Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon

April 23, 2024 By 60 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I love my local libraries and they’re such a great resource for so many things.  Plus, there’s this beautiful thing called a holds list.  Trouble is, I work full-time and have a family, so I don’t always get through books as fast as I’d like sometimes.  This, in turn, leads me to play this game I like to call hold list roulette.  I keep clicking ‘deliver later’ because I’m either not in the mood for that particular book or because I’m buried in ARCs, group reads, or other things.

Too bad there’s not a payout for finally borrowing that book you’ve pushed back fifteen times.

Here’s a list of the oldest books on my holds list.

Insurgency by Jeremy W. Peters.  April 3, 2022

Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutano.  August 31, 2022

Cultish by Amanda Montell.  September 11, 2022

Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly.  January 22, 2023

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez.  November 18, 2022

It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison.  February 16, 2023

Thief in the Night by KJ Charles.  June 28, 2023

The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre.  July 18, 2023

Forget the Alamo by Bryan Burrough.  November 9, 2023

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling.  May 10, 2023.

What’s been lingering on your TBR, just begging to be read?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Our Recent 5-Star Reads

April 9, 2024 By 27 Comments


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For this week’s freebie topic, I’ve decided to highlight the books that the reviewers here at Long and Short Reviews have recently given five stars.

We don’t rate books that highly very often, so kudos to all of the authors who have earned this honor!

I included their genre or genres in parentheses as well.

This post was written a few weeks in advance, but I gathered up as many recent examples as I could find in our queue.

1. The Excitements by CJ Wray (Fiction)

2. Slaughterhouse by K.A. Lugo (Suspense/Mystery)

3. The Fog Ladies: Date with Death by Susan McCormick (Mystery)

4. Sally Mitts Finds a Home: The Story of a Shy Shelter Kitten by Shain Stodt (Children’s)

5. Dreams of Drowning by Patricia Averbach (Mystery, Paranormal)

6. All Rhodes Lead to Here by Mariana Zapata (Romance)

7. The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy (Mystery, Paranormal)

8. Dogboy vs. Catfish by Luke Gracias (Mystery)

9. The Perfectly Fine Neighborhood edited by Kayleigh Dobbs, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wile E. Young (Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror)

10. Embracing Amelia by Elaine Violette (Historical Romance)

For the fellow reviewers reading this post, how often do you give out five star ratings in your reviews?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Picture Books About Rain

April 2, 2024 By 30 Comments


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One of my favorite moments as a Long and Short Reviews blogger and reviewer happens when review requests for picture books are submitted to us.

I try to request as many of them as I can because it’s wonderful to see what’s new in that genre and because I deeply enjoy spreading the word about the many beautiful picture books out there.

While I haven’t read any of these picture books yet, they do fit this week’s April Showers theme and they all look adorable.

If you’ve read any of them, please feel free to share your thoughts.

1. Hooray for Summer! by Kazuo Iwamura 

2. The Day It Rained Watermelons by Mabel Watts

3. Stormy Night by Salina Yoon

4. A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman

5. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

6.That Sky, That Rain by Carolyn B. Otto

7.Chirri & Chirra: The Rainy Day by Kaya Doi

8. McBroom the Rainmaker by Sid Fleischman

9. Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer

10. Pika Bunny and the Thunderstorm: Conejito Pika Y La Tormenta by Wendy Gilhula

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Spring 2024 TBR

March 19, 2024 By 52 Comments


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I hope all of these books will be great reads!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: I have not seen many books talk about Reddit. This could be really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Titanic Survivors’ Book Club by Timothy Schaffert

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: The Titanic was such an interesting and tragic chapter of history. I’ve often wondered how the survivors coped with their memories from that time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Black Girl Survives in This One by Desiree S. Evans (Editor)

Release Date: April 2

Why I’m Interested: The title. Isn’t it fabulous and refreshing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

Release Date: April 16

Why I’m Interested: Spring is a great time to read romance novels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

Release Date: April 16

Why I’m Interested: The horror and mystery genres work well together, and this sounds like it could be quite the adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.Home Is Where the Bodies Are  by Jeneva Rose

Release Date: April 30

Why I’m Interested: I like watching old home videos of myself and my loved ones. The thought of discovering an old while watching something like this is a cool twist on the mystery genre!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni

Release Date: May 7

Why I’m Interested: Highly competitive people intrigue me because I’m a laid-back and cooperative person would rather see everyone win. This could be another cute romance for the spring.

 

(The file for this cover was too large to upload for this book, but the link below will show it.)

8. Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley

Release Date: May 9

Why I’m Interested: Some stories excel when they mix a lot of different genres and ideas together. I hope this is one of them as the assassin’s guild alone sounds like it would have plenty of plot twists to keep the characters busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

Release Date: May 14

Why I’m Interested: While I am far too easily spooked to ever attend a seance, reading about what could happen at one is my idea of a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Release Date: May 21

Why I’m Interested: I try to check out everything Stephen King writes. Getting scared is fun!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Weird or Funny Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book

March 5, 2024 By 27 Comments


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Since I recommended this topic to Jana, I thought I should be the one to write Long and Short Reviews’s response to it as well.

Here are ten funny or interesting things I’ve googled thanks to a book. Horror and mysteries are among the genres I read which is why some of these queries are about death and corpses.

1. How long does it take bones to decompose in a grave? Can you still tell something was once a grave if there are no bones left in it?

2. What do zombies think about when they’re not chasing people?

3. Why is the Chosen One so often a teenager instead of someone older and more experienced?

4. How did people figure out which mushrooms were safe to eat when a lot of wild mushrooms will kill you?

5. Why do so many romance novelists dislike big cities?

6. Why doesn’t character X have common sense?

(No, I didn’t actually expect an answer for this one. I was simply annoyed by a character who kept making terrible decisions for no reason).

7.  How long can you live on a spaceship before getting radiation poisoning?

8. Why do so many aliens want to destroy humanity?

9. Books written from a cow’s perspective.

(Because I’d never heard of such a thing and wondered if it existed).

10. Can you write a book without any tropes at all?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Covers/Titles with Things Found in Nature

February 27, 2024 By 46 Comments

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This is a very loose take on today’s theme.  But I had a blast searching my previously read books for titles that included something at least closely related to nature.

1. Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh.  Nature is also a strong theme in this novella.  I highly recommend it.

2. Dead in the Water by Dana Stabenow.  This is the third in her Kate Shugak series, set in Alaska.  These books show the harshness of the area while also showcasing how beautiful it can be, too.

3. Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins. From Amazon, “In this “twisty, propulsive thriller” from Megan Collins, two sisters-in-law are at painful odds when the man who connects them—the brother of one, the husband of the other—is accused of a brutal crime.”

4. The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson.  This is set in Iceland and, much like the Kate Shugak series, showcases how brutal the cold and ice can be.

5. Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne.  Nature comes into play a lot in this series.  Set in Florida, it’s focused on an Underwater Investigation Unit that goes into lakes, rivers, and the ocean looking for clues to solve crimes.  This is one of my favorite series.

6. Desert Star by Michael Connelly. From Amazon, “LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to hunt the brutal killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.”

7. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes. From Amazon, “Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed…”

8. The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves.  Set in North Devon, England, the weather often plays a role in this series.  However, this most recent installment in the Two Rivers series, the storm is a character in itself.

9. The Capybaras by Alfredo Solderguit.  This is an adorable children’s picture book with lovely illustrations and silly critters.

10. Out of the Storm by B. J. Daniels. From the blurb, ” It’s been twenty years since Daniel went missing in a refinery explosion and was finally declared dead, but Kate never gave up hope, convinced he was somewhere out there, suffering from amnesia.”

What natural finds did you uncover this week?  I did notice that so many book titles contain elements of nature, but not all are driven by that natural force either.  Looking back at my list, the ones where nature – be it a storm, an animal, or an element – plays a large role were the more interesting stories.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes About Love

February 13, 2024 By 54 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

For today’s Love Freebie theme, I’ve decided to share ten bookish quotes about love.

Some of them are about romantic love, but others are about the many other types of love that exist: platonic, familial, universal, practical, and more.

I believe this holiday can be used to celebrate all of them if you wish.

 

 

1. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

 

2. “Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

 

3. “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi 

 

4. “Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

 

5. “Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven

 

6. “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”
― Maya Angelou

 

7. “How do you spell ‘love’?” – Piglet
“You don’t spell it…you feel it.” – Pooh”
― A.A. Milne

 

8. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
― Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

 

9. “Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze. ”
― Elinor Glyn

 

10. “There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
― Vincent Van Gogh

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Thank you for visiting our post today.

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Quick Reads/Books to Read When Time is Short

February 6, 2024 By 57 Comments

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As much as I love to sit down with a chonker and really immerse myself in a book, there isn’t always the time for that.  Not to mention the fact that I don’t always have the attention span for it either.  So, when I’m low on time or mental focus, I grab a short book to indulge my reading need.

Manga is a favorite of mine when I need a quick read.  I can usually get through one in an hour or so.  Some of my favorites lately:

Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo

Heartstopper by Alice Osman

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita.

Yes, I’ll admit it, I tend to go for the goofy manga.

There are a ton of great novellas out there as well.

Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, that starts with Every Heart a Doorway, is a great series with fast, engaging stories.

The first four installments of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, starting with All Systems Red, are short, fast reads as well.  This is a series I need to catch up on soon as I love it.

Another source of quick reads are cozy mysteries.  While they’re usually a full length novel, they tend to go faster for me since the plot is light and fun.  Some of my favorite cozy series:

Witchless in Seattle, which starts with Witch Slapped, is a fun paranormal cozy series by Dakota Cassidy.

Caroline Fardig’s Java Jive series is also a fun, quick read, set in a coffee shop in Nashville, TN.  The series starts with Death Before Decaf.

Mindy Quigley has an intense, but engaging series called Deep Dish Mysteries, set in a gourmet pizzeria in Geneva Bay, WI.  The first is Six Feet Deep Dish and is a great start to an excellent series.  My only complaint is I wind up craving pizza while reading these!

And to round it out, a couple of books I recently devoured in a short time.

Out of the Fog by Clarissa Ross is an engaging gothic romance with a bit of suspense thrown in.  It was published in 1970 and the writing is to the point, making the pages fly by.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.  This comes in at just under 300 pages or about seven hours in audio.  However, I will say that I was so taken in by this mystery – and Richard Armitage’s narration of the audiobook – that I found myself unable to stop listening.

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get To

January 23, 2024 By 65 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

There are a lot of them this week!

 

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

 

Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holly by Stephen King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldreee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Only One Left  by Riley Sager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nigeria Jones  by Ibi Zoboi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

 

If you’ve read any of these books, would you recommend them?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024

January 16, 2024 By 64 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m going to be repeating a few of my goals from last year and then adding in some new ones.

1. Whittle down my TBR list. Sometimes I swear they grow by themselves overnight!

2. Visit nearby physical branches of my local library more often. I’ve read that being a librarian can be a stressful job at times, so I’d like to give them some friendly in-person experiences if I can. Also, not every book is available in digital form, so borrowing some of those paper books would help with my TBR list for sure.

3. Play more literary or bookish games on my phone.

4. Read short stories regularly. I need a break from the long (but good) novels I read last autumn and at the beginning of this winter.

5. Read more cozy mysteries. I tend go in spurts with this genre, and it’s been a while since I last visited it.

6. Take reading breaks. I am not always good at this, but it’s refreshing to step away for a little while and do something else. Maybe the spring will be a good time to do it if there aren’t too many forest fires and the weather is decent then?

7. Take a break from the fantasy genre. I’m a longtime fan of it, but I think I need to read other genres for a while. I’m finding it too repetitive, but I think it’s because I’m so well-versed in what typically happens in this genre.

8. Visit indie bookstores. I miss them so much.

9. Find cool people on Bookstagram who talk about science fiction, ghost stories, psychological horror, or other similar things.

10. Run away and go live in the woods. Or at least that’s what I’ve been threatening to do in order to have more quiet reading time. 😀 Fellow introverts, how do you carve out time to read?

Suggestions for how to accomplish any or all of these goals are quite welcomed!

 

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