Top Ten Tuesday: Thankful Freebie

So, twice in one year I'm joining back into the Top Ten Tuesday, which is now sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl.   This week the topic was a freebie about things we are thankful for.  I'm choosing to do things in the bookish or blogging world that I am thankful for.


1.  Fellow book bloggers, I am thankful for you!  I love that you are out there for me to talk to about the books I love and learn about new books and events from you.  While I do have people in my life who read, no one reads or loves books and reading as much as you guys do!

2.  This might sound kind of strange, but I am thankful for social media.  If it wasn't for Twitter, I might never have had the chance to meet many authors.  One of them met up with me in NYC the first time I visited my sister when she moved there.  Another time a local librarian saw a post I made about an author and tweeted me to let me know that author was going to be at their library and I could go meet them.  Facebook is awesome for getting to talk to authors and also learning about different types of book conventions like NOLA Storycon, Apollycon, and Book Bonanza.

3.  Following off that last one, I am thankful for book conventions like NOLA Storycon, Apollycon, and Book Bonanza.  Not to mention Book Expo and ALA.  If it wasn't for wanting to meet Jennifer L. Armentrout I might not have gone to NOLA Storycon, and if I hadn't went to that, I wouldn't have ended up reading a lot of who are now some of my favorite authors that I only started because I wanted to read authors attending that event like Jay Crownover and Samantha Young to name a few.

4.  I am thankful to finally have a library job.  I love books and reading and I have always loved sharing my love of books and reading with my students.  But finally being in a library where that is my specific job is heaven.

5.  I am thankful that my dad decided to start me reading when I was three years old.  And I'm also thankful for that sale at the JCPenney Outlet when I was a kid on a bunch of Nancy Drew books that my mom bought them and got me really hooked on reading.

6.  I am thankful for my years of working at the bookstore.  As much as I hate having to have a second job, the bookstore is really a great place for me.  I love seeing all the new books.  And I got my very first ARC from the bookstore where I work many years ago.

7.  Speaking of the last one with ARCs, I am thankful for e-books and all the opportunities for even more advanced copies I've gotten to read because of that.

8.  I am going to say that I am thankful for the Twilight series because those books brought me and my sister closer together because of our love of the books.  It is part of the reason I visited NYC two more times than I might have otherwise, because we had to carry on our tradition of going to see the movies on their opening weekend.

9.  I am thankful to the people who made the Harry Potter series into movies for doing such a good job and bringing our favorites to life, as well as Universal Studios for creating that amazing amusement park!

10.  And finally I am thankful to the bloggers who sponsor fun weekly posts like Top Ten Tuesday, Can't Wait Wednesday, etc.  You give us a place to all come together and share our thoughts and fun book ideas!


To all my fellow American bloggers, hope you have a great Thanksgiving this week!  I'm enjoying a full week off from school this year!  Great for writing and reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Bookmarks

Top 10 Tuesday is now sponsored by The Artsy Reader Girl.  It's been over a year I think since I've done one, but once again this will tie in perfectly to my Blog Ahead Challenge that I did in October to get my November posts done ahead if I can so I can have lots of time to write for NaNoWriMo this year. 

If you've followed me for a while, you probably have seen me mention that I am one of those people who does what makes some of you cringe, I dog-ear pages.  But the weird thing is that I love bookmarks, so I guess I am just a collector really.  It's hard not to collect them working at a bookstore and seeing all the cool ones out there.  Since I have so many, I've chosen to gather some together for a few of the choices.  Honestly, other than the first one below, these aren't necessarily in any order.

1.

This is probably my favorite bookmark, and it has actually been used. I don't remember who I got it from, but it was a librarian who mailed it to me shortly after I went back to school to work on my Master's Degree in Library Science.  I love the tv show BTVS, and so of course loved these bookmarks.  Now, I know this is an ALA bookmark, and at one time there was a poster that went with this.  If I could find the poster I'd be in hog heaven.

2.

This one I received one of the two times I did Weight Watchers and was really successful after I lost my first 5 pounds.  I have actually used it as well.

3.

Some of the first bookmarks I bought while working at the bookstore, these Twilight bookmarks have been used by me.

4. 

I also love bookmarks as souvenirs.  The Egyptian one was actually brought home to me from Egypt by my stepdad when he used to travel there for work.  The one on the bottom my friend brought me back from Hawaii.  The metal one I bought for myself a couple summers ago in Albuquerque.

5.

I adore these Harry Potter bookmarks we sell at my store, and I keep buying them even though I don't use them.

6.

I like these clip bookmarks, but again, don't use them.  I don't own all of them, have to keep stopping myself from buying every new set that comes out.  I mean especially since it seems there is one for Harry in every set.

7.

I adore bookmarks that are funny reading quotes or jokes like these.  I know I have more somewhere, but this is all I could find in time to take this picture.

8.

Of course I had to buy all the bookmarks that were for The Big Bang Theory.

9.

I love bookmarks from bookish events I've been to.

10.

I also love to get signed bookmarks by authors that I meet.  Again, I know I have more, I just can't seem to find them for this picture. 

What are your favorite types of bookmarks?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books from 2017 I Wanted to Read But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.

This happens every year. There are books I'm so excited about, but then I either don't get the ARC, or run out of time to get to them because of other review books.  So here is a list of the top 10 books I didn't get to last year, but had been so excited to read.

1.

2.

3.

I actually got started on an e-galley of this one, but wasn't able to get it finished due to review obligations.  :-(

4.

Even though the author thought there would be ARCs of this, there were not, so I just didn't get a chance to read it, still need to buy it.

5.

6.

The final book in a trilogy, there were no ARCs.  But then with all the political things, I had a hard time reading all of his posts, they were so negative and so I just kind of lost my taste to read on in his series.  I'll finish at some point, but for now, it's on the backburner.  The second book had actually strayed quite a bit from what I'd loved about the first one, and had turned into the second book which is the usual road trip.

7.

8.

Well, I got an ARC of this through books for trade on Twitter, but while I got started reading it, again, because of review obligations, I didn't get to it.

9.

No ARC, so no copy  of it yet.

10.

I had the e-galley of it, and thought I was on a tour, so I had it on the schedule to read. Then I realized that I had never received anything about the actual tour dates, so checked the tour site and saw that I had not been picked to be part of the tour.  So unfortunately, my disappointment kept me from fitting it in.  :-(

What are some books you planned to read in 2017 that you didn't get to?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 New To Me Authors in 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.

This is fun to look back and see what authors I read for the first time in 2017, even if they weren't brand new debut authors.  It's really fun because I love seeing how some of those authors are now favorites that I can't imagine not reading!

1.  Emma Chase 

2.  Tara Sivec

3.  Meghan March

4.  C.M. Stunich

5.  Penny Reid

6.  Ruta  Sepetys

7.  Helena Hunting

8.  K. Bromberg

9.  Cambria Hebert

10.  Cora Kenborn

There are several more I could list, but I'll stop with these.  Have you read any of them?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Bookish Settings that I'd Love to Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.

Okay,  let's see what are the top 10 places I want to visit because I read about them in a book, and if I can remember exactly which books made me interested.

1.  Ireland 

Hmm, can't remember exactly which books, but I know there were some!

2.  Forks, Washington

 Because of Twilight, obviously.

3.  Scotland

Many books, all of the On Dublin Street series by Samantha Young.  The Harry Potter castle is actually in Scotland as well.

4.  England

So many books take place in England.  A lot of them by Amy Daws.  Of course, the Harry Potter series.  

5.  New York City

Okay, this might be a little bit cheating, but NYC was always on my list, because of all kinds of books, like Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz to name one.  And I did get to go there several years ago, and have now been 4 times. 

6.  New Orleans

Another one I've already gotten the chance to visit. And because of books like the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole or the Wicked saga by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout, I totally wanted to go.

7.  Mexico

I've always been interested in old ruins from ancient civilizations, and after the book The Ruins by Scott Smith, Mexico became high on my list.  I made that come true about 10 years or so ago, when I visited the ruins in Tulum.  My first, and so far only, time out of the US.

8.  Egypt

Egypt is one that is from many, many books, among other things.  But a few that I can remember for sure are the Time Travelers series by Caroline B. Cooney, the Blossom Culp series by Richard Peck, as well as newer books like Reawakened by Colleen Houck.

9.  Germany, Amsterdam

I have wanted to see the house, attic really, that Anne Frank and her family had to hide out in.  I also feel like I want to visit a concentration camp, and pay my respects to those whose lives were lost in the holocaust.

10.  Australia

I think the first time I really thought I wanted to go was after reading Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt.

So, have you been to any of these places?  Are you from one of them?  What are some locations you want to visit after reading a book that took place in that setting?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books On My Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.

These lists are always fun.  So here we go!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Those are the books I'm most looking forward to this winter, some I know I'll get to, and others I just am hoping for.  Are any of them on your TBR as well?  Or have you already read any of them?