Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog by clicking on the image above!

The Last Ten Books I've Added to My "To-Read" List

I have such a HUGE "to-read" list... it's ridiculous, really.  These ten books are just a drop in the bucket when we're talking about all the books I want to read.  And more great books are written every day!  It's almost overwhelming to think about.  These are listed in simply in the order that I added them to my list.  (Is it too obvious that I work in youth library services...?  lol)

1. Allie, First at Last by Angela Cervantes

2. Mission Mumbai: A Novel of Sacred Cows, Snakes, and Stolen Toilets by Mahtab Narsimhan

3. The Final Kingdom by Michael Northrop

4. A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty

5. Avenging the Owl by Melissa Hart

6. Local Girl Swept Away by Ellen Wittlinger

7. Illustrated Family Bible by Claude-Bernard Costecalde

8. Eat Your Greens, Red, Yellows, and Purples: Children's Cookbook by DK

9. Legendtopia Book #1: The Battle for Urth by Lee Bacon

10. Alight: Book Two of the Generations Trilogy by Scott Sigler

And you?  What were the last ten books that you added to your TBR?  Leave a comment and I'll certainly come visit!

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige | Book Review

(This whole series has amazing covers!)

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, reviewing No Place Like Oz.  Click on the cover image above to find out my thoughts!

*I checked my copy of No Place Like Oz out of my local library.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog by clicking on the image above!

Top Ten Books to Read if Your Book Club Likes Historic Fiction

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  Story of a plucky redhead orphan girl as she starts her new life as the adopted child of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.  "Plucky" doesn't even begin to describe this girl's spirit!  She'll have you laughing!

2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.  Ohmygoodness, y'all: this one is SO GOOD!  About two sisters in France during WWII and the choices they have to make to survive.

3. Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, and Becoming Clementine by Jennifer Nivens.  You'll LOVE Velva Jean!  She's got tons of spunk and bravery.  During the 1930s and 1940s she goes from a very, very small settlement in the Appalachian Mountains to spying for the US in Paris, France, all because she learned to drive.

4. The Diviners and Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray.  This duology is set in 1920s NYC, so you get to experience all the gin joints and awesome lingo of the jazz age!  Also has a spooky elements with the spirit world and all.

5. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco.  Why not try a spooky historic fiction?

6. The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks.  Really cool story about the first all-black regiment to fight in WWI, told in a graphic novel.

7. The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl and/or Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan.  Both touch upon Robert Louis Stevenson's adventures in life, and upon the old habit of "bookaneering."

8. The Sweetheart by Angelina Mirabella.  This book is 100% unique- it's main character is a female wrestler in the 1950s!

9. Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich.  A treasure-hunting adventure book, set in the early 1800s in Egypt!  Kind of reminiscent of Indiana Jones.

10. Something Strange and Deadly, A Darkness Strange and Lovely, and Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard.  Victorian era setting, but with ZOMBIES.  Why not try some steampunk historic fiction?

And you?  What would you recommend to a book club member?  Leave a comment and I'll certainly visit you too!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog by clicking on the image above!

Top Ten Freak-You-Out Books

These might be straight-up scary or psychologically terrifying...  Ranked in order of my favorites/best writing, not in order of fright.

1. The Shining and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King.  Classic horror/thriller!  He very rarely does duologies or series, but this duology is very, very well done.  I got goosebumps listening to Doctor Sleep, and The Shining kept me up turning pages when I read it.

2. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco.  I actually just read this one this month!  It was dark and creepy in a delightful way.  (I hope that doesn't make me sound too dark and creepy!)

3. The Madman's Daughter, Her Dark Curiosity, and A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd.  One of my fave YA trilogies!  They're based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein, respectively, so you know they're nice and spooky!

4. The Cage by Megan Shepherd.  This one is more psychologically messed up, about a group of teens kidnapped by aliens and forced to live in a zoo of sorts.  (There's a sequel- The Hunt- but I haven't read it yet.)  (I just love Megan Shepherd's writing!)

5. The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant and The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe.  Set on an island off the coast of Maine where it seems to be perpetually foggy/rainy, and where the devil himself is running things.  (There's a third book, but it's only been released in Canada so far.)

6. Something Strange and Deadly, A Darkness Strange and Lovely, and Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard.  Steampunk with ZOMBIES.

7. The Diviners and Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray.  People being attacked by ghosts and/or attacked physically in their dreams.  What's more terrifying than not feeling safe while sleeping?!?  (Plus these books are set in 1920s NYC so you get lots of awesome jazz age lingo!)

8. Sanctum and Captive by Sarah Fine.  Girl is kidnapped in Hell and her best friend travels to Hell to rescue her.  Seriously.  Can't make that up.  Can't get much darker than that.  (There are two more books in the series, but I haven't read them yet.)

9. The Body Electric by Beth Revis.  This one is a mindbender!  I need to re-read this to really grasp the plot, but it involves the possibility of people being "alive" but not alive because of nanobots in their blood.

10. Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch.  Unlike most of the rest of this list, this one isn't YA.  It's a blunt murder mystery with the possibility of sexual assault on a minor and it's terrifying to me.

I couldn't work my favorites of all time, Anne of Green Gables or the Mitford series, into this list!  They'll be back next week, I'm sure.  ;)  What about you?  What creepy/scary books do your recommend for fall reading?  Leave a comment and I'll be sure to follow back!

Stacking the Shelves

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, Stacking the Shelves.  Click on the image above to hear about my pumpkin spice obsession & what books I brought home!

PopSugar Reading Challenge Update!

Y'all!  I only have a few months left, and thirteen books left to read!  Yikes!  I need to get on that.  I hope to find some graphic novels to fill some of those checklist items.  

This week I read The Cage by Megan Shepherd, which is a romance set in the future.

Previously, I've read:
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, which is a book based on a fairy tale.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which is a YA bestseller.

Journal of Major George Washington, 1754 by George Washington, which is a book translated to English.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which is a book set in Europe.

The Fireflies Book by Brett Ortler, which is a book that's under 150 pages.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a New York Times bestseller.

#scandal by Sarah Ockler is a book recommended by someone I just met.

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp is a self-improvement book.

Prohibition Bakery by Leslie Feinberg with Brooke Siem, which is a book I can finish in a day.

Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom's Guide to Laughing Your Way Through Pregnancy & Year One by Jenna Von Oy, which is a book written by a celebrity.

Baby 411 by Ari Brown with Denise Fields, which is a book that's more than 600 pages.

Meridian by Josin L. McQuein, which is a science-fiction novel.

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo with Robert Bucknam, which is a book recommended by a family member.

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks, which is a graphic novel.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco, which is a book that is published in 2016.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, which is a book with a protagonist who has my occupation.

Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner, which is a book that takes place during Summer.

What We Lost in the Dark by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which is a murder mystery.

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh, which is a dystopian novel.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book with a blue cover.

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, which is a book from the library.

I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza, which is an autobiography.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book about a culture I'm unfamiliar with.

Mama Tried by Emily Flake, which is a satirical book.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu, which is a book that takes place on an island.

Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem, which is a book that's guaranteed to bring me joy.