Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Reads of 2023

Our first Top Ten Tuesday prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl for 2024 is all about looking back over our reading from the past year and picking our top reads.  As usual, I am doing two lists, one of my top ten favorite new reads, and one of my top ten favorite re-reads.  I've linked each title to my review here on my blog, and provided a little info about each book as well, including its publication year.

My Ten Favorite New Reads:

1. Code Name Edelweiss (PG-16) by Stephanie Landsem, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction spy story set in Hollywood during the build-up to WWII

2. A Deed of Dreadful Note (PG) by Patricia Meredith, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction murder mystery based on the life of mystery novelist Anna Katherine Green

3. High Lonesome (PG-16) by Louis L'Amour, 1962 -- western adventure about strangers banding together against terrible foes

4. Murder on Black Swan Lane (PG-13) by Andrea Penrose, 2017 -- historical fiction murder mystery set in Regency England

5. A Right to Die (PG-13) by Rex Stout, 1964 -- a Nero Wolfe murder mystery involving the Civil Rights Movement

6. Beauty (G) by Robin McKinley, 1978 -- gentle and wholesome fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast

7. The Lilies of the Field (G) by William E. Barrett, 1962 -- sweet story of finding common ground despite outward differences

8. And Then There Were None (PG-16) by Agatha Christie, 1939 -- classic murder mystery about people trapped on an island

9. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (PG) by Bette Bao Lord, 1984 -- middle grade book about a Chinese immigrant family in the 1950s

10. The Vanderbeekers on the Road (G) by Karina Yan Glaser, 2022 -- middle grade book about a family road trip

My Ten Favorite Re-reads:

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles (PG) by A. Conan Doyle, 1902 -- classic Sherlock Holmes mystery

2. The Blue Castle (PG) by L. M. Montgomery, 1926 -- classic about a woman stepping out into life from the shadows

3. Shane (PG) by Jack Schaefer, 1949 -- western about a loner who adopts a family

4. The Black Stallion (PG) by Walter Farley, 1941 -- middle grade classic about a boy and wild horse who rescue each other

5. Playback (R) by Raymond Chandler, 1958 -- hardboiled detective mystery starring Philip Marlowe

6. The Enchanted April (G) by Elizabeth von Arnim, 1922 -- classic about four women who discover their true selves in Italy

7. Borden Chantry (PG) by Louis L'Amour, 1977 -- western murder mystery

8. Jane of Austin (PG-13) by Hillary Manton Lodge, 2017 -- Christian fiction retelling of Sense and Sensibility set in modern-day Texas

9. By the Great Horn Spoon! (PG) by Sid Fleischman, 1963 -- middle grade classic tall tale about the Gold Rush

10. Big Red (PG-10) by Jim Kjelgaard, 1945 -- middle grade classic about a boy and the dog he loves

You can see all my lists of favorite reads since 2014 on this page.

Check back later this week for a more fulsome look at my 2023 reading, including how I did with various challenges and so on!

"Playback" by Raymond Chandler

Man, this book has given me such a bad book hangover.  I don't even remember the last time I had such a severe one.  Usually, I am reading at least two books at once, and so I just naturally keep on reading my other book whenever I finish one.  And then I transition into another pretty smoothly.  But this book... I just can't leave it behind yet.  I finished it two days ago and, up until the last chapter, I was just kind of okay with it, but not loving it as much as Chandler's other novels... and then I got to that last chapter and it knocked me down.  I can't even remember the last time I read this book, and I had forgotten pretty much everything about it, which is how I like it -- that's why I cycle through Chandler's books by reading one a year.  And boy, was that effective this time around.

So yeah... I haven't managed to read anything in either of the other two books I have going right now, since I finished this.  I tried starting a different book because it felt more similar to this, but that isn't working either.  I guess I'll just have to let the hangover wear off on its own, or something.

Playback is the last full book Raymond Chandler wrote and published.  It is a bit unusual in that Philip Marlowe alludes to characters from a previous book in it, and talks about things that had happened in it, namely The Long Goodbye, which I don't recall him doing at all in the other books.  And it's some of those tie-in things that really come together in the final chapter of Playback and just... were so completely awesome and made me so happy that I can't get over them.

And, it seems I can't really review this book coherently, thanks to that.

Let me try to at least describe the plot a little bit.  Philip Marlowe gets hired by a lawyer to follow a woman.  He does, and discovers that she is in some pretty serious trouble, so he decides to try to help her instead of just tailing her and reporting on her activities.  There's not an actual mystery here in the traditional sense -- the focus of the book is not on figuring out whodunnit and bringing in a criminal.  Instead, it's about figuring out what someone is hiding, and why, and kind of... studying human nature a lot in the process.  

It's a pensive and contemplative book, really, and Marlowe sometimes seems to drift through it.  But I think that's the point -- Marlowe is adrift, and so is the woman he was tailing, and the idea of "what do you do if you can't anchor yourself to someone else or someplace else" is the story's actual focus.  And Marlowe gets a chance at an anchor, which could change his whole life forever.

Still not super coherent, I guess, but that's what I've got.  Like I said, this book knocked me for a loop.  But in a very enjoyable way.

Particularly Good Bits:

You can't run away from yourself (p. 24).

On the dance floor half a dozen couples were throwing themselves around with the reckless abandon of a night watchman with arthritis (p. 44).

"Excuse me," I said.  "I'm a little tired.  Once in every two or three days I have to sit down.  It's a weakness I've tried to get over, but I'm not so young as I was" (p. 142).

"If I wasn't hard, I wouldn't be alive.  If I couldn't ever be gentle, I wouldn't deserve to be alive" (p. 153).

I sat down on the couch and stared at the wall.  Wherever I went, whatever I did, this was what I would come back to.  A blank wall in a meaningless room in a meaningless house.  I put the drink down on a side table without touching it.  Alcohol was no cure for this.  Nothing was any cure but the hard inner heart that asked for nothing from anyone (p. 164).

If This was a Move, I Would Rate It: R for Marlowe spending the night with two different women, one instance of which does not fade to black until after one person is already naked.  There's also a lot of violence, including torture and a suicide, and some bad language and drug use.  And a lot of drinking, as usual.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Be Kind, Rewind

This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl is "Rewind: pick a previous topic that you missed or would like to re-do/update."  My pick is a prompt from July of 2018: Books That Are Linked to Specific Memories/Moments In Your Life. 

I link memories to objects.  This is one reason I own so many physical copies of books -- reading one over again often brings back the memories of the previous time(s) I read that book.  Of course, a lot of books just remind me of sitting on my couch or on the swing in our backyard, as those are where I tend to read the most.  But some books remind me very vividly of the place or time when I read them.  Here are ten fifteen of those that cover the past 20+ years:

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes -- I remember reading this while curled up on a fancy couch by a fire in the lobby of a Michigan hotel one winter evening.  Christmas was always a very busy and tiring time for my parents because my dad was a pastor and my mom was in charge of the music for the children's Christmas program at church every year.  So we would often do some kind of overnight getaway a day or two after Christmas as a family.  Just check into a hotel within an hour or two's drive, somewhere with an indoor swimming pool and hot tub.  One night of swimming, a hot tub, and getting to watch an old TV show or two on Nick-at-Night (we didn't have cable at home) really refreshed all of us.  One year, the hotel we stayed at had a fireplace with a real fire going in their lobby, and we all hung out there for a bit, reading and enjoying the ambience.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas -- I remember taking my library copy along to the orthodontist when I was eleven years old, and insisting on taking it into the exam room with me so I could read while waiting for the orthodontist to come in and adjust my teeth.  I had read a radio-play adaptation of just one small part of this book in a literature book for school, and I fell absolutely in love with it.  I convinced my mom to let me check out the real book from the library, and I read the whole thing.  Didn't understand the hashish stuff or some of the other, more adult subtextual matter, but I very much understood the plot, characterizations, and so on.  It's been one of my top favorite books ever since.

The Man in the Box by Marylois Dunn -- I found this book on the shelves in the junior fiction section of our North Carolina library, quite at random, and became somewhat obsessed with it.  In fact, I loved it so much, I wrote a little poem about how wonderful it was and tucked it inside the library copy when I returned it.  I don't know if the librarians didn't notice it, or thought it was sweet and left it in there, but I know that poem stayed inside their copy for years.  I know because I used to check to see if the book was on the shelves whenever I visited the library, and then see if the poem was still inside, and it always was!

The Princess Bride by William Goldman -- Although I'd loved the movie for years by then, I had never read the book until a friend gave it to me for Christmas my first year of college.  I remember reading the book on the plane when I flew home for Christmas break and having such a hard time containing my laughter because I didn't want to annoy my seatmates!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury -- I first read this book in my family's car on the way back to college to begin my sophomore year.  I quick bought it at a bookstore before we left because I had heard that Mel Gibson was in talks to make a movie version, and I was quite a Gibson girl at that point, so that intrigued me.  I was absolutely enraptured by the book, and it's still really the only dystopian novel I enjoy.

Dracula by Bram Stoker -- I bought a cheap paperback copy of Dracula at a bookstore in Toronto, Canada, while on choir tour in May of 2000.  I'd become obsessed with vampires during my sophomore year of college, thanks to the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel, and I decided I really ought to read the most-famous vampire book.  I read it while sitting on our tour bus, driving from one concert stop to the next, then the next, and so on.  I actually didn't care for the book much, but I stuck with it because I didn't have many other books packed.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde -- For four years after we finished college and got married, my husband and I both worked third shift.  I worked at Walmart, stocking shelves all night long.  Because I worked full-time, I got a full hour for my lunch break, and I would spend my lunches in the breakroom nibbling a sandwich and reading.  Reading, reading, reading.  I remember laughing aloud over this book so often there, and how amused my coworkers in the breakroom would be because I found the book so funny.  They used to say I read books the way they watched movies, which amused me because I once had a literature professor tell someone I watched movies the way other people read books.  Those both make sense, though, as I experience stories in both mediums basically the same way.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King -- That same college professor recommended this book to me, but I didn't have time to read for fun while in college because I took a lot of reading-heavy courses in literature and history.  So I wrote this down in a little book where I kept my list of things I'd like to read someday.  I found it in our small-town Wisconsin library a few years later and was absolutely delighted with it.  But my main memory of this book is buying a copy in a mall bookstore in Connecticut years later and rereading it in little snatches while my toddler sat on my lap to watch his daily dose of VeggieTales Silly Songs on YouTube.  I can't hear "Monkey" without being immediately reminded of this book.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling -- I pre-ordered my copy of the final Harry Potter book, and the bookseller shipped it a week early by mistake!  Scholastic Books offered me a free Harry Potter t-shirt and a gift card if I would agree not to read it before its release date, and I agreed.  I used that gift card to buy a boxed set of the Chronicles of Narnia, and I honored my agreement not to read it before the day it released.  I was still working third shift in 2007, I was pregnant with my first baby, and I had Tuesday nights off.  So when I woke up around 5pm, I started to read, and I read all night long while my husband was away at work, and I finished the book before we went to sleep around 9am the next morning.  It was glorious to just immerse myself so fully in that world.  And then I didn't have to worry about any of my co-workers sharing spoilers when I went back to work the next night!

Middlemarch by George Eliot -- I took this book along to the hospital when I had to have my gall bladder out.  I remember getting wheeled to and from the imaging center so they could take an MRI to see if I really had to remove it or not, and I was just merrily reading this chunkster paperback while they pushed me up one hall and down the next.  The nurses and techs and other hospital staff had a great time teasing me about how I must think I was going to be there a long, long time if I brought such a massive book with me.  It was a cheery touchstone in what was an otherwise unexpected and stressful event.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell -- I basically never stay up past my bedtime reading.  I never pulled a single all-nighter in college.  When I am tired, I sleep.  However!  I took my kids to visit my parents a few years ago, and brought this book along.  It was my first time reading it, and one night when I went to bed, I was about two-thirds of the way through the book.  I figured I would read to the end of my current chapter and then go to sleep.  Except, I just couldn't quit reading, and I ended up staying awake until 3 am and finishing the book.  Which I regretted in the morning when my little ones woke me up at 7am, ready for breakfast and playtime.  The book will forever remind me of my parent's guest bedroom in their North Carolina home.

The Annotated Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler -- I bought this at a really amazing Barnes and Noble in Baltimore and happened to take it along when I visited a podiatrist because I had to have a toenail removed.  I was very glad to have this larger-than-usual paperback along to focus on and shield my gaze from what the podiatrist was doing.

Borden Chantry by Louis L'Amour -- I bought a lovely, battered vintage paperback copy of this at a hole-in-the-wall used bookstore up in the Shenandoah Valley while we were on a family vacation last year, and read the whole thing while cozied up in the cabin we had rented.  Which is now my gold standard for where and how to read a western, to be honest.  They hit different when you're in a cabin built in the 1700s and snuggled up under a soft throw while curled up on an antique loveseat.  

The Black Swan by Rafael Sabatini -- I took this book along to the pool while my kids swam there last summer, when I couldn't swim because I had broken my arm and my surgical incision hadn't healed yet.  If I couldn't splash around in the water, at least I could read about adventure on the high seas!

Beauty by Robin McKinley -- I read this book on the flight home after an idyllic visit to my best friend earlier this month.  I finished it just before landing again, and the happiness of the book's ending got all tangled up with my joy over such an incredible visit and my gladness at being home with my husband and kids again.  

Do you also have vivid memories of where you read particular books?  What did you do for Top Ten Tuesday this week?  Please share!

The Bookworm Tag

Samantha at Bookshire did this tag recently, and she invited anyone who wanted to do it to consider themselves tagged, so I am!

The (very simple) Rules:

-answer the questions 

-make up new ones 

-tag people

Samantha's Questions and My Answers:

1. Hardback or paperback? 

I tend to prefer paperbacks.  They're cheaper, they take up less space on my shelves, and I can pack more of them when I go on trips.

2. Did you have a favorite comic book or graphic novel as a kid, and if so, what was it? 

As a kid, I loved this fairly odd comic book:

I got it for free from the grocery store, and I read it over and over and over and over.  And, it made me a Spider-man fan!  

3. What is your favorite devotional or inspirational book, and why? 

I really liked Pew Sisters by Katie Schuermann.  It was relatable, made for great discussions at our women's Bible study, and helped me realize that many of the things I struggle with are fairly common and not unique to me.  

4. Would you rather have to read only one book for the rest of your life, or never get to reread a book? 

I hate this question.  It has no good answer.  I love to reread books, but rereading just one book forever also doesn't sound like a great time.  

5. Least favorite literary villain? 

Like, the one I despise the most?  Um.  Hmm.  I don't know.  I dislike most villains, as that's sort of their job, so it's hard to pick just one I dislike the most.  Hmm.  Well, I really hate Cain in The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, so let's just go with him, huh?

6. What is your favorite romance trope? 

I love friends-to-lovers.  Give me people who like each other as people, and then start to develop deeper feelings for each other, and I am going to be a happy little reader.

But I also love a lot of books where it's more annoyed-with-each-other-to-lovers, which can be very fun too.

7. If you could spend a day with your favorite author, what would you do with them? 

Okay, so, my favorite author is Raymond Chandler, and he was a crabby alcoholic.  Whereas I don't enjoy alcohol much, and I'm not generally a crabby person.  So I would probably spend the day just quietly letting him get on with his drinking and writing.  

Unless it could be a day he was spending on the set of either The Blue Dahlia (1946) or And Now Tomorrow (1944), which he wrote the screenplays for, in which case, I would spend the day quietly stalking Alan Ladd everywhere he went in the least-creepy way I could possibly manage.  I'm not sure if Chandler ever visited either of those sets, but if he did, that's what I would pick.  Which sounds like it's less about loving Chandler and more about loving Alan Ladd, but oh well.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have their favorite author write screenplays for their second-favorite actor, but I am, so there we are.

8. What is the longest book you've ever read, and did you like it? 

That would be The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, and I liked it so much, I have read it nine times.

(From my Instagram account)

9. Do you have a favorite poet, and if so, who is it? When did you learn about them? 

I do!  I love Kenneth Koch because so much of his poetry makes me laugh.  I first learned about him in a lit class during my freshman year of college, and I've been a fan ever since.  I also really love his books on how to teach kids to write poetry, such as Wishes, Lies, and Dreams.

10. Have you ever cried over a fictional death scene, and if so, which one(s)?

SPOILER ALERTS!!!!  I cry over Boromir's death every time I read The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.  And also over Matthew Cuthbert's death in Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.  On a whole, though, I am way more likely to cry over something going unexpectedly, gloriously right in a book than I am over a character death.

END of SPOILER ALERT

Okay!  Those were lots of fun :-)  Time to tag people!  I hereby tag:

Bookshire

Classical Carousel

Classics Considered

Cimharas

Holds Upon Happiness

More 2 Discover

The Once Lost Wanderer

The Rustic Reading Gal

With Freedom, Books, Flowers, and the Moon

And here are my questions for you:

1.  If you had to go into the witness protection program, and they gave you the option of moving inside a book, where would you like to go?

2.  Have you ever claimed to have read a book you actually hadn't read?

3.  What author have you read the most books by?

4.  Do you ever buy fun bookish merch like mugs, shirts, artwork, etc?

5.  Do you usually read only one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?

6.  Are you a mood reader, or do you plan out your reads?

7.  If you could meet the author of your favorite book and ask them one question, what would you ask them?

8.  Have you ever tried a new food or drink because you read about it in a book or story?

9.  Have you ever named a pet after a book character?

10.  What book are you reading right now?

Play if you want to!

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Reads of 2022

I had a wonderful reading year in 2022!  To celebrate it, I've rounded up my "Favorite Books of 2022" to share with you for Top Ten Tuesday today, since that's the prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl this week.

As usual, I'm actually sharing two lists here -- my top ten favorite new reads and my top ten favorite rereads.  Since about a quarter of my reading is rereading, and I tend to revisit my favorites a lot, if I didn't separate the lists, I'd mostly be sharing rereads and that doesn't seem fair to new reads, so... two lists it is!

My Ten Favorite New Reads:

1. Borden Chantry (PG) by Louis L'Amour -- western, mystery, lawman, amateur detective, straight-forward storytelling

2. A Little Beside You (PG-13) by Jenni Sauer -- low-sci sci-fi, fairy tale retelling, gentle bruiser for a hero, cozy vibes, lots of knitting and baking

3. In the Glorious Fields (PG) by Emily Hayse -- magical western, King Arthur retelling, truly heroic heroes and heroines, gorgeous scenery, trilogy (book 3)

4. The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden (G) by Karina Yan Glaser -- family, friendship, city life, gardening, multigenerational friendship, multiracial family, homelessness, found family

5. Isabella's Daughter (PG-13) by Charity Bishop -- history-based fiction, indomitable heroine, castle life, royalty, intrigue

6. Emmazel (G) by Kendra E. Ardnek -- fantasy, fairy tale retelling, Jane Austen retelling, cozy vibes, gardening, female friendship, talking cat

7. Song of the Valley (PG) by Britt Howard -- modern west setting, romantic, enemies-to-lovers, falling for your brother's best friend, horses, helping others

8. Cranford (G) by Elizabeth Gaskell -- shabby genteel cottagecore, female friendship, multigenerational friendship, cozy vibes, slice-of-life

9. Swallowdale (G) by Arthur Ransome -- adventurous kids, sailboats, exploring, camping, friendship

10. Laertes (PG-16) by Carly Stevens -- dark academia, Roaring Twenties, Europe, Shakespeare retelling, male friendship, supportive siblings

My Ten Favorite Rereads:

1. The Blue Castle (PG) by L. M. Montgomery -- transformation, new life, beautiful nature, cozy cottage, island life, happily ever after

2. The Eyre Affair (PG-16) by Jasper Fforde -- book-based fantasy, literature love, alternate universe, Jane Eyre, quirky humor

3. The Long Goodbye (PG-16) by Raymond Chandler -- hard-boiled mystery, male friendship, brooding atmosphere, dark vibes, private detective

4. Kidnapped (PG) by Robert Louis Stevenson -- Scottish Highlands, escape scenes, male friendship, mismatched buddies, political intrigue, reclaimed inheritance, adventure galore

5. Bloodlines (R) by Jan Burke -- triple timeline, hard-boiled mystery, intergenerational friendship, mentors, amateur detective, Irish-American characers

6. The Beautiful Ones (PG) by Emily Hayse -- magical western, King Arthur retelling, truly heroic heroes and heroines, gorgeous scenery, trilogy (book 2)

7. Lost in a Good Book (PG-16) by Jasper Fforde -- book-based fantasy, literature love, alternate universe, Miss Havisham, quirky humor

8. These War-Torn Hands (PG) by Emily Hayse -- magical western, King Arthur retelling, truly heroic heroes and heroines, gorgeous scenery, trilogy (book 1)

9. Loving Isaac (PG-13) by Heather Kaufman -- parenting, autism rep, hesitant romance, turtles, abusive past relationships, sisterhood, Midwestern vibes, strong Christian faith

10. Ophelia (PG-16) by Lisa Klein -- medieval, historical fiction, Shakespeare retelling, first love, young adult, coming of age, secret marriage

Okay!  I hope that gives you some idea of what each of these twenty books are about -- maybe even got you interested in reading them.  Have you read any of them?  What were your favorite books this year?  Do tell!

"The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler

I think this is my other favorite Raymond Chandler novel, besides The Lady in the Lake.  I really love the interactions between Philip Marlowe and Terry Lennox.  Stories that revolve around a friendship often end up being favorites for me.  Two guys who might be considered losers by the world, who understand each other but don't pity each other -- no wonder they wound up friends.

Of course, then Terry had to go get himself into an awful lot of trouble and wind up dead.  And Marlowe had to just keep worrying at the edges of the mystery surrounding that trouble, which gets him into plenty of difficulties while he figures things out.  Oh, Marlowe, how I love you.

I last read this book just about ten years ago.  That was the perfect amount of time to help me forget the details, though I did remember there would be a doozy of a plot twist toward the end.  Which I looked forward to with great enthusiasm :-)

Because I'm exactly this sort of weird fangirl, I bought myself a Desert Rose coffee mug, circa the 1940s, while reading this book.  Why?  Because Marlowe mentions using a coffee mug and saucer in this pattern during the book.  I looked online to see if it was a real china patter, and after a bit of amateur sleuthing of my own, I learned this was the style of the coffee mugs in that pattern that were made before the book was written.  And I found one on eBay and bought it:

You may wonder why a hardboiled detective like Philip Marlowe would have a pretty, even somewhat whimsical, china pattern like that... in The Long Goodbye, he's renting a furnished house that belongs to an older woman who has temporarily moved away.  I assume the china is hers.  But he uses it.  So... I bought one.

Particularly Good Bits:

Very methodical guy, Marlowe.  Nothing  must interfere with his coffee technique.  Not even a gun in the hand of a desperate character (p. 28).

He was a guy who talked with commas, like a heavy novel (p. 82).

"I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while.  I'm a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich.  I've been in jail more than once and I don't do divorce business.  I like liquor and women and chess and a few other things.  The cops don't like me too well, but I know a couple I get along with.  I'm a native son, born in Santa Rosa, both parents dead, no brothers or sisters, and when I get knocked off in a dark alley sometime, if it happens, as it could to anyone in my business, and to plenty of people in any business or no business at all these days, nobody will feel the bottom has dropped out of his or her life" (p. 92).

It was the kind of morning that seems to go on forever.  I was flat and tired and dull and the passing minutes seemed to fall into a void, with a soft whirring sound, like spent rockets (p. 221).

I was as hollow and empty as the spaces between the stars (p. 273).

I went out to the kitchen to make coffee--yards of coffee.  Rich, strong, bitter, boiling hot, ruthless, depraved.  The life-blood of tired men (p. 319) (My personal favorite Raymond Chandler line of all time.)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-16.  There are plenty of allusions to and discussions of sex, and Marlowe spends the night with a woman, but it's all remarkably tasteful and oblique, not described on-page.  There's also some bad language here and there, plus a LOT of alcohol consumption, several deaths described in not-too-gory detail, and a suicide.  Chandler isn't for kids, but he doesn't write dirty books, either.

This is my first book read and reviewed for my fourth Classics Club list!!!

Top Ten Tuesday: On the Map

This week, our Top Ten Tuesday prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl Is "Books with Geographical Terms in the Title."

I decided to go with titles that use words for geographical features you might find on a map.  Here's what I came up with:

(All photos are mine from my Instagram)

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery (G) -- Anne Shirley finally, finally, FINALLY realizes what a gem Gilbert Blythe is.

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (G) -- Two cousins discover an abandoned town with two people still living in it

In the Glorious Fields by Emily Hayse (PG) -- Old and new enemies rise up against the forces of good trying to tame the Western Territory in this third and final book in the magical Old West series that retells the King Arthur legends.

Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery (G) -- A neglected girl finds love, freedom, and joy when her estranged father takes her to Prince Edward Island for the summer.

The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler (PG-13) -- Cynical private detective Philip Marlowe solves a murder in a small resort town.

Land of Hills and Valleys by Elisabeth Grace Foley (PG) -- A young woman fights to keep and defend the ranch she has inherited.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (G) -- A boy lives off the land in the wilderness for a year, alone, just for fun.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (PG-13) -- A sick boy, his sister, and his father go on a journey with a mystically magical ending.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (PG) -- A boy, some treasure seekers, and some pirates all try to find buried treasure.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (G) -- A multi-racial Harlem family of creative, irrepressible kids tries to convince their curmudgeonly landlord not to evict their family.

Spot any favorites?  How did you interpret this week's TTT prompt?

My Favorite Reads of 2021

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl to share the best books I read in 2021.  As has been my wont for the past few years, I have two top ten lists for you today: my top ten favorite new reads and my top ten favorite rereads.

I've linked all titles to my reviews; for some of the rereads, that link goes to whatever my most-recent review of the book may be, as I don't always review rereads, especially if I've reviewed them two or three times before.

New Reads:

1. The Beautiful Ones (PG) by Emily Hayse  -- breathtakingly good book two of Knights of Tin and Lead, a series that's retelling the Arthurian legends in a magical Wild West setting.

2. Swallows and Amazons (G) by Arthur Ransome -- enchanting stories of a wild and unfettered island summer for some siblings and their friends.

3. On These Black Sands (PG-13) by Vanessa Rasanen -- rollicking pirate fantasy adventure filled with romance, mystery, and handsome pirates.

4. Elizabeth and Her German Garden (PG) by Elizabeth von Arnim -- semi-autobiographical epistolary novel that makes me laugh a lot.

5. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (G) by Karina Yan Glaser -- delightful, whimsical, kind-hearted siblings having a Christmas adventure in Harlem.

6. These War-Torn Hands (PG) by Emily Hayse -- marvelous first book of Knights of Tin and Lead with achingly wonderful scenery and archetypical characters that I just love.

7. The Last Fire-Eater (PG-13) by Charity Bishop -- the latest installment of the Tudor Throne series is my favorite yet, mainly due to the feisty, friendly title character.

8. Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend (PG-13) by Robert K. DeArment -- biography of the Old West legend that left me wanting more.  Happily, there's a sequel about his later life!

9. Land of Hills and Valleys (PG) by Elisabeth Grace Foley -- vintage-feeling western that filled me with nostalgia.

10. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (PG-15) by Frederick Douglass -- enlightening, electrifying account of Frederick Douglass's early life as a slave and his escape to freedom.

Rereads:

1. The Count of Monte Cristo (PG-16) by Alexandre Dumas -- my second-favorite book of all time.  It gallops along, and I didn't want it to end.

2. The Blue Castle (PG) by L. M. Montgomery (PG) -- I reread this on January 1 and 2, and I plan for it to be my first read of this coming year too.  Because I completely love it, but I don't want to reread it so often that the sparkle dims from over-familiarity.

3. Shane (PG) by Jack Schaefer -- an unfairly wonderful book.  Unfair because I will never write a book this excellent.

4. Jane of Lantern Hill (G) by L. M. Montgomery -- this might now be my kids' favorite LMM book; I read it aloud to them this spring, and I think they've all reread it themselves a time or two after that.

5. The Enchanted April (G) by Elizabeth von Arnim -- this book refreshes me, and I love that about it.

6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PG) by J. K. Rowling -- my favorite Harry Potter book, which introduces my favorite Harry Potter character!  Just perfect.

7. Sense and Sensibility (PG) by Jane Austen -- I read the annotated version while leading a read-along, and it was such a joy.

8. Little Town on the Prairie (PG) by Laura Ingalls Wilder -- another one I read aloud to my kids, and we all loved it.

9. Trouble is My Business (PG-13) by Raymond Chandler -- none of the these are my favorite Chandler short stories, but they're delicious anyway.

10. North and South (PG) by Elizabeth Gaskell -- I liked it even better this second time through, as I knew about the rushed-feeling ending and was prepared for it.

You can check out my previous end-of-the-year top ten lists on this page.  They go back to 2014!

Did you share an end-of-the-year top ten list?  Drop a link in the comments so I can check it out!

The Give Thanks for Books Tag

Are you thankful for books?  I'm so thankful for them in so many ways -- for what they teach me, how they transport me, and how happy they can make me.  So I've created this blog tag to share some of the books I'm thankful for.  I'll tag a few friends at the end, and if you like it and want to do it too, go right ahead!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you.  (Thank you, me!)

2. Fill out the tag.

3. Share the tag graphic in your post.

4. Tag four friends.

5. Provide a clean copy of the tag for easy copying.

(Note: I've linked book titles to my reviews of them.)

(Another note: All book pictures are mine from my Instagram account.)

The Tag:

G -- A book you're Grateful to a friend for recommending: The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery. So many of my friends, I think particularly Heidi of Along the Brandywine, kept telling me that I HAD to read The Blue Castle.  And they were right.  Thank you, lovely friends!

I -- A book that fires your Imagination: All of Raymond Chandler's books.  I'm so serious.  His way with words just sets my imagination on fire.  My creativity soars whenever I'm reading one of his books, and that's a huge part of why he's my favorite author.

V -- A book with a Vivid setting: These War-Torn Hands by Emily Hayse.  Oh my goodness, the breath-taking beauty of her magical-Old-West setting!  The untamed vistas, the harsh beauty of the landscapes, the hungry wilderness surrounding every character -- it's magnificent.

E -- An Encouraging book:  Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper by SARK was a great shot in my creativity a few years ago.  Lots of good encouragement and advice for how to be and remain creative, whether you're a writer or a visual artist or whatever.

T -- A book that Taught you something:  Marsalis on Music by Wynton Marsalis taught me so many things about music!  For instance, I never knew that a sonata and a symphony have the same form, the only difference is whether they're played by a few instruments or by many.  The book is geared toward kids, but I got so much out of it too!

H -- A Happy book: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome is such a happy, fun, enjoyable book!  I read it aloud to my kids a few months ago, and we all got such a kick out of it that I ordered the next two books in the series, though we haven't started them yet.

A -- An Amusing book: The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White made me laugh and laugh and laugh.  If you want a truly funny middle-grade fantasy book with good humor instead of the stupid potty humor many middle-grade books rely on, give this one a try.

N -- A New-to-you book or author you discovered this year:  I tried out Walter Mosley's hardboiled detective books for the first time this year.  I didn't care for Devil in a Blue Dress, but I really enjoyed Trouble is What I Do. 

K -- A fictional character you feel a Kinship with:  Anne Elliot in Persuasion by Jane Austen.  Like her, I am quiet, reserved, loyal, and determined inside even if other people don't know how strong-willed I can be.

S -- A book you want to Share with others:  On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen is such a rollicking good time!  If you like pirate stories or fantasy books at all, you need to read it.

Here's a clean copy of the questions for you:

G -- A book you're Grateful to a friend for recommending

I -- A book that fires your Imagination

V -- A book with a Vivid setting

E -- An Encouraging book

T -- A book that Taught you something

H -- A Happy book

A -- An Amusing book

N -- A New-to-you book or author you discovered this year

K -- A fictional character you feel a Kinship with

S -- A book you want to Share with others

I Tag:

Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness

Gabby at Finding Freedom, Living Loved

Katie at I'm Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read)

Olivia at Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

Play if you want to!