If everything goes according to plan, my family and I will soon be downsizing, moving from a 5,000 square foot house into one that is half that size. This will require sorting through the thousands of books I own and getting rid of about 75% (that's the goal, anyway). Considering this should be happening in a matter of months, I really should not be acquiring more books, but between a bookstore shopping spree for my December birthday, Christmas gifts, and the gift cards I got for my birthday and Christmas, let's just say that a *few* new books have snuck their way into my home! This week's TTT topic is perfect for showcasing these gems: Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection. 

I'd love to see your list, so please consider joining in the TTT fun. Hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection    

Just before Christmas, I traded in some books, then used my store credit, plus my birthday discount to buy these titles from Changing Hands, my local indie:

1.  The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan—I've checked this one out from the library several times, but have never managed to read it before it's come due, so I finally just bought it. The WWII novel is about four very different British women who enter a cooking contest to win the prize of becoming the competition's first-ever female host. 

2.  Redshirts by John Scalzi—My 17-year-old son who doesn't like to read (the horror!) has had a hankering for a good sci-fi novel. Since that's not my genre, I asked for recommendations on my personal Facebook page. This novel was suggested more than once. It's about a young man who has just been given a coveted spot on a prestigious airship. He's excited about being part of exciting away missions, until he realizes that it's the lowest-ranking members of the crew (like himself) who are the least likely to survive them. When he stumbles on a secret about the airship, he will have to risk everything in order to save the lives of himself and his crewmates. 

3.  Skyward by Brandon Sanderson—This series opener also came highly recommended. It's about a group of teens who are training to be part of an elite squad of fighter pilots. Spensa has always dreamed of being a pilot like her father, but it's because of his disgraceful actions that her chances of being one are next to nil. While she fights her way through flight school, she launches her own clandestine investigation into the truth behind her father's infamous betrayal.

4.  A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw—I read this novel right after I bought it. Even though I didn't end up loving it, I did find it intriguing. It's about a commune hidden in the mountains and the secrets it holds inside its boundaries.

My favorite part of my recent trip to Europe was visiting beautiful Culzean Castle, once the seat of Clan Kennedy in Scotland. Exploring "our" castle with my stepsister (I'm a born Kennedy—she's basically been adopted in) was a fun, moving treat for both of us. She bought me this book about the castle and its history for Christmas:

5.  The 'Magnificent Castle' of Culzean and the Kennedy Family by Michael Moss

My son and his wife got me a gift card to Barnes & Noble for my birthday, which is where I bought these four:

6.  Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor—This series opener features the O'Sullivan Family, who run a bistro. When a man is murdered in their restaurant, they find themselves the prime suspects. Siobhán O'Sullivan sets out to clear her family's names by finding the real killer.

7.  Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz—Little Women is one of my favorite books of all time, so I'm all in for this "romantic retelling." Will Jo and Laurie finally get their happily ever after?

8.  Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney—Like the O'Sullivans, the Kimballs have a shop to save. This time, it's a bookstore in England. Molly has to find the killer of one of their customers in order to clear her great-aunt's name.

9.  Plaid and Plagiarism by Molly MacRae—Another first in a cozy mystery series, this is one I've been wanting to read for a while now but haven't been able to find in my local libraries. It also involves murder in a U.K. bookshop, this time in Scotland. 

This one was cheap on Kindle, so I snapped it up:

10.  The Wardrobe Mistress by Patrick McGrath—Set during the brutal winter of 1947, this one takes place in a very bleak London. When a famed actor dies, it leaves his widow—the wardrobe mistress—paralyzed with grief. A secret about him comes to light, forcing her down a dark, unexpected path.

There you have it, the last ten books I purchased and received. How about you? Did you get any fun books for Christmas? Have you used your bookish gift cards yet? Which titles have made it into your home, one way or another? I'd truly love to know. Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

When Iris Buckley's beloved grandfather dies, she takes it as a sign that her life is in need of a change. She moves back to Blueberry Cove, Maine, the little town where she was raised by her grandparents after her parents' deaths when she was a child. Not only can Iris keep an eye on her widowed grandmother, but the two women are planning to turn Anne's growing online apron-making business into a brick-and-mortar success. Just as everything is really starting to come together, they make a shocking discovery—a skeleton hidden in the basement of their store. The remains are soon identified as those of a woman who disappeared during a visit to Blueberry Cove in the 1970's. 

As the police deal with the bones, Iris and Anne try to put their grisly find behind them. They don't need any more problems as they try to get their business off and running. To their dismay, another dead body turns up in the shop. This time, it's Elliott Parker, the greedy landlord with whom Anne has been fighting for years. Iris isn't about the let her grandmother get arrested for murder. With the help of her BFF and a handsome unrequited crush from high school, she vows to find the real killer. Dead bodies are piling up in tiny Blueberry Cove—will Iris' nosing around ensure hers is next?

I don't like my Top Ten Tuesday posts to be negative (or environmentally irresponsible), so I'm going to have to twist this week's topic of Books I'd Gladly Throw in the Ocean into something more friendly.  How about Books I'd Gladly Read By the Ocean?  In truth, I'll read anything by the sea, even if it's not really a "beach read," but for today's list I'm going to stick with some of the lighter reads on my TBR, the kind that would be perfect to enjoy while sitting on the sand listening to the waves crash nearby.  Because of my pale skin, I can't lounge on the beach without a sunshade and copious amounts of sunblock, but it would be worth it to relax with these reads by the shore.       

If you want to join in the TTT fun, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Top Ten Books I'd Gladly Read By the Ocean 

1.  Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien—Fun, frothy mysteries are perfect for seaside reading.  This is the seventh and newest installment in one of my favorite cozy series.  In this one, Lana Lee—who manages her family's Chinese restaurant but can barely boil water—enrolls in culinary school on the sly.  When the teacher ends up dead one day, Lana finds herself investigating yet another homicide. 

2.  You Have a Match by Emma Lord—I'm always up for a DNA discovery story and this YA one sounds like fun.  It's about two long-lost sisters who come together at summer camp to figure out why they never knew about each other.  Sounds like a 21st Century The Parent Trap.  Yes, please!

3.  Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee (available May 4, 2021)—I've talked about this YA historical before, but that's because it's the 2021 release that I've been most anticipating.  The story concerns Valora and Jamie Luck, a pair of estranged British-Chinese twins who are trained acrobats.  Valora sneaks aboard Titanic with plans to first reunite with her brother, then convince an American circus owner to hire them.  Of course, her plans are about to go horribly awry...

4.  Hems & Homicide by Elizabeth Penney—I just heard about this cozy series set in an apron shop in a quaint seaside town.  This first installment has Iris Buckley moving to Maine to help her grandmother run the store.  When she finds a skeleton in the shop's basement, an amateur murder investigation begins.

5.  Simmer Down by Sarah Smith—Rom-coms always make for good beach reads.  This one, which revolves around two food truck chefs competing for a coveted parking spot at a Maui beach, sounds super cute. 

6.  A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott—Lark over at Lark Writes...About Books and Life raves about the American Wonders historical series.  The first installment is set at the Grand Canyon (practically in my backyard) and concerns a woman who is determined to do the surveying job her deceased father was hired to complete for the Army.  She's stunned to discover that the project leader is the man she once refused to marry.  Sparks fly as the project is threatened and the pair must rely on each other in order to survive an expedition that grows more dangerous by the minute.

7.  The Other Emily by Dean Koontz—Koontz's newest is a little darker than my other picks today, but it sounds too intriguing to pass up.  It's about David Thorne, a man who is grief-stricken over the disappearance—and presumed murder—of the woman he loves.  When he meets the alluring Maddison Sutton, he can't help but be drawn in by her flirty attentiveness.  Most surprising is how similar she seems to David's vanished love.  Is Maddison really Emily?  Or is she a convincing dead ringer playing a cruel and sinister game?

8.  Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher—Another cozy series opener, this one stars the owner of a Nantucket candle shop who comes under fire when the centerpiece she created for a wedding is used as a murder weapon. 

9.  A Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin—Every summer, Perry Soto looks forward to escaping sweltering New York City to relax at her godmother's seaside cottage.  Ama plans to gift the house to one of her three goddaughters, but all of them—Perry included—have secrets that could keep them from the inheritance they all want.  

10.  Bluebird by Sharon Cameron (available October 5, 2021)—I'm a big Cameron fan, so I'm looking forward to this historical YA novel about Eva, a young woman who flees Berlin with a horrifying secret, one so potentially explosive that both the Americans and the Soviets will kill to get it.  While those governments are searching for Eva, she's on the hunt for an escaped Nazi with whom she has a score to settle.  

There you go, ten novels I'd be happy to enjoy while relaxing on the shore.  Have you read any of them?  What books would you tote to the beach?  Which do you want to throw in the ocean?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.  

Happy TTT!