"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, November 10, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday...My Favorite blog posts of 2014



I'm going off the board here and creating my own Top Ten Tuesday topic. I couldn't think of any characters that I'd like to get to know better. I hope you all indulge me and take a minute to look through favorite blog posts I've written this year.

(I assume you can appreciate how frustrating it is to write what you think is a good post on an interesting subject/book and get NO COMMENTS!  Argh!  Please, please, please feel free to leave comments either on this post or on the blog posts I have highlighted. Click the hyperlinks and use the return button to come on back.  Thanks.)

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a review. I put a lot of sweat and blood into this review and learned so much about the author and the genre Magical Realism. (Posted Sept. 21)

2. Snapshot Saturday, July 12, a photo montage. Quirky things I love about Italy. (Posted July 12)

3. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, a review. I listened to this book in the audiobook format. It required 20 hours of listening. I felt like I'd climbed a mountain when I was finished. Oh yes, loved the book, too. (Posted Aug. 23)

4. I Wish I Were a Poet, a musing by me. Sometimes the beauty of the world just overwhelms me and I wish I had the language skills to express my feelings better on paper. (Posted May 7)

5. The Ocean the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, a review. Loved the book and the review showed it. (Posted Feb. 26)

6. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a review. There is something very magical about this book and I hope my review reflects it. (Posted April 14)

7. Ode to Maya Angelou, a poem by me on the occasion of her death. (Posted May 28th)

8. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, a review. this is a fairly recent review so it is fresh in my mind. (Posted Nov. 1)

9. Dedications, found in the front of books. I included a photo of a very funny dedication and no one even noticed or commented.  Be the first! (Posted Sept. 13)

10. Bless Me, Ultima by Ruldolfo Anaya, a review and commentary. My banned book selection of the year. Wow. Now it is a top ten favorite. (Posted Oct. 28)

11. How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig, a review. Huge fan of the book and techniques within. (Posted March 25)

12. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, a review. The book not only caught my attention but so did the theme of beautiful ruins. See what I mean here. (Posted May 4)

13. Bookish Items I'd Like to Own, a Top Ten Tuesday list. I had a lot of fun "shopping" and dreaming while i created this list.  Did you make one, too? (Posted April 16)

14. Not a Zealot for Zealot, a nonfiction book by Reza Aslan, a review and commentary. I honestly surprised myself how much I reacted negatively to this book. I did a good job explaining myself on the blog post, though. ( Posted June 11)

15. The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming, a review. A good book for high school students interested in the last Czar of Russia. (Posted on Oct. 16)

I hope that you enjoyed at least a few of these reviews.


10 comments:

  1. Great idea! It's nice to look back on what we've achieved on our blogs! I'm very intrigued about your Golem and the Jinni review. I shall go and read it now!

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    1. The Golem and Jinni is a very surprising story. I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for looking at the review.

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  2. Great Idea for a post. I love it. Thanks for visiting our TTT earlier.

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  3. Oh. I've never read any of those book but they seem great!
    HERE'S MY TOP TEN TUESDAY!

    NEW FOLLOWER VIA GFC

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  4. Magical...that is a perfect way to describe The Shadow of the Wind!

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  5. It happens to me a lot; I write a post from the heart that means a great deal to me and hardly anyone comments. I guess we have to mostly write for ourselves. I enjoy looking back on my old posts and remembering what I was doing/feeling, but some of my best ones are during the time that Patt was sick and dying, so I'm not often in the mood to revisit those times.

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    1. You are such a faithful reader and commenter. I am grateful for your friendship.

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  6. That's a cool idea, doing a round up. I've read a few of these books, it's a great list. I really need to check out Gabi, a Girl in Pieces.

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    1. I really like Gabi, a Girl in pieces. It is unique story.

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  7. This is a fun idea! Off to check out the posts- I am already intrigued by the Romanov one!

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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I look forward to your comments and interactions! Join in the conversation.