.png)
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.
Green Book Covers
🌈 Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️
Here are some of my most favorite books I read recently (in the last year or so) that have green covers. These were all five stars for me. There is a wide variety of books here which I highly recommend.
.png)
.png)
Here is my WWW Wednesday meme for this week. WWW Wednesday was formally hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and has been revived by Taking on a World of Words. The meme has you answering three questions: What are you currently reading, What did you recently finish reading, and What do you think you'll read next?
Have a great rest of your week!
🔖 What are you currently reading?
- Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan- I am listening to the audiobook as I follow along in my print copy. In March, I have been participating in Middle Grade March and this is one of the books I have owned the longest for the age range that I haven't read. So far it has been absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend picking up the audiobook if you ever want to read this book. It has four different narrators for the different perspectives and also beautiful music. What an experience it has been so far! Definitely, the best audiobook of the year for me.
- Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories edited by Nina Waters- I was searching for cozy stories dealing with academia, whatever genre that might be and I found this beauty. It is a collection of 22 queer stories from both fantasy and science fiction. I started this on March 8th and have been reading a couple of stories from it most days ever since. This is everything I wanted from a collection like this. If anyone has any other ideas for cozy stories dealing with academia, please let me know. Especially queer ones.
🔖 What did you recently finish reading?
- Castle Swimmer: Volume 3 by Wendy Martin- The Castle Swimmer series is a webcomic I have been reading for many years. I first found it on Webtoons many years ago and had read all that was out at the time, which was most of volume 1 but not all of it. It has been great revisiting this world in each of these volumes with my ARCs from NetGalley. Looking forward to when Volume 4 comes out.
🔖 What do you think you’ll read next?- Here are some of my future reads.
- No Friend to this House by Natalie Haynes- Natalie Haynes is one of my favorite authors for Greek Mythology retellings and I have been eagerly awaiting for this book ever since I first heard she was writing it. Medea is a favorite character for me from mythology. I have the audiobook from the library, so I will be listening to this one very soon. Cannot wait!
- These Are The Words by Nikita Gill- Nikita Gill is my favorite poet and I have been wanting to read this collection for a while. I was lucky enough to find this at a Free Little Library this past week. What an amazing find!
- Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers- One of the next books I'm going to read for Middle Grade March. I have been wanting to read this classic for so many years and I'm finally doing so this year.
I came up with a new reading challenge for myself last night while reading the second short story in Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories edited by Nina Waters. One of the character's names is Dr. Renwick Griffin. When I saw this name, I realized how little I see my last name in books and wanted to make a challenge for myself.
Throughout the rest of this year, I'm going to look for my full name (Carrie Ann Griffin) in books and keep track of when I find any part of it. I'm going to make it a bit harder on myself and not pick up a book just because I know it has my name in it. For instance, I know Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder definitely has my first name in it. Also, spelling counts.
So far, I have one character with the last name of Griffin from the short story collection, Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories. Here's to finding even more.
Carrie: 0
Ann: 0
Griffin: 1
Something that has always been just as important to me as my love of books, is my love of music. It might just be my biggest passion in life. There is not a day that I don't listen to music. This is a tag I created in 2022 on this blog: Book and Song Tag- Original. Each question has you giving a book and a song as the answers. I decided to redo it this year and have mostly all new answers.
I hope everyone enjoys doing this along with me.
Here's a link to my playlist I made with all the songs in this post: Books and Song Tag Playlist
1.) COLORS EVERYWHERE- A book/song you like with a color in the title:
📖: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston- Had to pick this one since there are three colors in the title.
🎵: "Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton
2.) LET'S COUNT THEM TOGETHER- A book/song you like with a number in the title:
📖: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut- One of my favorite classics.
🎵: "Ten Minutes Ago" from the Cinderella Musical sung by Aaron Tveit- Aaron Tveit is one of my absolute favorite singers from Broadway and this song is everything to me.
3.) AND I AM TELLING YOU... I'M LEAVIN'-Your favorite post-breakup book/song:
📖: The Weight of it All by N. R. Walker
🎵: "So What" by P!NK- Cannot tell you how many times I used to rock out to this song in my teenage years. P!NK is one of the best.
4.) GO THERE- A book/song you like with a location in the title:
📖: Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
🎵: "Portugal" by Walk The Moon- I was obsessed with Walk The Moon's album Talking is Hard in college. Still love it to this day.
5.) FORGET YOU- A book/ song that reminds you of someone you'd rather forget:
📖: Honesty by Seth King
🎵: "You're In Love" by Wilson Phillips
6.) DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!- A book featuring characters dancing/ song that makes you want to dance:
📖: The Once and Future Queen (The Lives of Guinevere #1) by Paula Lafferty
🎵: "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" by Benson Boone- I cannot help but dance every time I hear this song.
7.) LET'S GO ON A ROADTRIP- A road trip book/ A song to drive to:
📖: Thirty Things by Cate Ashwood
🎵: "Devils in the Canyon" by The Strike- The Strike's songs sound so good in the car, especially this one.
8.) ON THE BIG SCREEN- A book that has been turned into a movie/ A song that you like that has been used in a movie:
📖: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
🎵: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship (from Mannequin)
9.) HAPPINESS- A book/ song that makes you happy:
📖: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
🎵: "Holy Ground" by Taylor Swift- My favorite song by my favorite singer.
10.) PLAY IT AGAIN- A book/ song you never get tired of:
📖: Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
🎵: "Good Old-Fashinoned Lover Boy" by Queen- Queen is one of my favorite bands and this is my favorite of their songs. I will never stop listening to this.
11.) TEARJERKER- A book/ song that makes you cry:
📖: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
🎵: "For Good' from Wicked- This song has always made me cry ever since I first heard it in an episode of Glee. It is one of my favorite songs from any musical. It is just stunning!
12.) GEM FROM YOUR AWKWARD YEARS- A book you read in your preteen/middle school years/ A song from your preteen/middle school years:
📖: Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares- I first read The Sisterhood of the Traveling series back in eighth grade (there were only 4 books at the time). This was my favorite from the series and I read it a bunch of times the next couple of years.
🎵: "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews
13.) DECADES- A book/song you like from the 60s/ 70s/ 80s/90s/00s/10s/20s (You can pick one or do them all):
📖: Books
1940s: Animal Farm by George Orwell- 1948
1950s: The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J. R. R. Tolkien- 1954
1960s: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle- 1968
1970s: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff- 1970
1980s: The Lives of Christopher Chant (Chrestomanci #2) by Diana Wynne Jones- 1988
1990s: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia #1) by Walter Moers- 1999
2000s: Night Watch (Discworld #29) by Terry Pratchett- 2002
2010s: Insanity (Insanity #1) by Cameron Jace- 2013
2020s: The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix- 2024
🎵: Music
1940s: "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" by Vera Lynn- 1940
1950s: "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard- 1955
1960s: "Hey Jude" by The Beatles- 1968
1970s: "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Cass Eliot- 1973
1980s: "Freedom" by Wham!- 1984
1990s: "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain- 1995
2000s: "So Close" by John McLaughlin- 2007
2010s: "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy- 2014
2020s: "Can I Call You" by David Archuleta- 2025
14.) WEDDING MARCH- A book about characters getting married or that has a wedding/ A song you'd like to be played at your wedding/was played at your wedding:
📖: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
🎵: "Crash the Wedding" by Busted- Lol, this is such a joke answer. But I do love this song.
🎵: The actual answer- "All About You" by McFly
15.) OVER AND OVER IT REPEATS ON- A retelling/ A song you like that's a cover by another artist:
📖: Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle- LGBT retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that I love
🎵: "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston- Originally by Dolly Parton
16.) YOU'RE THE NEW CLASSIC- A classic you love/ A song that's a classic favorite:
📖: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
🎵: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing sung by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
18.) THE YEAR WAS... 1993- A book/song from the year you were born:
📖: The Giver by Lois Lowry
🎵: "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors
19.) THAT'S LIFE- A book/ song that makes you think about life:
📖: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
🎵: "Brand New" by Ben Rector- This is an absolute favorite for me. It always makes me smile and dance whenever I hear it.
20.) GIVE ME THE MEANING- A book/ song that has many meanings for you:
📖: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
🎵: "Mockingbird" by Rob Thomas- God, I love this song! Rob Thomas and his band Matchbox Twenty
21.) NAMES SPEAK VOLUMES- A book/ song that you like with a person's name in the title:
📖: Peter Darling by Austen Chant
🎵: "Peter" by Taylor Swift
22.) A STEP FORWARD- A book/ song that moves you forward:
📖: The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
🎵: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
23.) WHEN THE FIRST IS THE BEST- A book you love that's the start of a series/ A song you love that's the opening track of an album:
📖: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
🎵: "The First Time" by Boys Like Girls- This song brings me back to the summer before I started college (2012). Boys Like Girls has been one of my favorite bands ever since middle school. They have always written music I have related to on so many levels. Love this song and the album so damn much. My favorite from the album was definitely "Be Your Everything" it was...everything. Reminds me of someone very special. :)
24.) READ/ LISTEN TO THIS NOW- A book that you think everyone should read/ A song that you think everyone should listen to:
📖: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
🎵: There's too many of them. One of my choices would definitely be "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. Such an incredible song.
25.) GOODBYE IS THE HARDEST WORD- A book/ song you like by an artist no longer alive:
📖: Wyrd Sisters (Discworld #6) by Terry Pratchett
🎵: "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley- Elvis's music always makes me think of my grammy, because he was her favorite singer. This was definitely a favorite for us both.
26.) I LOVE THEIR LOVE- A book/ song that makes you want to fall in love:
📖: A Flowering of Ink by K. L. Noone- A recent favorite
🎵: "Come What May" sung by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge- Quite possibly the most beautiful song that I have ever heard. Also, one of the best movie musicals ever. Ewan is so damn good in it.
27.) HEARTBREAKER- A book/ song that breaks your heart:
📖: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
🎵: "Who Knew" by Pink
28.) BEAUTIFUL WORDS- A book by an author whose writing you love/ A song by an artist whose voice you love:
📖: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
🎵: "Can't Stop Loving You" by Phil Collins
29.) CHILDHOOD FAVORITE- A book/ A song you remember from your childhood:
📖: Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge Volume 10: Myths and Legends- I read through this book a lot as a child. Absolutely adored it.
🎵: "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Disney's Hercules
30.) PLAY IT SO LOUD SO THE WORLD CAN HEAR ITS AWESOMENESS!- An audiobook you want everyone to listen to/ A song you always want to play loud:
📖: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo- One of the best most recent audiobooks I listened to in February. It is read by the author and is stunning!
🎵: "Do You Hear the People Sing" from Les Misérables- This is my favorite song from my favorite musical. Everytime I listen to it, I just want to blast it.
31.) LOVE IS LOVE- A LGBT book that you love/ A LGBT song that you love:
📖: Dear Milton James by N. R. Walker
🎵: So, I tried to keep each of these to one song, but I couldn't for this one.
"Say You Love Me" by Steve Grand
"Boys Who Like Boys" and "Young Love" by Eli Lieb
"If They Only Knew" by Alfie Arcuri
"The Subway" and "Good Luck Babe" by Chappell Roan
32.) SOUNDS OF THE SEASON- A book with a season in the title or a book that makes you think of a certain season/ A song with a season in the title:
📖: The Dragons of Winter (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #6) by James A. Owen
🎵: "Endless Summer Nights" by Richard Marx