Top Ten Tuesday -- Top Fifteen Books On My Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

I have so many books I want to read this fall, that it is REALLY, REALLY, Difficult for me to narrow down which ones I want to read most this fall.... But here goes nothing! 

I went kind of ambitious for my reading list this fall and chose 15 books to read... The most difficult part for me will be sticking to my reading list as I'm very prone to changing my mind on what I want to read! 

So here is are the Top Fifteen Books I'd like to read this fall in no order of importance:

1. Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy by Eric Hansen

2. The Dressmaker's Dowry by Meredith Jaeger

3. The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

4. The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

5. Black Run: A Rocco Schiavone Mystery by Antonio Manzini

6. In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen

7. Love In A Nutshell by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly

8. The Crossing by Michael Connelly
9. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch
10. Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs by Caroline Knapp
11. Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
12. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
13. Twelve Red Herrings by Jeffery Archer
14. The Devil, The Lovers and Me: My Life in Tarot by Kimberlee Auerbach
15. Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan

So, which books are on your fall reading list?

7 Little Free Library Tips To Ensure A Successful Little Free Library

I would have a Little Free Library of my own in a heartbeat, but alas, I live in a condominium and cannot place one outside my unit!

However, for those of you who would like to set up your own Little Free Library, I discovered an article on Bustle's website titled, These 7 Little Free Library Tips Will Ensure You Have The Best Book-Swapping Station On The Block by E. Ce Miller that is a must read for those that want to run a successful Little Free Library.

Click on the above link to learn the seven ways you can make your Little Free Library the best one in your neighborhood!

Reading Quote of the Day!!

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month!!

In all my years of reading and blogging, I never knew that September is National Library Card Sign Up Month!!

I do have a library card to my public library, but I do not use it as often as I should. I need to change that though.

If you do not have a library card to your local public library, I encourage you to sign up for one this month. Libraries offer amazing resources in their communities.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Rhys Bowen --- Author Presentation and Book Signing

I've come across Rhys Bowen's name over the past few years and am familiar with the fact that she writes three different popular mystery series. Rhys Bowen has also written a stand-alone historical novel titled, In Farleigh Field, which is set in England during World War II. 

I have yet to read any of her novels, but that will soon be remedied in the near future as I discovered in August 2017 that Rhys Bowen would be coming to a branch of our public library. 

Last night, I attended Rhys Bowen's author presentation at our local public library. I am so thrilled that I attended this event as Rhys Bowen is a delightful speaker with a lovely English accent. Rhys Bowen gave a lively talk about her novels, her writing, and various characters she has created throughout the years. Rhys Bowen was also humorous. I felt like she was one of the more entertaining and engaging author speakers I've heard speak before an audience. 

Quite a nice sized group of readers attended the Rhys Bowen author presentation and book signing. Many of them asked a lot of interesting questions during the Q & A segment. 

This was the first time I've attended an author event and signing at a public library, which made for a fun time. I came away with two signed books by Rhys Bowen - Murphy's Law: The First Molly Murphy Mystery and In Farleigh Field.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence

Advance Reader Copy in Paperback Format

I may never have discovered Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence if I did not an account on Goodreads!

I actually received an Advance Reader Copy in paperback of Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence for FREE through Goodreads Giveaways. 

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence will be released on Tuesday, September 26, 2017.

Below is my honest, unbiased review of Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence is written in two parts. Part 1 includes all of Annie Spence's charming notes/letters about various books. Part 2 includes various book related topics and book recommendations made to readers by the author.

I love the humor Annie Spence infuses in her book, Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks as it makes for a fun, fast reading! I also love how short each letter and/or section is in this book as this makes it easy to carry this book along with you and read when you don't have a lot of time to devote to reading... i.e. doctor's waiting rooms, commutes on public transportation, and so on.

The following is a summary for Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence from Amazon:

A librarian's laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving collection of love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life.

If you love to read, and presumably you do since you’ve picked up this book (!), you know that some books affect you so profoundly they forever change the way you think about the world. Some books, on the other hand, disappoint you so much you want to throw them against the wall. Either way, it’s clear that a book can be your new soul mate or the bad relationship you need to end.

In Dear Fahrenheit 451, librarian Annie Spence has crafted love letters and breakup notes to the iconic and eclectic books she has encountered over the years. From breaking up with The Giving Tree (a dysfunctional relationship book if ever there was one), to her love letter to The Time Traveler’s Wife (a novel less about time travel and more about the life of a marriage, with all of its ups and downs), Spence will make you think of old favorites in a new way. Filled with suggested reading lists, Spence’s take on classic and contemporary books is very much like the best of literature―sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes surprisingly poignant, and filled with universal truths.

A celebration of reading, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is for anyone who loves nothing more than curling up with a good book…and another, and another, and another!

I am giving Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In the Stacks by Annie Spence a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten Tuesday --- Ten Books I Loved During The First Year I Started My Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Here are my top ten favorite books I loved reading during the first year I started blogging (2012). They are listed in no order of importance.

1. Grayson by Lynne Cox
2. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
3. Wicked Bugs by Amy Stewart
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
5. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot
6. The Giver by Lois Lowry
7. The Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
8. Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) by Amy Thomas
9. The Forty Fathom Bank by Les Galloway
10. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

So, which books were your favorite reads during your 1st year of blogging?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

Little Free Library in Castro Valley, California!

Me with my book selections!

This afternoon, I visited a Little Free Library in Castro Valley, California with my hubby.

This was a new to us Little Free Library and it is a really cute one at that!

I try to visit as many Little Free Libraries as I can (especially new to me Little Free Libraries) to leave and/or exchange books I've read.

I think the Little Free Library I visited today marks the 17th Little Free Library I've visited this year alone... And I am looking forward to visiting many more before the year is up.

I left the following two novels; Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish and Watch Me Go by Mark Wisniewski. And I took the two novels as follows; Invisible by James Patterson & David Ellis and Saving The World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson. 

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon

Hardback Edition

I became a fan of Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series back in the 1990s. I was actually introduced to Diana Gabaldon's novels by my maternal grandmother of all people. My grandmother has always been an avid reader, like myself. I do not recall how my grandmother first heard about the 'Outlander' series. All I do remember is that my grandmother shared with me the details of Outlander (the first novel in the series) by Diana Gabaldon. She said Outlander was a wonderful, must read novel. 

So, I read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, along with several other novels in the 'Outlander' series, and have enjoyed reading these novels very much. I am a bit behind in the 'Outlander' series at the moment though and will need to play catch up at some point.

I became aware of The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon in the past year or so... Yet this graphic novel was published back in 2010. How'd I miss that bit of information I'd like to know!?!? Generally, I do not read a lot of graphic novels or manga for that matter... But being a fan of the 'Outlander' series, I'm surprised I wasn't aware of this graphic novel sooner. 

Needless to say, I decided to read The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon. After reading, The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, I have mixed thoughts about it.

The artwork rendered by illustrator, Huang Nguyen, is beautifully done. However, both Claire and Jamie are not how I had envisioned they would look... Claire ends up looking too busty and Jamie looks kind of scrawny to me. However, the biggest issue I have with the illustration work done by Huang Nguyen, was that many of the male characters in this graphic novel looked too similar, making it difficult to keep each of the male characters identities straight throughout the novel.

As far as the storyline goes for The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel... It was decent enough to be entertaining and interesting as a spinoff of the 'Outlander' series, but it didn't W-O-W me like I thought/hoped it would. If I'd never read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon prior to reading The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, I'd have been completely turned off from ever reading Outlander or the rest of the 'Outlander' series.

Also, there were quite a bit of Gaelic words and phrases used in The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, which I didn't mind... But after the initial translations of what the Gaelic words/phrases meant, the definitions weren't mentioned again when the word or phrase was used later on. This was frustrating as I didn't want to have to search back through this graphic novel looking for the meaning of the Gaelic word or phrase.

Claire also seemed to have more of a potty mouth than I recalled from the 'Outlander' series. Sure, Claire's feisty and confident, but she's not one who'd have a potty mouth. So, this was a bit of a turn off for me.

The best parts of The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel for me, were the sections written by Diana Gabaldon about how The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel came to be and the actual making of the book itself. I learned that Diana Gabaldon at one time wrote comic book scripts for Disney! 

Below is a book trailer about The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon, which I found on YouTube:

I am giving The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!