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Showing posts with label Erin Entrada Kelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erin Entrada Kelly. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 02, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag
7:42 PM
Today's TTT prompt is a nice, easy one: Top Ten Books With My Favorite Color on the Cover. As much as I love green, though, I'm just not feeling this topic today. Since today is the mid-point of the year (2024 is flying by!), I thought I'd hop on the Mid-Year Freak Out tag bandwagon and take a look at how my reading year is shaping up. I'm not entirely sure where this tag originated—someone said it started with Ely over at Earl Grey Books some years ago—but it's been all over the blogosphere lately. I saw it most recently over at Girl Plus Books, so that's where I grabbed the questions from. There are other versions floating around as well.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Before we get to the tag questions, let me just summarize where my reading is at for the year.
I'm notorious for my annual taking on of too many reading challenges. This year is no exception. I've got 15 of them going on at the moment. I like to reach the halfway point with all of them by July 2 so that I'm on target to finish them by the end of the year. (Although I do enjoy reading challenges, I never take them too seriously. If I finish them, fabulous! If I don't, no biggie.) I'm rocking them this year, as you can see from my left sidebar. The only one I'm really slacking on is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge and my own Bookish Books Reading Challenge. I'm making progress on both, just not super fast progress. The Pioneer Book Reading Challenge is still on my sidebar, but I've kind of given up on it. It's a local reading challenge based in a city I don't live in, but that I usually visit 1-2 times a year. You have to pick up your prize (a generous gift certificate) in-store and use it that way too and that's unlikely to happen for me this year. Oh well.
Back to the tag...
I've read a handful of books this year that I've really enjoyed, but I have to go with Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson for this one. It's a YA fantasy—not my usual thing at all—but I enjoyed it immensely.
I'm always going on about the Rip Through Time series by Kelley Armstrong, so this one is no surprise. Disturbing the Dead is the third installment in the series. It's just as enjoyable as its predecessors.
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is probably the new release I've been most looking forward to and haven't read yet, but guess what? I made it to the top of the library's waitlist. Yay! I'm going to pick up the book tomorrow.
My last two Top Ten Tuesday lists were on this very subject (check out Part One and Part Two). Of the 20 books on those lists, I'm most excited about Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman. She's an auto-read author for me, so I'm always up for a new one from her.
I hate to label a book a "disappointment," but Trouble Island by Sharon Short is a historical mystery that I was really, really looking forward to reading. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting as well as the And Then There Were None plot. The characters were not very likable, though, and in the end, the novel just wasn't nearly as satisfying as I wanted it to be.
Not gonna lie, the cover of The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor by Aubrey Hartman does not appeal to me. I'm just not much of a fantasy reader. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by how much I enjoyed this engaging middle-grade novel.
Of the 91 books I've read so far this year, almost half of them were written by new-to-me authors. I don't know if an author can become a favorite with just one book, but here are some writers I'm definitely planning to read more from: Kat Ailes, Benjamin Stevenson, Jamie Sumner, Gabrielle Meyer, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Jenny Adams, Annelise Ryan, Kayvion Lewis, Katie Tietjen, Elizabeth Lowham, Kristen Perrin, Aubrey Hartman, and more.
I'm not a book boyfriend kind of person, so how about favorite literary couple/duo that I've encountered this year? No surprise here: Mallory Atkinson and Duncan Gray from the Rip Through Time series by Kelley Armstrong. As of yet, they are not officially a romantic couple, but they share a professional partnership and a personal friendship that are mutually supportive, kind, and fun.
I love Michael Rosario from The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly. He's a sweet, quiet kid who is wholly devoted to his hardworking single mother. He's also gentle, loyal, thoughtful, and always concerned about becoming a better person.
I'm a sap, it's true, but I still don't cry very often over books. I can't think of any tearjerkers I've read so far this year...
Most of the books I read are of the moody, broody variety. The Jane/Mary series by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows is the opposite. Although they do deal with serious subjects sometimes, the books are upbeat, hilarious, and all kinds of entertaining. They make me happy for sure. I've read four of them this year and, while I enjoyed them all, My Plain Jane is probably my favorite.
I'm not usually a big fan of book-to-movie adaptations. However, I really enjoyed A Haunting in Venice, which is based on Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie. I'm normally a staunch book-before-movie person, but my husband was too impatient to see the film, so I watched it first. Gasp!
(This isn't book related, but right after watching this movie, we viewed Belfast, another Kenneth Branagh production. It's excellent. We thought it was going to be heavy and depressing, but it's actually very funny and heartwarming [although there is some heartbreak as well]. I highly recommend it.)
Let's see...which of the two reviews I've written this year should I choose? LOL. Back in the day, I reviewed every book I read on my blog. These days, I'm a huge slacker and I mostly just make Top Ten Tuesday lists. I have managed to write two reviews in 2024: one for Artifice by Sharon Cameron and one for Dust by Dusti Bowling.
Have you seen a paper copy of Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson? They're GORGEOUS.
Since I still need to read 109 books to meet my Goodreads goal, I have quite a few I still want to read. I won't list them all. You're welcome.
I'm super chintzy with my star ratings. So far this year, I've only awarded two books with the coveted 5-star rating:
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Dust by Dusti Bowling
I'm not a big re-reader, but I do read or listen to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens every December. Last year, I listened to the audio version narrated by Tim Curry. It's fantastic, so I'll probably enjoy that one again this year.
In a few months, my book club will be reading The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. I can't remember a whole lot about who's who and what's what from the first book in the series, so I'll likely re-read The Maid as well before moving on to its sequel.
I expect The Women by Kristin Hannah will be a 5-star read for me.
Phew! That was a long tag/Top Ten Tuesday post. Thanks for hanging in there! What do you think of my answers to all these questions? How would you answer them? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your post. I also reply to the comments you leave here on my TTT posts, although I'm a little behind from last week.
Happy TTT!
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Hot Summer, Cool Library Holds
5:09 PM
Happy Tuesday, everyone. How's your summer shaping up so far? Not surprisingly, given that I live in the Phoenix area, mine is scorching hot! The high today was 111. Ugh. I've mostly spent the day inside with the air conditioner on high. Our backyard swimming pool has become a very popular place for family, neighbors, and friends. I'll definitely be taking a dip before the day's over. I hope you are staying cool while enjoying your summer activities.
This week's TTT prompt is a popular, bi-annual one that I always skip: Top Ten Bookish Wishes. Basically, you're supposed to post a list of books on your Amazon wishlist and then, as people hop around to different blogs, they can grant your bookish wishes by purchasing them for you. I already own more books than I can read in two lifetimes and, even if I didn't, I can't imagine asking my readers/blog friends to buy me books, so...time to go rogue. My creative juices aren't flowing very well today (dried up by the heat, no doubt), but I have some evergreen topics that I pull out for weeks like this. In anticipation of Cybils judging to come (fingers crossed that I get to be a middle grade fiction judge again) and the need to fulfill certain prompts for reading challenges, these are the ten books I have on hold at the library right now. Except for #1 and #11, I'm planning to pick them up this afternoon.
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Eleven Books I Have On Hold at the Library Right Now
1. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager (available June 18, 2024)—I'm #31 on the waitlist for Sager's newest, so hopefully, it won't be too long before I have it in my hot little hands.
The story concerns a man named Ethan Marsh who reluctantly returns to his quaint hometown to find the truth about the long-ago disappearance of his best friend. The boy vanished while he and Ethan were sleeping in a tent pitched in one of their backyards and has never been found. What happened to Billy? What sinister secrets lie beneath their idyllic neighborhood's pristine lawns and gentle facade?
2. Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell—When Halle and her mother both contract tuberculosis in 1935, they are sent to a remote hospital in upstate New York to be quarantined with others like them. Although she is cut off from the rest of the world, Halle is surprised to find friendship, healing, and strength in her isolated existence. When her mother takes a turn for the worse, however, the young TB patient worries if either one of them have a future at all, let alone one outside the walls of the hospital.
3. Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris—In Jim Crow Mississippi, three men are savagely murdered after trying to help Black people register to vote. In the wake of the incident, a young Black woman is attacked. She fights back, killing the man who tried to hurt her. Knowing there's no way she'll be dealt a fair hand in Mississippi, she flees to Georgia to hide. Back in their hometown, the woman's older sister is also in dire straits. She takes to the road as well. As both sisters struggle to find safety, a man is secretly tracking them. What will happen when he catches up?
4. Deep Water by Jamie Sumer—This middle-grade verse novel centers on a young girl who is grieving the recent death of her mother. In an attempt to soothe her troubled soul, she decides to enter a 12-mile swimming race in Lake Tahoe. If she comes in first, she'll be the youngest person ever to win the competition. When she starts to struggle in the water, she'll have to call on every ounce of strength and fortitude she has in order to finish the race, let alone win it.
5. Billie Starr's Book of Sorries by Deborah E. Kennedy—One of my IRL friends recommended this novel to me. It's about a single mother whose poor decision making has led to a chaotic life for her and her daughter. Now facing foreclosure on her house, the woman accepts a lucrative proposal. It doesn't take long for things to go awry. As she deals with her newest sticky situation, she finally begins to realize how life could be, if only she would learn to trust herself and take firm control of her own trajectory.
6. Trouble at the Tangerine by Gillian McDunn—Simon is tired of constantly being on the move. Unlike his adventure-seeking family, he wants to put down roots in a forever home. When a troubling theft occurs in his new apartment building, Simon worries the incident will be enough to get his family moving again. Determined to solve the mystery and keep his family in their new home, he sets out to do some sleuthing. Whodunit?
7. With Prejudice by Robin Peguero—I need to read a legal thriller for a reading challenge and this one sounds intriguing. Twelve jurors from varying walks of life come together to decide the fate of Gabriel Soto, a young man accused of killing kind, free-spirited Melina Mora. The evidence is complicated, the jurors are flummoxed, and everyone has their own agenda. What will these everyday people decide as they face one of the most important decisions of their lives?
8. The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly—With the Y2K crisis causing widespread panic, 12-year-old Michael Rosario is obsessing over two things: stockpiling supplies and wooing his crush, Gibby. When awkward Michael meets cool, confident Ridge—the first-ever time traveler—he gets a glimpse of what his future could look like. Ridge has a book that explains how to make it happen and Michael has to get it. No matter the consequences. How far will he go to get what he wants?
9. I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter—Everyone seems to be obsessed with true crime these days. I value my sleep and my sanity, so I tend to avoid the genre altogether. I am, however, fascinated with the implications of DNA testing for genealogical purposes and beyond, so I'm all in for this book. Fingers crossed it isn't too disturbing!
10. The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson—The titular heroine of this middle-grade historical novel is a French-Ojibwe girl who has just been orphaned by her sailor father's death at sea. With no one to care for her, she becomes the foster child of a mysterious Anishinaabe family of lighthouse keepers who care for a lighthouse in the middle of Lake Michigan. Although Lucy struggles with grief and fitting in, she's excited that she now lives very near the shipwreck (and treasure!) her dad spent his life looking for. If she can find what he always dreamed of unearthing, it will be sort of like having him back. When Lucy's future at the lighthouse becomes endangered, she grows even more determined to find the sunken treasure.
11. Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth—This thriller has been getting all kinds of buzz and it fits one of my reading challenge prompts for a book with "darling" in the title. Win-win. It's about three women who grew up together in a foster home with Miss Fairchild at the helm. Although it looked idyllic from the outside, their foster mother had strict rules and an unpredictable, no-nonsense approach to parenting. The trio escaped as soon as they could and have never looked back. When a dead body is found under the home where the girls lived, they reluctantly return to their hometown. Are they witnesses or suspects? I'm #11 on the waitlist for this one, so we'll see how long it takes to get it.
There you go, eleven books I have on hold at the library right now. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Are you a library user? What are the last books you put on hold? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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