Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5 Anticipated Books of 2021in Genres I Don't Usually Read

 

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of January topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

I put together a version of this for Top Ten Tuesday last week, so I am going to choose five book releases in 2021 in genres I don't usually read. 

Top 5 Anticipated Books of 2021

in Genres I Don't Usually Read

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity--and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki--near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be--not even Deka herself.

My thoughts: This is not a me book at all, but I am so drawn to this cover and the strong young person Deka will be in this story that I want to read it.

It's been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don't do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what's waiting for her in the woods.

My thoughts: Cinder made me realize I could like unique retellings of fairytales, so I am drawn to Lost in the Never Woods. Though I have to admit I was late in enjoying Peter Pan and Wendy's original story. 

Emma loves her life. She’s the mother of a precocious kindergartener, married to her soulmate—a loyal and loving police detective—and has a rewarding career as a doctor at the local hospital.

But everything comes crashing down when her son, Josh, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Determined to save him, Emma makes the risky decision to sell opioids to fund the life-saving treatment he needs. But when somebody ends up dead, a lethal game of cat and mouse ensues, her own husband leading the chase. With her son’s life hanging in the balance, Emma is dragged into the dark world of drugs, lies, and murder. Will the truth catch up to her before she can save Josh?

My thoughts: I don't do cancer stories. I don't do parents trying to save their kids stories, because they usually involve depressing topics. There is really no reason I would want to read this one, but it shows a character pushed to her limits, so I find it appealing.

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

My thoughts: This one seems a bit too creepy for me, and I don't do evil well, but this one is intriguing.

In this stirring, reflective collection of short stories, Joyce Carol Oates ponders alternate destinies: the other lives we might have led if we’d made different choices. An accomplished writer returns to her childhood home of Yewville, but the homecoming stirs troubled thoughts about the person she might have been if she’d never left. A man in prison contemplates the gravity of his irreversible act. A student’s affair with a professor results in a pregnancy that alters the course of her life forever. Even the experience of reading is investigated as one that can create a profound transformation: “You could enter another time, the time of the book.”

The (Other) You is an arresting and incisive vision into these alternative realities, a collection that ponders the constraints we all face given the circumstances of our birth and our temperaments, and that examines the competing pressures and expectations on women in particular. Finely attuned to the nuances of our social and psychic selves, Joyce Carol Oates demonstrates here why she remains one of our most celebrated and relevant literary figures.

My thoughts: I am not a huge short story fan. I can't write them. I rarely read them. Alternate destinies, however, are an interesting concept. 

What do you think of this list? Do we share any books this week?

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Resolutions/Hopes for 2021 (Bookish or Not!)

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.

As I mentioned last week, Top 5 Tuesday would help me with this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic. I shared the following Top 5 Bookish Resolutions last Tuesday:

• Complete this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge (40 books)
• Reduce the number of virtual book tours I participate in (fingers crossed)
• Write two First Chapter Reviews a month (love these)
• Purge my TBR pile (it's time)
• Read more nonfiction this year (writing craft and business books here I come)

To these 5, I am going to add 5 Non-Bookish Resolutions. 

Increase my sales volume by 50% - This is the first year I feel it is attainable. Last year's sales increase was 24% over 2019. I am more committed to real estate than I have ever been; the housing market is strong; and my role in the local real estate industry is increasing. I've been making changes to how I do things and am looking at starting a team. That last item will take a ton of planning, so it might be a 2022 agenda item.

Increase my editing volume - In addition to editing two manuscripts for my publisher, I edited several manuscripts for other authors. I'm good at it. I am working on one now, too. Though the projects need to be on the smaller side considering my other commitments, I would enjoy working on one a month. My eventual goal is to start my own publishing company.

Exercise twice a week - I still hate exercising, but I really need to do it. If I start small, I might be able to increase from two to three days a week. 

Engage in better self-care - We moms take care of everyone and put ourselves last. I've got too much to do and to many dreams to follow not to take care of myself. 

Choose one writing project to finish - I am working on two. I'm sure both won't be finished this year. I'm thinking it's a middle grade novel that will get my attention. I want to decide by the end of January. 

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5 Bookish Resolutions

 

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of January topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

Well, this week's Top 5 Tuesday will certainly make next week's Top Ten Tuesday a bit easier. :) Both are about resolutions. We make them. We break them. But, we can't beat ourselves up too much. Every step in the right direction means progress. Here are my...

Top 5 Bookish Resolutions

Complete this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge - Considering what I anticipate as an even crazier work schedule than last year, I stuck to 40 books for 2021. I surpassed my goal in 2020, so I want to at least meet it this year.

Reduce the number of virtual book tours I participate in - I love VBTs, you know I do. There are so many authors looking for reviews of books I know I would enjoy, but I can't fit you all in and still feel like reading is a pleasure. I have two in January and two in March. That should be it for the first quarter.

Write two First Chapter Reviews a month - I usually like to focus on Kindle freebies or books that have been in my TBR pile for a long time. I review the first chapter of the book and say whether or not I would continue and why. I love doing these and want to get back to them.

Purge my TBR pile - Here is the hard truth: even if I stopped working right now and just focused on reading, it would take me years to go through the boxes of unread books I've accumulated over the last ten years. There are few I would even keep once I read them. This is the year to make the tough choices--which ones stay and which ones get donated. 

Read more nonfiction this year - I've really gotten away from nonfiction since I started blogging. Part of that is because I am so busy these days, I don't want to think too hard when I sit down to read. The reality is, however, that you can't grow if you don't constantly inspire and motivate yourself to do better. One way I do that is by reading. I can see at least half a dozen books on my shelf that are waiting for me. I want to pick them up.

Hope you've enjoyed reading my bookish resolutions. What are some of yours? 

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5...Books to Inspire/Motivate

 

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of December topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

This week is a Top 5 Tuesday freebie. I didn't even know there was such a thing. Since we are heading into the new year, I figured I would share books to inspire/motivate you. It is the time for goal setting and resolutions. :) 

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better.

Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments.

Millions of readers have acquired the secrets of success through The Magic of Thinking Big. Achieve everything you always wanted: financial security, power and influence, the ideal job, satisfying relationships, and a rewarding, happy life.

Set your goals high...then exceed them!

Millions of people throughout the world have improved their lives using The Magic of Thinking Big. Dr. David J. Schwartz, long regarded as one of the foremost experts on motivation, will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money, and—most important of all—find greater happiness and peace of mind.

The Magic of Thinking Big gives you useful methods, not empty promises. Dr. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community. He proves that you don’t need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction—but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there. This book gives you those secrets! 

 Believe you can succeed and you will:

-Cure yourself of the fear of failure

-Think and dream creatively

-You are what you think you are

-Make your attitudes your allies

-Learn how to think positively

-Turn defeat into victory

-Use goals to help you grow

-Think like a leader

One of the best books I've ever read. Love every book by Og Mandino.

The Greatest Salesman in the World is a book that serves as a guide to a philosophy of salesmanship, and success, telling the story of Hafid, a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance. If Mandino's suggested reading structure is followed, it would take about 10 months to read the book.

What you are today is not important... for in this runaway bestseller you will learn how to change your life by applying the secrets you are about to discover in the ancient scrolls.

Are You A Human Ostrich?

Do you stick your head in the sand at the thought of dealing with a task that seems boring, complicated, or unpleasant? Do you pay your bills late because the last time you balanced your checkbook was more than six months ago? While working on a task do you keep thinking you should be dealing with a different task?

Is your living space messy and your life unorganized?

Do you clean up only when family or friends will be visiting-only to let your place fall back into untidiness after they've gone?

After you've cleaned for visitors, do you tell yourself "it doesn't count!" because you weren't doing it for yourself?

Have you stopped having visitors over because you're ashamed of your mess?

Do you worry you'll feel embarrassed if the landlord, a plumber, or a repairperson needed to visit your place?

Do you constantly compare yourself to people who seem to "have it together?"

Does your habitual procrastination leave you feeling depressed and anxious?

Do you know the 25 characteristics and behaviors of the human ostrich?

Are you concerned that your child or someone you care deeply about is becoming a habitual procrastinator?

The Solution To Your Habitual Procrastination Is Here!

Learn the golden rules of overcoming procrastination. Stop falling victim to the downward cycle of procrastination and depression. Stop feeling overwhelmed and immobilized with fear by learning how to effectively cope with your tasks and responsibilities. Become a "do"-er by learning easy to use and highly effective new tool - The J.O.T. Method™.

For out-starting upstarts of all ages, here is a wonderfully wise and blessedly brief graduation speech from the one and only Dr. Seuss. In his inimitable, humorous verse and pictures, he addresses the Great Balancing Act (life itself, and the ups and downs it presents) while encouraging us to find the success that lies within us. 

 And will you succeed?

Yes! You will indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

A modern classic, Oh, the Places You'll Go! was first published one year before Dr. Seuss's death at the age of eighty-seven. In a mere fifty-six pages, Dr, Seuss managed to impart a lifetime of wisdom. It is the perfect send-off for children starting out in the maze of life, be they nursery school grads or newly-minted PhD's. Everyone will find it inspired good fun.

I included that last one because we should all tap into that young person inside us who dreamed big and believed we were invincible. 

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5... Books of 2020

 

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of December topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

I find this to be a challenging post. How do you choose just 5? I will do my best.

This middle grade adventure plots an orphan and his friends against a powerful group who doesn't want the truth revealed.

While I have enjoyed all the Tradd Street books, this one is my favorite so far because Melanie's relationships are tested in so many ways. 

Caitlin Strong has been a favorite character of mine for years. In this novel, Land really gets up close and personal with the plot. Loved this from beginning to end.

These two books from Charlotte Hubbard are a tie. I simply can't choose between them. The first one finds the maturing of a character and a new bishop who threatens so much of what the community has built. 

The second is the strong start of a new series. I am reading the second book of the series now. 

If ever there was a book that reads as wonderful as a Hallmark Christmas movie, Selling Christmas is it. I hope to read this one again.

What were your top books of 2020? What books should I add to my list to read in 2021? 

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5… Covers of 2020

 

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of December topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

Great topic this week, but I don't have time to go digging through my piles to participate today. I hope you check out Meeghan's blog to see what her choices are.

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5... Books on My Holiday Wishlist

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of December topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

This one is going to be so hard. If you have seen my Goodreads "Want to Read" list (575 total right now) and my Amazon Wish List, I will have a lot of choices. I think I will stick to nonfiction to make it easier.

I love the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I used to read the series once a year. While those days are long gone, this new devotional would be the perfect way to experience Anne's world in a different way.

This is a travel memoir of a woman who decided to revisit the books from her childhood by traveling to places like the Missouri Wilder wrote about, the Minnesota of Maud Hart Lovelace, and Lucy Maud Montgomery's Canada. 

Ever since I watched the movie, The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Dan Stevens, I have wanted to read this book about how Charles Dickens self-published A Christmas Carol and how it changed the holiday and his life.

I am a lover of history and politics--the current election cycle excepted--and I enjoy reading stories of men and women who had an impact on history in one way or another. 

The story of the Wright Brothers always fascinated me. That fascination only grew as we began spending time on the Outer Banks and visited the museum there. I also enjoy books by McCullough. 

Hope you enjoy today's list. I look forward to reading what is on your holiday wishlist.

Top Ten Tuesday and Top 5 Tuesday

Because of my hectic schedule this week, I am going to skip Top Ten Tuesday and Top 5 Tuesday. That doesn't mean you shouldn't check them out and participate.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books I Want to Read Again. You can check in with Jana at www.thatartsyreadergirl.com

Over at MeeghanReads, you can read about and share Top 5 Books with Disability Representation. Love this topic!!! You can find Meeghan at https://meeghanreads.com

Have fun!

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5... Friend Recommendations

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of November topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.

I have a lot of reader friends. So, this should be easy, right? Umm... we will see.

Top 5... Friend Recommendations

Ever since I represented the 20th anniversary edition of this book for it's virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book, bloggers have been telling me to read it. Have I? No, but it will happen. It just might take a few more years.

By the time the fourth book in the Left Behind series came out (1998, if I recall correctly), several of my family members were reading the series. I borrowed the first three books and was totally hooked. I waited impatiently for each new release and felt devastated when I read the last word of the last book. 

Recommended by an author friend of mine. I like Civil War fiction, but the reviews aren't phenomenal. 

My husband and daughter enjoy this show, so he recommended I read the book. It is 1962 in an America occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan after the United States lost World War II. The show is too violent for me, but I don't know how it compares to the book.

A good friend of mine has been recommending this series for years. I really just need to sit down and read it one day.

Hope you like my list. What are some good book recommendations from your friends? 

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5... Books I'm Glad I Read

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of November topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to Meeghan's blog or leave a comment on her weekly post.

In some ways I expect this will be easy. I've been reading forever, so there are lots to choose from. But, then, how can I narrow this down to just five? Here are my picks for Top 5... Books I'm Glad I Read

I was a hold out on the Harry Potter series. Just like I haven't read the Twilight series, I just don't like reading wildly popular books. Maybe I'm afraid they won't live up to my expectations. Maybe I am too impatient to invest time in a series just to have to wait for each new book to come out. 

I finally took the plunge in 2015 and discovered what the big deal is about. I read through the rest of the series that year. 

Saffron Dreams was unlike any book I had read up until that point. It features a Muslim couple in New York City happily living their lives until the day after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11. It provides a different perspective on how the world was changed after that day. It tells one woman's difficult journey to pick up the pieces of her shattered life in a country that has suddenly put her and an entire race under a microscope in order to make sense of a monumental tragedy.

Reading The Kensei was an accomplishment for me. I'm not much of a vampire story kind of person. This story, however, is a bit different because it takes place in Japan and has a character who is a former KGB assassin. It is fast-paced, which I love, and has tons of action and some witty banter. I also love those. 

If anyone told me I would like The Lunar Chronicles before I read Cinder and Scarlet, I would have laughed at them. I love historical fiction, not futuristic cyborgs. Cinder, the main character, drew me in right away, as did the plot of the first novel. I really need to catch up on this series. 

You really need to like reading if you're going to tackle a book that is over 1100 pages. What amazes me about The Stand is knowing I almost gave up on the book that remains my all-time favorite. Setting up all the characters and putting them in place, took time. Four hundred pages in, I really wasn't sure this was the book for me. Once I reached 600 pages, the pace picked up, the characters came together in two different places, and the storyline finally made sense. I breezed through it after that. 

I am not sure I would want to read it this year, considering it starts with a super flu that is accidentally released and kills off the majority of the population. A little too much like 2020 if you ask me. That said, I may need to read this again one day to see what my reaction is after being away from it for so long.

Top Ten Tuesday & Top 5 Tuesday

Because of my hectic schedule this week, I am going to skip Top Ten Tuesday and Top 5 Tuesday. That doesn't mean you shouldn't check them out and participate.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Book Titles That Would Make Great Song Titles. You can check in with Jana at www.thatartsyreadergirl.com

Over at MeeghanReads, you can read about and share Top 5... Books I Haven't Read Yet. You can find Meeghan at https://meeghanreads.com

Have fun!