Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Green Book Covers

March 17, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 52 Comments

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to everyone who celebrates it!

2. Beginners Welcome: A Moving Middle Grade Novel of Magical Realism and Hope After Loss for Kids (Ages 8-12)
by Cindy Baldwin

3. The Maid by Nita Prose

4. Harvey by Mary Chase

5. Euphorbia by Glyn Soitiño

6. Gods of Howl Mountain by Taylor Brown

7. The Brilliant Ideas of Lily Green by Lisa Siberry

8. Wish by Jake Smith

9. Otherwise Known as Possum by Maria D. Laso

10. Food Fight by Linda B. Davis

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Mysteries We Have Recently Reviewed

March 3, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 34 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are ten mysteries we’ve recently received at Long and Short Reviews. I enjoy seeing the wide variety of books that are included in this genre.

1. Smoldering Lies by LT Ryan

2. The Chilling by Riley James

3. The Killing Place by Kate Ellis

4. The Murder Book by Mark Billingham

5. From The Ashes by Damien Boyd

6. Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham

7. Ruff Justice by Tara Choate

8. Death Rocks by LJ Ross

9. Framed for Murder by Marla A. White

10. The Shadow Child by A. Williams

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Writing Quotes

February 24, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 38 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are ten quotes about writing that make me smile.

1. “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

2. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

3. “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
― Robert Frost

4. “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
― Anton Chekhov

5. “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”
― Stephen King

6. “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
― W. Somerset Maugham

7. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
― Pablo Picasso

8. “Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.”
― Jules Renard

9. “The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it.”
― Ernest Hemingway

10. “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Blog Hop, Quotes, Top Ten Tuesday, Writing Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers Featuring Cool/Pretty/Unique/etc. Typography

February 3, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 40 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I have not read most of these books, but I love their typography!

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

2. Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural by Marvin Kaye

3. Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz

4. Six Queer Things by Christopher St. John Sprigg

5. The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

6. Wax by Ethel Lina White

7. Pinocchio by Winshluss

8. Ceviche by Martin Morales

9. Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy, #1) by Tade Thompson

10. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Blog Hop, Books, Fonts, reading, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026

January 13, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 56 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

It amazes me that books have already been scheduled for publication this upcoming summer!

How far in advance publishers schedule these things?

If it’s not a season-specific title, how do they decide in which month a book should be published?

Sometimes I‘ve seen publication dates being pushed back by a few months, too, which is another mystery.

I don’t expect anyone reading this to know the answers to these questions, but it’s sure fun to think about.

These are ten of the titles I’m looking forward to reading in the first half of 2026.

1. She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Release Date: February 10

Why I Want to Read It: Vampire hunters are interesting to read about.

2. Shake Out the Ghosts by Al Hess

Release Date: March 10

Why I Want to Read It: I love a good ghost story.

3. Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton

Release Date: March 13

Why I Want to Read It: The playful title caught my attention.

4. Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

Release Date: March 24

Why I Want to Read It: How does Kingfisher write so quickly? I’m amazed and interested in seeing what this one is about.

5. Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

Release Date: April 21

Why I Want to Read It: Portal fiction often grabs my attention.

6. We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune

Release Date: April 28

Why I Want to Read It: Black holes are one of those natural phenomenon that truly scare me. I can’t imagine a happy ending for these characters, but maybe it will be a memorable one?

7. Young World by Soman Chainani

Release Date: May 5

Why I Want to Read It: The plot sounds like something from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pure silliness!

8. All Them Dogs by Djamel White

Release Date: May 19

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds dense, heavy, and thought provoking. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need to read.

9.The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

Release Date: June 2

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve enjoyed some of her previous books and hope this one is good, too.

10. Land: From the no. 1 bestselling author of Hamnet, a multigenerational epic of loss, hope and reunion (Audible Audio) by Maggie O’Farrell

Release Date: June 2

Why I Want to Read It: Hamnet is still on my TBR list, but this sounds like a great read as well.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: TBR Lists, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Books I Read in 2025

January 6, 2026 By Long and Short Reviews 70 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Here are my top ten books I read and reviewed for Long and Short Reviews last year. They all received five star ratings, and the links below will take you to my reviews of them.

1. The Pits: Life Literally Bit Me in the Ass (a memoir) by Cheryl Edwards

Genre: Memoir

2. Hauntings and Hoarfrost by Rhonda Parrish (editor)

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

3. Being Broken – Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse by Geoffrey R. Jonas

Genre: Memoir

4. Black as Hell, Strong as Death, Sweet as Love – A Coffee Travel Guide by Steven P. Unger

Genre: Non-Fiction

5. Bright Green Futures: 2024 by Susan Kaye Quinn, Editor

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

6. When the Squirrel Sings by Shana Hollowell

Genre: Children’s

7. Yes, I Am a Vampire by Stephen Kozeniewski

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

8. Menagerie in the Dark-Stories by Chris Kauzlarich

Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

9. Hotel Spacious by J.S. Frankel

Genre: Young Adult

10. The Spiral’s Edge by Michael Boss

Genre: Non-Fiction (Poetry)

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List

December 16, 2025 By Long and Short Reviews 58 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I don’t know about all of you, but I get so much more reading done when the weather is unpleasant than when it is warm and dry outside.

Winter is the perfect time to chip away at my TBR list as well as explore some new titles, too.

Here are ten books I’m looking forward to this winter.

If no release date is included, that book is already available to buy or maybe even to borrow from your local library depending on where you live.

1. The Word for World by Ursula K. Le Guin

Why I Want to Read It: There’s nothing like exploring maps in books.

2. Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann

Why I Want to Read It: While I’m not a fan of country music, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Dolly Parton and would like to learn more about her life.

3. Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez

Release Date: January 13

Why I Want to Read It: The plot sounds fast-paced and exciting.

4. Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra

Release Date: January 20

Why I Want to Read It: Anne Shirley is one of those characters I can never get enough of.

5. Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean

Release Date: February 3

Why I Want to Read It: This has such a sweet and romantic premise.

6. The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride

Release Date: February 3

Why I Want to Read It: Time travel and climate change fiction? Sign me up!

7. Everyday Movement by Gigi L. Leung

Release Date: February 10

Why I Want to Read It: My knowledge of Hong Kong’s history and social climate is limited, but maybe this will help fill in a few gaps even if it is fiction?

8. So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

Release Date: February 17

Why I Want to Read It: Friendship can be such a complicated topic, and I love reading about it.

9. Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

Release Date: February 17

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve known a few people who were incarcerated and think this is a group that is not featured often enough in most modern fiction, especially when it comes to former inmates who are trying to make better choices after their release.

10.The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Katrina Kwan

Release Date: February 24

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like a lighthearted read which is something I enjoy now and then.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: TBR Lists, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Picture Books About the New Year

December 2, 2025 By Long and Short Reviews 32 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Can you believe that we are less than a month away from 2026? Here are ten books about New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from a variety of cultures, not all of which actually begin their new year on January 1.

1. Happy Chinese New Year, Kai-lan! by Lauryn Silverhardt

2. Every Month Is a New Year: Celebrations around the World by Marilyn Singer

3. Shanté Keys and the New Year’s Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport

4. The Bravest Flute: A Story of Courage in the Mayan Tradition by Ann Grifalconi

5. Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller

6. What a Way to Start a New Year!: A Rosh Hashanah Story by Jacqueline Jules

7. Mademoiselle Grands Doigts: A Cajun New Year’s Eve Tale by Johnette Downing

8. Clifford’s Happy New Year by Norman Bridwell

9. Angelina Ice Skates by Katharine Holabird

10. The Night Before New Year’s by Natasha Wing

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: New Year's Day, New Year’s Eve, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes About Pie

November 25, 2025 By Long and Short Reviews 36 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Pie is the most delicious course of Thanksgiving dinner if you ask me! Here are ten quotes about pie.

1. “America has developed a pie tradition unequivocally and unapologetically at the sweet end of the scale, and at no time is this better demonstrated than at Thanksgiving.”
― Janet Clarkson, Pie: A Global History

2. “Pie is good any time of the day.”
― Kristin Hannah, Magic Hour

3. “There is no problem that can’t be solved with the help of a good carrot pie, my friend.”
― Anna Horbatenko, Bedtime Stories: Little Bunny and The Big Race

4. “Whoever put steak and kidneys together in a pie made a serious error in judgment. — Nick Snowbeard”
― Cinda Williams Chima, The Warrior Heir

5. “After going upstairs to visit her father, who had looked vastly pleased with himself and stoutly insisted the mincemeat pie would cause him no troubles whatsoever, Garrett went down to the front receiving room. She sat at the escritoire desk and sorted through correspondence, and picked at the slice of mincemeat pie Eliza had brought her. She could only manage a bite or two. She’d never been fond of sweet-and-savory dishes, and she’d certainly never shared her father’s fondness for this one. In her opinion, mincemeat pie was a jumble of ingredients that had never been meant to unite in one crust. It was a heavy, overpowering dish, entirely resistant to digestive enzymes.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Hello Stranger

6. “Mother took the pie out of the oven and it hissed fragrant apple, maple, cinnamon steam through the knife cuts in the top crust. She was making her world beautiful. She was making her world delicious. It could be done, and if anyone could do it, she could.”
― J.J. Brown, Death and the Dream

7. “Never ask a baker what went into a pie. Just eat.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

8. “I went to sit in the bus station and think this over. I ate another apple pie and ice cream; that’s
practically all I ate all the way across the country, I knew it was nutritious and it was delicious, of
course.”
― Jack Kerouac

9. “There were little triangles of coconut custard pie on a graham cracker crust for dessert, the best and sweetest thing…”
― Joe Hill

10. “Pie makes everybody happy.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, The Impossible Knife of Memory

What is your favorite dessert?

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: Quotes, Thanksgiving, Top Ten Tuesday