Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I have or would reread

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday July 8: Books I’d Like to I Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog)

I don’t reread books a lot but there a few I would read again, and I guess for this post, I need to come up with ten that I have reread or would reread. I think I can do that.

  1. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

It took me until last year to read this book and I ended up loving it. I would love to reread it again this year and I probably will.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I know! So cliché! But here is another one that I read late in life and now I want to read it again because it was so lovely and cozy and interesting. I never imagined I’d get so wrapped up in these characters. I used to roll my eyes at people who would gush about this book and the movies based on it and then I read it. Oh, my! I understand the gushing now.

3. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

This book is just as sweet and touching as the Hallmark movie from the 1990s was, which is how I first knew about the story. Of course, the book came first. I didn’t read the book until I read it to my daughter a couple of years ago and I just loved it. I also loved the sequels, especially Skylark.

4. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

I have read this one more than once and I could read it again and again. There is always something new that I pick up on in it. I have also read Shepherd’s Abiding, the Christmas book more than once but now I read certain sections that are my favorite instead of the whole book.

5  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read this one several years ago with my son and I would like to reread it but I have to finish The Lord of the Rings trilogy first. I have The Return of the King to read next.

6. The Cat Who Saw Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is my favorite book of this series. It’s a lot different than the others in the series and sometimes I wonder if Lilian wrote it. The main character, Qwill, shows even more of his personality in this one and even shows his tenderness toward a young child in the book. The story/mystery is also a solid one. As with any long running series, there are aways going to be duds along the way, but this was not one of them.

7. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I first read this book in sixth grade by myself and again in eighth grade, though I don’t remember reading it in eighth grade. I know it was part of our curriculum but I guess my teacher wasn’t very memorable in her teaching. I remember she said, “What do you mean you’ve already read it?” She was surprised a sixth grader had taken it upon herself to read something so deep and advanced, I suppose, and I didn’t do that very often but in this case, I did read it because my mom suggested it and then started to read it to me in her southern accent. After I heard her Southern accent reading it, that’s how I heard the narrator (Scout) for the rest of the book.

I know I didn’t understand the intricacies of the message of this book when I was a child so reading it again as an adult about three years ago with my son for his English was a much different experience. I sobbed through the second half of the book as an adult because I understood so much more about the story, about Atticus, about the world and the ugliness and also goodness, the third time around. It is a book I think needs to be read several times for the message to really  hit home.

8. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

This is another book that I read at an age that other kids these days probably wouldn’t have read it. I did not do that a lot so don’t let me mislead you into thinking I read a ton of classics or harder books as a child. I did this occasionally and this one was one of those. The language is a challenge since it is written in the 1800s, but I really had fun with the story.  It was a lot of fun, much more so than Huckleberry Finn, which had a lot of serious moments mixed in with the adventure. I liked Huck Finn too, though. I hope to read this one again at some point soon.

9. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This is a book I read for the first time with my daughter last year. I would read it again because I truly enjoyed the story, even the harder parts I didn’t like in the movie version I saw as a child. I wanted a bit more from the ending but I really enjoyed the other parts of the book and could see myself reading it again.

10. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

This is a book with a lot of tough subjects, but one I haven’t read since I was about 11. I would like to read it again because I have a feeling it will hit me in a different way, similar to the way To Kill A Mockingbird did. I actually have this as one book I want to read this summer.

Are there books that you have reread or want to reread? Or are you more of a one and done person like I usually am?

Top Ten Tuesday: The Ten Most Recent Books I’ve Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Freebie/Throwback (Come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again!)

 So this week, I chose to share my last ten reads so far this year with quick, two to three sentence reviews for each.

I am telling you, guys and gals, I am reading so slowly this year! The number of books I have read so far is a very sad amount. I know what is important is that I’m reading at all, not how many I have read, but ugh! I feel like I am not spending enough time just relaxing and reading!

Of course, I also have started some books that took up quite a bit of time and then decided I couldn’t finish them. I also read two very long books that took me longer than most of the books I read.

Anyhow, on with the post!

  1. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

This third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series was a very fun read with a lot of humor, but yet also seriousness, thrown in. It is a children’s book, but there is a lot of spiritual wisdom if you read between the lines.

2. The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie

Interesting and intriguing collection of short stories that are connected by the fact a group of people are sitting around sharing their stories about mysteries they experienced and either couldn’t solve or did later. This is a Miss Marple book and in many of the stories Miss Marple ended up solving the crime. This wasn’t my favorite Agatha Christie book but it was an interesting concept.

3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

I’ve heard tons about this series over the years and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I did not like this book as much I hoped I would. I liked most of it, but toward the end it totally fell apart for me. I might try others in the series but at this point, my expectations have been lowered.

4. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

It took me quite a long time to get through The Fellowship of the Ring but once I really sat down and got into this one, it took a lot less time. I very much enjoyed this one. I love  the friendships, the fight of good against evil, the adventure, all of it. I do not like that the two “bad guys” have names that are so similar to each other, though. Up next in this series will be, of course, Return of the King, and I’m saving that for late fall, early winter.

5. The Twisted Claw by Franklin W. Dixon (A Hardy Boys)

This was the first Hardy Boys book I read and I ended up enjoying it. I’m looking forward to reading others.

6. Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson

I enjoyed this first in a new series and by a new-to-me author. I am looking forward to finding and reading book two soon.

7. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Sutanto

This one was the second book in a series and it was not as good as the first, at least for me. I enjoyed Vera’s character like I did in the first book, but in this second book, things took a really dark turn and I was having a hard time pushing through. I didn’t connect with the characters in this second book like I did with the first either. It was still a pretty good book and I will read more in this series, if there is more.

8. The Wishing Well by Mildred Wirt

I enjoyed this juvenile mystery by the original Carolyn Keene. It is a book from the Penny Parker Mysteries and the wit and quick tongue moments in this book were Wirt at her finest. In these books Wirt is free to write how she wants and not how Harriet Adams of Stratemeyer Publishing wanted her to write.

If you want to read more about Mildred, you can do so here https://lisahoweler.com/2025/05/05/tell-me-more-about-mildred-millie-wirt-benson/

You can also read a full review of this book here: https://lisahoweler.com/2025/06/09/book-review-the-wishing-well-by-mildred-wirt-benson/

9. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

This book felt very long to me because it was broken down into a lot of short stories with the related thread being James’ time in the military. It was a little tedious to me to read straight through, so I took breaks and read it a few times a week, a couple of chapters at a time. In the end, I really enjoyed the book, the stories about James in the military and his family life, and the stories about Tristan, which were hilarious. I could absolutely picture the actor who plays Tristan in the new series as I read stories he was a part of. When I was done with the book, I actually felt a little sad because it had been part of my life for at least three months, and I felt like I had been reading about family in some ways. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books that I haven’t read yet in the series.

10. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

I finished this one just Sunday night and enjoyed it when I originally thought I wouldn’t. This book deals a lot with occult and mediums, etc., which is not my thing, so I didn’t think I would like it. About halfway through, I had to find out what happened and couldn’t put the book down. I felt a little stupid that I didn’t figure out who the guilty party was until it was revealed, since it was a little obvious, but I like how it was brought out, and I really liked the very ending. That’s all I will say about that.

What are some of the recent books you’ve read?


Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.

You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find her on Instagram and YouTube.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books I did not finish (DNF’d)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Books I Did Not Finish (DNFed) (feel free to tell us why, but please no spoilers!)

My reasons for not finishing a book are rarely because the book is bad or not worth reading. Most of the time it is completely related to the fact the book and my personality don’t mesh. Also, in some cases I don’t finish a book at one time but go back later and finish it. That’s most likely going to be the case with many of the books here, so if you loved one of these books on my list, know that adding them to a DNF list doesn’t mean I hated them.

  1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I tried! I tried! I wanted to read a Dickens. It about killed me. It was so wordy! Worse than I expected. I read part of this book in high school and enjoyed it but for some reason I could just not get into it now that I am an adult. I do want to try again someday, however.

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I don’t know if it is fair to mention this one since it was just a DNF for me and I might go back to it but for now it is a DNF and I’m reading some other books. I wanted to read this with my son for his British Literature class but…it was just so heavy. I couldn’t get into it. I have an audiobook with Dan Stevens and I’m really enjoying his narration so I am going to try to get back into it.

3. Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever

I wanted to like this book. I did. It was just so choppy and dull as watch sap harden in the winter. The stories about Anthony could have been interesting but they were all chopped up and some of them were from people who truly didn’t know him that well. I skipped to the end and read a couple quotes from his daughter but for the most part this was just a chopped-up mess of stories. I didn’t get it at all. I have heard there are other, much better biographies out there so I will try them in the future.


4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I did not hate this book. I just couldn’t get into the style of writing, the tiny little chapters, and the bouncing back and forth between character in every other chapter.

5. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

I will go back to this one but it just didn’t pull me in like Little Women did. I am a mood reader so I think I was simply not in the mood for it when I tried to read it.

6. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith

I think this one just didn’t catch me at the right time. I could not get into it at all but I am willing to try again sometime in the future.

7. A Fatal Footnote by Margaret Loudon

I didn’t even make it through five pages of this one. The author kept changing the name of her character and repeating the name over and over. She’d write, “Penelope didn’t know why Millie was looking at her that way but Penn was uncomfortable with it.”

What? Why keep changing her name and in the same sentence or paragraph? She seemed allergic to using pronouns instead of the names she kept using too. It would have been one thing if a character said to her, “Hey, Penn!” instead of Penelope but for the author to be changing it in the prose….it was weird.

8. Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

This was just not my favorite book of Montgomery’s. It was so sad and depressing to me. I might go back someday and finish it but it was a slog for me. I skipped ahead to the end but really didn’t go back and read the rest so I consider it a DNF.

9. What’s the Worse That Can Happen by Donald Westlake

My husband is a huge Westlake fan and I read one book by him, Call Me A Cab, and liked it but so far I haven’t really been able to get into the rest of his books. I do plan to try this one again at some point.

10. Death At A Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

    I know we cozy mystery readers have to suspend belief at times but this one…well, it was a bit too much suspending belief. I couldn’t finish this one at all. I don’t plan to try again.

    What books have you not finished? Will you ever go back and try them again?

    Top Ten Tuesday: My Spring TBR

    Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

    Today’s prompt is: Books on my spring TBR list

    I don’t often stick to my TBR for any particular season (see my post from yesterday for more info on that) but I like to make the list to remind me of books I’d like to read next. I consider it my “choose from” pile.

    I have a list of 14 books I plan to choose from for Spring, but I know that list will change and adapt throughout the next two and a half months.

    For today I will list my ten main books and then four “honorable mentions” so to speak.

    Village Diary by Miss Read

    All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

    The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner

    Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

    Between The Sea and Sound by Amanda Cox

    ‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara

    Sabotage at Cedar Creek by Janice Thompson

    Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

    The Littlest Voyageur by Margi Preus

    Four others I might choose from this spring include:

    The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

    Grantchester: The Shadow of Death by James Runcie

    Passport To Romance by Betty Cavanna

    Finding Lady Enderly by Joanna Davidson Politano

    What books are you hoping to read soon?

    What I actually read from my Winter TBR

    I always plan lists for what I will read each “season” of the year but rarely stick to those lists.

    I made a list for this winter, but, once again, I strayed from it. I don’t know what I was thinking by making this list. There was no way I was going to read all these books in three months.

    My winter TBR included these books:

    Christy by Catherine Marshall

    Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

    The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

    Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson

    World Travel by Anthony Bourdain

    The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

    A Christmas Quilt by Melody Carlson

    The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

    The Scarlet Pimpernel by  Baroness Orczy

    The Clue in The Diary by Carolyn Keene

    The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene

    Winter Murder by Agatha Christie

    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir R.A. Dick

    The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Flying Express by Franklin W. Dixon

    The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

    The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

    The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island by Laura Lee Hope

    What I actually read from the list:

    Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

    A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson

    The Hound of the Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson

    Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

    The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

    Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon

    Christy by Catherine Marshall

    The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie

    The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman

    Every Living Thing by James Herriot

    The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene.

    I will have a smaller list I plan to choose from for my spring TBR tomorrow and I have a feeling I won’t read all those books either.

    Did you reach any reading goals recently?

    Middle Grade March Reads

    I don’t participate in book challenges very often but this month I am participating in Middle Grade March.

    This is the month when adults read chapter books that were actually written for children. Sometimes, they are so good that we don’t even realize they were written for children.

    I read a lot of these books throughout the year because I have a middle-grade child. She and I have already read many of the books other readers have on their lists each year.

    This year I decided I wanted to read Miracles on Maple Hill with Little Miss since I read it last March and really enjoyed it. I like that it takes place in Pennsylvania around maple syrup season which is this time of year. I also just like the overall story.

    I also decided to read The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis because I haven’t read all of the Chronicles of Narnia since I was about middle-grade age myself.

    Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery is one that has been recommended to me a couple of times so I also put that on my list.

    I hope to also get to Violet Jenkins Saves The Day by Stacy Faubion and The Moffats by Eleanor Estes. I will at least get to Violet by April since I’ve been meaning to read it for a few months now.

    Do you participate in Middle Grade March, or have you?

    If you have, what did you read or if you are this month, what are you reading?

    Top Ten Tuesday: 10 books I never reviewed on my blog or social media

    || Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

    Today’s prompt is: 10 Books I Never Reviewed (Share the titles of books you never reviewed on your blog/tiktok/insta/etc. and if you liked them or not!)


    This one was hard for me because I have actually reviewed most of the books I have read in the last two years. I had to search hard for those I had not reviewed in some fashion

    1. Anne’s House of Dreams by LM Montgomery.  – didn’t review and didn’t enjoy as much as other Anne books

    2. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright — Loved this middle grade book but did not get around to reviewing it.

    3. The Burning Issue of The Day (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery) by T.E. Kinsey – I liked this one okay but wasn’t really doing a lot of reviews at this time (2023) and didn’t like it as much as other books in the series.

    4. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien – really liked it but for some reason never reviewed in on my blog or social media

    5. An Amish Inn Mystery: Murder Well Played by Rachel O’Phillips – I like this book. I have no idea why I never reviewed it.

    6. A Highland Christmas (A Hamish Macbeth Mystery) by M.C. Beaton – I don’t remember ever writing a review for this book. I liked it okay. It was very cozy, but I don’t know if I am a huge fan of Beaton’s writing.

    7. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Sarah MacLachlan — I very much enjoyed the middle grade book but for some reason never reviewed it.

    8. The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates — This book was super weird and full of possible references to incestual attraction. That’s all I gotta say about that one.

    9. Death Without Company (A Walt Longmire Mystery) by Craig Johnson — I enjoy this series but rarely write book reviews for them. I am not sure why.

    10. At Home In Mitford by Jan Karon — Despite being one of my favorite books and book series, I have never shared a review of this book on my blog or social media, that I can remember anyhow.

    A bonus: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Read it. Liked it. Never reviewed it and I don’t know why.

    How about you? What books have you never reviewed? Maybe you are a reader who doesn’t even do reviews and that’s totally fine too. This list shows that I really don’t review every book. I do have fun writing reviews and telling other readers about the books I read though.

    Five hodge-podge mini-book reviews

    I haven’t had much time to sit and write up full book reviews lately so I thought I’d share five mini-book reviews today.

    Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

    Description:

    Judith (our favorite skinny-dipping, whiskey-sipping, crossword puzzle author), along with Becks the vicar’s wife, and Susie the dogwalker find themselves in a head-scratching, utterly clever country house, locked-room murder mystery. 

    Holiday festivities are now January doldrums when Judith gets a call―Sir Peter Bailey, a prominent Marlovian is inviting notable citizens to his house the day before his wedding to celebrate. 

    Judith decides to go―after all, it’s a few houses up the Thames and free champagne, for sure. During the party, a loud crash inside stops the festivities. The groom-to-be has been crushed to death in his study. The door was locked from the inside so the police say suicide, obviously. 

    My Review:

    This was the second book in the Marlow Murder Club series. I did not enjoy it as much as the first book. This one was all over the place and very repetitive. I rolled my eyes way too often. I still love the characters but why the suspects were suspects was repeated and twisted around so many times it simply became obnoxious. We really needed another story to sort of break up the monotony of them running around in circles in this one. There was one side story related to the vicar’s wife Becks, but it came in way too late in the book and didn’t break up the way he kept saying, “We don’t know who killed him! Here is all our evidence….again.”


    The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Description:

    The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set in 1889 largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England’s West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Holmes and Watson investigate the case. This was the first appearance of Holmes since his apparent death in “The Final Problem”, and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character’s eventual revival.

    One of the most famous stories ever written, in 2003, the book was listed as number 128 of 200 on the BBC’s The Big Read poll of the UK’s “best-loved novel”. In 1999, a poll of “Sherlockians” ranked it as the best of the four Holmes novels.

    My review:

    I really expected to like this a lot more than I did. Conan Doyle is a classic crime writer – the father of the detective/crime novel so it has to be great, right?

    Sadly, this book really dragged for me and my son who read it with  me for his British Literature class. Maybe it was because Sherlock wasn’t even in half of it. During that half it was Watson writing letters to Sherlock to tell him what had happened. There were way too many conversations about what might have happened and very little action for me. I also couldn’t stand the “lord of the manor”, Henry Baskerville. I would guess Conan Doyle was making him obnoxious because he was an American and the British like to  make sure Americans know what they think about us. So maybe I wasn’t supposed to like him, which worked well because I didn’t.

    I didn’t hate the book, but it was not one I would necessarily rush to read again anytime soon. I’d really like to read the short stories and the other three novels instead and then go back to this one later on to see if I like it any better.


    Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

    Description:

    Fourteen-year-old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper, the Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington. Powerful illustrations by American artist Michael McCurdy, bring to life Esther Forbes’ quintessential novel of the American Revolution.

    My review:

    I read this one with Little Miss for English/History. The book is broken into sections with six chapters in each section, so we read a couple of the chapters each day for a few months.

    I ended up really like this one even though the older writing style and the subject was a little difficult at times. There were some chapters where I skipped some of the more descriptive paragraphs to get to the point and move forward, but overall, this book was very well done, very educational, and had me crying more than once with the real life lessons within its pages.


    Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson

    Description:

    Tooth and Claw follows Walt and Henry up to Alaska as they look for work after they both returned from serving in Vietnam. While working for an oil company in the bitter cold of winter, they soon encounter a ferocious polar bear who seems hell-bent on their destruction. But it’s not too long until they realize the danger does not lurk outside in the frozen Alaskan tundra, but with their co-workers who are after priceless treasure and will stop at nothing to get it.

    Fans of Longmire will thrill to this pulse-pounding and bone-chilling novel of extreme adventure that adds another indelible chapter to the great story of Walt Longmire.

    My review:

    I really enjoyed this novella. I’m a fan of the Walt Longmire Mystery books, with the exception of Hell is Empty, which I hated. I haven’t read one of the books since that one, which was early in 2024. I love Johnson’s writing, though, so I knew I couldn’t stay away for long. When I needed a short book to finish out the year, I remembered my husband had just won this one in a Goodreads giveaway. It is a story separate from the other books so I knew there wouldn’t be any spoilers.

    I read it around Christmas, which is usually reserved for cozy books, not books where a man-eating, monster Polar Bear is terrorizing scientists in the arctic, but I could not put this book down. It was constant action, and I enjoyed it. I might even read another one of the full-length novels soon.


    The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

    Description:

    All Emma Daley wants this holiday season is a white Christmas. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can’t find that in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there’s someone living in a perfect mountain home in the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade this year.

    West Prescott is an in-demand songwriter and talented musician who put his own singing career on hold to write songs for celebrity acts to perform. When his mother convinces him to do a vacation trade for Christmas, he never imagined one of the houseguests would be so sweet–or so strikingly pretty. Naturally, he decides to stick around, and, to get better acquainted, he poses as the house’s caretaker. But when Emma’s friend Gillian discovers his true identity and sets her sights on him, things get . . . messy.

    My review:

     I really liked Carlson’s book, A Quilt for Christmas, and thought this would be similarly heartwarming and well-written. It was not. This book was a very cheesy romance that would not end. I feel so bad saying this but it was such a short book I had no time to connect to the characters and in the end I really didn’t care if I did or didn’t. These ridiculous romances where people meet and three days later are in love and changing their lives around for each other drive me nuts. I had no idea that was what was going to happen in this book. It’s like the two books were written by two different people. Every author has hit or miss books, though, and every reader is different in their likes and dislikes so while this book was not for me it might be the perfect light read for someone else. I won’t give up on trying Carlson’s books, but I will be a bit more careful and read the descriptions better from now on.

    Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them if you did?

    Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Reads of 2024

    || Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

    Today’s prompt is “Best Books I Read in 2024”

    I have a list of 16 books I enjoyed from my 2024 list, but I whittled them down to ten for today. I’m going to leave my favorite read from the year at number 10.

    1. The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

    I have read most of the books in The Cat Who series and this one was definitely my favorite. Honestly, it almost felt like it was written by a different author in some ways. I enjoyed most of the books in the series even though this one felt different.

    2. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson

    I really enjoyed this middle grade book that takes place in my home state of Pennsylvania. There were some tough topics here — such as PTSD after war —— but they were handled gingerly.

    3. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

    This one was different than many of my other reads and not “clean” by some standards because of language, but I fell in love with the main character and the side characters. I can’t wait for the sequel!

    4. Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

    This one also featured some language but otherwise was clean and a lot of fun. I loved this cozy mystery that took place in a small Irish village and I can’t wait to read more in the series. I hope they are as good as the first book.

    5. Move Your Blooming Corpse by D.E. Ireland

    This was the second book in a series based on the characters of My Fair Lady – Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins. The book was a ton of fun from start to finish.

    6. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

    I had seen the movie based on this book but had never read the book. I read it and then read it again to my daughter shortly after so I guess I read it twice in 2024. The ending was a bit too abrupt to me, but I still enjoyed it.

    7. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

    Yep, this was another classic I had never read and I ended up really enjoying it.

    8. The Clue of The Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

    This was a Nancy Drew Mystery and while they can be a bit cheesy at times, I really enjoyed this one because it was full of Scottish history and culture.

    9. Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

    This was another middle-grade book that I read with Little Miss and really enjoyed. We had read Gone Away Lake, the first book in the series in 2023.

    10. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

    This was by far my favorite read of the year and my favorite read from the past several years. This book was so much different than the Anne of Green Gables books and I sometimes wonder how they are so different in their language and style. I don’t usually write in or mark up my paperback books but I underlined and marked so many passages in this book. If you haven’t read it, I would definitely encourage you to move it up your TBR list.

    Honorable mentions:

    Other books I enjoyed this year include:

    The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz (A Hawthorne/Horowtiz Mystery)

    Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

    The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

    Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins

    A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson

    The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

    Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? And what books were among your favorite reads in 2024?