Top Ten Tuesday: Hallowe’en Freebie

It is in fact Hallowe'en today! And I do love Hallowe'en! There is something delicious about giving into the spookier elements of life, reminding ourselves that there are more things in Heaven and on Earth than are dreamed of in our philosophies (to misquote Shakespeare). A time when it is ok to acknowledge and to revel in some of our primal and atavistic fears - whether that be werewolves, witches or vampires. And alongside the date, as the clocks fell back an hour last weekend, and the nights are drawing in, the weather turning unsettled and stormy and the river beside which our house sits swells and threatens to break its banks again, we are really in autumn - that season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. This week's TTT theme is a Hallowe'en Freebie and I have certainly been casting my net around for chilling books to read - it seems a long time since I read a really chilling ghost story so I am genuinely looking forward to perusing your recommendations.

Top Ten Tuesday: Atmospheric Books

This week's TTT theme is a list of atmospheric books - and Jana gives us the following explanations of what we might understand by that term. The Novelryย explains this concept as: โ€œA novel feels atmospheric when the setting and the narrative are deeply involved with one another; when characters and plot are physically embedded in their surroundings, and a near-tangible mood lifts from the pages and wraps itself around the reader.โ€ย  Study.comย explains that, โ€œThe atmosphere is how a writer constructs their piece to conveyย feelings, emotions,ย andย moodย to the reader. The atmosphere in literature might be tense, fast-paced, mysterious, spooky, whimsical, or joyful and can be found in poetry, stories, novels, and series.โ€ Okay, yes I get those definitions... for me, a book is atmospheric when our feelings as a reader are brought to the fore - often by a genuine investment in setting and sense of place, where the setting is used to contribute to and enhance the experience. But it can also come across from characterisation, language and any other tool in the writer's toolkit. And the very real difficulty for me is narrowing this down to just ten... atmosphere is possibly

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for People Who Liked Tana French

This week's theme poses its own challenge. I love the idea of recommending books similar to a favourite author, but which author to focus on? Do I pick an author I find comforting and warm, or an author I find challenging? Do I find an adult author or young adult? Do I focus on classics or on modern writers? I want to pick my favourite author and rave about them... but again I have so many favourites...

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Had An Epilogue

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. Previous Top Ten Tuesday Topics May 3: One Word Reviews for the… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Had An Epilogue

Book Review: Hare House, Sally Hinchcliffe

In the first brisk days of autumn, a woman arrives in Scotland having left her job at an all-girls school in London in mysterious circumstances. Moving into a cottage on the remote estate of Hare House, she begins to explore her new home โ€“ a patchwork of hills, moorland and forest. But among the tiny… Continue reading Book Review: Hare House, Sally Hinchcliffe

Top Ten Tuesday: Hallowe’en Freebie

๏ปฟ 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. Previous Top Ten Tuesday Topics September 7: Books Guaranteed to Put… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Hallowe’en Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Book Settings

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. Previous Top Ten Tuesday Topics September 7: Books Guaranteed to Put a… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Book Settings

Top Ten Tuesday: Seasonal Freebie

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. PREVIOUS TOP TEN TUESDAY TOPICS: October 27: Halloween FreebieNovember 10: Non-Bookish HobbiesNovember… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Seasonal Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie

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. PREVIOUS TOP TEN TUESDAY TOPICS: August 18: Books that Should be Adapted… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Would Make Good Band Names

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. PREVIOUS TOP TEN TUESDAY TOPICS: March 3: Books With Single-Word Titles (submitted by Kitty… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Would Make Good Band Names

Top Five Saturday: Beautiful Books

The Top 5 series is back! Top Five Saturday is a meme hosted by Devouring Books to discover and share books that all have a common theme. Previously on the blog I have focused on witches, werewolves, thrillers, faeries, fairy tale re-tellings, high fantasy and many more. I am going to try and bring this series back for… Continue reading Top Five Saturday: Beautiful Books

2019 Book Survey

Love the idea of this Survey, from Jamieโ€™s End of Year Book Survey and having read a few, thought I'd (perhaps a little belatedly) upload my own. **2019 READING STATS** Number Of Books You Read: 40Number of Re-Reads: 0Genre You Read The Most From: Crime, Fantasy and Literary 1. Best Book You Read In 2019? The… Continue reading 2019 Book Survey

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favourite Books of 2019

I was going to say "In no particular order..." but as I wrote the words, I thought No! I shall give this list an order! So, listed by genre rather than by preference - because, how can you choose between yout favourites? - my top ten are Gothic Deliciously dark and creepy tales to chill… Continue reading Top Ten Tuesdays: Favourite Books of 2019