Category: Best of List

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Best of List Books Index Memes Starred Recommendations

Top 10 Reads of 2024

It’s time to list our top 10 reads of 2024 (and download massive TBR reclists, of course). Not much of reading this year, but I would not have missed this Top 10 Tuesday theme for the world!

1 / The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

I have not been a great fan or follower of the Grishaverse, so was hesitant in picking this up. But what a marvelous story this turned out to be. We peer into the ages of 16th century when anti-semitism was rife. Luzia is desperately trying to escape her confined pitiful life with her displays of magical craft… but soon ends up getting embroiled in a larger political net. Everything in this book was so impressive – the Spanish Golden Age/ Renaissance feel, the worldbuilding, the writing, the prose, the characterizations. Aaaaand, it is a standalone. If you’ve liked Mistress of the Art of Death, you’ll love this one too.

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Best of List Index Memes

Ten Changes in Reading Habits

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday has an interesting theme – how our reading habits have changed over time. This actually proved to be a fun walk down memory lane. Let me count the ways, then!

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Best of List Books Watchlist

Mid-Year Check In: Best of 2024 So Far

I am ready to write bad angsty poetry on my never-ending reading/ blogging slump! Still, somehow, pushing myself to do this mid-year 2024 blogpost on stuff I have liked till now.

Let’s all pledge to move out of Slump Valley! And just in case these recs reach you, hope you’ll like some of these.

1 / The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

    I have not been a great fan or follower of the Grishaverse, so was hesitant in picking this up. But what a marvelous story this turned out to be. We peer into the ages of 16th century when anti-semitism was rife. Luzia is desperately trying to escape her confined pitiful life with her displays of magical craft… but soon ends up getting embroiled in a larger political net. Everything in this book was so impressive – the Spanish Golden Age/ Renaissance feel, the worldbuilding, the writing, the prose, the characterizations. Aaaaand, it is a standalone. If you’ve liked Mistress of the Art of Death, you’ll love this one too.

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    Best of List Memes

    Top 10 Zippy Reads

    Top 10 zippy reads? I am all for it these days – and that’s the theme for this week’s Top 10 Tuesday. Here are my recs, with equally zippy blurbs!

    The Throme of the Erril of Sherill by Patricia A. McKillip
    Tropes: Knight quests, Riddles, Puns, Folktales

    The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
    Tropes: Snarky, Retelling, The Odyssey, Ulysses hero-not-hero

    Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne Valente
    Tropes: Native American, Retelling, Snow White, Wild West

     Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa
    Tropes: Anthology, Japanese folklore, Dark, Compassionate

    Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck
    Tropes: Anthology, Science-Fiction, Bizarre, Quirky Horror

    The Boy The Mole The Horse
    #NonFicNov

    Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West 
    Tropes: Essays, ROFL Funny, Old blockbuster movies, Punchlines

    Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Terror 
    Tropes: Surreal, Otherwordly, Lurid, Anthology, Poetic

    How the World Became Quiet by Rachel Swirsky
    Tropes: Anthology, Science-Fiction, AI & Identity Crisis, Evolution

    The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
    Tropes: Graphic Novel, Poetic, Feel-Good, Found Families

    Princess Floralinda & the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
    Tropes: Snarky, 40-floor fall, Coming of Age, Unexpected friends

    So, do any of our choices match? Do you have any zippy read recs? Let’s chat!

    Categories
    Best of List Books Memes Starred Recommendations

    Favorite Books of 2023

    Gifts from Santa

    Happy New Year ’24, everyone! And at last, my favorite topic for the yearly wrap-up to Top 10 Tuesday: favorite books of 2023. We save the best for the end, and it is so much fun adding those best to Mount TBR. Here’s my list too.

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    Best of List Books Memes

    Ten Deliciously Dark Reads

    Happy Halloween! And right on cue, we have Top 10 Tuesday giving out a Halloween freebie treat. I’m by no means a horror fan, but I will try to wrap up the month with top 10 spooktastic and deliciously dark reads.

    1 / The Shepherd King series by Rachel Gillig

    Phenomenally gothic and creepy. This duology took me completely by surprise and got me out of my reader’s block. Absolutely mindblowing world-building, plot AND writing.

    2 / The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

    In Udolpho, young Emily St. Aubere finds herself orphaned and in the clutches of her wicked uncle-in-law, Montoni. Montoni is up to no good, and more than one skeleton hides in his closet. This is Gothic suspense at its finest, and is highly recommended.

    3 / Cry Baby Hollow by Aimee Love

    I found this on Goodreads for lesser known Urban Fantasy reads. One of the reviewers said that the “Hollow” was for “holler” — and this is not about your friendly neighborhood wolf. It was such a change from the usual Urban Fantasy, recommended.

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    Best of List Books Memes

    Bookish Wishes: Careful What You Wish For!

    For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, we are looking at bookish wishes. I am taking it rather literally, about bad bargains, perilous wishes and the hazards of ambition. Here’s a quick list:

    1 | Shakespeare’s Macbeth – Prophecies, anyone?

    2 | Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – This heroine has been given the gift of obedience!

    3 | Half Magic by Edward Eager – Only half of what these kids wish for comes true

    4 | Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit – These kids’ wishes will expire promptly at sunset.

    5 | Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – Tall or short, please can she make up her mind?

    6 | The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – He wished all of his aging on a portrait.

    7 | Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba – Writing down criminals’ names in a magical death book is not so heroic.

    8 | The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien – You get a ring of invisibility but just makes Sauron see you more clearly.

    9 | Faust by Goethe – This guy though success on earth is worth selling his soul away.

    10 | The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller – Experimenting with fairy contracts? Oops!

    What do you think? Do you have any books to add to this dangerous booklist on worst bookish wishes ever?

    Categories
    Best of List Memes

    Eye of Newt: Fictional Food for Thought

    A very intriguing prompt for this week’s Wyrd & Wonder: Eye of Newt! Magical ingredients, spell components or fantasy cooking… or any story tropes or character ingredients that make the perfect brew for the reader in us. This got me thinking of some of the interesting fictional cuisine items that I have come across in fantasy books!

    Butterbeer | Harry Potter series

    Lembas Bread | The Lord of the Rings

    Wonka Chocolate Bars | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    Queen of Hearts’ Tarts | Alice in Wonderland

    Goblin Fruit | The Goblin Market

    Death of Marat | Sunshine

    Nobby’s Mum’s Distressed Pudding | Discworld series

    Pop Biscuits | The Folk of the Faraway Tree

    Groosling Soup | The Hunger Games

    Just… some Honey | Winnie-the-Pooh

    Any of these be your “eye of newt”? Did you recall any of these dishes? Did you ever try to give them some mundane world recipes? Did this post bring on some hunger pangs? Spill the beans! 😉

    Categories
    Best of List Memes

    Predicted by the Stars (or what have you)

    (Credits: Portal by Tithi Luadthong)
    Hosts: A Dance With Books, The Book Nook, Jorie Loves A Story, Dear Geek Place, There’s Always Room For One More

    Wyrd & Wonder has super interesting prompt(s) on the art of reading past, present and future by magical means. So, let me pick your brain on how to make some predictions. I could come up with 7 ways, none too dire, I hope!

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    Best of List Memes Music & Poetry

    Magic Mayhem Music

    (Credits: Portal by Tithi Luadthong)

    The wonderful Wyrd & Wonder reading/ blogging marathon is being hosted by Annemieke (A Dance With Books), Ariane (The Book Nook), Jorie (Jorie Loves A Story), Lisa (Dear Geek Place) and Imyril (There’s Always Room For One More).

    This Sunday, the prompt is our favorite songs that we associate with the Magical. Some great food for thought – and obviously my chance to conjure up some music for magic and mayhem.

    Scenario 1: You are a dark witch, brewing something strong

    Yaima – Magician
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