What was I reading on this day a year ago? Two years ago? Ten years ago?
2025. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. Not a surprise, since this book is 1,200 pages, and I was reading on it for most of the summer of 2025. I felt like I had to read this bio of the writer after reading James and then Huck Finn earlier in the summer.
2024. The Wedding People by Alison Espach. A good summertime read---silly, light, frivolous.
2023. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. Another book I chose to read because I thought it would be a light summer read, but it turned out to be thoughtful and a well-written book of historical fiction.
2022. How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith. I traveled with the author across my country to visit sites and events of significance to slavery, and I learned so much I'd never been taught in school. A must-read.
2021. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. A big book of summer at 710 pages about the start of World War I. I'd been meaning to read this book since I was in high school, and I was proud that I finally got around to it.
2020. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. I forgot how many kids' books I read in 2020. You remember that year, right? I walked to the library every day and turned in a couple of picture books and picked up a couple more, masked, all requested online.
2019. The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea by Mark Beauregard. This August was my month of All Things Moby Dick.
2018. The Annotated Persuasion by Jane Austen. The first summer I was retired. I finally decided to read Jane Austen, so I did Jane up big, reading all her books and watching movies made from each movie.
2017. Lassie-Come-Home by Eric Knight. I was a school librarian in 2017, and I decided to try to read all of the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. As of today, I've read 806 of the books on the list.
2016. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich. I always eagerly anticipated the publication of the next Stephanie Plum mystery, and this one was not an exception. My friend Lisa always bought the next book in the series each August and read it and then passed it on to me.
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. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.
Deb, your lists of books and reading skills never cease to amaze me. 👏
ReplyDeleteOh nice selection of reads! All totally new to me ones. I hope they were favorite reads by the end!
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
You are well organized, Deb. I have no idea what I was reading on the same date in years past.
ReplyDeleteThe Whale sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI remember your start on the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your #TTT
I was just looking at Beautiful Ruins a couple of hours ago cos it's going for 99p on Kindle. I wasn't decided on it yet, but you're re-piqued my interest now, and I think I might go get it... 👀 Sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteChernow is formidable but always rewarding.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! The only one I think I've read is Persuasion - that one more than once. This was an interesting topic. And your list is quite varied, but that's how you read, right? Stay cool!
ReplyDeleteRight!
DeleteA fun mix of books! I have several on my TBR though the only one I've read is Persuasion. 2020 was a wild time and children's books seems like a great way to handle it. I need to revisit my middle grade fiction list. There are so many I haven't gotten to yet.
ReplyDeleteFun to look back. I hated The Wedding People. Like how you sum it up and it totally turned me off for those reasons.
ReplyDeleteSuch a diverse selection of books. But honestly, that doesn't surprise me at all from you.
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT for the week: https://readbakecreate.com/b-author-names-alphabet-challenge/
Good list. Barbara Tuchman was a great historian ... and her book is powerful.
ReplyDeleteI might need to go back to reading children's books, LOL! A lot of them are a bit "lighter" than some of my most recent reads. I love how eclectic your tastes are.
ReplyDeleteGreat list of books! You remind me that I want to get back to the Stephanie Plum series.
ReplyDeleteI love that you had a month of reading all things Moby Dick in 2019. The only book I've read from your list is The Wedding People. I've read a few Jane Austen books as well but I can't remember if I've read Persuasion.
ReplyDeleteI've only read The Wedding People, but have Beautiful Ruins in my stacks. The Guns of August is one I might consider. I just finished The Winds of War, which I read over the course of 7 1/2 months. I'm glad I finally read it, but can't say that it's one I loved.
ReplyDeleteIt's those books to which we have such mixed reactions that I find hardest to process.
DeleteI love this post! Very fun. I wonder what I was reading 10 years ago? I'd have to really dig back into my logs to see. I know what I was *thinking* about reading 10 years ago, because I've actually made it a point to go back in time in my GoodReads TBR and prioritize the books that have been sitting on there since 2016 in my reading this year. Which has meant reading the entirety of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series - lol!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great topic today! I've enjoyed three of your books.
ReplyDeleteI have very fond memories of Lassie, Come Home.
ReplyDeleteMy library isn't within walking distance but wounds like a really healthy thing to do, walk to the library and get new kids books. They are good mental health lifters, too. So positive for that awful year.
ReplyDeleteI loved Chernow's Alexander Hamilton so much, I considered reading Grant. But -- so long!! I see that his book on Mark Twain is recent, which is why I hadn't heard of it yet. Was it worth the time it took to read?
ReplyDeleteI reread Huckleberry Finn and I read James that summer, so somehow I felt compelled to read the bio of Twain. I thought it was a fair look at a man who was (somewhat) progressive for his times, but I think I'd have been happier if the book had been abridged.
DeleteWhat a clever thing to do! This post rocks, girl!
ReplyDeleteI always find it interesting that you read more than one book at a time. Each reader establishes his/her own routine, I suppose. As for me, I prefer to concentrate on one book at a time or, very rarely, two. You've inspired me to take a look at my own records and find out what I was reading on this date.
ReplyDeleteI track by month but not the day! This is very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI need to check this one by Gaiman.
ReplyDeleteMine: https://wordsandpeace.com/2026/08/11/top-ten-books-i-was-reading-on-this-day-over-the-last-ten-years/