#TopTenTuesday Books On My #20BooksofSummer2025 Reading List #TuesdayBookBlog

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 Top Ten Tuesday topic is a freebie on the theme of summer. I’m taking part in the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge and here are the first ten books I’m planning to read/listen to. They have all been in my TBR pile for ages. Will they still be there at the end of August? Wait and see. Links from the title will take you the book description on Goodreads.

  1. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
  2. The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel (audiobook)
  3. Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
  4. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
  5. The Body in the Ice by A. J. Mackenzie
  6. The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser
  7. The Dark Isle by Clare Carson
  8. Pompeii by Robert Harris
  9. The Assassin of Verona by Benet Brandreth
  10. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

#TopTenTuesday Animal Life #TuesdayBookBlog

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 Top Ten Tuesday topic is Animal Companions. I’ve picked ten books I’ve read that involve relationships between animals and humans in some shape or other. Links from the title will take you to my review.

  1. My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende – on the battlefields of the Chilean Civil War, Emilia is “adopted” by a dog named Covadonga who becomes her loyal companion
  2. Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov – Viktor, an aspiring Ukranian writer, adopts a pet penguin whom he names Misha
  3. Tiny Pieces of Enid by Tim Ewins – Enid is encouraged in her efforts by an imaginary macaw
  4. The Birdcage by Eve Chase – Bertha the parrot’s often ill-timed mimicry of snippets of overheard conversations reveal secrets
  5. Lean on Me by Serge Joncour – a flock of crows that have invaded their shared apartment block bring farmer-turned-debt collector Ludovic and fashion designer Aurore together
  6. The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey – Geppetto endures enforced companionship given he’s trapped inside the stomach of a giant sea beast
  7. The Writer’s Cats by Muriel Barbery, illustrated by by Maria Guitart – the writer’s four cats pass judgment on her latest output, including farting noisily at offending lines
  8. A Three Dog Problem by S. J. Bennett – the late Queen Elizabeth investigates a mystery accompanied as ever by her corgis
  9. Saving Missy by Beth Morrey – a chance encounter in the local park sees Bob the dog come into Missy’s previously lonely life
  10. The Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson – in Tudor England, Joan Vaux feels an affinity with the ravens that inhabit the Tower of London and, as the legend goes, protect the kingdom