Top 10 Tuesday : Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

Here are the books I hoping to read this summer:

1.  The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: It’s my book club book for last month but involves a garden & fairy tales. I’m so on board for this.

2.  Honeymoon with my Brother by Franz Wizner: Also a real life book club pick. I love reading memoirs in the summer. The author’s fiancee calls off the wedding days before so he & his brother go on the honeymoon together and end up travelling around the world. Love the idea of that.

3. The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott: The story revolves around three sisters who are in vaudville.

[Photo Credit: Goodreads]

4. The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts: Nothing screams a summer read like Nora. It’s the second book in her latest series which is told from the perspective of three brothers as they restore the local inn to its former glory.

5. Where’s Alice Bliss? by Laura Harrington : See the last Top 10 Tuesday. I’ve been meaning to read this for ages.

6. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano: See above.

7. Mrs. Tuesday’s Departure by Suzanne Anderson: I won this on Firstreads by Goodreads! Very exciting! It’s a historical fiction book set in WWII Germany. It’s always a thrill to read something by a writer you’ve never read before. You never know what you might discover.

8. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: I want to read before the film comes out.

9. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: I’ve wanted to read this forever. I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet.

10. Through No Fault of My Own: A Girl’s Diary of Life on Summit Avenue in the Jazz Age by Coco Irvine: This was recommended by a friend through Goodreads. I didn’t even know you could do that. It’s now my new favourite function on Goodreads overtaking the barcode scan feature on the app.

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That’s it! I think I should remind myself to take a look back on September 1 to see what I accomplished from this list. Challenge accepted! What’s on your summer reading list?

It’s a Meme Post!

Memes are always fun to do once in awhile to shake things up. I was tagged by Anouchka from Life of Bun. Anouchka blog is fantastic for keeping track of cruelty-free cosmetics. There’s a lot of turmoil at the moment as many once proud cruelty-free brands are changing their stance. A bit disconcerting considering how blatantly unnecessary it is. But I digress…

1. What cocktail would describe you best / do you love most?

This is such a boring answer but it has to be the cosmopolitan. I love cranberry juice and vodka & cranberry was my drink of choice before I even knew what a cosmo was. I like it because it’s a bit sweet, a bit tart and doesn’t give you a nasty headache in the morning à la wine.

2.What is your best-kept beauty secret?
In the winter, when my skin is especially dry I used to get eczema on my eyelids. Gross.  Any eye cream that I tried just made things worse and it stung so badly! The one thing that always works? Vaseline. Over the past winter, I discovered Live Clean Baby’s non-petroleum jelly. It worked even faster than regular petroleum jelly. I was definitely impressed. I only needed to use it a couple of nights in a row.  Fabulous.

3. If your life was a novel, what would be its title?
I actually have a memoir title already picked out which is a bit narcissistic. It would be, “I’ll Buy Pants When I Get There!” It was inspired by my last trip abroad where I had a bit of a disaster in the airport and arrived in Ireland sans pants. I was wearing sweatpants but there’s only so many places you can acceptably show up in sweatpants. Thank goodness for Penney’s!

4. What are you favourite colours? Any special reason?
Pink and Tiffany Blue / Turquoise. No significant reason apart from the fact that they’re pretty.

5. What is your sign of zodiac and do you believe it influences your character?
I’m a Cancer and I pretty much fit the sign to a tee. I have checked out zodiac signs as well just to check and they really don’t suit me. The thing that always puts me off about zodiac is those awful fashion editorials they do based on it. They always have the Cancer model in a long flowing blue skirt. It’s such a literal interpretation that it’s a bit ridiculous.

6. If you won a lot of money, what would you buy first?
A trip! Anywhere and everywhere!

7. Do you have a pet or would you like to have one? Why or why not?
I do. Her name is Sprinkles and she’s a Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso. She lives with my parents. I would like to live with a dog again but Sprinkles is very sensitive and I don’t think she’d appreciate it.

8. What do you do when you are feeling down?
I just kind of shut myself a way and watch old movies or catch up on Emmerdale. Lovely pastries like the above croissant don’t hurt either.

9. What is your greatest talent?
I’m a very good listener.

10. If you could pick any job to do in the world, what would it be?
I very much enjoy my job at the moment so I’m not actively looking to change fields. However, I’d love to be able to focus on writing full time. That would be ideal.

11. What beauty/fashion item makes you feel at your best?
Blush. It’s such a simple step but because I have such pale skin I feel like it actually brings some life into me.  If I had to I’d pick blush over foundation or mascara. I can’t guarantee I’d choose it over concealer though.

Are you interested in answering the meme? Please tag yourself and leave a note in the comments so I can see how you responded!

Top 10 Tuesday : Rewind!! 10 Books I just had to buy…but are still sitting on my bookshelf

I haven’t done a Top 10 in awhile. Mostly because I found that I kept repeating the same books or authors. I’ve decided I’m only going to join in a Top 10 Tuesday if I’m going to be able to include something new. Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

Surprisingly, for someone who reads as much as I do, I don’t actually buy that many books. My reasons are basically that I probably won’t read them a second time and I really have no space for them. If I do buy books it’s usually because they’re on sale, they’re secondhand or I need to purchase for my book club. I also like picking up classics as they’ll probably be re-read and they’re very inexpensive. I prefer getting books from the library because if we don’t use the library, they’re likely to shut them down. I think if I had an e-reader, I would purchase more books.

Here are the books I have waiting to be read that for one reason or another, I’m keeping on the back burner.

All images from Goodreads.

1.  Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: I’m not sure why. I’ve started it then I got distracted by something else. I have to be in the mood for a classic. Purchase at Chapters at least 6 months ago.

2.  Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde by Louis Robert Stevenson: I was so inspired by Scottish literature when I visited Edinburgh in 2009. I actually ended up eating in a cafe that was the home of the person who inspired Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde. Purchase at Chapters. I believe my roommate has this one which is probably why I forgot about it.

3. The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn: Picked up for $6 at a second hand bookstore while waiting for fries at Mrs. Mike’s (local drive in). I’ve only had for a couple of weeks.

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: This one was actually a gift I received from a friend. I completely forgot about it until this weekend when I was organizing a couple of shelves. Now I feel really bad that I haven’t read it yet.

5. Where’s Alice Bliss? by Laura Harrington : I received this for free as well and I need to write a review on it but I can’t actually find it! I have no idea where it’s ended up. New goal! Find, read and review by the end of the month.

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory: I picked this up at McNally Robinson (local bookstore). They have so many great books in their bargain books section. I can never seem to get away without purchasing something.

7. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano: See above.

8. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: This one is really embarrassing. I had to read it for a course over 10 years ago but never got around to finishing it. I think now is the time though. I want to read in advance for the new film adaptation.

9. The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde: I purchased this with Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde. I think my roommate might have this as well. I’ve read it before but it’s been so long I barely remember it. I need to re-read.

I can’t think of a #10 so not too bad.  I think I should make it my personal goal to read these by the end of the year. What do you think? What books are still hanging around on your shelves?

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Top 10 Tuesday : Favourite Quotes from Books

Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

Sorry so behind with this today. I just finished work and I’m all over the place! lol

1.  “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

2.  ”The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” – Shakespeare, Hamlet 
Not so much a book but I use it so often I think it counts.

3. ”Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” – Jack Kerouac, On The Road

4. ”It’s a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going ok another falls spectacularly to pieces.” – Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary

5. ”Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. ” – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

6. “Remember well and bear in mind a constant friend is hard to find.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter

7. “There are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting epidemics. All you have to do is find them.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

8.  “Winter is coming.” – George R.R. Martin, The Game of Thrones

9. “She understood that her heart operated on its own instructions, that she had no control over it or, indeed, anything else.” ― Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex

10.  “Never give up on something you really want. However impossible things seem, there’s always a way.” ― Sophie Kinsella, Mini Shopaholic

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What are you favourite quotes from books?

Top 10 Tuesday : Books You’d Like to See Made Into a Movie

Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

This weeks theme is Top 10 Books you’d like to see made into a movie. This was actually really difficult because there were so many books I love that have already been made into movies.

All book cover images from Goodreads

1. Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran: This has shown up on many lists so I apologize for the repetition. I think the unique story with the set design and costume of revolutionary era France would be perfection.

2. Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden: I’d love to see this on the big screen because it’s not a story usually told. This book has two different points of view. The first is from an old bush pilot in a coma in Northern Ontario. The second is his niece Annie whose been all over trying to find out where her missing sister Suzanne is.

3. Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella: This might be my favourite Sophie Kinsella novel. I find it so laugh out loud funny. I’d love to see this as a movie but let’s face it. They pretty much ruined Confessions of a Shopaholic when they brought that to a screen. I still like that movie but it’s nowhere near as good as the book was.

4. The Prairie Bridesmaid by Daria Salamon: The main reason I added this book to the list is because it’s local. However, it’s a bit dark and I’m really not sure how it would work as a movie but it’d be interesting to see a movie adaptation.

5. Busy Woman Seeks Wife by Annie Sanders: I found the premise of this book so cute and I like the gender role reversal of it. I think society in general puts way too much emphasis on gender role expectations.

6. Jemima J by Jane Green: I really miss the Brit based books that Jane Green used to write. Now it’s all about Conneticut. Out of all of Jane Green’s earlier novels I think Jemima J would be the best one to translate to a screenplay because of the kind of transformation that Jemima goes through. Her dream scenario that she ends up living isn’t the most realistic setting but somehow you believe it.

7. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake: Although this wasn’t my favourite book (I rated it 3 stars), I think the plot would lend itself well to a screenplay. It might be one of those rare cases where the film is able to add things visually that just don’t come across in the book.

8.  Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson: This would be such a great movie but I’m not sure how it would work without being able to read her diary entries.

9. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt: Such an interesting story. There’s a lot of internal dialogue with the main character but I think it could be translated to film. There’s a lot of violence and physical hardship which would work really well.

10.  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: The plot of this book is the most interesting story. I love the story of how the twin boys come into the world and how they end up making their way through it. It’s very compelling. 

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What books would you like to see made into a movie?

Top 10 Tuesday : All Time Favourite Characters

Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

This weeks theme is Top 10 All Time Favourite Characters. I found this one a bit of a challenge. It wasn’t because I couldn’t come up with 10 characters, I just feel like I keep repeating the same books or characters. Does anyone else have this problem? I wonder if there are just books I’m forgetting. lol. I wish I started goodreads when I was 9! Although I suppose in a meme about Top 10 anything, your favourites are always going to be the first ones you think of.

 

 

 

All book cover images from Goodreads

1. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) by Jane Austen: I actually thought of not including this because I felt I was being so repeatative in these memes but it would be dishonest. Elizabeth is strong, smart and witty. I would love to be as quick with the banter as she is.

2. Lula (Stephanie Plum series): I think I actually like Lula more than Stephanie. I really admire her. She wanted to change her life around so she just did it. Granted, she’s a bit lazy and a bit too quick with a gun but she makes up with that with her charm and her incredible fashion sense.

3. Calliope Helen Stephanides (Middlesex) by Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex is one of my favourite books. I’d love to reread it again to see if I still feel that way a few years later. Calliope was one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever met in literature. She was going through something I could not relate to but yet I so empathized with her. Literally caught between to selves, she struggled to define herself and I have so much admiration for her. One of the bravest characters in fiction.

4. Mrs. Havisham (Great Expectations) by Charles Dickens: She’s not a very nice character and I would never want to be her but she’s definitely left an impact on me. Anytime I’ve feel I’ve been hermited away too long, I think of Mrs. Havisham and get out of the house! One shouldn’t be covered in cobwebs no matter how much work is left in your inbox.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Aminata Diallo (The Book of Negroes) by Lawerence Hill: Another of my all time favourite books. While you read Aminata’s story, it’s as though she lived five lives. It’s so hard to believe that any one person could go through so much. Yet, we know they did and some still do. I admire Aminata’s strength and her ability to use her brains to protect her and get her one more day ahead.

6. Tess Durbeyfield (Tess of the D’Ubervilles) by Thomas Hardy: Another story with a heroine who faces such hardship with grit and determination. This book was one that literally made me gasp. Tess has such a difficult life yet the book fills me with optimism.

 

 

 

 

7. Arya Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire) by George RR Martin: Arya is awesome! I love that she’s so determined to be a fighter. She says what she thinks and is fiercely loyal. I can’t wait to see where George takes Arya next.

8.  Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) by L.M. Montgomery: Anne was the first literary character I ever wanted to be. Plain old unromantic Anne Shirley (her words! not mine). She was definitely herself. You could never believe that she could be anything but. Even when she’d twist an ankle or tell off the neighbour,  it’s almost as though I wanted to do those things as well even though we’d both be punished. I wanted to get in trouble too just so I could be a little more like Anne. I’m including another Anne gif like last week because the Anne Shirley tumblr tag is my new favourite thing and I’m not even on Tumblr.

9. Lisbeth Salander (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) by Steig Larsson: Easy to put Lisbeth on the list. She is so incredibly strong and smart. I’m very envious of her computer hacking skills as well. No matter what life throws at her, she fights back and she never gives up.

10.  Hester Prynne (The Scarlet Letter) by Nathaniel Hawthorne:  Just thinking about this book makes me depressed. Not because of how things were but because of how things can still be. Hester perseveres under society’s scorn to raise her child. I have such admiration for her struggle. Funny how being an unwed mother was still so looked down upon only a few short years ago.

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Who are your favourite characters? Who did I miss?  

Top 10 Tuesday : Fictional Crushes

Top 10 Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check them out and join us!

This week’s theme is actually, Advice for other book bloggers but considering I haven’t  been blogging long I’m not sure I really have any advice to give. Instead I looked through the back catalogue of Top 10 Tuesday themes and chose one I hadn’t done before: fictional crushes. This list is in no particular order except #1 because he’s my all-time favourite.

1. Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables) by LM Montgomery: How could you not love Gilbert? I admit my first intro to the Anne series was through the CBC movies. I clearly remember the first time I watched them, (I think I was about 6). It took me ages to realize that Gilbert’s teasing was his way of flirting. Carrots indeed. I love that he smart, kind and treats Anne like an equal. He’s also got the patience of a saint. Poor Gilbert after Anne stringing him along all these years.  He knew she’d come around and he never wavered. Swoon. This actually makes me want to gather up the books the next time I’m at my parents’. It’s time for a reread. Seriously, ruined me for life.

2. Jon Snow (A Song of Ice & Fire Series) by George R.R. Martin: I’m completely Team Stark so this was really narrowed down to Jon or Robb. They were running neck to neck at the beginning but I always had a soft spot for Jon. He’s the forgotten son but he is kind and good. He is also a bit emo but so would I be given the circumstances.

3. Luke Brandon (Confessions of a Shopaholic) by Sophie Kinsella: Everyone loves Luke. He’s a bit of a safe choice : Good looking, wealthy, smart…it goes on and on. However, he always sticks up for Becky and he seems to find her completely enchanting even when I think she’s pushing it.

4. Joe Morelli (Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich: One of two men that Stephanie is torn between. Quite frankly, I think it’s an obvious choice in Joe Morelli although I know there are some die hard Ranger fans. Ranger just scares me a bit. I picture him as a massive guy who grunts all the time not unlike Khal Drogo from SOIAF. In fact, I really thought the actor who played Khal in the HBO series should’ve been Ranger in the movie. Anyway, back to Joe. Joe is sexy, a good guy and just slightly rough around the edges. He used to be bad news but seemed to have grown out of it. Now if only Stephanie would make her mind up. Seriously Janet, enough’s enough.

5. Mr. Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) by Jane Austen: Of course he’s on the list. He’s probably on 80% of the lists if I were to look back. Why we love Mr. Darcy : complicated, honourable, intelligent and just moody enough to make him interesting. The one thing that makes the Lizzie & Fitz relationship work so well is their banter. They love to challenge each other and that initial indifference or irritation they felt for each other became one of admiration and later adoration.

6. Robbie Turner (Atonement) by Ian McEwan :  I am suddenly remembering how much I cried at the end of this book. Ugh. The tortured life of the wrongly accused. My heart breaks for Robbie & Cecilia.

7. Simon Stein (In Her Shoes) by Jennifer Weiner: I love Simon! He’s so nice & sweet and obviously adores Rose. He’s not a typical fictional crush but sometimes you just need to read about a really great guy.

8.  Levin (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy: This may be a controversial choice. Anna is all about Vronsky the playboy and man about town.  Honestly though, Vronsky does nothing for me. Plus, I thought he’s mother had an unhealthy influence on him. It was all about shy, lonely Levin for me. Sure, he was often accompanied by hundreds of pages describing farming techniques but he is so kind and completely enamoured of Kitty that he hands her his diary so she can discover more about him. *Melt*

9. Mikael Blomkvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) by Steig Larsson: Let’s make one thing clear. I never considered Mikael to be very good looking. He certainly had a way about him since he had the admiration of so many ladies but there was something about his respect for his partner Erika and his fondness for Lisbeth that I really enjoyed. He’s completely in awe of her and her capabilities.  Although he is older than her, it never feel predatory but more protective. He is stubborn and arrogant but he protects those he loves. I definitely thought there was something sexy about him.

10.  Mark Darcy aka. The other Mr. Darcy (Bridget Jones’s Diary) by Helen Fielding: Of course, Mark Darcy is a modern day version of the aforementioned Mr. Darcy. He has the same haughtiness and awkwardness in social situations. However, he has a bit more of a sense of humour and he’s a Human Rights Barrister! That job is second only to Veterinarian in the heartthrob dream job list (according to me anyway).

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Who are your fictional crushes?