Top Ten Tuesday - FREEBIE - My Top TEN Reads From the Second Half of 2022!!!

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally 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.

Below are my top ten favorite reads during the second half of 2022!!  Have you read any of the books in my Top Ten Tuesday post? Let me know in the comment section below!

1. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
2. H Is For Hawk by Helen MacDonald
3. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
4. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
5. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
6. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
7. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
8. The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson
9. Where the Lost Dogs Go: A Story of Love, Search, and the Power of Reunion by Susannah Charleson
10. 10 Landmark Supreme Court Decisions and How They Impact Your Life by David L. Hudson

How was your year of reading in 2022?

Merry Christmas!!

 

I hope you enjoy a fun filled day with those you love! 

Happy Jolabokaflod!!!

 

This would be my ideal way of celebrating Christmas Eve! A quiet evening sitting by a cozy fire, enjoying chocolates, drinking a hot beverage of choice, and quietly reading a new book in a comfortable spot surrounded by those I love also quietly reading as well. The smell of pine or other holiday scent would be a lovely touch as well.

Horror Themed Reads to Gear Up For Halloween!!

I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre. Nor have I been a fan of Halloween since childhood. However, for whatever reason, I kind of find it fun to read a few horror themed books or short stories during the month of October in order to celebrate the changing of the season... And it's also fun to prepare myself for the upcoming holiday season that occurs through the end of each year.

So, far I have listened to two short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe for free on YouTube, 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Black Cat'.

Both short stories were spooky and pleasant to listen to, especially if you are an Edgar Allan Poe fan and want a quick read. Below are the video links for both short stories mentioned above should you care to listen to one or both of them.

Additionally, I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan in the past couple of months. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would as I am normally not a werewolf fan. The Last Werewolf is the first novel in a trilogy and I am contemplating read the rest of the trilogy. Below is a video of the author, Glen Duncan, discussing The Last Werewolf.

I am currently listening to the unabridged audio version of Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie and narrated by Hugh Fraser for free through YouTube, which is excellent so far. Hugh Fraser is an excellent narrator.

Below is the YouTube video/audio version of Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie should you care to listen to it.

After listening to Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie, I will be listening to the unabridged audio version of The Chalk Man by C. J Box for the Chirp Mystery/Thriller Virtual Book Club on October 31st at 9am Pacific Time. 

Below is a book trailer for The Chalk Man.

Do You Have an Issue with Tsunduko?

Tsunduko is the regular occurrence of buying books and letting them pile up without reading them. Tsunduko has become an issue for me personally. I have so many books waiting to be read. Yet, I keep adding more books to my 'to be read' pile.

It isn't that I am NOT reading books. I'm simply acquiring books faster than I can read them... What can I say? I love books in all forms, whether they be audiobooks, ebooks, or physical books.

The above video from R. C. Waldun discusses 'How To Stop Buying Books And Start Reading - Overcoming Tsundoku'. I found the video to be interesting and informative. Maybe this information would help me read more of the books I currently have and slow down on the book buying for awhile.

Does anyone else have issues with Tsunduko?

5 Ways to Earn Money Reading Books!

I recently stumbled across and watched the above informative video on YouTube. In the video, the presenter shows readers five ways to earn money reading! 

There were two ways to earn money by reading books mentioned in the video above that seemed like enticing options for me to try out in the near future. Both options involve getting paid to write book reviews. I may end up testing one or both of these exciting ways to get paid to read books... Then I can write a follow up blog post to discuss my experience with trying out one or both options I am interested in testing out from the above video.

Happy Banned Books Week!

Each year, I read at least one banned/challenged book... And I may or may not read the particular banned/challenged book I choose during Banned Books Week.

Last month, I listened to the unabridged audio version of Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, which was published 50 years ago in 1972.  It was the first time I'd read Bless Me, Ultima and I am so glad that I did as it was so much more than I imagined it would be. I gave Bless Me, Ultima 5 stars out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

According to Wikipedia, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya was  challenged for the following reasons:

Owing to what some consider adult language, violent content, and sexual references, Bless Me, Ultima is often the target of attempts to restrict access to the book and was therefore placed on the list of most commonly challenged books in the U.S. in 2013.[9] However, in the last third of the twentieth century, the novel has initiated respect for Chicano literature as an important and nonderivative type of American literature among academics.

Below is a YouTube video of Rudolfo Anaya discussing his novel, Bless Me, Ultima.

How are you celebrating Banned Books Week this year? Have you read any banned or challenged books this year? Additionally, have you read Bless Me, Ultima? If so, what did you think of it?

New Audiobook Listening Experience Via YouTube

 

Earlier this year, I published a post regarding how to find free audiobooks on YouTube.

I'd never listened to an audiobook through YouTube before, so I decided to give it a try earlier this month.

I ended up listening to Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. It was a short listen at just over an hour and two minutes. I enjoyed listening to Civil Disobedience quite a bit. It is a good essay still relevant today and the audio quality was decent on YouTube.

Above is the YouTube video I listened to of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.

My First Actual Free Little Pantry Find

 

I'm sure you've all heard about Little Free Libraries by now and may have even found a few of them yourselves out in the wild... Or perhaps, even better, you're a steward of a Little Free Library of your very own!!

As many of my blog followers may already know, I am an avid lover of Little Free Libraries and seek them out as frequently as feasibly possible. I love finding LFLs and exchanging my already read books for other gently used books that look like interesting ones to read. Sometimes I get lucky and find books I have listed on my reading wishlist inside LFLs.

However, earlier this month while in Concord, California, my husband and I found something different. We stumbled upon our very first Little Free Food Pantry purely by accident outside a Lutheran Church. We'd heard about Little Free Food Pantries before, but we'd never seen one in person until a couple of weekends ago.

The interesting thing is that we'd stopped by the Lutheran Church with the sole purpose of leaving five books inside a Little Free Library on the premises. It just so happened that they also had a Little Free Food Pantry onsite as well... So with that in mind, we meandered over to the other side of the property and voila, we saw our very first Little Free Food Pantry sighting!! Have you seen a Little Free Food Pantry in person before? They're pretty cool, am I right?

Top Ten Tuesday - FREEBIE - My Top TEN Reads From the First Half of 2022!!!

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally 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.

Below are my top ten favorite reads for the first half of 2022!! All ten books received a five out of five star rating by yours truly. I've listed the books in order in which I read them.

Have you read any of the books in my Top Ten Tuesday post? Let me know in the comment section below!

1. My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor 5/5 stars

2. My Life As A White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland 5/5 stars

3. The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar 5/5 stars

4. Jubilee by Margaret Walker 5/5 stars

5. Gender: A World History by Susan Kingsley Kent 5/5 stars

6. The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod 5/5 stars

7. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson 5/5 stars

8. The Modern Gentleman by Meghan Quinn 5/5 stars

9. Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride 5/5 stars

10. A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson 5/5 stars