Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Previous Top Ten Tuesday Topics
Good evening and welcome to another TTT.
The daffodils are out in force, the apple trees in my garden are ablaze with blossoms, new buds are bursting from the trees in the woods opposite. We are truly in the grip of springtime in the UK. We know this because over the course of the long May Day bank holiday weekend we have had blazing sunshine, heavy winds, torrential rain and thunder!
So I thought this would be an easy TTT list to compile: of the 3189 books in my Calibre library – How did that number creep so high? Is this a healthy number of books to own? – I was sure there must be dozens, hundreds, with “flower” or similar in the title… but no! It was a real struggle to find them! It is apparently a component of book titles that repels me. Who knew?
But, seriously, I do enjoy these sorts of challenges and themes: Bringing together books with a somewhat arbitrary connection! Interesting to see the range and breadth of the books caught in the delicate petals of this trap!
Spring, Ali Smith
What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times?
Spring. The great connective.
With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare’s most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door.
The time we’re living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story?
Hope springs eternal.
No there are flowers neither in the title nor on the cover of this – but the theme this week is so clearly connected to the spring that this novel had to be included.
Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Everybody knows Daisy Jones and the Six.
Their sound defined an era. Their albums were on every turntable. They sold out arenas from coast to coast.
Then, on 12 July 1979, Daisy Jones walked barefoot onto the stage at Chicago Stadium. And it all came crashing down.
Everyone was there.
Everyone remembers it differently.
Nobody knew why they split. Until now . . .
Daisy is the name of my daughter. So I could not resist including this one. Although I did avoid filling the list with the Daisy picture book series.
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
The classic novel about a daring experiment in human intelligence.
Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper and the gentle butt of everyone’s jokes – until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him into a genius.
But then Algernon, the mouse whose triumphal experimental tranformation preceded his, fades and dies, and Charlie has to face the possibility that his salvation was only temporary.
Heartbreaking novella… a reminder that flowers do not just celebrate spring but also commemorate death.
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective.
William collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, The Name of the Rose is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.
An iconic novel, simply gorgeous language and deeply thoughtful.
Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas
With his King Lord dad in prison and his mom working two jobs, seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter helps the only way he knows how: slinging drugs. Life’s not perfect, but he’s got everything under control. Until he finds out he’s a father…
Suddenly it’s not so easy to deal drugs and finish school with a baby dependent on him for everything. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. But when King Lord blood runs through your veins, you don’t get to just walk away.
Whilst I enjoyed The Hate U Give – is enjoyed the right word? – I have not yet read the prequel… Was it a book that we needed?
Rumpole and the Primrose Path, John Mortimer
Rumpole was last seen in his hospital bed after his sudden collapse in court. Now our hero finds himself in the Primrose Path nursing home – or a hospice as he persists in describing it. Things aren’t looking good for Rumpole – until suddenly he begins to sense there’s something wrong with the place, and all his intelligence and formidable insight into human behaviour come to the fore again. And once he has solved the mystery of the Primrose Path nursing home, Rumpole finds the briefs fly thick and fast again.
This delightful collection of six Rumpole stories shows the legendary advocate on top form.
Wonderful witty biting silly…
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
Golly what a twist this one had!
Nightbloom, Peace Adzo Medie
Growing up in the same small Ghanaian town, Selasi and Akorfa were more than just cousins, they were best friends. The girls shared everything: their dreams, their desires, their every secret. But as they enter their teens Selasi begins to change, until Akorfa barely recognises the sullen, withdrawn girl she once knew so well.
Years go by before they cross paths again, and their lives look very different now. Although they are separated by continents, they have each found success in their careers: Akorfa works in international development in the US; Selasi is a restaurateur running the hottest spot in Accra. It takes a crisis to pull them back together, forcing both women to confront shocking secrets and childhood trauma that neither one has been willing to address. Now they must bridge the gulf between them to stop history repeating itself.
Love the cover of this one, which I got when it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction… but I’ve not yet read it.
Peace Blossom Spring, Melissa Fu
It is 1938 in China, and the Japanese are advancing. A young mother, Meilin, is forced to flee her burning city with her four-year-old son, Renshu, and embark on an epic journey across China. For comfort, they turn to their most treasured possession – a beautifully illustrated hand scroll. Its ancient fables offer solace and wisdom as they travel through their ravaged country, seeking refuge.
Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. His daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, but he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down?
Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the search for a place to call home.
Another beautiful cover!
The Night Brother, Rosie Garland
Rich are the delights of late nineteenth-century Manchester for young siblings Edie and Gnome. They bicker, banter, shout and scream their way through the city’s streets, embracing its charms and dangers. But as the pair grow up, it is Gnome who revels in the night-time, while Edie wakes exhausted each morning, unable to quell a sickening sense of unease, with only a dim memory of the dark hours.
Confused and frustrated at living a half-life, she decides to take control, distancing herself from Gnome once and for all. But can she ever be free from someone who knows her better than she knows herself?
I picked up The Night Brother after we used an extract in an exam question we gave children at school. A fascinating read… and included here because of the cover…
Upcoming Themes
May 14: Favorite Book Quotes (You can pick your favorite quotes from books, or about books! You can set a theme like quotes from books about love, friendship, hope, etc. or you can just share quotes you loved from your recent reads!)
May 21: Authors I’d Love a New Book From (These could be authors that have passed away, who have retired from writing, who have inexplicably gone quiet, or who might jut not be able to keep up with how quickly you read their books!)
May 28: Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read
June 4: Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About (Any emotion! Did a book make you super happy or sad? Angry? Terrified? Surprised?)
June 11: Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your
