Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Places

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish back in June 2010. It is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and, as is stated on the blog, it was “born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”

Hello, reader!

As a person who loves to (but doesn’t often get to) travel, today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt was right up my alley! It’s all about bookish places I’ve been! Now, I haven’t been to a ton of bookish spots and there are a ton on my bucket list, so I thought I’d split this up. I’m going to share five places I’ve been and five places I want to go.

Bookish Places I’ve Visited

Bremen, Germany
- My family used to live in Germany when I was a toddler. My brother and I loved German fairytales, like the Town Musicians of Bremen, so our parents took us to the actual town! Somewhere, there is a picture of tiny-me standing in front of the statue pictured above. Definitely one of my most cherished childhood memories.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Massachusetts
- This cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts is the final resting place of quite a few famous writers. The grave in the picture above is that of Ralph Waldo Emerson! Louise May Alcott is buried there, as well, but I couldn’t find her grave when my husband and I went to visit. Good excuse to go back!
An Unlikely Story, Massachusetts
- This is my favorite indie bookstore near where we live. It’s located in Plainville, Massachusetts and it has a little more claim to fame than just being my fave. This bookstore is owned by the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Jeff Kinney! He even has a workshop on the top floor and they offer tours every once in awhile. This was especially cool because my son is obsessed with that series 😂
Make Way For Ducklings Statue, Massachusetts
- The setting of the classic children’s book, Make Way For Ducklings, is set at the Boston Public Gardens. So of course there is a lovely little statue dedicated to the book! My favorite thing about this art is that they routinely dress the duck and her ducklings in outfits to match seasons/occasions. It’s very cute and we make a point to stop by every time we’re in the Gardens.
The Boston Public Library, Massachusetts
- I couldn’t make about a post about bookish places I’ve been and not include the Boston Public Library. To be honest, I’ve lived in the area for around seven years now and only just went inside the library last year! It’s just as gorgeous as I heard it would be. I definitely want to go back and poke around more!

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: August 24th, 2026

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Goodreads Monday/TBR Monday is a bookish meme hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog invites you to post about what books are on your Goodreads “to read” lists or TBR lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenges, and any other bookish news!

Hello, reader!

Happy Goodreads Monday, everyone! It’s time for me to delve back into my Goodreads “Want to Read” list to see what it has to offer. Let’s see if today’s choice gets to linger on the list or it gets the boot.

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Forging Silver into Stars

Author:
Brigid Kemmerer

Publisher:
Bloomsbury YA

Publication Date:
June 7th, 2022

Pages:
560

Genre:
Fantasy/Romance

Synopsis:
Forbidden magic. Secret romance. Dangerous alliances. Enter the world of New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s electrifying series.

When nineteen-year-old Tycho, the King’s Courier, arrives in the remote village of Briarlock, he hopes to escape the demands of his new life in the royal court, where magic reigns for the first time in ages. He doesn’t expect to fall for a handsome blacksmith with a bruised heart.

After years of cruelty in his father’s forge, Jax never dared to dream of a better life — until a magic-wielding young lord shows him an enticing alternative. But when rumors of a rebellion reach Briarlock, Jax wonders who he can trust — and if he’ll even survive.

Jax’s best friend, Callyn, doesn’t trust anyone — especially not a handsome stranger with magic, which killed her parents years ago. When another royal emissary arrives, seeing a co-conspirator, Callyn finds herself embroiled in a plot that could lead them all to ruin. . .

As tensions flare throughout the kingdom, it won’t be long before everyone must choose a side.

War is brewing. Passions are building. And magic may doom — or save — them all . . .

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: August 23rd, 2026

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The Sunday Post is a blog news meme created by @CaffeinatedReviewer! It gives you a chance to post a recap of your last week, whether that pertains to books or not. You can talk about however much (or however little) you would like.

Hello, reader!

I’m bringing you another edition of The Sunday Post today! Time to let you know what I got up to this week, both here and out in the world. I was actually social this week so I have more to talk about, haha.

That being said, let’s jump in!

Week in Review

Ahh what to say about this week at work. It was a lot. Mostly because the place where we get a lot of our supplies for our department is having a huge warehouse issue and it is trickling down to us, the buyers. Which is stressing me out 🫠 Ahh, the fun of being a supervisor… But it honestly wasn’t a bad work week besides all the supply issues. I feel like I got a lot done, which is always a great feeling.

Friday was my day off since I worked this weekend and I actually left the house! Please clap! I went over to a fellow choir member’s house to help put together the music for our upcoming season. There were a handful of us that showed up to help out and it was fun to chat and catch up with everyone! I’m looking forward to starting our new season soon in September.

This weekend was a work weekend, so pretty boring, lol. I did take the kids to do some back to school shopping today after work. Now I’m a little poorer and a lot more exhausted 😂 I like shopping with my kiddos, though, because they are hilarious, lol. And at least it’s done now! Now we just gotta get the oldest packed and ready to move back to the dorms this coming weekend. Summer really flew by, didn’t it?

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book blogger hop

Book Blogger Hop: Book Trends & Bestsellers

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The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Crazy-For-Books and is currently being hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Every Friday, a new question is posted for book bloggers to answer in the coming week. The purpose of the hop is connection and community. You can discover new blogs to follow, new books to read, and you may end up with some new followers, as well!

This Week’s Prompt

Do you follow book trends and bestsellers, or do you prefer hunting down lesser-known titles?

Submitted by Billy, Coffee-Addicted Writer.

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first lines friday

First Lines Friday: August 21st, 2026

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First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re sharing on social media, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays!

Hello, reader!

I hope you’re all having a good end to your work week. It’s Friday and we all know what that means… it’s time for another First Lines Friday post! Today, I’m featuring one of my current reads. It was a random Libby pick that I find myself enjoying quite a bit! The premise is bonkers but, so far, it’s working for me, haha.

Now, let me share the first lines to see if it can pull you in!

The Line(s):

“‘I’m sorry, Asher… but I can’t go on this trip-‘

The last words I expected to hear coming out of my long-term boyfriend’s mouth at the airline ticket counter.”

The Build Up:

The Reveal:

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reading project

Project Library Love: August Visit

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Hello, reader!

August is swiftly coming to a close which is wild to me. This summer is flying by! Thankfully, I have had time to drop by my local library, so it’s time for another Library Love entry! My last library visit was absolutely perfect because I got to linger. No rushing because we had other errands to do. No monitoring the youngest since it was just me. I had nothing but time and a vague idea about what I wanted to read. I do love those types of library visits 🥰

Now, it’s time to jump in to the post!

Last Month’s Stack

In July, I checked out two physical books and two audiobooks.

My physical picks were:

Platform Decay by Marthe Wells
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

My audiobook picks were:

Leech by Hiron Ennes
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

I didn’t go as wild at the library last month as I typically do. I feel like July was a month of nothing but rushing! I did manage to read one of my physical books and both audiobooks, though. I quite enjoyed the ones I read, as well. The only one I didn’t get to was Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers but I still have it so there’s a chance I’ll read it in August!

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www wednesday

WWW Wednesday: August 19th, 2026

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It’s time for another WWW Wednesday! This is a bookish meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words where bloggers answer the 3 Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

If you’d like to learn more about any of these books, click on the cover to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Current Reads

The Will of the Many by James Islington: This continues to be a very compelling, if slow-going, read! And it’s only slow-going because I want to take my time with the world that James Islington is creating. It’s fascinating to me! I do feel like I need a whiteboard at times to keep track of everything 😂 Thank goodness for the appendices in the back! I’m having a great time with this but I feel like I need a day to just buckle down and get lost in the pages.
Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones: This author knows how to write a scene that gets under your skin and makes you shiver! There’s already been a handful of those in this novel and I’m not even halfway through. I just hit a part that ended with quite the cliffhanger and we’ve jumped to a different time/perspective. I’m not gonna lie, it’s slowed me down a bit because I want to know what’s happening in the other timeline! Still, this a solid read so far.
Work For It by Talia Hibbert: Oooooooooooh my, Ms. Hibbert! Got me blushing in my car on the way to work every morning, lol. I love these two grouchy idiots (no offense meant, Griff) and the spice is spicing 🥵 The audiobook is top notch though the voice Olu’s narrator uses for Griff took some getting used to. And the tension! I do love a romance with some yearning and this has it in spades.

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goodreads monday

Goodreads/TBR Monday: August 17th, 2026

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Hello, reader!

The work week has begun! That means it’s time for another Goodreads Monday. Time to pick a random book from my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and decide whether or not I actually do want to read it. I’ve been on Goodreads since 2011, y’all… there’s quite a few books on there that I probably don’t even remember adding! I’m currently sitting at 828 books to choose from and it really could be anything.

Let’s see which one we get today!

Random Goodreads Pick

Book:
Deep End

Author:
Ali Hazelwood

Publisher:
Berkley

Publication Date:
February 4th, 2025

Pages:
464

Genre:
Romance

Synopsis:
A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…

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the sunday post

The Sunday Post: August 16th, 2026

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Hello, reader!

We’ve reached the end of the week, which means I have another edition for you of The Sunday Post! Time to wrap up my week and what I’ve been up to on the blog.

Let’s dive in!

Week in Review

Not gonna lie, y’all, last week was pretty dull 😂 Work was work. I ended up only working four out of five days because I had a killer migraine on Friday morning. I could barely keep my eyes open and I was nauseous as hell. So I slept pretty much all day on Friday and have been taking it easy this weekend.

I did get into the kitchen yesterday morning. The kids were craving pancakes, so I obliged. I randomly Googled a recipe and the pancakes ended up coming out delicious! I also played some Minecraft with the youngest which ended when he decided to stab a witch and she murdered both of us… even though I told him not to! It was hilarious, haha. We also hung out and watched some random YouTube videos of Rhythm Heaven Groove. He’s trying to convince me to buy him the game and I’m beginning to be swayed!

Today was a lot of listening to my current audiobook, which is A Trade of Blood. Yes, I did just read the e-ARC at the end of July. But my library added the audiobook and I was the first person that got a chance to borrow it… so I did! Also, I love the narrator for this series (Andrew Fallaize) so I always pick up the audio as soon as I can after it’s released. This time it was just sooner than anticipated 😅😂 Still, I’m having a great time!