Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books I Hope to Receive for Christmas.  This is a pretty easy list to make as I can always think of more books I’d love to read!

The Flame Bearer (The Last Kingdom #10) by Bernard Cornwell-Definitely one of my favorite series!

The Winter King (The Warlord Chronicles #1) by Bernard Cornwell-Since I’ve enjoyed The Last Kingdom series so much, I’d like to read more of Bernard Cornwell’s work.  This one sounds intriguing!

Ross Poldark (The Poldark Saga #1) by Winston Graham-I really enjoyed the show, and now I want to read the books!  If you’ve read the books and seen the show, which do you prefer?

How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman-I absolutely loved her book How to Be Victorian, so I’m excited to read this one!

My Contrary Mary (Mary #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-I really loved the Janie series so I’m looking forward to trying this one!

Soul Taken (Mercy Thompson #13) by Patricia Briggs-Okay, so I’m cheating a bit by putting this on my list as it isn’t out yet, but it would be great if I could get it early!

Shatter the Earth (Cassandra Palmer #10) by Karen Chance-I’m so far behind in this series it isn’t even funny, but I’m collecting the books and will definitely get caught up!

Queen’s Gambit (Dorina Basarab #5)-I’m behind in this series too, but again, I will get caught up!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab-I’ve yet to read anything by V.E. Schwab.  I really need to fix that and this book sounds intriguing!

When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan-A friend recommended this.  It sounds interesting!

Have you read any of these?  If so, what did you think?  If not, do any of these pique your interest?  Merry Christmas!

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic was freebie.  Since Christmas is swiftly approaching, I decided to browse Goodreads in search of book covers featuring beautiful red, green, or gold dresses.  I’ve only read Beauty, so I can’t say if the others are good or not.  If you’ve ready any, let me know what you thought!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand-I love the deep red of this dress.  I’ve enjoyed the Lady Janies series so many I should give those authors individual work a look.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen-I’ve featured this cover before as it is so pretty!  I’ve not read it yet though.

Beauty by Robin Mckinley-A beautiful golden cover!

Rumors by Anna Godbersen-I know nothing about this series, but that is a gorgeous red dress!

Daughter of Silk by Linda Lee Chaikin-I love the green and gold of this cover.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder-A gold and red cover!

Once: Before Midnight/Golden/Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey-Such a gorgeous deep green.

The Lightkeeper’s Ball by Collen Coble-Another red and gold cover!

The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot-Red and green dresses on the same cover!  I also think this sounds intriguing.

Love’s Reckoning by Laura Frantz-I’ll end with this glowing cover.

Which cover was your favorite?  Have you read any of these?  If so, what would you recommend?

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week is all about Bookish Memories  I have many wonderful memories about books, so let’s get to the list!

One of my very earliest memories of reading is sitting on my mom’s lap in a rocking chair as a child.  She would have a stack of books on one side, and she read them, she’d set them on the other side.  When we made it through the stack, she’d start over again!

I’ll always remember going to the library as a child.  I’d go to the back section and check out the old, often overlooked books of fairy tales and myths from places all over the world.  I loved the feel and smell of the old pages.

Reading Little House in the Big Woods is another cherished memory.  My second grade class read it and did all sorts of activities associated with the book, like making butter and candy in the snow.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and it sparked my interest in history and historical fiction.

As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite book is Beauty by Robin McKinley.  I read it for the first time when I was in fourth grade.  I was browsing the school’s library (again seeking out old books of fairy tales) when the librarian recommended Beauty.  I loved it and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I’ll also never forget the first time I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  I was in seventh grade at the time and we read The Hobbit  and The Fellowship of the Ring as part of our class work.  I fell in love with Middle Earth and all the characters and adventure to be had.  My parents gave me the series for Christmas that year so I could finish it on my own.

Discovering Edgar Allan Poe was also memorable.  I had to memorize a poem for a Language Arts class, and as I was looking through my dad’s books, I stumbled upon his collection of Poe’s poetry.  The first one I read was Annabelle Lee.  It was so haunting and passionate!  It remains my favorite poem.  (Of course I then went on to discover Poe’s short stories!)

Interview with the Vampire was the first book with vampires I ever read.  My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time), was reading it.  We were in high school and he’d borrowed it from his older sister.  He had the book out one afternoon, and I started reading over his shoulder  It wasn’t long before I had the book.  I went on to read the rest of the series and to seek out more books with vampires.

Of course one of the great things about books is sharing them with others.  I’ve had a lot of fun discussing books with my husband and my friends.  However, the best memories are of sharing books with my children.  Snuggling with my kids under a blanket on the couch reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one memory that comes to mind as we’ll be heading into the Christmas season soon.

I had a lot of fun making this list and reminiscing! What is your favorite bookish memory?