Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Love But Haven't Talked About Much

This week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic from The Broke and the Bookish is the Top Ten Books I Love But Haven't Talked About Much.  I love this topic!  There are so many books I've read and loved before blogging or read and loved but don't fit into many categories except for the review.

1.  One Grave Less by Beverly Connor - Oh I love this series!  Well I guess I should say loved since the series seems to have come to an end.    The books themselves weren't flawless.  Dianne Fallon, the main character, was an expert in just about everything (though she was supposed to be) and there were a few mysteries that were solved because of something happening at just the right moment.  I loved that the lab was part of a museum and I loved the anthropologist angle.  This is basically like the show Bones in book form.  I actually find it more similar than the series that Bones is actually based on!

2.  Goodnight June by Sarah Jio - This book is like the best cup of hot chocolate, the warmest coziest blanket, the most crackling fire, and the snowiest snow day all rolled into one.  There's a bookstore, a famous author, a bookish scavenger hunt, the main character figuring out what she really wants to do with her life, and even a little romance!  The end is a touch contrived but I didn't care!

3.  The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - I love books, I love books about books, and I love books involving art theft and this one had all three.  I've never been really drawn to first editions but after reading reading this book I completely understand the appeal of book collecting.

4.  The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright - This was one of my favorite books as a child.  I have no idea how many times I read it but it was quite a bit.  When my mother was moving a few years ago I found my copy in one of the many boxes and snatched it up.  I was thrilled when I found it just as enjoyable as an adult than I did as a child and even more thrilled when I discovered it was actually part of the series.  I've tracked the other books in the series down and have enjoyed them just as much if not more!

5.  The Crying Child by Barbara Michaels - I adore the fun Gothic creepiness that is a Barbara Michaels (and her more straightforward mysteries under Elizabeth Peters aren't so bad either!) and this is one of my favorites.  The setting is this old house full of secrets on an island off the coast of Maine and ghosts abound.

6.  Belles on their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr, and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey - Cheaper by the Dozen was one of my favorite childhood books and I was so excited to find there was a sequel.  This one has a few serious moments as it takes place almost immediately after the first book ends and the family is struggling to deal with the events of the last book.  I loved seeing the kids more grown up.  There are quite a number of points that are very dated (especially the discussion on smoking) but it's still a lot of fun.

7.  In the Midnight Rain by Ruth Wind - This was the first contemporary romance I ever read and I loved it.  The music discussions are amazing and the characters are wonderful.  I loved the mystery and the conclusion.  I reread this back a few years ago and was so worried it was going to be dated but it absolutely wasn't.  I fell right into the story and could hear the Blues playing in my head.

8.  The Case of William Smith by Patricia Wentworth - While I've talked a lot about my love for Agatha Christie I haven't talked much about Patricia Wentworth.  I love Miss Silver.  She's a sharper version of Miss Marple who likes things just so and can get people to tell her anything and everything.  Miss Silver doesn't really have a big part in this book but I love this story.  While it is a mystery the focus really is on just who William Smith really is.

9.  All of the short story collections by L.M. Montgomery - I was very lucky to be at just the right age and to have discovered L.M. Montgomery just as collections of short stories edited by Rhea Wilmshurst were being published.  Each collection has a single underlying theme - Akin to Anne involves books about orphans, all the stories in Along the Shore have the sea somehow involved.  My absolute favorite is Among the Shadows which involves darker topics than most of Montgomery's stories which is really interesting.

10. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - This book I'm torn about because Rubin herself drove me crazy.  It doesn't help that she really reminds me of someone I know IRL who I don't care for so that kind of influences my opinions.  But the book itself was really full of good information.  I'm really task oriented and this book really helped me see that I get so focused on completing tasks or getting things done that I'm letting things that make me happy get pushed to the side for absolutely no reason.

38 comments:

  1. This is a fun topic. One Grave Less certainly looks interesting based on the cover, and I've heard good things about Goodnight June. In fact I might read it even though it's not my usual kind of read- nice to reminded of it. It does sound like a very cozy feel good book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved Goodnight June! We'd been reading lots of Margaret Wise Brown books when I read it and it was so fun to see the tie ins.

      Delete
  2. I read Ruth Wind's book years ago. I forgot all about it. This is a great topic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In the Midnight Rain! Still my favorite of all time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Based on the title alone, I want to read The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. :)


    Check out my TTT.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was so good!!

      Delete
  5. The only one of these that I've read is THE CRYING CHILD and I love that book too. Well, I have many Barbara Michaels books that I love. I'll do a 'kay's favorites' on her later this year. Anyway, I'm interested in several others that you mention and will take a look around for them. This is a great topic and allows people to really promote books that they love. Good job, Katherine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I can't wait for that post. I'm seriously fighting the urge to do a massive Barbara Michaels reread!

      Delete
  6. Holy cow, I haven't read ANY OF THESE! That's terrible. Not even the short stories by L.M. Montgomery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Read the Montgomery short stories! They're so good!

      Delete
  7. The only I read is One Grave Less a long time ago. Hmm, I should check out the rest of the series again. The Crying Child should be good for me and I just put The Man Who Loved Books Too Much on my list from another blog list. Good titles, Katherine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Barbara Michaels! Her books are fun and spooky. I think you'll love The Man Who Loved Books Too Much! It was fascinating.

      Delete
  8. I actually haven't read any of these!! I will have to change that! Great list!

    ReplyDelete
  9. LM Montgomery short stories - the best!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wanted to read Goodnight June so badly! I totally forgot about that. Maybe I'll make that my summer book club book - do you think that would be a good discussion book? I have to look your other books up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it would. There are a few issues that could be discussed and there's all the children's book references that would be fun to talk about.

      Delete
  11. You've made me want to read Goodnight June and The Four Story Mistake. What a great list. (And I love Barbara Michaels' books, too.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Goodnight June and The Four Story Mistake are wonderful! I think you would love the Melendys!

      Delete
  12. Okay, I need to find my copy of The Crying Child and finally read it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love this topic too. I could go on for awhile. :-) I enjoyed reading your list, Katherine. I really need to get around to reading Goodnight, June. And I'm glad to see The Man Who Loved Books Too Much made your list too! Such a good book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I was so excited to see The Man Who Loved Books Too Much on your list! Goodnight June is so good! I think you'd love it.

      Delete
  14. as usual,there are so many on your list that intrigue me! My TTT

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes - the Melendys!! I loved, loved, LOVED The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake and Then There Were Five as a child, as a teen, and several times as an adult. Wonderful, wonderful stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So wonderful! I love the Goneaway Lake books too. They're not quite as well done but they're such fun.

      Delete
  16. In the Midnight Rain looks like something I would've read back in middle school and still today! (Well, I *am* still in middle school...just on the other side of the desk now!)

    ReplyDelete
  17. What?????? There is a sequel to Cheaper By the Dozen? *heart eyes* I need it right now! I love your story about The Four Story Mistake; especially about funding out it was part of a series. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Four Story Mistake!Yes, yes, loved that series, am trying to get my children to read some of them too, but they are not so keen. What a lovely topic!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nice picks! Thanks for sharing this book list review! I'm new to book blogging and would love to connect :)

    www.quiteanovelidea.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I haven't read a single book on your list! I think that One Grave Less really sounds like my kind of book. Great picks!

    Carole @ Carole's Random Life

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, yes, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much! It was one of the first books I ever got from a publisher when I started blogging and I knew then this blogging thing was going to be fun with finding all kinds of books I never would have known about.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I read The Man Who Loved Books Too Much ages ago and really liked it!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've not read any of them :( In the Midnight Rain sounds really good!

    ReplyDelete