Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

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.

Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

Another Top Ten Tuesday list which felt like it was impossible to narrow down. There are so many books I would like to read by authors I have never picked up books from before. Here is a list of books from ten different authors I have never read from before. 

1. Agnes Grey or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne BrontΓ«

- I feel in love with Charlotte BrontΓ«'s writing when I read Jane Eyre for the first time and then was surprised by how much I enjoyed Emily BrontΓ«'s in Wuthering Heights this year. So, the next step is to read one of these two books and see if Anne's writing holds up to her sisters. Don't know which I will pick. 

 

2. Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez

- I have owned the audiobook for this book for so many years and am planning to pick it up sometime soon. The sound of this fantasy roadtrip sounds great. 

3. The Binding by Bridget Collins

- Another book I have owned for years now. I have just never really been in the mood for this one but I would like to read it in the near future. Many of Bridget Collins' books sound very interesting.

4. Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (Red #1) by Anne Carson

- A novel written in verse is one of my favorite mediums for books and I absolutely love Greek Mythology. So, I really don't know why I have yet to pick this one up. 

 

5. Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel #1) by Josiah Bancroft 

- Ever since I saw Allen from @TheLibraryofAllenxandria, review this book and another two on this list I added them right to my TBR. He really sold me on these books. I got the first two books in The Books of Babel series from a book sale earlier this year for just 25 cents for the set. The plan is for me to read the first book this year, but I'm not too sure if that is going to happen. 

 

6. The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

- I don't know why I have never picked up one of Erin A. Craig's books yet. There are three of her books so far that I would like to read. The Thirteenth Child is the one I'm probably most excited to pick up. It sounds incredible. Hopefully, I'll get to it sometime soon. 

7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

- Yet, another book I have heard nothing but amazing things about. This is one I know I will have to be in the right mood though because I have heard it is quite emotional. 

8. Stoner or Augustus by John Williams

- The other books I heard recommended by Allen from @TheLibraryofAllenxandria that sound absolutely incredible. If I had to pick one of these to read first it would probably be Augustus because it is told in an epistolary format.  

9. The Wandering Inn (The Wandering Inn, #1) by Pirateaba

- One of the longest books on my TBR at over 1300 pages. I have heard so many great things about this over the years and would like to read at least one of the books in 2026. We will see if that happens. 

 

10. The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George 

- I have been interested in King Henry VIII ever since I first learned about him and his family in my tenth grade history class. This is a book I only know about because I happened to find it at a book sale last year. It is told from the perspective of the king with commentary from his court jester, Will Somers. The size is one of the only reason I have not read it yet, with it being over 900 pages. Margaret George also has a couple of other books that sound really good, especially Helen of Troy. 

Friday, July 10, 2026

Summerween 2026 πŸ‘»πŸ–️

 

Between July 3rd-9th, I participated in Summerween, hosted by Gabby from @gabbyreads.  I was happy to get to these four books during those days and enjoyed most of them very much. Also, during the week I completed all of Gabby's prompts. My favorite from the books was The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs. 

Books Read:  

1. Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery Book 1) by Gigi Pandian: πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»

        - I highly enjoyed this cozy mystery and will be continuing on with the rest of the series. One of my favorite parts of this story was the whole idea of Secret Staircase Construction. It was so interesting to hear about the locked rooms they created. Also, the family elements of this story were wonderful. I love how Gigi Pandian used classic mystery stories throughout this and especially here use of Edgar Allen Poe. 

2. The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs: πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»

        - Such a strange little book, that I loved. It has a mix of humor, creepy scenes, and a lot of fantasy fun. It is my favorite of John Bellairs books I have read so far.   

3. The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm: πŸ‘»

        - I was really looking forward to this book because I have heard it described as a world similar to Wonderland with quirky characters like that. Sadly this was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It was unsettling and quite disturbing with no real plot to it. The only reason I even finished it was because of how short it was. I did not enjoy this in the slightest. 

4. In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste: πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»πŸ‘»

        -In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts is a queer continuation of The Great Gatsby, following Daisy Buchanan's daughter Pamela (Mel) over 30 years after the events of the original novel. Daisy is found dead in Gatsby's mansion, though Mel knows Daisy has been spiraling out of control for years. At Gatsby's estate, she fin's her mother's ghost and tries to figure out how to free her from the house.

The novella has stunning writing which drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked in like the house and its "visitors." Gatsby is one of my favorite novels and I loved seeing where Gwendolyn took this "sequel" of the story. There are many different eerie and creepy scenes which were so good.

Along with Mel, we get some new characters and then many of the characters from the classic including Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway. Nick is my favorite character from the original novel and the author does an incredible job with his characterization in this. The haunted house became a character itself and I loved reading about its hunger. I think it's interesting how grief and guilt are looked at in this novella.

Overall this was a very entertaining read, I highly enjoyed reading as a big fan of The Great Gatsby.

*Thank you to Edelweiss, Creature Publishing, and Gwendolyn Kiste for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.* 

Gabby's Prompts: 

1. Read a book in the dark or at night  ✔️

        - Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery Book 1) by Gigi Pandian

        - In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste

2. Read a thriller or horror book ✔️

        - The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs- Fantasy with a bit of creepy scenes

        The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm

        - In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste 

3. Read a new to you author- someone you have never read from before ✔️

        - Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery Book 1) by Gigi Pandian

        The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm

        - In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste 

4. Read a book with Pink on the cover ✔️

        - In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste 

5. Read a book with less than 250 pages ✔️

        - The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs

        The Last Delivery by Evan Dahm

        - In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste