Category Archives: Blog Hops

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books About My Favourite Topic

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

I’ve written several blog posts about this topic in the past and am trying not to repeat myself too often, so this time I will be focusing on nonfiction books about animals and nature. Those are two things I love to read about.

Yes, I know that I mentioned “A Short History of the World According to Sheep” in a Top Ten Tuesday post last month, but it belongs to this theme as well. 

These were all solid reads that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys books on these topics.

Book cover for Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton. Image on cover is a sketch of a young hare whose ears are pointed up and who is looking around at her surroundings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

 

Book cover for A Short History of the World According to Sheep by Sally Coulthard. Image on cover is a photo of a shepherd herding his sheep while they stand on a mountain. There are much larger, snowier mountains in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. A Short History of the World According to Sheep by Sally Coulthard

 

Book cover for The Book of the Earthworm by Sally Coulthard. Image on cover is a drawing of large earthworms digging through the soil. Above the soil there is a large tree whose branches are hanging heavy over the land. In the distance there is a faraway forest and a blue sky dotted with white clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Book of the Earthworm by Sally Coulthard

 

Book cover for Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods by Danna Staaf. Image on cover is a drawing of various cephalopods, including squid and octupi, swimming next to each other in a light blue sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods by Danna Staaf

 

Book cover for Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets. Image on cover is a drawing of a pine forest that has a dirt path running through it. Extra sunlight is shining down onto the path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets

 

8 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Thank you to Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog for submitting this week’s theme! Here are ten book titles featuring ordinal numbers. 

Book cover for Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Image on cover shows the title written in a cursive font against a fuzzy green background that looks like it might be the canopy of a tree or trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

 

Book cover for The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Image on cover shows a drawing of three hardback novels neatly stacked in a small pile together. One of the books has a red cloth book cover that is hanging out between its pages and draping down to the wooden surface below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 

Book cover for Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, #1) by Heather Brewer. Image on cover is a drawing of a pale-skinned young teenager who is wearing a black hoodie that has a red smilie face with fangs printed on it. The kid’s face is partially obscured by their hoodie’s hood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, #1) by Heather Brewer

 

Book cover for Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson, #2) by Darynda Jones. Image on cover shows a realistic painting, or maybe a heavily photoshopped photo, of a young white woman who has one hand on her hip and is wearing jeans, a jacket, and a blouse that shows a hint of cleavage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson, #2) by Darynda Jones

 

Book cover for The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. Image on cover is a drawing of a country farmhouse with an empty dirt road next to it. The farmhouse is drawn from an angle and so looks smaller than it would if it were drawn facing forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien

 

Book cover for First Among Sequels (Thursday Next, #5) by Jasper Fforde. Image on cover is a drawing of an opened book that has a small explosion bursting forth from its pages. Dust and rubble is shooting out in all directions!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. First Among Sequels (Thursday Next, #5) by Jasper Fforde

 

Book cover for Seventh Son (The Last Apprentice #1-2) by Joseph Delaney. Image on cover shows three of the characters, presumably the actors from the film version of this book. They are all white, one young woman, one young man, and one old man, and are looking dramatically to the right or facing the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Seventh Son (The Last Apprentice #1-2) by Joseph Delaney

 

Book cover for The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) by N.K. Jemisin. Image on cover shows what appears to be a very old door that is partially covered by grime. On the door an ornate metal object has been forged that curls into itself as if it has leaves or perhaps small tentacles. It’s beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, by N.K. Jemisin

 

Book cover for Eighth Moon: The True Story of a Young Girl's Life in Communist China by Bette Bao Lord. Image on cover shows a drawing of an arrange of purple flowers surrounding the face of a young Chinese woman, presumably the author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Eighth Moon: The True Story of a Young Girl’s Life in Communist China by Bette Bao Lord

 

Book cover for The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson. Image on cover shows Calvin and Hobbes making funny faces at the audience by pulling their cheeks gently away from their teeth and sticking out their tongues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson

 

66 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Fictional Things I’m Glad Are NOT Real

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

This is once again going to be a science fiction, horror, and fantasy heavy list due to how much I’ve read in those genres.

1. Vampires

Stylized drawing of a Chinese dragon that doesn’t have limbs. It’s long, snake-like body curls around itself as it flicks out its tongue and looks annoyed. 2. Zombies

3. The Borg

4. Panem (The country set in North America in the Hunger Games series that forced children to fight for their lives in epic televised battles)

5. Being the Chosen One ™. Honestly, that sounds exhausting.

6. Aliens who show up on Earth ready to fight.

7. Having a One True Love ™. Falling in love can be an excellent thing, but the pressure of believing there’s only one person out there for you and you’d better not mess things up was intense when I was single.

8. Epic adventures. This, too, sounds exhausting. Let someone else go save the world while I hunker down for the rest of the winter.

 

14 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Top Ten Tuesday: Nonfiction Titles I Recently Added to My TBR List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are ten nonfiction titles I’ve recently added to my TBR list. If you’ve read any of them or have other suggestions for great titles in this genre, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Book cover for Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent by Kim Bowes. Image on cover shows a close-up photo of a silver Roman coin. The face on the coin is pointing up, and you can only see the top half of the coin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent by Kim Bowes

Why I’m interested: As I’ve mentioned here before, I prefer reading about the lives of ordinary people in the past. It’s interesting to find out what they ate and wore and what their daily lives were like.

 

Book cover for The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas by Brooke N. Newman. image on cove shows a British royal crown hanging from the black silhouette of a head as if it were an earring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas by Brooke N. Newman

Why I’m interested: This is an aspect of the transatlantic slave trade that I wasn’t aware of.

Book cover for elieve You're Made for More: 7 Steps to Break Free from Low Self-Esteem, Remember Your Worth and Claim Your Quiet Confidence by Natasha Page. Image on cover shows the title written in a pink font against a blue background with the subtitle written in a yellow bubble on the bottom right hand of the cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Believe You’re Made for More: 7 Steps to Break Free from Low Self-Esteem, Remember Your Worth and Claim Your Quiet Confidence
by Natasha Page

Why I’m interested: It sounds helpful. (I don’t have a great track record with self-help books, though, so no promises that I’ll actually finish it).

Book cover for Ferns: Lessons in Survival from Earth’s Most Adaptable Plants by Fay-Wei Li and Jacob S. Suissa. Image on cover is a drawing of about eight different types of ferns, one of whom is red, growing towards the centre of the book cove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Ferns: Lessons in Survival From Earth’s Most Adaptable Plants by Fay-Wei Li and Jacob S. Suissa.

Why I’m interested: Botany is such an interesting subject.

 

Book cover for Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic by Mia Bennett and Klaus Doods. Image on cover is a drawing created from the perspective of someone looking down at the arctic and seeing the dark sea water between icebergs as a few different cargo ships sail past each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic by Mia Bennett, Klaus Dodds

Why I’m interested: Cimate change frightens me, but I am also intrigued by how it alongside geopolitical conflicts are shaping the future of this continent. Will humans someday live there for non-scientific purposes, for example?

 

Book cover for The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy by Susan Wise Bauer. Image on cover is a historical painting of a woman lying sick in bed as two other women tend to her. I’d estimate that this scene was set in the late 1700s or early 1800s based on their attire and the little white rumpled hat one of the caretakers is wearing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy by Susan Wise Bauer

Why I’m interested: I couldn’t read about contagious diseases back when Covid first emerged, but now I can occasionally explore how previous generations handled similar crises and how epidemics and pandemics e can permanently affect a culture in all sorts of interesting ways.

Book cover for The Flowers of Good: The Science and the History of Marijuana Liberation by Sidarta Ribeiro, Daniel Hahn. Image on cover is a drawing of what I presume is a marijuana plant. It’s tall, leafy, and green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The Flowers of Good: The Science and the History of Marijuana Liberation by Sidarta Ribeiro, Daniel Hahn

Why I’m interested: For the record, I don’t drink, smoke, or do any sort of drugs, including this one. I also do not judge you if you’ve made other choices in life. My interest in the topic is rooted firmly, pun intended, in how this plant can be used to treat pain and nausea from all sorts of various illnesses. The less suffering in the world, the better if you ask me! Such things should never be politicized.

 

Book cover for When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery. Image on cover shows drawings of the leaves of about a half dozen different plants, none of which I can identify unfortunately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery

Why I’m interested: Can you tell I love reading about plants, especially during the cold months of the year when nothing grows? This is another topic I know nothing about but would like to.

 

Book cover for Why Not Me: Living with Invisible Illness by Lindsay Ireland. Image on cover shows dozen of little oblong shaped objects smushed together in circle. Are they bacteria multiplying in a Petri dish, maybe? They seemed to be loosely arranged in a star-like pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Why Not Me: Living with Invisible Illness by Lindsay Ireland

Why I’m interested: I don’t have multiple sclerosis, but I do like reading about the lives of other people living with chronic, invisible illnesses. We often share a lot in common, and it’s rewarding to learn about the aspects of other diseases that are generally only known to those who are quietly dealing with them. Having empathy and/or sympathy for others is a good thing that I think should be encouraged more often than many parts of western society currently do.

 

Book cover for Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others by Stephanie Dalley. Image on cover shows a man carved into a stone wall. He has a long beard and appears to have two large wings sprouting out behind him as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others by Stephanie Dalley

Why I’m interested: I was lucky enough to learn a little about this topic in college, but there’s still so much I don’t know about it. Mythology is fascinating, so this is definitely something I’ll be checking out sometime.

 

58 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Top Ten Tuesday: Fictional Things I Wish Were Real


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This list is going to be heavily influenced by Star Trek and other science fiction themes. Be prepared.

I wish these fictional things were real:

A photo of Earth taken from the moon. Earth is partially hidden in shadow and looks small against an endlessly inky black sky. The moon’s surface is a monotone of grey and light brown. 1) Successful Human Settlements

For example, groups of people living well on other planets or on the moons of other planets. I think our longterm chances of surviving as a species would be much higher if we had the technology to spread out in the galaxy or universe.

2) Replicators.

Imagine if we could have all of the food, medicine, medical equipments, and other necessary things for life available at the press of a button. So much human suffering could be eliminated. (I’ve already talked about the wonders of a Star Trek medical bay in a previous WWBC post, or I would have included it here as well).

3) Equality for All

My favourite types of science fiction to read and to watch are the ones that show humans solving problems that have nothing at all do with any form of prejudice based on ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity,  sexual orientation, religion, disability, etc. because such a thing doesn’t really exist in their society anymore. If only they went into more detail about how that happened, because I’d love to see us figure it out in the current era.

4) Warp Drives

We’ll need them to travel to other solar systems!

5) Magic

I wish I really could flick a wand or perform a spell to fix many major problems.

6) Dragons

Is this at all practical? No. Do I still want them to exist in remote places on Earth where humans will hopefully leave them in peace anyway? Yes.

7) Bigfoot

See also: #6.

8) Justice

Even the worst antagonists in books are virtually always overcome eventually. In real life, not so much…but I still wish it could happen. I want peace for everyone.

12 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops, Personal Life

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes About Reading


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A tiny green cactus in a tiny white planter that is sitting on a white hardcover book on a wooden table. The original theme for this week was  “Quotes From/About Books,” but I’m tweaking it to be quotes about reading instead. 

1. “Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

2. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Stephen King

3. “She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.”
Annie Dillard, The Living

4. “Only a generation of readers will spawn a generation of writers.”
Steven Spielberg

5. “My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”
Malcolm X

6. “Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book.”
Stéphane Mallarmé

7. “Why can’t people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?”
David Baldacci, The Camel Club

8. “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.”
René Descartes

9. “Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”
Anne Herbert

10. “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
Joseph Addison

52 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Song Lyrics That Made Me Cringe

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Young brown girl holding her hand over her forehead in embarrassment. Her nails are painted various shades of pink. As I mentioned last week, I struggle with a lot of modern music. There isn’t always much care taken to write thoughtful lyrics or develop the artist’s vocal or instrumental skills before new songs are released.

No, I’m not saying that every song that was released when I was a kid or teenager was high quality. There were duds back then, too, but the quality of music in general does seem to be going downhill over time.

I wish this trend would reverse itself. It’s much more interesting to me to listen to thought-provoking lyrics written by or for an artist who is a genuinely talented singer or musician no matter what they look like than it is to see a highly attractive person use autotune or AI to sing something shallow and meaningless.

(Does this mean I’m old now? Ha!)

Here are some recent song lyrics that have made me cringe.

 

he way that switch brrt, I know he dyin’ (Oh my, oh my God)
6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (Bip, bip)
Skrrt, uh (Bip, bip, bip)

Doot Doot (6 7) by Skrilla

My school-aged nephew has informed us that 6 7 is no longer a cool meme now that we’re in 2026, but I am still annoyed by the song that created it.

 

I was a teenage teenager full of piss and vinegar
Living like a prisoner for haters
I was a teenage teenager, I am an alien visitor
My life’s a mess and school is just for suckers

I Was a Teenage Teenager by Green Day

I enjoyed some of Green Day’s stuff back in the day, but this song is repetitive nonsense.

 

Sexy, confident
So intelligent
She is heaven-sent
So soft, so strong

Woman’s World by Katy Perry

The concept was a good one, but the lyrics were so bland they felt like something written by AI.

 

The lyrics in this song are all too explicit and cringy to share in this post. I loved the beat, though, and wish it had been given better treatment.

WAP by Cardi B. And Megan Thee Stallion

 

 

14 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for Armchair Travelers


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This is one of those cases where I’ve read and enjoyed all of the Top Ten Tuesday books I’m mentioning today. It’s been a while since I’ve read some of them, but maybe they’ll become rereads this year.

Thank you to Laurie C @ Bay State Reader’s Advisory for submitting this topic. 

Book cover for The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Image on cover is a drawing of the city where the main character lived. The houses huddle close together and there are no plants to be seen anywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

 

Book cover for Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Image on cover shows the faces of two Mexican people, one woman and one man, leaned in so close that his nose is nearly touching her cheek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

 

Book cover for Walden or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. Image on cover shows a sketch of the tiny cabin Thoreau stayed in. Trees are growing all around it. It is overlayed with a green filter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Walden or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

 

Book cover for Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Image on cover shows a closeup shot of a Geisha who is starting ahead at the viewer with a serious expression on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

 

Book cover for The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Image on cover shows a setting yellow sun partially obscured by a large tree. The background is orange as if it were just before sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

 

Book cover for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Image on cover shows an Asian woman holding a fan up to her lips as if she were shushing the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

 

Book cover for Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. Images on cover are a colourful bird hanging upside down at the top and a closeup shot of an olive-skinned person with brownish-green eyes peering at the audience from the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

 

Book cover for Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) by Chinua Achebe. Image on cover is a drawing of a middle-aged African man’s face who is staring thoughtfully into the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) by Chinua Achebe

 

Book cover for Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Image on cover is a photo taken of the author from the side. She’s brown-skinned and wearing a black turtleneck sweater. She has a serious and slightly sad expression on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Book cover for The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Image on cover shows golden metal leaves and flowers arranged in a beautiful circular pattern against a dark pink background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

46 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: My Favourite Song Lyrics

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

I have a document with a list of my favourite modern songs in it, so this was an incredibly easy post to write. There are many older songs I enjoy as well, but I thought it would be a little more challenging to stick to the contemporary stuff (more or less) as I find it a bit harder to find good music these days.

(This is something I may or may not be grumbling about a little next week. Ha!)

You can be amazing
Closeup photo of piano keys. You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Brave by Sarah Bareilles

 

Many mighty ships are sinking
Many stars are falling down
And I count it as a blessing
That you hold me up now

Beautiful by Mali Music

 

We all talk having greens, but none of us own acres
If none of us own acres, and none of us grow wheat
Then who will feed our people when our people need to eat?

Reagan by Killer Mike

 

Fortune’s flame will never dim
Treasure stokes the fire within
Bring on hell or waters high
We will sail against the tide

Against the Tide (The Captain’s Tarantella) by Sail North

8 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops

Top Ten Tuesday: Pets Are Family, Too


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Since I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s always interesting to see what I can come up with that fits this theme for Top Ten Tuesday.  My previous posts have included Romantic Quotes, Conversation Hearts, Helpful Nonfiction Books About Relationships, Asexual Characters, Platonic Relationships, and Chocolate.

I’m not feeling particularly creative this year, so I’m going to keep it simple and share ten quotes about the joys of having a pet. If platonic love can also be celebrated among friends and family for Valentine’s Day, I’d argue that pets should be included as well.

If not for my allergies, I’d want to have a couple of pet rabbits hopping around my apartment!

Two baby bunnies eating a row of daisies that have been picked and placed in front of them. Behind the rabbits you see a large expanse of short grass.1. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
Anatole France

2. “My philosophy when it came to pets was much like that of having children: You got what you got, and you loved them unconditionally regardless of whatever their personalities or flaws turned out to be. ”
Gwen Cooper, Homer’s Odyssey

3. “Perhaps the greatest gift an animal has to offer is a permanent reminder of who we really are.”
Nick Trout, Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles

4. “Anyone who thinks money can’t buy happiness has never owned a cat [or any pet].”
Arya Riverdale

5. “Our pets are our family.”
Ana Monnar

6. Dogs teach us the true meaning of unconditional love and loyalty. In their eyes, we find a reflection of our best selves.”
Uma Sajit

7. “Our pet are our babies. We’re not rational about them. Feathers or furs or scales, they’re the center of entire worlds.”
Nicole Snow, No Good Doctor

8.“Some things about being human can’t be learned from your own kind..”
Rona Maynard, Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World

9. “A pet and a book and a bar of chocolate – what more could one want?”
Michelle Granas, Amadea: One Spring in France

10. “We are very fond of books. You can learn nearly everything from them that rabbits can’t teach you.”
Alan Snow, Here Be Monsters! (1)

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate it! If you have a cute story about your pet(s), I’d love to hear it.

64 Comments

Filed under Blog Hops