#TopTenTuesday Books To Put A Smile On Your Face

Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books Guaranteed to Put a Smile On Your Face. I’m glad this topic specified ‘smile’ rather than ‘laugh out loud’ because often the books that make me smile have moments of sadness but end on a hopeful, touching note. I’ve included snippets from my reviews but you can read them in full by following the links from the titles.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams – ‘Touching, heartfelt, uplifting’
A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz – ‘Tremendous fun with plenty of in-jokes and gentle jibes at the publishing industry as well as the author himself’
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett – ‘Not only is The Uncommon Reader a delightful story, it’s also a love letter to reading’
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson – ‘The utterly delightful Miss Pettigrew has just gained a new admirer’
Lost Property by Helen Paris – ‘Made me laugh, made me think and, at times, made me a little tearful’

 

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor – ‘A charming story tinged with humour but also with moments of poignant sadness’
Dear Mrs. Bird by A. J. Pearce – ‘Funny, charming and heart-warming’
Together by Luke Adam Hawker – ‘A short book but one well worth lingering over’
Saving Missy by Beth Morrey – ‘Tender, heart-warming, uplifting’
Three Women and a Boat by Anne Youngson – ‘An enchanting story full of warmth and insight, perfect for those in need of an uplifting read’

 

Which books have put a smile on your face?

 


#TopTenTuesday Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time

Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time. I don’t often read books more than once but here are a few exceptions:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – a Christmas tradition in my house
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – and then watch the film version starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – and then watch the film version starring Orson Welles and Jane Fontaine (again)
The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Montserrat – and then watch the film version starring the wonderful Jack Hawkins
Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves – a reminder, if ever it were needed, of the horror of war

John Buchan ElsfieldAnd a few that will come as no surprise to regular followers of my blog who know of my admiration for the works of John Buchan. Incidentally this Thursday, the 26th August, is the anniversary of his birth in 1875.

The Thirty-Nine Steps
Mr Standfast
The Island of Sheep
The Power-House
Sick Heart River

Do you read books more than once?