were all great films. Some are better for teens and adults while others can be enjoyed by all ages. So much depends on the specific ages and interests of everyone involved.

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

2. Hocus Pocus

3. A House With a Clock on Its Walls

4. Coco

5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

6. Monsters, Inc.

7. Beetlejuice

8. Edward Scissorhands

9. The Sixth Sense

10. I Am Legend

11. The Others

12. Get Out

13. The Babadook

14. The Addams Family

15. The Witch

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October 21, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Halloween Reads

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

An empty spider web that has been woven in a wheat field that looks ready to be harvested. There are a few beads of water in the web, and the sky looks overcast and like it might rain again soon. Jana wants us to talk about cozy stories this week.

Given that we’re deep into Halloween season, I want to talk about scary stories that also have cozy elements to them.

Let’s smash those two ideas and see what I can come up with!

1. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

2. Cackle by Rachel Harrison

3. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

5. The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

6. A Fever of the Blood (Frey & McGray, #2) by Óscar de Muriel

7. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

8. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

9. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

10. Fangs by Sarah Andersen

11. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

If you like these genres, what are some of your favourite dark fantasy or cozy horror reads?

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October 14, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Playlist

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while might remember how much I love Halloween. It’s the most wonderful time of year if you ask me!

A shiny grey pair of over-the-ear headphones against a black background. As this week’s topic is a freebie post that can be about anything other than books, here are some of my favourite songs with Halloween themes or vibes.

1. “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas

2. “The Addams Family Theme Song” by Vic Mizzy

3. “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J

4. “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran

5. “My Oh My” by Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby

6. “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar

7. “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley

8. “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers

9. “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

10.” Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon

11. “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC

12. “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.

Fellow Halloween fans, which songs would you add to this list?

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October 7, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Series I Hope Will be Satisfying

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Several bunches of lilacs lying on or next to an opened hardback book that’s laying on a wooden porch or bench. The original theme for this week was “Satisfying Book Series,” but it’s been a long time since I read a series that I was quite happy with. So many of the series I have read start off fantastically but then fizzle out in the end.

Therefore, I am going to list some series that I have not yet read but hope will end on a high note. If you can confirm or deny that they have great endings (at least so far if they’re still ongoing) without sharing spoilers, I’d love to know your thoughts on anything on this list.

1. Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1) by Diana Wynne Jones

2. The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1) by Robert Jordan

3. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) by N.K. Jemisin

4. Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1) by Seanan McGuire

5. Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1) by Anne Rice

6. Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert

7. The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) by Lev Grossman

8. Six Crimson Cranes (Six Crimson Cranes, #1) by Elizabeth Lim

I wasn’t able to make it to ten answers this week, but my fingers are crossed that some of you will have great suggestions.

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September 30, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers that Give off Fall Vibes

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Closeup photo of yellow autumn leaves still on the branch. After a long, hot, humid summer, autumn is such a relief.

No more heat waves.

No more forest fires.

No more air quality warnings (hopefully).

My seasonal allergies will rapidly improve after the first overnight freeze.

Pumpkin-flavoured stuff is everywhere.

Soon the leaves will change colour and be beautiful for several weeks.

And Halloween is only about a month away!

In honour of that, here are ten book covers that give off fall vibes:

Book cover for oncakes by Suzanne Walker. Image on cover shows a drawing of a witch holding a steaming pie and a young man standing next to her as he easts something out of a bowl with a content expression on his face.

1. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

Book cover for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Image on cover is a drawing of a tree that has yellow autumn leaves. The sky is orange, oddly enough.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Book cover for Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell. Image on cover shows two friends lying in a pumpkin patch and gazing at each other with joy.

3. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

Book cover for Squashed by Joan Bauer. Image on cover shows pumpkin as well as the imprint of lipstick on the pumpkin and cover.

4. Squashed by Joan Bauer

Book cover for Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. Image on cover is of countless red and yellow leaves lying on top of each other in a large pile.

5. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Book cover for The Cider House Rules by John Irving. Image on cover shows a drawing of a red apple growing on an apple tree branch.

6. The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Book cover for A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. Image on cover shows four marigolds painted against a sky-blue background.

7. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

Book cover for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Image on cover shows an old mansion bathed in yellow and orange light. There are bare tree trunks framing this eerie scene as well.

8. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Book cover for The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. Image on cover shows a drawing of a young Asian girl wearing a loose blue tunic. Her hair is blowing back as she stares at a bird in front of a large full moon.

9. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Book cover for Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life (Wish, #10) by Suzanne Nelson. Image on cover shows a small maple leaf falling next to a pumpkin spice latte that is piled with whipped cream.

10. Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life (Wish, #10) by Suzanne Nelson

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September 23, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Two freshly picked apples and several apple leaves lying on an opened book that itself is lying on a wooden surface, possibly a picnic table. I have the full ten books this time, and I’m excited about all of them.

Brandy Norwood’s autobiography that I mentioned in one of my summer TBR posts has been pushed back to a March of 2026 release. I hope to feature it again on a winter or spring TBR list if the publication date remains more or less the same in several months.

There are a few Top Ten Tuesday bloggers who talked about some fabulous books I ended up adding to this list, so I will be thanking them today as well.

Book cover for Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese White. Image on cover is a painting of a pale-skinned child with dark brown hair wearing a bright red coat and green hat. She is smiling as she walks into a dark woods at dusk.

1. Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese White

Thank you to Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits for this recommendation.

Why I’m Interested: I love picture books and the woods, so this is going to be a fun read for me.

Book cover for The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson. Image on cover shows a painting of a foreboding statue or figure wearing a white hood and cloak and standing in the middle of a garden. Weirdly enough, all of the plants are blood red and there is blood dripping from the bottom of the painting as well.

2. The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson

Why I’m Interested: Two words for you all: cursed paintings. Such a scary topic as we slide into Halloween season.

Book cover for Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood. Image on cover shows a white cat standing underneath a neon light and looking up expectantly. Various parts of its fur are orange, red, green, yellow, or purple depending on which lights illuminate it.

3. Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood

Release Date: Today

Why I’m Interested: Chronic illness amidst a global pandemic sounds intense for sure…but you also don’t get to read about disabled characters in this setting very often. I’m intrigued and hoping this is fantastic.

Book cover for Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach. Image on cover shows a human face that is, oddly enough, comprised by dozens of ears, noses, eyes, lips, and pieces of skin that look like they were taken from a variety of donors. There is blue space between each piece and the pieces do not match up evenly.

4. Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach

Thank you to AJ Sterkel for this recommendation.

Release Date: September 26

Why I’m Interested: I know a bit about organ transplants and cadaver skin being used to help heal burn victims but not about all of the other body parts that could be used to give the living better and longer lives. This could be quite interesting.

Book cover for The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee. Image on cover shows a painting of a frightened woman standing in the shadow slightly hunched over and looking over her right shoulder.

5. The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee

Release Date: September 30

Why I’m Interested: Yes, I know I may be repeating a few answers from this past summer, but this still sounds like such a good read. I love books that follow the same family through multiple generations.

Book cover for Good Spirits by B.K. Borison. Image on cover shows a man and woman embracing. Snow and autumn leaves are tumbling down around them as they kiss. They’re both wearing warm clothes and look cozy despite the cold.

6. Good Spirits by B.K. Borison

Release Date: October 7

Why I’m Interested: October is often a horror-heavy month for me because Halloween is my favourite holiday, but as I slowly drift away from (most) horror I’m finding other festive books to read. This one looks cute, especially given that I reread A Christmas Carol every December.

Book cover for Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia . Image on cover shows a heavily-muscled white man embracing a middle eastern woman who is wearing a purple dress as she floats underwater with him.

7. Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia

Release Date: October 14

Why I’m Interested: It looks silly and fun, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Book cover for Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines. Image on cover is a drawing of a black cat who has ten eyes on its head and octopus tentacles growing from its backside. The cat is winding its legs around someone who is wearing yellow trousers and using a cane.

8. Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines

Thank you to Annemieke @ A Dance With Books for this recommendation.

Release Date: October 21

Why I’m Interested: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of my favourite shows back in the day. I’ve always wondered what a slayer (or other chosen one) does after they retire.

Book cover for The Look by Michelle Obama. Image on cover shows Mrs. Obama wearing a stunning, floor-length, light blue gown. She’s standing at a window and looking out at the light and whatever is on the other side of that glass. She looks thoughtful.

9. The Look by Michelle Obama

Release Date: November 4

Why I’m Interested: Fashion is generally a topic that doesn’t’ interest me at all, but I’m hoping Mrs. Obama might throw some more stories in with the photos of her various outfits over the years.

Book cover for Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood. Image on cover shows Ms. Atwood smiling and holding one finger up to her lips as if to shush the viewer. She’s wearing a bright read sweater and red gloves, too.

10. Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood

Release Date: November 4

Why I’m Interested: I know almost nothing about Ms. Atwood’s personal life but am curious to change that.

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September 16, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Scents for Candles

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Thank you to Heather @ The Frozen Library for submitting this theme!

Star anise soaking in some dark tea in a white teacup. Beside the teacup on a wooden table are two slices of dehydrated oranges. Scents are an allergy, migraine, and headache trigger for me, so my first reaction to scented candles, along with any other scented item other than most types of food, is to run away from them as fast as my legs can carry me ;).

I’m going to tweak this topic just a little so I can answer it better.

1) Turkish Delight for The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. I was well into adulthood before I realized that this type of candy actually exists and was not made up for this book. There are many different flavours of Turkish delight, but the kind I tried tasted a little floral and sweet which might make for a good candle scent.

2) Chocolate for Chocolat. I craved chocolate so much while reading this.

3) Sugar for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket, #1). Yes, chocolate could be also included here, but so could bubble gum, cinnamon, blueberries, roast dinners, gum drops, and all sorts of other delicious scents.

4) Peaches from James and the Giant Peach. They’re such a delicious fruit and scent.

5) Flowers from Flowers for Algernon.

6) Tea from The Tea Rose (The Tea Rose, #1). I feel like there aren’t enough tea-scented possibilities out there for people who enjoy scents.

7) Black coffee from Black Coffee (Hercule Poirot, #7.5). Now this is one scent I actually do enjoy!

8) Nutmeg from Silver Nutmeg. It makes me feel a bit fancy to use this spice.

9) Gingerbread from The Gingerbread Man. What a heavenly scent this is.

10) Oranges from The Christmas Orange. Citrus scents can be nice.

And that is my list. Heather, I hope I stuck closely enough to your idea and that there are many scented candles in your future.

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September 9, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favourite Villains

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A pale-skinned person wearing jeans is sitting in the park and reading a book as the sunlight streams down onto the grass and trees. The one thing all of these books have in common are their memorable and scary villains. Thank goodness villains can’t go traipsing around to visit other books because we’d all be in trouble if these folks teamed up!

No, I won’t be going into detail there. I’d rather new readers be surprised by these villains than know ahead of time what to expect from them.

1. The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2) by Thomas Harris

2. Misery by Stephen King

3. Matilda by Roald Dahl

4. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

5. Othello by William Shakespeare

6. Animal Farm by George Orwell

7. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

8. Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1) by V.C. Andrews

9. The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King

10. 1984 by George Orwell

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September 2, 2025 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Occupations in the Title

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A fisherman walking in thigh-deep water and carrying a large net. Thank you to Lisa of Hopewell for submitting this topic! Here are ten books with occupations in their titles.