Tag Archives: Top Ten Tuesday

July 2, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with My Favorite Color on the Cover


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Purple crocuses growing in a grassy field. They are gorgeous and vibrant little flowers. Purple is my favourite colour. Specifically, I prefer the darker and richer shades of this colour, although light purple can be pretty as well.

I originally tried to whittle down this list to books I’ve read that have purple covers, but there weren’t enough of them to continue down that path.

Therefore, I’m including books I have not read yet as well.

If you’ve read any of them, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!

 

 

Book cover for King Lear by William Shakespeare. Image on cover is dark purple and contains abstract lines that vaguely look like the edges of an antique book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. King Lear by William Shakespeare

 

Book cover for Swoon (Swoon, #1) by Nina Malkin. Image on cover shows a portion of the face of a young white woman who is lying down and looking up at something. Her eyes are shut and her lips are barely parted as if she were about to say something. The top three-quarters of this image shows a leafless tree against a dark purple background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Swoon (Swoon, #1) by Nina Malkin

 

Book cover for Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4) by Charlaine Harris. Image on cover shows a drawing of the main character, a young blonde white woman, being carried through the night sky by a Flying Vampire as a gigantic full moon looms behind them. They are floating over a graveyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4) by Charlaine Harris

 

Book cover for Caribbean Cruising by Rachel Hawthorne. Image on cover shows a drawing of a cruise ship in the distance. There is also a series of white dots that have been arranged into the shape of a heart on the lower portion of the cover. The heart covers most of the space and is the first thing the eye is drawn to when looking at this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Caribbean Cruising by Rachel Hawthorne

 

Book cover for The Alchymist's Cat (The Deptford Histories, #1) by Robin Jarvis. Image on cover show a drawing of a spirit grabbing the shoulders of an irritated orange cat. The cat is looking behind itself in shock that will probably soon turn to grumpiness. Beware, spirit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Alchymist’s Cat (The Deptford Histories, #1) by Robin Jarvis

 

Book cover for .Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath. Image on cover shows a drawing of a gold-covered object that has a purple crown carved into it. The edges of the object are curled into loops and swirls. The background of this piece is the same colour as the little crown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.Rejected Princesses: Tales of History’s Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

 

Book cover for I See/You Mean by Lucy R. Lippard. Image on cover is a drawing of dozens of little golden wavy lines against a dark purple background. They remind me of ripples in a pond or of how some tree branches stick out in various directions from the tree. I do not know if either of these interpretations are what the artist intended viewers to think about, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. I See/You Mean by Lucy R. Lippard

 

Book cover for The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Image on cover shows a drawing of a young black girl wearing a red sweater and sitting next to a window. Her back is a little hunched as if she were sad or uncertain. She is not looking out the window but straight ahead of her at the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

Book cover for Loveless by Alice Oseman. Image on cover is a black and white drawing of a person with chin-length straight har looking down at a heart in their hands. The heart is releasing dozens of tiny little hearts into the world. This is set against a light purple background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Loveless by Alice Oseman

 

Book cover for The Amateurs (The Amateurs, #1) by Sara Shepard. Image on cover shows drawing of two people looking down at the purple ground beneath them. The shadow of a third person looms into the scene as well. The title is shaped to look like fingerprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Amateurs (The Amateurs, #1) by Sara Shepard

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June 25, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Closeup photo of a pale-skinned woman with long, black, straight hair reading a book. She’s sitting outdoors next to grass that is partially green and partially brown and dry. It looks like grass that has gone dormant in the summer heat!It looks like this week’s list will be shorter than last week’s list was.

Here are some books I’m looking forward to that are coming out in the second half of this year.

While researching this post, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be as many books to choose from as usual.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe there will be some real treasures popping up in a month or two that just haven’t quite been announced yet.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

Book cover for Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks by Yuval Noah Harari. Image on cover shows a drawing of a pigeon-like bird standing still and facing to the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

Publication Date: September 10
Why I’m Interested: I love reading about how information spreads around as well as how it can change over time depending on the medium involved.

Book cover for The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister. Image on cover shows a drawing of the face, neck, and trunk of a young, pale, white woman who has a small pile of dirt on her neck. She does not look dead, just very pale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

 

Publication Date: October 1
Why I’m Interested: Occasionally, well-preserved bodies from a few thousand years ago will be found in the bogs in Europe. I find it so interesting to read about the things scientists have discovered about these societies and am interested in reading a fictional account of something that seems sort of related to this phenomena.

 

Book cover for Sally's Lament (A Twisted Tale) by Mari Mancusi. Image on cover shows a drawing of a young girl standing in a forest. She is bathed in shadow and only a dim outline of her body can be seen. At the bottom of the image you can see a small drawing from The Nightmare Before Christmas where the ground slowly unfurled as the protagonist walked on it. It was an iconic scene in that film that happened during one of the songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sally’s Lament (A Twisted Tale) by Mari Mancusi

Publication Date: October 8
Why I’m Interested: I liked The Nightmare Before Christmas when I was a kid and am curious to see what this retelling of it is like.

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June 18, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A adorable little figurine of a yellow rubber ducky who is sitting in a beach chair and reading a book. This figurine has been placed on a beach, and you can see a wave gently reaching the shore in the distance on this calm and sunny day. Look how many answers I came up with for this seasonal TBR post!

I often struggle with them due to being a mood reader and relying on my local library for the majority of what I read, so I was thrilled to see how long my list was this time.

Last summer was very smoky here in Ontario due to the massive wildfires burning across our country, and there were quite a few days when we were strongly encouraged to remain indoors due to the poor air quality. It’s been better so far this year, but thank goodness for books on days that are smoky!

I’m writing this post in advance while hoping that this June will have much cleaner air. Fingers crossed.

Book cover for The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez. Image on cover shows a series of seven images that look like stained glass windows. They show a skeleton doing things like dancing, singing, playing a trombone, and, at the top image, talking to someone who is still alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez

Why I’m Interested: I love ghost stories in general and enjoy them even more when they’re written from the perspective of the ghost herself.

Book cover for querade by O.O. Sangoyomi. Image on cover shows a drawing of a gorgeous African woman wearing a red dress and red headdress. She’s surrounded by large golden flowers. There is an elephant behind her, and its trunk is lightly hugging her legs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

Publication Date: July 2

Why I’m Interested: A retelling of Persephone set in Africa in the fifteenth century sounds amazing to me.

Book cover for querade by O.O. Sangoyomi. Image on cover is a comic-style drawing of a little orange cat who has a speech bubble above her head with the title written in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair (Library Binding) by Lucy Knisley

Publication Date: July 2
Why I’m Interested: Cats are fascinating to me. I can never be around them due to how terribly allergic I am to them, so books about them must suffice.

Book cover for We Carry the Sea in Our Hands by Janie Kim. Image on cover shows a stylized, oceanic-themed drawing of a pair of blue hands attempting to clasp a liquid swirl of gold and blue matter as it drains and disappears from view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. We Carry the Sea in Our Hands by Janie Kim

Publication Date: July 9

Why I’m Interested: I’m interested in books about foster care, adoption, and race. This book covers all three topics.

Book cover for  Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman. Image on cover shows a close-up photo of two ears of corn that have black kernels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch by Andrea Freeman

Publication Date: July 16

Why I’m Interested: It sounds fascinating.

Book cover for The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women's Movement by Susannah Gibson. Image on cover shows part of an old painting of a wealthy white woman who is wearing a flowing blue gown and holding a book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women’s Movement by Susannah Gibson

Publication Date: July 23

Why I’m Interested: This is a slice of history I don’t know much about.

Book cover for She Who Knows: Firespitter by Nnedi Okorafor. Image on cover shows a drawing of an African woman who is wearing an animal skull and vertebrae as a hat. Golden light is shining on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  She Who Knows: Firespitter by Nnedi Okorafor

Publication Date: August 20

Why I’m Interested: Ms. Okorafor has written some incredible stories, so I always check out her new stuff.

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June 11, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Bookish Wishes


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

My previous bookish wishes are as follow: Winter Solstice Bookish Wishes, Bookish Wishes, Bookish Wishes 2, Bookish Wishes 3.

As always, I do not wish to have any books purchased for me or to purchase books for others. Some of my wishes will be a little too esoteric for that, and the rest can be satisfied if anyone has a good recommendation or two for me.

Three flat, white stones stacked on top of each other on the perfectly smooth sand of a beach. You can see the lake or ocean water in the distance. 1. A Lighthearted Beach Read About Friendship

Romantic subplots are totally fine, but I’d prefer the main storyline to be about platonic relationships.

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume was one book in this genre I’ve previously enjoyed.

 

2. Nonfiction Books About Biology, Archeology, or Similar Subjects 

I love reading about science and living organisms whether the topic is hunter-gatherers from the distant past or how tree frogs are doing in 2024.

3. More Uninterrupted Time to Write 

It can be hard to concentrate again after you’ve been interrupted!

 

4. No More Writer’s Block

It has been slowing me down so much.

 

5. No More Forest Fires This Year

Canada’s forest fires were awful last year. Is it too much to ask for clean air to breathe while I read and write?

 

5. Dairy-Free Chocolate

Do I technically need it while I read and write? No, but it sure is enjoyable.

 

6. Stories About the Underdog Winning

They can be from any genre. I love seeing the little guy get justice  and prevail against nearly-impossible odds.

 

7. Short Stories

Almost all of the short stories I read are science fiction, fantasy, or horror, but I’ll branch out to many other genres: mystery, westerns, romance, etc. All I ask is that the tale itself is well written.

 

A photo of a black hardcover book lying on a forest floor in a patch of dirt. Maybe it’s next to a tree whose leaves are too numerous to allow grass to grow there? In the distance you can see the calm water of a pond. 8. Humorous Fiction

I am hoping to go to the beach this summer, and there’s nothing like reading something funny while the sun shines down on you and the seagulls fly in the distance. It’s so relaxing.

 

9. Spanish Media

I have diligently been studying Spanish these past couple of years. If you have a favourite Spanish picture book, song, or tv show to recommend, I’d love to check it out.

 

10. Quiet Reading Time

Maybe I’ll go somewhere outdoors to get it?

 

 

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June 4, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Had Very Strong Emotions About


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A photo of the arm of a pale-skinned person who is holding two balloons against some beige drapes. Both balloons are yellow. One shows a kissing face emoji and the other shows the emoji whose eyes have been replaced with two little red hearts. What a cute scene!Interestingly enough, the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge topic for tomorrow is about books that are tearjerkers.

To balance that out, today I will list some books that made me laugh. If you are in the mood for a humorous read, go check out these titles if you haven’t read them already.

1.The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, #1) by Douglas Adams

2. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett

3. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

5. I Am America by Stephen Colbert

(No, you do not need to be American or have ever been to the United States of America to enjoy this satire!)

6. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

7. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

 

 

 

 

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May 28, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Surreal painting of a little pale-skinned person sitting on the edge of a pond with their legs hanging over the water while the sky above is dark but there is a pale blue light over the horizon. The light in the sky is brighter than the moon but dimmer than the sun. You can see a reflection of it in the pond, although it is partially distorted by ripples in the water. The pond is set on a hill, and you can see two more hills behind it. Is this set at dusk or dawn? Why is the person wearing a hat but not a jacket? Why are they alone so close to the water and at such a lonely time of day? I own ebook copies of all of these titles, but there are so many incredible books out there that I have not yet managed to read anything from this list yet.

Part of the problem is that my attention span isn’t as long as it was when I was a kid.

I tend to gravitate towards short stories, novellas, and short novels these days instead of mostly reading regular to long novels like I did back then.

Maybe Toronto will have a lot of thunderstorms this summer?

I find I’m more interested in digging into something full length if the weather outside isn’t conducive to doing something active there instead.

It’s hard to remain cooped up inside on a pleasant, sunny day.

At least half of these recommendations came from my friend Berthold Gambrel, so I’ll tip my cap to him for recommending them. If you love talking about indie books or older films, he’s a great person to follow. Just tell him that Lydia sent you over to say hello. 🙂 

 

 

Book cover for Vander’s Magic Carpet by Patrick Prescott. Image on cover is a photograph of train tracks taken at night. You can see what might be the light of an oncoming train at the very edge of the cover. Then again, maybe it’s moonlight instead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Vander’s Magic Carpet by Patrick Prescott

Why I’m Interested: Patrick is an Internet friend of mine, and I’ve been curious about this story of revenge and magic carpets for a long time.

Book cover for The Devil and the Wolf by Richard Pastore. Image on cover shows a sketch of two people, one in a blue suit and one in a red suit whose colour fades to grey at the shoulders, walking down a grey path and towards the head of an enormous blue-grey wolf that looks like it is about to devour them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Devil and the Wolf by Richard L. Pastore

Why I’m Interested: This sounds hilarious. Richard is another Internet friend of mine I’ve gotten to know well over the years.

 

An Assortment of Rejected Futures by Noah Goats. Image on cover is a photo of the branches of a leafless tree against a starry night sky. It appears to be dusk or dawn as the sky is purple instead of plain black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. An Assortment of Rejected Futures by Noah Goats

Why I’m Interested: I love both reading and writing short stories. They can be so entertaining and memorable.

 

Book cover for The Left Hand of Dog - an Extremely Silly Tale of Alien Abduction by Si Clarke. Image on cover shows the silhoutte of a person and a medium-sized leashed dog standing on a hill and admiring the night sky. Curiously enough, there is a gigantic purple, blue, and pink teapot in the sky that is pouring some extra light into the sky through its spout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Left Hand of Dog – an Extremely Silly Tale of Alien Abduction by Si Clarke

Why I’m Interested: Silly science fiction about aliens? Sign me up!

 

 

Book cover for Born of the Sun: A novel of human ancestors by Peter Munford. Image on cover shows a drawing of a large leg bone lying on cracked and dried red soil. The sun is setting over this desert scene, but it still feels unbearably hot and dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.Born of the Sun: A novel of human ancestors by Peter Munford

 

Why I’m Interested: I love reading about prehistory and the various hominids that have lived on Earth. This is set about 2 million years ago, so it could be quite interesting to compare how people are now to how pre-human species were back then.

 

Book cover for A Reconciliation With Death by Cody Ray George. Image on cover shows a drawing of a short-haired person sitting on a couch and looking wistfully through the blinds at the world outside. Have they finally decided to try to heal from their trauma, maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. A Reconciliation With Death by Cody Ray George

Why I’m Interested: So many post-apocalyptic books end before their characters have any chance at all to begin recovering from what they’ve endured. I relish the thought of reading something that acknowledges that a terrible plague happened but then speeds forward to see how the characters recover from it. Healing is vastly underrated in speculative fiction in my opinion.  We need more hope in the world.

 

Book cover for Little House on the Wasteland by Laura Ingalls-Wei, Amanda Platsis (Illustrator), Christopher McElwain (Translator). Image on cover is a drawing of the characters from Little House on the Prairie but in a futuristic postapocalyptic setting. They are walking down an abandoned road and keeping an eye out for trouble. This scene is framed by a torn and decaying white and red gingham curtain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Little House on the Wasteland by Laura Ingalls-Wei, Amanda Platsis (Illustrator), Christopher McElwain (Translator)

Why I’m Interested: Horror and Laura Ingalls Wilder are two things I’d never think to blend together, but the people I know who read this book really loved it. I need to find out for myself how such wildly different styles of writing can improve each other.

 

Book cover for American Chimera by H.R.R Gorman. Image on cover shows a gold scarab beetle against a gold and brown background. The beetle looks like it’s a toy or a pin instead of a real beetle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. American Chimera by H.R.R Gorman

Why I’m Interested: Chimeras are fascinating.

Book cover for Roach by Liz Boysha. Image on cover is a drawing of a red, winged, six-legged insect. It is nothing like any roach I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Roach by Liz Boysha

Why I’m Interested: People turning into bugs in stories is one thing…but a roach turning into a person? This could be really good.

 

Book cover for Born in a Treacherous time (Dawn of Humanity #1) by Jacqui Murray. image on cover shows a drawing of a long-haired person holding a spear and a wolf striding confidently towards the viewer. Behind them is a mammoth who has been superimposed onto the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Born in a Treacherous time (Dawn of Humanity #1) by Jacqui Murray

Why I’m Interested: As mentioned earlier, I love reading stories set in prehistory. This one is set 1.8 million years ago, a time period I have not read as much about as I have other time periods. Here’s hoping it’s an exciting and educational read.

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May 14, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes About Science


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

A male Asian scientist wearing a face mask and peering through a microscope at something on a slide. Perhaps he is looking at a highly infectious disease?While all of my book reviews on this blog are about the speculative fiction genre, I read many other genres as well.

Nonfiction is a particular favourite of mine. It’s exciting to learn about everything from prehistory to astronomy to the latest medical breakthroughs in books.

Here are ten bookish quotes about science.

“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”
― Stephen Hawking

 

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions.”
― Claude Levi-Strauss

 

“Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.”
― Werner Heisenberg, Across the Frontiers

 

“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

 

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”
― Alan Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence

 

“I penetrated the outer cell membrane with a nanosyringe.”
“You poked it with a stick?”
“No!” I said. “Well. Yes. But it was a scientific poke with a very scientific stick.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

 

“In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.”
― Jane Goodall

 

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.

{Speech accepting the John Burroughs Medal}”
― Rachel Carson

 

“It takes a fearless, unflinching love and deep humility to accept the universe as it is. The most effective way he knew to accomplish that, the most powerful tool at his disposal, was the scientific method, which over time winnows out deception. It can’t give you absolute truth because science is a permanent revolution, always subject to revision, but it can give you successive approximations of reality.”
― Ann Druyan

 

If you’ve read any great books about any branch of science lately, I’d love to hear about them!

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May 7, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books About Dandelions


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

When I was a child, it used to irritate me when people tried to prevent dandelions from growing or said negative things about this flower. Dandelions were the perfect flower in my mind for three reasons:

Photo of dozens of pretty little dandelions growing in a grassy meadow. 1) They are hardy and strong. In many parts of North America you can find them growing everywhere without any intervention or pampering needed by humans: ditches, rock gardens, by the side of the highway, in neglected yards, and anywhere else that had the bare minimum amount of soil, sunshine, and water.

2) They are nutritious. You can eat them, turn them into beverages like dandelion wine, or use them as medicine.

3) They are beautiful. I loved every stage of their development, from  unobtrusive little green shoots in the spring soil to friendly specks of yellow in a sea of grass to irresistible white puffs of seeds that would be blown off by the wind if people didn’t do it first.

There is something wonderful about plants that thrive under a wide variety of conditions and that have so many uses.

Here are ten books about dandelions.

1. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

2. Dandelion and Quince: Exploring the Wide World of Unusual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs by Michelle McKenzie

3. The Dandelion’s Tale by Kevin Sheehan

4.An Island in a Green Sea by Mabel Esther Allan

5. Andersen’s Fairy Tales / Johnny Crow’s Garden by Hans Christian Andersen

6. Dandelion, The Extraordinary Life of a Misfit by Sheelagh Mawe

7. Wicket and the Dandelion Warriors: An Ewok Adventure by Larry Weinberg

8. Ta by John Robert Russell

9. Little Dandelion Seeds the World by Julia Richardson

10. Barney Bipple’s Magic Dandelions by Carol Chapman

 

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April 30, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Petty Reasons You’ve DNF’d a Book Or Reduced Its Rating


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The phrase Game Over is written in bright neon lights.

I will not be sharing the names of any authors or titles in this post as I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.

1. They didn’t know the difference between hay and straw. 

Straw is used for animal bedding while hay is used for animal feed. If an author tries to feed nothing but straw to their cows, the poor creatures will not receive the nutrients they need to survive and I will not continue reading that tale!

 

2. They introduced way too many characters in the first chapter. 

I get overwhelmed by these things. By all means have dozens of characters if needed, but give me some time to take note of who they are before bringing more folks into the fold.

 

3. There is a terribly judgemental protagonist.

Realistically flawed main characters are so much more interesting to read about than perfect ones, but I quickly lose interest in protagonists in most cases if their main flaw is harshly judging other people. This is true even if I happen to agree that X is generally a good thing to do or that Y is generally not a good thing to do.

I’d rather have more love and acceptance in the world and in fiction.

 

4. The plot includes a love triangle.

I’m completely burnt out on this trope.

 

5. Character names are difficult to pronounce due to inconsistent spelling or pronunciation rules

If their names have been spelled or pronounced in ways that do not make sense or vary a lot from one name to the next, that is not the book for me unless the author is doing it on purpose and clearly explains why there are no consistent rules about such things in that universe. This is something that happens most often in the fantasy genre in my experience. I wish it didn’t happen so often.

 

6. Driving or walking distances are wildly unrealistic

If your character plans to drive from one side of Toronto to the other in a couple of hours, especially during rush hour or a blizzard when traffic is painfully slow and driving time can be much, much longer than that, I will shake my head and decline to read any further. There is no world in which this happens unless you’re writing a Star Trek novel and there’s a transporter involved.

Toronto is huge and full of congestion and construction projects for most of the year. The rest of time, it is almost always snowing, sleeting, or raining heavily. Characters who wish to speedily reach their destination through my city should either travel at two in the morning in January when there is zero precipitation or avoid this part of the world altogether.

 

7.  Anyone other than an antagonist is rude to someone to the service industry.

There are plenty of other ways to show a character is having a bad day and not being themselves when necessary. Rudeness, especially to folks who are often treated unkindly in real life and who make far too little money for all of their hard work, is not something I want to read about.

 

8. The pet dies.

Fictional pets should be immortal if you ask me!

 

9. Too many sex scenes.

It’s totally fine to include them if they’re an integral part of the storyline.

I’d prefer to replace the rest of them with scenes that are funny, dramatic, or propel the plot forward. Alternatively, the book could also be just a little shorter and that would be perfectly okay.

 

10. Text talk.

Unless there’s an excellent reason for a character to write or speak this way, I’d prefer them to communicate in full sentences or something close to that. They can use as much slang as the author wishes (although that can make a book feel dated pretty fast if you’re not careful), I just want them to speak or write in a way that doesn’t substitute numbers for letters or shorten words for no logical reason.

 

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April 23, 2024 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Four shelves of library books that are stacked neatly but with their spines facing away from the viewer. The shelves are labelled from 3B at the top left all the way down to 7C to the bottom right, although I do not know what those numbers and letters signify. This is going to be one of those weeks when I give more than ten answers. It will help to make up for the weeks when I fall far short of that goal.

As I’ve mentioned here before, most of the books I read come from my local library for practical, environmental, and frugal reasons.

Depending on how many ebooks my library has ordered, this could mean that I might immediately be able to download a book from them, be one of the first people on the waitlist for the next available copy, or, in some cases, have a few weeks or months to go until one is available for me.

I don’t mind waiting for books. It increases my anticipation for my next great read and helps the librarians show just how popular certain titles are. They are often able to order more copies if the waitlists stretch out so long that the people at the bottom of them can expect to wait for several months to years at the current pace.

Usually, the most popular titles either already have plenty of copies of them circulating or will soon see a huge increase in how many of them are available to borrow that will reduce my wait time from several years to a few months or several months to a couple of weeks.

Here are the books on my hold shelf that have long waitlists.

Book cover for Antarctica by Claire Keegan. Image on cover shows a photograph a white woman with long, wavy hair wearing a light summer dress with spaghetti straps on it. She’s crouching down and touching the water below her gently. There is a blue filter on this photo that makes everything look cold and possibly even icy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Antarctica by Claire Keegan

Waiting Since: February 20

Why I’m Interested: She’s on my must-read list. I love her descriptive writing style and realistic storylines.

 

Book cover for The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe. Image on cover shows a red sleeveless dress and two white sheets hanging to dry on an outdoor clothesline. There is a wicker clothes basket partially hidden by the dress and sheets, but with the wind blowing everything around we get a glimpse of it. The grass below is growing tall, and there is a thick forest behind this scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe

Waiting Since: March 5

Why I’m Interested: Canadian fiction often isn’t as well-advertised as all of the books published down south in the U.S., so I make a concerted effort to seek out non-American authors and stories as much as possible. This seems like a nice slice-of-life read.

 

Book cover for Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport. Image on cover shows a painting of a pine forest with a river running through it. The land has been tinted pink by the setting sun filtering through the puffy white clouds in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport

Waiting Since: March 20

Why I’m Interested: This is something I struggle with and hope to improve within myself.

 

Book cover for The Lost Sounds by Chris Watson. Image on cover shows a drawing of a brown bird that has a white chest. Its head is lifted up as if it has begun or soon will begin to sing. You can see a full moon in the background against the night sky. Why aren’t you sleeping, little bird?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The Lost Sounds by Chris Watson

Waiting Since: March 26

Why I’m Interested: Birds are such fascinating creatures. I’m waiting for the audiobook version of this book so I can hear all sorts of beautiful bird songs from the U.K. that (I’m assuming?) we probably don’t get to enjoy very often here in Canada.

 

Book cover for To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower. Image on cover shows a painting of a white woman wearing a 1900s-style white blouse and floor length green skirt. She is pushing a bicycle on a dusty country road as her brown satchel hangs from the handle bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Waiting Since: April 3

Why I’m Interested: Did you know that Orville and Wilbur Wright had a sister named Katherine? I did not, but now I’m curious to read this cozy mystery about her. Is it at all historically accurate? Will there be airplanes in it? I have no idea, but trying new things is worth it in my opinion.

 

Book cover for Lewis Carroll’s Guide for Insomniacs by Lewis Carroll. Image on cover shows a drawing of a rabbit wearing striped pyjamas and standing up with a puzzled expression on his face as he holds a pocket watch as far away from his legs as he possibly can. He appears to be the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Lewis Carroll’s Guide for Insomniacs by Lewis Carroll

Waiting Since: April 9

Why I’m Interested: I sometimes have trouble falling back asleep at night and I love Caroll’s work.

 

Book cover for The Wisdom of Nurses: Stories of Grit From the Front Lines by Amie Archibald-Varley, Sara Fung. Image on cover is a photo of a blue stethoscope lying on a white surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The Wisdom of Nurses: Stories of Grit From the Front Lines by Amie Archibald-Varley, Sara Fung

Waiting Since: April 9

Why I’m Interested: Some of my relatives work in the healthcare field. I have a great deal of respect for anyone in that profession and love dipping into memoirs and similar sorts of books about their experiences.

 

Book cover for The Laundryman’s Boy: A Novel by Edward Y.C. Lee. Image on cover shows a drawing of a black shirt hanging on a clotheslines in front of a red sky filled with yellow stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.The Laundryman’s Boy: A Novel by Edward Y.C. Lee

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: Mr. Lee is another Canadian author I’ve added to my TBR. The writing in the short preview I read was gorgeous, and I’m quite curious to learn more about the protagonist, a young Chinese immigrant who dreams of leaving his exploitative job and continuing his education.

 

Book cover for The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu. Image on the cover is a drawing of a Minotaur on the left hand of the figure and a human head on the right. The human’s face is shown in silhoutte, but the Minotaur’s face looked like a maze instead of having any discernible features.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. The Minotaur at Calle Lanza by Zito Madu

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: This travel memoir set in Italy in 2020 sounds like such a poignant read.

 

Book cover for A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland. Image on cover shows a closeup of a person’s chest. The person has long, straight brown hair that is covering much of their chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: This is a title I mentioned in the Spring 2024 TBR List post back in March. The Selkie Wife is a wonderful folk tale, so I’m thrilled that I’m a little closer to (finally!) being able to read this retelling of it now.

 

Book cover for Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal. Image on cover is a drwaing of two Native people. One is holding a fan made from bird feathers and the other one has a bird feather in their hair and is pointing at the sun above them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: When I was in school, I learned very little about Native American history before the arrival of people from Europe and other continents. I’m hoping this book will help to change that and fill in some gaps in my historical knowledge.

 

Book cover for Health for All: A Doctor's Prescription for a Healthier Canada by Jane Philpott. Image on cover shows a drawing of hundreds of people who have been arranged into an image that looks like two hands that are about to shake each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada by Jane Philpott

Waiting Since: April 17

Why I’m Interested: Canada has Universal Health Care, but our system isn’t funded as much as it should be given our growing and aging population. I am so curious to read this doctor’s perspective on the best ways to ensure that everyone gets the healthcare they need and that healthcare workers are treated fairly and given the tools to succeed as well.

 

Book cover for Microskills: Small Actions, Big Imact by Adaira Landry, Resa E. Lewiss. There is no image on the cover. Microskills is in a large white font and the rest of the title is in a smaller yellow font. There is a blue background, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact by Adaira Landry, Resa E. Lewiss

Waiting Since: April 19

Why I’m Interested: I have seen some evidence of this working in my life with topics like setting fitness goals, but I want to learn more about it.

 

Wish me luck as I wait my turn for these titles! I’d love to hear your thoughts on them if you’ve already read them, too.

If you have a local library that you use, how long are the waitlists there for new and popular books?

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