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 To Read For Valentine’s Day

I can’t believe it’s almost Valentine’s Day!  I don’t have any big plans (like, no plans whatsoever) but maybe I should read one of the books on my list!

1. Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is the first book I thought of!  Seriously, it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day!
2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I don’t know why I thought of this one, but I did.  Maybe it’s because Lena and Ethan go through so much to be together.
3. Ink And Bone by Rachel Caine.  This one is a great book for book lovers, and while it’s not a…more traditional choice, I still think it’s a good Valentine’s day read.
4. Ash by Malinda Lo.  I just love this Cinderella re-telling.  It’s completely amazing!
5. Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.  I couldn’t decided between this one and Anna, so I decided to go with both.  Also, it’s just perfect for Valentine’s Day!
6. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.  It’s a cute read, and there’s something romantic about writing love letters to boys you’ve had huge crushes on.
7. Anew by Chelsea Fine.  There is a very old, long-running romance in this paranormal series, and somehow, it fits perfectly for a Valentine’s Day read.
8. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.  There is such a cute romance in the book, and there were times when I couldn’t make up my mind about who I wanted Belly to end up with.
9. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  If you want your heart ripped to shreds this Valentine’s Day, this is probably the book for you.
10. Harry Potter.  No reason, other than I feel like it.  Harry Potter is perfect for any occasion.

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 That Have Been On My TBR List For Too Long

This week is a freebie, which means we get to pick whatever topic we want!  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I got to thinking about the books that I’ve recently added to my TBR (because of the list from last week), and then I started thinking about the books that have been on my TBR for a really long time, and I decided that I need to do a list of ten books that have been on my TBR for way too long.  It’s very much slanted towards Tudor history, but these books are ones I should try to read (and soon, I hope, but I doubt that will actually happen).

1. Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, And Foes Who Shaped The Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman.  I love Tudor history, and have wanted to read it for a long time, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
2. Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock.  I don’t know a lot about her, and I want to know more.  She comes up a lot in Tudor history, and yet, I don’t actually take the time to read anything specifically about her.
3. Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII’s Obsession by Anne Norton.  It would be interesting to get a different perspective on her, and she’s just an interesting person in general.
4. Catherine De Medici: Renaissance Queen Of Medici by Leonie Frieda.  I didn’t realize she was a queen of France and the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen Of Scots until I started watching Reign, which lead to googling her, and then the History Chicks did an episode about Mary, Queen Of Scots, and for some reason, that makes me want to know more about her.
5. The Life And Death Of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.  I tend to stick with Alison Weir (who I love) for anything Tudor-related, but at the same time, I really like the time period, and it’s always good to see what other people have written about the time period.
6. Catherine Of Aragon: The Spanish Queen Of Henry VIII by Giles Tremlett.  She’s the wife we probably know the most about, and yet, I haven’t read anything that tells just her story.  This one looks really good.
7. Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery by Eric Ives.  Her story is interesting, especially in relation to Elizabeth I’s story.
8. Stonewall by Martin Duberman.  I’ve heard of the Stonewall Riots, but I don’t know anything about them, and this book seems like a good place to start.
9. The Perils Of Pleasure by Julie Anne Long.  I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this series, and I’ve wanted to read it for years, and yet I never seem to actually read it.
10. It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.  This book is another one I’ve wanted to read for a few years, and even though I have a copy, I still haven’t read it.

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 Resolutions For 2016

This is the first time I’ve really thought about resolutions and goals for this year, and some are things I’ve wanted to do in previous years, while others are new goals!

The Bookish:

1. Keep reading diversely.  This year, I’m aiming for 3-5 books a month- on average, I read just under 6 books a month last year, so I know I can do it!
2. Actually, I just want to get back into reading.  I’ve had a weird reading slump, and yesterday was the first day I picked up a book in over a month.  It’s good to be reading, but for now, I’ll probably ease my way into it.
3. Read the e-books I have.  I feel like I say this every year and never do, but this year, I really want to!
4. I’ve decided to not set a goal for total number of books read this year.  I’ve done the Goodreads challenge for the last few years, but this year, I’ve decided to not do it.  I’m just not feeling a number, and I sort of want to focus on reading different things, because sometimes I feel like I’m too focused on how many books I’m reading and not enough on reading cool, interesting books.

The Non-Bookish:

1. Save more money!  I’m saving, but not as much as I could be, so that will definitely be more of a focus this year.
2. The traditional exercise more.  I sit way too much, and even if I only do 10 minutes a day, it’s better than nothing.  Eventually, it’ll get easier!
3. Actually keep my room organized.  I mentioned this the other day, and I’d really like to stay organized so I don’t find myself randomly organizing my room every few years.
4. Have an awesome year.  This is my year, I can feel it.

Crochet:

1. Make decent progress on a ripple blanket I’ve been working on for several years.  I work on it for a while, and then I either get distracted by some other project, or I want to work on it, but it’s, like, 90 degrees out so I don’t work on it.
2. Do 52 granny squares!  That’s going to be my project for the year, one granny square a week.

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 2016 Debuts I’m Looking Forward To Reading

I’m the first to admit that I’m not someone who pays a lot of attention to release dates or if a book is a debut or not. But these sort of lists are always fun for me because it means I actually through through whatever lists are on goodreads and find some new books that look really interesting and cool.  Here are ten debuts that I want to read next year!

1. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp.  Is it just me or does it seem like there’s been quite a few YA books that focus on school shootings over the last few years?  I’m intrigued by this one because it takes place in 54 minutes and is told by 4 different people.  I hope it lives up to the heart-breakingly awesome Hate List.
2. The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig.  It’s time travel!  Across centuries and places (both real and imagined) and it sounds like it’s going to be completely awesome!
3. The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye.  Ancient duels leading to the winner becoming the Imperial Enchanter, and the loser being sentenced to death…this isn’t a duel I’d want to lose.
4. This Raging Light by Estelle Laure.  I’ve seen two different release dates for it (a few days before Christmas for 3 of the 4 editions on goodreads, and the other being in January).  I could have sworn it was a January book, but I’m still putting it on the list because I have the feeling that Lucille (who is a teen who is taking care of her family and paying the bills, and falls in love at an unexpected time) is a character I will love and want to be friends with.
5. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi.  Horoscopes and locked doors and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit…and a book that is inspired by Indian mythology caught my attention.
6. Beyond The Red by Ava Jae.  Crimson deserts, rebel soldiers and secrets that could result in death sound right up my alley.
7. The Reader by Traci Chee.  A girl growing up in an illiterate society who turns to a book to save her aunt…this appeals to my love of books and reading.
8. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas.  This book had me at Jane Austen meets X-Men.  That is all.
9. Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia.  Something about this book reminds me of Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld. Maybe it’s because this book is about a girl writing a book about a teenage girl and realizes she needs to have the “typical” high school experience so that people will want to read her book.
10. The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith.  It’s compared to the incredibly amazing Speak, and while that’s an amazing book to live up to, if it’s even slightly good, I’ll be happy.