Top Ten Tuesday --- Top Ten Best Books Of 2016

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.

It was really difficult selecting which books were my favorites for 2016 as I read so many books that fell into the 4/5 star category! I have chosen 5 fiction and 5 nonfiction books as follows in no particular order of importance. The links take you to my written review of each book.

1. The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World by Sue Woolmans and Greg King
2. This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor by Susan Wicklund
3. Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden
4. My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem
5. Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
6. The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
7. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
8. Flight by Alexie Sherman
9. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
10. The Good Traitor by Ryan Quinn

Which books were your favorite ones read for 2016?

Little Free Library in Solana Beach, California

My husband and I spent Christmas in Southern California visiting my parents and his side of the family, which was a lot of fun. Celebrating the holidays has been a joy and a blessing.

While we were in Southern California, we visited a Little Free Library in Solana Beach, California, where I left two books on Christmas Day and took a free one to add to my reading pile for 2017!!

I hope you all had a fabulous day celebrating Christmas this year.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree!!

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've chosen a nice mix of nonfiction and fiction books for my list for Santa Claus to bring me!

1. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
2. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
3. The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore 

4. Circular Knitting Workshop: Essential Techniques to Master Knitting in the Round by Margaret Radcliffe

5. The Body Reader by Anne Frasier

6. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

7. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

8. The Memory Illusion: Why You May Not Be Who You Think You Are by Julia Shaw

9. The Selkie Sorceress by Sophie Moss

10. The Selkie Enchantress by Sophie Moss

I ended up receiving the above books that have lines through them from Santa!

So, which books are you hoping to receive this year as gifts?

Bout of Books 18 Sign-Up Post!!

Yes, I am once again signing up to participate in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!! 

I love participating in read-a-thons (when I have the time) and the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon is always a blast. It's low pressure read-a-thon that is a great way to kick of the new year!

The following is an informational blurb about the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I hope you join me in participating in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon.... Let's start off the new year with reading books together!!

Until my next post, happy holidays and happy reading!  

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Unabridged Audio Version

I've had the paperback copy of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote sitting on my bookshelf the past six years, ten months waiting to be read... I finally decided I should read this nonfiction book, but I decided to listen to the audio version from Audible instead of reading it.

I enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and narrated by Scott Brick. Listening time for In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is 14 hours, 27 minutes.

I really thought that Truman Capote's writing of In Cold Blood was really well done. Even though In Cold Blood is a work of nonfiction, it almost feels like one is reading a novel. In other words, In Cold Blood is very readable. I enjoyed how Truman Capote writes about the lives of the murderers, the victims, and the rural community in Holcomb, Kansas in alternating fashion while seaming together the events in a captivating narrative that grips the reader from the start through to the very end.

If you love true crime books, In Cold Blood is a must read! According to information I obtained from Wikipedia, "In Cold Blood was an instant success, and today is the second-biggest-selling true crime book in publishing history, behind Vincent Bugliosi's 1974 book Helter Skelter about the Manson murders."

I also discovered through the American Library Association website, that In Cold Blood has been a banned book because:

Banned, but later reinstated after community protests at the Windsor Forest High School in Savannah, Ga. (2000). The controversy began in early 1999 when a parent complains about sex, violence, and profanity in the book that was part of an Advanced Placement English Class. Source: 2004 Banned Books Resource Guide by Robert P. Doyle.

Additionally, I also thought that Scott Brick did a really good job narrating In Cold Blood.

The following is the publisher's summary of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote from Audible:

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

I am giving In Cold Blood by Truman Capote a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon

Paranormal Holiday Read

Do you love reading paranormal, holiday themed short stories? Then you may find yourself enjoying A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon!

I was able to download A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon to my Kindle for FREE from Amazon. 

Below is my unbiased opinion of A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon.

A SmokeJumpers Christmas is my first experience of reading anything written by author,  Elle Boon. I felt that A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon was a decent introduction to the SmokeJumpers series by Elle Boon. I liked most of the characters as well as the storyline of A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon. 

The only complaint I have about this short story is that I felt more background development of the SmokeJummpers series could have been developed... But otherwise, A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon was a decent read.

Other teaser chapters from other books Elle Boon has written are also included in this eBook. I am looking forward to reading other eBooks written by Elle Boon in the future.

The following is a plot summary for A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon from Amazon:

A snowstorm, a baby, a fire elemental, and a shifter. Can Keanu save them all when the forces of nature rock their world, or will the elements destroy their happily ever after.

A pregnant Cammie will do anything to protect her unborn child, while Mother Nature has her own set of plans.

A father willing to risk life and limb for his family, Keanu will set the countryside on fire to rescue his wife and unborn child.

Reality isn’t always what it seems, but a fire elemental, and a shifter will make sure this is a perfect SmokeJumpers Christmas.

I am giving A SmokeJumpers Christmas by Elle Boon a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

2016 Audiobook Challenge Final Update!

Yes, I have happily and successfully participated in another year of the Audiobook Challenge! 

Thank you to Hot Listens and The Book Nympho for hosting the 2016 Audiobook Challenge!!

This year, I was hoping to reach the Marathoner Level, but fell a few audiobooks short this year and reached the My Precious Level instead.

I have currently listened to a total of 41 audiobooks this year and will have one more audiobook finished before the end of the year is up... Making a grand total of 42 audiobooks listened to in 2016!

1. Thankless In Death by J. D. Robb
2. Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
3. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
4. We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better by Dave Eggers

5. Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet

6. The Jester by Micheal J. Sullivan

7. So Long, Lollipops by Sarah Lyons Fleming

8. Gone by Stacy Claflin

9. The Assassination of the Archduke by Greg King & Sue Woolmans

10. The Ghost and the Graveyard by Genevieve Jack

11. The Healer by Antti Tuomainen

12. The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

13. My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem

14. The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

15. Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden

16. The Good Traitor by Ryan Quinn

17. Orchids and Stone by Lisa Preston

18. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

19. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

20. Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, Book # 4) by Roxie Rivera

21. The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag

22. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

23. This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund

24. Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

25. Blood Wager by Connie Suttle

26. Blood Passage by Connie Suttle

27. Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter Book #1 by Nikki Jefford

28. The Girl With Nine Lives by E. Earle
29. The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories by R. A. Salvatore
30. Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
31. The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lapore
32. Tightrope by Simon Mawer
33. Unleashed by Emily Kimelman
34. The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
35. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
36. Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs
37. A Journal of Sin by Darryl Donaghue
38. Elusive (On the Run #1) by Sara Rosett
39. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
40. Vampire Shift by Tim O'Rourke
41. The Obituary Society by Jessica L. Randall
42. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Listening Levels:

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30-50
• Marathoner (Look Ma no hands) 50+

What level did you reach in 2016? Did you make your goal?