Top Ten Tuesday - Top Beach Reads - June 11, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and Bookish and asks participants to create a top ten list around a different topic each week. This week's topic is "Top Ten Beach Reads". One of my favorite places to read is on the beach and there are some books that just belong there. When I did my winter covers collage earlier this year, a lot of commenters said they preferred summer/beach read - this one is for you! (If I have reviewed the book, the link goes to my review)

 A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand - If it is summer, there must be a book by Elin Hildebrand. She has the best summer/beach covers for these books and this one is no different. It has a meaty storyline but is utterly readable.

The Three Weismanns of Wesport by Cathleen Schine - This book is a take on Austen's Sense and Sensibility and it is what I call a "smart" beach read.

Life's a Beach by Claire Cook - of course, this one is a shoe-in for a beach read list!  Light and fluffy, perfect way to pass a beachy afternoon

Maine by J.Courtney Sullivan - Maine seems to be the literary destination of late.  I have seen a lot of books set there and it is, of course, a great summer destination.

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes - Being an East Coast gal, most of my beach reads seem to feature the beaches of the Northeast but this book's setting is Laguna Beach on the West Coast

Releasing this summer  . . .

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams - the vintage beach cover on this one just draws you in!

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky - the water is in the distance on this one but salt air says beach to me!

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank - I read my first book by this author (Lowcountry Summer) earlier this year and really enjoyed it.  This one is also a winner (review coming soon) and the cover is quintessential beach.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand - see above re: this author!  She takes us back to Nantucket for a wedding in this one.

All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue - I had a beach house share on the shore with friends for many years and this book takes me back to that time.

What are your favorite beach reads? Favorite Beach?

Top Ten Tuesday- Have Book, Will Travel - June 4th

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and Bookish and asks participants to create a top ten list around a different topic each week. This week's topic is "Top Ten Books Featuring Travel". I love to read and to travel so it is a perfect marriage! (links are to my reviews if I have reviewed them)

1. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places on Earth by Eric Weiner: This book is at once a travelogue, sociological study and memoir. Weiner, a foreign correspondent for NPR, traveled the world for a year in an effort to determine how place and the characteristics of that place influence an individual's happiness.

2. O Come Ye Back To Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine Breen: This book tells the story of a couple that move to the rugged West of Ireland and their discoveries during the first year there. It celebrates the beauty of rural Ireland and the excitement of moving to a new country.

 3. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson: Bryson does a travel memoir like no one else- his dry humor comes right through the pages. In this book, he takes a final tour through England before moving his family back to the US

4. Little Princes by Conor Grennan: A trip around the world turns into a life mission when Grennan arrives in Nepal and meets the boys in a local orphanage. They capture his heart and they will capture yours too.

5. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman:  The author and a college friend head out on a post college trip and start in China.  This is China before it was open to the West so travel there was challenging - that coupled with the friend's gradual unraveling make for very funny scenes. The author's writing is smart and witty.

6. A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei: At direction of their mother, a group of sisters (with Mom in tow) head to China for a package tour of all the major sights. The relationship between the Mom and each sister is fractured and the trip is her (ill-fated) attempt at remedying that.

7. The Paradise Guest House by Ellen Sussman: This beautiful book is as much an homage to Bali as a story of recovery following the 2001 bombings. I visited Bali in 2007 and this book immediately transported me back to the beauty and calm of the country

8. Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik: I read this before I started blogging and absolutely loved it.  The author, a writer for the The New Yorker, moves his family to Paris and this book chronicles their year there learning about the city and it's people. I fell in love with Paris through this book. 

9. The New York Times 36 Hours: 150 Weekends in the US and Canada: I love the 36 hours feature in NYT and this book collects those into a book.  I think this hardcover makes a great gift for a traveler, graduate, newlyweds, etc.

10. Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach:  This one is still on my shelves but I can't wait to read it. Self-discovery in the process of discovering destinations - definitely right up my alley!


What are your favorite travel books?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books You Had to Have But Are Still On Your Shelves

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is books you had to have but are still on your shelves.

My eyes for books are much bigger than my pace of reading - hence, I have tons of books on the shelves waiting to be read (hoping to make a dent with the off the shelves challenge this year). My Top Ten still in TBR purgatory:

1.    Freddy and Fredericka by Marc Halperin : I love reading about the British Monarchy so this allegory about the monarchy had me hooked.  Perhaps the 500+ page count has been holding me back
2. The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper: When I read This is Where I Leave You for a book club, I fell in love with this author.  For some reason, however, I still haven't gotten to this one. 
3.  I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass: Another example of a book bought because I loved another work by the author - Three Junes moved me so I immediately purchased the author's next two books.
4.  Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman: I found Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven hysterical and loved the author's voice - I immediately snapped up another of her memoirs
5.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: I heard such great things about this book/series and although I am not usually a YA fan, I caved.  I started reading this and really liked it but still need to get back to it.

1.  The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst: I remember reading about this in the NY Times Book Review and deciding I had to have it. The book then won the 2004 Man Booker Prize . . . but I still have not read it.  It is on the docket for 2013!
2.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett: I really might be the last person to have not either seen the movie or read the book. I almost watched the movie on the plane over the weekend but I believe the book will be better so held out!  Definitely will read this one this year for The Southern Literature Challenge 
3.  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: About two years ago, glowing reviews for this book were all over the blogs and I was captivated by the storyline and the accolades . . .sadly, still have not read it.
4.  Empty Family by Colm Toibin: Toibin is a favorite author of mine so when I had the chance to hear him speak locally, I was so excited!  This was his newest book at the time so I purchased it and had it signed by the author.
5.  any book by Jill Mansell : I am a lover of British chick lit and this author does it very well. I voraciously collect her books when I go to the UK but need to read them faster!

Phew - this post has been a good reminder to me about books I want to and need to read!  What books have lingered on your shelves for a little too long? 

Top 10 Books of 2012

On Top Ten Tuesday today, Broke and Bookish  asks you to list the Top Ten Books of 2012.  Without further ado - books are in no particular order and links are to my review if it is posted:

 The World We Found by Thrity Urmigar: What a way to kick off 2012!  This was one one the first books I read this year and I devoured it.  As I said in my review - just read it!

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani (audiobook): This epic tale is still with me weeks after finishing it - from the mountains of Italy, to the streets of Little Italy in NY and mining towns in Minnesota, the story follows Enza and Ciro's dreams and losses. By far, best immigrant read of the year.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker: This one surprised me  - the premise of the gradual slowing of the earth is apocalyptic which is not usually my thing but this book is really more about the coming of age of the book's young protagonist. Beautifully written.

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn: The Queen of England wanders outside the walls of the palace and ends up on a train north to Scotland as she questions what has come of the monarchy and her considers her own disappointments.  I couldn't read this fast enough - it is so well done - smart and funny.

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson: Beautifully written, this book drew me in from the beginning and I still think of the characters 10+ months later

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain: This author's books feature well drawn characters and complex but easy to follow storylines and draw me right in .

The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller: This book doesn't seem to have gotten the attention it deserves. Smartly written and set in a boarding school, this author debut combines psychological thriller with coming of age.

Gold by Chris Cleave: I waffled between putting this book or the author's earlier work, Little Bee, on this list but landed on Gold since 2012 featured the London Olympics. I see why the author has so many fans.

Bossypants (audiobook) by Tina Fey: I love a good memoir and an intelligently funny one is even better - this is a winner for sure!

Happy Accidents (audiobook) Jane Lynch: On a business trip, I found myself parked in the hotel parking lot not unable to pull myself away from this audio in the car - enough said.

Top Ten Tuesday: Why I Love Book Blogging

Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Broke and Bookish, is about the reasons we love book blogging and is in celebration of the blog's one year blogiversay. They have a great blog with quality content and I especially like this weekly feature - check them out!

So, with about 18 months of book blogging under my belt - the top ten reasons I love book blogging:


10. Creative Outlet:  I work in a decidedly unliterary field (pharma R&D) and my job involves a lot of analysis and logical thinking with little room for creativity.  I love to come home to my blog where I can exercise my more creative side.

9. Challenges: I was thrilled  to discover challenges when I started blogging - participating in them asks me to stretch my reading horizons - not unlike the summer reading lists of my schooldays.  I liked challenges so much I started my own this year - the Immigrant Stories Challenge

8. New to me Genres: Before book blogging, I read no YA (well, except when I was a YA), but reading all the excellent reviews of the genre from fellow bloggers who also read adult fiction, has lured me in and I realize I was definitely missing something by not reading the genre.

7. Audiobooks: another thing I had never tried before blogging but now is essential in my "reading" life.  I never thought I would enjoy having a book read to me but how wrong I was - in the car, enroute to work via subway and most recently while lying in bed after LASIK surgery when I couldn't open my eyes, audiobooks have been lifesavers and allowed me to enjoy even more stories!

6. Authors: Prior to book blogging, I don't think I had ever interacted directly with an author, but I have learned how much I enjoy learning about their motivation to write their book and the real person behind the (often) fictional world they create.  A highlight for me this year was meeting the lovely Beth Hoffman, author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel, at BEA this year.  Her generosity and kind words about how much book bloggers have meant to her as an author overwhelmed me.

5. Discovery: In addition to discovering new genres, I have also discovered new authors (and their books) this year that I likely would not have been exposed to without book blogging.  One such author is Aine Greaney - I loved her book Dance Lessons (will be in my top ten this year) but I am not sure it would have come to my attention if I hadn't been book blogging.

4. Twitter: There are days I should consider this a curse considering the amount of time I lose to it but I love how it has expanded my "online" social circle

3. Book Recommendations: Fellow book bloggers have made some of the best book recommendations and by reading their blogs I can judge whether or not our tastes are similar and how likely I am to like what they liked.  They have also saved me from some snoozes . . .

2. Bookish Events: From BEA to author signings to receptions at publishing houses, I have had the pleasure of attending some great events in the time I have been blogging.  It is great to be surrounded at these events by people who share a love of reading

1. Community: Speaking of being surrounded by people who share a love of reading,  the #1 reason I love book blogging is the amazing community that exists within the world of book blogging.  From the outset, people have been welcoming, encouraging and have taken an interest in me as well as what I have to say about books.  That, my friends, is priceless.

What do you love most about book blogging?