Another Top Tuesday and another Top Ten- this week is about things That Make Me Instantly Not Want to Read a Book
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Another Top Tuesday and another Top Ten- This week it is Things That Make Me Instantly Not want to Read a Book. I feel I must add a disclaimer, these are my own personal dislikes and quirks and some my be irrational!
It’s another Tuesday and another Top Ten. This week it’s the books I recommend the most
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This week is a hard one. How do I narrow down my recommendations to ten!
The Lymond Chronicles ( review here) by Dorothy Dunnett
This historical fiction series features an intriguing antihero, complex plotting, historical detail and great overriding arcs.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
Some of the terminology may be a little dated but the book remains one of the most hilarious books out there.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
I recommend these books to teenagers or older kids who have fallen out of reading reading and it never fails.
The Dirk Gently Detective agency by Douglas Adams
I reread this book a lot, and the cleverness of the humour and the sci-fi elements never cease to amaze me.
The House of Niccolo ( review here) By Dorothy Dunnett
I don’t think this is as good as the Lymond chronicles but these books still have all the elements that make Lymond- a complex hero, romance,historical detail and the longest arc.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
This parallel London book is full of whimsy,danger and feel-goodness- a book a recommend to people when they want to dip their toes in fantasy
The Chimp Paradox/The Hidden Chimp by Steve Peters
These books are great in teaching grown-ups and children how to control their anger aka inner chimp.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
These books manage to combine so much physics and religion.
The Other Boleyn Sister by Phillipa Gregory
This is the book that got me hooked on historical fiction and is the book I recommend to people if they wanted to try the genre
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
When I think of interesting and thought provoking sci-fi this is the book I would recommend when anyone thinks of sci-fi as just being spaceships and dogfights.
Another Top Tuesday and another Top Ten- this week is a fun one- a non-book freebie
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Another Top Tuesday and another Top Ten- this week is a fun one- non-book freebie to help your readers get to know you. I’ve chosen TV shows I have watched more than three times.
Girls5ever
I find new jokes each time I watch this. This comedy about a former girl band trying to make a comeback in their forties is hilarious- from the observations on sexism to truly terrible song lyrics. This show is true BPE.
This urban fantasy show ,very loosely based on a Stephen King novel, is anything original but I love the actors, gentle humour and the underlying arc as well as the amazing landscape of Nova Scotia (standing in for Maine.)
Counterpart
I came across this science fiction completely by accident but I ended up watching it so many times just to admire the acting, writing and the cleverness of it all (the show is eerily prescient of the changes in our life during covid.)
Black Books
This is a comedy for all book lovers. Bernard Black is the grumpy bookseller who just wants to read his books in peace and not deal with the world but ends up living with Manny the stressed out but now super chilled accountant (after swallowing the little book of calm).
Death in Paradise
I shouldn’t find a show about murder relaxing but there something about the gorgeous island of St Marie and the eccentric people who live there that calms me down each time I watch.
Red Dwarf
Dave is the last man in the universe, flying around in Red Dwarf with only an evolved and narcissistic cat, an annoyed Hologram and neurotic android for company. I still find this sitcom hilarious even after two decades worth of rewatches.
The Good Place
This comedy focusses on how to be a better person and the basic premises of moral philosophy somehow manages to be hilarious and its gentle optimism is my antidote to all the negativity in the world at the moment.
The Magicians
This urban fantasy is funny, tragic with great storylines, great characters and of course magi- Margo has to one of the strongest female characters on TV.
People Just do Nothing.
I discovered this on Netflix and missed it when it first came out- the mockumentary is a little dated but this one following a pirate radio channel transmitting out of a council flat in Brentford is special.
Angel/Buffy The Vampire Slayer
This is show I watched over and over again, Buffy was the first TV show I saw that seemed to empower women and the ongoing arcs kept me hooked. The recent allegations made by some of the actors have taken the shine off a little but this remains on my rewatch list.
Are there any shows that you have watched more than once?
It’s another Tuesday and another Top Ten Tuesday and this week the theme is a topic I missed, so I’ve picked my favourite bingeworthy shows a TTT from 2018
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
I enjoy books but I also love tv shows especially the ones with amazing arcs and stories. So in no particular order here are my favourite binge worthy tv shows- a TTT from 2018
It’s the first Tuesday of 2023 and time for another TTT and this time it’s my top ten books of 2022. It has been hard narrowing this down to Ten but here we go.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
It is going to be a challenge narrowing down my list to just ten but here we go.
It’s another Tuesday and another list. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday Unlikable characters you can’t help with love.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
A fun topic this week , so in no particular order here are the top ten unlikable characters I can’t help but love
Daniel Hawthorne from The Word of Murder by Anthony Horowitz
Hawthorne is the ex-detective working with Horowitz to produce a series of books but somehow Horowitz ends up right in the middle of solving murders rather than writing about them. Hawthorne starts off in the first book as abrasive, tight git but he slowly evolves into a man with his own tight moral code, loyal, dedicated father and a man with an elusive past but still somehow remains a tight, abrasive git!
Harriet from The Change by Karen Miller
There aren’t many middle-aged, anti-heroines in fiction today, so I loved Harriet from The Change, an ex-copy writer who embraces her inner rage to become something society is terrified of- a woman who really doesn’t care or confirm. I should disapprove of her casual love life, murders, and awful revenge but I can’t but help but admire her,
Lymond from the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Can I ever write a list with mentioning Lymond? Francis in the first book of the Lymond Chronicles, The Game of Kings, is a brash, annoying ,dangerous ,drunk traitor as well as being a terrible brother and son and this doesn’t change much in the later books. But you can’t help but love his intelligence, loyalty, wit and his love for Scotland (and his mother).
Queen Mab from the Dresden Files
I have read all the books in the Dresden files (about 20 I think) and Queen Mab pops in and out helping Dresden in his times of need and then extracting a deadly price-A terrifying surrogate mother figure of sorts but someone I can’t help but like.
Margot Cleary from The Power by Naomi Alderson
Margot is a mother of two girls in a world where young girls and women have developed the power to shock people, but she is also a politician. So, you can see why she wants to create a world where women can use their power freely. She does takes this a bit too far ( ok much too far) by almost destroying society, but she was still my favourite character in the book especially when she learns to tap into her own power.
Rebecca from Rebecca by Daphne Du Marier
Rebecca is the mysterious and dangerous woman who is the complete opposite of the conventional narrator, but she casts a strong presence in the book. Another woman who did as she pleased regardless of the cost- someone who I should despise but deep down actually like.
Damien Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries (tv and book)
So, this one might because of Ian Somerhalder’s portrayal of a Vampire who falls in love with a mortal, but Damien is a conflicted vampire and brother who can’t stop being bad even when he is trying to be good.
Thank you for reading my list
Please leave a link to your TTT,so I can read your list
It’s another Tuesday and another list. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is books on my autumn(fall) to read list and of course I have added more to an ever-expanding list!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
It’s another Tuesday and another list. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a hard one- books with geographical terms in the title.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This week’s TTT theme is a hard one especially when geography wasn’t my favourite subject!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
This week’s TTT theme is books written more than ten years ago that I love and I have to say it was a struggle to choose just ten!
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 1990
Aziraphale and Crowley have been enemies for millennia working for God and the Devil respectively, so of course, they become friends of a sort, enjoying a comfortable existence on earth. But then a child is born who will bring about the end of days who is placed under the careful guidance of Aziraphale and Crowley and they have managed to lose him.
Aziraphale and Crowley are like an old, married couple but amazingly incompetent despite their God-given gifts which makes this one of my favourite books.
Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 1970
I was hooked when I read the hilarious author’s note on his inspiration for this book.Dent is the hapless human who somehow manages to hitch on a spaceship and escape the destruction of earth. He is joined by Ford, an alien journalist for the Hitchhiker Guide and they bumble their way through four books to solve the mystery of life. I’m now in my forties and I have with the Hitchhikers guide’s view on towels- very useful to pack when travelling.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 1847
I first read this when I was 14 and this complicated and dark love story still appeals to me.
The Game of Kings ( The Lymond Chronicles) by Dorothy Dunnett 1960
The Lymond Chronicles is one of the best series I have ever read and I always have a reread every year. This book was ahead of it’s time with a bisexual hero,strong women and intricate plots- I see Dunnett’s influence on so many authors.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 2001
This is my go to book when I need a laugh featuring amazing ideas like a kick ass Miss Haversham and an anger management group for the characters of Wuthering Heights.
Red Dwarf by Grant Taylor 1990
I read the books before I watched the TV series and no matter how many times I read this book; I find myself laughing hysterically.
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman 2001
The third book in his dark materials is a complex mixture of physics, philosophy and religion and I hope my kids will enjoy it as much as I did.
Storm Front by Jim Butcher 2000
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher remains one of my favourite ongoing series and the first book Storm Front kindled my love for urban fantasy.
Guilty Pleasure by Laurel Hamilton 1993
I discovered the Anita Blake Vampire Killer series and I loved Anita Blake who was the perfectly written female heroine who rescued a lot of men ( which was not that common pre Buffy). Guilty Pleasure remains one of my favourite book despite my disappointment at how the series has changed.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory 2001
I wasn’t too happy when my book group chose this as the book to read one month but I couldn’t put it down. This alternative take on Tudor history gave me a new genre to love- historical fiction.
Thank you for stopping by
Please leave a link to your TTT so I visit your site.
It’s another Tuesday and another Top Ten. This week it’s an easy books from my past seasonal TBR that I still haven’t read yet.
#TopTenTuesday
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
I have to say, it was a little disappointing to see how many books I haven’t read from my past seasonal TBR but I’m going to focus on the positives- I did read a few! Here are the top five.
The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox
I’m still keen on this book- a policeman investigating his own murder after his death
Violet made of Thorns by Gina Chen
I still love this cover
Her Majesty’s secret Cover by Juno Dawson
Hopefully I will read this over the summer
Inda by Sherwood Smith
This one is from my Autumn 2021 list!
The Memory Theatre by Karin Tidbeck
I completely forgot about this one about parallel worlds
Taken by Benedict Jacka
I’ve put this urban fantasy series on hold (accidentally).
Thank you for reading
Please leave a link to your TTT, so I can have a look at your TTT
Series Book Lover 