Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books with an Adjective in the Title
This week’s prompt is a little weird, but I’ll go with it. I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, so I went to Goodreads and looked at my “5-Stars” and “4-Stars” shelves to help me come up with my top ten. Without any further ado, here are my top ten books with an adjective in the title:
Enemies to Lovers
What about you? Which books with adjectives in their titles made your list? Do we have any in common?
I’ve been learning in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
There's a trigger warning for this book. See Trigger Warning section at end of review for more details.
Goodreads Synopsis
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
My Thoughts
I love Liane Moriarty. She’s one of my favorite authors. I was excited when my IRL book club decided to read another of her books. I was a little bit worried about what I’d think of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, though, because I had seen mixed reviews. While it’s not my favorite book by Moriarty (that title will always go to WHAT ALICE FORGOT), I shouldn’t have worried. I really enjoyed reading NINE PERFECT STRANGERS.
I connected strongly with a few of the characters in terms of their mental health battles. I thought Moriarty did such a great job of writing about depression, suicide, suicidal ideation, psychedelic therapy, and the way we deal with trauma and setbacks in our life. I really appreciated how she explored all these tough subjects. (I especially liked how she flipped the psychedelic therapy on its head. If you’ve read NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, you’ll hopefully understand what I mean.)
She had not realized that grief was so physical.
I did think some of the plot was a little far-fetched, but the story and the characters were so compelling that I didn’t care. Moriarty’s a master at writing character-driven stories, which are my most favorite kind of stories to read. I wanted to keep reading and find out how the book would end, how each of the characters would act and feel after their experiences at Tranquillum House.
Have you read NINE PERFECT STRANGERS? If so, what did you think?
P.S. I personally know people who’ve had success with psychedelic therapy under the care of a psychiatrist. I had even considered it for myself before I found Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Trigger Warning
There is a trigger warning for suicide, suicidal ideation, loss of a child, and loss of a sibling.
Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, andshowcase books and other things.
Feeling
I’m feeling hopeful. Friday was the worst day I had with this stomach bug, but then I felt almost normal yesterday. I’m hoping I’m over the worst of it now and I can get on with my life and start enjoying life again. I’m still going to take it easy and only eat soup so I don’t cause more upset to my digestive tract.
I finished reading NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty yesterday. I’ll be posting my review tomorrow. I’ll be starting FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell today. Hopefully, I can read it quickly because I also want to finish THE SILVER CHAIR by CS Lewis, the next installment of the Narniad for the Narniathon21, this week.
Listening
I’ve been listening to some of my favorite K-pop songs. I’m a very casual K-pop listener. My friend Suey (It’s All About Books) introduced me to K-pop and K-dramas like seven or eight years ago. I haven’t watched a K-drama since 2016, though. I like the dramas; I’d just rather spend my time watching shows with Corey and he’s not interested in K-dramas at all.
Anyway, the K-pop songs I listen to are the original songs I put on my list back in 2015-2016. I’ve been told by other K-poppers that it’s the old stuff. Even if my playlist is old, I still like it a lot. Suey helps me add new music every now and then through her blog and YouTube channel. If you’re really into K-pop or K-dramas, you should check out her blog.
Watching
I watched the season 4 finale of Star Trek: Discovery with Corey this week. It was really good. View Spoiler »It’s the only season that hasn’t ended in a huge cliffhanger. I was really surprised. « Hide Spoiler
Corey and I are now up to season 5 of How I Met Your Mother. I found out that Colbie Smulders reprised her role as Robin in the first season finale of How I Met Your Father. I wasn’t going to watch it, but I think I am now. I’ll at least give it a chance and see if I like it.
Loving
I really love my doctor. He fit me in this week so we could talk about my sickness. He ran tests. I don’t have C. difficile or H. pylori. I’m glad that I don’t have either of those and I’m frustrated we don’t know why I’ve been sick for the last three weeks. I have another appointment with my doctor on Tuesday (he fit me in for this one too) to discuss what to do going forward. Hopefully, I’ll be able to give him the good news that I’m still feeling better like I am today.
Wanting
I want Debbie and Brittany to know I appreciate their thoughtful cards. They both sent me a “thinking of you” card this week. Each note contained a couple of cute stickers and a bookmark. They both made my day.
Needing
I need to talk to my academic advisor about how this semester has been kind of off the rails. I need to find out what my options are. I think I’ll be able to be okay in one or two of my classes. And, I know I’m going to fail my computer programming class because I’m just so far behind due to being so sick. I’ll probably just have to take the class again at a later time unless I’m allowed do an Incomplete.
I wasn’t a reader for most of my life. I actually hated to read. I avoided reading in school and I read maybe one or two books a year in my adult life. It wasn’t until I read the Harry Potter series that I started to enjoy reading. The true catalyst for my love of reading was the Twilight Saga, which I first read in June 2007.
In the last 15 years, I’ve noticed that my reading habits change from time to time. When I was only reading one or two books a year, I dog-eared my books. Now, I’d never even consider doing that to my books.
I know there are other readers who are on the no dog-ear bandwagon like me and others who don’t think it’s a bad thing. I also know that some of my other habits would be like nails on a chalkboard to other readers. For this reason, I thought it might be fun to share some of my current reading habits.
Reading in the Tub
My most favorite place to read is in the bathtub. I’ll read a physical book or my Kindle. I’ve never dropped anything in the water. Since I don’t have any kids, I soak in the tub with the door open; I don’t have to worry about the steam curling the pages of my book or ruining my Kindle. I read in the tub for around two hours by emptying the tub when the water gets cold and refilling it with warm water. It’s very relaxing.
Bookmarks
I always use bookmarks. I never use random junk as bookmarks. I actually like to collect bookmarks. When I travel, bookmarks are one of my favorite souvenirs. They’re inexpensive and they take up little room. I also think bookmarks make the best book swag from authors and publishers. I have a cute basket on one of my shelves that holds all my bookmarks so they’re easily accessible.
Chapter by Chapter
I like to read a chapter at a time. I don’t mean just one chapter and then I’m done. I mean that I don’t like to stop reading in the middle of a chapter. If I don’t finish a chapter before I quit reading, it’s usually because I’m staying up way too late and I fell asleep while reading.
No Snacks
I know a lot of people like to snack and read. I’m not one of them. Even during Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon, I don’t snack and read. I’ll drink water or gatorade while I’m reading, but that’s it. If I’m hungry or snacky, I take a break from reading for a few minutes and then continue reading after I’m done eating.
No Distractions
I don’t usually listen to music while I read. I usually like it quiet. Otherwise, I find myself concentrating on the music instead of what I’m reading. I only listen to audiobooks while I’m driving because, otherwise, I get distracted and I don’t pay attention to the book.
Mostly Monogamous
I usually only read one book at a time. I don’t really like to jump from one story to another. However, when I’m reading a book that’s taking me a long time to get through, I’ll often read another book alongside it.
Read Silently
I think I’m like most people when I say that I read silently. Reading out loud takes too much time. The only time I read out loud is when I read to someone, like my friends’ kids or a niece or nephew. I do enjoy reading to kids, but I like reading my own books silently. I think this is why I prefer reading books myself to listening to an audiobook.
Spoilers Welcome … Sometimes
Sometimes I read ahead and spoil myself. I know! I know. I only do it when the tension is too high, but I don’t skip pages. I read everything.
Books Have Feelings
As I said above, I don’t dog-ear my pages anymore and I don’t break my book’s spine. I also don’t write in my books, unless they’re textbooks or scriptures. I try to keep my books like new for as long as possible.
What about you? What are some of your current reading habits?
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books on My Spring 2022 TBR
This week’s prompt is hard for me because I’m a mood reader. I might plan to read specific books because either they fit a challenge, they’re for book club, or I just want to read them. The problem is if I’m not in the mood, there’s no amount of obligation that can force me to read a book. With that being said, here are ten books I’d like to read this spring, mood permitting:
The first eight of these 10 are books I haven’t read yet and ones I really want to read. The last two Harry Potter books are on this list because I started a reread of the series in 2020 when I read the illustrated editions of the first four. Last year, I read Order of the Phoenix and I didn’t read the last two because last year wasn’t a good reading year. This year, I hope to read Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows so I can complete my three-year reread.
What about you? Which books are on your Spring 2022 TBR? Do we have any in common?
I’ve been learning in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
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