Top Ten Tuesday: Historical Settings I Love

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wondrous women over at The Broke and The Bookish. Thanks, y’all!

I LOVE THIS TOPIC. I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION SO MUCH, Y’ALL. HERE WE GO.

These are so good, y’all. I know a lot of people think this time period is way over done, but I’ll never get enough. Ever.

SO FASCINATING. The high school I went to is doing a play about it (The Last Lifeboat) and I cannot wait.

Isn’t everyone totally into this time period? I feel like some of the most popular HF books I hear about are set in WWII. Such an unbelievable event.

Another super weird time period I can’t get enough of. I’m currently reading Conversion by Katherine Howe, which switches between witch trials and modern day.

I owe my love of this era to my bestie, who is totally obsessed. And after Gatsby, I couldn’t go back. Too awesome. Too influential.

I’m thinking mostly of The Luxe books by Anna Godberson, which is one of my favorite HF series. (She also wrote the Bright Young Things series for those who agree on the 20’s love).

Maybe it’s because I just finished rewatching Merlin, but give me all of these books.

I AM SO INTO PIRATES RIGHT NOW, Y’ALL. PLEASE REC BOOKS TO ME.

I can’t think of any books I’ve read in this period in a while, but I’m always up for book recs!

I just love Jane Austen so much. I want everything set in the Regency period please.

Sound off in the comments: What settings/time periods/eras do you love most? Do we have any in common? Or do we totally disagree? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Recently Added to My TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the bookish beauties at
The Broke and The Bookish. Thank you!

Because Christmas can be a great time for bookworms, our TBR gets even longer in just a few days. Here are a few books I’ve added to my shelves recently and I can’t wait to read them!

  

    

  

Sound off in the comments: What did you recently add? Do we have any in common? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Resolutions

 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the gorgeous gals over at the Broke and the Bookish.

I didn’t do too well with my resolutions this year, so I’m starting over and making them a bit more manageable.

Read books I already own. 
We all struggle with adding to our TBR without making much headway first. I want to read twenty books for every one that I buy until I’ve read every book I own.

Read one book a week.
I’m hoping this will be a minimum rather than a maximum, and I’ll end up reading 3-4 books a week. But I’m not going to push myself into reading just to hit a number.

Do the PopSugar reading challenge again.
I loved doing this challenge last year and I’m really looking forward to doing it again. It was around half of the reading I did last year and I finished it by March. I won’t be racing against my sister this time, but I think I’ll still finish it pretty quickly.

Reread the Harry Potter series.
It’s been so long, y’all.

Be more consistent here on the blog.
It was not a good blogging year, as you know. It was a busy year full of changes, but I’m going to make this a higher priority since I really like doing it.

Organize my books.
This is less of a physical thing and more of a list thing. I want to have a binder  or journal of book lists pertaining to my library. Books about Anne Boleyn, Road Trip Books, Issue Books, etc. So when I’m in a particular mood or someone wants recommendations on what to borrow, I can just pull that out and voila!

Read a chapter of the Bible every day.
I want to get closer to God and what better way than to start each day by reading His Word?

Write more.
I want to do something creative each day as an outlet, and I want to get back to writing. Whether it’s poetry, novels, or fan fiction, I just want to write.

Start a Booktube
Who doesn’t want to do this?! But I need a better webcam, a nice setup, editing skills, etc. So I’m going to work towards this goal this year.

Improve my bookstagram
I haven’t posted since this summer and quality photos are hard when your ipod only has a selfie camera. So I’m going to work on that too.

Top Ten Tuesday: Wishes I’d Ask the Book Genie to Grant Me

Top Ten Wishes I’d Ask the Book Genie to Grant

Go to Hogwarts
Obviously! Who doesn’t want this?!

That the Library of Alexandria survived
I can’t think about this for too long without hurting.

Everything on my Amazon and Goodreads wishlists
The (crazily expensive) dream, am I right?

That the whole world would have a voracious appetite for reading
Think of all the demands for great stories! Book clubs would be so much more popular, it would be so much easier to find new book friends, and libraries would have endless support.

A MARAUDERS SERIES
PLEASE, JKR. -insert heart eyes emojis-

The series as told from Draco’s perspective
Was there any doubt that this would show up on this list?

Also from Neville’s perspective
I’m so predictable.

More Pride and Prejudice please!!
I know this is one of the most adapted works, but I can’t get enough!

More diverse books!!
We always need this! Never enough!

To be able to enter a book (Mary Poppins Style!)
Last but not least, every bookworm’s dream come true.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten ‘T10T’ Topics I Want to See Again

As always, T10T is hosted by the delightful damsels over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Since I haven’t done tons of these posts, this week I decided to pick the ten topics that have been done that I hope come back up so I can take part this time! You can also click on the title card and it’ll take you to the original post on TBTB’s blog!

    

Did you write about any of these topics? What are your favorites? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Couples I Don’t Ship

As always, T10T is hosted by the cool cats over at The Broke and The Bookish!

This is a freebie week, and since I’ve been seeing a lot of these on tumblr lately, I thought I’d talk about the couples I don’t really see as being good together. DISCLAIMER: Ship whatever you want! There is no ship hate here. Just my preference. Also, feel free to make your arguments in the comments; I’ve come around to a few couples just from exposure and people convincing me there’s some good reasoning behind them (I’m looking at you, Dramione).

Typically, I love couples that start out hating each other. And maybe this would change if I was going to finish the series. But I don’t feel any inclination to do so and so this couple will never hit just right for me. Part of it is because I think the whole concept of the book is flawed (Seriously, Sophie acted JUST LIKE all the other princesses, but somehow she’s the only evil one? Whatever.) and without some serious fine-tuning, I’m not going to be okay with any aspect of it, especially the main couple that seems thrown together for the sake of a (predictable) twist.

Wow, I hate Aspen SO MUCH. I don’t see how he can claim to love America so completely and still think that this independent woman should be dependent on him. WTF?! Not an ounce of me ships it and never will. I hate him so much.

No one can tell me that Mary and Mr. Collins were not made for each other! They would be simpering and high and mighty together! Charlotte deserved so much more than a marriage of convenience and so did Mr. Collins. I think Darcy should have let Lizzie hook up Charlotte and Colonel Fitzwilliam because they are both so practical yet fun and then Lizzie and Charlotte could hang out all the time with Jane and the fearsome threesome would never have to part. But maybe that’s just me.

Draco, my dearest, why must you continue to suffer at the hands of an author that does nothing but use you as a vent for her bitterness? I’ll get into this with Neville in a little bit as well, but JKR seems to just throw people together at the end just to tie up loose ends with absolutely no history. As someone that stays in the potter world and says all the time how she loves and owes everything to her fans, she sure loves to skimp on the things she knows we want. Astoria is NEVER mentioned in the books, only a couple name drops of her older sister Daphne. But we’re supposed to be content because at least Draco is married. But was the marriage arranged? Does he actually love her? Is she good for him? Does she inspire him to be a better person? Are they good parents? Was Scorpius planned? Or just conceived so there was a Malfoy heir? Is it a loveless marriage or a joyful, loving one? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS and she’ll never answer them because she hates Draco and his fans.

Oh, Gatsby. Oh, Daisy. I feel like this is the more contemporary version of the high school freshman that thinks Romeo and Juliet is a perfect love story with no irony or satire or anything. An amazing story, of course. But Gatsby puts Daisy on an impossible pedestal that no one can live up to, let alone a woman as smart as Daisy (seriously, how can anyone read the beautiful fool quote and NOT think that Daisy is totally aware of her position and how precarious it is?! She’s the Sansa Stark of the 1920’s). While I wish Daisy had divorced Tom and taken her child away to a life of independence, it just wasn’t realistic for the time period and it would only work out because it’s a work of fiction.

Obviously, this couple doesn’t last. But man, did anyone expect them to stay together? Is sex the only reason they hooked up in the first place? Terrible pairing. Just terrible.

Minuette and Dominic forever! William, though I love him, is a spoiled king that can’t imagine someone not loving him. Even though that’s exactly the case. Silly Will. Though also, stupid Min for not being honest that second and saving everyone a loooooot of heartache.

Same as Draco and Astoria above. Just slapped together. WTF, JKR?!

Part of this is due to my absolute love of Neville and absolute hate of Luna, but this is the dumbest coupling ever. Neville has always wanted to just fit in and have the respect of his peers and Luna doesn’t care AT ALL (pretty much her only redeemable quality, imho). She would think he’s ridiculous and he would be embarrassed all the time by her. Friends, totally! I love that! But as a couple, bells no.

Wendy is like many little girls in that she wants adventure, but she also wants it to be tied up neatly in the end with a wedding dress and happily ever after…which is the exact opposite of what makes Peter who he is. Never gonna work out, friends only, no thanks.

What couples do you think wouldn’t work together? Do we have any in common? Is one of your OTP’s on this list? What are your reasons for either? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors

As always, T10T is hosted by the phenomenal femmes over at The Broke and The Bookish!

This was so hard, y’all. And again, this would be totally different on another day. Like after finishing these cards, I remembered Erin Morgenstern!! But I was sick of laying out pictures and called it quits. Haha. So here are my current choices for top ten favorite authors in no particular order:

Do we have any in common? Who are your favorite authors? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Inspiring Quotes From Books

As always, this is a weekly feature hosted by the delightful dames over at The Broke and The Bookish!

So those are my favorite inspirational quotes from books. Did you see any you liked? Do we have any in common? What are your go-to quotes when you need some inspiration? Sound off in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Characters I’d Like to Catch Up With

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the marvelous maids at The Broke and The Bookish!

This week’s topic honors those characters that you wish you would see how they’re doing. If only you could meet up for coffee and see what they’re up to, how the family is doing, how they’re feeling. These are the characters that you can’t get enough of, the ones that you didn’t get closure on, or you just plain love reading about them. It was so hard to narrow down this list, and I’m sure if this was asked again, half of the list would be different.

Is anyone really surprised? I love Draco so much, and I want to know everything about him and his life. I want to know if I’m correct in thinking his actual favorite color is either a light blue or deep navy. I want to know if he chose to marry Astoria, if she’s good for him, how much he loves his son, and if he’s been the father he’s always wanted. I just need more Draco in my life.

At the end of Just One Night, Allyson and Willem have a happy, if not vague, ending. I want to see what other adventures they go on, what friends they meet in new lands. I want to see Willem meeting Allyson’s parents and see how they react to him. I want to see Willem successful at a single theatre, and how long it takes for him to feel the need to get lost in a new place again. I just need everything from these two!

Ah, Cath. I will never not be upset that Fangirl is a standalone book. Every aspect of this book is so strong, from the complicated dynamic characters to the inserts of imagined books and the fanfiction they inspire. I want Cath, with her unforgettable voice, to tell me how things are going with Levi, if she’s written any more original work or fic, to rant about how her sister keeps trying to trick Levi into thinking they’ve switched places!!

When I first finished Anna and the French Kiss, I was so excited to read the teaser of Lola and the Boy Next Door that followed the acknowledgements. But immediately, I hated Lola. I thought she was one of those people that try to be different for the sake of being different instead of just being themselves. She seemed whiny, attention-seeking, and immature. But after I gave her a second chance and finished the series, I loved her. Hers is my favorite book of the trilogy because she’s just SO true to herself! She tries to change and realizes that she just can’t be someone she’s not and I think that’s such an important role model to have. I want to see the clothes she’s made since the ending, and I want to see if she’s started designing men’s clothes so she can make even cooler pants for Cricket to wear. I just love her, and I want to make sure she’s living her life to her amazing extremes.

If ever there was a book that made me swoon, it was My Life Next Door. Augh! These characters are so vivid and fun, I want to reread it every time I glance past its spine on my shelves. I would love to see how Samantha balances her life as it continues, and how she keeps growing into herself instead of the perfect daughter her parents want.

Neville Longbottom is a lot like Draco in that I want to see how he’s adjusted to life after the war. But I want to see if he’s gotten the recognition he deserves, I want to see him visiting his parents and if they are ever healed. I want to see him falling in love and courting his wife. I want to see how excited he gets when he finds out he’ll be teaching at Hogwarts. I want to see him start a family and name his children better than flippin’ Harry Potter did. I want to see Neville as he deserves to be: completely and utterly happy.

Poppet and Widget belong to one of the most gorgeous books I have ever had the privilege to read: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The ending of the book takes some thinking to understand, and I need to see how the world around the circus is affected by it. I don’t want to say too much because it’s a book everyone needs to read without knowing too much about, but these two are high on my list of ‘GIVE ME MORE NARRATIVE PLEASE’.

Has there ever been a more swoon-worthy couple than Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy? I don’t think so. (But if there is, let me know ASAP!!) These two have inspired tons of books and stories continuing their stories, but I’d like to know what truly happens. As soon as long-gone authors figure out how to write more, I’d like to request Pride and Prejudice 2: Swoons and Sarcasm. Thanks, JA!

This book is seriously required reading for anyone that loves spring, flowers, or being happy at all. I will never have enough of this amazing protagonist that shows how amazing things come from every walk of life. Victoria, you’re my hero. ❤

Ella of Ella Enchanted is seriously the coolest middle grade lit protagonist ever. She loves animals, she speaks all of the languages in the realm, she doesn’t change who she is for anyone, and she doesn’t let a curse bring her down or control her, even though that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do. Ella is the most BA chick to have ever BA’ed, and I will make sure every child I ever babysit/raise reads this book. #SorryNotSorry

So those are my picks for this week! Let me know: do we have any of the same characters? Do you have any headcanons you need to share? What are your characters to catch up with one day?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books Recently Added to My TBR

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is Hosted by the gorgeous gals over at the Broke and the Bookish!

 

  

  

  

    

What are some books you’ve recently added to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!