sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

March 14, 2023


top ten titles on my spring 2023 tbr list
posted by soe 1:33 am

Top Ten Tuesday logo
I always enjoy the seasonal Top Ten Tuesday weeks at That Artsy Reader Girl, even if I’m not always great at getting the books read. (I’m at two for the winter list.) Here are ten books I’m really hoping to get to this spring:

  1. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
  2. Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
  3. A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
  4. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
  5. Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas
  6. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  7. Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful
  8. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
  9. Hoops by Matt Taveres
  10. Colleen Oakley’s The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise

How about you? What are you looking forward to reading this spring?

Category: books. There is/are 6 Comments.

February 28, 2023


top ten works of speculative fiction on my tbr list
posted by soe 1:10 am

Top Ten Tuesday logo

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl offers a topic of our choosing relating to genre of our choosing. Here are ten works of speculative fiction (the catch-all for fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and other novels of “not the real world”) that are on my to-be-read list:

  1. A Restless Truth by Freya Marske
  2. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
  3. Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons
  4. The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
  5. Dhonielle Clayton’s The Marvellers
  6. Angie Thomas’ Nic Blake and the Remarkables
  7. Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
  8. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  9. A.J. Sherwood’s How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy
  10. Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde

How about you? Are there other works of speculative fiction you think I should add?

Category: books. There is/are 6 Comments.

February 21, 2023


top ten favorite book heroines
posted by soe 2:03 am

Top Ten Tuesday logo
In this week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl, we’re invited to share ten of our favorite literary heroines. Here are some of mine, all of whom could be described as prickly, quirky, loyal, and independent:

  1. Meg Murray from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and subsequent related novels
  2. Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and subsequent books
  3. Elizabeth Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  4. Petrova Fossil from Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
  5. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  6. Xan from The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
  7. Charlotte Holmes from A Scarlet Woman and the other Lady Sherlock novels by Sherry Thomas
  8. Phryne Fisher from Cocaine Blues and the rest of the series by Kerry Greenwood
  9. Anne Shirley from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and the other books in the series
  10. Felicity Pickle from A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

How about you? Who are some of your favorite literary heroines, those characters you’d love to have as IRL friends?

Category: books. There is/are 5 Comments.

February 7, 2023


top ten debut books i’m excited about in 2023
posted by soe 5:51 am

Top Ten Tuesday logo
In this week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl, we’re considering debuts. Here are ten books by new authors I’m looking forward to in 2023:

  1. If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude (romance)
  2. Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (romance)
  3. Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz (graphic novel)
  4. The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (historical fiction)
  5. This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs (romance)
  6. The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green (nonfiction)
  7. Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (memoir)
  8. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (fantasy)
  9. Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (romance)
  10. Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (mystery)

How about you? Are there any debut authors you’re hoping to support this year?

Category: books. There is/are 5 Comments.

January 31, 2023


top ten books i’ve got checked out from the library
posted by soe 1:54 am

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is a freebie, and while I ought to deal with the top ten list from 2022, it’s been a long day and that will take more energy than I have. There’s another freebie week in mid-February, so maybe I’ll aim for then.

Anyway, I figured I could give you ten of the books I currently have checked out from the library that I’m likely to read in the next little while:

  1. Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
  2. Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
  3. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
  4. Gene Luen Yang’s The Search
  5. Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
  6. Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders
  7. The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
  8. Rachel Hartman’s Tess of the Road
  9. My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman
  10. Amor Towles’ Lincoln Highway

What do you currently have checked out from your library?

Category: books. There is/are 4 Comments.

January 24, 2023


top ten new-to-me authors i found in 2022
posted by soe 1:24 am

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share our list of authors we discovered last year. Here are ten of mine that I’d gladly read more from (I’ve included the genre of their book I read to make it easier for you):

  1. Freya Marske, A Marvellous Light: Historical fantasy
  2. Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These: Historical fiction
  3. Amber McBride, Me: Moth: Contemporary fiction/verse
  4. Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars: Science fiction
  5. Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club: Historical fiction
  6. Jane Pek, The Verifiers: Mystery/Light suspense
  7. Rachel Smythe, Lore Olympus: Mythology/graphic novel
  8. Claudia Gray, The Murder of Mr. Wickham: Historical fiction/mystery
  9. Stephen Spotswood, Fortune Favors the Dead: Mystery
  10. Laura Taylor Namey, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow: Romance

How about you? Did you encounter any new-to-you authors in 2022 you’d recommend?

Category: books. There is/are 7 Comments.