Top Ten Tuesday: Websites I Love That Aren't About Books

This week's Top Ten Tuesday was a breath of fresh spring air - ten websites we love that have nothing to do with books.  Well, I can't say these sites never mention books, but they're ones I go to again and again for a variety of different reasons.  Without further ado, and in no particular order...

When I want something minimalist without going crazy:
Reading My Tea Leaves

When I need to slow down and listen to a slightly silly podcast:
Slow Your Home

When I want to read an essay that speaks to my humanity:
C. Jane Kendrick

When I want some inspiration for being more financially savvy:
Budgets Are Sexy

When I want to feel luxe:
Bois de Jasmin

When my roommate talks at extreme volume and I need to work:
Coffivity

When I want to love the city I'm in, without spending all my $$:
the skint

When I need some new threads*:
ThredUp

When I need a different perspective:
Colorlines

When I'm in the mood for a virtual trip abroad:
Aspiring Kennedy

What non-bookish websites do you love?

*referral link! means if you click and end up buying something, you get $10 and so do I - not too shabby. 

Top Ten Fall Classics (on a Wednesday!)

*Since Monday and Tuesday were Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), this week's post is a bit delayed! To those of you who celebrate, L'Shana Tova u'Metukah!

This week's topic is a freebie, and I knew that it would be a great time to bust out some fall classics.  These are my old standbys, the ones I pull out when the weather starts to get cooler and all I want to do is cuddle up inside with a mug of tea, my cat, and no distractions.  Spooky, damp, windy, fraught with moral angst and beloved characters -- are there books that better capture fall?

Top Ten All Time Favorite Authors

Good gravy.  How do you pick just ten of your favorite authors?

I decided to make rules, because otherwise it's impossible (impossible!) to narrow it down.  There are too many. I asked myself: which books have I picked up and read and re-read (and haven't already written about ad nauseam on this blog)? How many of those authors have written other books that I've picked up and read and re-read?

And then I chose.  Eurgh.

So, yes, JK Rowling and Zora Neale Hurston should be on this list, as well as Hans Fallada, Frantz Fanon, Leo Tolstoy, and Diana Gabaldon.  But here we have it, cut down to a mere ten.  Three ladies, seven men, all white, five from Western Europe, five from these United States, nine out of ten deceased.  If you want to read something (potentially) life-changing, go pick up one of their books/letters/essays/poems.  My favorites? Linked in their names.

From left to right!

Top Row: 

Marilynne Robinson, Dorothy Sayers, Albert Camus, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Primo Levi

Bottom Row: 

Louisa May Alcott, Walt Whitman, Steig Larsson, Roald Dahl, John Steinbeck

Also, whenever I see that picture of John Steinbeck I think: You old cad, you.

(If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission.)

Who are your ten all time favorite authors? Would you be able to narrow it down?

Top Ten Books on My Spring TBR List

American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell by Deborah Solomon. I picked this up as a treat while visiting The National Gallery, and while I'm only a casual admirer of Norman Rockwell's (I knew almost nothing about him before starting this book), I'm really looking forward to finishing this one.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  Oh, Fyodor.  Why, oh, why do you write characters that are so despicable in such mundane ways? Lots of drama, lots of religious monologues, and so far, little sanity (though, truthfully, it seems like many families are that way).  My first Classics Club book.

Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac.  While out with a friend one Sunday, I found a used copy of another book on my Classics Club list and snatched it up.  I checked out two translations and liked this one best -  it's Penguin Classics - and can't wait to get started on this story of "the excessive paternal love of a retired vermicelli merchant"(back cover).

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.  This is a book I got a while back from Barnes & Noble, as one of a few I wanted to read, and I still haven't gotten through more than the first chapter or so.  It's a story about Hurricane Katrina, family, poverty, and growing up, and what I've read has been captivating.

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar.  Another from a while back - a debut novel about a young Pakistani American in the Midwest who falls in love with his mother's closest friend.  Faith, love, and modern American life all come together for what looks like a powerful novel.

Life From Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness by Sasha Martin.  I found out about this one from Oprah and from Kelly at The Well-Read Redhead, which meant it had to find a way to my TBR list.  I love memoirs and autobiographies and I love reading the stories behind recipes, so - no brainer.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.  I have heard only good things about this book, and started to listen to it as an audiobook over the summer.  Life got very busy and I never finished reading it, but I was hooked.  A story about teenagers that isn't moralistic and doesn't sound like someone who never experienced adolescence wrote it? Done.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.  Young Adult Fiction is not usually on my radar, but this is a book that kept popping up over and over again.  It's gone on to win the National Book Award, the John Newbery Medal, and is a memoir-in-verse.  I'm really excited to read it.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce.  For as long as I can remember, I've had friends tell me to check out Tamora Pierce's books.  I never got to them when I was younger, and thought I'd outgrown them. This (fantasy) story, the first in a trilogy, got my attention as soon as it mentioned a young girl assigned to a tough beat who can communicate with the dead...and uncovers a conspiracy.  It reminds me of the Sabriel series, but I think it will be pretty different.

Neverhome by Laird Hunt.  This is one I heard about through the book blogger grape vine, and it sounds incredible.  Taking place during the Civil War, Neverhome tells the story of a farmer's wife who disguises herself as a Union soldier.  The New York Times says: "Through bloodshed and hysteria and heartbreak, she becomes a hero, a folk legend, a madwoman and a traitor to the American cause." I mean, why haven't I already read this one?!

What books are on your spring to-be-read list?

(If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission.)

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Heroines

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I had to jump back on the bandwagon for this week's theme.  As I was looking for pictures for my usual (very high-brow) collage, I realized that so much of these characters are in my mind that it's hard to pick images that actually represent them.  Instead, here they are in (mostly) their own words:

Lisbeth Salander: “Salander leaned back against the pillow and followed the conversation with a smile. She wondered why she, who had such difficulty talking about herself with people of flesh and blood, could blithely reveal her most intimate secrets to a bunch of completely unknown freaks on the Internet.” Steig Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

Jenny Fraser: "And if your life is a suitable exchange for my honor, why is my honor not a suitable exchange for your life?” Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

Hermione Granger: “Hermione drew herself to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her hair seemed to crackle with electricity. "No," she said, her voice quivering with anger, "but I will write to your mother.” JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Sabriel: “I used to think like that at school," Sabriel answered. "Dreaming about the Old Kingdom. Proper Charter Magic. Dead to bind. Princes to be --"
"Rescued?”
Garth Nix, Sabriel 

Sammy Keyes: "I thought about dialing 911, but the only phone in the apartment is in the kitchen and since Grams was in there making dinner I couldn't exactly go dialing Emergency without her knowing about it." Wendelin Van Draanen, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

Scout Finch: “I thought she was going to spit in it, which was the only reason anybody in Maycomb held out his hand: it was a time-honored method of sealing oral contracts. Wondering what bargain we had made, I turned to the class for an answer, but the class looked back at me in puzzlement.” Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

Harriet Vane: “I know what you're thinking - that anybody with proper sensitive feelings would rather scrub floors for a living. But I should scrub floors very badly, and I write detective stories rather well. I don't see why proper feelings should prevent me from doing my proper job.” Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night

Janie Crawford: "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches." Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Scarlett O'Hara: “...all the bullying instincts in her nature rose to the surface. It was not that she was basically unkind. It was because she was so frightened and unsure of herself she was harsh lest others learn her inadequacies and refuse her authority.” Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind

Matilda: “So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone." Roald Dahl, Matilda

top ten books I'm not sure I want to read

After a doozy of a week, Sheba and I spent our weekend doing only strictly-necessary activities.  For me those included: errands.  For Sheba that included: ferociously napping with her head thrown back, putting her toys in her water bowl, and continuing on her quest to kill Frank (the tiny tiny fly that lives in the lamp).

I hope this week has started out well for you, and that the very last month of summer has been just delicious.  August should bring summer out like the last people at a party, you know?

But without further ado, let's get started on this week's Top Ten Tuesday (from last week): "Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read."

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  Not sold on it...and I'm not even completely sure what it is.
2. Atlas Shrugged: This is a book that people I know either L.O.V.E. or can't stand - and the same can be said for Ayn Rand.  I haven't tried to read it yet, but I haven't had too much of a desire to do so yet either.
3. Gone Girl: Evvvverybody I know has read this book or knows somebody who read this book.  At one point I had picked it up at a Hudson News and wasn't sucked in.  I'm not sure about all of the hype.
4. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.  In theory it sounds like a great book that would be totally up my alley, but I haven't been able to get into it.
5. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.  This one I picked up in one of those "Free Books!" boxes by the side of the road, when someone's moving, and I thought it was fantastic starting out, but now, not sure.

This is about as far as I got, since mostly this prompt got me thinking about books that I do want to read.  These three are a few that stood out to me when on the prowl for Pulitzer or Booker Prize winners:

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson: Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life. (from goodreads)

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin: In the spirit of Joyce's Dubliners and Turgenev's A Sportsman's Sketches, Daniyal Mueenuddin's collection of linked stories illuminates a place and a people through an examination of the entwined lives of landowners and their retainers on the Gurmani family farm in the countryside outside of Lahore, Pakistan. An aging feudal landlord's household staff, the villagers who depend on his favor, and a network of relations near and far who have sought their fortune in the cities confront the advantages and constraints of station, the dissolution of old ways, and the shock of change. Mueenuddin bares - at times humorously, at times tragically - the complexities of Pakistani class and culture and presents a vivid picture of a time and a place, of the old powers and the new, as the Pakistani feudal order is undermined and transformed. (from goodreads)

Staying On, by Paul Scott: In this sequel to The Raj Quartet, Colonel Tusker and Lucy Smalley stay on in the hills of Pankot after Indian independence deprives them of their colonial status. Finally fed up with accommodating her husband, Lucy claims a degree of independence herself. Eloquent and hilarious, she and Tusker act out class tensions among the British of the Raj and give voice to the loneliness, rage, and stubborn affection in their marriage. (from the Booker Prize Page)

I also found these two very cool blogs: A Year of Reading the World and Booker Talk.  What are your thoughts? Are any of these must-reads for you, or are you also on the fence about some? 

top ten characters I would want with me on a deserted island

This week's Top Ten Tuesday with The Broke and the Bookish is a subject that is near and dear to my heart...the deserted island scenario.  When I was a little kid I figured I outwitted the "What food would you bring with you?" question with the (best) answer - PASTA - because! 1) Pasta is delicious.  2) You can make any kind of sauce with the supplies at hand wherever you may be, thereby guaranteeing variety (which is, as they say, the spice of life).

But, getting back to it - here are the Top Ten Characters I would want with me on a deserted island:

Jamie Fraser, Outlander - Hunky and good with non-modern warfare...enough said.

Lisbeth Salandar, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - On the other hand, and on the off chance there is computer activity, I would want her around.  Even if she'd probably hate my guts.

Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games - Someone who would be good with limited resources and high panic situations.

Harriet Vane, Gaudy Night - I feel like we could have a great conversation over the fire pit.

Hannah, Little Women - Is it bad that I picked Hannah for food reasons? I think it would be key to have someone who both kind of mothered and was also thrifty and made good food.  Girl's gotta eat.

Rhett Butler, Gone With The Wind - You'd for sure need a wily character, in case there were any shady types on the island we'd need to trade with (...or something?) Doesn't hurt that he's also a bit of a dreamboat.

Sherlock Holmes - Could probably figure out how to get us off the island, and solve crimes at the same time.

Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird - He seems like a strong moral compass to have around, and would be handy in case of legal matters.  You know, forming a new society, contracts, etc.  Thinking long-term here.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger - They probably would not want to be BFFs with me, since they are already BFFs with each other, but it would be good to have (loyal, brave, caring) friends around.

Paddington Bear - For comfort.

Isn't it funny to think of them all together on an island, and how they'd interact with each other? Not well, I think.  Looking at it, I picked characters with very strong wills, who are determined and prickly (for the most part).

Plus...bonus! Character I would NOT want on a deserted island with me: The Underground Man, unless I wanted to get talked (and talked and talked) to death.  ;)

What about you? Do you love or hate deserted island scenarios?

ten books i almost put down but didn't

Hello again, greetings, hey, and thanks for coming by for Top Ten Tuesday with The Broke and the Bookish here at the Starch.  Sheba's snoozing on the couch, so make yourself at home, step right up and stay a while.

I'm not the kind of person that will never.ever.ever put down a book.  It has happened many times.  Sometimes it's permanent, other times it means I pick it up a couple of months later.  While it can be a sign that I can't get with the book or writing or whatever, it's not always the case.  Sometimes the books are fantastic but life gets crazy.  I believe it's worth it, on certain occasions, to put the book down and do something better with your day.  When I'm reading for pleasure, it shouldn't feel like I'm forcing myself through it - which is what made this prompt for Top Ten Tuesday challenging.  Most books I've almost put down I...actually do put down.  So here goes - this week's prompt reimagined.  Get your reimagining goggles ready.

Top Ten Books I almost put down and then...did:

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham.  I loved this one after I got into it.  I dog-eared and underlined and bookmarked and then...didn't find myself picking it up again.

The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.  One I would love to finish - Steinbeck is a big favorite of mine.

Boychicks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic Underground by Robert Eisenberg.  After going through the sections on Poland and Ukraine, things got pretty existentially banal for me.  Dim and grim on the book review scale.

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.  I actually had one (terrifying) professor call me out when I commented in an off-handed way that I had once tried and then stopped reading it.  "What do you mean, you 'stopped reading' DOCTOR Zhivago...? Who can't get through Doctor Zhivago?" I think were her exact words.  I know.  Couldn't do it.  Judge away.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  I had heard so many great things about this from every single person I had spoken to about it, both as an example of C.S. Lewis at his finest and as a theological book.  I read pieces of it when I worked in the library in college, and then...I think I had too many things to read that were academic, and so shelved it in favor of fiction.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White.  This one was a gift from my mom.  I think the reason I couldn't get far enough into it was stylistic - maybe I was too young.  Most of what I remember is reading the thing about the hawk...oh, seventeen times.  I have heard it is a terrific series, so I'll have to revisit it.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.  I found it intriguing, and I think if I had gotten the first book and worked through it as a series I may have found it doable, but I had the colossal tome of all in one.  I managed about 300 pages before stopping.

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.  Another one my mother got for me as a present (...terrible daughter alert) which I really thought I'd love - and did love the first parts, but then...  I was in high school and probably couldn't carry it with me and didn't get wrapped up enough to finish it.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.  Like 1Q84, a book I had picked up and liked reading - I made it through a considerably large chunk of the book and then gave up.  They both were with me around the time I was getting ready to make an international move, so that may have had something to do with why they got put down.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.  Another gift - one day I will take it with me on a trip and get through it (at least the first).


What about you? Are you the type of reader to stick it out, or do you put them aside for later? Have you finished any of these books?

Go check out the other posts at The Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art

Hello again! Life here has gone up ten points since I finally found my way to my library for the first time since moving.  I'd mostly been relying on ebooks and audiobooks (shameful, yes, but...well, not really, since it was raining and snowing outside, and once you've been full-body splashed by a car you really don't need to experience it again).  I wandered over, and I am incredibly glad that I did.  I picked up three that I think will be really great for me to read, and I'm excited about sharing them here later on.

But on to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish - this week's topic is Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art:

Going clockwise:

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.  I'm a sucker for mountains.

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  A door-stopper if ever there was one.  This was the cover on the one I read - paperback, so stuffed that pages fluttered out if you cracked the spine too much.  I read this one on a nearly three-day train ride from St. Petersburg to Sochi.  I'd frame it just for the memory.  I gave my copy to a girl for the plane ride back to the States, and never saw it again (sad but true).

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  This was the cover illustration I grew up with, and again, I'd frame it for the memories.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.  I tried reading it my freshman year of college, but couldn't get into it - I was too creeped out.  I may give it another shot later in life.  I do like a good black-and-white photo, though, and those shoes.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.  Every page of this book could be framed.  So beautiful.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.  One that I have been meaning to pick up for a long time.  The cover reminds me of Sammy Keyes for some reason.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Every time I see this one in the store/library I want to pick it up.  And each time I do, I don't get more than the first few pages.  Maybe it'll get me another time.

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman.  Haven't read it, hadn't really heard of it, but it reminds me of a New Yorker cover.

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami.  I have heard many, many good things about Haruki Murakami's books, and would like to find a shorter book of his.  Last year I got about 300 pages into 1Q84 before giving up.  This cover reminded me of my grandmother.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.  I first heard of Persepolis from the movie that came out, though I have flipped through the book(s) at bookstores.  I really should bite the bullet and pick it up.

This one was tough - I kept thinking of books I liked, or wonderful children's books.  I guess the inside of a book is more important for me, but I get that marketing and covers have an impact as well.  There are some great books out there that I wouldn't necessarily frame.  What about you? Could you think of any off the top of your head that would work?  Go check out the rest at The Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Books if You Like...

Recently I've discovered book blogs.  I can't even handle it.  I don't know why I didn't look into this earlier.

These ladies are far wittier, cooler, and better-read than I am, and seem to have an intense and rapid rate of book reading and ability to produce engaging content.

Here's hoping I can keep up.

So, lovely people who are reading my blog today: Top Ten Tuesday, linked with The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is top ten books if you like X movie/tv show/any other form of entertainment.  Mostly what I realized in this exercise is that a lot of what I watch is either crime/mystery or already based on a book.  For your sake, I tried to branch out, but I could only come up with 8 decent ones.  Forgive me.

Get psyched.

1. Miss Marple: Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. Oh, I know Agatha Christie wrote her own books, which are different from Dorothy Sayers', but if ever there were two female mystery-solvers that climb to the top of my list, it's Miss Marple and Harriet Vane.  Gaudy Night is a special favorite, and if you're looking for a slow burn with smart characters and beautiful writing that'll keep you hanging till the end, read it.  Read them all!

2. Brave: Sammy Keyes Series by Wendelin Van Draanen.  Some of my absolute favorites when I was 11-13.  A girl who, like me, got into stuff she shouldn't have because of nosiness/curiosity? Done and done.  Sammy is gutsy, plucky, self-reliant, and real.  Love 'em.  Read them even if you're older than 12.

3. Bletchley Circle: Charlotte Grey by Sebastian Faulks.  In my opinion, Bletchley Circle is superior to Charlotte Gray, but if you're looking for a gloomy WWII story about a woman-turned-spy who has her wits about her, Charlotte Gray is a go-to.

4. Ain't Them Bodies Saints: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.  Two stories about the frontier (ok, basically the Midwest, bear with me) and flawed people who make difficult choices for love.  Both, by the way, could be described as terrifically artful, should you be in the mood for adverb overload.

5. Miss Congeniality: Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich.  Goofy, lovable protagonists that trip over themselves and have a blast? Yes, please! I loved this series for a long time - I even played hooky from school once and went with my mom to a book signing (dork, yes, but still memorable, and Ms. Evanovich was very nice).  Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter from New Jersey, and Janet Evanovich brings in a fantastic cast of characters to solve murders, chase after criminals, and bring in bond-skippers.

6. Steel Magnolias: The Supremes at Earl's All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore.  Not sure if I was up to snuff with this pairing, but - group of friends that know each other inside and out, stick together and sass each other, each sort of in the South, semi-maudlin - that's what I was going with.  I enjoyed them both immensely.  Read my review here.

7. Downton Abbey: The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally.  A tale about two sisters from Australia who sign up to be nurses during WWI, and the many awesome and awful things they see along the way.  It's a long one (around 500 pages) but worth it.  Hopefully I'll have a review coming soon.

8. Blue is the Warmest Color: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  Obsessive love? Check.  Passion that seems to come out of the woods, take over your life and change you? Double check.

This was so fun! Go check out the others at The Broke and the Bookish.  Can you think of any? What are some of your favorites?