Tag Archives: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Wishes

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Five dandelion seeds floating through the air The instructions for this week’s prompt said to list the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to a wishlist so that people can grant your wish.

I’m tweaking it just a little because a) my TBR pile is already huge, and b) I don’t have actual titles or authors for any of my wishes…yet?

Instead of asking any of you to buy books for me, I’m asking for recommendations instead if you know of any titles that might match up to my bookish wishes below.

Wish #1: Fiction about neanderthals. 

For example, I liked:

The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel

The Neanderthal Parallax trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron

These all happen to be loosely based in the speculative fiction genre, but I’m quite open to other genres. Neanderthals are cool no matter which genre they appear in or whether they’re a main or side character!

 

Wish #2: Cozy mysteries about main characters who are part of minority groups

I occasionally enjoy a good cozy mystery, but I haven’t read many about characters who are people of colour, LGBT+, disabled, etc.

It’s time to change that if any of you can help.

 

Wish #3: Non-romance stories about animals who do NOT die in the end.

A romantic subplot here or there is totally fine, but I’d prefer the main storyline to be about something else. Mysteries,  fantasy, science fiction, nonfiction, mainstream fiction, or any other genre works perfectly well for me. A sprinkling of horror is cool, too, so long as it’s not gory.

The important thing is that Fido or Fluffy lives happily ever after.

 

Wish #4: Alternate history 

For example, I liked:

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

I enjoy alternate history books based on specific historical events just as much as I do the ones that get creative with their world-changing events. See also: the aftermath of a zombie uprising.

 

Wish #5: Humorous short stories or novellas

They can be from any genre or era.

I don’t know about all of you, but I’ve spent the last eighteen months actively seeking out cheerful and uplifting things to read.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2021 TBR

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Somewhat blurry shot of two pages of a book that are slightly kept apart. You can see a sliver of the sky or a nearby blue wall through the end of them. As always, this TBR list is not set in stone.

So much depends on which books are available at my local library, how long their waitlists are, and whether I find other titles that demand to be read first.

I admire those of you who can make a TBR list and stick to it no matter what. That is impressive!

If no release date is noted in the list below, that means the book was published earlier this month.

So they can be purchased today or maybe even requested from your local library (if libraries exist where you live and it’s available there).

There’s something nice about having a mixture of books that can be read immediately and ones that will require a few months of patience.

 

Shirley Chisholm Dared- The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress  by Alicia D. Williams book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of a black woman wearing glasses.

1. Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress  by Alicia D. Williams  

Why I Want to Read It: This is a slice of U.S. history I know nothing about. In my experience, picture books can be a fun way to learn about historical figures you’re unfamiliar with.

 

Wake- The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts  by Rebecca Hall book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of eight slaves standing on a hill as they watch a city begin to burn.

2. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts  by Rebecca Hall

Why I Want to Read It: Same as #1.

 

Sisters of the Neversea  by Cynthia Leitich Smith book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of three children wearing pajamas and flying in the air above their homes.

3. Sisters of the Neversea  by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Why I Want to Read It: It’s a retelling of Peter Pan. How cool is that?

 

Hola Papi- How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of the author wearing a sombrero and typing on a typewriter.

4. Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer 

Why I Want to Read It: This memoir looks like it will be a heartwarming, hilarious read.

 

Far Out- Recent Queer Science Fiction and Fantasy  by Paula Guran book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of a magical woman in a blue dress who looks like she's doing a spell. There are twinkling lights around her.

5. Far Out: Recent Queer Science Fiction and Fantasy  by Paula Guran

Why I Want to Read It: I’m always interested in new queer science fiction and fantasy.

 

We Have Always Been Hereby Lena Nguyen book cover. Image on cover shows a rocky outcropping on an alien plant that has a huge moon in the sky.

6. We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen

Release Date: July 6

Why I Want to Read It: This book encompasses some of my favourite science fiction tropes like enduring radiation storms, exploring dangerous new planets, and seeing how humans react to androids who are nearly indistinguishable from them.

 

Cursed Bunny  by Bora Chung book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of an alert purple hare.

7. Cursed Bunny  by Bora Chung

Release Date: July 15

Why I Want to Read It: Honestly, the title and cover were what made this a must-read for me. I love rabbits and am so perplexed by the idea of them being cursed.

 

The Book of Accidents  by Chuck Wendig book cover. Image on cover is a black-and-white-photograph of a ghost standing in front of an old and possibly abandoned house in the woods.

8. The Book of Accidents  by Chuck Wendig 

Release Date: July 20

Why I Want to Read It: The Covid-19 pandemic has squelched most of my interest in horror, but Wendig is such a creative storyteller that I just might see if I can handle the scary stuff he comes up with. Plus, it’s Halloween-themed, and I love Halloween.

 

Cat Problems  by Jory John book cover. Image on cover is of a stressed-out cat sitting in a cardboard box.

9. Cat Problems  by Jory John

Release Date: August 3

Why I Want to Read It: Cats are enigmas to me in part due to my terrible allergy to them. I can’t be around them at all, so everything I know about them comes from the funny stories and occasional complaints people share about them online. The thought of a cat having a list of complaints about the humans in his or her life makes me grin.

 

Living Beyond Borders: Stories About Growing Up Mexican in America by Margarita Longoria book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of a man with a butterfly on his shoulder walking into a Mexican village.

10. Living Beyond Borders: Stories About Growing Up Mexican in America by Margarita Longoria

Release Date: August 21

Why I Want to Read It: To listen to the contributors’ perspectives. I’m also an immigrant and love reading about the wide variety of experiences that can be found in immigrants around the world.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved that Made Me Want More Books Like Them

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Close-up photo of typhography and typecases I feel like I talk about the same books every time a topic like this one comes up.

Did any of you have the same reaction to this prompt?

I’m going to do my best to only mention books I haven’t gushed about a dozen times before, so this will be a pretty eclectic list that doesn’t mention science fiction and fantasy (my favourite genres) at all.

Let’s dig into it.

 

Exercised- Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding by Dan Lieberman book cover. Image on cover is a cave painting of someone running on a treadmill

1. Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding by Dan Lieberman

Why: There is so much conflicting information out there about diet, exercise, and living a healthy lifestyle. I relish the opportunity to read the latest scientific theories on this topics, especially as it pertains to how humans lived back when all of our ancestors were hunter-gatherers.

 

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine book cover. Image on cover is a photograph of both Doctor Blackwells.

2. The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura

Why: There’s something to be said for reading about trailblazers and the obstacles they faced. I was saddened by the crushing sexism they faced and amazed by how much their persistence permanently changed not only the face of medicine but what people expected from their doctors.

 

The Toronto Book of Love by Adam Bunch book cover. Image on coer is a drawing of two birds sitting in a pink field of flowers.

3. The Toronto Book of Love by Adam Bunch

Why: It’s fascinating to see how so many things related to love, marriage, infidelity, and courtship are influenced by one’s culture and historical era. These are also topics that generally aren’t discussed in history books.

 

American Baby- A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser book cover. Image on cover is of ink impressions of a baby's footprints

4. American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser

Why: The subject of this book was teenager who was forced to  place her baby for adoption in the 1960s because she was young and unmarried. It was a traumatic event for both her and her baby. Many non-fiction books about this topic are unflappably cheerful and positive. I think it’s important to also read about how unethical adoptions have happened so that adoption agencies and society will hopefully never make the same mistakes again in the future.

 

A Funny Kind of Paradise by Jo Owens book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of an elderly woman sitting in a wheelchair

5. A Funny Kind of Paradise by Jo Owens

Why: There are so few books out there written from the perspective of a character who is living in a nursing home or other institutional setting. We need more of them if you ask me!

 

The Book of the Earthworm by Sally Coulthard book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of large earthworms crawling through the soil in a peaceful rural setting near trees and fields.

6. The Book of the Earthworm by Sally Coulthard

Why: I love reading about the latest scientific discoveries about mundane things like earthworms. It’s neat to think that we still have a lot to learn about what’s happening right below our own feet.

 

7. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

Why: Intergenerational friendships are beautiful things. While most of my friends are roughly the same age that I am, it’s delightful to occasionally meet someone much older or younger than you are and immediately click with them. I believe we can all learn a lot from being open to befriending folks in completely different stages of life when the opportunity arises. Some friendships were simply meant to be in my opinion. Reading about them is almost as wonderful as experiencing them in real life.

 

That’s as many books as I was able to come up with! I look forward to reading your responses to this week’s prompt.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Gifs

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

My creative muscles weren’t as strong as usual for this freebie post. I decided to go with something lighthearted and fun: bookish gifs.

 

Captain Picard sitting in a lounge chair in the sun. He says "All I require is the sit in the sune and read my book. Alone."

Honestly, I can’t blame Captain Picard for this one bit. I’d do the same thing in the Holodeck!

 

Homer Simpson holding his head and screaming. Caption says "that moment when you drop your book in the bath."

 

It’s been years since I did this, but I still shudder at the memory. I hope all of you have kept your books safe, too.

 

Animated character reading a book that says "pretending to be normal"

I have no idea where this one is from, but I love it.

 

Donald Duck reading a book. As he looks away, black claws emerge from the book to grab him.

I loved Donald Duck as a kid, but this scene would have scared me if I’d seen this particular episode.

 

Kitten pouncing when person tries to turn page. Caption says "Stop! I Haven't Finished Reading Yet!"

Ignore the typo in this gif and listen to a funny story. I once tried reading a book with a friend when we were in middle school. We read at different speeds, so I’d get bored and she’d get frustrated. It was a short-lived experiment.

 

Man saying "I'm going to be a big-time blogger."

May we all get there someday.

 

Gif of baby crying when the last page of a book is closed.

This poor baby doesn’t want story time to end. Can you blame him?

 

Woman smiling as she puts a book down

There’s nothing like finishing an immensely satisfying story.

 

I can’t stop giggling at this. I am more forgiving of the occasional typo than Bert apparently is, though.

What are your favourite bookish gifs or memes? 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: LGBT+ Book Quotes

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Pride month is just around the corner. Since all in-person events for Toronto’s Pride events have been cancelled again this year thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to start the celebration a little early here instead. May it be safe for us to celebrate in person next year!

 

“The single best thing about coming out of the closet is that nobody can insult you by telling you what you’ve just told them.”
― Rachel Maddow

 

“Race, gender, religion, sexuality, we are all people and that’s it. We’re all people. We’re all equal.”
― Connor Franta

 

“But this is your life, and it will stretch out before you, and you are the only person who can make it whatever you want it to be.”
― Christina Lauren, Autoboyography

 

“Rainbows are gay space lasers. That’s why they’re not straight.”
― Oliver Markus Malloy, Introvert Comics: Inside The Mind of an Introvert

 

“Being different is what makes us fun, remember?”
― Maulik Pancholy, The Best at It

White piece of cloth that has a rainbow and the phrase "love is love" painted on it.

 

“But you can have more than one family. You can choose your family.”
― Phil Stamper, As Far As You’ll Take Me

 

“She’s happy with who she is. Maybe it’s not the heteronormative dream that she grew up wishing for, but… knowing who you are and loving yourself is so much better than that, I think.”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

 

“We all have our own unique place in the infinite gender universe.”
― Ashley Mardell, The ABC’s of LGBT+

 

“The joy of discovery is one of the biggest pleasures you’ll ever know.”
― Samra Habib, We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir

 

“In conversation with one of his friends, the openly gay Dr. William Hirsch, Fred Rogers himself concluded that if sexuality was measured on a scale of one to ten: ‘Well, you know, I must be right smack in the middle. Because I have found women attractive, and I have found men attractive.”
― Maxwell King, The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Mountains on Their Covers

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl Mountains are one of my favourite natural settings to find on book covers. They’re so majestic and breathtaking! I spent part of my childhood living right next to a large mountain range, so they also bring up happy memories from those years. There’s nothing like being nestled right next… Read More

Top Ten Tuesday: My Ten Most Recent Reads

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl Along with my blogging slowdown as of about a month ago, I’ve also been reading less.   The good news is that I’ve been enjoying what I’m reading more than I did when my list of finished books was longer. Here are my ten most recent reads. 1. The… Read More

Top Ten Tuesday: Rabbits from Books

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl Anyone who has followed this blog or my accounts on Twitter or Goodreads for a long time knows how much I love rabbits. Today I will be sharing books about rabbits! Yes, I have read them all and recommend checking them out yourself if you’re interested. Do speak up… Read More

Top Ten Tuesday: Colourful Book Covers

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl I narrowed this week’s prompt down a little bit. The original theme was so broad that I wasn’t sure where to begin. You could interpret it to be about rainbow covers, or brightly-coloured covers, or books that include as many different colours in them as possible. Honestly, even those… Read More