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

1. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager—I've read all of Sager's thrillers except Final Girls and this 2024 novel is my favorite. Although it's just as atmospheric and engrossing as his others, Middle of the Night has a sweet poignancy to it that sets it apart from its predecessors. The story is about Ethan Marsh, a man who is still traumatized by the disappearance of his best friend thirty years ago while the 10-year-olds were having a sleepover in Ethan's backyard. When he returns to his childhood home, he begins to experience strange things happening in the night, things that point to Billy's vanishing. Is someone playing a cruel prank on Ethan? Has Billy, believed to have died three decades ago, coming back to haunt him? What really happened to Ethan's best friend on that fateful night? Ethan is determined to find out, once and for all.

2. Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert—I loved Moloka'i, a historical novel about the titular island's role as a leper colony. By the time this sequel came out, I had forgotten who was who in the story, so I put off reading it until I could reread Moloka'i, which I still haven't done. 

Daughter of Moloka'i tells the story of the child whom Rachel Kalama (the protagonist in Moloka'i), who was quarantined for most of her life because of leprosy, was forced to give up. Ruth is taken to an orphanage in Honolulu, from whence she is adopted by a Japanese couple. Brought up in California, Ruth is unfairly interred at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II. Her life is upended again when she receives a letter from Rachel, her birth mother, and learns more about her own story.

3. Lovely War by Julie Berry—It's tough to describe this uniquely-told YA novel about love and war. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, narrates the story as she tells Hephaestus and Ares about two human couples whose relationships are irrevocably changed by what they experience during World War I.

4. The Pioneers by David McCullough—I own a few of McCullough's books because I love learning about history, but I've never actually read any of them. The author is extremely knowledgeable, but his writing is a bit...dry. My husband got bored quickly with The Pioneers and ended up setting it aside. I'm afraid I might have the same problem, but I still want to give it a try. As indicated by the title, the book discusses the settling of the United States' Northwest Territory by intrepid pioneers who overcame incredible obstacles in pursuit of the American Dream.

5. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins—I don't read a lot of self-help books, but this one has gotten so much buzz that I decided to see what it's all about (although I haven't yet). Apparently, it teaches how to free yourself from the constant anxiety of trying to control other people by letting go and focusing on the only person you can change: yourself.

6. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid—I've never read anything by Reid, but this novel sounds intriguing to me. It concerns a Hollywood actress who lived a long and scandalous life before becoming a recluse. When she finally decides to spill all her secrets, she shocks everyone by choosing an obscure, struggling journalist to write her biography. The chosen writer is dumbfounded by this turn of events and is even more astounded by what the Hollywood icon tells her.

7. A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White—When their parents die in a plane crash, sisters Ruthie and Julia are shocked and grief-stricken. They're even more so when they learn that their parents' will stipulates that the two be raised separately. The novel tells the stories of both women as they grow apart from each other, then come back together again.

8. The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe—This YA novel is the first in a dystopian series about a small island community whose population is depleted by a deadly virus. With the island under quarantine, the survivors fight over dwindling supplies while trying to figure out how to save themselves and those they love in the midst of the resulting violence and chaos.

9. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris—As indicated by its title, this historical novel is a fictionalized version of the story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II. Because he could speak several languages, he was assigned to tattoo numbers on the arms of new arrivals at the concentration camp. He secretly used his privileged position to procure food to help other prisoners survive. When Lale met a young woman named Gita, he vowed to marry her after the war was over—and did.

10. The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson—I've enjoyed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek twice now, but I've yet to read this sequel for some reason. The novel features Honey Mary Angeline Lovett, who takes on her mother's packhorse librarian route after both of her parents are imprisoned. As she brings literature and hope to the people in the hollers of Appalachia, she finds independence, freedom, and purpose for herself.

I just clicked over to Richardson's website and saw that a new novel starring Cussy Lovett is coming in April 2026. Looks like I'll be reading The Book Woman's Daughter next year, followed by The Mountains We Call Home. Woo hoo!

There you have it, ten random books I picked from my bookshelves. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which random titles did you choose from your shelves today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

I'm a little late to the party, but I'm here. Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!

I don't know about you, but I have a bad habit of getting excited about a book, acquiring said book, and then totally forgetting the book exists in the world, let alone right there on my bookshelf or Kindle. Sound familiar at all? Today's TTT topic is all about this weird, inexplicable phenomenon: Top Ten Books I Couldn't Wait to Get My Hands On and Still Haven't Read. This is another one of those prompts that could have been a Top One Hundred list, but ain't nobody wanna read that, so I'll restrain myself and stick to the assignment. While I definitely have older examples, the volumes on my list are the first ten that caught my eye while I was perusing my bookshelves. 

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

1. Homecoming by Kate Morton—This is the first book that came to mind for this topic. I adore Morton and get excited every time she publishes. Extra so this go around because I didn't love her last novel. (There's a first time for everything, I guess.) Homecoming has gotten great reviews. I just need to read it already. The story is about a journalist living in England who returns to her native Australia to care for her elderly grandmother. While poking about in the older woman's attic, she discovers intriguing clues that propel her to investigate a 60-year-old unsolved murder that, shockingly, seems to have ties to her family.

2. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann—Like all buzzy books, this one had a long waitlist at my library, so I bought myself a copy...which has been gathering dust on my bookshelf ever since! It's the nonfiction account of a British ship that wrecked in 1742. Two groups of survivors arrived home at different times and in separate cobbled-together vessels. With wildly different stories about what happened to them, the question became: What really happened aboard the Wager?

3. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng—I'm always up for a unique dystopian novel and this one caught my attention as soon as I heard about it. I even bought a copy to enjoy at my leisure, although I planned to get to it sooner rather than later. Hasn't happened yet. It's about a young Asian American boy living in a tumultuous new world that is trying to regroup following years of economic chaos and angry violence. The government says that anything "unpatriotic" (including the poems his mother wrote before she abandoned him) should be eradicated. When he gets a mysterious letter with only a drawing on it, it sends him on a daring journey to find the mother he hasn't seen in three years.

4. Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese—This historical novel tells the reimagined story of the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous character, Hester Prynne. I really should pick it up one of these days!

5. Fly Away by Kristin Hannah—After loving Hannah's most recent novels, I wanted to read some of her backlist ones. I purchased this one only to later realize it was the second book in a duology. Oops! Once I read Firefly Lane, I'll get to this sequel, which continues the story of the great friendship between Tully Hart and Kate Ryan.

6. How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis—While my housekeeping skills can always use refining, I hear this slim self-help book really isn't about cleaning at all. Lots of my busy mom friends have recommended this to me as a guide that helped them feel better about all they're doing and get rid of the shame and guilt they feel over not being able to accomplish as much as they want to in their long, crazy days filled with constant cleaning, cooking, childcare, etc.

7. The Silo trilogy by Hugh Howey—Dystopian novels have always been my jam. I loved Wool when I read it, so much so that I bought a boxed set of the three-volume series. Have I read Shift or Dust? No, no I have not. The story is about apocalypse survivors who have been living through the fallout underground. Tired of the confinement, some of them want to bust out and take their chances on the outside. They get their wish, for good or ill...

8. Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert—Moloka'i is an impactful historical novel that I still think about even though it's been years since I read it. Since I liked it so much, I purchased the sequel. I feel like I need to re-read the first book to remember who's who and what's what before I move on with the story, but I've yet to actually do it because as much as I may have enjoyed a book, I'm not much for re-reading.

9. What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon—Of the three books I've read by Harmon, I adored two of them (Where the Lost Wander and A Girl Called Samson). This time-slip novel is one of her most well-loved. It's about a woman grieving the death of her beloved grandfather, who always regaled her with stories of his childhood in Ireland. Sucked back to that time period, she finds herself the unwitting guardian of a young boy. Even if she could return to her time, could she bear to leave the child she is coming to love as her own?

10. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn—I feel like the last hist-fic lover on the planet that hasn't read anything by Quinn. This is the book of hers I most want to read. Based on a true story, it's about a bookish student who is forced to take up a gun and defend her native Ukraine from Hitler's oncoming invasion. She soon becomes a proficient killer, a national hero, and a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. Then an old enemy comes calling...

There you go, ten books I was really excited to read and still haven't gotten to. What's on your shelf of shame? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

I've been a little MIA here on the blog. I'm still reading (I never stop), but other things have been taking up my reviewing/posting/commenting time. A month ago, my husband surprised me by listing our house for sale about four weeks earlier than planned. Even though it had me stressing out *just* a tad, the timing worked perfectly. The second family to walk through our house fell madly in love and made us an offer almost immediately. They're super nice people and they gave us what we asked for (a smokin' deal, it must be said), with no fuss over some minor repairs that need to be done. Yay! We close on June 1 and have to be out by July 15. Shouldn't be a problem, although my old/new house currently looks like this throughout (actually worse since these photos are from a couple weeks ago—the kitchen tile is gone and there are more holes in the walls):

Our contractor's actually making lots of progress and I'm confident the place will be livable come mid-July, even if everything's not quite done. We're remodeling every room in the house to some degree, so, yeah...it's a lot. The process of choosing cabinets, flooring, lighting, paint, etc. is fun, but it's also becoming tedious and time-consuming. I'm excited, though, for how spiffy it will look when it all comes together. Our "old" house—it was built in 1994, we bought it in 2004 and lived in it from then until 2008—will feel like a new house, for sure.

In addition to packing up our current house and remodeling the new one, I'm also frantically studying for my upcoming genealogy accreditation test. It's only a few weeks away, so I'm freaking out a *wee* bit! The best way for me to study is by tackling real-life family history research questions, so if you have one that's based in the American Southwest (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, California, and Colorado, as defined by the accreditation board), I'd love to look into it for you. The question can be something simple like: My grandparents emigrated to California in the 1880s, but I don't know where they emigrated from or who their parents were. Can you find them for me? Or, my great-grandmother lived in Arizona all her life. I only know her married name. Can you find her maiden name? Who were her parents and siblings? That kind of thing. If you get it to me in the next couple weeks, I'll research it for free as practice. If you wait until I'm accredited, it will cost you :)

Real life, ugh. Let's get back to the books, shall we?

This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is all about those volumes we were so, so, so excited to have in our hot little hands and yet...there they sit, unread, unloved, gathering dust on our shelves. I seem to have an out of sight, out of mind mentality in this regard. As soon as I buy a book, ensuring that I can read it any ole time I want, I promptly forget I want to read it! Thus, it was easy to come up with this list. All I had to do was cast an eye on my bookshelves to find a plethora of choices (not as many as it would have been last month, though, as I've sorted through the majority of my books and donated several thousand to charitable causes). Since I'm better about getting to library books and ARCs, I'm going to focus my list on titles I actually purchased. These are just the first ten books/boxed series my eyes fell upon when I looked at the shelves closest to my desk.

If you want to ruminate on your shelves of shame, why not join in the TTT fun? You'll be in good company, I swear. Just pop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to get all the details on this always enjoyable weekly event.

1. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes—The hype made me by this one and yet, there it sits...

2. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker—Except for a short while when I was but an ignorant wee one, I've always loved to sleep. I've also long been fascinated by dreams, so this book is definitely up my alley. I did start reading it when I first bought it, but then I got distracted.  

3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens—Another the-hype-made-me-do-it buy. 

4. Tomorrow, When the War Began series by John Marsden (boxed set)—I really wanted to read this series five years ago or so, but I was having trouble finding all the books in my local libraries. I ordered the whole set from BookDepository, waited weeks for it to arrive, then devoured the first couple books. I took a break after that and...haven't returned to the story. I'm not sure I remember who's who or what's what now, so I may have to re-read the initial books before I continue on with the series.

5. Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert—I loved Moloka'i, so I was stoked for this sequel. I still am, even though I've yet to crack it open.

6. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune—Everyone loves this book, so of course, I had to buy it! Have I read it yet? Nope.

7. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer—The Lunar Chronicles is a great series. I really enjoyed it. For some reason, though, I still haven't read this collection of TLC short stories.

8. Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (boxed set)—I've mentioned before that I was a raving Little House fan as a kid. The books, the t.v. show, everything. Since my copies of the books somehow didn't survive my childhood, I bought a new set some years ago. I was SO excited to read the first book and...it just wasn't the same! The disappointment was a real downer, so I haven't moved on with my re-read of the series.

9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith—Another nostalgia buy, I've been meaning to re-read this one for ages and just...haven't yet. No excuses, except that I know I don't have to hurry because the book's in my personal library and it's not going anywhere.

10. Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie—This is another book that has gotten rave reviews from my bookish friends, online and off. I'm going to read it one of these days, I swear!

There you go, ten books/series I was super excited to get, but still haven't read. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Which do I need to pick up first? What's on your shelf of shame? I'd truly love to know (really, it will make me feel better about my own neglected reads). Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic asks the old cliché question:  If you were stranded on a deserted island, which books would you want to have with you?  Really, the only one I'd need would be How to Get Yourself Rescued From a Deserted Island for Dummies.  That would get me off the island and back to my large home library pronto.  Voilà!  Problem solved.  Since this prompt (obviously) didn't really speak to me, I decided to spin it a little to make it more fun.  How about Top Ten Most Memorable Books With An Island Setting instead?  I've read lots of books set on islands big and small.  For this list, I'm going to focus on the latter.

If you want to hop on the TTT train, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

(in no particular order)

1.  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery—This novel, the first in a beloved series, is set on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

2.  And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie—Eight strangers are invited to Soldier Island, a fictional speck of land on the English coast, in this classic murder mystery. 

3.  Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton—On another made-up island, this one near Costa Rica, dinosaurs are alive, well, and available for viewing if you've got the dough.  Sounds awesome.  Until things start to go horrifically awry...

4.  Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko—This historical middle-grade novel, the first in a series, is about a boy who lives with his family on California's Alcatraz Island.  Before reading this series, it had never occurred to me that children might have lived in the vicinity of the infamous prison, but they absolutely did!  Crazy.

5.  The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See—Jeju, a small Korean island, is the setting for this fascinating historical.  It's about the island's female free divers, traditionally the breadwinners for their families, and how their trade changes over time.

6.  Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert—The first in a compelling mystery/thriller series, this one is set on a private island in the Thousand Islands region of New York state.  When a murder occurs during a family get together, Detective Shana Merchant and her partner are called out to investigate.  Atmospheric and engrossing, it's a tense page-turner.

7.  Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton—Bolton's written a bunch of intense thrillers, but this one is my favorite.  It takes place in the U.K.-owned Falkland Islands.  The mystery concerns a missing child whose disappearance in such an isolated and dangerous locale is at first assumed to be a tragic accident, but is soon determined to be something much more sinister...

8.  Moloka'i by Alan Brennert—Set on Hawaii's famous island leper colony, this is an intriguing and eye-opening historical novel.

9.  The Lewis Trilogy (The Blackhouse; The Lewis Man; The Chessmen) by Peter May—Scotland's Hebrides Islands are the setting for this atmospheric trio of mysteries.

10.  The Weight of Lies by Emily Carpenter—In this tense family drama, a woman visits fictional Bonny Island, Georgia, the setting for a horror novel turned cult classic written by her mother.  Determined to write a biting tell-all, she uncovers some astonishing secrets about her own family and past.

There you have it, ten memorable novels I've read that are set on small islands.  Have you read any of them?  What are your favorite books with small island settings?  Which titles would you like to have with you on a deserted island?  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!  

I'm a day late to the Top Ten Tuesday party this week, but I love seasonal TBR lists so much that I didn't want to miss out on the fun!  I can't wait to see what everyone's reading this Spring.  Even though this season is all about sunshine, renewal, rebirth, and soft, pastel-colored days, my reading for the upcoming months is kind of the opposite.  I'm in need of some light, happy reads to sandwich between these dark, heavy ones, so if you've got some great Spring-ish recommendations, hit me up!

Without further ado, here are the Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR:

1.  The Lost Man by Jane Harper—I've enjoyed Harper's two previous books, so I'm looking forward to her newest.  I wish it were another installment in her Aaron Falk series, but this one's a standalone.  It revolves around two brothers trying to get to the bottom of a third brother's suspicious death in the Queensland outback.

2.  Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert—I loved Moloka'i when I read it back in 2007 and am delighted that a sequel just came out.  Right now I'm re-reading Moloka'i so I can remember who's who and what's what, then I'll move on to its sequel.

3.  The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson—My teen daughter and I both really enjoyed Truly Devious, a YA mystery set in a remote boarding school.  When my daughter spied the sequel at Half-Price Books, she begged me to buy it.  Let's just say it didn't take much convincing!  We're both excited to delve into this one.

4.  The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie (available March 26, 2019)—This YA novel about a young woman who captains the last mining ship in the Outpost sounds like a riveting adventure story.  

5.  The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs—I picked up this MG adventure tale at Half-Price Books as well (I canNOT be trusted in a bookstore).  It sounds eerie and fun.  I can't wait to dive in!

6.  The Daughter's Tale by Armando Lucas Correa (available May 7, 2019)—This dual-timeline historical novel is about a French-American woman in the present who receives a stack of letters her mother wrote during WWII.  As the woman unravels the secrets of her past, she discovers some surprising truths.  Sounds like my kind of book!

7.  The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (available May 21, 2019)—An ARC of this intriguing novel landed on my doorstep recently.  It's about a servant, a former slave, who's accused of murdering her employer and his wife.  Frannie claims she can't remember anything about the incident.  As her court case progresses, shocking secrets will out.  Sounds tantalizing, doesn't it?

8.  Woman 99 by Greer Macallister—This historical thriller concerns a woman who's distraught when her sister is committed to an infamous insane asylum.  Desperate to protect her sibling, she follows her inside to discover a wealth of atrocities being performed against the helpless and hopeless.  Sounds heartbreaking but compelling.

9.  The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix—I enjoy this author's books, even though they're a bit hit and miss for me.  Still, they often have unique and intriguing premises, which I always appreciate.  Her newest centers on three children who are shocked when they hear of a trio of kidnapped children who bear remarkable similarities to themselves.  Could these groups of children be one and the same?

10.  How High the Moon by Karyn Parsons—This MG historical novel stars a light-skinned African-American girl whose mother is away pursuing a Jazz career.  When Ella visits her over Christmas, she learns some shocking truths about her family.  Returning to the South, she's in for another unpleasant surprise.  As Ella deals with life's curveballs, she must figure out who she really is and what she truly wants.  I'm in.

So, there you have it, a few books that are really tempting me for Spring reading.  How about you?  What will you be enjoying this season?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!