TTT: Literary Villains

Top Ten Villains in Literature

1. Bob Ewell (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)-the evil racist who who attacks Scout and who wrongly accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter
2. Humbert Humbert (Lolita by Nabokov)- is the ultimate creepy, creepy guy.
3. Inspector Javert (Les Miserables by Hugo)- he pursues Jean Valjean for 19 years.
4. Miss Trunchbull (Matilda by Dahl)- She is mean, mean, mean to little kids.
5. Mrs. Danvers (Rebecca by du Maurier)- She is so devoted to the first wife, she tries to lure the second wife to commit suicide.
6. Cathy Ames (East of Eden by Steinbeck) - She is so cold, cold, cold. A sociopath to the -nth degree.
7. Dr. Frankenstein (Frankenstein by Shelley) - the monster wasn't the villain. The doctor who created him was. He was playing God.
8. Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey) - Her rules were more important than truly caring for her patients' mental health.
9. Ridgeway (The Underground Railroad by Whitehead) - The slave-hunter is relentless in his pursuit of runaway slaves.
10. Voldemort (The Harry Potter series by Rawling) - He who should not-be-named is the biggest villain of them all!
11. Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Pride and Prejudice by Austen) - She is a snob and thinks she can boss everyone around because she thinks she is better than them.

-Anne

TTT: Titles Related to Jobs/Occupations

TTT: Book Titles Related to Jobs/Occupations

Okay folks. I don't know about you, but I couldn't find books with occupations in the titles. I looked through a list of one whole year of books I've read and didn't find one single mention of a career or occupation. My tweek this week, therefore, is to list titles which could relate to occupations or at least pay the participants.

Example:

Book -- Occupation: The Hearing Test by Liza Barry Callahan --- Audiologist

Used in a sentence: The audiologist gave the woman a hearing test after the rock concert.

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A Death in the Family by James Agee --- Mortician

The mortician was called because there was a death in the family.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters --- Picking berries for money

The family of berry pickers moved from Canada to Maine each year to make extra money picking berries.

Plague Busters! by Lindsey Fitzharris --- Epidemiologist

Epidemiologists worked really hard to bust a modern plague: COVID-19.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles --- Journalist

The young journalist was assigned to the Middle East to report back the news of the world and the region.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Toshikazu Kawaguchi --- Barista

The patron asked the barista to make her drink extra hot so the coffee would not get cold by the time she got to work.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner --- Hospice Care Nurse

As I lay dying the family called the hospice care nurse for assistance.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus --- Chemistry Professor

The chemistry professor liked to teach lessons in chemistry to young children who were still excited by the wonder of science.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy --- Civil Engineer

My grandfather, a civil engineer, built many roads with his crews.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich --- Night Watchman

The night watchman walked the perimeter of the factory several times a night, watching to make sure there were no intruders.

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler --- Pulmonologist 

After serious smoke inhalation the pulmonologist gave the victims breathing lessons.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefti --- Beekeeper

The beekeeper didn't want to abandon his bees when civil war broke out in Aleppo, Syria.

Note: Most sentences do not actually relate to the identified book plots.

-Anne

TTT: Favorite National Park Memories

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-bookish freebie: My Favorite National Park Memories

My husband and I are determined to visit as many National Parks as we can. 

Here are some of my favorite moments spent in a National Park:

Glacier National Park, Montana
June 2025
So many memorable moments but our tour with the whole family on the Red Bus was a highlight.
A book I read in June 2025: Raising Hare: a Memoir by Chloe Dalton

Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington
January 2025
Mt. Rainier is practically in our backyard and so we visit it quite often. On this sunny day we drove up to Paradise (Nisqually entrance on south side) with our youngest grandson. It was snowy but very warm that day so we kept shedding layers. For lunch we sat on the tailgate of Grandpa's pickup truck and sipped hot chocolate. Jamie informed me, just the other day, that he wants us to take him back up the mountain so he can sip hot chocolate sitting on the tailgate. A very happy memory.
Book read in January 2025: Playground by Richard Powers

Acadia National Park, Maine
October 2024
The entire part of the state of Maine we visited seemed like one, beautiful National Park. Acadia was full of visitors the day we were there with everyone looking at the Fall colors.
Book read in October 2024: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

Zion National Park, Utah
April 2024
Everything about this park was majestic but our hike to this overlook was the most spectacular. We visited two parks in Utah with the whole family then went on to visit the three National Parks in the state by ourselves.
Book read in April 2024: Leave Only Footprint: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
April 2024
The rock formations, called hoodoos, blew my mind. The boys took a hike amongst the hoodoos. This hike was the favorite hike of our trip. (Shown Grandpa and grandson)
Another book I read in April: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Arches National Park, Utah
April 2024
We walked over ten miles this day. So many arches, such beauty. We also found Canyonlands NP and Capitol Reef NP so fascinating and unusual.
Another book I read in April during that trip: Sweet Thunder by Ivan Doig

Everglades National Park, Florida
October 2023
I was stunned by this river of grass. It was very different than I expected. My eyes couldn't take in all the beauty at once.
Book I read in October 2023: Made for the Journey by Elisabeth Elliott

Death Valley National Park, California
May 2023
A terrible photo of me but a terrific view (bottom half.) We got up at 4 AM to drive from Las Vegas to Dante's Point in Death Valley NP to witness sunrise. The sky was overcast but we were alone on the point for a sacred experience. The whole day unfolded like a miracle. We couldn't believe the varied landscapes and experiences in this park. 
Book I read in May of 2023: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

Kings Canyon National Park, California
April 2023
Sequoias. The biggest trees on earth. Just standing beneath them was overwhelming. (The route to Sequoia NP was washed out due to tremendous snow storms that winter so we didn't get to see General Sherman tree, the biggest of the behemoths. Guess we'll just have to go back some day!)
A book I read on this trip: The Fox and I by Catherine Raven

Olympic National Park, Washington
March 2023
Spending a weekend with friends from New Jersey on the Olympic Peninsula in our state. Here we are in front of the gorgeous Lake Crescent. Later in the day we hiked in the mossy Hoh rain forest.
A book I was reading at the time: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii
February 2023
Visiting Hawaii with my sister and her husband. This park's strange ecosystem is so memorable -- a dormant volcano which last erupted in the 15th Century.
A Book I read in Feb. 2023: Citizen Vince by Jess Walter

Joshua Tree National Park, California
June 2022
The rock formations and the trees, which really aren't trees. It was like we arrived on another planet. A sign at the Visitor Center said: "DON'T DIE HERE TODAY." Good advice. We remind each other of it frequently.
An appropriate book I read during this trip: Stranger Planet by Nathan Pyle

Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
July 2021
We picnicked at beautiful Lake Helen which is at an elevation over 8000 ft. near the summit of the park. 
Book I remember reading on this trip: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

Badlands National Park, South Dakota
June 2018.
My daughter and I drove across the country after she finished grad school in New York back to our home in Washington State. We stopped at this National Park and gaped for a while. It was a little off-putting all the signs to beware of poisonous snakes.
We listened to a lot of audiobooks on the trip. One was: Going Bovine by Libba Bray.

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
May 2015
A sorority sister, her husband, Don, and I took the first tour boat of the season to witness the wild beauty of the fjords and the glaciers. The seas were rough and everyone got sick except me. It was a revelation...I don't get seasick. 
A book I was reading in May of 2015: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Of course, I loved The Redwoods, Crater Lake, The Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. But we visited them before we had phones with cameras. So far I believe we have visited 24 of the parks together. Don has visited three without me and I have visited one as a child, Yellowstone, which he hasn't seen. We want to go back to all those parks together.

Yosemite National Park, California
July 2012.
(I took a photo of a photo so I could include this marvelous park.)
My parents planned a family reunion for a few days after our daughter's wedding. We were exhausted, obviously, but also exhilarated. My younger sister and her family opted to do some hiking while my older sister and her hubby joined us for a bus tour of Yosemite which really paid off. We got to take photos at all the key spots, like Half Dome behind us, without the hassle of having to find parking. The bus driver was also a tour guide and we learned a ton about the park and about the National Park system in general. We were there for such a short time. I definitely want to go back, especially in early spring when they have frazil ice. 
A book I read in July of 2012: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

-Anne

TTT: Tomes: The Longest Books I've read in 2025 so far

Top Ten Tuesday: Tomes

These are the longest books I've read in 2025 so far

The Brothers Karamazov, 845 pages

Say Nothing: Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, 560 pages

David Copperfield, 501 pages

The God of the Woods, 490 pages

The Deep Dark, 480 pages

The Fifth Season, 468 pages

Catch-22, 453 pages

The Frozen River, 448 pages

The Antidote, 432 pages

The Briar Club, 432 pages

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Big Tomes on my TBR

War and Peace, 1392 pages

The 1619 Project, 1040 pages

Pillars of the Earth, 976 pages

Anna Karenina, 964 pages

1Q84, 944

11/22/63, 849 pages

The Iliad, 848 pages

Murtaugh, 688 pages

Crime and Punishment, 671 pages

A Fine Balance, 603 pages

The Caine Mutiny, 537 pages

I'm always a bit daunted to start LONG books. Many have been on my TBR for years for that reason.

-Anne

TTT: Help getting out of a reading slump

Top Ten Tuesday: Help getting out of a reading slump.

This is what works for me

I made a similar list in 2018. Check it out for more suggestions.

Switch up the book format. Try audiobooks. Let a good narrator do the heavy-lifting for you. Here are a few excellent books in this format:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This book is genius in the audio format. Rocky, the alien, has a unique way of communicating with musical notes. It is so cool!!!!

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

This is an excellent story made even better because the narrator is Tom Hanks. I liked it so much I listened to it twice.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Everyone I know who read this book didn't like it. Everyone who listened to it, including me, LOVED it. Why? The story is read by 166 unique narrators. It is fantastically fun to try and identify those voices we know.

Switch up and read something outside your typical genre choice. This almost always shakes me out of reading doldrums. Try a graphic novel, narrative nonfiction, a gothic novel, or something written for children or teens.

What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird by Sy Montgomery.  Narrative nonfiction and short. So good.

North American Maps for Curious Minds: A New Way to See the Continent by Matthew Bucklan. Reference. Illustrated. I devoured this book in one gulp. It is both fun and sometimes funny.

Encyclopedia by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Humor. I adored this book and made me laugh again and again.

Join a few reading challenges and put in a bit of effort to meet the goals. My favorite reading challenges are those which have a limited time period, like a month or a season. Year-long reading challenges are too easy to push aside. Here are a few I've enjoyed over the years:

Big Book Summer -- Read a few books over 400 pages during the summer.

Novellas in November -- Read a few books under 200 pages in November.

StoryGraph: Genres Challenge -- attempt to read books from all of SG 58 genres.

Austen in 2025 -- Read one or all six of Austen's books this year, her 250th anniversary.

Read from your own TBR -- self-explanatory (couldn't find link). Make it up!

Classics Club Spins -- Make a list of 20 classics, read the one on the winning number.

Nonfiction November -- Not only read nonfiction but answer prompts about nonfiction

Goodreads Seasonal Challenges-- Click on your Goodreads photo. Pull down, click on Reading Challenges. Fall/Spring season is coming soon, there will be a new set of challenges.

Go to a library and ask a librarian for help selecting a book. They live to make recommendations (I know. I'm a retired librarian.) Or locate the "Librarian suggests" section on the shelves. Your library may also have a feature where you can request librarians find books for you to try. I did this once. I requested "short poetry books for adults." I was given some really fun books to explore, books I never would have picked myself. Another time I did the same thing with children's books.

Make a few selections from others' best books lists. I am a big fan of doing this and have found some books I ended up really liking on them. Here are a few lists to peruse:

New York Times Best books of the 21st Century

Readers Pick the Greatest books of the 21st Century

NPR: Books We Love: 2024

Time Magazine's List of Best Books of all TIME

Best books of 2024, compiled by Head Full of Books (me!)

Can't find anything that interests you? Try a shorter commitment, selecting a short novel or a few short stories. Here are a few I like:

-Orbital by Samantha Harvey

-The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

-Murder Bots: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

-Foster by Claire Keegan

More ideas needed: Short books you can read in a day.

Still stuck? Try a reread of an old favorite.

I have three authors I turn to when I'm good and stuck: Jane Austen; John Green, and Alexander McCall Smith. Any of their books will do!

How about you? What works best to get you out of reading slump?

Right now I'm following my own advice:

• Selecting a novella for an upcoming car trip with the family, a book title we can all agree on.
• I just finished a book from the NYT Best books list: Say Nothing. It is 19th on the list. So good.
• Making selections for books to help me complete the genre challenge at StoryGraph. I only have ten genres to go out of 58.
• And, right now, I am reading a book recommended by the librarians on their "We Recommend" shelf: When the Moon Hits Your Eye.

-Anne

TTT: Historical fiction

Top Ten Tuesday: Historical Fiction Read in 2025

I've recently started playing around with Storygraph. As I record a book the App assigns a genre or genres to it. All of the selections I am listing I've read in 2025, all are considered historical fiction by Storygraph, and I liked the titles I am sharing. 

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
Set during the McCarthy Era, 1950s, in Washington, D.C.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
A murder mystery set in a summer camp in two time periods: 1964 and 1975.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Set on a fictitious island off the coast of Italy during WWII.

The Antidote by Karen Russell
Set in Nebraska during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Set in Massachusetts (now Maine) in 1789, based on the diaries of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived during that time.

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen
Starting in 1956 this is the story about Ruth Handler and her most famous invention: the Barbie doll.

The Safekeep by Yael Van der Wouden
Set in The Netherlands in 1961 about the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust.

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
Based on the author's childhood memories of fishing with his father and brother in the rivers of Montana in the 1930s.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Set in France during Nazi occupation during WWII.

Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin
Based on the the author's experiences growing up in a very conservative, religious family in Harlem in the 1930s. 

-Anne

TTT: A Twist on "Beach Reads"

Top Ten Tuesday: A Twist on "Beach Reads"  -- Poolside Reads

I'm from the Pacific Northwest where reading at the beach is nearly impossible unless one happens to be at the Pacific coast on a still, warm day. Even if the beach is sunny, it is usually too windy to comfortably read while sitting on the beach. So, for a twist on today's topic I've decided to look back on books I've read during our yearly vacation to a resort in Central Oregon, where it is usually quite warm  or other places we've vacationed which have perfect weather for poolside reading.

1. July 28, 2025 (today) --Central Oregon--  What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky: Stories by Leslie Nneki Arimah

2. August 6, 2024 --Central Oregon -- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

3. July 2, 2023 -- Whistler, BC -- Work Song by Ivan Doig

4. June 26, 2022 -- Palm Springs, CA -- Stranger Planet by Nathan Pyle

5. July 4, 2022 -- Northern California -- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

6. June 3, 2021 -- Lake Tahoe, CA -- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

7. June 5, 2021 -- Lake Tahoe, CA -- Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

8. August 4, 2020 -- Central Oregon -- Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

9. August 11, 2019 -- Central Oregon -- The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

10. June 22, 2019 -- Whistler, BC -- America for Beginners by Leah Franqui

Obviously books I choose to read poolside are just the books I happen to be reading at the time. I prefer to read books I own so I don't have to worry about water damage, but that is not a hard and fast rule for me.

-Anne

TTT: The last ten books I've read set during a war

Top Ten Tuesday: The last ten books I've read set during a war

I just finished read Catch-22 so I've been thinking about how terrible wars are, again. Here is a hyperlinked list of my most recently read war books:

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
WWII in Italy, and a fictitious island off the coast
Published 1961, read July 3, 2025
Noteworthy: A classic, considered one of the top ten books of the 20th Century.
My rating: 4 stars.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel.
WWII in France.
Published 2020, read June 10, 2025
My rating: 4 stars

Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland.
WWII in Provence region of France.
Published 2014, read February 22, 2025
My rating: 3 stars

Signal Moon by Kate Quinn.
WWII in Great Britain.
Published 2022, read December 27, 2024
Noteworthy: a short story/novella.
My rating: 5 stars

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.
WWII in Bavaria region of Germany.
Published 2017, read November 14, 2024
My rating: 4 stars

A Bell for Adano by John Hersey.
WWII in Italy.
Published 1944, read September 5, 2024
Noteworthy: 1945 Pulitzer Prize winner.
My rating: 4 stars

The Women by Kristin Hannah.
Vietnam War.
Published 2024, read July 28, 2024
My rating: 4 stars

Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan.
Sri Lankan Civil War.
Published 2023, read July 8, 2024
Noteworthy: 2024 Women's Prize winner
My rating: 5 stars

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips.
US Civil War.
Published 2023, read June 19, 2024
Noteworthy: 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner.
My rating: 3 stars

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
US Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg.
Published 1974, read April 10, 2024
Noteworthy: 1975 Pulitzer Prize winner.
My rating: 5 stars

-Anne