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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Oh, the Places We'll Go!


Today's TTT topic is a nostalgic, walk-down-memory-lane type deal, but my memory is just not up to the task! If yours is good enough, then you might enjoy listing the Top Ten Books I Read On Vacation (bonus points if you can tell us where you were). Me? I'm going to twist the topic around a bit. I toyed with some vacation-y spins and finally decided to steal an idea from Wendy over at The Bashful Bookworm. A couple weeks ago, she made a TTT list of book covers with vehicles on them. I thought that was a fun topic and since vehicles mean travel, it works well for today. 

Before we get to my list, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give Jana, our hostess with the mostest, some love!

Top Ten Books From My TBR With Vehicles on the Cover
- in no particular order - 


1. New From Here by Kelly Yang—It's hard to see, but the cover of my current read features an airplane flying through the title. The book is about a Chinese-American family living in Hong Kong who decides to flee to their summer home in California to escape the coronavirus. It's told from the point of view of 10-year-old Knox, whose struggles with ADHD are exacerbated by missing his father (who stayed behind to work), going to a new school, sharing a bedroom with his annoying older brother, and dealing with prejudice against Asian people (who are being blamed for bringing the virus to the U.S.). I'm only a few chapters in, but this middle grade novel is already proving to be a powerful, impacting read. 


2. All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes (available December 13, 2022)—I love this gorgeous cover with its Venetian gondola! The story is about a baby who's discovered floating in a basket along the canals of Venice. Taken in by a guild of artisans, he's raised as their own, although he still wonders about his mysterious origins. One hundred years later, a translator comes to the city to procure a rare book. Within its pages, he'll discover an intriguing story about a floating infant...


3. Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare—Lena Aldridge lives a gritty, unfulfilling life as a lounge singer in London, where she must hide her mixed-race heritage and pass as white. When she's offered the opportunity to sing on Broadway, she eagerly boards the RMS Queen Mary, excited to begin a new life in America. Her hopes sink when she finds herself embroiled in a murder onboard that puts all her dreams—not to mention her life—at risk.


4. Olive Bright, Pigeoneer by Stephanie Graves—This World War II mystery sounds interesting. The titular character is the owner of a flock of racing pigeons which she hopes will be requested by the National Pigeon Service to help with the war effort. A duo do come calling, but they're intelligence officers asking Olive to aid in a covert operation against the Germans. Soon after they arrive, a local woman is found murdered outside Olive's pigeon loft. Just what has Olive gotten herself into?


5. The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris—Similar to the above, this WWII novel features an illusionist's assistant who specializes in creating spectacular escapes to thrill audiences. When British military intelligence asks her to use her expertise to help them win the war, she's eager to help. It soon becomes clear, however, that her mission is much more dangerous than she ever imagined it could be.


6. Iceberg by Jennifer A. Nielsen (available March 17, 2023)—I enjoy Nielsen's historical fiction for middle graders as well as books about the Titanic, so I'm very excited for this one. It's about a young stowaway with big plans for her new life in America who gets caught up in an intriguing mystery and a desperate struggle for survival.


7. Simmer Down by Sarah Smith—This rom-com featuring dueling food trucks on a Maui beach sounds fun. I was an exchange student in the Philippines during high school, so I can't wait for all the Filipino food talk. Yum!


8. Peanut Butter Panic by Amanda Flower—I love this charming cozy mystery series. This installment, book seven, has Bailey King providing sweets for a big Thanksgiving event in town. When a man dies from an allergic reaction after eating her desserts, she's shocked. Once again, she finds herself investigating a puzzling murder.


9. The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh—Speaking of carrier pigeons, this novel revolves around a woman who joins the Women's Royal Naval Service (aka, the "wrens") and becomes a motorcycle dispatch rider tasked with delivering the birds to the front during World War I. Two decades later, she's called back into service at the beginning of another world war.


10. Better Off Read by Nora Page—Desperate to save her town's storm-damaged library, Cleo Watkins hits the road in her bookmobile to drum up support in her small Georgia town. When a potential benefactor ends up dead and her best friend stands accused of his murder, Cleo must play Nancy Drew to figure out whodunit. 

There you have it, ten books from my TBR list that have vehicles on the cover. What do you think? Have you read any of them? Which books have you read on vacation? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!

44 comments:

  1. Nice twist on the topic, Susan. I also tweaked it to books featuring vacation or travel. I've only read 3 of these, so I might be adding some to my TBR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm definitely drawn to those kinds of books, too. I especially like vacation-gone-wrong type of stories. Glad you found some title to pique your interest here.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Carla!

      Delete
  2. I liked this topic when Wendy did it too. So fun, love the covers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a fun one, isn't it? I told Wendy she should submit it to be an "official" prompt. I'd love to see what other people came up with for it.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cindy!

      Delete
  3. I just saw a review of The Way We Hide, which didn't really like it. I would have gone for it since it's WW2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The funny thing about McMorris is that all of her books sound like ones I would like. So far, I've read two by her. I liked SOLD ON A MONDAY, but was bored to tears by THE EDGE OF LOST. We'll see what I think of this one!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Helen!

      Delete
  4. I think it’s fun to make connections between books like this! May you enjoy all of these reads.

    My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-types-of-books-i-read-on-vacation/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do, too! That's one of the reasons I enjoy TTT. It lets me put together a list of books I might never have connected before.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!

      Delete
  5. So many of us went rogue this week, haha. I love your choice of topic though. So fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been impressed by how many people remembered exactly where they were when they read a certain book. My memory is just not that good! LOL.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Suzanne!

      Delete
  6. I enjoyed this topic so much, and you really found some terrific covers. I love that pig with the horse and carriage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a super fun topic! I was looking for some unique vehicles, but there weren't too many different ones on my TBR list, mostly planes and ships since I love hist-fic. Thanks for letting me steal your great idea :) I still think you need to submit it to Jana. It would be fun to see all the different kinds of vehicles people could come up with.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Wendy!

      Delete
  7. Love this! Books that transport you with different methods of transportation on the cover.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a fun prompt, right? It was pretty easy, too, since I love historical fiction and they always seem to have covers with planes, trains, and ships on them.

      Thanks for popping by, Alicia!

      Delete
  8. I really like the sound of All the Lost Places and Miss Aldridge Regrets! On our last holiday in Cornwall, in May, my elderly cousin gave me a big bag of books and I couldn't resist picking two out to read there and then. I picked a chick-lit romance type book about a winery in Devon and one by Debbie McComber. Both were excellent so I have fond memories of my last holiday reading. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice! I love that you book swap with your cousin and how lovely that your tastes jive so well. I've never read anything by Macomber, but her books look like ones I would like. I'm glad you enjoyed these. And Cornwall is on my list of places to visit when I come back to the U.K. (hopefully next year). We'll see!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cath!

      Delete
  9. All the Lost Places has such a stunning cover!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it beautiful? I might have to buy myself a copy just so I can gaze on its loveliness in real life instead of on a screen!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Tanya!

      Delete
  10. I have the Amanda Dykes book too. Great idea for a topic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like I said above, I might just go ahead and buy it. The cover would look pretty on my shelves and the story sounds good, too!

      Thanks for stopping by, Bonnie!

      Delete
  11. You stuck to the topic, but you made it your own. And what a nice variety of modes of transportation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Modes of transportation" is a better way to put it than vehicles. I spent too much time deciding whether a bicycle counted as a vehicle! Ha ha.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!

      Delete
  12. I am loving your titles. I have Peanut Butter Panic waiting for me to read and I see a bunch more on your list I NEED to read. Enjoy your great reads :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to read the installment before PEANUT BUTTER PANIC first, but it didn't have a buggy on the cover, so I used this cover instead. It's such a fun series!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deanne!

      Delete
  13. Beautiful blog header! Some of these titles are definitely interesting, especially the two World War 2 titles. I like the cover for the Pigeoneer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I paid a designer to do all my blog design since I have no skills in that area. She did a great job.

      WWII books always appeal to me, too, and I've never read anything about the role of carrier pigeons in the war so I'm excited for these.

      Thanks for stopping in, Stephen!

      Delete
  14. Vehicles on the cover, that's a lovely twist to the topic because we all need some kind of "tool" to get us to the holidays. Well done, Susan.

    Thanks for visiting my My TTT this week which is all about travel books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! Vehicles on a book cover usually indicate that a journey of some kind is about to take place. It's often one in both a physical and emotional sense, and those are the kinds of stories I enjoy so it makes sense that there are a lot of books with these types of covers on my TBR list. Of course, some—like the horse and buggy—are just there to give a sense of place (Amish country, in this case) and that's fun, too. There are so many possibilities with this prompt, that's why I like it so much!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!

      Delete
    2. And you've done such a great job with it. I twas a pleasure seeing all the covers.

      Delete
  15. Wow! I've never heard of these, but they all sound so intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. As soon as I finish reading for the Cybils, I'm going to pick one of these up. Probably the pigeoneer one. We'll see.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leah!

      Delete
  16. Amanda's cover is indeed gorgeous! So pretty and those colors, too? A great design. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, all of those elements work together to create a truly beautiful cover. It's eye-catching, but it also has this lovely dreamlike quality. I just adore it, all-around!

      Thanks for popping by, Rissi!

      Delete
  17. Fun twist on this week's TTT! I really love the cover of The Call of the Wrens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do, too. It's very evocative. Even though it's got a woman facing away and fighter planes in the sky like every other WWII novel these days, it still has some uniqueness to it.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!

      Delete
  18. This was definitely a memory challenging post! At first I was trying to do 10 books I didn't finish on vacation--but only two stuck out in my mind so.... that didn't work at all. Remembering what I read on trips from years ago was really difficult haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? I can barely remember what I read last week, let alone what I read on past vacations! LOL.

      Thanks for stopping in, Allison!

      Delete
  19. I love the cover for The Ways We Hide! This is a fun topic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same. I don't care how many similar covers I see with piles of luggage, planes/trains/ships, etc., they still call to me. There's just something exciting about the beginning of a journey. I really like books like this.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deanna!

      Delete
  20. I especially like the cover of All the Lost Places. The story sounds pretty good, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed. That cover definitely catches the eye and the imagination! I'm excited to read the book, too.

      Thanks for popping in, Mary!

      Delete
  21. I had to really look at Peanut Butter Panic to find the vehicle :) Fun twist and great covers. I read The Ways We Hide and liked the different way a woman helped during the war. Thanks for visiting me......
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a bit subtle, isn't it? The series takes place in Amish country, so a lot of the covers have a horse and buggy on them.

      I'm always interested in WWII novels, especially when they present a unique aspect of the conflict, things I hadn't heard about before.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Terrie!

      Delete
  22. I love the spin on this topic and I loved The Bashful Bookworm's list. You've got a great selection of vehicles and the Amanda Flower cover made me laugh. I would never have thought of a horse and buggy and I really must start that series. I'm loving her Magical Bookshop series right now.

    ReplyDelete

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