Top Ten Tuesday: Books with the Word “Triangle” in the Title


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I thought I’d challenge myself and see how this week’s prompt would go with a word I don’t associate with books or reading at all: triangle. Surprisingly, there were quite a few titles to choose from. Here are ten of them.

1. The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps
by Heinz Heger, David Fernbach

2. It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self by Hilary Jacobs Hendel

3. Be a Triangle: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life into Shape by Lilly Singh

4. The Greedy Triangle (Brainy Day Books) by Marilyn Burns, Syd Hoff, Gordon Silveria

5. Deadly Triangle: The Famous Architect, His Wife, Their Chauffeur, and Murder Most Foul by Susan Goldenberg

6. The Truth About Triangles by Michael Leali

7. Triangle (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Imzadi #2) by Peter David

8. The Girl in the Triangle by Joyana Peters

9. The Triangle: A Year on the Ground with New York’s Bloods and Crips by Kevin Deutsch

10. The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein, William Greider

Wasn’t this a nice assortment of genres and themes? What books have you read with the word triangle in their titles?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Surprised Me (in a good or bad way)

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Generally speaking, I know what I’m getting into when I pick up a book.  But sometimes, I’m surprised.  Mostly pleasantly, but sometimes, not.  There are always going to be a few stinkers out there, right?

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.  The characters and their diverse backstories were fantastic.  She has a way of bringing you right into the story and making you feel like you lived during the time.  I also loved how she managed to seamlessly weave the stories of so many characters together into one cohesive narrative.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.  This is the only one on the list that disappointed me in a big way.  Rebecca, by the same author, is highly regarded as a classic, so I thought this would be as well.  I was wrong – I was bored and annoyed through the whole story.

Meet Me on the Bridge by Sarah J. Harris.   I was wary of this one at first because any sort of time travel story has the potential to go off the rails in a big way.  However, this author is a master plotter in the way that she mapped out each alternate reality and fit them together perfectly.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi.  I adore John Scalzi – he’s hilarious and has a way of finding the most inconceivable scenarios and bringing them to life.  I knew I was going to enjoy this book, but I had not expected the rollercoaster of emotions that came along with it.  Shock, surprise, joy, and so much heartbreak.

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser.  I grew up with the Little House books (and TV series) and had always thought I knew the truth of her life.  This book has opened my eyes and gave me so much insight into what she really went through.  In addition, it explores her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and the life of Rose as well.  All things that you didn’t get in the children’s books.

Hunter’s Moon by Dana Stabenow.   I was on Reddit one afternoon and accidentally spoiled myself on this series.  I mean, I had no idea that the Kate Shugak series was going to pop up on r/askreddit!  However, since I was aware that she was about to murder my second favorite character in the series, it still hit me in the gut.  I cried and I yelled and I was overall sad for everyone involved.  But the thing that surprised me was how badly I wanted to start the next book, to see what came after and to make sure everyone was (eventually) okay.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab.  I had randomly picked this as a buddy read for myself and a friend.  I figured it was your typical fantasy novel and was taken aback by how unlike regular fantasy it was.  The two main characters, despite being complete opposites, fit together perfectly.  And I love the idea of three different Londons and being able to travel between them.

Ayode on Top by Richard Ayode.   My travel partner suggested this audiobook for our road trip last year.  “But first,” she told me, “we have to watch this movie – View From the Top.”  Because apparently, this audiobook was the author’s recap and critique of the movie itself.  It sounds odd, and it really is, but man was it hilarious.  His observations and commentary are top notch.  Oh, and the movie’s not half bad either.

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench.  I had thought this was just going to be fun little reminisces about her time performing, but it was so much more.  A character study, a peek backstage, a look into her life and how Shakespeare shaped it.  Bonus: it drove me to go see two different plays the same year I read it.

Murder in the Family by Cara Black.  I had had this book suggested to me by a friend who’d seen it on Instagram.  I love when a book mixes things like texts, emails, and news clippings in amongst the regular story, but it has to be done right for it to work.  This book not only did it right, but took the mixed media approach to the next level.

What’s on your list this week?  Have you read any of these and did they surprise you in the same way they did me?

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Springy Covers

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I live in an area where spring is essentially non-existent and, because I mostly read books with a darker theme, I had to get creative with today’s topic.  So, what I decided to do was log into Netgalley and surf through the available requests to see what I could find.  And what I wound up with was a mixed bag of springy-nearly summery book covers.

And to my credit, I didn’t request a single one!  Well, minus the upcoming Isabel Cañas book, but that doesn’t count since its cover is very much not spring-like in nature.

The Scent of a Romance by T. Atkins

An Italian Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack

The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn

The Meet Cute by Isobel Mahon

A New Arrival in Port Berry by K.T. Dady

Over the Sea to Skye by Sue Moorcroft

Miri Lives in the Cat’s Eyes by Taiga Shiki

Full Bloom by Francesca Serritella

The Lost Book of First Loves by RaeAnne Thayne

The Sweet Life by Debbie Mason

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are ten books I’m looking forward to checking out this spring. Some of these titles have already been released, and I’m including the publication dates for the rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Woodworking  by Emily St. James 

Why I Want to Read It: Being closeted in a rural area is difficult, and I like reading stories about characters who figure out how to make it work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Why I Want to Read It: Faeries are always interesting to read about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett

Why I Want to Read It: It’s been a while since I read anything that had clowns in it. How fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. rekt by Alex Gonzalez

Publication Date: March 25

Why I Want to Read It: Some parts of the Internet can be dangerous, especially for people who are already struggling. I’m rooting for the protagonist already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson

Publication Date: March 25

Why I Want to Read It: I need more cozy fantasy in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

Publication Date: April 1

Why I Want to Read It: Ms. Jimenez has been on my TBR list for so long that now I have multiple books from her I want to read. One of these days I will finally read her work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin

Publication Date: April 22

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds deliciously scary.

 

(This cover was too large to upload, but the link below will show it).

8. The Names by Florence Knapp

Publication Date: May 6

Why I Want to Read It: I love books that give a character some sort of dilemma in an early scene and then split off into different timelines to show how each decision would affect their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Old School Indian  by Aaron John Curtis

Publication Date: May 6

Why I Want to Read It: Characters who spend their last few weeks looking back at their lives can have such profound things to say about what’s really important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang

Publication Date: May 13

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve sometimes wondered how the world would be different if everyone was capable of feeling deep empathy for others. Would it change the harmful decisions people can make?

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Things Characters Have Said


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week let’s take a look at some things characters have said about happiness. Our world needs more happiness in it!

1. “There’s nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

2. “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

 

3. “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.”
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

 

4. “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

 

5. “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

 

6. “And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon.”
Edward Lear, The Owl and the Pussycat

 

7. “I know that’s what people say– you’ll get over it. I’d say it, too. But I know it’s not true. Oh, youll be happy again, never fear. But you won’t forget. Every time you fall in love it will be because something in the man reminds you of him.”
Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 

8. “Laughter is poison to fear.”
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

 

9. We should always make time for the things we like. If we don’t, we might forget how to be happy.”
T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea

 

10. “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”
Carlos Castaneda

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Another Time


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week I am talking about books set in the past. Specifically, these are pieces of historical fiction I’d like to read someday!

1. World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2) by Ken Follett

2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

4. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

5. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

6. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

7. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

8. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

9. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

10. Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

If you like historical fiction, what are some of your favorite stories in that genre?

Top Ten Tuesday: Love Freebie

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic is a love freebie, so I thought I’d go with some of my favorite book couples, both romantic and otherwise.  Because sometimes, the friendships are better than the romances.

  1. Sloan McPherson and Scott Hughes from Andrew Mayne’s Underwater Investigation Unit series. Sloan and Scott had a bit of a stiff relationship at first, but as the books progress, they really do lean into each other’s personality quirks. And I swear, if Sloan and her long-time boyfriend, Run, weren’t so cute together, and if Scott wasn’t married, I’d hardcore ship these two.
  2. Stephanie Plum and Lula from Janet Evanovich’s Plum series. The things these two get themselves into sometimes! But no matter what, they’ve always got each other’s back.  Mostly.  Sometimes.  As long as there isn’t a TastyKake there to distract them.
  3. Grace Tilbury and Roland Percy from Lynn Morrison and Anne Radcliffe’s Crown Jewels Regency Mystery series. For the time period, Roland gives Grace a lot of space to do her thing, even when it puts her in danger. He’s a great friend and partner and will hopefully make her a fantastic husband.
  4. Arleta, Doli, and Jez from J. Penner’s Ardenashire series. These three are total opposites, but somehow, their friendship just works. I’d love to have friends like these.
  5. Mickey Haller and Lorna from Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series. Lorna is Mickey’s second ex-wife, but also the office manager of his law firm. Add to that, she’s dating Cisco, Mickey’s investigator, and you’d think it’d be tense.  But it’s not.  They’re like the cutest divorced couple ever.
  6. Kate Shugak and Jack Morgan from Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series. Kate’s reluctant when it comes to love, but Jack is determined. They work so well together that I hate when they’re forced to be apart.  And the way Jack’s teenaged son takes to Kate, you just know they’re meant to be.
  7. Stevie Cartwright and Crispin Allastair Winterbottom, aka Win, from Dakota Cassidy’s Witchless in Seattle series. Win and Stevie go through so much, starting on day one, that you can’t help but root for their love story. Especially when you consider that Win is, well, a ghost.
  8. Juliet Langley and Ryder Hamilton from Caroline Fardig’s Java Jive Mysteries. They have such a rollercoaster ride of a relationship – from enemies, to lovers, to friends and back – that you often don’t know where they’ll end up. But through it all, they stay sassy and entertaining.
  9. Luc and Oliver from Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. What starts as fake dating becomes something so much more. There’s a lot of angst in this book, but it only makes their falling in love that much sweeter for me.
  10. Jess Harris and Dan Burnett from Debra Webb’s Faces of Evil series. This is honestly one of my all-time favorite series and the second chance romance between Jess and Dan is steaming hot. They have years of history, not all of it good, but they confront it and find a way past it.

What about you?  Have you read any of these series?  What are some of your favorites?

Top Ten Tuesday: 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Making TBR lists is so much easier than reading the books on them!

It’s sort of like having a meal that consists of all of your favorite foods.

The temptation to put more food on your plate than can easily fit into your stomach is strong.

Luckily, books don’t spoil if you put off reading them until your literary appetite returns.

Here are some of the 2024 releases I previously blogged about for Long and Short Reviews, have not read yet, but do hope to read eventually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Eruption by Michael Crichton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Januaries by Olivie Blake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. You Like It Darker by Stephen King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Somewhere Beyond the Sea (The House in the Cerulean Sea, #2)  by T.J. Klune

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I always try and find new authors every year.  Some years, I do better than others, but 2024 was a great year for finding new favorite authors.  Over the year, I read 15 new authors, and that’s with having read approximately 110 books total.

Here are a few of my new-to-me authors and the books that got me hooked on them:

Travis BaldreeLegends & Lattes

Cait NaryLucky Bounce

Agatha ChristieThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Sarah Beth DurstThe Lies Among Us

Christina EstesOff the Air

Sally RigbyDeadly Games

Holly GramazioThe Husbands

Ngozi UkazuCheck Please! Volume 1

J. PennerBakers & Magic

V. E. SchwabA Darker Shade of Magic

Have you read any of these authors?  And yes, I know, at my age, I should not only just now be reading Agatha Christie…

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I enjoy the challenge of doing this annual post so soon after the winter TBR post. It encourages me to keep looking for books and try not to repeat any of them.

In lieu of adding a stock photo to this post, I’ll let the book covers speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao 

Release Date: January 14

Why I’m Interested: Magical realism and cozy mysteries are two genres I’d like to read more of this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Three Wild Dogs by Markus Zusak

Release Date: January 25

Why I’m Interested: I love stories about rescue dogs finding good homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry

Release Date: January 28

Why I’m Interested: This is a slice of history I knew nothing about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.Under the Same Stars  by Libba Bray

Release Date: February 4

Why I’m Interested: Multiple-timeline stories are so interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Release Date: March 4

Why I’m Interested: March seems like a great month to read a novella about the dangers and joys of interacting with the Fae. This is a time of year where the weather swings rapidly where I live. It can be mildly warm and sunny in the morning only for a snowstorm or ice storm to hit in the afternoon, for example. Likewise, faeries can be just as unpredictable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Malinalli by Veronica Chap

Release Date: April 11

Why I’m Interested: This is not a legend I was already aware of, so I’ll have to read it before checking out the retelling. I enjoy comparing originals to retelling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig

 Release Date: April 29

Why I’m Interested: One of my favorite newer urban legends is the one about staircases in the woods and the terrible things that will happen to you if you find one and climb it. Wendig is also one of those authors I try to read but then get too scared and DNF his work. Maybe this time I can actually make it to the end?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis

Release Date: May 6

Why I’m Interested: It’s refreshing to read books about people finding healing at the end of their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Release Date: May 29

Why I’m Interested: I only know a little about this topic and would like to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner

Release Date: June 24

Why I’m Interested: Once again, I don’t know if this will be too scary for me, but I’d like to give it a try.