#TopTenTuesday Books I Bought Because…

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 Bought/Borrowed Because…

Most of the books I buy fall into one of three categories: new books by authors whose previous books I’ve read and enjoyed, books nominated for literary prizes such as The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction or books bought on the strength of reviews by book bloggers I follow. With the exception of Hamnet, all of the books listed below are in my TBR pile so links from the titles will take you to the book description on Goodreads.


Books on the longlist/shortlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, either this year or in previous years

Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor

The Offing by Benjamin Myers

The Redeemed by Tim Pears

All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy

Books that have received great reviews from book bloggers

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (such as this review by Linda at Linda’s Book Bag)

The Foundling  by Stacey Halls (such as this review of the audiobook version by Nicki at Secret Library Book Blog)

New books by favourite authors

The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir

The Unfortunate Englishman by John Lawton

What prompted you to buy or borrow a book recently?

#TopTenTuesday Ten Signs You’re A Book Lover

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 Ten Signs You’re A Book Lover.


  1. You never go anywhere without a book or access to one via an ereader or mobile device
  2. You love the smell of new books…and old ones, come to that
  3. You never get tired of looking at other people’s #shelfie pictures on Instagram
  4. Your Twitter feed is dominated by bookish news
  5. When visiting someone’s home, the first thing you do is look at what’s on their bookshelves (or even – horror – if they’ve got any)
  6. You simply can’t comprehend people who say they never read books
  7. You love to see what books other people are reading when travelling by bus or train, or in a coffee shop (not that many of us can do this at the moment!)
  8. You find yourself welcoming the cancellation of social engagements or bad weather as an excuse to pick up a book
  9. Your Goodreads To-Read shelf numbers in the hundreds, even thousands
  10. You experience a rush of excitement when you learn of a forthcoming book by a favourite author

Recognise any of these behaviours in yourself?