Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Things I’m Grateful For

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is so soon!  I am looking forward to the food, though.  And the Macy’s Parade!  It’s not Thanksgiving otherwise.  Here are ten things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving.

1. Blogging!  It’s a really good outlet, and I get to talk about all of the books I’m reading.  Plus, I get to find out about other books (that I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise) from other people.
2. Friends!  I know some very cool people and I am very glad they are a part of my life.
3. My grandparents.  I’m really close to my grandma (and I was close to my grandpa before he passed away), and I’m glad I have such a good relationship with them.
4. A job I like.  I know a lot of people aren’t that lucky, but not only am I grateful that I have a job, but that I like what I do.
5. NaNoWriMo.  This is my 11th year doing it, and I love the community.  And I get to write something different every year- and it’s very different than what I write here on the blog.
6. Harry Potter.  I am eternally grateful for the world that J.K. Rowling created and it’s what got me into writing in the first place.
7. Coffee.  And tea, sometimes.  But mostly coffee.  I don’t think I could get through the day without coffee.
8. Crochet.  It’s fun!  And not stressful.  Except for when it is stressful.  Which isn’t often, thankfully.
9. Podcasts.  I like hearing people talk about their lives, and I like that there are so many different podcasts I could try.
10. Books!  Obviously, I like books since I talk about them a lot.  But they make me think and I can go somewhere without leaving my house and I can learn so many things from just a few hundred pages.  They are pretty awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

I really like this topic because it means I get to revisit some of the books I’ve recently decided I needed to read.  All links go to goodreads!

• Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Short Fiction, edited by S. Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle.  I came across this book on a blog I read, and it sounds amazing!
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone.  This book sounds like it’s Love Letters To The Dead meets All-American Boys, and I can’t wait to read it when it comes out next year.  (Cover not pictured- it’s not available yet).
• The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas.  It’s inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and it looks really good (and also worth checking out).
• Girl In Between by Pintip Dunn.  This looks like a really good mystery about secrets and trying to fit in.

• It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Sugiera.  Unraveling secrets fascinate me and this one looks good!
• Flame In The Mist by Renee Ahdieh.  I love the cover, and you have political marriages and samurai and betrayal and it sound amazing!
• Empress Of A Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza.  It’s set in space, and that’s always cool.  And warring planets is somehow more interesting than warring kingdoms.  I don’t know why.

• Thunder & Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future by Lauren Redniss.  It’s about the weather and how it’s changed and and it takes you all over the world.  I think it sounds really cool, but that could be just me.
• So The Path Does Not Die by Pede Hollist.  This book, for some reason, seems like a good read for anyone who likes Nnedi Okorafor and Chimamanda Adichie, and I don’t know why.  But I’m really glad I came across this book because it looks really good.
• Beyond The Horizon by Amma Darko.  This book caught my interest because it’s about a woman who travels to Germany, only to find out that she was betrayed by her husband and is forced into prostitution.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Character Names I’d Use If I Changed My Name

I really love names, and I don’t know why, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to pick my own name.  And naming characters is one of my favorite things about writing.  If I did change my name, here are my top choices.

1. Hermione from Harry Potter.  I love Hermione and she’s one of my favorite characters of all time, so naturally, I’d want to have Hermione as my name.
2. Aria from Pretty Little Liars and Under The Never Sky.  I don’t know why I like it, but I do.  It’s pretty and different.
3. Seraphina, from Wander Dust by Michelle Warren.  I LOVE this name.  It’s pretty and different and sort of old-timey.
4. Scarlet from The Lunar Chronicles.  I don’t know if I’m necessarily a Scarlet, but that’s not going to stop me from loving the name.
5. Eadlyn from The Selection series.  I might not be the biggest fan of Eadlyn (the character), but she does have a really great name.
6. Willow from Dream Chaser by Angie Stanton.  I sort of like nature names, and Willow is really pretty.
7. Rowan from Me Since You by Laura Weiss.  Speaking of nature names, Rowan is a pretty name.  I fell in love with the name after reading the book.
8. Ellie from Guardian Of The Dead by Karen Healey.  Like most of the names on my list, I really like the name, even if I don’t know why I like it so much.
9. Livie from One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker.  I was reminded of myself, at least a little bit, and I think maybe that’s why I like the name.  Well, the one reason I can actually identify.
10. Luna from Harry Potter.  Luna is another one of my favorite Harry Potter characters (and all-time favorite characters when you take all books into consideration), and I would be honored to have her name.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books I’ve Read Because Of Recommendations

I think most of the books I’ve read are because of recommendations, whether it’s from Goodreads, a blogger or a friend,  These are ten of my favorites that I’ve read because it was recommended to me.

1. The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger.  I read this based on the recommendation of my friend Heather, and I’m glad I did, because this series (and the other two series set in this world) are really fun reads.
2. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I just finished this a couple of days ago, and a co-worker was nice enough to lend me her copy.  I really liked it, and the photographs made the book more interesting.
3. Wallbanger by Alice Clayton.  I saw this book mentioned on either Book Riot or Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and it was absolutely hysterical.  I
4. Stiff by Mary Roach.  I know I first heard about Mary Roach on Book Riot, and her books are really different and quirky but also fun.  This one is my favorite of hers, though.
5. A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury.  This is another book I read because Heather recommended it, and it’s such a good book!  I loved it, because I had no idea the Partition of India was an actual thing that happened, and you get to see all sides of it.
6. All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood.  I read this one because of a co-worker (a different one than the one earlier) and I loved it a lot more than I thought I would.  The romance was actually really well done, and that’s the thing I was unsure about at first.
7. Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I read this book because of my friend Mollie- I had heard about it, but I really trust her, and that’s why I read it.
8. Mouse Guard by David Petersen.  This is such an adorable graphic novel, and I’m really glad Heather recommended it!
9. The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  If you haven’t read this book yet, you really need to! I first heard about it on Book Riot, and then it came up in a conversation with some friends.  I knew it had to read it, and I’m glad I did.  It’s an interesting look at medicine and ethics.
10. Ash by Malinda Lo.  I really like this book, and it’s one of my favorite re-tellings, especially where Cinderella re-tellings are concerned.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR

I can’t believe it’s almost fall!  It doesn’t feel like fall yet, but maybe in a month or two, it will start to feel as fall as it can get.  Here’s what I want to read this fall.

1. When Reason Breaks by Cindy Rodriguez.  I’ve wanted to read it for a while.
2. Midnight Bites by Rachel Caine.  I absolutely LOVE the Morganville Vampires series, and yet, I still haven’t read this short story collection.
3. Outrun The Moon by Stacy Lee.  I’ve been looking forward to her next book ever since I read Under The Painted Sky, and I can’t wait to read it!
4. Imprudence by Gail Carriger.  It’s Gail Carriger!  And I’ve had it for a while, but I still haven’t read it.  Which I’ll definitely need to do this fall, because I need to catch up with Prudence and her friends.
5. Queen Of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.  I still haven’t read it, but I need to!
6. Court of Fives by Kate Elliott.  I heard about this book when I went to the book signing for Imprudence, and I was intrigued enough that I knew I wanted to read it.
7. Mostly Void, Partially Stars and The Great Glowing Coils Of The Universe by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.  I am a huge Night Vale fan, and I’m really looking forward to reading the scripts of the first couple of years of the podcast.
8. Tell Me Something True by Katherine Owen.  I LOVED the first two books, and I really need to read this one.
9. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows.  I keep telling myself I’m going to read it, but I never seem to do that!  I hope I can read it this fall!
10. The Wrath And The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.  I’ve wanted to read it for a while, but when I saw that the audio was narrated by Ariana Delawari (who did a wonderful job narrating The Secret Sky), I knew I had to go with the audio book.