Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books with Nationalities in the Titles and Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Fall?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Welcome to Tuesday and the first day of September. I am ready for fall, y'all! My mantle has been cleaned off and is just waiting for me to have time to decorate it. My fall decorations can't quite rival my Christmas decorations, but they are trying. 

No real news from the doctor, so more bloodwork tomorrow. How fun. 

Let's talk books. Such a neat topic this week. I will do my best with it. 

Top Ten Books with Nationalities

 in the Titles

French Letters: Virginia's War: Tierra Texas 1944 by Jack Woodville London

(Makes this list because I despised every character)

French Illusions by Linda Lovic-Skow

(Loved working as an editor on this project)

Loss of Innocence: A Novel of the French Revolution by Anne Newton Walther

(One of the first books I reviewed)

American Prophet by Jeff Fulmer

(I enjoy politics)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

(An online quiz said I wrote like him. LOL!)

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

(One of the books I still desperately want to read)

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

(The title alone makes me want to read it)

Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

(Might be the most used cookbook in my house)

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

(This one sounds adorable)

Under a Greek Sky by Francesca Catlow

(If I didn't have a Greek book on the list, the family might disown me)

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday's first prompt of the "ber" months asks us to share which books we are looking forward to reading this fall. Honestly, with my schedule lately, any book will do. I've been sneaking in moments here and there, but certainly not enough. Though it might seem like I am rushing the holiday season, here is what I want to read.

A Christmas Carol Devotional by Rachel Dodge

The Christmas Yes List by Melissa Ferguson

A Castle Christmas by Jimmy Bennett

Belle's Christmas Carol by Michelle Griep

Looking forward to reading your lists today!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Series I Want to Catch Up On or Start

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Tuesday has come around again. We only have two more Tuesdays before August is done. Then my favorite months, the "-ber months," arrive. Here in New England, we are blessed with four seasons. There is something magical about watching nature's transformation from winter to spring to summer and fall that reminds me that life is always renewing itself. Just as invigorating as it is to haul the tools out after the long winter and spend time in the garden, harvesting the fruits of your labors and preparing the beds to rest as the weather grows colder is a reminder that every season offers its own kind of beauty and gentle transition.

Let's talk about books. This week's Top Ten Tuesday is about book series, those we want to catch up on or start. This is a hard one for two reasons: there are series I will never catch up on, so I don't know that I want to try, and I tend not to read as many series books as I used to. I will give it a shot.

1. Cedar Cove by Debbie Macomber - Discovered this one thanks to the Hallmark Channel series, but there are enough books that catching up is unlikely right now.
2. A Prairie Legacy by Janette Oke - This is a four-book series that continues with the saga of the Davis family, whom we meet in her Love Comes Softly series. I bought these books on eBay in 2024. Would love to read them next year.
3. Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - I read the first two books with my girls when they came out. Not my typical genre, but I enjoyed them. Complete with four primary books, a prequel, and an anthology, I could probably read this one. It's just not on my mind these days.
4. Caitlin Strong by Jon Land - When Land was touring with his Caitlin Strong novels, I read some of them. However, life got in the way, and I never finished reading this eleven-book series. I own several of them. I don't read as many books like this these days, but they are superb.
5. Deputy Tempe Crabtree by Marilyn Meredith - I can't believe I am even admitting this. Marilyn, I hope you're not reading this. Marilyn and I met when I worked with Dorothy, owner of Pump Up Your Book. I ended up promoting several of these books and creating video trailers for some of them. I just never went back and read the books before Smell of Death, even though I own them.
6. Daughter of the Mayflower by various authors - I loved everything about this series, but I couldn't keep up with how quickly the books were coming out. So, I stopped requesting them. I think I own the entire series. Really need to make time for them. 
7. Murder, She Wrote by Jessica Fletcher et al. - I loved this as a television series, so one would think I would have discovered the books decades ago. Nope. I only own three of them--the last two that Jon Land wrote and another that I picked up from a library book sale. I've read Land's books. Considering there are now 64 books in the series, there is no way I will ever read them all.
8. Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates - I bought the first two books in the series because they are set on the Outer Banks. Have I read them? No. My schedule is always so crazy. With 13 books in the series, it is not looking good for me.
9. Lucy Stone Mystery by Leslie Meier - I met this author at a local writers conference decades ago. I bought one of these books, but have never read it. So far, there are 32 books. No hope of catching up with this one.
10. Secrets of the Blue and Gray by Vanessa Lind - This one caught my eye recently, and I would love to read these four books. Have you read them yet? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday is on hiatus until September. Check back for more prompts then.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Make Me Think of Summer & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Do you have any summer plans? If not, what would you like to do?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Dropping in to say hi and attempt to participate in this week's Top Ten Tuesday. Though we are supposed to share books on our summer to-read lists, I have been in such a reading lull that there seemed to be no value in talking about the same books again. However, I would love to share something I heard while listening to a book yesterday that will forever change how I approach reading. 

While listening to Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman in my car, my ears immediately perked up when he said that instead of seeing the unread books in our TBR piles as sitting in some collection bucket to be emptied, we should treat our TBR piles like a river-- a flowing stream of possibilities you can dip into and choose what you feel like reading, letting the rest float on by. Why have I not thought of this before? Just think how freeing that would be. 

In honor of this new enlightenment, I am simply sharing books that make me think of summer, because vacation is inching closer to reality, and these books make me want to embrace summer even more than I did a week ago.

Top Ten Books That Make Me Think of Summer

1. The Beach Trees by Karen White

2. Sunset on Moonlight Beach by Sheila Roberts

3. Summer of Secrets by Charlotte Hubbard

4. Beach Read by Emily Henry

5. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

6. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh

7. The Summer of Lost and Found by Mary Alice Monroe

8. The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman

9. The Bookshop by the Shore by Jenny Colgan

10. The Secret Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

Photo credit to articular on Magnific (formerly FreePik)

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: Do you have any summer plans? If not, what would you like to do?

My goal this first week of summer is to stay out of jail if someone’s chewing is so loud I might commit a felony. Do I sound stressed? 

In all seriousness, I am looking forward to our annual family trip to the Outer Banks. We leave Friday evening, will stay in a hotel, and then finish the trip to the OBX Saturday. That is the joy of taking two weeks off--well, as off as a totally connected real estate agent can pretend to be. But working from the beach house is definitely different. Now, if I learn how to carry back home some of those vacation boundaries and implement them here, I will be much better off. 

How about you? Any plans this summer? Any day trips? Those can't be overrated. They can often be just what we need. Any family reunions in the plans? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Wishes & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Have you ever been surprised by a book that you didn't expect to enjoy?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Typical Tuesday, I am out the door early. Looking forward to visiting your blogs later.  

This is a popular recurring Top Ten Tuesday. Participants share the books they are wishing for, and sometimes their blogging friends grant those wishes. I have been blessed with a granted wish in the past, though I never expect it. As you know, I have a ton of unread books here. 

Top Ten Bookish Wishes

These all appear on my Amazon wish list

Until the Snow Clears by Nina York

Under the Mistletoe by Penny Zeller

Christmas Promises by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Santa Claus Girl by Patricia P. Goodin

Stupid TV, Be More Funny by Alan Siegel

Tempest at Annabel's Lighthouse by Jamie Jo Wright

From Little Houses to Little Women by Nancy McCabe

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright 

A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh 

Apparently There Were Complaints by Sharon Gless

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: Have you ever been surprised by a book that you didn't expect to enjoy?

It has been a while, but this has definitely happened to me. Never expected to enjoy The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins as much as I did. Jeff Hirsch's The Eleventh Plague was another dystopian novel I surprisingly liked. The Kensei by Jon F. Mertz was a vampire novel that I highly recommended back in 2013. I don't read vampire novels very often. Finally, proving that if you are a great writer, you can attract readers who openly profess not to read your genre, one of my favorite authors, whom I have known since I started blogging, is Karina L. Fabian, who writes fantasy and sci-fi. Now, I don't actively search for those genres, but I have enjoyed her Dragon Eye PI books, her zombie exterminator book, and her space anthology. She has also written Christian fiction and nonfiction, which are genres I regularly read. 

What book(s) have surprised you? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read & Tell Me Something Tuesday: What are your favorite beach reads?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday asks us to share the books we can't believe we have read. Oh, there are lots of those, but not a lot of blogging time, so here is a short and sweet list:

• Books by the Little House on the Prairie cast that I have owned for years
• More of the Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber
• The books before Smell of Death in the Tempe Crabtree series by Marilyn Meredith
• The books by Vannetta Chapman that I still have here from years ago when I was on her street team
• Any book about North Carolina history that I have bought on vacation
• Any Christmas fiction I own
• Any books I bought from authors at a writers conference 
• Any books by local authors that I've bought from book events
• The last book of Karen White's Tradd Street series
• Any nonfiction books by David McCullough

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: What are your favorite beach reads? 

This is a tough one, because I will read just about anything on the beach. It doesn't matter the genre. Just to be by the beach and reading means so much to me. Over the years, I've shifted to more Kindle reading (because lugging 10 paperbacks or hardcovers on vacation is backbreaking), but I am not picky about what I read. 

July 2025 - children's books

July 2024 - Christian romance, short story collection, and historical mystery

July 2023 - Personal growth, Amish romance, poetry, and devotionals

As long as it's a book, I will bring it to the beach.

On the road today, but I will visit as soon as I can. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

It's another crazy real estate Tuesday. I am on the road by now, but I look forward to visiting your blogs later. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, we are sharing our favorite books by our favorite authors. I will pretend that doesn't feel like choosing your favorite child.

Top Ten Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors

• A Mother's Gift by Charlotte Hubbard: Though I have loved every book of Charlotte's that I have ever read, this one was so special that it touched my heart in meaningful ways.
• Beyond Me: Living A You-First Life in a Me-First World by Kathi Macias: The first book that connected me with one of the most talented authors in Christian writing. This true call to discipleship is life-changing.
• A Christmas Journey Home, also by Kathi Macias: This novel is as timely today as it was back then. 
• No Bells by F. M. Meredith (also known as Marilyn Meredith): Love that my favorite member of the Rocky Bluff P.D., Gordon Butler, is the focus. 
• Dispel the Mist by Marilyn Meredith: This book features the Hairy Man, a Native American Bigfoot. 
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Seeing Almanzo Wilder as a hero makes my heart flutter, but this is my favorite because it shines a light on the dangers pioneers faced. 
• Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery: It is in this third book of the AOGG series that Anne realizes she loves Gilbert.
• Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott: Of the three favorite authors of my childhood, Alcott is not as beloved as the first two. [Cheryl ducks to avoid virtual tomatoes.]  However, I enjoyed this book the most because Jo has matured but is still herself. 
• The Lost Hours by Karen White: I fell in love with Karen's books even harder with this novel. It blends friendship, tragedy, and a quest for the truth.
• Strong from the Heart by Jon Land: Have loved this series since I started reading it, but in this one, Catilin is so human as she battles demons from her past, deals with her half-sister, and so much more. She can always kick butt, but here we get closer and more personal with her. Oh, and more Colonel Paz is often a good thing. 

Note: Linked many of these to reviews, but all the giveaways are long over. 

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August).

Should I answer all the books I buy but never read? At least when the Lil' Princess spends $10 on a Kindle download, she reads it. My book-buying ban failed this year, so I am not paying attention anymore. 

So, what am I excited to read this summer...

• The three books in Bull Cusano's The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club series
• Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts
• Staged by Caitlin Rother, which is the second in her Katrina & Goode series.
• At least one book by local authors that I grabbed at recent book events
• One book from my TBR Pile

Now, will I likely get to all these? No. Not if real estate keeps up at this pace. Retirement is getting closer all the time. :) 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters & Tell Me Something Tuesday: What is your favorite flower?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Happy Tuesday! By the time you read this, I am likely on the road. Tuesdays are usually overloaded in my world, but it is all good stuff. Today, we are talking about favorite secondary or minor characters. This should be a fun one.

Top Ten Favorite Secondary/Minor Characters 

• Mr. Edwards from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. He helps Charles build their house in Kansas, and he crosses a swollen river to deliver Christmas presents to the Ingalls girls. One of my favorite characters from the books and the television series.
• Rachel Lynde from Anne of Green Gables is one of those busybodies that we all love to loathe, but she had her softer side that crept out from time to time, and she was a good friend to Marilla, especially after they became housemates after the deaths of Thomas Lynde and Matthew Cuthbert.
• Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter series is a loving mother to her clan and unofficially adopts those in need, such as Harry. Though no one could replace his mother, Molly makes a wonderful surrogate for him. Oh, and she has no problem being fierce when one of the kids is in danger. 
• Rebecca/Tiffany from Summer of Secrets by Charlotte Hubbard was a fabulous character. I can't say much without giving the plot away, but she definitely shook things up in Willow Ridge. 
• Gordon Butler from the Rocky Bluff P.D. series would eventually move into the major character category, but when he started, he was the bumbling, clutzy cop everyone poked fun at. If anything ridiculous happened, you know Gordon would be right in the middle of it.
• Nick Two John from the Tempe Crabtree series was a mentor to Deputy Tempe Crabtree and the owner of the local inn. He spends most of the series helping and frustrating Tempe as she explores her Native American roots. 
• Rosemary Charles from On Strike for Christmas by Sheila Roberts is the reporter who covers the story of Joy, Laura, and other women from their knitting group going on strike around the holidays to encourage help from their spouses. She has a fun reporting style, and she bets the newspaper's photographer that the women will win.
• Nola Middleton is introduced to fans of Karen White's Tradd Street series in The Strangers on Montagu Street. She gives her estranged father, Jack, a run for his money, but she becomes a great character throughout the rest of the series, and even gets her own series once she is an adult. 
• General Billy Starkey from The Stand by Stephen King might seem easy to forget, but what he endures during the early pages of this novel sets the stage for all that will come later. A career soldier, he realizes that once the superflu has been released, the world as they know it will end. His mental breakdown and eventual death linger in the minds of readers throughout the story.
• The appearance of Marley's Ghost in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is shocking and the catalyst for what happens to his former partner, Ebenezer Scrooge, for the rest of the night. He has been dead for seven years at the opening of the story, and in that time has learned a valuable lesson, which he hopes to impart to Scrooge to save him from a similar fate. 

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks: What is your favorite flower?

Thanks to Freepik (now Magnific) for the image

This was an easy post for me. I've always loved carnations. They are the first flowers I pick when choosing a floral arrangement at the store. Pink, white, and purple are my favorite colors. I prefer carnations to roses on Valentine's Day. 

How about you? What is your favorite flower? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Flowery Books & Tell Me Something Tuesday: What's a skill you'd like to master?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Welcome back to Tuesday! This week, as expected, will be hectic. We arrived home yesterday, and I am playing catch-up from being gone. Here are a couple of photos from our trip to see the Lil' Princess:

Me, Hubby, Lil' Princess, Lil' Diva, & the Son-in-Love after Pinning

Together again the night of graduation. She is officially a UNCW alumna! 

This week, Top Ten Tuesday is celebrating May Flowers, the companion to April Showers. Here are my...

Top Ten Favorite Flowery Books

The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook by Kate Macdonald

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher

204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber

A Mother's Love by Charlotte Hubbard

Return to Tradd Street by Karen White

The Lost Hours by Karen White

Growing a Mother's Heart by Karen Whiting

The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate by Rhett Devane

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Thanks to Freepik for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Tell Me Something Tuesday asks an intriguing question this week: What's a skill you'd like to master? 

This is such a long list for me because there are days when I feel so... lacking. However, if I had to choose one, I would choose active listening. I am a talker, and not such a great listener. Bad thing for my job and life in general. People can't feel heard if they don't believe you are listening, but it's like my mind goes a mile a minute, and thoughts race through my head when people are talking, and they come out whether I want them to or not. I think my brain needs a chill pill. LOL!

That's it for me this week. I will be on the road most of the day, but I will check in with you all later.