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 Had On My TBR Since I Started Blogging

So, the original topic was books we’ve had on our TBR since before we started blogging, but in all honesty, I have no record of what I wanted to read before I started blogging.  There are, however, a lot of books that have been on my to-read list for years, so that’s what I’ll be sharing today!  I went with the first ten books on my TBR on goodreads, and it’s mostly non-fiction (of the historical variety), with a couple of romances thrown in.

1. Elizabeth’s Women by Tracy Borman.  I’m completely fascinated by Elizabeth I, and this has been on my TBR for years.  I’d love to learn more about the women who influenced her.
2. Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock.  I absolutely love the Tudors, and I don’t know much about “Bloody Mary,” so this book will be read someday.  I don’t know when, but eventually I’ll read it!
3. Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII’s Obsession by Anne Norton.  Anne Boleyn definitely changed things, and I cannot read enough about her.
4. Catherine De Medici: Renaissance Queen Of France by Leonie Frieda.  I want to know the story of the woman that I’ve seen portrayed on Reign- which I know isn’t historically accurate, hence wanting to read more about the real people I see on the show.
5. The Life And Death Of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.  Because you can never have too many books on one person. I also like seeing how different historians view one person.
6. Catherine Of Aragon: Spanish Queen Of Henry VIII by Giles Tremlett.  If I’m going to read about Mary, Elizabeth, and Anne Boleyn, then I need to read about Catherine Of Aragon.
7. Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery by Eric Ives.  She’s really fascinating- she had such a short-lived reign, and I want to know more about her.
8. Stonewall by Martin Duberman.  I only vaguely know the events of Stonewall, and I want to know more!  This book seems like a good starting point.
9. The Rake by Mary Jo Putney.  I tend to like the romances I read, and it seems like a lot of people really like it.
10. Not Quite A Husband by Sherry Thomas.  I kind of forgot I had this one on my TBR, because it’s been on my TBR for years.  Like every other book on this list.  But maybe one day, I’ll actually 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 Books Set At A Boarding School

This week, we got to pick our top ten books in any setting we wanted, and looking through the books I’ve read on goodreads, I noticed that I’ve read a lot of books set in boarding school (plus a bunch set at private schools).  I knew I had to go for it, and even though a lot of the books are paranormal/fantasy, I knew I had to stick with boarding schools.

1. A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray.  I love this Victorian-era fantasy set in a boarding school for young women.  There’s magic and mystery at this school, and it’s a pretty awesome read.
2. Harry Potter.  Because no list focusing on boarding schools are complete without it.  Also: it’s a magic school in the U.K., and you can’t go wrong with that.
3. Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  My reasons for putting this on the list is basically for the same reason as HP, it would be an incomplete list without it.  And it’s set in Paris, which makes it more amazing.
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.  I initially thought the 1st book was okay, but I warmed up to the series after seeing the movie.  I’m glad I gave it another chance because it’s a boarding school for vampires, and it is a pretty fun series.
5. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger.  It’s set in floating boarding school where young girls get trained in the art of espionage.  It’s really fun!
6. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins.  It’s a magical boarding school, that also happens to be a reform school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries.  It’s just as fun as Etiquette & Espionage but in a different way.
7. The School For Good & Evil by Soman Chainani.  It’s a boarding school where fairy tales begin, and it’s definitely a cool take on fairy tales.
8. The Dreaming by Queenie Chan.  This manga is set in a boarding school in Australia, and it has this whole gothic feel to it.
9. Wander Dust by Michelle Warren.  This book is set at a boarding school, where the students learn how to travel in time.
10. Private by Kate Brian.  I’ve only read the first book in this series, and at some point, I do want to finish the series, but there’s definitely a lot of mystery and drama going on at this school.

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’d Buy Right Now If I Received A Fully Loaded Gift Card

There are so many books I want, and while I love the library, these are the books I’d buy if I magically received a gift card.

1. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows.  I’ve wanted to read The Orphan Queen for a really long time, so this is definitely one I’d buy.
2. House Of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.  This is another one I’ve wanted to read for a while, and it seems like a weird book, which means it’s right up my alley!
3. The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion.  As far as baking goes, they are my go-to source, and it only makes sense to have their cookbook.
4. The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick.  I loved The Boy Next Door, and I can’t wait to read this one!
5. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book, but I’m really nervous about reading it because what if I don’t like it as much as everyone else?  Still, a gift card would probably make me hesitate left.
6. Mouse Guard by David Petersen.  I love the first two volumes, and even though I haven’t read the 3rd one yet, I’d buy all three with no hesitation.
7. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix.  I’ve been fascinated with this book designed to look like an Ikea catalog ever since I first heard about it ages ago.  It would look pretty cool on a coffee table or bookshelf.
8. Adult coloring books.  I’ve only done a little coloring, but coloring is fun, and I’d definitely buy quite a few coloring books.
9. Basically anything by Brian Froud.  I LOVE fairies, and he does an awesome job with drawing fairies.
10. And knowing me, I’d probably buy cookbooks or crochet books, because I love cooking and crocheting.

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 That Books Made Me Want To Learn About

One of my favorite things about reading is that it opens up my world, and makes me want to learn more about the things I see in books!  Reading makes me realize how little I know, so here are 10 things I want to learn more about and do.

History/Current Events:

1. Where The Streets Had A Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah makes me want to learn about…the Israeli-Palestine conflict, because I know nothing about it except that it’s a thing.
2. Surviving Santiago by Lyn Miller-Lachmann makes me want to learn about…the Pinochet regime.  Because knowing more about it would have really helped if I knew more about it before picking up this book.
3. Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn makes me want to learn about…the revolution that happened in Egypt a while back.  I vaguely remember hearing about it on the news when it happened, but I don’t remember anything about what happened.
4. Crow by Barbara Wright makes me want to learn about…the Wilmington Race Riots of 1898.  I didn’t even know this happened, and Crow made me want to learn more about it.
5. Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys makes me want to learn about…the work camps in Siberia during WWII.  This was something that new to me, and I want to learn more about it.
6. A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury makes me want to learn about…the Partition of India.  Like some of the other books I’ve talked about, this was something I didn’t know happened, and I want to learn more about it.

Fairy Tales/Mythology:

1. All of the fairy-tale re-tellings make me want to…read all of the different versions from all over the world. Because it’s interesting to see the different versions, and also to see how the original story is used in the re-telling.  Especially because the story I know tends to be the Disney movie.  There isn’t a specific book in mind, because I could probably do an entire list based on fairy tale re-tellings.
2. Basically all of the books that are inspired by mythology and stories that aren’t Greek.  Specifically the Middle East and Maori, because those are the first two that come to mind, but in general, any mythology that isn’t Greek is something I want to read more about because it is becoming more common, and that’s cool.

The Cliche And Random:

1. Reading, in general, makes me want to travel and learn, and even though it’s a great way to do so when actually doing the traveling isn’t an option, reading about it isn’t the same as actually going somewhere and experiencing what it’s like to be somewhere else.
2. A Daughter Of Smoke And Bone by Laini Taylor makes me want to be more creative.  Though any book featuring characters who sing, dance, draw or be creative in some way would work, that one’s the first one that come to mind. I crochet, but when I see creative characters, it jut makes me want to find other creative outlets besides writing and crochet.

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 Random Facts About Me

For some bizarre reason, I don’t talk about myself on my blog.  I used to, in the early days of the blog, but then I started sharing book reviews, and then it sort of stopped.  As much as I tell myself that I’m going to do more non-book review posts and talk a little more about myself, it almost never happens.  I went for the random fact method today, because that seemed fun.

1. I love purple, and it’s my favorite color (though I’m partial to green, blue, black and pink), but I also really love bright colors.  Especially when I’m crocheting- more often than not, my crochet projects have very brightly colored yarn.  The brighter the better.  And sparkles.  If it’s bright and sparkly, I’m sold.  Somehow, I went from my favorite color is purple, to sparkles and brightly colored, so to tie it all together, bright, sparkly purple is awesome.
2. I LOVE the strudel from Hans & Harry.  It’s the best strudel I’ve ever had in my entire life.
3. My favorite soda is Dr. Pepper.  I’ll drink any soda (not diet, if I’m going to have soda, I’m going to regular soda), but given the choice…the answer is always Dr. Pepper.
4. I love animated movies.  I don’t care that I’m a 30-year-old woman, I have no problem going to see anything animated…or for that matter…going into the Disney store.
5. Sometimes I hate having curly hair, but more often than not, I love it…but if you tell me I should straighten it, I’ll probably glare at you.
6. I don’t have a smartphone- which is sometimes nice, but sometimes not.  I do, however, have a cellphone…so at least there’s that?
7. As much as I love coffee- which I drink black, if I’m brewing a pot of coffee at home or work- I also love tea.
8. I like tacos.  And burritos.  Actually, I like Mexican food a lot.  It’s probably my favorite food ever.
9. I’m really short- I’m only 4’10” so I’m just barely tall enough to go on rollercoasters.  But I am tall enough…which is good, because I’ll go on pretty much anything.
10. I dot all my i’s with hearts.  Really, I do.