The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (These have been a reread for me - for about the 23rd time - but I still love them so much!)
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (This was my first book by Kate Morton, and I discovered why everyone loves her!)
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora (If you love To Kill a Mockingbird, then you will love this book!)
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (I learned and laughed through this entire book!)
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (This was an extremely satisfying ending to this series!)

Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (Regency England + magic. So much fun!)
Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason (So far, this is my top book of 2015. Random trivia about London happens to be a weakness of mine.)
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (I love learning through historical fiction, and this book certainly provides that - as well as an incredibly good story.)
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (I had never read the sequels to Little Women before, and it turns out I like them even better than the first book in the series!)
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (It's a book by Sarah Addison Allen. It pretty much goes without saying that it was one of my top reads of the year!)

I spent two whole days this past week doing nothing but reading. It was glorious! (And it really helped me be able to return my library books on time.)

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (I LOVED this book!)
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (I finally finished this rather large book. It was occasionally a little too technical for me, but overall I found it pretty fascinating.)
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (Fun British read.)
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (The continuing adventures of Grandma Dowdel!)
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (Couldn't put this one down. I think J.K. Rowling has redeemed herself.)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (My read for July for the Birthday Month Challenge.)

A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman (I've been looking forward to reading the next book in this series since January. Glad I finally have a chance to!)

This past Thursday was my second Library Day of the summer. I actually managed to finish 12 of my 13 library books from my first Library Day in just two weeks. Lots of reading, but that's not a problem! I restrained myself a little bit more this time. :)

The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl (Book pirates. Need I say more?)
The Black Reckoning by John Stephens (The third book in a series that I have been waiting forever to finish.)
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Continuing to read some Newbery winners and honor books)
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2015 Newbery Award winner)
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Dragons!)
The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty (The first book in this series was awesome. I'm hoping this sequel is, too!)

I was told to read this book my freshman year of college. My college roommate had read it in high school and was horrified to hear that I had never read it. In fact, she was so determined that I needed to read it that she bought me a copy - which has sadly sat on my bookshelves for the past ten years. I finally dusted it off and read it last week - and now I know what she was talking about.

Uncle Tom is an upstanding, trustworthy, Christian man. But because of debts, his owner is forced to sell him. Uncle Tom's story just breaks my heart. If he were real, he would be a person that it would be an honor to know. Instead, he is sold as if he were property and mistreated as if that gentle spirit needed to be broken.

There are many different views of slavery given in this book. We hear perspectives from slave traders and hunters, nice and cruel owners, abolitionists, and the slaves themselves. Harriet Beecher Stowe covered all of her bases, but I was most curious to hear the author's opinion. She obviously disagreed with slavery strongly, which is why she wrote this book in the first place. But she also seemed to view "Africans" as a different, not necessarily equal, race.

Even so, the desire for freedom - the view that everyone should be free, that freedom is fair and right - came through on every page. The concept that the slaves were people just like the white owners were was illustrated again and again. It's hard to believe that the owners and slave traders thought that the slaves wouldn't mind being separated from their families, that they didn't have the same depth of connection and love and feeling that the owners did for their families.

This is a very powerful book, nearly as relevant now as it was 150 years ago. We still need to be reminded of the importance of freedom and equality. We still need to hear that God has created each and every one of us. We still need the message that God can help us through every struggle, no matter how difficult. This book will make you laugh and cry and think - and hopefully, act to right what is wrong in our world today.

So technically this week's list should be my favorite topics I've done over the past five years that Top Ten Tuesday has existed. But I've only participated in these posts for the past couple of months. So instead, I thought I would share the top ten topics that I wish I could have done, if only I had been doing Top Ten Tuesday posts back then or, you know, had a blog at that point.

The beautiful, blue-sky days continue, and so does lots of reading! I spent Friday reading in the sun (I may have gotten just a little sunburned), and it's my plan to spend today and tomorrow soaking up sun and turning pages. Now if those thunderstorms in the forecast would just hold off. . .

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (One of those books that just sucks you in.)
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (This was hilarious and way too informative.)
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (I'm finally making some progress on my Newbery Challenge!)
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (Occasionally a little darker than I liked, but I still devoured this book.)
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (I can't believe I missed this series as a kid. What fun!)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Oh, my goodness. More Flavia, please!)

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (Finally got my hands on the last book in the Grisha series!)
The Great Bridge by David McCullough (I'm still working my way through this one, a chapter a day.)

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (This book just looks like fun!)

What if your biggest dream in life was to become a magician? And not just any magician, but one who works with the coveted material of metal? And then, what if you were told that metal was not an option - you were going to be bonded to paper instead?

That's exactly what Ceony Twill just experienced when she arrives at the doorstep of Magician Emery Thane, ready (or not so ready) to begin her apprenticeship in paper. It's surely completely understandable if she isn't exactly polite to him to begin with. But as she learns more about paper (and more about him), she discovers that it isn't so bad. And then, one day over dinner, his heart is ripped out.

How's that for a premise? Every time I read the blurb on the back of the book, I jump when I get to the heart-ripped-out part. Such a nice, harmless story. . . until you get to that. But that is exactly what makes this book more than a harmless story. Suddenly Ceony has to get over her peevishness and jump into rescue mode, with really very little preparation (but with a paper dog named Fennel as a companion). The rest of the book is suspenseful, but it goes beyond chasing-after-the-evil-magician. As readers, we get to piece together the mystery of Emery Thane's life along with Ceony. We get to cheer her on past her fears and insecurities. And we get to hope desperately for the happy ending that we're not sure will come.

Ceony is an awesome character to get to know, and the world that Charlie Holmberg created is one I would love to live in (minus the whole heart-ripping-out thing). Sometimes the unexpected hero is the only one who can save the day. And who knew that origami might one day save your life?

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you've seen me mention my love for Jane Austen's and Georgette Heyer's novels. Regency romances are fun books to escape to. They are good stories with happy endings, and can often be laugh-out-loud funny.

No one can replicate Jane Austen's style (though many have tried) and both of these authors have a finite number of books available (since they're both dead). This is where the twist part comes in. The books below are Austen and Heyer's period with a little something extra. . .

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig provides more than just a Regency romance. There are two parallel stories happening in each novel - a modern one of a history student researching the Pink Carnation and associates, and a historical one following the Pink Carnation's spy ring. Since the historical aspect of each book takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, the spies have plenty to keep them busy. There is witty dialogue and suspenseful plots and plenty of romance, making for all-around enjoyable books.

The Cecelia & Kate series by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer envisages the Regency time period as a time when magic was commonplace. Instead of simply being a duke, you could be a duke and a wizard! Cecelia and Kate are cousins who are writing letters to each other. Kate is in London for her first season, and Cecelia has been left behind in Essex. There are many mishaps, magical and otherwise, along with the requisite wit and suspense. The best part is that the book was actually written as letters sent between the two authors, with next to nothing plotted out beforehand. What a fun way to write a book!

I have a HUGE TBR list. This post could go on for a very long time. So I decided to narrow it down to books I know I will be reading this summer, and the books from my TBR list I am most excited about reading (as long as the library has them available. . .)

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (This is my book club book for July, so I know I'll get to this one soon.)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (This is my book for July for the Birthday Month challenge.)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (I've been wanting to read this book since I first heard of it. Hopefully I get the chance to this summer!)
The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty (I absolutely loved the first book in this series. Can't wait to read the second!)
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (I have a strange story about this book. Once I get a chance to read it, I'll tell you guys all about it.)

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (Again, LOVED the first book. Can't wait for the second!)
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (There has been so much raving about this book! I just hope it lives up to the hype.)
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (I'm game for anything about dragons.)
The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller (It's a book about books. Need I say more?)
The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein (I loved, loved, LOVED Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. And this one looks like it'll be just as good!)

The first week of summer break is over, and I can already tell that this summer is going to go fast. I'm almost done wrapping up things from last school year (report cards and such), and am looking forward to some nice relaxing time before gearing up for next school year. This past week also included my first Library Day of the summer, where I checked out way too many books (as always). Just an excuse to spend some extra time reading, I guess!

Top Ten Tuesday - Exciting Upcoming Releases
Library Loot (my spoils from Library Day)
Bloggiesta Updates (That's right! Bloggiesta was this weekend. Lots of fun bloggy-ness happening!)

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (I enjoyed this one. My thoughts will be posted next week.)
The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag (I always enjoy some magical realism.)
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg (I'm looking forward to the rest of this series. Very promising first book!)
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (This is an audiobook I'd been working on for a few weeks. I don't get through audiobooks very fast. It was amazingly funny, as all of Wodehouse's books are.)

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (I've loved the other books I've read by her, and so far, this one is no exception.)
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (I'm trying something a little different reading-wise. I want to read this book before our trip to the East Coast later this summer, but I have this huge stack of library books to finish as well. So I'm reading one chapter of this book a day, and then switching over to my library books. So far, the system is working very well. I might have to try this more often!)

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (I think this may be the next one I pluck off my library stack. That is, if I can get it away from my husband, who is devouring it about as quickly as he can read!)