Top Ten Tuesday Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Hopes for 2021

By Brookelorren on January 12, 2021January 11, 202116 Comments

Hello! It’s another fine Tuesday in 2021. I hope it’s going well for you. Since it’s a new year, we can make new goals! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Most of my goals this year involve writing. Here they are!

Get an Agent: This is a goal that I don’t have complete control over. After all, you can never guarantee that someone will like your book enough to want to represent you. Even if they like your book, it might be too much like something they’re already representing, the market for that kind of book isn’t right, etc. But what I can do is submit my book to agents. I figure five a month is good. By the time I run out of agents to submit to, I’ll hopefully have another book ready to try again.

Finish (and publish) Saving Adelinetta: I started writing this Young Elites fanfic nearly five years ago. I wrote nearly 200 pages while watching the Rio Olympics. When I came back to it a couple years later, I felt it was awful. However, I worked on it and finally finished publishing part 2 of the book last week. Now I have to write and publish part 3. I’ve known how it was going to end from the very beginning. Since I started this book five years ago, I’ve become a better writer, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult to finish.

Write The Rift: I think I got the idea for this fanfic before Wildcard came out. I’ve always wondered why June’s name was June, even though he was born in July. If she had been due in June, she would have been way overdue since she was born on the 12th. This book is to answer that question, along with: why is Day’s family impoverished when his ancestor was the incredibly wealthy Asher Wing? I pretty much know how this story will end too. I started this book a couple years ago, but I didn’t like the beginning, so I’m planning on redoing it.

Rewrite Save the Best for Last: I wrote my second “novel” my senior year of high school (it was around 100 pages, so it was more like novella size). It was a best-friends-to-lovers story called Save the Best for Last. I haven’t seen it since high school, but I’m going to “rewrite” it. It will probably turn out completely different, but it will be similar. However, this version is going to be set in The Brightness of Shadow universe. I love being able to expand on this universe. When I created the world, I figured it was too big for just one story. This is actually the second of four stories I’ve thought up in this universe. I haven’t even written about the Walrus people yet! Maybe someday. I hope to write this book during NaNoWriMo this year.

Finish 1st Draft of NaNo20 Duology: I started this duology during NaNoWriMo last year, and am in the second part of the duology. Right now my muse is having me write the rest of Saving Adelinetta (it’s been long enough) but I hope to get this one done too. I’m hoping for a productive writing year!

Read 110 Books: This was my Goodreads goal for last year, and I barely made it. I’m setting this goal this year, and am allowing myself to include The Great Courses audio/video courses in the 110.

Finish Reading The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: This book is 3980 pages long. I’ve been reading it (although not actively the whole time) since September 2017. It’s time to finish it.

Finish the Duolingo Welsh Tree: I have finished the Spanish, German, French, and Portuguese trees. If I finish one skill a day, I can finish the Welsh tree in about three months. Why Welsh? Will Herondale speaks it. Actually, I started learning it a little before I started reading The Infernal Devices for the first time. But I might as well finish. I started learning it because it was kind of obscure, but I like it.

Increase My Zazzle Products: One of the things I’d like to do is increase my Zazzle products. Looking back on my first (now completed) ten-year journal, I realized I used to make hundreds of dollars a month from it. I stopped making products for several years, and this year I’d like to increase my products and make some money. I don’t plan on working on it for hours a day like I used to, but spending a little bit of time on it several times a week will help me make some money.

Do More Craft Projects: Something that brings me joy is creating things for people. I love when people read my stories (especially if they enjoy them). Sure, I like making money from my Zazzle products, but I also think it’s pretty cool that people have things in their homes (or are wearing shirts) that I created. I’m also kind of picky about the things I make though. If I wouldn’t want to buy it in the store, I wouldn’t want to make it either. Right now I’m making my first sweater. I’d like to make this Sherb later on this year. Perhaps I may finish that dolphin cross-stitch I’ve been working on.

So those are ten goals I have for the new year! So what are you hoping to accomplish this year? Next week’s topic is “Books I Meant to Read in 2020 But Didn’t Get To.” There really aren’t that many, so I’m going to do “Books that have been in the TBR Lottery the Longest” instead.

Upcoming Releases that Catch My Eye

By Brookelorren on January 5, 2021January 4, 202126 Comments

Hello! It’s Top Ten Tuesday again (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl), and we’re talking about upcoming releases. The official topic is “Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2021,” but I always find this topic difficult. Typically, I only have a few books in pre-order status, and those are my most anticipated future releases. Then I get some ARCs, but if I have an ARC, there’s a good chance I’ve already read it. Most of the other books I read are already out. So… I’m going to talk about upcoming releases that catch my eye.

Chain of Iron comes out on March 2nd, but you’re probably not too surprised to discover I pre-ordered this book last July. I’ve written three short fanfiction stories about this series, and am in the middle of rereading the books and stories leading up to this. My #1 anticipated book!

I love the Grishaverse books, although it took me a while to read King of Scars, the book that comes before Rule of Wolves. While I don’t plan on pre-ordering this book, I’m sure it will make it to my TBR lottery and I’ll eventually read it.

Float Plan is another March 2nd release, although I don’t plan to pre-order this. I did enjoy Trish Doller’s book Start Here, so this book has been on my radar. I’m sure I’d enjoy it if/when I get the chance to read this.

The Four Winds is set in the Great Depression. I pre-ordered this book on audiobook, and it’s on my Winter TBR, so I’m likely to read it. I’ve never read a book by Kristin Hannah before, although she’s been on my radar for years, so I’m looking forward to it.

Sadly, I can’t share the cover of Of Princes and Promises with you yet. I’m pretty sure it underwent a cover change. I haven’t had the chance to read this one, but Sandhya Menon’s sequel to Of Curses and Kisses (a Princess and the Frog retelling) is sure to be great. This one comes out in June.

Counting Down with You comes out in May, and it sounds like it has an interesting premise. It’s a book with fake dating. I may want to check that out.

The Ex Talk comes out this month, and it looks like a book I may want to check out someday. I loved Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Today Tonight Tomorrow so much! I will probably wait to read this one, but I plan to keep it on my radar.

And that’s all the books I have from the first half of the year. If I included books I’ve already read, I’d include Everything that Burns by Gita Trelease and Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon. I recommend them.

The Heart Principle comes out in August. I’m sure I’ll end up reading this one, although it’s a little pricey for me, so unless I find it on sale, this’ll be a book I get from the library.

Skyhunter 2 by Marie Lu comes out on September 28th, and I pre-ordered it last year (it was in December, but that was still last year). It doesn’t have a title or a cover yet, but I want to find out what happens.

Once Upon a Broken Heart also comes out on September 28th, and I definitely plan on reading it. It takes place in the Caraval universe with other main characters. I definitely plan on reading this at some point.

So those are ten books I’ve got my eye on in this new year. What books are on your radar?

Next week, we’re going to talk about resolutions and hopes for 2021. Most of them are likely to be writing related. See you then!

Favorite 2020 Releases

By Brookelorren on December 29, 2020December 28, 202034 Comments

Wow! Here we are, the last Tuesday of the year. Today’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) topic is “Favorite Books of 2020,” but it’s been a tradition of mine, before I even had this blog, to put out my list of favorite books I read (for the first time) on January 1st. Especially since one year, I read my favorite book of the year on December 31st. So… I’m going to tweak the topic a bit and do Favorite 2020 Releases. And as of today I’ll read no more 2020 releases so this list doesn’t end up changing in the next three days.

This week was actually difficult! If you’ve read my monthly wrap-ups for this year, then maybe you’ve noticed that this has been an awful reading year for me. This has begun to turn around, but over the course of this year, I didn’t request a lot of ARCs and didn’t read a whole lot of new books. But these were the new releases I think stood out to me the most this year. While they are in order, it’s possible that tomorrow I might shuffle some of these around. Or put a couple different ones in.

10. The Kingdom of Back – Marie Lu. This is the story of Mozart’s sister, Nannerl. She wants to be remembered in a world where girls are supposed to grow up, get married, and be forgotten. It’s different than any of her other stories, but it has beautiful descriptions and made me tear up at the end.

9. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins. Am I the only person who gets Suzanne Collins the author mixed up with Susan Collins the legislator? Anyway, this is the story of President Snow when he was a teenager. How does a good person go bad? This book explains. It also tells the origin of the song “The Hanging Tree” which I loved.

8. Jo & Laurie – Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz. I first heard of this book when the Penguin Teen Tour, featuring Astrid Scholte, Melissa de la Cruz, and Marie Lu, came to Denver. I tried reading Little Women as a kid and got bored after the first page, so I initially wasn’t excited about this book. Then I got to read a sample of this on Bookish First and I wanted to read it. I ended up listening to it on audiobook on a road trip between my house and my in-laws in Arizona and it was good enough to make my top 10 this year.

7. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V.E. Schwab. This book was cleverly done, and heartbreaking at times. I also enjoyed the historical aspect of this book.

6. Between Burning Worlds – Jessica C. Brody and Joanne Rendell. This year, it’s somewhat hard to tell whether a book would have done better on this list if I hadn’t read it in the middle of a pandemic. Sky Without Stars was #3 on my list of favorite 2019 releases. This book came out towards the beginning of the pandemic. I was planning on meeting Jessica Brody at The Tattered Cover towards the end of March, but the book signing was cancelled and there was a Zoom book launch I attended instead. I loved returning to this world, but it seems like reading books took longer this year than last. Including this one, which I loved.

5. The Best Laid Plans – Cameron Lund. On the other hand, I have to wonder if, looking back on 2020, I think on The Best Laid Plans so fondly because this is a feel-good book in a year that a lot of us weren’t really feeling so good. Four of the top 5 books on this list this year are pretty much that – they leave me with feel-good vibes and hope.

4. Today Tonight Tomorrow – Rachel Lynn Solomon. Oh how I loved this book! I started reading this before the pandemic started shutting everything down, and it was initially my “hot tub book.” I would go to the gym, swim, then get out of the pool and read this book. But then the pandemic closed the gym, so no hot tub. But I did make it a priority to read this book, and I loved it.

3. Skyhunter – Marie Lu. This is the only book in this year’s top five that doesn’t end on a hopeful, happy note (what do you expect, this is a Marie Lu book in the middle of a duology). Would it have ranked higher in another year? Possibly. But I’ve already pre-ordered Skyhunter 2 (even though it doesn’t have a title or a cover yet) and will do a reread before the second book comes out next September.

2. A Sky Beyond the Storm – Sabaa Tahir. I think A Sky Beyond the Storm is the perfect metaphor for 2020. It’s been horrible for so many people, but at the end of the storm, there may be some blue sky. This tetralogy had the perfect ending.

1. Chain of Gold – Cassandra Clare. In a year that I barely made my Goodreads reading goal, Chain of Gold is the only book I’ve reread already. And I’m going to read it again before March 2nd, when Chain of Iron comes out. Now, I said that Skyhunter was the only book that didn’t have a hopeful ending. If you’ve read this book, you may be thinking how was this hopeful? There was a fire, and then the epilogue… anyway, I’ve read the Shadowhunter Found Family Tree, and I know that things will work out. I love how this book ends though.

I’m so glad there’s only 10 weeks until Chain of Iron comes out. A few days ago, I started rereading The Infernal Devices, and plan to read all the Shadowhunter books and stories from Ghosts of the Shadow Market that take place between Clockwork Angel and Chain of Iron. I don’t own a copy of The Bane Chronicles or Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, which is why I won’t be reading those stories. If you’re wondering what order these stories come in, there is a Shadowhunter timeline you can use as a reference.

So there’s my top ten list of 2020 releases. There are a couple books I’d really like to include, and might have, had I written this list on another day.

What books did you come up with? I have a feeling I’m going to have to expand my TBR this week!

Next week we’re going to talk about my “Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2021.” I may end up having to cut that “first half of” out of my list though. I only have one unread book on Netgalley right now. I stopped requesting books because I was having a hard time reading so many books.

Books I Hope to Buy with Santa’s Gift Cards

By Brookelorren on December 22, 2020December 14, 202024 Comments

Hello! ::waves:: It’s Tuesday again, and of course that means it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Can you believe that Christmas is Friday? I don’t know about you, but it’s been a trying year for me. It’s starting to get better though.

Today’s topic is supposed to be “Books I Hope Santa Brings.” Since Santa is magical, I suppose he could bring me the books on today’s list, but I don’t think he will. I buy most of my books with gift cards as pre-orders; as a result, I don’t think I’ll get any books this year ::gasp::. What I do hope I get, however, is gift cards, which can be used to buy any of the books listed below.

Skyhunter 2 – Marie Lu. This book doesn’t have a title, and it’s not ready to read yet, but I pre-ordered this book today. It’s out September 28, 2021. Santa’d have to be really magical to bring me this one.

Make Up Break Up – Lily Menon. I’ve read the ARC already but am thinking about pre-ordering the hardback. Swoon Squad members who pre-order this book get to be the first to hear a preview of the next Lily Menon book (I can’t even tell you the title yet!). Plus I love to support great authors.

Chain of Iron – Cassandra Clare. I have read the extended excerpt of this one (available on Riveted if you’re interested), and I must read more! One of the great things about this book is that there’s such a wide variety of characters that there’s a ship for everyone in here. I happen to love Jordelia but there’s something for almost everyone (as a quick skim of the topic on AO3 will show).

Once Upon a Broken Heart – Stephanie Garber. Oh no. Stephanie Garber’s new book, Once Upon a Broken Heart, comes out September 28th as well (along with Skyhunter 2). This one takes place in the Caraval universe with different characters.

Everything That Burns – Gita Trelease. I’m rereading Enchantée this month, and I just love Camille (pronounced Ca-MEE, rhymes with the French word fille, according to the author, I asked)! I have the ARC for Everything That Burns and will probably read it at the beginning of January. This is such a good series I wouldn’t mind owning the real copies instead of the ARCs.

The Heart Principle – Helen Hoang. The Heart Principle doesn’t come out until next August, but this is another book I’d like to read someday. Right now the hardback is selling for $26, which is way too much for me to spend on a book. There’s always the library, although I’m pretty sure it will go down in price.

Winds of Winter – George RR Martin. I have a much better chance of Santa bringing me the unfinished Skyhunter 2 than he is of bringing me Winds of Winter. But I hope to buy this book with a gift card–someday. I mentioned the book in my 2018 Christmas wish list. Two years later, its status is still the same.

Broken Wish – Julie C. Dao. Before I cancelled my Audible membership, I was really hoping to get an audiobook copy of Broken Wish. Unfortunately, it’s not available on audiobook, only Kindle and hardback. This is the only book on today’s list I could actually get under my tree, although I probably won’t.

Red Tigress – Amelie Wen Zhao. The only copy of Blood Heir (the first book in this series) I read was the early ARC that was pulled. I don’t know if there were any significant changes made after that point, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. This is another March 2 release (along with Chain of Iron).

Sword Catcher – Cassandra Clare. I almost forgot about Cassandra Clare’s adult debut! Sword Catcher is supposed to be published in 2021, but it doesn’t have a date yet and you can’t pre-order it. It will be interesting to see what her adult books look like.

That’s 10! Do you often get books under your tree? Or are you like me, who pre-orders so many books that it’s really difficult for Santa (or your relatives) to know what to get you, so you hope for gift cards instead?

Next week is supposed to be “Favorite Books of 2020.” Even before I started this blog, I had an annual list called “Favorite Books I Read for the First Time in 20XX” list, that I always (with the exception of 1 year) release on January 1st. So I won’t be doing that. I will either do a “Favorite 2020 releases” list, or I’ll switch the order around and do the “Most Anticipated Releases of 2021” list. I don’t know yet though. I’ll see you then!

Winter 2020-21 TBR

By Brookelorren on December 15, 2020December 14, 202021 Comments

Hello! Today is Tuesday, and it’s also one of my favorite TTTs: the quarterly seasonal TBR. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and it gives us a chance to find out what books other people are interested in.

This week, we’re going to talk about what our reading plans are for this winter. Most of my choices on this TBR were picked from a list that I call the “TBR Lottery.” I make a list of books I’m interested in reading, and I use a random number generator to pick my books.

First, here’s what was on my Fall TBR. I had been doing terribly on my TBR this year, but for the first time since my Fall 2019 TBR, I read ALL the books on my list! They were:

Skyhunter – Marie Lu
Keeper – Kim Chance
The First Hostage – Joel C. Rosenberg
Mirror Gate – Jeff Wheeler
A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer
A Sky Beyond the Storm – Sabaa Tahir
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V.E. Schwab
The Red Scrolls of Magic – Cassandra Clare
Talon – Julie Kagawa

I even read a couple other books on top of these!

Anyway, here is the list of books I hope to read this winter:

I’m so looking forward to Chain of Iron, the next book in The Last Hours Trilogy! This last week I’ve been writing Jordelia fics. I wrote one where Cordelia and James go for a walk and get stuck in a snowstorm. So there’s my Christmas story. For a little story, it took a lot of research! Then I wrote another one. Anyway, I did read the extended excerpt, but I can’t wait to reread the whole thing. Plus I’m reading Chain of Gold, but I’m not counting it here because it’s a reread.

According to my calculations, Chain of Iron takes place at the end of 1903 and into 1904. This next book goes forward a little in time. 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents sounds interesting. I first heard about it a long time ago and then forgot the title. But then I remembered the title and it ended up on my TBR lottery.

Although the title An Affair of Poisons isn’t really my favorite, the plot looks interesting. I also like historical novels, and this one has a bit of magic as well. This was another winner of the TBR lottery this season.

I’ve been interested in reading Switchback since I was not approved for the ARC on Netgalley. When I drew this book in the TBR lottery, I realized that my library didn’t have this. So I requested them to buy it, and they agreed! I had been looking for this book to go on sale on the Kindle, but it hasn’t yet.

I bought the entire Lunar Chronicles series for $2.99 each two years ago on Cyber Monday. Even though I’ve repeatedly said I wanted to read this book, I never got around to it. Fortunately, I drew its number and I’m reading Cinder in the next few months.

The Language of Thorns is a collection of short stories set in the Grishaverse. It sounds like a lot of fun. My library has several copies. Right now they’re only available for curbside pickup, so like Switchback, I’ll have to plan ahead and request this one about a week ahead of time so it’ll be ready when I can read it.

Everything that Burns (AKA Liberté) was supposed to come out on Bastille day this year (which would have been awesomely symbolic), but got pushed back to this winter. I was lucky enough to get an ARC for this. I’m currently reading Enchantée again before reading this. I’m loving this magical book all over again and am excited for its sequel!

Every once in a while, I start collecting books from an author I’ve never read. That’s the case with Kristin Hannah. I got The Great Alone on sale a couple years ago (who can pass up a $1.99 book if it looks like something they’d want to read?) and then I needed to use my Audible credits before I cancelled my membership for a while, so I pre-ordered The Four Winds. It’s set during the Great Depression, and sounds so interesting. Which makes me think that maybe I should write a fictional story (very) loosely based on my grandma’s life.

Six of the books on this list today have been on the TBR lottery since I first put it together more than a year ago (I’ve read about half of the original list). I’ve been interested in The Boy and His Ribbon for a while, and finally I picked it. Sure, I could just pick it, but there’s tons of other books I want to read as well. There’s 72 books on the TBR lottery right now, although 11 of them are either on today’s list or I read them after finishing my Fall TBR. It’s so hard to choose!

Three Dark Crowns is another book that’s been on my TBR forever and I finally picked it. Then I’ll just have to read the other four books in this series. Hopefully, if I can keep up a decent reading pace, it won’t take me another full year to get to the second book in this series.

So there’s my list. What books do you hope to read this winter? Do you like making seasonal TBRs? Has your reading been down this year too?

Next week, we’re supposed to talk about “Books I Hope Santa Brings.” I probably won’t get any books for Christmas since, after joining the book community, I’ve started pre-ordering almost all my must-have books, but I’ll probably get some gift cards (which is how I purchase almost all my books). So I’ll probably tweak the topic some. See you then!

Wintry Books

By Brookelorren on December 8, 2020December 7, 202036 Comments

Brrrr! I’ve been wearing my winter jacket around when I go places, and though it’s not officially winter yet, it sure feels like it. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a Holiday/Seasonal freebie, so I decided to talk about wintry and Christmasy books. Last year, we did a TTT on Holiday Reads, so I’m going to broaden the topic out a little bit so I can include a wider variety of books. Plus, we’ve had a whole year to find new books!

“Booked for Christmas” is Lily Menon’s Christmas novella! Lily Menon is a pen name that Sandhya Menon writes her adult books under. This one is not for kids. This is the story about a novelist and her harshest book critic. It would make a great Hallmark movie. If you can’t get your hands on her upcoming book Make Up Break Up, at least you can get this one! It’s only $.99 on Amazon.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a book that definitely gives off those wintry vibes. I need to add The Girl in the Tower to my winter TBR lottery because I haven’t read it yet, and I think the only time I really want to read it is in the winter or spring (when it’s still cold). It’s set in a magical, medieval-ish Russia, which is a plus for me.

For me, the Christmas season is fairly short, and I don’t have time to read a lot of novels most of the time. Besides, there aren’t a ton of holiday novels, even though there are some. This is one of the reason why Christmas novellas and short stories are so great. Rainbow Rowell’s Almost Midnight contains two short stories: “Midnights,” which is a beautiful story that follows two people for several New Year’s Eves in a row, and “Kindred Spirits,” a story about people waiting in line for a Star Wars movie (I can’t remember which one).

This book is good to check out of the library, but I don’t recommend buying it. “Midnights” appears in My True Love Gave to Me (a great anthology which is checked in at my library and I might borrow just to read this story), and “Kindred Spirits” can be purchased on the Kindle for $2.99. Since this little book is almost the same price as the others, if you’re buying, spend a few dollars more for the extra stories.

The Christmas Pact was originally an Audible Original that came out last year, and it’s now available on Kindle or paperback as well. It’s a cute story about two people who work at the same company and have similar names: one is Kennedy Riley, the other Riley Kennedy. When they get some emails mixed up, they become enemies. But… they don’t stay that way. Read this one before the 25th if you’re trying to get into the Christmasy mood.

Some of you may know I do this thing I call the TBR lottery: a list of all the books I’d like to read but can’t decide between. They’re all numbered, and I draw a random number to pick my next book. I typically rewrite the list twice a year, because I don’t want to read a cold-weather book in the middle of the summer. The Great Alone is set in Alaska, and it seems like it would be a cold weather book for me. Which makes it harder to win the TBR lottery. But I hope to read it someday.

Wintersong is another one of those books that leaves my TBR lottery list in the summer. Even the cover is icy. Brrrr!

Kingdom Cold has gotten mixed reviews, but this is another book on my TBR lottery that only is there during the cold months. I can’t imagine reading a book like this in the middle of August.

I have not read the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer picture book, but I have seen the TV show many times. Poor Rudolph is bullied (and Santa condones it!), at least in the TV show. Fortunately, he gets to be a hero in the end.

I did not like the narration to Frostblood, however, I liked the book enough that its sequel, Fireblood, made it to my TBR lottery, and I just finished it. I definitely like the print version better. Anyway, this book takes place in an icy land, which makes winter the perfect time to read this.

You might think a book with a tent on the cover might be better for summer reading, but not this one. Safe Harbour is a book about a girl who lives in her tent while waiting for her dad to show up… but as the days grow colder, he never does. Did Dad ghost her? What happened? It does have a satisfying ending though.

So there are some wintry books if you’re looking for something Christmasy, or something to read after the holidays while the snow still blankets the ground.

Next week is one of my favorite Top Ten Tuesdays: the seasonal TBR! I love to make these, I love to try to read everything on the list, and I love to see what other people are going to be reading. Not that I need to find new books–my TBR lottery page is bursting! But I like to find new books anyway.

Book Titles That Would Make Great Song Titles

By Brookelorren on November 10, 2020November 9, 20207 Comments

Hello! Have the weeks been going by really fast for you? I think it might be just because I’m so damned busy with school right now. At least it’s my boy’s birthday so the only school he has tomorrow is our coop (which still is a lot of work for me). And after today, there’s only three more weeks of coop, so at least there will be a break soon. Anyway, it’s Tuesday again, and today we’re talking about “Book Titles That Would Make Great Song Titles.” We’ll see what I come up with.

Make Up Break Up – This seems like it would be a catchy pop tune. It kind of has a 80’s/90’s feel to it. Probably sung by a girl band. Something about a couple that breaks up and then gets back together (over and over and over again).

Chain of Gold – I imagine Chain of Gold as a love song. Something about two people being bonded together by a chain of gold, or something like that.

Sensational – This is another one of those songs that I’d imagine would have a catchy beat and fast tempo. That kind that would get you out on the dance floor.

Sparrow – I imagine Sparrow as this haunting love song, where the girl dies or something. Which would kind of be appropriate because this is a story about a girl that is abused by her boyfriend.

11/22/63 – This may be a weird choice, but I think this could make a song like Smashing Pumpkin’s “1979.” But this song would probably have been best if it was released in the 1970s. The guy could be singing about what he was doing the year Kennedy was shot, his love, that sort of thing. The date is too long ago to make a great contemporary song, but since this book involves time travel, I think we can allow the song to come out in a different time too.

Today Tonight Tomorrow – The whole book would make a great song. The first verse could be about how the main singer hates the girl, the second verse could be about how he spends a wonderful evening hanging out with the girl, and the third verse could be about the future he imagines with the girl.

Tell Me Everything – I think this would work as either a catchy pop song or a slower song where the main character caught his or her loved one cheating on them. The upbeat pop song might be about people getting to know each other that want to know everything about each other.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – I can’t remember–was this actually a song in the book? Either way, this would make a decent medium-tempo song. One that tells a story about a girl who was so lovely, she was the boy’s songbird, but he eventually finds out she’s behaving like a snake. Or it could be an instrumental song that tries to convey that same meaning.

Summer Days and Summer Nights – This song would remind me a little of “Summer Lovin'” from Grease. Maybe a duet, but not necessarily so.

Heartless – It wouldn’t surprise me if there actually was a song with this title already. This is another song that could fit into a variety of styles. It might work as a ballad where someone is weeping over their heartless lover that jilted them, or as a song with a heavy rock beat to it.

So there’s ten songs with titles that might double as song titles. I thought it would be harder than it turned out. What books did you choose this week? Next week we’re talking about “Characters I’d Name a Pet After.” Next week, half of these are going to be characters I actually have named a pet (or child) after, and the other five will be characters I would name a pet after.

What? People Do Things Other than Read?

By Brookelorren on November 3, 2020November 3, 202024 Comments

It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Today we’re supposed to talk about non-bookish hobbies (does writing count? LOL). So I’m left with a conundrum because I spend most of my free time reading. I don’t really consider making dinner or teaching my boy algebra a hobby. Today I see this as maybe a wish list of things I’d do if I had unlimited time and (perhaps) money.

Postcard by BrookeLorren

Photography. This is something I actually have time for sometimes. I take some of my photographs and turn them into Zazzle products (like this squirrel postcard). My phone case is of a dolphin photo I took several years ago; I actually bought two phone cases with the same design, because I love it so much. Probably when it comes time to replace my iPhone XR, I’ll get the same dolphin case. Unless I take another photo I like better.

My Phone Case

And this is pretty much exactly what my current phone case looks like.

Seeing New Places. This is one of those “yeah, I know I want to do this, but do I really do this?” sort of hobbies. I really want to get better at this one though. For Columbus Day/Indiginous People’s Day, my dh and I took a drive to see all the beautiful leaves, and we went to this place about three hours away and tried to walk alongside the river. We didn’t exactly get there because the land along the river was too muddy. And of course, I took pictures.

Sunset over the Gunnison River Mouse Pad

Sunset over the Gunnison River
by Brookelorren

We drove to Kansas that Saturday, because I’ve never been. I decided I was going to try to see one new place one Saturday every month. My dh wants to come with me. When I mentioned I wanted to go to the Denver Art Museum in November (there’s an exhibit I’d like to see that’s there until December 7th), he wasn’t too thrilled about that. So I’ll go two places this month: one that I’ll go to by myself, and one we can enjoy together. Without making the conscious effort to go, I’ll stay home and read books all afternoon.

Exercise. Another thing I don’t do nearly enough, but I try. We had to let our gym membership lapse last month. I loved being able to go swimming two or three times a week. The river to the right (the picture is of my dd (with the orange hair) and her friend) is fed by glacier water. I was hypothermic when I got out of that water. My doctor upped my thyroid medicine by 50% once I got back from this camping trip, so that might have been why. I like to go hiking when I get the chance, but usually I only find time to walk to the Pokéstop at our local park. I try to do that every day though.

Photo credit: fhp_vf_alexander_0481 — Credit: fhp_vf_alexander_0481
CC License

Genealogy. This is a “hobby” I haven’t touched in at least six years. But I do like it. I like history, and think it’s interesting to learn about all my ancestors. I’ve been able to trace my ancestors to Ivar the Boneless, which was pretty cool. I was fiddling around in Ancestry and found an ancestor that lived in Jamestown, but I didn’t document it right. Perhaps I’ll get the chance to track that ancestor down again someday.

Scrapbooking - gnet — Credit: gnet
CC License

Scrapbooking. Another hobby I haven’t touched in years. I just never think to do so. Plus then I have to get out all the supplies, which are buried under about 20 books. Someday I’ll probably work on this more, when I’m not spending half the day teaching my boy.

Transcription. This is actually something I’ve done in the last year, but I don’t do it as often as I’d like. I occasionally volunteer as a transcriber for the Smithsonian Institution. I think it’s kind of awesome how I’m helping researchers make historical discoveries. Last time I did this I transcribed some of the Freedmen’s Bureau papers during Black History Month. While most of the time I’m not transcribing any juicy historical tidbits, I know that my contribution, added with others, makes a difference. I have also worked on Project Gutenberg, but much less recently.

Needle Crafts. This is something I tend to do about one week a year. I’ve been working on this one cross-stitch project for probably at least 10 years. I have some projects that I’ve lost, so then I go buy new ones. I always go for these mega-large projects too. I have no interest in little squares that say “God bless this house” or whatever. My current project has dolphins.

Languages. Me and Duo are buds. I have… 24 flags after my name in my Duolingo account. I don’t know them all well (my best languages are Spanish, German, and Russian), but I dabble in several languages. I have a 2,039 day streak on Duolingo, which amounts to a little over 5 1/2 years. I have had to use streak freezes during that time, I admit. I also paid to get my streak back once or twice. So I guess I can say this is one hobby I engage in almost daily.

Learning. Now, you may say this is a bookish hobby and I’m cheating, but that’s not necessarily true. There are video courses I take. Then I often listen to audiobook classes when I go for a walk or cook dinner. What better motivation to make one go for a walk, than to know you have something to listen to? Sometimes I listen to audiobooks on my walks, but that’s a bookish hobby; we’ll just ignore that. I guess I do this hobby almost every day too.

Word Puzzle Bill Smith — Credit: Bill Smith
Creative Commons

Puzzles. I don’t usually do many jigsaw puzzles, but I do like to do other kinds of puzzles and brain games. I’ve been making a little bit of money playing timed crossword puzzles, but not very much.

So that’s a list of several hobbies that I don’t usually make time for. I just started playing Animal Crossing with my kids about a week ago, but since I haven’t been playing that long, I didn’t really count it. Maybe if Top Ten Tuesday does this again at some point in the future.

What are your non-bookish hobbies? Are you like me, saying “what’s that?” Or are you a normal person where books is only a ~~small~~–er–medium part of your life? Next week, it’s back to books, with “Book Titles that Will Make Great Song Titles.” See you then!

Creatures That Go Bump in the Night

By Brookelorren on October 27, 2020October 26, 202028 Comments

It’s Tuesday again, and you know what that means! Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Today is supposed to be a “Halloween Freebie” but I don’t celebrate Halloween (I may include it in a book someday, but partly it involves my now dh’s former fiancée and a trip to Knott’s Scary Farm). So I decided to twist the topic and write about creatures that are in books I read that are often associated with Halloween. So let’s get started!

Shadowhunters books have all sorts of supernatural creatures: vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and even the occasional ghost! These aren’t scary books or anything like that though.

Stephen King is typically known for his scary stories, but 11/22/63 isn’t exactly one of them. It’s a time-traveling story where a man goes back and tries to prevent the shooting of JFK. There is a reference to a killer clown though.

So Chosen Ones wouldn’t be my go-to book for Halloween (then again, I don’t celebrate Halloween anyway), but this book does have zombies. So I guess it fits in this week’s theme.

The first line of Skyhunter is “Ghosts travel in packs.” They’re not exactly what you’re probably thinking of, but this is a ghost book like Chosen Ones is a zombie book.

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys is a book of horror stories. Some of these stories are scarier than others, and some do have some bona fide creatures that go bump in the night.

Vampires definitely count as creatures that go bump in the night. Twilight also has werewolves too, although those take a slightly less prominent role.

Happily, Renée Ahdieh’s book about vampires is going to be a trilogy. Goodreads still doesn’t reflect that a third book was picked up, but I saw it on Twitter.

While The Lady Rogue doesn’t exactly scream “scary!” it is a story that revolves around the real Count Dracula. Dracula reminds one of vampires, which fits into today’s topic.

And while we’re on the subject of the real Vlad the Impaler, Kiersten White’s And I Darken is a retelling of this historical era–with a twist. Dracula is female in this story. This book isn’t really paranormal, but it does give some of the background to our most famous spooky tales.

An Ember in the Ashes is also not a scary story, but it does contain some creatures that often only are seen wandering the streets on October 31st. There are ghosts, wights, efrits, and other fantastical creatures.

So that is this year’s Halloween Freebie on Top Ten Tuesday. There are a lot of similarities between this list and last year’s list; sorry about that. I don’t read a lot of scary books, I guess.

Next week, we’re going to take a completely different tack and talk about non-bookish hobbies. Those exist? Maybe I’ll just have to include things I’m interested in but don’t ever have time for. We’ll see.

So what did you write about this week? Since this is a freebie week, I’m sure we’ll see quite a variety.

Books I Read Because Someone Recommended them to Me

By Brookelorren on October 20, 2020October 19, 202026 Comments

Hello! Welcome again to Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Today we’re talking about book recommendations. We seem to get them every week on Top Ten Tuesday. Some books I know exactly where I got the recommendations from. Most books, however, I get recommended from you fine folks. So today I’ll start with the ones I know where they were recommended, and I’ll finish off with some that I heard about from blogging.

After my grandma died, I went to her memorial “party.” It’s kind of weird to have a party, but that’s what she wanted. My former German teacher, Herr Taylor, was there. He was a good guy, and was more than just my German teacher; he was a friend of the family. We were talking, and he recommended The World is Flat to me. One of the things that stood out to me about that evening was I realized I probably was never going to see Herr Taylor again because my grandma was the main tie between us (he’s no longer with us, so I was right). The book turned out to be good.

Who says that libraries don’t sell books? I loved Divergent. One day at the library, I told that to the librarian, who recommended Legend to me. I have since purchased seven copies of this book (English, Spanish, German on Kindle, paperback, 1st printing hardback, and 2 as gifts). Not to mention I’ve purchased all of Marie Lu’s books since then (most of them in both hardback and Kindle versions).

When I was at the Penguin Teen Tour this March, Marie Lu said she had been reading Fallen Glory and thought it was really good. The day before the library shut down, I remembered the book and checked it out. It turns out, it was really good.

Back when I was working at Walmart, one of my coworkers was Lydia. When I discovered that she was a reader, well, that gave us a lot to talk about. She really loved The Vampire Academy, but I still haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Her favorite author was P.C. Cast, so when I saw The Dysasters over on Netgalley, I had to request it.

Rebel by Beverly Jenkins was recommended by Bee on Twitter. I don’t know what happened to her–I haven’t seen her in a while, and when I searched for her, I couldn’t find her. I hope she’s okay. But she did recommend this book, which was one of two amazing books with the title Rebel that I read in 2019.

Back when I was listening to Underground Wellness, Sean Croxton, the host, always had different authors come on and talk about their books. One of the books that I read as a result of his recommendation was Deep Nutrition.

The Raven Boys is one of those books that I saw all the time in the book blogging world before I actually got around to reading it. And then of course, since I liked it, I have to go around and recommend it to other people.

And that’s all of the book recommendations I can say who I got the recommendation from. I heard about The Last Year of the War from one of my blogging friends. It was a beautiful book that I highly recommend to other people.

Fangirl is another one of those books that I ended up reading because everybody seemed to be raving about it. Although I checked this book out of the library, book bloggers deserve a lot of credit for spreading the word about all these amazing books that are out there.

The Grishaverse books are another set of books that were recommended by many of you fine people in the book blogging world. At the time I started reading these books, the Six of Crows duology was huge, but I decided to start at the very beginning, which I thought turned out to be a good choice.

So those are ten books that were either recommended to me personally, were recommended by someone who talked about books they liked, or were recommended by book bloggers. What books were recommended to you? Do you get a lot of personal recommendations from friends and librarians, or are you more like me, finding many of your books from bloggers that gush about their favorites, and then you just have to read them too?

Next week is a Halloween Freebie. I don’t celebrate that holiday, but I’ll try to find something to write about in the ballpark.