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I can’t wait to read everyone else’s lists! Most of the stuff on our list is totally free to use, although some sites do offer a few more features for paid memberships if you’re interested in subscribing.

1. LibraryThing

You can use this site to catalogue your personal library.

2. Urban Dictionary 

I’m guessing that most of you are already familiar with this slang dictionary, but I sure find it helpful when a character uses a term that I’m not familiar with.

3. Bibliomania 

Not only does this site contain about 2000 classic texts, it also includes study guides and summaries f

4. What Should I Read Next? 

This is a great place to go if you’ve just read something romantic, scary, funny, or thought-provoking and want to find a book that’s similar to it.

5. Bookcrossing

Imagine giving a book to a stranger and being able to track where it ends up in the world. I’ve left plenty of books at Little Free Libraries and similar places and wish I could have learned who took them home and if they adored them.

6. The Rare Book Room

These are digital copies of rare books for anyone to read.

7. Black Chick Lit 

This is a podcast about books written by and for black women.

8. Poetry Archive 

Go here to listen to poets read their poems.

9. Scribl 

This site has a long list of podcasts about audiobooks. How cool is that?

10. WikiBooks

Think of this like Wikipedia for textbooks. Anyone can read or edit them!

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is favorite book settings.  I wasn’t quite sure how to approach this week’s topic.  I debated between specific places/time periods in books I’ve read versus general settings.  In the end I did a little of both.  Let’s get to the list!

Middle Earth-There is so much to explore in the world J.R.R Tolkien created.  How wonderful to be able to visit places like Rivendell, Rohan, and The Shire all in one series!

Victorian England-I find this time period intriguing.  I’ve read many stories as well as a few really good non-fiction books about this period.  How to Be Victorian by Ruth Goodman is excellent.

Colonial American/American Revolution-Another time period I find especially interesting.  Toliver’s Secret by Ester Wood Brady is one I’ve just recently read with my children.

American Civil War-Little Women is the first example that comes to mind for this time period.

England in the late 9th and early 10th century-I’m about half way through The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell and it quickly become a favorite.  When I finish it, I’ll be on the lookout for more series set in this time period!

The Past-While I’ve picked out a few specific time periods, I have been captivated by historical fiction in general ever since I read Little House in the Big Woods, Anne of Green Gables, and the American Girl series as a child.  I generally prefer historical fiction set before the twentieth century or at least from World War II or earlier.

Small Towns/Rural Areas-I’ve spent most of my life living in small towns and seen their beauty as well as their flaws.  I can easily relate to characters living in that kind of world.

Urban Fantasy-I suppose this is technically a genre rather than a setting, but there is just something about mixing the paranormal with an urban setting.  Of course the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs comes to mind.

I also enjoy stories set in bookstores and bakeries though no specific examples are coming to mind.  If you have any recommendations, let me know!

Do you enjoy these settings?  What sort of settings do you enjoy?

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic was Freebie.  This past week marked the beginning of Autumn, and as I write this, the weather has changed and it is really starting to feel like Autumn.  So I decided to put together a list of books that I think would be good to read in Autumn.  Let’s get to the list!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling-When I think of Autumn reading, this is one of the first books that immediately comes to mind!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien-I always associate The Hobbit with Autumn as well.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-This is perfect for a rainy Autumn day.

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Aston-This fun twist on Jane Eyre is perfect for those not wanting something quite as moody as the original tale.

Persuasion by Jane Austen-Most of the time I associate Jane Austen with Spring, but this one seems more like an Autumn read.

The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe-No one does dark and moody better!

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder-Another one that instantly makes me think of Autumn!

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles M. Schulz-Both Charlie Brown stories are classics and perfect for Autumn!

A Separate Peace by John Knowles-I read this years ago in college and recently stumbled across a copy in my local used bookstore.  Autumn seems like a good time to re-read it.

What do you think?  Clearly, I have a preference for “moody” stories in the Autumn, but I have some lighter and heartwarming choices as well.  What sort of book do you prefer in the Autumn?  Would any of these make your list?

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These are some of the books I hope to check out this fall. Some of them are already available, while others haven’t been published yet.

1. A Lot Like Adios  by Alexis Daria

Why: It seems lighthearted and fun.

X

2. Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story by Lilliam Rivera

Why: My immigration story is quite different from this one, but I enjoy reading about other people’s experiences with moving to other countries.

3.

A Dark and Starless Forest  by Sarah Hollowell 

Why: Raise your hand if you’re a little creeped out by but also fascinated by forests! I hope I’m not the only Top Ten Tuesday participant who has that mixture of emotions about the woods and what might be hidden in them.

4. Rosie the Truffle Hound by Jessie Hartland

Why: It looks adorable.

5. The Matzah Ball  by Jean Meltzer

Release Date: September 28

Why: I’ve read very few books about Jewish protagonists and am trying to expand my horizons. The idea of someone writing Christmas romance novels when they don’t actually celebrate that holiday also interests me!

6. Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

Release Date: October 12

Why: So many of the Top Ten Tuesday bloggers we visit each week have been raving about this book. You have all convinced me to give it a try.

7. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante, #2)  by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Release Date: October 12

Why: I’m hoping I will remind myself to finally read the first book in this series if I include the second on in this list. That’s how it works, right? 🙂

8. Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente 

Release Date: October 26

Why: Those of you who have been following Long and Short Reviews for a long time might remember my affinity for zany titles. I’m often the first reviewer here to request books whose titles are wacky, funny, or unusual, so the title of Comfort Me With Apples grabbed my attention immediately.

9.

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes

Release Date: November 2

Why: I grew up in a community that wasn’t very welcoming for LGBT+ people, but I can’t imagine how much worse it was in the 1980s. It will be fascinating to compare life in the 1980s with my memories as well as with how it is in the current era.

10.

Coming Clean: A true story of love, addiction and recovery  by Liz Fraser

Release Date: November 30

Why: I have a relative who drank dangerous amounts of alcohol and nearly died because of it. He has since done an incredible job of getting and staying sober. This experience has given me a soft spot for people who are struggling with addictions as well as relatives of people with this problem. Learning about other people’s struggles with it is a great way to combat the loneliness of this experience.

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I have not read any of these books yet. If you’ve read them, did you like them? If you haven’t read them, are you hoping to change that anytime soon?

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

3. The Three Musketeers (The D’Artagnan Romances, #1)  by Alexandre Dumas

4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

5. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

6. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

8. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

9. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) by Janet Evanovich

10. The 101 Dalmatians (The Hundred and One Dalmatians, #1) by Dodie Smith

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books Guaranteed to Put a Smile on Your Face.  I feel like I could make that case for just about any book.  After all, we’re all here because we share a love of books!  However, I did try to approach my list with the idea of avoiding books that were heavy reading or actually brought me to tears.  I also tried to pick books I haven’t highlighted before or at least not recently, especially since I’ve done a lot of talking about my favorites recently.  Let’s get to the list!

Any of Ree Drummond’s cookbooks-I absolutely love Ree Drummond’s recipes and I love all the stories and pictures she sprinkles throughout her books.  Her Charlie the Ranch Dog books are hilarious too.

The Fog Ladies by Susan McCormick-I like a good cozy mystery and this one was full of colorful characters!

The Bear and Mouse series by Bonny Becker-I can’t even think about these without smiling!

Copper and Goldie by Larry and Rosemary Mild-This collection of mysteries was a lot of fun to read, and of course I loved the dog, Goldie!

Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding-I picked these up in a used bookstore years after they came out and enjoyed them both!

National Geographic Book of Poetry compiled by J. Patrick Lewis-There are a lot of wonderful poems in this one!

Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book-Calvin and Hobbes is always good for a smile.

Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King Smith-I had a lot of fun reading this with my children!

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright-The idea of discovering such a place as a child really stirred my imagination.

Do you agree with any on my list?  What other books make you smile?

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!  This week’s topic is Books I’d Want With Me While Stranded on an Island.  Finding books for this topic was easy.  The difficulty was limiting my list to ten!

Beauty by Robin McKinley-I know I’ve featured this book many times, but it will always be a favorite of mine.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien-Again, a series I’ve featured before, but I’d have to have them with me.  I’m counting them as “one” book.

Mercy Thompson series-I love this series so much!  Almost any book from the series would be welcome on the island.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell-Yes, I have three historical romances on my list, and I’m completely okay with that.

The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe-This isn’t cheating because there are books that contain all his works in one volume.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales-I have several collections of fairy tales, but for the sake of the list, I’ll just pick this one.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows-I laughed so much when I read this!  I think I’d need some humor if I were stranded on an island.

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell-I’m about half way through this series, and am loving it.  Picking one book is hard, but I’ll go with the first one for this list.

What do you think?  Would you take any of these books on an island with you?  What other books would you pick?

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Wasn’t this week’s prompt a fun one? Here is our list.

1. What Does a Witch Need? by Ida DeLage

2. Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

3. What’s Good for a 4-Year-Old? by William Cole

4. What’s the Number For 911 Again? by Leland Gregory

5. When Will It Snow? by Syd Hoff

6. The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond

7. What Happened to Heather Hopkowitz? by Charlotte Herman

8. What Do You Do When Your Mouth Won’t Open? by Susan Beth Pfeffer

9. Why Me? Why Did I Have to Get Diabetes? by Robert Messinger

10. What Makes A Lemon Sour? by Gail Kay Haines