December's been a little hectic, both in real life and on the blog.  Now that the Christmas craziness is over, I'm working on getting everything ship-shape for the new year.  That includes trying to get all the books I read in 2015 reviewed before January 1st.  With *only* 29 to go, I'm not sure I'm going to make it.  Oh well, I'll do what I can ...

In the meantime, I thought today's Top Ten Tuesday topic sounded fun.  Last time I made a TTT list, back on December 1st, it had to do with 2016 debut books I was excited to read.  This week's prompt is similar: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the First Half of 2016.  I'm still stoked about the debut novels I listed previously, but I'm also excited to see what these ten are all about:


1.  Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (January)—There's been a lot of buzz about this seafaring adventure.  I know I'm not the only one who's waiting anxiously for its release.


2.  Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (February)—The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite YA series.  Although I haven't read Fairest or Winter yet (shame on me!), I'm still looking forward to this collection of prequel stories set in the Lunar Chronicles world.


3.  Riders by Veronica Rossi (February)—I loved Rossi's Under the Never Sky series and can't wait to read the author's newest.  This one is about a boy who dies and wakes up with a new destiny and identity as War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.


4.  Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan (February)—This Rapunzel retelling sounds like another fun YA read.


5.  Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham (March)—Stepping away from YA fantasy, this adult historical sounds intriguing.  The novel concerns Mary Surratt, a widow who went to the gallows after being suspected of helping with the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.  Fascinating.


6.  Living Color by Jodi Picoult (2016)—I'm a big Picoult fan and always wait eagerly for a new novel from her.  This one, which is supposed to release in 2016, concerns a black nurse who intervenes on behalf of a white baby, even though the infant's Skinhead father has forbidden her to touch him.  When the child dies, the nurse finds herself on trial for murder.


7.  The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman (March)—This novel about two sisters-in-law and their fractured relationship sounds intriguing to me.


8.  My Last Continent by Midge Raymond (June)—Set against a harsh Antarctic backdrop, this love and survival story concerns two scientists on two different ships—one of which is sinking.


9.  The Hunt by Megan Shepherd (May)—I read The Cage, the first book in Shepherd's series about human teenagers becoming exhibits in an alien zoo, earlier this year.  The sequel comes out in a few months—I'm interested to see where the story goes next.


10.  Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar (June)—I'm super excited about this supernatural YA novel, which has been described as Twin Peaks meets Stars Hollow.

There you go—ten 2016 releases I can't wait to read.  What do you think?  Do we have any picks in common?  What other great titles should I look for in the new year?  I love getting suggestions from you, so please leave me a comment on this post with a link to your TTT list and I'll happily stop by to look at it.  Happy TTT, everyone!

It's been awhile since I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, my favorite bookish meme.  The last few topics haven't really piqued my interest, but I love the one for this week:  Top Ten Finished Series I Have Yet to Finish.  Although I could seriously list about a million answers, I'll try to restrain myself and keep it to just ten :)

If you want to play along, head over to The Broke and the Bookish.  Read the rules, make your Top Ten list, share it with the rest of us, then visit other blogs to see lots of fun answers to the question du jour.  Simple.  It's an enjoyable little diversion that will put a smile on your face while introducing you to tons of great book blogs.  What's not to love?

Here we go with my list.  In no particular order, here are the Top Ten Finished Series I Have Yet to Finish: 


1.  Matched by Ally Condie—I enjoyed the first book in this series, but never moved on to the second.  Not sure why.  At this point, I'd probably have to re-read Matched before picking up the next installment.  One of these days ...


2.  Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer—This is a series that was already wrapping up when the author died in 2014.  Still, the thought of no additional Jacky Faber stories makes my heart sad.  She's such a lively, vivid character that I can't imagine not having her in my reading life.  Perhaps that's why I'm stalling instead of finishing up the series?  Probably.  I've read five of the twelve Bloody Jack novels, so I've still got a lot of ground to cover with this one.


3.  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon—I was totally absorbed by Outlander, but again, I never picked up another book in the series.  Why not?  Who knows?  I need to since I believe it's now complete?



4.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis—The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe stands out in my mind as one of those reads that just swept me away as a child.  As much as I loved the book, I don't think I kept on with the series.  My memory ain't what it used to be, that's true, but I'm pretty sure I've never read the rest of the Narnia books.  I need to remedy that, for sure.


5.  Divergent by Veronica Roth—Again, I enjoyed the first book, but didn't progress beyond the series debut.  I've heard not great things about Insurgent, thus my hesitation ...


6.  The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter—These books are so dang fun.  I love them!  And yet, I've only finished two of the six books in the series.  They're easy, entertaining reads, so it wouldn't be tough (in fact, it would be quite enjoyable) to binge-read the rest of them.


7.  Virgin River by Robyn Carr—When it comes to creating small, cozy towns that teem with so much life and warmth that I want to move in right away, there is simply no one like Robyn Carr.  I adored her Grace Falls series.  Her newer ones, Virgin River and Thunder Point, are just as engaging.  While the latter continues, I believe the former is complete.  I've read 6/20 V.R. books and am always excited to open another one and get back "home" to Virgin River.


8.  The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd—I've read 2/3 of this series in 2015.  I'm hoping to finish it this year as well.


9.  The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale—I'm halfway through this enjoyable series, but it's been a loooonnnngggg time since I read the first two books (2008 and 2009, respectively).  I'll have to re-read them before grabbing the final two.


10.  Incarceron by Catherine Fisher—A two-book series should be a cinch to complete, and yet, I'm still only halfway through this one.  I proclaimed Incarceron one of my favorite books of 2010.  For some reason, though, I never read Sapphique.  It's gathering dust on my shelf—methinks it's high-time to re-experience Incarceron and finally get to its sequel.

There you have it, ten of the many, many, many series I've started and never finished.  So, where should I start?  Which series are your favorite?  Which have you left incomplete?  Why?  Inquiring minds (mine, anyway) really want to know ... I love visiting book blogs, so leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!