Get Lost in Literature

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books Set in Snowy Places . I quite like the theme, perfect for the time of year, and it gets me away from listing the same favorites again and again, which makes me look like I've never read anything else. 1. Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey . A childless couple's lives are changed when a young girl arrives in a blizzard. 2. Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey . A single mother takes her child to go live in the woods with a mysterious recluse. 3. Call of the Wild by Jack London . The life of a dog fighting for survival in the Klondike. 4. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden . A fairytale that takes place in rural Russia, a young girl who can see spirits is oppressed by her new stepmother. 5. White Fang by Jack London . Similar to Call of the Wild  this is the story of a wolf-dog living a kill-or-be-killed adventure. 6. A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall . Newly engaged Theo Scott is going to meet her fiance's family for the f...

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving (assuming you celebrated it). The Sunday Post is a news meme hosted by TheCaffeinatedReviewer . I will be posting on the first Sunday of each month and I hope you'll join me. I thought the weather in November was relatively mild for the season. The one disappointment was that when it was sunny it was also cold and windy but when it was warm we had rain. But now that its December the temperature is plunging fast. I read three books in November: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 1984 by George Orwell (which was a politically loaded review) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig I did manage to find time to resume the book blog memes I participate in, and it's nice to be back connecting with the community. Everyone posts unique answers to the prompts, it's always so fun to read the answers. I haven't read a horror novel all year, so I picked up a copy of Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak . So far, it's about a li...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday was listed as Freebie so I decided to go with my favorite fantasy stories. This was much harder than it sounds because GoodReads says I've read 147 of them and I know that's a low count because I was reading way before I used GoodReads to keep track of my books. Here's my Top Ten: 1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I must have read these books a thousand times (this was before we found out JKR was a loud and proud bigot) and even though the author has lost her popularity with her flapping mouth, I stand by the series. Harry Potter is one of the best 'chosen one' characters that was ever written. 2. The Daevabad trilogy by S.A Chakraborty. This is a fairly new addition to my favorites list, but I loved the story from book one. The setting and characters are vibrant, the plot thick with magic and intrigue. There's a touch of romance but not so much that I would consider it romantasy.  3. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Thi...

"But once you sense that vastness, once something reveals it, hope emerges, whether you want it to or not, and it clings to you as stubbornly as lichen clings to rock." This is the story of Nora Seed, who is unbelievably depressed. After trying to commit suicide, she winds up at the Midnight Library where there are an infinite number of books filled with an infinite number of possibilities. Each book contains a life for Nora based on the decisions she could have made but didn't. The librarian tells her she can take each one for a test drive, and when she finds the life that makes her happy, she can stay there. When this book came out there was almost nothing else in my Good Reads newsfeed. I normally don't pay too much attention to over-hyped books, but this one caught my eye. I'm going to start by saying I liked how realistic Matt Haig was with Nora's depression. As someone who has had it, it does feel a lot like being a failure at everything, it feels lonely...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Nineteen years before she decided to die, Nora Seed sat in the warmth of the small library at Hazeldene School in the town of Bedford." The Midnight Library by Matt Haig I hear great things about this book, so I'm hoping it lives up to the hype. I found that the first line pulled me in, the warmth of the library contrasting with the cold decision to die... Based on the beginning, I'm hoping for a happy ending, but based on the beginning I don't know if I'll get it. Book Blogger Hop Q:    What are the top five books on your TBR (to-be-read) list right now? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A:    These are not listed in the order I'll read them, but these are the five on my list I'm most eager to read...

 I'm writing this post as I wait for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to start. And while I've seen posts this week denouncing Thanksgiving for political reasons, I firmly believe it isn't a bad thing to have one day a year where we stop and reflect on what we are grateful for... One day where instead of thinking about what we want, we give thanks for what we have. This year I'm so thankful for the following things: my family, my job, my horse, my health, and my home. There are people spending their holiday season without these things, and I can't help but think how very fortunate I've been to have them. The things I want pale in comparison to the things I have. The things I have are beautiful. I hope that each and every one of you has a beautiful day, filled with laughter and love and warmth and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving!