Happy Tuesday! It's actually still Monday, but I'm writing this post early since tomorrow, I get to TRAVEL down to the hospital for a colonoscopy. This is my first time getting one and the prep is already killing me. I've been on a liquid diet all day, so I'm starving and I've got a headache. I take my first dose of the prep drink in an hour. The next one will be at 3 a.m. since my procedure is at 9 tomorrow morning. Fun stuff. Since things are only going to get more unpleasant from here, I figured I should get my TTT post squared away now. Today's topic is a nice, easy one: Top Ten Books That Feature Travel. My head's feeling foggy, so I'm going to keep my list simple and go with books on my TBR list that feature a mode of transportation (even though I posted a similar list less than a year ago).

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles—I'm reading this biography right now and it's super interesting. Born to formerly enslaved parents, Madam C.J. Walker survived a hardscrabble upbringing to become a wealthy, well-known businesswoman who used her money and influence to help the poor and champion civil rights for Black people. 

2. The Women by Kristin Hannah—As much as I love Hannah, I've been hesitating a tad on this novel. My uncle was killed in action in Vietnam, so the war is an especially sensitive topic for me. I'll read The Women at some point because I'm curious about the roles women played in the war and I do enjoy Hannah's books.

3. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (available June 10, 2025)—A new Sager thriller is always cause for celebration. I'm already on a waiting list at the library for this novel that sounds like a mash-up of And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. Yes, please!

4. The Woman With No Name by Audrey Blake—It's 1942 and Yvonne Rudellat is in desperate need of a new life focus. She gets it when she's offered the chance to become Britain's first female sabotage agent. No one expects much of her, but she's determined to do everything she can to take down the Nazi's evil regime.

5. What Happened Then by Erin Soderberg Downing (available September 2, 2025)—This middle-grade novel is about a pair of cousins who travel to a mysterious island where family secrets are hiding around every corner, just waiting to be dug into...

6. Last Stop Union Station by Sarah James (available July 15, 2025)—Jacqueline Love's Hollywood career is drying up fast. The only gig she can manage to land is aboard the Hollywood Victory Caravan, a train full of celebrities that is criss-crossing the U.S. to raise money for World War II efforts. When a passenger dies aboard the locomotive in a suspicious manner, Jacqueline's convinced it's murder. Stuck at Union Station in Chicago, she convinces a female police officer to help her investigate. It quickly becomes apparent that the women are in way, way over their heads.

7. Katherine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood—You've heard of Orville and Wilbur Wright, but did you know they had a sister who was invaluable in helping them achieve their many victories? This novel tells the story of one of the most overlooked women in history.

8. Blueberry Blunder by Amanda Flower—I love Flower's Amish Candy Shop cozy mystery series. It's set in Amish country, so most (all?) of the covers feature at least one buggy. In this installment—the 8th in the series—Bailey is in the middle of building a candy factory when a surly contractor with plentiful enemies is murdered. Whodunit?

9. The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore—In this historical novel, a disgraced female doctor is desperate to make ends meet so that her disabled son can get the care he needs. With little choice, she joins a traveling medical show headlined by a charismatic con man. She's poised to sneak away from the whole thing when an incoming storm stops her. The hurricane is predicted to be devastating. People will get hurt and she's a doctor. Can she trust herself to treat people again? Or is she too damaged to be any good to anyone?

There you go, ten books on my TBR list that feature modes of transportation. Have you read any of them? What are your favorite books that feature transportation or travel? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

P.S. I'm in the middle of drinking my first dose of the colonoscopy prep liquid and...wow, it's foul! What have I gotten myself into here? Blech.

Happy Tuesday! I don't remember submitting today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt, but apparently I did. I'm turning 50 this year and my memory is...not great. Anyway, the topic du jour is: Top Ten Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over the Years. One of my favorite things about blog hopping is seeing how other bloggers do their thing. It's always interesting to compare/contrast others' approaches with my own, so I'm excited to read everyone's lists today. 

As always, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

I've been talking about books here at BBB since 2006, almost TWENTY years ago. Crazy! Although I live in the same house that I did back then (after living elsewhere for fourteen years), a lot has changed in almost two decades. When I started my blog, I was a 30-year-old stay-at-home mom looking for a creative outlet. I had three small children, little free time, and a lot of stress. Nineteen years later, I have four children (we adopted our youngest in 2008), a daughter-in-law, a grandbaby, abundant time to myself, and a life that is generally smooth and peaceful.  

As my life circumstances have changed over the years, so has my reading and blogging. Here's how:

1. Read, Review, Repeat—Back in the day, I reviewed every book I read on my blog. It didn't matter whether it came from a publisher, the library, or my own shelves, I took the time to write a detailed, thoughtful review. Since I read a whole lot faster than I review, this quickly became a huge source of stress and pressure for me. Eventually, I realized that I was creating my own issue by demanding too much of myself. It was only a handful of years ago that I finally gave myself permission to review only what I wanted to review and to do it on my own timeline. So liberating! Since then, the number of reviews posted on my blog has massively dwindled, but I'm a much happier blogger.

2. Goodreads for the Win—It took me some time to get into this iconic book site, but now I'm totally addicted! I keep multiple TBR lists there, follow friends, participate in the yearly Goodreads challenge, and more. I'm on the site almost every day. If you don't follow me there yet, you definitely should.

Even though I don't review everything I read on my blog, I do review everything I read on Goodreads. As soon as I can after I finish a book, I record my initial thoughts on GR simply because I like having a record of what I've read and what I thought about it. If I end up writing a more in-depth review on my blog, I can refer to my GR review and those fresher thoughts. Even though my GR reviews are generally rougher than my blog reviews, I still post them on NetGalley and Edelweiss when they're referring to ARCs.

3. Faster, more efficient reading—As I mentioned, I had three little kids when I started this blog. I had to sneak in my reading and blogging during naptime and in the early morning before they woke up. I'm not sure how many books I read in a year back then (probably not many), but now I usually get about 200. Since I don't have small children, I don't have a job, I don't watch tv, and I don't have many other hobbies, I have all the time in the world to read. When I'm driving (frequently), doing housework (ALL the dang time), or exercising (not enough of the time), I listen to audiobooks to pass the time and up my book count.

4. More succinct reviews—In the early days of BBB, my aunt told me she didn't like my reviews because I gave too much of the book's plot away. Fair point. My writing has always been wordy and that probably won't ever change, but I do think I've gotten better at penning reviews that are more succinct and spoiler-free. Writing quick reviews on Goodreads has definitely helped me with this.

5. Picky, picky, picky!—When I first started my blog, I was so excited that publicists were offering me free reads that I eagerly accepted every book that was offered to me. It didn't take long for me to feel totally overwhelmed and pressured to read them all, even if they were not at all my cup of tea. I have become much more selective over time. These days, I probably accept less than half of the books I'm offered. 

6. More balance, less snark—As a baby blogger, I earned a fierce reputation as the Simon Cowell of the book blogging world. If I didn't like a book, I did not hold back! I was riding pretty high on my own wit when I received several hate emails from angry authors and lost a writer friend whose book I didn't love. After some humbling, I started to tone things down. I still believe in writing honest reviews, but I've tried to take a kinder, more balanced, less snarky approach.

7. Bye, bye book tours!—Once upon a time, I was super into participating in blog tours. Back then, it was sometimes the only way to get early copies of hot titles. Greedy little me signed up for so many of them that I had at least one tour stop every week and usually more. Keeping up a hectic schedule like that sucked the fun out of book reviewing, leaving me feeling panicked, stressed, and guilty when I couldn't keep up. Some time ago, I decided to give up blog tours completely. What a relief! Now and then, I'll agree to a tour stop, but they are very, very few and very, very far between. 

8. Schedule free me—As a matter of fact, I have stopped doing any kind of scheduled posting. I participate in TTT most weeks, but that's about it. For years, I've been telling authors and publicists that I review only on my own schedule. If I get to their book, I get to it; if I don't, I don't. Judging by the amount of books still coming to my doorstep, most people don't mind my lackadaisical attitude. 

On the other hand, having no schedule means I rarely post these days. I don't want my blog to be completely forgotten, so I may have to be a little more disciplined on this one. We'll see.

9. Challenge Me—I've always loved reading challenges. Back in the day, there were tons of them going on in the book blogosphere and lots of them were competitive, offering generous prizes of books, gift cards, and so on. I took them seriously, participating in a bunch every year. Although I still join more of them than I should, I only do them for fun these days. I also host a couple of my own, which I enjoy.

10. Old favorites, been and gone—In almost twenty years of book blogging, I've fallen in love with so many wonderful blogs and bloggers. It's sad when they disappear from the book blogosphere. Over the years, some of those bloggers have died while others have just moved on to other pursuits. Although so many of them have gone away, luckily, there have been many more that have taken their place over the years. I'm so glad that the book blogging world is still going strong. 

One thing that hasn't changed since 2006 is that I still love reading and promoting books. Being a part of the book blogosphere for all these years has been such a joy. Thank you for hanging out here with me and for all of your thoughtful comments, delightful book recommendations, wonderful support, and more. You make me feel included and seen, something that can be tough for bookish introverts to find. Even though I'm a senior citizen in the book blogging world, I'm not ready to let it go. That might not ever change! 

How long have you been blogging? What changes have you noticed in your reading, reviewing, and blogging habits over the years? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also try to respond to comments left here.

It's been a hot minute since I've participated in Top Ten Tuesday. After neglecting my favorite weekly blogging event for too long, I'm back for today's fun prompt: Top Ten Authors Who Live in My State or Country. Although I was born and raised in the lush, rainy Pacific Northwest, I have lived in hot, dry Arizona since 2000. The Grand Canyon State has produced some legendary authors like Zane Grey, Erma Bombeck, Edward Abbey, Barbara Park, and more. Today, I'm going to focus on ten Arizona authors who are still living and producing books, whether I've read anything from them or not. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Nicole Adair—Nicole's family lived near me for many years in Mesa and attended the same church congregation, so I know them fairly well. I know Nicole herself only slightly, but I'm excited that she's having success with her YA novels. I haven't read any of them yet. Soon, I hope!

2. Dusti Bowling—Bowling is my favorite Arizona author, hands down. She lives in Gilbert and writes wonderful middle-grade novels set in our state. She's best known for Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, but she's penned a number of others as well. I've read most of her books and have her latest, The Beat I Drum out from the library right now.

3. Diana Gabaldon—This hugely popular author of the Outlander series is one of Arizona's most famous writers. She was born in Williams and has lived in Scottsdale for years. I read and enjoyed Outlander awhile ago, but I have never picked up any of her others. Oops. 

4. J.A. Jance—Jance, who grew up in Bisbee and now lives part-time in Tucson, has been publishing mystery novels since the 1980s. Although she has written dozens of books, I've never read any of them. She's on my list of authors to try.

5. Barbara Kingsolver—Kingsolver, who writes in a variety of genres, lives in southern Arizona part-time. I haven't read any of her books. Yet.

6. Isabella Maldonado—A few years ago while my husband and I were at our bank dealing with some issues, a teller and I started talking about our shared love of reading. She mentioned that a relative of hers, a retired police captain, had moved to Phoenix and started writing crime novels. At the time, I hadn't heard of Maldonado, but I see her name frequently these days. I haven't read anything by her yet, but I will!

7. Lisa McMann—McMann, who lives in Tempe, writes sci fi/fantasy books for middle-grade and teen readers. I've read and enjoyed her YA books. My kids liked her Unwanted series.

8. Stephenie Meyer—It's been a few years since Meyer published anything so I don't know if she's technically still writing or not, but I couldn't exclude her from this list since she's one of Arizona's most famous living authors. The creator of the Twilight saga, she lives in Cave Creek. Fun fact: New Moon is one of the first books I reviewed on this blog. I loved Twilight when I read it, but the series got hokey for me so I never finished it. I did enjoy The Host.

9. T.J. Newman—A former flight attendant, Newman lives in Phoenix and writes thrillers set on airplanes. I haven't read any of them yet, but I plan to at some point.

10. Jewell Parker Rhodes—Dr. Rhodes is the Virginia D. Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. She's also the Founding Director of the Virginia D. Piper Center for Creative Writing and a bestselling author of historical fiction for both kids and adults. I've read and enjoyed several of her children's books.

Well, I clearly haven't done very well at reading local authors! I definitely need to do better. How about you? Have you read any of these Arizona authors? Which are your favorites? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

I just realized it's been a whole month since I published a post here at BBB. Such a slacker! I've been reading (that never stops), but I haven't been reviewing books except on Goodreads. (Are you following me there? You should be.) I've even been skipping out on my favorite meme, Top Ten Tuesday. Yikes! Hopefully, I can get back into the swing of things soon.

At any rate, how are you doing with the Bookish Books Reading Challenge? (I would know if I had been visiting your review posts, which I haven't been doing either.) I'm doing fairly well with it, actually. So far this year, I've read ten bookish books. That's not so bad, right? 

In April, I read and enjoyed both of these: 

The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes—This new historical novel is all about the power of stories to uplift and inspire. It features two women who brave all the challenges of the Montana wilderness to bring books to people in isolated mining camps. A third comes to Big Sky country in order to help with a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program aimed at employing jobless writers and editors to write travel guides for the American states. In doing so, she uncovers a mystery involving the two boxcar librarians.

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian—The second installment in a cozy mystery series starring an out-of-work magician who reluctantly returns home to work for her family's unique construction business, The Raven Thief is a murder mystery centered around an Edgar Allen Poe-themed party that goes horribly awry.

I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading in May since I really don't plan out my reading, but these two look good:

Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman (available July 15, 2025)—Goodman's one of my go-to mystery/thriller authors, so I'm excited for her newest. Hopefully, I can get an e-ARC sometime soon. The story is about a group of authors who were invited to an exclusive writing retreat on a Greek Island fifteen years ago. Something sinister happened then. Now, that same group of writers is being invited back for a cutthroat writing competition that, once again, turns bloody. Whodunit?

Just Another Dead Author by Katarina Bivald (available August 12, 2025)—This mystery has a very similar plot to the above book. It's about Berit Gardner, a mystery author who travels to the French countryside to attend a writer's conference. When the keynote speaker, a despised literary critic, dies suddenly after delivering his lecture, it throws the gathering into chaos. While the police launch an investigation, Berit decides to do her own digging. Plenty of people wanted revenge on the harsh critic, but who actually did the deed?

The Lady and Her Quill by Ruth A. Casie—I'm not much of a romance reader, but this one sounds fun. It's about two rival authors who design a competition to see who is the better writer. Both of them are to craft a story based on a newspaper headline about a stolen treasure. As they delve into the task, the contest gets more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. When Lady Alicia Hartley is captured by the thieves, it's up to her rival to rescue her. Can he save the woman he loves to hate? What if her adventure gives her the better story? Can he win at both writing and love?

If you are participating in the 2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your May reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party. 

I blinked and, somehow, it's April. Oof! How did March race by so quickly? I didn't have any specific plans to read bookish books in March, but I did manage to get to four of them:

The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan—This book is a murder mystery that revolves around a mythical lost treasure. It's not super bookish, but one of the main characters is a novelist with writer's block who takes on a beachside house sitting gig in the hopes that the beautiful, peaceful surroundings will be the inspiration she needs to get her next book written. Instead, she gets caught up in trying to solve a murder. 

Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber—In this series debut, a pair of twin sisters are desperately trying to save their family's dying bookshop. Allie Catt, also a caterer, comes up with the idea of hosting mystery-themed dinners to raise needed funds. Things are going swimmingly until Allie's aunt is murdered and Allie's best friend is accused of the killing. The well-read caterer must summon all the knowledge she's gleaned from her favorite literary detectives to solve the puzzling crime and clear her BFF's name.

The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor—Gaynor's newest historical is about a ship carrying British children to safety in Canada during World War II that is sunk by a German U-boat. One lifeboat, carrying several children, their female attendant, and a handful of men is left floating in the ocean, forgotten. The passengers must survive, somehow, until they're rescued, but when—if ever—will that be? Books come into play because the female attendant is a big reader. She entertains the kids in the boat by telling them the story of Moby Dick from memory. 

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister—The star of this thriller, McAllister's latest, is a literary agent and her husband works as a ghostwriter. On the day she is supposed to return to work after nine months of maternity leave, she awakes to find her husband has left the house without saying goodbye, highly unusual for him. She soon learns that he is involved in a hostage situation taking place in another part of London. To her shock, her laidback, affable husband is not a victim, but the perpetrator. How can the man she loves be holding people hostage at gunpoint? Does she even know him at all?

I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading in April, honestly, but these two look promising:

The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White (available July 15, 2025)—When the Nazis begin banning books in Germany, exiled German writers start gathering in Paris, where they open a library to safeguard their books and ideas. Corinne Bastien has made the library her second home, but when Paris is overtaken by Nazis, she loses her precious escape. With the help of a reluctant German soldier, it's up to her to protect the precious library and all the secrets it hold from falling into the hands of the enemy.

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens—A librarian in the Midwest, Hana Babic goes out of her way to live a quiet, unassuming life. Her dark past is something she is desperate to keep hidden. When her best friend is murdered, Hana's afraid the secrets she's keeping about her previous life as a Bosnian militia fighter will make her a killer's next target. With her best friend's young granddaughter now in her care, Hana must protect herself and her charge at all costs. 

I love me a seasonal TBR list, even if I never actually read any of the titles I so ambitiously place on them. Since I was feeling uninspired for last week's freebie-ish prompt, I actually started this week's topic—Top Ten Books On My Spring 2025 TBR List—early. If you want to see Part One of my list, click here or just scroll down on my blog (since TTT posts seem to be the only thing I publish lately). 

As always, this fun weekly meme is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

- Part Two - 

1. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor—I've been listening to this World War II novel on audio, but it's been slow going and I finally had to turn it back in to the library since another patron had requested it. Luckily, I have an e-ARC of the book on my Kindle. I'm about 60% through the book and it's still plodding along. You'd think a story about the last survivors of a torpedoed ship struggling to stay alive would be more exciting and emotionally resonant, but it just...isn't. I'm determined to finish The Last

 Lifeboat since I'm so close. It's just a *bit* of a slog...

2. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth—Since I can't do housework without an audiobook to listen to, I checked out a new one. I read three of this Australian author's domestic thrillers last year and loved them. The Mother-in-Law is about the suspicious death of a wealthy matriarch who had complicated relationships with her two children and their spouses. Although Diana Goodwin left behind a suicide note claiming she can't bear to live with the cancer inside her, the coroner finds no signs of the disease in her body, although he does find evidence of poison and suffocation. Diana was not the warmest of women, but who hated her enough to kill her?

3. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (available July 29, 2025)—Miranda is one of my go-to mystery/thriller writers, so I'm always stoked when she publishes a new book. I started an e-ARC of this one, her newest, yesterday before setting it aside temporarily while I finish The Last Lifeboat. It has to do with a mother returning to her hometown to drop her daughter off for her freshman year of college. Twenty years ago, Beckett left the same school following a deadly fire allegedly set by her roommate, who then vanished, never to be seen again. Already uneasy about leaving her only child in a place she never intended to return to, Beckett finds her past overlapping with her present as she contemplates what really happened the night of the fire. 

4. A Town With Half the Lights On by Page Getz (available April 22, 2025)—I like the look and sound of this heartwarming novel. It's about a family from Brooklyn who move to tiny Goodnight, Kansas, to check out the crumbling Victorian home they've inherited. Even while they search for a way to go back to New York, Sid Solvang decides on a whim to buy Goodnight's fledgling diner. As the hopeful transplants try to make a go of their new life, they find themselves wrapped up in the small-town spirit of a place that is suddenly starting to feel an awful lot like home.

5. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister—After about a month of hanging out on a library waiting list, I've finally got my hands on the newest mystery/thriller from another one of my go-to authors. This one is about a woman who is eager to go back to her job as a literary agent after being on maternity leave. She's all set to drop her baby off at daycare and go to work, but when she wakes up, her husband is mysteriously missing from their bed. Then, she hears breaking news about a hostage situation brewing in London. She's shocked to learn that her mild-mannered husband is involved—as the gunman. What has driven him to this extreme and how can she stop him from taking things any further?

6. Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King—The generous folks at Candlewick Press just sent me the first two books in this delightful-sounding middle-grade mystery series. It stars Bonnie Montgomery, aka Montgomery BonBon, a 10-year-old who just happens to be a world-famous detective (or will be someday). When a death occurs at a local museum, the intrepid investigator takes the case!

7. An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette—I'm always on the lookout for fun cozy mysteries. This is the first installment in an older series about a woman who takes a job as a food critic for a Key West, Florida, magazine. Her new boss is the last person she wants to deal with. When the boss ends up dead, the food critic must find her killer before she ends up taking the blame for the foul deed.

8. The Midnight Estate by Kelly Rimmer (available July 22, 2025)—I've got an e-ARC of this forthcoming Gothic family secrets novel. It's about a woman who returns to her Australian hometown to restore her ancestral estate. As she works, she discovers dark secrets long buried by the family she thought she knew.

9. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin—I made some fairly ambitious resolutions for 2025 which lasted for about, oh, 24 whole hours, if that. I've still got goals I want to work on and fulfill, but I'm in desperate need of motivation. I'm hoping this book will help.

10. Off the Map by Meika Hashimoto—Survival stories are my jam and this one sounds exciting. It's about two friends who are feeling distanced from each other, which makes going on the canoe trip their families planned together a little awkward. When the two get lost, they find themselves all alone in the Alaskan wilderness with no idea how to find their way back to civilization. Can they mend their differences and work together to save themselves?

There you go, ten more books I want to read this Spring. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's on your Spring TBR list? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.