Category Archives: Blog Hops

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I adore living in Toronto, but there are parts of all of these places that intrigue me. It would be cool to see them in person someday if it were safe and affordable to do so.

If I didn’t mention a specific thing I wanted to do for the numbers on the list below, that means I’d want to talk to the locals to get their recommendations on the best restaurants, museums, parks, etc. before adding my own wish list to the agenda.

You can learn so much about other cities, countries, and cultures by listening to the people who live there and taking their advice on where to go and what to do.

If any of you ever visit Toronto once travelling for fun is possible again, I’d be happy to give you some suggestions of what to do here!

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou’s Autobiography, #1) by Maya Angelou

Location: Stamps, Arkansas

What I’d Do There: Soak up every ray of sunshine I can. I get the winter blues each year, so this would make a big impact on my life.

2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Location: Japan (various cities)

What I’d Do There: Among many other destinations, I’d visit Rabbit Island.

3. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Location: Calcutta, India

4. Dubliners by James Joyce

Location: Dublin, Ireland

What I’d Do There: Visit whichever castle Irish people think is the nicest one there.

5. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Location: Manchuria, China

What I’d Do There: See the Great Wall of China.

6. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Location: Nigeria

7. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Location: Dominican Republic (various cities)

What I’d Do There: Visit the schools and other places that a relative of mine helped to build! He has a lot of experience with this kind of stuff and used to visit every year to help with various projects.

8. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Location: Egypt (various cities)

What I’d Do There: See the pyramids, of course!

9. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Location: Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal

What I’d Do There: Quietly enjoy the majestic mountains for a day or two before asking about specific places there to visit.

10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Location: Mexico

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All of these titles make me giggle! I have not read any of them yet, so let me know if you’ve read and liked any of them.

1. The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin

2. Annie Gomez and the Gigantic Foot of Doom by Jay Cutts

3. It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather B. Armstrong

4. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

5. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda #1) by Tom Angleberger

6. How You Can Bowl Better Using Self-Hypnosis by Jack Heise

7. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill

8. How To Tell Your Cat About Trump by Breaking Burgh

9. The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank by Erma Bombeck

10. How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: A Guide to Financial Freedom  by Patricia Carlin

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I’m a mood reader, so these TBR posts for Top Ten Tuesday often turn out to be wildly different from what I actually get around to reading in any given season.

Spring is also the time of year when I generally read less and spend more time outdoors.

Toronto doesn’t have many dry days with mild and pleasant temperatures, so you’d better believe we take full advantage of them when they start showing up in the spring! The heat and humidity of the summer will encourage us to head back indoors soon enough.

With those things in mind, these books do sound good to me and I do plan to eventually read them on days that weren’t meant for picnics and hikes in the warm, friendly sunshine instead.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publication Date: Already released

Why I Want to Read It: I enjoyed “Never Let Me Go” by Mr. Ishiguro and thought the fairytale-like themes of this new release from him sounded right up my alley.

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

Publication Date: March 30

Why I Want to Read It: I love reading about other women’s experiences with every stage of life, including girlhood and puberty. These aren’t topics that are discussed enough in my opinion.

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Publication Date: April 6

Why I Want to Read It: I didn’t realize there were resistance fighters in the ghettos in Germany.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Publication Date: May 4

Why I Want to Read It: I loved “The Deep” (my review of it is here) and can’t wait to see what Ms. Solomon does with the Gothic Fiction genre! It’s so cool when authors dip their toes in other genres or sub-genres.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Publication Date: May 4

Why I Want to Read It: I loved ” Martian” and can’t wait to see what thought-provoking hard science fiction Mr. Weir has for his fans this time. Yes, I do tend to stick with certain authors once I have an amazing experience with one or more of their books.

The President’s Daughter by Bill Clinton

Publication Date: June 7

Why I Want to Read It: It makes me wonder which parts of the plot might have been inspired by President Clinton’s time in the White House! No, I don’t think it’s secretly autobiographical or anything like that, but maybe there were quiet moments from his presidency that inspired him to wonder how they’d fare as a thriller.

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

Publication Date: June 8

Why I Want to Read It: I have relatives who worked in the medical field during the first few waves of Covid-19. They only know about its effect on reservations from secondhand experience, but even those tidbits of information were more than enough to make my ears perk up at the thought of learning more.

Are you also a mood reader and/or someone who struggles with these seasonal TBR prompts? Please tell me I’m not the only one!

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I prefer to tidy up my TBR and home at regular intervals rather than doing spring cleanings every year.  I tweaked this week’s prompt a little bit, but I am sticking to the spirit of it.

There’s something about the arrival of spring that feels like a fresh start to me. All of the snow melts in Toronto and we generally don’t get any more of it by the middle of April.

It’s so nice to reach the time of year when it’s warm enough to go outside and try something new or give old hobbies and interests another shot after maybe giving them up for the winter.

This list is filled with books about people who get fresh starts. Some are true stories while others are fictional. A few are set during the spring. What other titles would you add to it?

1. Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun

2. The Arrival by Shaun Tan

3.Recursion by Blake Crouch

4. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

5. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

6. Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo

7. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso

8. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

9. Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

10. Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam

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Kudos to whomever came up with this unique topic! I have not read these books and am only mentioning them because these occupations sound amazing.

Title and Author: The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

The Job: Carpet designer

Why I’m Interested: It’s quiet, intricate work that creates beloved family heirlooms.

Title and Author: The Queen’s Dollmaker by Christine Trent

The Job: Dollmaker

Why I’m Interested: Dolls bring so much joy to the world.

Title and Author: Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

The Job: Poet

Why I’m Interested: I used to write a lot of poetry. It’s harder than some people imagine it to be but quite rewarding when you finally figure out the right turn of phrase to make your point succinctly.

Title and Author: The Naturalist’s Daughter by Tea Cooper

The Job: Naturalist

Why I’m Interested: This specific naturalist studied the platypus, an animal I find utterly fascinating. Wouldn’t it be cool to be the first person from your culture to discover such a thing? I’d like to think he spoke to the people who already lived there about what they knew about the life cycle and physiology of the platypus.

Title and Author: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Job: Lighthouse Keeper

Why I’m Interested: It was generally quiet and peaceful work which appeals to this introvert quite a bit.  I’d have time to write stories or read books while I was on the job.

Title and Author: The Archivist by Martha Cooley

The Job: Archivist

Why I’m Interested: I adore organizing, cataloguing, and sorting all sorts of different things. Being an archivist sounds heavenly to me.