Top Ten Tuesday: Books with books on the cover

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is a Indie Freebie (This topic encompasses a lot: your favorite indie bookstores, indie books, indie authors, indie publishers/presses, indie books on your to-read list, indie authors I read before they became traditionally published, etc.) (submitted by @dark.shelf.of.wonders and Books Are The New Black)

However, I am going to go rogue (again) and I am featuring books with books on the cover!

The Story Collector by Evie Woods - I am a bit hit and miss on books by this author. I loved The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris. This one....not so much. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't great either! (review)

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson - I have, however, loved all the librarian books by Kate Thompson

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page - Loved this one too. 

A Study in Sparkling by Jodi McAlister - I haven't read this one yet, but I did recently go to the launch. I did love the previous book in this trilogy so I have high hopes for this one!

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - I had high hopes for this one too as I had really enjoyed quite a few of Kate Quinn's historical fiction novels, but this one was very different from her normal books. (mini review)

The Last Page Cafe by Kate Storey - This book is on my list as it is one I want to read!

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - A crumbling Scottish castle, a blizzard, a missing book! A lot of fun. 

The Storytellers by Sue Heath - I am always very excited to read a new Sue Heath book! There's a new one out soon! (my review)

The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns - I love the cover of this book with all the books on the shelf! (my review)

The Paris Bookshop for the Broken Hearted by Rebecca Raisin - A bookshop in Paris! I am there! (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Shhh....don't tell anyone!

  Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a cover freebie!  (Pick any topic related to book covers. You can make up your own topic or pick one from the list of previous ones!)

I am choosing to go with books that have that word Secret or Secrets on the cover. The reason why I have chosen this is because Secrets was the theme for my read on a theme book club and I was able to read a lot of books that met this theme, and several of them even had the word secret in the title.

So here are the last ten books I have read with either of these words in the title!

The Secret Dressmaker by Jenny O'Brien - A WWII story set in Paris. My review for this book will be up in the next couple of days.

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson - This is another WWII story, this time set in London, and it was a 5/5 read 

Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse by Sue Moorcroft - The secrets in this book are the family type! (my review)

Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson - The first of a couple of Christmas secrets! (mini review)

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - This one involves searching for a secret in a Scottish castle at Christmas

The Secrets of the Huon Wren by Claire van Ryn - This is another book about family secrets, including a hidden identity. It is predominantly set in Tasmania. (my review)

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont - This book had a map to guide you around some hidden gardens in Paris (my review)

Secrets Beneath a Riviera Sky by Jennifer Bohnet - I do enjoy a book about family secrets, but even moreso when it is set on the French Riviera (my review)

The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick - A dual timeline where the secrets that are being revealed are from the past (my review)

An Italian Island Secret by Victoria Springfield - Set on a small island off the coast of Italy, this book has a touch of Hollywood glamour!  (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Books

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books for Armchair Travelers (Submitted by Laurie C @ Bay State Reader’s Advisory). 

I don't often save quotes so I am going to do a twist on the topic this week. This year is my third year of participating in the Bookish Books Reading Challenge hosted at Bloggin' 'Bout Books. For my TTT post this week I am going to share the last ten bookish books I read! I think books about books is something that most of us love!

Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hyde - This is a Korean book about a young woman who opens a bookshop and kitchen out in the country. 

The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn - A trio of characters sails from island to island in Croatia to share library books. (my review)

Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada - Another book that combines food and books! This is a Japanese story about a strange library which holds the books that writers loved. (my review)

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson - What happens when multiple crime authors get on a train for a crime writers festival, but less people make it to the end of the line. (my review)

The Wartime Bookclub by Kate Thompson - How a Channel Island community comes together through the love of books! (my review)

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - When a woman is asked to find one particular item in a falling down stately home in the Scottish highlands at Christmas time, what could go wrong?

I Give You My Body...How I Write Sex Scenes by Diana Gabaldon - This was a very short audio book about writing sex scenes and featuring a lot of quotes from her books as example.

Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop by Jessica Redland - Featuring a gorgeous sounding small town bookstore at Christmas. (my review)

The Cruise Club by Caroline James - An author with writer's block goes on a cruise where one of her author heroes is giving writing lectures. (my review)

The Storytellers by Sue Heath - A group of very different people come together at a local library with the aim of writing a short story competition entry together! (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday: Christmas reads this year

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. I don't ask for books so I am sharing the last ten Christmassy books I have read!

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - I didn't realise this was a Christmas book when I decided to read it, but it really is. It is set in the week leading up to Christmas and features talking cats, astrology and amazing sounding food!

Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh - Our Golden Girls end up helping to organise a nativity play in  this book (my review)

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - How does getting stuck for Christmas in a crumbling Scottish castle which is full of books sound to you?

Christmas at Hollybush Farm by Jo Thomas - When a community comes together at Christmas, anything can happen. (my review)

Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash - This is another book with community events at the centre, especially a Christmas pantomime (my review)

Good Spirits by B K Borison - This is a spin on the idea of the ghost of Christmas past visiting our main character but this is a ghost with a difference. 

The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Fiona McArthur - My favourite part of this book was the metal ornaments that our main male character was making for our female lead.

A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft - This book features a Christmas play! (my review)

A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - I love it when we get to read about Christmas as it is in Australia. Warm days and nights, maybe some time by the pool or the beach. (my review)

Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin - I would love to visit New York at Christmas, but if I can't, reading this book has definitely taken me there! (my review)

I have more Christmas books that I have read this year, but these are the last ten. What I didn't do this year is listen to Hogfather by Terry Pratched or The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson. These have been part of my Christmas traditions over the last few years but I just couldn't fit these audiobooks in this year!

I am sharing this post with Comfy Cozy Christmas hosted hosted by Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Books set in a snowy place

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books Set in Snowy Places (If snow isn’t your thing, pick another kind of place and share books set there!)

Normally when there is a seasonal theme I swap it to represent the season here in Australia. However, this time I decided to go with the theme even though it is summer here.

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - I just finished listening to this. There is a lot of snow in this book to the point that the characters get snowed in for some of the book!

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - This isn't a common Australian setting as it is set in the Alps in winter, and there is a lot of snow. (my review)

Meet Me Under the Northern Lights by Mandy Baggot - This one sees our main character heading off on a last minute trip to Iceland (my review)

Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin - This luxury festive train travels across Northern Europe and ending up in Lapland

Small Things Like These by Claire Foster - Now, I didn't read this book all that long ago, and I am relatively sure that there was snow in the book, but I am prepared to be wrong about that!

Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker - our main character thinks she is going to a luxury spa weekend but really it is a winter back to nature, vegan wellness retreat (my review)

A Winter Wedding Adventure by Leonie Mack - This is the second book in the Adventure Wedding series, set in the Italian Alps, and Mother Nature plays a bit part in the story! (my review)

One Snowy Day by Shari Low - I mean it even tells you about the weather in the title! (my review)

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - This one is set in winter in Norway! (my review)

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - It's ice hockey season in Sweden. Of course there's snow! (my review)

This week...

Big news this week!! I have launched the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge for 2026! If you love reading historical fiction, reading challenges and want to connect with other historical fiction lovers....join us! Here is the sign up post

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

 I'm reading

Given the above I probably should be reading some historical fiction but it feels like I am reading everything but that genre at the moment!

I finished reading Menu of Happiness by Hisashi Kashiwai, which is the third book in the Kamogawa Food Detectives series. As usual I enjoyed the stories in this book, and I will read the next book when it comes out in English. 

I also finished listening to The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan. This was connected to a short story she put out last year called The Christmas Book Hunt. This time, Mirren and Theo head to the Scottish Highlands to help a cash poor laird search his book rich castle for a book following a series of clues left for him by his grandfather. It was a fun story, but the audio wasn't fantastic. There were lots of weird gaps so I had to listen to it sped up otherwise it annoyed me!

From here it is all the books I started!

I am supposed to be buddy reading Flashlight by Helen Choi. I have read the first chapter, which was very interesting, but I hadn't gotten to it yet! Will make more in roads this week. 

Last year I read A Christmas Carol and The Chimes by Charles Dickens and posted about it here. I decided that I was going to read Dickens' other Christmas stories and so this week I started reading The Cricket and the Hearth. I must confess that I was a bit perplexed by the first part of the book which was all about the cricket, but the story is moving along now!

I also started reading Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh. I need to finish this one first as I am on a blog tour for the book this week! 

I normally try to listen to Hogfather by Terry Pratchett every Christmas and I will still try to but I thought I better start Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil first. This is the current Cook the Books selection. I would prefer to be reading it, but this book isn't available in any of the libraries in my state, and the ebook was completely unreasonable priced so I have used one of my Audible credits to get it. I wasn't sure how it work as an audiobook but so far it is good. 

I'm watching


I am starting to get my Christmas on, mostly through watching things on TV, but that's a start. This week I watched A Merry Little Ex-mas, which stars Oliver Hudson and Alicia Silverstone as a newly, amicably divorced couple who are trying to look like what Christmas looks like for this first year as a separated family. It was a fun watch. 

I did also watch The Chocolate Queen - a Very Chocolatey Christmas. The Chocolate Queen is Australian pastry chef queen Kirsten Tibballs, and she shared a number of relatively simple recipes, along with a couple of guest chefs. I might watch it again to see if I can get motivated to make some of what she shared. Maybe.

We have watched quite a bit of the cricket this week, which is very out of character for us! It's not something we have really done together since we met, but apparently this year we are interested! Australia is playing England, in a test series called The Ashes which has been happening every couple of years since 1882. It helps that Australia is performing pretty well!

On Sunday I went and watched Hamnet which is showing here as part of the British Film Festival. This is the movie adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's book of the same name. It isn't a happy movie, but it was definitely good, and very moving. Definitely worth seeing if you enjoyed the book!

Life

Speaking of getting our Christmas on, we did take a quick trip into the city to check out the Myer windows. Every year they have a specially themed Christmas story. This year it was all Lego and it was a lot of fun. I did try to convince Robert to go and do some other Christmassy stuff in the city but it was the end of a long day, so that will have to be on another day!

We had our book club Christmas lunch yesterday and we did a book gifting! We all ikced a number and then we got to unwrap the corresponding book. I ended up with a book I had already read but someone else had a book they already owned so we did a sneaky swap. The book I bought home with me was Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz. It was a lovely lunch and I got to have my first mince pie and christmas pudding of the season as well as a delicious burrata and tomato salad and some roast turkey!

Finally, a quick shout out to anyone who is visiting as part of Comfy, Cozy Christmas, hosted by Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. I look forward to seeing what Christmassy adventures other people are having! I should warn you though, I am in Australia and our Christmas is less comfy and cozy than hot and sweaty, weather depending! Melbourne does tend to have variable weather so it could be 15C/59F or 38C/100F, or anywhere in between!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Christmas Books That Remind Me of Songs
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2026 Sign Up
Daughters of Batavia by Stefanie Koens
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2025 Wrap Up Posts

In My Kitchen: November
Six Degrees of Separation: Seascraper to The Four Dutchmen




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Top Ten Tuesday: What I am reading and have just read

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf (Stand in front of your book collection, close your eyes, point to a title, and write it down. If you have shelves, point to your physical books. If you have a digital library, use a random number generator and write down the title of the book that corresponds with the number you generated. You get bonus points if you tell us whether or not you’ve read the book, and what you thought of it if you did!)

Because I read physical books, eBooks and audiobooks this felt a bit tricky to me, so instead I am going to be sharing the three books I am theoretically reading at the moment, and then the last 7 books I read. 6 of these were books that I read while I was on holiday and the other was the last one I finished before we went away

Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce - This is one book that I am actually reading at the moment. Somehow I ended up both with a library copy and a copy on my Kindle. I am really enjoying this one 

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - I started listening to this before I went away. I did take my earbuds with me but I didn't listen to a single second of it. Mostly because I didn't think of it, but also because my phone died on day 2 of my trip. 

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - This is the theoretically book. I was doing well at keeping up with a chapter a day until I went back to work and now I am woefully behind. I do intend to catch up but not sure when that will be

Saving Starlight Hall by Debbie Viggiano - This is the second book in the Starlight series. I read the first one last year and knew I would read the follow up. The review for this will be up later this week. 

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns - I can always rely on Rachael Johns for a good read and this was no exception. I did feel exceptionally lucky to be able to read this while I was on holiday in The Maldives. I am also attending an author event for her tomorrow night. 

A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft - I really enjoy Sue Moorcroft's books and this was another good one. The review for this one will be up later this week. 

A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - Maggie Christensen is a comfort read for me every time so I was always going to read this book, and the next one, and the one after that. The review for this one will be up later this week. 

Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker - It did feel kind of strange to be reading this book set in snowy Norway while I was in very hot and humid Sri Lanka. The review for this one will be up later this week. 

The Tea Planters Wife by Dinah Jeffries - I chose to read this book as it is set in Sri Lanka. I will read more from Dinah Jeffries now. 

Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin - Christmas in New York. Yes please! (My review)

As you can see I have quite a few reviews to write this week now that we are back from holidays!

Top Ten Tuesday: Christmas reads!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. I don't tend to ask or receive books as gifts, with the notable exception of cookbooks. So, here are the ten Christmas books I have read so far this year. I am currently reading another two as well!

Actually, I am going to start with a bonus book! Last night I read this book to my nephew. My sister, her husband and my husband were all in the room as well, so it was like a group readalong.

And now on for the actual top ten!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - I can't believe I haven't read this until now!

The Silver Haired Sisterhood by Judy Leigh - Christmas on the Isle of Skye sound great. (My review)

A Christmas Surprise in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - It's so nice to read a Christmas novel set in Australia! (My review)

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan - A fun short story! Must read more Jenny Colgan (My review)

A Skye Full of Stars by Sue Moorcroft - Yes, this is another Christmas novel set on the Isle of Skye. (My review)

Someone Like You by Sandy Barker - This one was set in both London and Seattle, which I loved! (My review)

A Recipe For Christmas by Jo Thomas - This one had it all! Chocolate, grumpy hero, and snow in Switzerland! (My review)

The Village Christmas Party by Sue Roberts - What happens when the village senior Christmas lunch is booked at the same time as a birthday party for a 5 year old. (My review)

One Winter at the French Chalet by Mandy Baggot - When a journalist is sent to a village in the French Alps to cover a story about a pregnant reindeer and a man named Wolf, Christmas magic ensues. (My review)

Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin - Christmas in Paris! Yes please. (My review)

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Countdown to 2025: Day 6

  This year I am participating in Countdown to 2025 hosted by Lynn from Lynn's Books. Today is day 6 and the prompt for today is Christmas stocking – stocking fillers – a novella or short story  

I recently read The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan. This was an Amazon First read so I grabbed it straight away! I thought it was a fun read so that is what I am choosing to share with you today, and I thought I would share a mini review as well.

When Mirren's beloved Aunt Violet asks her to find a copy of a book that she had as a child, A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, as her dying wish, Mirren knows she will do whatever it takes to find it. Not just any copy, the one that was hand illustrated by famed illustrator Aubrey Beardsley.

Little does Mirren know this is going to start a mission that takes her across the country, visiting antique bookstores in London, Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh. It turns out that the antique book trade can be quite cut-throat, so whilst Mirren is innocently asking questions to try to find the book, there are others who are determined to stop her getting the book, if it indeed exists.

Whilst this is a short story, it did make me wonder why I haven't read any Jenny Colgan books for a couple of years. It wasn't intentional, and I need to do something to rectify this.

I have just realised that this story seems to be connected to some other books. I will have to do some homework to see if I can work out which ones.

In summary, a fun Christmassy, bookish read!

Tomorrow's prompt is Christmas Tree – a winter read

Top Ten Tuesday: Short stories

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a freebie so we can pick topic whatever we like. I am choosing to share the last ten short stories I have read or listened to, as the case maybe

The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson - I listened to this last year, but decided to listen to it again this year. There's every chance that this might become an annual event. It's full of really interesting facts about the history of Christmas.

The Ex Proposal by Rachael Johns - This was originally published in an anthology but the author has just got the rights back so published it for her fans to read. It's available from her author facebook page.

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan - I got this as part of Amazon First Reads. I think it is now released and it was a bit of fun.

The Yellow Wood by Minnie Darke - This was an Audible only book, with about 4 hours of listening time.

Amelia's Shadow by Marie Benedict - This is part of a collection called Blaze about lesser known but interesting female characters. This one was about Ruth Nichols who was close friends with Amelia Earhart

The Tasting Menu by Stuart Macbride - I was tempted because this was set in Scotland, where I was when I read the story, and it was foodie, but it was a bit too much horror for me.

The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff - Another entry in the Blaze collection. 

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon - This is another Blaze book and I really enjoyed it. This one was about a woman who changes the way that people thought about criminal investigations.

The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman - I haven't read any of Alice Hoffman's full length books, but I have enjoyed these linked short stories 

How Captain Found the Anywhere Hotel by Gisele Stein - Last year I read an imaginative book called The Anywhere Hotel and Captain was the dog in the book. This story tells how he came to be at the hotel. I think this was only available to newsletter subscribers so I can't find a cover image for this one.

This week...

 I'm reading

There's nothing like a bit of plane time to help get through some reading! This week I had two four hour flights where the in flight entertainment was only available on your own device, so I decided to read for a fair portion of that time!

First up, I finished reading Crying at the H Mart by Michelle Zauner, which is the current Cook the Books selection. I will have my review up for that one on the weekend.

I felt like a change of pace was in order so I read the new festive short story from Jenny Colgan called The Christmas Book Hunt, which was available as an Amazon First Reads this month. It was a bit of fun. It has been an age since I read a Jenny Colgan book and I am not really sure why given that I do like them. 

The next book I read was Casa Paradiso by Francesca Scanacapra. This was an interesting read. It's the fourth book in a series that starts in WWII, but this book is actually the history of the house that features in the story starting a couple of hundred years earlier. I need to write the review for this one for Wednesday.

I then went back and finished The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kasiwai. I had started it a few weeks ago but had to put it down to read some other things, so it was good to be able to finish it. It did have me wishing that I could google a few things while I was reading it but I wasn't going to pay for plane wi-fi for that. 

And then, in a case of mistaken book identity, I intended to start reading a Madeline Martin book but instead started The Last Night in London by Karen White. I am really enjoying it so I am definitely going to keep going with it and hopefully get to Madeline Martin in due course.

I've also decided to join in on the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge hosted by Katie at Just Another Girl and her Books. I have read quite a few Christmassy books already and I am sure I can find some more without trying too hard.

Last week I mentioned that I have set up a specific Insta account for my book stuff. You can find me @intrepidreaderandbaker and I would love it if you added it, and I will follow back!

I'm watching


Being away for most of the week meant I didn't really get to watch much this week. I will need to catch up on the finales for both Great Australian Bake Off and Dessert Masters. I know who won one of those and I think I can guess who one the second but hopefully I will get to watch them both soon.

We did watch Greg Wallace's Christmas Escapes, where he spends a weekend in both Copenhagen and Vienna, visiting a few different places, but focusing mainly on Christmas Markets. We have watched them before but they are still lovely to watch and brought back memories of our own visits to Christmas markets a couple of years ago.

One thing we did do in Perth was go to the movies. My sister, my cousin and I went to see Wicked, which was fab. It was a bit long, but other than that I thought they did a great job. We now have a year long intermission to see the second half. 

Life


We went to Perth last week to spend some time with family and spread my Dad's ashes. He died just over a year ago, but with my sister and I living in a different state we needed to go back over there just to do this one final goodbye. I don't remember going to the place he had chosen before, but it was a lovely spot and very fitting for my dad who loved the land in WA and also loved water.

We visit Perth quite regularly, but I still like to find new things to do. I had not intended to visit Fremantle this time, although it is one of my favourite places, but in the end we went down there to see a digital exhibition that they have on called Empress Josephine's Garden. It was very interesting in that it spoke about the French exploration of Australia, including sending lots of plant and animal specimens back to Empress Josephine's chateau at Malmaison. She was a serious collector, and I was surprised by a couple of things I learned such as the fact that she had correspondence with Sir Joseph Banks for some time, until France (under Napoleon) and England went to war.

Given we we were in Fremantle I had to do my customary visit to the wreck of the Batavia, which is part of the Dutch related history of Australia, and then have some fish and chips.

Another highlight is that we did the Rio Tinto Christmas Lights Trail through Perth. We had dinner at a very cool Asian restaurant, and then we walked from one end of Perth to the other visiting 20 Christmas lights installations around the city. It was great to be able to do this with my cousin and her family, my aunt and sister. We definitely got our steps in. Now I need to find something Christmassy to do here in Melbourne

I will do a bigger post about this at some point in the next couple of weeks, but here was my favourite video which I managed to get completely by coincidence. I love that you can see that I am walking through the bubbles. It's very short at only 4 seconds! 

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Not New!

Weekend Cooking: A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Jobs

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is 

Bookish Jobs I Would Do For Free (Real or Imaginary) (Submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ bout Books)

Book Lovers by Emily Henry - This book features a literary agent and an editor!

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams - This is set in an Oxford printer where the main characters starts as a bookbinder.

The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman  - A short story set in a bookstore

Elodie's Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin - Elodie leaves her job in publishing and becomes a librarian in a small town

The Great Passage by Shion Miura - This is about the creation of a dictionary

Beach Read by Emily Henry - Two writers end up living next to each other for a summer

The Women's Pages by Victoria Purman - The main character in this book is an early war journalist

Aria's Travelling Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin - A travelling bookstore owner!

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - Or on the shores of a Scottish lake

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - Or Paris. Le sigh!

Did any of these books appear on your list?

Top Ten Tuesday - Water, water everywhere!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Water (This can be covers with water on them, books with bodies of water in them, titles with bodies of water in them, etc.)

I did a water themed TTT post a couple of years ago, but it turns out I have read ten more books with water related titles since them so there is no duplication.

Second Chances in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen - To be fair I could have had 7 books just from this series as the word Bay is in every title. (review)

Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash -  With a bonus lighthouse playing a key role in the story. (review)

An Island in the Sun by Kate Frost - Islands are surrounded by water so they totally count. This one is set on the Portuguese island of Madeira. (review)

Far Across the Ocean by Suzie Hull - A part of this book was set in Madagascar which is quite an unusual setting. (review)

The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - Loved this book!

An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan - This is set in the very far north of Scotland

The Custard Tart Cafe by the Sea by Isabella May - I promise you the words by the Sea are really on the cover! You just have to look closely! (review)

Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - This is set in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus

A Granite Springs Christmas by Maggie Christensen - Another big series by Maggie Christensen which is set in the fictional town of Granite Springs

The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webber - I like a book with a touch of magical realism! (review)

Maybe I will have another set of watery books in a couple of years time.