My 2015 Favorites

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Top Ten Books I read in 2015

This is a little strange for me.  I looked back over all the books I have read this year (91 out of my 115 goal-oh well), and I realize there was no rhythm or reason to my book selections in 2015.  I think I might want to change that in 2016!

So here are the books I enjoyed reading the most.

 A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

It by Stephen King

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

At the Waters Edge by Sara Gruen

Top Ten Tuesday- a wish list

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Well- it is supposed to be Top Ten Debut Novels I am Looking forward to, but since I usually don’t even know when I am reading a debut novel, I find it hard to look forward to any.

Instead I am going to do an older topic that I never did –

Top Ten Books I’d want on a deserted island with me

Most of the books I picked are pretty long, since I will have so much time on my hands

Books I have read before and LOVE-

1.Gone With the Wind

2.  Pride & Prejudice

3.  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

4.  The Harry Potter Series

5. The Silmarillion

Books I have NOT read before but really want to (and will be forced to on a deserted island)

6.  Out of Africa

7.  East of Eden

8.  The Count of Monte Cristo

9.  Wuthering Heights

10.  The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

(I have actually read a few of his plays, but not much)

A Thankful Top Ten

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

A Thanksgiving Freebie

I am going to just throw out a list of things I am thankful for! And pay no mind to the order!

1.My Dogs

No matter what else is going on, they are ALWAYS happy to see me.  They always want to sit with me in companionable silence.  Yes, I know- I feed them.  When you have teenagers, you know how important it is to have someone be happy that you’re around.

2.  My Kids

I know I bitch about them, but I love them and they are pretty awesome.  Can’t wait until they are about 21 and become human again.

3.  My Husband

Very cliche, but he IS my best friend and the person that makes me happiest.

4.  Books

I guess you would think this goes with our saying, but I just find them amazing.  They pull me into so many new and wonderful stories.  New worlds, and new people are just behind the cover.

5.  Harry Potter

I love knowing that if I ever run out of books to read at any given time(not likely) I can reread my favorites.  This can also be said for The Lord of the Rings.

6.  My Ceiling Fan

As I get older, I value this more.

7.  My Body

I have begun to train with weights, mainly because I am getting older and my body is weakening.  Last year I strained my MCL while skiing.  I am glad I have begun taking better care of it and that it is responding in kind.  It’s like we have a little understanding.

8.  My Family

Mine and my husband’s.  They are pretty crazy and can be annoying, but they are ours.  Plus, who would we make fun of without them?

9.  My Reading Chair

I fit perfectly in it.  It is like sitting in a soft hug.

10.  Winter

I will regret this in 3 months I am sure, but I love it.  Skiing, crockpot dinners, Sunday football, the holidays- I love it all.

What are you Thankful for?

What’s on my fall TBR? A Top Ten List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is-

Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR List

1.This Little Life by Hanya Yanighara

One of the books on the Booker Man short list.

2.  The Lake House by Kate Morton

Love the author!

3. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

I am loving this series.

4. Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Still on the TBR

5. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

I am actually a little afraid to tackle this- maybe a better winter book?

6. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

This was the book club pick at the school my kids go to.  Should be interesting since the host is a science teacher.

7. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I still haven’t read this!

8.  She’s Not There by P.J. Parrish

I just read a review and it looks fun.

9.  A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

-another Booker Man short list book

10. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

(this seems to be eternally on my TBR)

Feminist Literature 101- a Top Ten List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is

Freebie!

So I picked a topic that I missed-

Top Ten books on my syllabus if I taught Feminist Literature 101

1. Elizabeth Bennnet

Lizzie is a feminist for all times.  She refuses to marry for anytime but love.  She is strong, wise, and dignified.  She has her own opinions, and apologizes for her mistakes.

“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”

2. Jo March

An intelligent, king, funny woman.  She also refuses to rely on a man for anything but love.  Her family means everything, but she will leave it behind to find herself.

“Some books are so familiar that reading them is like coming home again.”

3. Jean Louise (Scout) Finch

Scout is a marvelous balance of innocence and dignity.  She has amazing role models in her life, though men, not women.  She struggle to do the right thing and to be true to herself.

“I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.”

4. Scarlett O’Hara

I know-not what you think of when you think feminist, but in a time when woman were thought to be nothing more than simpering fools, Scarlett takes charge of her life and others.  She is made or iron, and while I and Many others cringe at some of her choices, she is the one actually making them.

“Ooh, if I just wasn’t a lady, WHAT wouldn’t I tell that varmint.”

“Well, I guess I’ve done murder. I won’t think about that now. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

5. Hermione Granger

I love Hermione and am so glad so many young girls got to read an amazing series that featured such a strong female character.  She is brave, intelligent, and loyal.  I must admit I was secretly a little disappointed she ended up with Ron and not Harry, but I won’t say that too loud.

“Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl!”

6. Lisbeth Salander

Again, not what we think of for a feminist, but she actually is a neo feminist.  She fights back against a society she fells treats women like second class citizens.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of fight in the dog.”

7. Katniss Everdeen

Unfriendly and untrusting of most, she is strong, and fiercely loyal.  She does what she thinks is right, not always what might be best.

“If he wants me broken, then I will have to be whole.”

8. Eowyn of the House of Eorl

In the very male heavy The Lord of the Rings, we have Eowyn as the standout female.  She is a shieldmaiden and a noble woman of Rohan, who disguises herself as a man to follow the warriors into battle rather than be left behind.  In this disguise she slays the Witch King of Angmar to protect her Lord and uncle Theoden.

“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

Fictional Bookworms- a Top Ten List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is

Top Ten Characters that are Book Nerds

1.  Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series

2.  Jo March from Little Women

3.  Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird

4.  Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice

5.  Matilda Wormwood from Matilda

6.  A.J. Fiery from The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

7.  Daniel Sempere and 8. Fermin Romero de Torres from The Shadow of the Wind

9.  Liesyl Meminger from The Book Thief

10.  Anne Wilkes from Misery

Look What I Just Got!- A Top Ten List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

 The Last Ten Books to Come Into My Possession

It’s a pretty random list, including books from an indie bookstore, my local library, bought on my kindle, and received as ARCs.

1.  The Mapmaker’s Children

2.  Circling the Sun

3.  Eight Hundred Grapes

4.  If I Could Turn Back Time

5.  In Wilderness

6.  Code Name Verity

7.  The Dog Stars

8.  My Cousin Rachel

9.  The Light Between the Oceans

10.  The Remains of the Day

No Big Deal- Top Ten Hyped Books I Never Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is

Top ten Hyped Books I Never Read

1.  The Secret History

I could never (tried 3 times) get into this book.

2.  Outlander

I have it.  In paper back.  Which is too small for my old eyes to read!

3.  Moby Dick

No interest.

4.  Wuthering Heights

See #2.

5.  All the Light We Cannot See

I actually started it and put it down.  I busted wasn’t in the right frame of mind

6.  On The Road

See #3.

7.  The Catcher in the Rye.

I was supposed to read it in high school.  Hello, Cliff Notes.  Plus, I though Holden was an ass.

8.  The Alchemist

I have it.  I read 3 pages and put it down.

9. Me Before You  and  10.  East of Eden

I have them.  I bought them at my library’s book sale.  I have no excuses for not reading them

I Can’t Wait! A Top Ten List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is

Top Ten Mostly Anticipated New Releases

1.  Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.

1.  Finders Keepers by Stephen King

A masterful, intensely suspenseful novel about a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes far too far—a book about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes King introduced in Mr. Mercedes.

3.  Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham

Sebastian Rudd is one of John Grisham’s most colorful, outrageous, and vividly drawn characters yet. Gritty, witty, and impossible to put down, Rogue Lawyer showcases the master of the legal thriller at his very best.

4.  No Better Friend by Robert Weintraub

Flight technician Frank Williams and Judy, a purebred pointer, met in the most unlikely of places: a World War II internment camp in the Pacific. Judy was a fiercely loyal dog, with a keen sense for who was friend and who was foe, and the pair’s relationship deepened throughout their captivity. When the prisoners suffered beatings, Judy would repeatedly risk her life to intervene. She survived bombings and other near-death experiences and became a beacon not only for Frank but for all the men, who saw in her survival a flicker of hope for their own.

5.  The Rumor by Elin Hildebrand

A friendship is tested in this irresistible page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. 

6.  The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz

In this adrenaline-charged thriller, genius-hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist face a dangerous new threat and must again join forces. 

7.  Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

A breakout novel from an author who “positively shines with wisdom and intelligence” (Jonathan Tropper, This Is Where I leave You). “Laura Dave writes with humor and insight about relationships in all their complexity, whether she’s describing siblings or fiancés or a couple long-married. Eight Hundred Grapesis a captivating story about the power of family, the limitations of love, and what becomes of a life’s work”

8.  The Truth According to Us by Anne Barrow

From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right






Toes in the sand- a Top Ten List

4 Comments

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely ladies over there give us book bloggers wonderful and fun topics to create our lists! Check out what others have posted by going over there!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

This week’s topic is

Top Ten Books I want in my beach bag this summer.

I am supposed to be celebrating my 20th anniversary during our beach vacation, so I might not get a ton of reading in, but here is what I thought looks good-

1.  Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

2.  Finder’s Keepers by Stephen King

3.  Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

4.  Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

5. The Rumor by Elin Hildebrand

6.  Summerlong by Dean Bakopoulos

7.  The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy

8.  Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner