Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Bookmarks

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Favorite Bookmarks

I LOVE collecting bookmarks, probably as much as I love adding books to my shelves, lol! And just like choosing my favorite books, it was also tough to choose my favorite bookmarks. Quite a few of them, like the Lisa Simpson bookmark in the photo below, have grown in sentimental value over the years because I've had them for so long. Often I'll try to find bookmarks of my favorite characters, and not just from books, but from movies and TV, too, as you'll also see from the photo. :D

1. The Millennium Falcon
A Star Wars bookmark is an absolute must have for this fangirl.

2. The Avengers
This bookmark was a tie-in for Endgame. It's currently holding my place in Neal Shusterman's Scythe.

3. The Raven Cycle
I got these adorable bookmarks of the characters from Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle from Happy Hello.

4. Lisa Simpson
I've been a Simpsons fan from the beginning, and I love the inspirational quote on this bookmark.

5. YALLFest
I just picked this up over the weekend during YALLFest 2019, and this bookmark features this year's artwork for the festival.

6. Ron Weasley
How cute is this bookmark of Ron?!

7. Keep Calm and Read On
What I tell myself all the time. :D

8. Dumbledore
I know I included two Harry Potter-themed bookmarks, but this is my favorite Dumbledore quote and one of my favorite quotes from the whole series.

9. The Infernal Devices
Another set from Happy Hello, featuring Will, Jem, and Tessa.

10. New York
I got this at The Cloisters museum a few years ago during a trip to New York to always remember my hometown. ♥

What are your favorite bookmarks?

Top Ten Tuesday: Spookiest Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

It's a Halloween Freebie this week, so I've made a list of the spookiest books I've read. My list is actually a little short because I'm such a wimp when it comes to reading horror or anything close to it, lol.

1. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

It's a really good thing that the protagonist, Cas, is hilariously snarky because this is one scary book, and I probably would've been too much of a chicken to read it otherwise.

2. The Diviners by Libba Bray

I do most of my reading at night, and when I read this, I couldn't go to sleep right away because I was afraid of having nightmares from it, lol.

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

The scene where Harry and Dumbledore fight the Inferi creeps me out more than anything else in the series, including any scene with Voldemort.

4. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

This falls under mystery, but the sense of foreboding that pervades the book is as chill-inducing as a horror story.

5. Sabriel by Garth Nix

The title character is a necromancer, and although she's a heroine, this book is still filled with plenty of scary moments.

6. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

This novel about a changeling features some very creepy supernatural beings.

7. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Another Maureen Johnson title, this one about a Jack the Ripper copycat terrorizing modern day London. The paranormal element gives the book an eerie twist.

What are some of the scariest books you've read?

Top Ten Tuesday: Childhood Favorites

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Childhood Favorites

This was a really fun topic to do! Once I started thinking about the books I loved as a kid, I ended up with more than 10 and had to narrow down my list, lol. I also had a lot of fun looking at the retro book covers, especially the ones from the 80s!

1. Just As Long As We're Together by Judy Blume

This is one of my all-time favorite books. I was about the same age as the characters when I first read it, and they were so relatable. I still have my copy, and it's well-worn from having been read so many times.

2. Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Pascal

I was kinda late to the Sweet Valley party, but once I started reading these, I couldn't get enough. Whenever I got some new SV books to read, I'd have one almost completely finished on the car ride home from the bookstore, lol.

3. Sixth Grade Secrets by Louis Sachar

I was in sixth grade when I read this, lol, and I tried, rather unsuccessfully, getting some of my classmates to read it because I thought it was such a cool book.

4. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Little House books were another childhood reading staple, and this was my favorite out of all of them. I also loved watching the TV series.

5. Stage Fright by Ann M. Martin

I never read The Baby-Sitters Club, but I did really enjoy this Ann M. Martin book. I borrowed it from the library and was bummed when I wanted to reread it and could no longer find it on the shelves. I only remembered the title, not the author, and almost 25 years later, I found it on Goodreads and finally learned who the author was!

6. Say Cheese by Patricia Reilly Giff

I'm not a huge fan of this version of the cover, but I still love this book. This was part of a series, and sadly I only got to read about three of the books.

7. Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

I LOVED seeing Encylopedia Brown pull a bunch of seemingly random clues together to solve the case. Every time.

8. The Berenstain Bears by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Another series that I loved! I think my mom was trying to give me some not-so-subtle hints when she read The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room to me, lol.

9. Richard Scarry's Great Big Schoolhouse by Richard Scarry

I borrowed this book from the library so often that my parents got it for me for Christmas so I could reread it as many times as I wanted, lol.

10. The Secret of NIMH by Seymour Reit

This is the graphic novel-esque adaptation of the movie. I got my copy through a school book club order, and it was another bedtime reading favorite, which is a little weird now that I think about it considering that the story is quite dark at times.

What are your favorite childhood reads?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2019 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Books on My Summer 2019 TBR

I'm in between books at the moment and had been thinking about what my next read should be when I saw this week's timely TTT topic. Summer puts me in the mood for fun, breezy reads, but I'm also looking to get caught up on some sequels. So my list is a mix of those:

1. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

2. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

3. Reticence by Gail Carriger

4. Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder

5. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

6. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

7. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

8. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

9. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

10. The Disasters by M.K. England

What's on your summer TBR?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019

I'm trying to get back into participating in Top Ten Tuesday again, and I'm off to a great start, coming up with only 9 books for this week's topic, lol. I know I'll be kicking myself after this posts, when I inevitably remember all of the releases that I was looking forward to in the latter part of 2019. Here's what I've got for now, though:

1. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

I can't tell you how excited I am for this first book in the Ronan Lynch-centered Dreamer Trilogy!

2. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee with Michael Dante DiMartino

I LOVE all things Avatar: The Last Airbender and was swooning over the posters featuring the cover art that were given out at last year's YALLFest. Thrilled to finally be able to read the book soon!

3. Reticence by Gail Carriger

The final Custard Protocol book is almost here, and I'm both sad to see the series end but also looking forward to one last adventure with the crew of The Spotted Custard.

4. The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas

Another beautiful cover, and what sounds like a fantastic Mulan retelling.

5. The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

Adoption is the subject of Cynthia Hand's upcoming novel, and as an adoptee, I'm quite interested to read this.

6. Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

I need to get a move on reading the first book, City of Ghosts, lol.

7. Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Angels + magic + Garth Nix? Yes, please!

8. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

Ruta Sepetys writes incredible historical fiction and here turns her focus on Spain during Franco's dictatorship.

9. The Institute by Stephen King

Stephen King's nonfiction On Writing forever changed my world recently, and it's about time I finally read his fiction.

What books are you most looking forward to in the next few months?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is:
Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read

1. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

I feel like I'm the only person in the world who STILL hasn't read the Throne of Glass novellas, lol.

2. The Archived by Victoria Schwab

I love Victoria/V.E. Schwab, so I'm really surprised I've left this sitting on my Kindle unread for so long.

3. Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger

This is the last book in Gail Carriger's YA Finishing School series, and somehow I haven't gotten around to reading it.

4. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta blew me away with her YA works such as Jellicoe Road and The Lumatere Chronicles, but I've yet to give this mystery/thriller a go.

5. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

I LOVE Tahereh Mafi's YA Shatter Me series, but I've put off reading her middle grade fantasy for forever.

6. The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken

Same with this middle grade novel from Alexandra Bracken. I love her YA books, just haven't read anything outside of those.

7. Storm Born by Richelle Mead

I've only read Richelle Mead's YA vampire series. I'm curious to check out this adult PNR.

8. Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

A Maggie Stiefvater book I haven't read yet? Yep.

9. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

I've seen so many bloggers mention how hilarious this novel is, and I really, really need to check it out for myself!

10. Henry IV, Part I by William Shakespeare

If there's a Shakespearean play that I feel I should have read by now, it's this one.

What books are on your list this week?