Top Ten Tuesday: Ten of the Longest Books I’ve Read

Hello! It’s Tuesday and you know what time it is…Top Ten. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, Jana every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I looked at this week’s challenge and went to GoodReads to see if I could identify the longest books I’ve read over the years (at least since I have been using Goodreads).

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 525 pages

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A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir 452 pages

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Winter by Marissa Meyer 827 pages

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The Time in Between by Maria Duenas 615 pages

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The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley 527 pages

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The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith 455 pages

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 440 pages

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Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson 436 pages

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Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 473 pages

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The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani 475 pages

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The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach 512 pages

Since I really loved this book, I had to add one more big book and that is The Orphan Keeper. This book was long but it was so good, I barely noticed the length.

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The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright 432 pages

Happy reading!

Belinda

Top Ten Tuesday: Books By (some of) My Favorite Authors That I still Haven’t Read

Hello! It’s Tuesday and you know what time it is…Top Ten. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, Jana every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I looked at this week’s challenge and thought I could easily participate since I have a rather large TBR to choose from.

5186So many years ago, I read Edwidge Danticat’s “Krik Krak” and was so moved by how at such a young age, Edwidge wrote with so much feeling and rawness that I knew I had to read more.  I ended up buying more of her books but not reading them.

31115Some of the books she has written that I still need to read are:

Breath, Eyes, Memory

The Farming of Bones

 

 

51108I read The Samurai’s Garden a couple years ago with a book club and really enjoyed the writing and the story. I quickly began snatching up used copies of Gail Tsukiyama’s other books at used book sales.  Another of her other books I would like to read is:

The Language of Threads

 

 

 

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This list would not be complete without Sujata Massey. I have been with her since her first novel in 1997, “The Salaryman’s Wife (Rei Shimura #1). I loved the main character and experiencing various aspects of Japanese culture while solving a mystery. I read the entire series. Two books of hers that are not in that 40545212series that I have not read yet are:

The Sleeping Dictionary

I am also super excited about her upcoming release of another series she writes. It is called “The Satapur Moonstone (Perveen #2) and it is scheduled to be released in May 2019 and you know I already have it on pre-order!

22221136Another author that I have read a lot of books is Susanna Kearsley. I started with Mariana and never looked back.

15942636They are fantastic books. With a mix of romance and historical fiction that keeps you coming back for more. I have a few that I have not read yet:
 A Desperate Fortune

The Firebird

 

34912895Another author that I have read and enjoyed and need to catch up on is Kristin Hannah. I have only read The Nightingale but I loved it.  1472878So I picked up several of her books in my last birthday book haul and have yet to read them.

One of which is:

Firefly Lane

The Great Alone

 

25150798I read Lisa See many years ago and really enjoyed her books. I recently bought one of her books as part of my birthday haul that I have been meaning to read:

Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

 

So as you can see, I had no problem pulling some books that I want to read from my big old TBR.

Hope you have a wonderful day and find time to spend with a book!

Belinda

Happy Monday!

Hello everyone! I am back to hang out a bit. It’s freezing outside but the sun is blasting so that makes it better.  Another storm is heading our way on Wednesday, hopefully, it doesn’t bring any significant amounts of snow.  Spring is tomorrow so I have no interest in seeing any more snowstorms.

Last week was a fun week despite the Nor’easter which dumped quite a bit of snow. So you can see why I might not be in the cheering section for another storm. The one thing I love about big storms is snow days and my boys get to stay home with us.  I love having my peeps around.

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Yesterday I took my boys to see, “A Wrinkle in Time” and wow it was fantastic. I liked the messages in the story and the visuals were amazing.  I was taken aback by the marketing that this movie was for “Father-daughter or mother-daughter dates”. My sons enjoyed it and the messages were important to everyone. So I am quite confused why anyone would wish to limit the exposure of this movie. I also found this lovely interview with the granddaughter of the late Madeleine L’Engle. She believes her grandmother would have loved the film.

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Lately, we have been picking winners to see at the theaters. The last movie we saw was Black Panther and I loved it. I rarely want to see a movie again on the big screen but this one gave me all the feels and I am so tempted to go see it again. My hope is that everyone gets to see this film because it isn’t just important for black people to see themselves portrayed as strong superheroes. It is important for everyone to gain more exposure and then maybe one day he will just be a celebrated superhero.

As you know, I still have reading sessions with my youngest son and our latest book is blowing my mind. It is called, “The Other Mozart: The Life of the famous Chevalier de Saint-George“. I first heard about him on an episode of The View in which they would feature a different person each for Black History Month. So I wrote it down and checked it out of the library. I listen to a variety of music including classical and I have never heard of Chevalier de Saint-George.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799)[1] was a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist, and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave.[2] During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the ‘Légion St.-Georges,'[3] the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. Today the Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the first classical composer of African ancestry.

We read half of the book on Saturday and then found his music to listen to online. We will finish the second half tonight. But what a pleasant surprise to learn of this man and his achievements. I love finding opportunities like this to expose to my boys so they are reminded what is possible.

Well, I am off and I hope you all have a blessed day!

Belinda

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Unique Book Titles

Hello! It’s Tuesday and you know what time it is…Top Ten. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I looked at this week’s challenge and thought I could easily participate. As may or may not know, my bedroom is in the process of being renovated and so my house is in a state of pure chaos with bedroom furniture, books and so much more moved to other areas in my house. Needless to say,  I still wanted to play Top Ten so I dug around some of the displaced books and some still shelved to find 10 unique book titles. Now, I did not go online to verify but these titles are unique to me.

The Goat Woman of Largo Bay by Gillian Royes – This is the book one in a series that features a detective in Jamaica. I can’t believe that there is a book out there with this title. It was the first one that caught my eye while searching for titles. I have not read this book yet but have been collecting the book in the series to possibly binge read them.

419 by Will Ferguson – The Canadian edition has a stunning cover, mine edition not as much. It won the Giller Prize (The Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries.) I was attracted to the book from this part of the summary:

419 takes readers behind the scene of the world’s most insidious internet scam. When Laura’s father gets caught up in one such swindle and pays with his life, she is forced to leave the comfort of North America to make a journey deep into the dangerous back streets and alleyways of the Lagos underworld to confront her father’s killer. What she finds there will change her life forever…

Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt – This one sounds like a movie title and the cover is cute. It’s a book about sisters that meet for a reunion and they are forced to rethink their past beliefs. Sounds like a light, fun read.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell -I heard about Sarah Vowell a few years ago and started collecting her books from used bookstores.  This one sounds very interesting and I can’t wait to finally sit down and actually read it. It is her collection of personal stories that travel through the past and covers a wide range of topics. Have any of you read her books and if so, which would you recommend I start with when I begin reading her works?

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson – I read this book in 2015 when it was first released and really enjoyed it. You can click to see my review. I recently purchased book 2 to read it and I believe book 3 is either already out or out soon. So I have some catching up to do.

Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa – I picked up this book at my local Savers for 50 cents. The cover caught my attention but the story sounds interesting. It is a non-fiction, autobiography of the author and the evolution of her relationship with her birthplace, Nigeria. I know very little about Nigeria and thought this would be a great entryway. I have an around the world challenge for myself and this one definitely fits the criterion.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley – The cover of this book caught my eye the year it came out and I snatched it up. It’s absolutely stunning. The story was so unique to me and I finally picked up book two. I think I need to start a list of series I have started and haven’t completed.

The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson – I remember picking this book up at Savers because of the unique title. I never read this author before and the description sounds like a spy, thriller set in Sierra Leone.

The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon – I pretty much think I am the last to read this series. The covers are fantastic, I always hear positive feedback so now I just need to sit and read. I bought two of the books from book outlet way too long ago and yet I haven’t cracked one open. Sad, right? One day I will get to them. For those who aren’t familiar with this book, it is book 2 in The Bone Season Series. I won’t describe it because I never like to read the description if I haven’t read the preceding book.

NW by Zadie Smith – Come on, this title has to be unique. It pulls you in because it has no meaning when you first see the book on the shelf. I believe it stands for northwest London which is where the story takes place. I want to read Zadie but I am nervous about where to start because so many people like her writing and I hope I do too.

Ok here is my list. Have you read any of them? I can’t wait to see what titles you all list.

Happy reading!

Belinda

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