Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things Superheroes Might Say to Their Therapists

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a genre freebie. I often struggle with these. Today, however, I'm feeling a little zany. It could be because I've been thinking lately about being a Gen Xer. 

This sticker is real life. Oh, and in case we ever forget it...

Saw this on Reddit. Too funny not to share.

Today, we are going to take a TTT journey through the Top Ten Things superheroes of my day might say to their therapists... not that they would have therapists, because superheroes in my generation didn't have very deep backstories, and their trauma was something they were just expected to ignore. 

I am so tired of being compared to a bird and a plane. Aren't I cooler than that? ~ Superman

Why can't Lois love Clark Kent instead of me? ~ Superman

Even after leaving Paradise Island, I can't get away from my annoying little sister. ~ Wonder Woman

How can Steve be in the Army Air Corps intelligence division and not know that I'm Diana Prince? ~ Wonder Woman

Is it any surprise he's called the Boy Wonder? I wonder how many times I have to save him. ~ Batman

How do I get Catwoman to look at me like she does Batman? ~ Robin

Kermit was right. It's not that easy being green. ~ The Hulk

If I could just find that Zen place, I could stay Bruce Banner forever. ~ The Hulk

Shouldn't the King of Atlantis have more screen time? ~ Aquaman

What did I ever do to Jameson anyway? ~ Spiderman

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Aug 4

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome to the first Monday of August! This month has brought cooler weather to Massachusetts, even some rain. I'm ready to decorate for fall, but it's too early. 

Last week was full of nice things: a closing, an order from Modern Prairie, and a surprise visit to Boston to watch the Red Sox play the Astros. We were at that game where the benches and the dugouts cleared out. Afterward, we enjoyed some great food at Joe's on Newbury. 

This Christmas in July Mystery item is from April Cornell. Love that it is different colors on opposite sides. 

Baked haddock at Pafumi's on Main.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Boston.

Chicken Pot Pie from Joe's on Newbury.

As far as reading, I reviewed M is for Mason Jar at my children's book blog. You can read the review here. 

I also reviewed The Day I Met Bigfoot: And Made a New Friend by D. L. Miller. My review is here. 

I didn't read Behind the Scenes by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley on my Kindle this week. 

I finished The Bible Simplified by Zach Windahl on NetGalley. My review should be posted this week. 

I didn't touch The Sea Captain's Wife by Tilar J. Mazzeo this week, but I need to finish it soon. 

Read a few chapters of Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea by Richard Levine. Since the review is in September, I have some time.

Need to review Generating Business Referrals Without Asking by Stacey Brown Randall soon. 

These First Chapter Reviews are coming in August and September. 

Gone to the Ground by Morgan Hatch

What Lies We Keep by Janet Roberts

Whatever It Takes by Alan Benham 

Need to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas soon. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

Thanks to Sarah Hamaker's Christmas in July Reader Extravaganza, I received some free books from authors whose newsletters I subscribed to. Here is what is now on my Kindle.

A Narrow Escape by Virginia Vaughan

An Unexpected Arrival by Penny Zeller

Counterfeit Truth by Crystal Caudill

These two books arrived from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

The Birds of Christmas by Olivia Armstrong

Late Today by Jungyoon Huh 

Upcoming Events

• Gone to the Ground by Morgan Hatch - Aug 7 (First Chapter Review)
• Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea by Richard Levine - Aug 12 (Author Interview)
• What Lies We Keep by Janet Roberts - Aug 20 (First Chapter Review)
• Whatever it Takes by Alan Brenham - Sep 2 (First Chapter Review)
• Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea by Richard Levine - Sep 15 (Review)

The latest Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. You can read all the seasonal good stuff here. "Three Things to Do in August to Prepare for Christmas" should be posted today. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection has the reviews I mentioned above. 

I had this great post idea for Laura's Little Houses, but I couldn't write it down when I was driving. It's lost now, but I will remember it again. 

Hoping for a slower work week, but I am working on offers, so not sure how that will go. Enjoy your week!

Book Spotlight: Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden

Where are my Alfred Hitchcock fans? This psychological thriller is for you!

Quinn Alexander has committed an unthinkable crime.

To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she’s done.

But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel. The handsome and kindly owner, Nick Baxter, is only too happy to offer her a cheap room for the night.

Unfortunately, the Baxter Motel isn’t the quiet, safe haven it seemed to be. The motel has a dark and disturbing past. And in the dilapidated house across the way, the silhouette of Nick's ailing wife is always at the window. Always watching.

In the morning, Quinn must leave the motel. She'll pack up her belongings and get back on the road to freedom. But first, she must survive the night.

Praise from readers...

"A few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Great author. I’ve read so many of her books and there wasn’t one I didn’t enjoy." ~ Patti, Amazon reviewer

"...fast-paced, easy to read, and full of Freida McFadden’s signature twists." ~ Brittany, Amazon reviewer

"All I can say is "Wow!!" I did NOT see that coming!!" ~ April, Goodreads reviewer

"Freida McFadden never disappoints! This one starts out strong and kept me gripped on every page." 

~ Ashley, Amazon reviewer

Perfect for readers who want a dark, gripping story that keeps you guessing.

Order here! 

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Arabesque by M G da Mota

 

A woman living alone in a coastal Sussex town in 1998 plants a copper beech sapling at 3 a.m. on a dark, cold night. Why? 

A ballet dancer in 1960s East Germany is oppressed, longs for escaping with his little daughter but not his wife. Why? Will he make it? 

In 2022 Karsten von Stein, widower and principal of the Royal Ballet, with two young children, meets Ivone Benjamim, a Portuguese, newly-arrived principal dancer. They discover a magical chemistry when dancing and soon it transfers to their private lives. 

Against the background of ballet and its dancers, a woman called Grace tells her story from a rehab centre. Obsessive, delusional she begins believing Ivone robbed her of the man of her dreams—Karsten. And then a skeleton is found in a garden...What connects all these people and their stories? 

You’ll be the audience facing the stage of this balletic novel.

Read an excerpt

Prologue

Southeast England, late November 1998 

She looks out of the window. Dark night. Black but clear. Twinkling dots punctuate the raven velvet of the sky. Stars shimmer cold and icy. Their light slightly wavering. She knows it is the Earth’s atmosphere. But that’s neither here nor there. It doesn’t matter a jot. Not at this moment anyway.

Darkness is the important thing. No moon. New moon. Why do people refer to a new moon when there is no moon or when one cannot see the moon from our revolving, ever turning blue dot? The moon is still up there in the sky. It’s just that at some point during its orbit its farther side from us is facing the sun. So the side facing us is dark and we can’t see it. As simple as that. 

Tonight is new moon. An ideal night. She opens the window quietly and glances at the houses to her right first, then to her left. Like hers they are all immersed in silent darkness. People sleep. She looks at the luminous hands of her alarm clock on the side table. The shorter hand points at the number three, or close to it, and the long hand at somewhere between ten and fifteen. Probably around 3:12 in the morning. Her house stands almost but not quite alone on top of the hill. To her right, looking from her bedroom window that faces the back garden, there are two houses. The one closest to hers is empty.

Purchase here!

M G da Mota is Margarida Mota-Bull’s pen name for fiction. She is a Portuguese-British novelist with a love for classical music, ballet and opera. Under her real name she also writes reviews of live concerts, CDs, DVDs and books for two classical music magazines on the web: MusicWeb International and Seen and Heard International. She is a member of the UK Society of Authors, speaks four languages and lives in Sussex with her husband. Her website, called flowingprose.com, contains photos and information. 

Website: https://www.flowingprose.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m.g.da.mota

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margarida-mota-bull

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mgdamota 

One randomly chosen winner 

via rafflecopter will win

 a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Loved But Never Reviewed

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

This is always a fun topic. We ran through ten books I read but never reviewed earlier in the year. Here are a few others.

I might have been a teenager the first time I read The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank. I definitely wasn't dating yet. While I'm not sure I could fully appreciate what Anne went through or understand it all, she was so open about all her emotions that she seemed relatable, especially as she was exploring her relationship with Peter. 

Battle Cry of Freedom is an engaging narrative about the American Civil War. It won author James McPherson the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. Though this book was an assigned textbook for a college course, it read more like a novel to me. I still have the same copy in my bookcase. 

Gerald's Game was the second-to-last Stephen King book I read immediately after its release. Tired of playing her husband's kinky sex games, Jessie Burlingame kicks her husband and accidentally kills him. Now, she is strapped to the bedpost in an isolated lakeside cabin, all alone. As much as I enjoyed diving into Jessie's head as she tries to escape, I found this book utterly disturbing. King published Dolores Claiborne after this novel. I struggled through that before giving up his books completely. 

In the early 90s, I read many of Margaret Truman's books about murder in Washington D.C. Now known as the Capital Crimes series, Murder at the Pentagon is the one I recall enjoying the most.

Have you read any of these books? Is there an author whom you stopped reading for one reason or another?  Is there an author you've been reading for decades? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Waterfront Covers with Fall Feels

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the last Tuesday of July. Now that we are almost in August, my brain and my desire to decorate are leaning toward fall. Though today's topic is Beach/Beachy reads, I'm going for covers that feature water, but also have a fall vibe. Whether it is the setting, the title, the colors, or the storyline, all of these give fall feels. 

Top Ten Waterfront Covers with Fall Feels

Picture Perfect Autumn by Shelley Noble finds a Manhattan photographer embarking upon a new adventure to a dilapidated Gothic beach house in Rhode Island. 

The Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman takes place on a farm near the outer reaches of Cape Cod. 

Autumn Nights by Debbie Macomber contains two short stories set on the coast. 

Autumn by the Sea by Melissa Tagg features a young woman abandoned as a toddler, who goes to the seaside of Maine to meet a woman who might be her grandmother. 

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese spans more than seventy years and follows generations of a Christian family in South India that seemed to be plagued by an odd affliction: every generation, one family member drowns. 

The Inn at Ocean's Edge by Colleen Coble is the first Sunset Cove novel. It tells the story of a woman who disappeared at a hotel on her fourth birthday, only to be found a year later at the same hotel and with no memory of being missing. As an adult, her latest visit to the hotel causes disturbing memories to surface. 

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor is inspired by real events. Its dual timeline takes place in 1838 Northumberland, England, and 1938 Newport, Rhode Island. The lighthouse on the cover is in England. 

Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn features two thirty-somethings who reconnect after she walks away from her job to return to her childhood playground and an inheritance that includes a falling-down bait shop. 

The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine is a story of family secrets uncovered with the discovery of the remains of a murder victim on a Scottish estate. 

All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne Maclean is another dual timeline novel. This one is set at the end of World War II in 1946, and the modern-day story takes place in 1995, when the main character discovers a secret about her grandfather. 

Have you read any of these? Which ones would you recommend?