Category Archives: Blog Hops

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I don’t know about you all, but I tend to gush about the same books over and over again.  It was fun to look through the lists of books I’ve read in the past and pick out a few that I generally don’t mention.

1. Westlake Soul by Rio Yours

Why I Rarely Mention It: The subject matter is just odd enough that it doesn’t fit into most conversations or blog posts.

2. Angelica: A Novel by Arthur Phillips.

Why I Rarely Mention It: The narrator offers up two possible explanations for what’s going on in this chaotic household. One has to do with a restless ghost, and the other one involves horrific child abuse. I have friends and followers who would find the second explanation triggering, so I’m pretty shy about blogging about this book even though the paranormal aspect of it was fabulous.

3. The Harry Potter series

Why I Rarely Mention It: I used to talk about them here much more often. Then I ran out of things to say about them…for now?

4. MaddAddam by  Margaret Atwood

Why I Rarely Mention It: This was a great story, but I didn’t have a lot of coherent thoughts about it after I read it. Does this happen to anyone else?

5. Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill

Why I Rarely Mention It: The ending made me angry. Don’t get me wrong – it fit the theme of the story perfectly, and I totally understand why the author made that choice. But I so badly wanted it to end more hopefully that I have trouble writing about what actually happened.

6. The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron

Why I Rarely Mention It: The cliffhanger ending makes it hard for me to write about this one without giving away spoilers. I’m also hoping the author will eventually write a sequel. Her characters sure seem like they have a lot to say still!

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Technically, this week’s prompt was “Books I Bought/Borrowed Because…”. I tweaked it to better fit my reading patterns since almost all of my reading material is borrowed from the library.

I’ll share the titles and blurbs from some books I’m thinking about buying this spring while remaining in social isolation due to the pandemic we’re all dealing with. None of these books are available at my local library, and the library frankly can’t keep up with my reading needs these days! Perhaps some of you could tell me which of these titles I should buy first?

The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone

Blurb:

In Griselda Bone’s gloomy orphanage, daydreaming is banned, skipping is forbidden and Christmas is well and truly cancelled. But for Phoebe and her sausage dog Herb, is it possible that, just when things seem at their bleakest, magic awaits in the swirling, snow-filled air?

Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley

Mischievous woodland fairy Nix is up to no good. His beloved fairy queen has gone away, leaving him with a very important job: He must protect the forest from a most dangerous enemy—humans.

When a determined invader trespasses on his territory, Nix’s skills are put to the test as he invents several wicked tricks to chase the sorry fellow away. But when his efforts don’t go quite according to plan, it becomes clear that this intruder—and this sprite—may not be at all what they seem.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother–who is battling dementia–compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns–and with it, Heidi’s fear for her own life.

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?

What I Carry by Jennifer Longo

Growing up in foster care, Muir has lived in many houses. And if she’s learned one thing, it is to Pack. Light. Carry only what fits in a suitcase.

Toothbrush? Yes. Socks? Yes. Emotional attachment to friends? foster families? a boyfriend? Nope! There’s no room for any additional baggage.

Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the system. One year before she’s free. One year to avoid anything–or anyone–that could get in her way.

Then she meets Francine. And Kira. And Sean.

And everything changes.

Hyperlink from Hell: A Couch Potato’s Guide to the Afterlife by Lindy Moone

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1. If you visit a new city, you immediately look for the nearest bookstore or library.

2. If you’ve ever taken a cruise, packing enough reading material is more important than remembering that extra outfit or having room for a souvenir.

3.You quote your favourite books without necessarily mentioning where those quotes came from.

4.You get excited when you meet someone who enjoys the same genre(s) you do.

5. If you’ve ever been hospitalized, you ask for new reading material when loved ones ask you what they can do to make your stay more comfortable.

6. You give baby-friendly board books as presents to families with new babies.

7. You’ve dreamt about your favourite characters or worlds.

8.Your local librarian recognizes you when they see you somewhere other than the library.

9. If you use online dating sites, your love of books is mentioned somewhere in your profile and you screen new potential partners at least in part based by whether or not they’re a reader.

10. Your pets get to have a story time, too.

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Some weeks I come up with fewer than ten answers to the prompt. This week I had eleven!

1. Memory Craft: Improve your memory using the most powerful methods from around the world by Lynne Kelly

Will this book be helpful? I don’t know, but I’m curious to see what it recommends!

2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I decided to read this because so many of my fellow Top Ten Tuesday bloggers enjoyed it. You’ve all convinced me to give it a try.

3. Life Changing: How Humans are Altering Life on Earth by Helen Pilcher

If you ever meet me in real life and want me to blab without stopping, bring up human evolution, ecology, zoology, or climate change. I would happily discuss any of those topics with anyone for ages!

4. Outsmart Your Anxious Brain: Ten Simple Ways to Beat the Worry Trick by David A. Carbonell

My anxiety is mild most of the time, but I’m always on the lookout for new coping techniques for it.

5. Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc

I was the sort of kid who adored the original, sometimes gruesome versions of fairy tales. Some of those stories were incredibly politically incorrect at times, so I’m very interested in revisiting them from a social justice angle.

6. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

The Ballad of Black Tom is a retelling of H. P. Lovecraft’s story “The Horror at Red Hook.” I can’t wait to see what it’s like.

7. Greenwood by Michael Christie

Since this is a Canadian novel, I don’t expect most Top Ten Tuesday participants to already be aware of it. I’m excited about it because it tells stories set in the same setting in four different eras: 1934, 1974, 2008, and 2034. I love it when authors do this. It makes the universes they create feel so expansive.

8.The Season: A Social History of the Debutante by Kristen Richardson

I was the sort of girl and am the sort of woman who dislikes dresses, high heels, and wearing makeup because of how physically uncomfortable they all are to wear for me. High heels are painful, lace is unbearably itchy, and I’ve had many allergic reactions to makeup.

I totally respect the fact that folks from many different genders enjoy this stuff today, but the thought of anyone donning all of those things at once and on purpose both horrifies and fascinates me. It’s going to be interesting to see how it was handled across various eras and cultures in the past.

9. History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times by Mary Frances Berry

I don’t usually make references to politics on this blog, but I’m a U.S. citizen who is deeply concerned about what’s going on in my birth country. My reasons for being interested in this book are pretty self explanatory, I think.

10. The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

I love memoirs, old houses, and thinking about the people who lived in old houses decades ago.

This autobiography truly has it all.

11. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Isn’t this a fabulous title? I know very little about Indian culture or the Sikh religion in general and am looking forward to changing that.