Tag Archives: Top Ten Tuesday

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I love this week’s topic. Let’s see how many answers I can come up with for it.

None of these sites have compensated me for mentioning them in any way. I simply included ones I’ve used or think sound cool.

1.  DailyLit 

Imagine being emailed a short passage from a book every day. Each instalment can be read in about 15 minutes, and you’ll eventually receive the entire book that way.

2. Project Gutenberg 

This was the first site to ever offer free ebooks! They have a huge selection of titles to choose from.

3. Your Local Library

Assuming you live in a country that has a free public library system, you might be surprised at what they have to offer!

Aside from the usual ebooks and audiobooks, mine offers online courses and events in all sorts of bookish topics. It also has digital subscriptions to hundreds of newspapers, literary journals, magazines, and more on just about any topic you can imagine and a few I never would have thought would have such big followings!

4. Indie Bookstore Finder 

I don’t know about you all, but I’m all about supporting local businesses as much as possible. This is a fantastic resource for finding that special book you’ve been wanting to buy while helping your local bookstore stay in business.

5. AddALL 

This site helps visitors compare prices for the books they want to buy among multiple possible sellers. I wish I’d had access to this when I was in college and was scrounging around to afford textbooks! It works for regular types of books, too.

6. Book-a-Minute 

Imagine reading a concise but accurate summary of that book you’re thinking about reading but not sure if you want to dive into. I think there’s definitely something to be said for giving people a few spoilers if they need them to decide whether a particular book is the right one for them.

7. The Great Canadian Sox Shop

This quirky little shop is located right here in Toronto, Ontario. It caters to those of us who love finding that perfect pair of socks to express ourselves, whether it’s a conservative pair of business socks for an office job or something funky and bookish for less formal events.

8. LAMBDA Literary 

A fantastic resource for LGBT+ writers and readers.

9. Little Free Library

Want to find a local Little Free Library in your community? Or maybe you want to find out how to build your own? This site has all of the details you need…and then some.

10. Leio 

A reading log app to help you keep track of what you’re reading and what you might dive into next.

***Bonus*** 11. Literature Map

If you type in the name of your favourite author into this site, it will recommend other authors that are also highly read by fans of the author you first mentioned.

I’ve been playing around with this site a lot and already have a list of new authors to try!

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I could talk about this topic for ages! Let’s see if I can keep my list down to a reasonable 10 or so answers.

I will expound on some, but not all, of my responses.

1. Anywhere that has a cozy fireplace.

Yes, I know it isn’t healthy to breathe in the particulates from wood smoke over the long term, but I still find the crackle of a fireplace to be so relaxing. It’s also sometimes the beginning of wonderful adventures in certain stories!

2. Libraries.

3. Cemeteries.

4. Old buildings, haunted or otherwise. 

5. Boarding schools.

I’d never want to attend one or send my (totally hypothetical) children to one, but I do like reading about them.

6. Mostly quiet beaches.

Completely deserted beaches frighten me a little, and loud, crowded beaches aren’t much fun at all. The mostly quiet ones are where it’s at!

7. Museums, especially after hours. 

8. Funerals.

One of the benefits of being a preacher’s kid is that I got to spend a lot of time attending funerals for people who weren’t related to me. There are memorable and even occasionally beautiful moments to be found within all of that grief.

9. Kitchens.

They’re a very underrated setting if you ask me! Not only are kitchens (hopefully) filled with amazing food for everyone to share, they’re often the part of the house where the most intimate and memorable conversations happen.

I can think of a few different relatives of mine who announced exciting news like a new pregnancy in someone’s kitchen. Reading about characters cooking meals or cleaning up after them always makes me hope someone in that scene is about to share thrilling news.

10. Cold, snowy woods.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe taught me that all sorts of wonderful things can happen in them.

11. Any forest where the seasons are changing.

The first subtle announcements of an impending spring or autumn are probably the most striking, but there’s something memorable to be found every time we begin to say goodbye to one season and hello to the next.

I think 11 answers is a pretty decent number, so I’ll stop writing here.

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I generally write short introductions to Top Ten Tuesday posts, but I think this time my list will speak for itself.

1. Film Covers for Books.

They often tend to look dated after a few years. I’d also rather not have actors as my point of reference for how characters look. It’s more fun to imagine those things for yourself while reading the author’s descriptions in my opinion.

2. Films that Dramatically Change Themes or Endings.

Look, I totally understand why some plot twists might need to be altered so they come across more clearly on the big screen, but I don’t like it when directors change the essence of a story to appeal to a wider selection of viewers. This leads into my third point.

3. Bonus Genres Shoehorned Into Plots That Don’t Want Them.

I read a lot of science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. The genres that tend to be shoehorned into these tales most often in my experience are romance, action/adventure, horror, and mystery. While I also enjoy reading stories that include multiple genres and have absolutely nothing against these particular genres…not every story needs to be written to appeal to multiple audiences. It really is okay to write in just one or two genres at a time, and some stories flow much more smoothly with a narrower focus.

4. Spoilers.

While I appreciate content warnings for potentially triggering material, I otherwise abhor spoilers.

5. Too-Similar Character Names.

This is something I see most often in the fantasy genre. If you have an Odin, an Orin, and an Ordin* in your story, I am really going to struggle to keep those three characters apart unless the character development for all three is superb and begins happening in the first chapter. Honestly, I prefer it when most characters have names that start with totally different letters of the alphabet, are of various lengths, sound nothing alike,  etc.

*Not a real example.

6. Books in a Series that Are Different Sizes or Shapes.

. Obviously, this is irrelevant for ebooks, but it feels weird to me to line up paper books in a series and have one that’s much taller, wider, or thicker than the others. I do not know why this irritates me as it doesn’t affect the storylines themselves at all. It simply feels slightly wrong.

7. Stickers on Book Covers.

If only they were easier to remove without permanently damaging the cover!

8. Unexamined Stereotypes.

It’s one thing to include a stereotype in a storyline in order to make fun of it or turn it on it’s head.

It’s quite another to include one in order to say that everyone from group X must like (or be) Y. I’d much rather meet genuine characters who are well-developed and whose hobbies, interests, and passions are not limited by what others assume someone of their sex, race, age, etc. would be like.

That is to say, maybe a woman in a story might love to sew, and that’s totally okay. But maybe the men in her life enjoy it just as much!

9. Is It Part of a Series? Must They Be Read in Order? 

I like series, and I don’t mind jumping in the middle of them if the author takes the time to explain a few things. I do not like discovering that what I’m reading is #5 in a series several chapters in and that you really need to read the first several books to have any idea what’s going on. If you ask me, blurbs should always be crystal clear about both of these things.

10. Too Predictable.

Yes, there are tropes in every genre. It would be quite difficult to write a story that didn’t rely on any of them at all!

With that being said, I will lose interest in a story if I finish the first scene or even the first chapter and can already guess exactly how it’s going to end and what all of the major plot twists will be along the way.

Surprises are a good thing. I’d much rather be slightly annoyed by an unconventional plot twist than have everything figured out in advance.

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My idea for this post came from Annemieke from A Dance with Books.

Last July, she wrote about this topic because the assigned topic for that week didn’t work for her.

Thank you, Annemieke, for inspiring me to write about my favourite TTT topics for today’s freebie.

I hope that Jana will borrow your idea and make it an official prompt sometime. If that doesn’t happen, maybe other participants in this meme will borrow it the next time they’re stumped by a prompt.

Wouldn’t that be delightful? It’s a fantastic idea.

Here are ten Top Ten Tuesday posts I really enjoyed doing. I included brief explanations for some of them.

1. Seasonal TBRs like the one we did for the Summer of 2021 

I’ve learned about so many amazing upcoming books through my own research for these posts as well as by reading all of your responses to it!

2.  Favourite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading 

3. Goals and Hopes for 2021 

This was such a wholesome and uplifting way say goodbye to 2020 and usher in 2021.

4. Thanksgiving Freebies

5. Unpopular Bookish Opinions 

6. Audiobooks Freebie

I actually tried some audiobooks thanks in part to everyone’s responses to this post. While I still prefer reading to listening in most cases, there are definitely some advantages to audiobooks.

7. Authors Who Have a Fun Social Media Presence 

8. Halloween Freebies 

Halloween is my favourite holiday of the year, so I always get excited at the prospect of gushing about it for Top Ten Tuesday.

As you may have already figured out, I also love freebie posts in general. There are creative responses to them every single time.

9. Outrageous Things I’ve Done for the Love of Books

10. First Ten Books I Reviewed 

What have been some of your favourite TTT topics?

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Here are the books I’m looking forward to reading this autumn.

My TBR is always much longer than my actual reading time, so I’ll remain flexible as always as I wait to see what strikes my fancy and which titles have the shortest wait lists at the Toronto Public Library.

I try to schedule things so I always have at least a few books waiting to be read and some more that will soon be available.

There’s an art and a science to requesting library books in the right order to keep this steady stream of reading material flowing all year long.

Maybe someday I’ll write a full post about how I do that. Ha!

1. White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Why: Ms. Jackson is on the list of authors I always check out when they release new books. The paranormal elements of this storyline only make me more excited for it.

2. What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie 

Why: This is exactly the type of playfully scary story I would have loved as a kid!

3. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

Why: I had no idea that wild animals were charged for their “crimes” a few hundred years ago in certain jurisdictions! This is the sort of unusual history book that I love reading. You’d never find this sort of stuff in a traditional history class.

4. The Insiders  by Mark Oshiro 

Publication Date: Today

Why: I always dreamed of finding a hidden room when I was a kid.

5. The Days of Afrekete: A Novel  by Asali Solomon

Publication Date: October 19

Why: The comparison to Mrs. Dalloway intrigued me. I couldn’t get into it when I tried to read it as a teenager, but I’m hoping I’ll be old enough to enjoy both The Days of Afrekete and Mrs. Dalloway now that I’m an adult.

6 .The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu

Publication Date: November 2

Why: The blurb mentions that this is similar to Kim’s Convenience, one of my favourite sitcoms. Romance novels are usually out of character for my reading habits, but I’m totally happy to make exceptions to that general rule of thumb when something catches my fancy like this.

Everything else I’m looking forward to was already mentioned in the Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021 prompt back in June. I don’t know about all of you, but I like to leave plenty of space for last-minute additions and mood reading when I’m thinking about what to read in any given season. May we all have a wonderful autumn filled with books that are perfect for us.

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All of these books share three things in common: they have numbers in their titles, I’ve read them, and I’d recommend them to anyone who finds their blurbs interesting.

1. The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. 1984 by George Orwell

3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

4. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

6. The First Four Years (Little House, #9) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

7. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

8. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

9. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

10. Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis

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No, that isn’t me in the photo, but it does evoke all sorts of beautiful memories of reading outside on warm summer days.

This is one of those topics I could talk about all day. My list is a wonderful mishmash of genres and eras. I couldn’t be confined to just one small slice of the bookish world today.

Some stories are so amazing that I wish I could experience them again for the first time.

There’s nothing like the thrill of getting to know a well-rounded, beloved character or being delightfully surprised by a plot twist.

Rereading is lovely, but it’s never quite the same as experiencing those moments the first time.

1. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Why: The ending was spectacular. I spent years pondering it before the sequel was released and the television show explored what happened to Offred after that pivotal moment.

2. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Why: There are so many parallels between this futuristic version of Earth that was written in the 1990s and what we’re actually experiencing with climate change and political unrest today. It would have been fascinating to experience it for the first time as versions of so many of her predictions came true.

3. Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer

Why: The author’s depictions of aliens was astounding. They were nothing at all like any sentient creature found on Earth. That’s difficult for any writer to do, and I adored “meeting” characters who felt so otherworldly.

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Why: It’s my favourite classic novel. It’s filled with the sort of sturdy hope that can withstand the hardest times. I’ve returned to it through some of the most difficult portions of my own life, and it’s given me the courage to keep going when I need emotional support and encouragement.

5. The Deep by Rivers Solomon (My review)

Why: This is one of my favourite books of the twenty-first century so far. I know I discuss it regularly here, but it’s one of those stories that only becomes more meaningful over time. I keep going back to beautiful little details from the storyline that tied all of the plot twists together in ways I didn’t necessarily think twice about at the time.

6. The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

Why: Hagar was a fiercely unlikeable protagonist. If I were to meet her in real life, I’d be unflappably kind and polite to her while also feeling utter relief when she was no longer in my presence. With that being said, her character development was so excellent that she felt like a real person to me. There were good reasons for her cruel, vindictive, and emotionally abusive behaviour that I’ll leave for other readers to discover for themselves. That isn’t to excuse any form of abuse for any reason, only to say that sometimes people take their pain and fear out on others.  I think it’s a sign of amazing writing when one genuinely wants to learn more about someone as awful as this character.

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

Why: While the last few books in this series weren’t really my cup of tea, the first instalment had fabulous character and plot development. I’ve literally had dreams about living 30,000 years ago and doing all of the hunting, gathering, and other tasks necessary for survival that were explained in such exquisite detail here.

8.  Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (My review)

Why: The ending couldn’t have been better or more satisfying. I pictured every incredible moment of it in my mind as I was reading. It would be delightful to experience it again while we wait for the film version that is currently in the works.

9. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Why: It was written for an adult audience who sympathized with Valancy as she endured emotional abuse and mistreatment with little hope for rescue when we first meet her. As much as I loved Montgomery’s lighter works that were written for children like Anne of Green Gables, her stories for adults were where she truly shined. She didn’t sugarcoat Valancy’s predicament in the least, and yet she still found a multitude of ways to show her audience how to survive when it seems like one’s difficult circumstances have no hope of improvement.

10. Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (My review)

Why: The ending was incredible. It left me yearning for more, and I still wonder what might have happened to the main character as she became an adult. I will continue hoping for a sequel that explores her world in greater depth.

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This was one of those prompts that I was able to rapidly answer. There are so many incredible places to read in this world!

Here are my favourite spots to do so.

This isn’t my photo, but it does show how pretty Toronto is from the Toronto Islands.

1. At home in bed and right before bedtime. It’s a nice way to unwind and get ready to sleep.

2. While sitting on a bench at the park. (This generally doesn’t happen in the damp heat of the summer or the deep chill of the winter, though, for obvious reasons).

3. On a bench at the mall while waiting for my spouse to finish chatting with acquaintances.

4. After ordering at a restaurant.

5. In waiting rooms of any size, especially if I’m a little nervous about the appointment.

6. In an airplane seat after we’ve landed. There are certain portions of the flying experience that I honestly don’t enjoy very much at all, so reading is a lovely distraction while other passengers try to be the first ones off the plane. It’s more relaxing to walk off the plane without all of that jostling anyways.

7. With small children who enjoy having the grownups in their lives read aloud to them.

8. While waiting for the ferry to and from the Toronto Islands.  I like to look around at the beautiful Lake Ontario scenery when I’m actually on the ferry, but the wait to board it is generally long enough to get at least a chapter or two of reading time in.

9. When I’m peopled out. That is to say, I’m deeply introverted and also a little socially anxious at times. I love socializing, but there does come a time when I need to be alone and recharge. Reading is one of the ways I do exactly that.

10. In quiet reading rooms. My local libraries honestly aren’t all that quiet most of the time, but I have found a few other quiet places to read as well as figured out the best branches and times to try the library if other options don’t work out well.