Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic: Top Ten Books On My Autumn TBR

Seems straightforward enough 😛 In no particular order:

1. David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet — I must’ve put this book on my seasonal TBR lists how many times in the last few years? Perhaps I should make it a priority to read it this time around!
2. Darragh McKeon’s All That Is Solid Melts Into Air — Another book I believe was on a previous seasonal TBR list and that I didn’t get around to reading. This feels like the perfect autumn read though, so perhaps I will get around to reading it this time around 😉
3. Kelley Armstrong’s Cainsville series — I have Omens and Visions on my TBR queue on my eReader so I think I’ll be getting around to it sometime this autumn. Seems like the perfect read around Hallowe’en, actually…
4. Cecilia Ekback’s Wolf Winter — It’s more like a winter read, actually, but with the paperback coming out in the autumn (2 November, to be exact) I was actually approved an eARC on NetGalley so yeah, will be getting around to this book sometime in the next few weeks now (Edit: started reading this book over the weekend, lol :3) 🙂
5. Viola di Grado’s The Hollow Heart — After reading Elena Ferrante’s L’amico geniale books (see author tag), I’m in need of more Italian literature. I’ve heard wonderful things about this author so yeah, hopefully I’ll get around to this book soon 🙂
6. Marisha Pessl’s Night Film — I believe this book was on my TBR list last autumn and yeah, never got around to reading it. This year, perhaps? Seems like another great title to read around Hallowe’en, actually…
7. Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Sword — I read Ancillary Justice (review) last year and absolutely loved it, so yeah, I’ll be reading the second book in the trilogy for Sci-Fi Month this year 🙂
8. Duala O’Connor’s Miss Emily — I won a copy of this book a short time ago and heard so many good things about it so I hope to read it real soon 🙂
9. Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone — I kept seeing this book in other people’s blogs and lists every so often that I became rather curious about it and finally checked it out for Kobo. For a change of pace I’ll probably read this book.
10. Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Fractal Prince — I read the first book in the trilogy, The Quantum Thief (review) two years ago and thought it was really fascinating. I recently picked up the second book and yeah, it’s going to be read for Sci-Fi Month 🙂

And that’s my list of books for this week! What books are on your TBR list this autumn/spring?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic: FREEBIE

Hmm, the possibilities for this TTT’s freebie…Okay, for this one I decided to go for Books I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Read Sooner 😛

In no particular order:

1. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (review) — I only got around to reading this book over the past summer and omg, why didn’t I read it sooner?! (you’ll read this statement a lot for the rest of this post 😛 ) The writing was stunning and I loved all of the characters and the Italian setting and everything *hearts* The perfect summer read IMO 🙂
2. The River of No Return by Bee Ridgby (review) — This book was long on my wishlist and then spent almost the same length sitting on my TBR queue. This book was adventurous and interesting, with time travel and an epic romance and a mystery and…Guh, is the sequel out yet?
3. Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay (review) — Another book long sitting on my TBR queue, I only got around to it back in January. Amazing book, weaving in the past and the present; I cared for all of the characters and could not put the book down until I got to the end.
4. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (review) — I loved the movie adaptation but for some reason took forever getting around to the book (probably because I heard the ending was a bit different from the movie). Rory @ fourth street review finally coaxed me to read the book and omg, why didn’t I read this book sooner? Gorgeous and heartbreaking–yeah, my feels were all over the place with this one.
5. The Archivist’s Story by Travis Holland (review) — This book was recommended to me years and years ago by a friend and I can’t believe I only got around to reading it some two years ago. If you’re familiar with the Stalinist era and the height of the Great Terror, you’ll find this book really interesting, like #9 on my list the author really brought the period to life.
6. The Long Price quartet by Daniel Abraham (review #1, review #2) — Okay, it’s not because I kept on stalling but I didn’t get around to reading this series sooner because the last book in the quartet was never released as a paperback and as a book buyer that would irritate me to no end. Tor eventually released two omnibuses of the quartet and yup, it’s one of the best I’ve read in the genre. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into fantasy books, it’s so underrated 🙂
7. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (review) — I heard about this book a few times in passing before #FerranteFever burst into the reading scene in full force but it took me a little while before I actually got around to reading it for myself. My “review” doesn’t do the book justice by a mile, but suffice to say I should’ve picked it up the moment I heard of it. Fascinating doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings of the book.
8. The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin (review) — Another book that has long been on my wishlist but I didn’t pick up until last year. Like many of the books I mentioned on this list this week, I was just blown away by the writing, the story, the nuances that each action and thought conveyed. I can’t recommend it enough xD
9. Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore (review) — This book was recommended to me by a classmate in grad school but for some reason I didn’t pick it up right away despite it being set in the period that I studied. I finally got around to it some time ago and wow, the author really brought the period to life and all of the personal compliations that came with it. Also, there’s a lot of books on this list this week set in Soviet Russia, isn’t there? 😛
10. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (review forthcoming) — I kept seeing this book around a few years ago but wasn’t really interested at the time in picking it up. I read it over the summer and omg, it’s probably one of my favourite books from her now 😀 Love the story, the characters *happy sigh*

And that’s my list of books for this week! What books made it on your list?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic: Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught X 101 (examples: YA fantasy 101, feminist literature 101, magic in YA 101, classic YA lit 101, world-building 101)

Great topic for this week! Sort of had to think for a moment because I could’ve easily listed books if I taught Fantasy 101 or Historical Fiction 101 or Russian Literature 101. But I decided to go with Amazing Writing 101, lol. What do I mean by amazing writing? As in the writing, the narration, is so good, it makes you want to weep.

In no particular order:

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan (review) — I think I’ve referred to it before, but I consider Atonement to be one of the finest books I’ve ever read. Ian McEwan just seems to know the precise word to use to describe a situation or evoke a feeling. The story itself is haunting, but whenever I’m reading this book I find myself nodding at how gorgeous the writing is.
2. Anything by Patricia A. McKillip (see author tag) — Readers of my blog know that I love Patricia A. McKillip’s books. The stories are wondrous and mythical and stunning and the writing really highlights it: the lush sense of beauty and mystery, the lyricism of its narrative. Gorgeous.
3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (review #1, #2, #3) — Some people find his writing dry, but I absolutely love his writing. It reminds me of some of the Scandinavian epics and myths that I’ve read (and which he was influenced by as well) and adds a layer of epicness to an all-encompassing tale. I have so many favourite quotes and passages from this book (on top of it being my favourite and all) 🙂
4. Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith (review) — I read this book earlier this year and found it absolutely lovely. The writing gave readers such a glimpse into the everyday life of its main character, Isabel, her feelings and her memories and the way her life goes by. Quite an experience to read!
5. Resistance by Owen Sheers (review) — Owen Sheers is a poet and it shows in his writing: the way he describes the Welsh countryside, the abstract thoughts and descriptions that the characters encounter, the characters’ own feelings. This book is quite underrated, I wish more people would check it out 😛
6. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (review) — I really enjoyed reading this book a few years ago and how the narrative really brings the reader into the world of these characters trying to survive the war. You really felt for the characters and what they were going through, but also their hopes and dreams.
7. Anything by Edith Wharton (see author tag) — On the classics side this time, I find Edith Wharton’s writing to be very astute; she has such an insight into character behaviour and relationships and the affects of Society on behaviour and life choices.
8. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (review) — Whenever I talk about this book, I always talk about how atmospheric it is: the writing really does evoke a sense of mystery, of the time period it is set in, the Gothic nature of the story and the medieval architecture in Barcelona. It was so affecting that it prompted me to include Barcelona in our family trip a few years ago 😛
9. The Fairyland books by Catherynne M. Valente — I love how whimsical this series is; it reads like those fairytale picture books you’d read growing up with adventure and character-building moments but also has these rather profound bits of wisdom and insight you’d enjoy in adult novels.
10. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (review) — Like Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s book, I found this book absolutely stunning in the way the writing evoked a sense of desolation and silence in the farm that Agnes was being held in Iceland. It really felt as though I was there. Just stunning.

And that’s my list of books for this week! Have you read any of these books? Or do you want to check out any of these titles? What are some of the best-written novels you’ve ever read? What did you feature in this week’s TTT?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic: Top Ten Of Your Auto-buy Authors

This probably changed a bit since my 2013 list on the subject (see post) so this should be interesting (especially as a lot of authors I often turn to are classic authors and, erm, are no longer living and publishing new material :3 ). In no particular order:

1. J.R.R. Tolkien — Snippets of his writing previously unseen or heard of is still being published today (there’s a new book coming out this autumn, The Story of Kullervo), so of course I’m going to buy it 😛
2. Brandon Sanderson — I’m a little slow in catching up with his works, but his books always end up on my wishlist on Indigo when I hear of them 🙂
3. Patricia A. McKillip — She has a new book coming out next year! So yes, she is on my auto-buy list too 😛
4. Daniel Silva — I’ve actually fallen behind in buying his books (fail! Though for my part his latest novel, The Heist, in mass paperback does not match my other paperbacks of his novels. Boo 🙁 ), but I do mean to pick them up as soon as I can 😉
5. Sarah Addison Allen — I’m waiting for First Frost in paperback but otherwise yes, she’s definitely an author on my auto-buy list, her stories are so heart-warming and lovely <3
6. Daniel Abraham — I’m still catching up with his bibliography but I pretty much have most of his books at this point on my shelf xD
7. Carlos Ruiz Zafon — When are you going to publish a new adult novel? I need it in my liiiiiiiife T_T
8. Deborah Harkness — Granted, she’s only written her All Souls Trilogy thus far but she’s definitely on my auto-buy list now!
9. D.J. McIntosh — I’ve really enjoyed the first two books of her Mesopotamian trilogy and when I found out the final book in the trilogy was published, I immediately bought it, which I guess shows that she’s on my auto-buy list. I can’t wait to not only read that final book but see what she writes next!
10. Robert Shearman — I’ve enjoyed his short story collections since Remember What You Fear Me (review) that yeah, he’s on my auto-buy list now 🙂

And that’s my list for this week! Which authors are on your auto-buy list?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic: Top Ten Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From (for some reason I thought we did this already but appears that we just did authors we OWN the most books from)

Okay, I’m sort of answering this question haphazardly; I could be wrong and missing a few authors as I can’t figure out if you can organise your GoodReads read pile according to the number of authors read so yeah, that and I don’t have exact statistics here. But anyway, here we go…In no particular order (because again, I’m not sure):

1. Daniel Silva — To date I’ve read all of his novels–love his Gabriel Allon series!–except the last two books, The Heist and The English Spy xD
2. Rick Riordan — I regret never having reviewed any of his books here but I’ve read all of his books to date except his Kane chronicles.
3. J.R.R. Tolkien (author tag) — Okay, I never got around to his Lost Tales books with all of his notes pertaining to his Middle Earth novels, but otherwise I’ve read everything else, from The Lord of the Rings (review #1, #2, #3) to his rendition of Beowulf (which I’ve been meaning to re-read actually, oops)
4. Edith Wharton (author tag) — I think it’s fair to say at this point that I’ve made a reasonable dent into her bibliography, reading both her full length novels and her shorter works…and there’s still plently more for me to get to and read! 🙂
5. Brandon Sanderson (author tag) — Pretty much read all of his books to this point except his Reckoners trilogy, the books he finished for Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, a few of his short stories/novellas, and Words of Radiance. Not so bad overall 🙂
6. William Shakespeare (author tag) — Strangely enough I almost forgot him! Which is crazy because I just finished reading all of his plays earlier this year…
7. Steve Berry — Before Daniel Silva came along, I read a lot of books from Steve Berry. I found the mysteries and items of interest far more interesting than Dan Brown, and just devoured his standalones, then his Cotton Malone books up to The Emperor’s Tomb (though then I read an ARC of The King’s Deception (review).
8. Patricia A. McKillip (author tag) — I think it’s safe to say I’ve read a good portion of her bibliography at this point 😉
9. J.K. Rowling — All 7 Harry Potter novels (which I’ve been meaning to finish re-reading…though now it’s been some time since I started the re-read, I reckon I’ll have to start from the beginning again 😛 ) + The Casual Vacancy (review)–and Very Good Lives if speeches count. Have yet to read her mystery novels as Robert Galbraith.
10. Georgette Heyer (author tag) — Omg, how could I have forgotten her books? She has quite a lengthy bibliography and I’ve read a good chunk of it at this point too….

And that’s my list for this week! I would’ve added other authors like Jane Austen, George R.R. Martin, and Neil Gaiman to the list but I’ve read more books from the above authors. Which authors have you read the most books from?