#TopTenTuesday Books To Make You Smile #TuesdayBookBlog

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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 Cozy/Atmospheric Reads. My list contains ten books I’d categorise as ‘light reads’. In other words, books to make you smile.

Links will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

  1. Mrs. Finnegan’s Guide to Love, Life and Laxatives by Bridget Whelan – Mrs. Finnegan, the doyenne of Regency housekeepers, is a reservoir of timeless advice
  2. No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby – It’s 1896 and Violet Hamilton turns ‘lady detective’ to investigate a family mystery
  3. The Golden Girls’ Getaway by Judy Leigh – Vivienne, Mary and Gwen, all ladies of a ‘certain age’, set out on a road trip
  4. A Three Dog Problem by S. J. Bennett – The late Queen Elizabeth II turns detective
  5. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett – Queen Elizabeth II again, this time discovering the delights of a mobile library
  6. Love and Miss Harris by Peter Maughan – Their theatre having been bombed during the Blitz, The Red Lion Touring Company embark on a tour of Britain
  7. Madam Tulip by David Ahern – An out-of-work American actress, embarks on a part-time career as a fortune-teller to the rich and famous 
  8. Brewing Up Murder by Neila Young – When her barista is found strangled in a mound of coffee beans, café owner Blake Harper vows to find the killer
  9. Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey – In which a young lady finds her attention is drawn to her charming but rather serious suitor’s hotter younger brother
  10. The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker by Jenni Keer – Meet Lucy, aged 25, and Brenda, aged 79. Neighbours, and unlikely friends

My Week in Books – 19th October 2025

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On the blog last week

Monday – I shared my review of Andropov’s Cuckoo by Owen Jones.

Tuesday – I went off-piste for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday with Books Set in Venice.

Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.

Thursday – I shared my review of Mrs Finnegan’s Guide to Love, Life & Laxatives by Bridget Whelan.

New on my shelves

The Names by Florence Knapp (Phoenix)

It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates. Going against his wishes is a risk that will have consequences, but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? The choice she makes in this moment will shape the course of their lives.

Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, and one that will prove as cataclysmic as the storm from which it emerged. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, believing it will enable him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image – but is there still a chance to break the mould?

Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family, and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

What I’m currently reading

I’m reading Our London Lives from my NetGalley shelf, The Assassin of Verona from my TBR pile and I’m listening to the audiobook of

Look out for…

  • Book Review: Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey
  • Book Review: Transcription by Kate Atkinson