Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the Top Ten Books I’m Worried I Won’t Love As Much The Second Time Around. To sort out this list, I decided to start with my 5* rated books on Goodreads and consider if I read it again, would I still give it that same rating… I primarily chose books that I looked at and went, “I gave that 5 stars?!” After that, I considered books whose plots I couldn’t fully remember, or ones when all of the ending and suspense has been ruined because I already know what’s coming next!

If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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1. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan – For some reason, I must have been so swept up in the sadness of this story to give in 5*. However, I’m not totally sure I could actually tell you what happens in it if you asked me to summarise the plot…
   
2. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks – I remember reading this as part of our A-Level English coursework. At the time, I think I was carried away with the sadness of it amongst all of the other war literature we were reading at the time. I wonder if I’d feel the same way about it all these years later after reading so many other precious books.
   
3. American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis – I can’t for the life of me wonder why I gave this 5*, perhaps because it was so brutal and it shocked me into it? I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s one of those cheerful, enjoying reads! 😂
   
4. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo – I have no memory of this book which makes me quite sad as I love Leigh Bardugo’s writing so much!
   
5. The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles – Another tragic story?! Maybe I was just going through a particular phase in my life when reading some of these books and giving them 5* ratings – or maybe it was the Meryl Streep factor!
   
6. The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth – In my introduction to YA lit, I was hyped over this trilogy, I’m not sure if I’d still feel the same way about revisiting it now, especially after the release of the films as well.
   
7. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse – Remembering back to my first read of this book, I think I had to get to around p.400 of 700 just to get hooked into it. I wonder if I did a reread whether I’d have the patience to stick it out for that long again or whether it would be a rare DNF!
   
8. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith – If I read this again, I’m not sure I’d give it a full 5* rating – and I already know whodunnit so it won’t come as too much of a shock.
   
9. Everless by Sara Holland – I was so bowled over by the concept of blood relating to time in this novel. I remember feeling a little let down by the sequel so perhaps I wouldn’t love this first book so much knowing that the follow-up isn’t as great.
   
10. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black – Another book that I’m a little sad to add to this list. I love The Folk of the Air trilogy so much and I can’t fully remember what happened in this.

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That’s it! My Top Ten books which I’m worried I might not love as much the second time round. Have you read any of these selections? Which books are you a little daunted to read again for fear that you may not love it as much? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the Top Ten Weird / Funny things I’ve googled thanks to a book. This was submitted by Astilbe @ Long and Short Reviews and I’m not going to lie – this was a seriously difficult post to write. I’m pretty sure I’ve done this more times than I think I have, however I just can’t remember them so apologies if you don’t get a full 10 things from me this week. If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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1. How did Virginia Woolf die? I was reading The Hours by Michael Cunningham which is based on author Virginia Woolf and some of her most popular characters. The opening scene retells the story of Virginia Woolf’s suicide, and some weird part of me just had to google if that was actually how/what had happened. It was a brilliant story though, incredibly moving!
   
2. The Silver Swan Automaton – Several years ago, I became captivated by the story of a bird automaton which was a central plot device in Peter Carey’s novel The Chemistry of Tears. I was so intrigued by this object that when googling it, I found out that it was actually based upon a real automaton of a silver swan which eats fish from a glass pool. It’s such a remarkable creation and can be found at The Bowes Museum which is near Durham in the North of England. It’s a little too far away for a day trip but I’m certainly hoping I’ll be able to see it one day.

3. Willie Lincoln’s death and the bardo – This one came when I was reading the book Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I had no idea that a bardo is a buddhist or tibetan reference to the state of purgatory between death and rebirth. I was also intrigued to see how much of the references to Willie Lincoln’s death were also true.
   
4. Who has died on a toilet? A particular character’s death at the end of George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords had me wickedly chuckling to myself; it reminded me that I had heard about Elvis Presley dying whilst on/in the toilet – so of course, I had to google it and find out the internet’s version of the truth!
   
5. Passetto di Borgo – I love a good conspiracy theory so I could probably have filled up this list with those kinds of things, however I remember reading one of the Robert Langdon adventures in Dan’s Brown’s books and having to investigate whether there was definitely a pentagram at Castel Sant’angelo and a secret passageway linking to the Vatican. Whilst the pentagram was added for the effects of the books and movies, the passageway is real. Known as the Passetto di Borgo, it was used as an evacuation / escape route for Pope Clement VII in 1527.
   
6. Mother, Maiden and Crone – I tried to find out more about the history / symbology of these when reading The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow.
   
7. Las Ramblas & The Cemetery of Forgotten Books – I’m a huge fan of Carlos Ruiz Zafôn’s work so upon discovering the fictional Cemetery of Forgotten Books, I had to google Barcelona’s Las Ramblas area to see if such a place did exist. It’s a city that remains high on my travel bucketlist!
   
8. Elizabeth de Munck’s Grave – Whilst reading Robert Galbraith’s The Ink Black Heart, I became fixated with the gravestones in Highgate Cemetery (a featured location within the novel), but particularly the grave of Elizabeth de Munck which is notable for its pelican imagery and symbolism. I then went on to visit the graveyard in a later trip to London, just to see it for myself!

9. Paper Towns – After falling in love with Graham Greene’s novel Paper Towns, I became intrigued with the concept of what a paper town is and did a whole big google search about existing paper towns today – with digital technology it’s becoming a bit of a past-time, however it would still be fun to find one on a map!
   
10. The Secret (treasure hunt) – If you’re not new to my blog, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of treasure hunts. A couple of years ago, I became hooked on a mysterious podcast called ‘Rabbits’ which had an accompanying novel linked to the show. In it was referenced a real life treasure hunt hosted by Bryon Preiss called ‘The Secret’ where 12 treasure boxes have been hidden across the US and Canada. Clues to the locations are in a book published The Secret by Preiss and as of yet, only 3 of the 12 boxes have been discovered. If I ended up winning the lottery, cracking these codes and finding these boxes would probably become my new full-time occupation! I’m borderline obsessed! 😂

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That’s it! My Top Ten weird / funny things I’ve googled thanks to books – lots of death, gothic, macabre and grave references…?! Have you read any of the books these selections have come from? What are some of your own weird and wonderful bookish google confessions? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the Top Ten Covers or Titles with Things Found in Nature. This was submitted by Jessica @ a GREAT read and was a really intriguing list to compile – I loved the Nature focus and I was surprised at how many of my books had references to nature on their titles and/or covers. To narrow my list down to just 10 I decided to focus on books that had nature in both the title and the cover. If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain by Amy Jeffs

Congo by Michael Crichton

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

Wicked Like A Wildfire by Lana Popovic

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Given to the Sea & Given to the Earth by Mindy McGinnis

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That’s it! My Top Ten books with covers and titles of things found in nature. Have you read any of these selections? Do you like images of nature on your book covers? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is Top Ten Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had. This suggestion was by Cathy @WhatCathyReadNext and it is brilliant! I must say, I had so much fun putting this post together and thinking of lots of different bookish powers. Once I’d thought of a few, others just kept popping into my head and it was eventually quite tricky to narrow it down to just 10! I wish some of these powers existed in real life!! If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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Word Apparition

So I kind of had a thought, and then coined it ‘word apparition‘… hear me out! You know when you’re listening to an audiobook and all of a sudden the narrator will read a character name or a place in the world and you have no idea how it would be spelled or what it would look like on a page? Well with the bookish superpower ‘word apparition’, the word that you’re puzzled over would magically appear in front of your eyes, like a little purple cloud so that you’d know what it actually looks like on the page. This would be really helpful to me currently as I am listening to Rin Chupeco’s The Bone Witch and I can guarantee that my ingrained English spelling rules would be butchering some of the amazing place and character names in Chupeco’s world! 🙈

Knowledge Absorption

I read The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean last year and although it’s not particularly a unique concept, the idea to absorb knowledge by eating a book is really appealing to me. To start with, I’d be ingesting some of my cookbooks so I could remember my favourite recipes by heart. Also, imagine how much of an asset you would be on a pub quiz team if you could pretty much ingest all of the knowledge and facts that you want!!

Floating / Weightless Physical Books

Sometimes I really wish that the book I’m reading could just float around in the air in front of me so that I could read and have both hands free to be doing a job or task at the same time. Also, if my book is weightless and floating, my nose won’t be so bruised from constantly dropping books on my face when I’m falling to sleep reading.

Automatic e-book and audiobook editions

I really wish that when you buy a book from the bookshop, there’s a code inside so that you could download it as an e-book and an audio edition as well, rather than having to pay for all three format separately – that way I have all the access I need to my current read whatever I’m doing and wherever I am!

Astral Projection Reading Self

One of me could go to work, socialise, do adulting things… the astral projection part of me can stay at home reading! All. Day. Long! 💜

The Honey I Shrunk The Kids Ray Gun

Too many books and not enough shelf space…? With the shrink ray gun from Honey I Shrunk The Kids, bookish storage problems be solved! I’d shrink down my entire book collection into a cute range of miniatures for my shelves, and then blow them back up to normal size when I wanted to read them.

A Faster Reading Speed

Sometimes, I really wish I could read quicker, but without losing the enjoyment and understanding of the book. I can skim when I need to, but sometimes I don’t feel like I’ve really retained what I’ve actually read and other times, I’m so engrossed and loving my book that I want to savour every word.

Mary Poppins’ Carpet Bag OR Hermione’s weightless extension charm

One of my beloved English teachers always told me to carry a book with you. Therefore, I am always guilty of carrying a physical book around with me everywhere I go, regardless of its size (Crescent City was a mission to haul around!). Imagine all the books you could take away on holiday or carry around with you if you had Mary Poppins’ Carpet Bag or that amazing beaded bag Hermione has in the Deathly Hallows with the weightless extension charm on it – I would never have a capacity or weightlifting problem ever again!

A Portal to my own never-ending library

I was totally thinking of the Library in Beauty and Beast when I was writing this. Unfortunately, I don’t live in a magical castle with said library, however if I had a portal to take me to my own never-ending library which didn’t actually occupy any physical square footage in my house, that would make my heart sing with joy!

The Ability to Read Every Book Ever Written

I had this idea when I was younger (and obviously, so incredibly naive!), that I could read every book that had ever been published since time began! And yes, whilst some of those books may be incredibly boring and totally mundane – I imagine that there will be some absolute masterpieces along the way which I never would have discovered otherwise! Also, imagine the bragging rights if you’d read every book that ever existed! 😂

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That’s it! My Top Ten Bookish Superpowers That I Wish I Had. Would you want any of these skills? What bookish superpowers would make it onto your own list? Feel free to leave your own Top Ten Tuesday posts below so I can visit. As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a Love Freebie to celebrate Valentine’s Day so I have decided to compile the Top Ten Books That Made Me Swoon. These are books that have absolutely melted my heart! It could be for the romance element, the divine world that I wish I could visit, the quirks and obscene attention to details that has my eyes popping out of their head… the list is endless – either way, these ten reads captured a very special place in my heart! If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Would it be one of my Top Ten Tuesday lists without one of SJM’s books?! Out of the Maas Multiverse, ACOMAF is the one that hit me in the feels the absolute hardest! The journey Feyre goes through here… if you know, you know! 👀

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing was my second read of 2024. I went into it without any preconceived ideas, however I was impeccably aware of ‘the hype’. I was definitely not ready to love it as much as I did and Iron Flame will almost certainly make its way off my TBR within the next few months!

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

I’ve seen Divine Rivals on so many lists and memes this past month and it rightly deserves its place here – February is the month of love after all, and Divine Rivals was one of my favourite reads of 2023. What I appreciated about this story was the way the romance element felt like it was gradually able to evolve. It wasn’t instalove and it wasn’t overladen with lots of smut and explicit scenes. It was so tenderly done that I really champion Iris and Roman as one of my favourite bookish couples.

The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley

Clare Pooley has such a brilliant knack for writing about a group of misfit strangers and bringing them together into a tight-knit friendship group. This novel has such a feel-good and uplifting quality that you can’t help but smile after reading the final pages.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Emily Henry knows how to write in a way that makes me feel almost every emotion possible within just one story! Love her!

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

The sheer whimsical cuteness of this read really drew me in. It’s so thrillingly quirky and adorable whilst dealing with undertaking and death…?!

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

From the vivid descriptions of the Carolina marshlands, to the way I was so captivated by Kya’s vulnerabilities – this book took the concept of a whodunnit to a new, more subtle level.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The swoonworthiness in this book comes from my absolute adoration of all things easter egg and treasure hunt! If you could post-it note every 80s pop culture reference that Cline writes into this book, you’d have more post-it notes than deaths in a Game of Throne novel…

The Lonely Hearts Travel Club: Destination Thailand by Katy Colins

A total chick-lit guilty pleasure, the thing I loved most about this book was the sheer sense of wanderlust it invoked within me. These literary descriptions of Thailand had me wanting to hop on a plane ASAP!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Before you start questioning my sanity about why this is on my list about books which make me swoon, let me just confess that sometimes… I really enjoy books which make me have a damn good cry! There’s something so cathartic about it, as if it makes you feel a bit more self-affirming about your own life. Lou and Will’s relationship had me sobbing for hours, days even! A heartbreaking read!

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That’s it! My Top Ten books that made me swoon and melted my heart. What are your favourite swoonworthy books? How are you compiling your Love Freebie Top Ten Tuesday list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! How is your week going so far? This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is Top Ten Quick Reads, books to read when time is short or even books which can be devoured in just one sitting. After scrolling through my virtual bookshelf (a.k.a. Goodreads), I’ve gone for a mixture of my favourite short books, novellas, graphic novels and cover-to-cover in one day reads! If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

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The Assassin’s Blade novellas by Sarah J Maas

It wouldn’t be a short reads post without mentioning this collection of novellas from one of my all-time favourite authors / series / fantasy worlds… (the SJM love is real over here)! I read these novellas before actually starting Throne of Glass itself and I found that they were a brilliant introduction to whole world of Erilea. I love the way each of the the threads in these stories is interwoven and tied together later on in the series.

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Narrative verse always intrigues me and Dean Atta created such a beautiful transformation story in the Black Flamingo. It’s quick to make your way through the story, but the impact it leaves upon you will stay with you for a long time afterwards.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Not a novella or a short story by far, but I did devour this whole book, cover to cover, in just one day. I think I possibly even started reading the first pages in the actual bookshop, then continued it on the car ride home. This series appeals to my treasure-hunting soul!

The Once Upon A Con novellas by Ashely Poston

The Geekerella universe is one that I wish would be brought to life as a TV series adaptation. I started listening to them as audiobooks and became captivated with the characters and their stories – I’m convince Starfield is a real TV show! As soon as I had finished the main series, I found the novellas on Ashley Poston’s website and quickly made my way through them in one fell swoop.

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

I’m not terribly big into graphic novels, but once I saw the exquisite art design and Greek mythology references, these volumes fast became on my purchase list. Lore Olympus originally started as a webtoon, and I’ve tried my absolute hardest not to read ahead as the colours in the artwork are so vibrant that I feel the need to see them in print rather than on a screen.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Poetry by William Blake

William Blake is one of my all-time favourite poets. I remember studying this volume of his poetry in school and becoming overwhelmed by the amount of imagery, foreshadowing and hidden meanings within his collection. The perfect anthology to dip in and out of, as well as offering a contrast between the light and the dark.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Fantasy and Fairytales feel like my life’s blood; I even wrote my Dissertation on Sleeping Beauty. Angela Carter’s Bloody Chamber occupies a ‘forever-space’ on my bookshelf; it offers my brain both the magical elements of the childhood fairy stories I grew up with, mixed with the dark, twisted mind-bending tales that make my head spin as an adult.

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafôn

I could have chosen any/all of Zafôn’s short stories or novellas to put in this list, but The Prince of the Mist was my favourite. The eerie clown statue inside a six-pointed star, the abandoned mansion house… Zafôn is an expert at taking creepy symbology and plot lines and turning it into an ethereal, yet lyrical page-turner. His way of story-telling borders on an art-form.

Useless Magic by Florence Welch

Since Dog Days Are Over first came pounding into my ears way back in 2008, Florence + the Machine have been my no.1 desert island disc band. If I were at all into tattoos, Florence’s lyrics would be inked all over my body! So it pretty much goes without saying that a book of lyrics and poems by Florence would make this list. Not only is it a quick read, but you can come back to it time and time again, although I defy you to try reading the lyrics without trying to make it fit to the music! I fail every time!

Spies by Michael Frayn

This entry feels a little like a cheat entry. As I normally read full-on novels, I really struggled trying to find a book that was either a novella or a one-sitting read that I had enjoyed enough to put into my top ten of faves. Whilst at the time, I didn’t read Spies in one go, I’m pretty convinced that I could. It has always been a tale which had me intrigued whilst reading, and the relationship between the boys against the backdrop of wartime had me guessing at things which were a little inconceivable. It’s a story which has stayed with me ever since first reading it in high school.

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That’s it! My Top Ten quick reads, one-sitting reads, or books to read when time is short. What have been your favourite one-sitting page turners or novellas? Do you like mixing up your reading with poetry anthologies or graphic novels? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Hey Bibliofriends,

Happy Tuesday! I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday post!

If you don’t already know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is all about new-to-me authors that I started reading in 2023. I had to rack my brains for this one a little bit and cycle back through last year’s reads to get the full ten!

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Michael Crichton

2023 was the year I finally read Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton! I loved his writing style so much that my partner suggested we try and find a copy of his other novel Congo. We went on a mini treasure hunt around our local charity shops and second hand book stores coming away with a little stack of Crichton’s other works. Don’t be surprised if you see them on my 2024 Reading Wrap at the end of the year!

Katharine McGee

I’ve already explained how I came across the American Royals arc in a second-hand book shop and fell in love with the series, and although I haven’t read any other of McGee’s stories, I love the humour and with she weaves into her characters. One of my friends just gave me American Royals Book 3 and I’m really excited to see where the series goes.

Elizabeth Acevedo

I met Elizabeth Acevedo at a Literature Event last year. She was so sweet and funny so I bought a stack of her books in the signing tent. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative verse style of her writing in The Poet X and thought that the way she merged Dominican Republic heritage with sisterly bonds in Clap When You Land was really special. Her new novel Family Lore is on my 2024 TBR.

Rebecca Ross

I know Rebecca Ross has written some quite well known fantasy stories, but the first time I experienced her writing was with Divine Rivals! I’m so glad I did as this book was totally worth the hype!

Kelly Barnhill

Again, I’ve already mentioned in other posts how much I loved When Women Were Dragons, but I didn’t quite realise just how many other stories Kelly Barnhill has written. I’m intrigued by two of her other books (The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Crane Husband). They will definitely be on my Audible search-list this year – unless I take myself off a book buying ban first! 😂

Mariely Lares

Lares’ Mexican history fantasy Sun of Blood and Ruin had me swooning! For starters, the cover was divine, but also I’m really fascinated by Mesoamerican mythology so this was right up my street! There’s definitely going to be a sequel to Pantera’s tale and I can’t wait to see how Lares brings her pages to life next.

Adrienne Young

Adrienne Young is one of those authors who has always been on my radar, I’ve just never really picked up any of her work. I adored the undersea and nautical elements of the Fable series (World of the Narrows). Young crafted such a adventurous storyline that I’ll absolutely be reading more of her work in the future.

Roshani Chokshi

Chokshi is another author who has quite a well-know repertoire that I just haven’t picked up. I discovered The Last Tale of the Flower Bride in one of my Fairyloot boxes and loved the way she built her worlds and her characters with a little dark and magical mystery.

Paolo Coelho

I’ve had The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho on my TBR for such a long time as it’s one of those ‘1001 books to read before you die’ type novel. His writing style is quite profound and I can imagine he brings that that style into the rest of his works.

Gabrielle Zevin

I had Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. Again, I wasn’t really aware just how much Zevin had published before her most recent book became a major bestseller.

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That’s it! My Top Ten new-to-me authors that I discovered in 2023. Which new-to-you authors would make your list? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx