Even though it's 105 degrees here in Arizona today, I'm sure it's starting to feel like Fall somewhere, so I'm breaking out an Autumn-themed TTT banner. It will still feel like summer in the Phoenix area for awhile, unfortunately, but at least I can pretend, right?

In honor of Labor Day, which we celebrated yesterday here in the U.S., today's TTT theme is: Top Ten Books With Occupations in the Title. I'm going to scour my TBR list to see what I can find. Shouldn't be too tough. (Actually, it was a bit hard. I only found eleven, which surprised me since it seems like occupation titles are all the rage these days. Interesting...)

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

1. The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi—This historical novel is based on the true story of Kate Warne, the first female detective in the U.S. In the summer of 1863, she's tasked with gaining the trust of a Confederate socialist and spy. What is already a seemingly impossible task is made even more risky by the secrets Kate herself is hiding.

2. The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill—When attorney Theodosia "Theo" Benton abandons her career in order to concentrate on finishing the novel she's been writing, she knows it's going to cause a stir. Then, her writing mentor is murdered, the police target her brother for the killing, and Theo finds herself following clues left by the dead man in order to solve the crime. 

3. And the Band Played On: The Titanic Violinist and the Glovemaker: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Betrayal by Christopher Ward—In this "outstanding piece of literary detective work," Ward presents the research he did on his grandfather, a violinist who continued to play music with his Titanic bandmates as the great ship sank. The author examines the effects of Jock Hume's death on his pregnant fiancée and other family members.

I'm not sure where the glovemaker comes in, but hey, bonus points for me for finding two occupations in one title! This cover photo actually doesn't show the subtitles. Hmm...

4. The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra—This is the first book in a cozy mystery series set in 1920s India. It stars a new bride who spots a suspicious shadowy figure at a party. When a guest turns up dead and a frightened young woman is accused of the crime, the newlywed can't help herself—she has to investigate. Little does she know just how dangerous sleuthing can be...

5. The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose—I love this fun mystery series! The third installment finds our plucky heroine organizing a shoot at the hotel for a popular antiques appraisal television show. On a whim, she brings in some of her gram's treasures, one of which is, shockingly, of enormous value. When the item is stolen, Molly and her friends launch their own investigation to catch a thief.

6. The Artist of Blackberry Grange by Paulette Kennedy—It's 1925 and a devastated Sallie Halloran is in desperate need of a change. When she learns that her great-aunt, who is suffering from dementia, needs a live-in caretaker, she heads to the woman's crumbling mansion in the Ozarks to take the job. When her great-aunt starts painting strange, haunting pieces hinting at secrets from the past, a curious Sally starts digging into the artist's life for answers.

7. The Lamplighter's Bookshop by Sophie Austin—Left penniless by her father's gambling debts, Evelyn is desperate to find a way to support herself and her mother. When she learns about a position at a bookstore, she eagerly applies. She's not the only applicant. Can Evelyn and William, an enigmatic writer with his own secrets, find a way to work together to their mutual benefit?

8. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis—This cozy fantasy features a panicked mother whose daughter has just been bitten by a werewolf. Whisked away to a secret magical school community, she is grappling to understand its many oddities—from frightening prophecies to terrifying PTA politics. Will she and her family ever find their way in a strange new club they never asked to join?

9. The Librarians by Sherry Thomas—In a quiet Texas suburb, four quirky librarians have found peace and acceptance working at the local library. When a murder occurs during a library event, their neat world is completely upended. Suddenly, their refuge is at risk and the only way to save it is to trust one another and work together to save their beloved library.

10. The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman—Inspired by the author's family history, this novel tells the story of a war refugee who has found freedom in Vienna. Struggling to survive on very little, Chana risks everything each night as she sneaks back into the hotel kitchen where she works during the day to bake her father's beloved recipes. When she finds herself at the center of a dangerous love triangle, things become even dicier. How can Chana figure out what her heart really wants when she must concentrate her every effort on ekeing out enough of a living to keep herself and her family alive?

There you go, ten books on my TBR list that feature occupations in their titles. Have you read any of these? Which occupation titles did you choose to highlight today? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!  

Although I have a ton of favorite authors whose books are auto-reads for me, I also try a fair number of new writers every year. In fact, of the 200 books I read in 2022, 117 (59%) were by authors I hadn't tried before. So far in 2023, I've read 17 books, 10 of which were written by new-to-me writers. Some of these have been duds, naturally, but others introduced me to some great new authors whom I very much want to read more from. I found more than 10 last year, so I had to narrow it down to the ones who stood out most for me.

Before we get to that, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our lovely TTT host, Jana, some love. If you want to join in with your own list, all the details about this fun weekly event are on her blog.

1. Jason Reynolds—This iconic children's author was my best find of 2022. He writes contemporary middle-grade and YA books starring Black characters living in urban situations and dealing with everything from ADHD to bullying to gang violence to wrongful arrests. His books are compelling, funny, poignant, and approachable (even to a 47-year-old white woman). I listened to his whole Track series last year. The audiobooks are especially entertaining because of Guy Lockard, Reynolds' long-time friend and a talented actor and narrator. 

2. Tamara Berry—Buried in a Good Book, the first installment in Berry's By the Book cozy mystery series, had me smiling and laughing so much that I knew I needed to read more from her. So far, I've read the second book in the series and the first in her Eleanor Wilde cozy series. Her books are just fun! She also writes romances under the names Lucy Gilmore and Tamara Morgan.

3. Fredrik Backman—Backman's been a popular author ever since A Man Called Ove came out in 2014. His books didn't really seem like my kind of thing, so I avoided them until someone in my book club suggested we read Anxious People. I wasn't looking forward to it, honestly, but once I got started, I couldn't stop. What a delightful read! I loved it and now I want to read more by this beloved Swedish writer.

4. Stacy Willingham—I just finished Willingham's second novel, which I liked even more than her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, which I read last year. Her books are engrossing, twisty, and compelling.

5. Sulari Gentill—Although this Australian author has published a number of books, I didn't hear about her until 2022 when The Woman in the Library came out. It's a fun, clever novel that made me want to read more of Gentill's mysteries.

6. Eleanor Brown—Any Other Family was one of my favorite reads of last year. Brown has penned a couple other novels, plus some non-fiction. I'm not really interested in the latter, but the former? Definintely!

7. Lisa Yee—I read a lot of middle-grade novels last year for a few different book awards. Lee's Maizy Chen's Last Chance was considered for the Cybils Awards and while it didn't ultimately make the cut to be a finalist (although it was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature), I very much enjoyed it. I'll for sure be checking out Yee's backlist for more gems.

9. Serena Burdick—The Girls With No Names broke my heart and made me a Burdick fan. I'm planning to read more of her hist-fic this year.

10. Kimi Cunningham Grant—I've read two of Grant's books, one a non-fiction account of her grandparents' experience in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, the other a contemporary novel about an isolated father and daughter whose secretive lives are interrupted by an unexpected visitor to their remote cabin. She's only published one other book, which I will hopefully be able to read in 2023. 

There you are, ten new-to-me authors I found in 2022. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which writers did you discover in 2023? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Back in February, I twisted a Top Ten Tuesday topic to create a list of one-word reviews. Several of you suggested I submit the idea to Jana, which explains today's prompt: One-Word Reviews For The Last Ten Books I Read. I'm a very wordy reviewer, so this will be a good exercise in brevity! I also tend to use the same book-describing adjectives over and over, so I'm going to do what I did with my last list and outlaw the words I tend to use most in my reviews: engrossing, fascinating, compelling, heart-warming, enjoyable, tense, fun, depressing, entertaining, and taut (my husband always laughs at me when I use the phrase "taut psychological thriller"). I might need to break out my thesaurus. We'll see.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is easy and fun. Perfect! It's all about book covers with X on them—"X" can be a person, a place, a color, an animal, a particular font, a scene, whatever. I'm sure I won't be the only one who chooses books for my X. What can I say? It's one of my favorite things to see on a cover! I love this theme so much that I actually used it for a list back in January 2020. Luckily, there are lots of bookish covers out there, so I used ten different ones this time around. 

Don't forget to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love. If you're in a list-making mood today, be sure to join in the TTT fun.

I haven't read most of these, I just enjoy their cover art. My reviews are linked to the titles of the two I have read.

1. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill—I'm reading this mystery right now. It has a fun story-within-a-story format that I'm really digging.

2. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

3. Aria's Travelling Book Shop by Rebecca Raisin

4. The Library by Sarah Stewart

5. Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower

6. The Librarian by Christy Sloat 

7. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

8. Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliot

9. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

10. The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer

There you have it, ten bookish covers that I love. What do you think? Have you read any of these? Which cover is your favorite? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

As much as I love re-exploring my favorite authors every time they come out with a new book, I also really enjoy discovering new writers. I don't know what percent of my reading every year comes from new-to-me authors, but it's high—maybe 70% or more? Even still, there are a bunch of authors I have been meaning to try and just haven't gotten around to yet, so today's TTT prompt is perfect: Top Ten Authors I Haven't Read, But Want To. The idea came from the lovely Deanna over at A Novel Glimpse. If you're a big romance reader, you're definitely going to want to visit her blog. 

Don't forget to give Jana, our TTT hostest with the mostest, some love as well. While you're at That Artsy Reader Girl, why don't you join in the TTT fun? It's a good time, I promise!

For this list, I'm going to focus on authors who've written more than one book. I included covers for the book of theirs I'm most excited to read. 

1. Kate Quinn—Quinn has written a number of historical novels, the most recent of which focus on World War II. Her books have gotten lots of buzz and praise, so I'm interested to see what I think. I picked up The Diamond Eye at my local indie last week. Hopefully, I'll get to it soon.

2. Beatriz Williams—Williams writes historicals on her own and as part of a collaborative author trio. I've read a couple of the latter, but none of the former.  

3. Sulari Gentill—Gentill is an Australian author who pens contemporary and historical mysteries. I'm especially interested in her Rowland Sinclair series as well as The Woman in the Library, which comes out on June 7.

4. Elizabeth Haynes—This English author writes crime fiction and mysteries. Her books sound right up my alley!

5. Alice Feeney—I love me a tense, atmospheric thriller. Feeney's novels sound like just the ticket.

6. T.I. Lowe—I have no roots in the Southern United States, but I still love to read stories set there. Something about the sumptuous settings, slow drawls, and easy vibes really appeals to me. I'm always looking for new Southern authors to love and Lowe is one I've got my eye on.

7. Donna Everhart—Ditto for Everhart, whose Southern novels are supposed to be full of "authenticity and grit." I'm down.

8. T.J. Klune—I'm pretty sure everyone has read Klune's magical children's books by now but me. I'm going to remedy that soon, I hope!

9. Graham Norton—Thanks to clips that show up on my Facebook feed apropos of nothing, I know that Norton is an Irish actor who hosts a U.K. television show where he interviews celebrity guests. Until Cath mentioned it, I had no idea he also wrote books. He's penned memoirs, mysteries and family sagas. I'm not interested in his non-fiction, but his novels sound appealing.

10. Mary Roach—I've been meaning to read Roach's informative books for years. As we speak, Stiff is sitting on my bookshelf casting meaningful glances my way...

There you have it, ten authors I haven't read yet that I really want to try out. Have you read any of them? What do you think of their work? Who are the new-to-you writers you plan to take a look at soon(ish)? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.