Thanks to Rissi at Finding Wonderland for this week’s topic! I started blogging at The Broke & the Bookish in June of 2010 and started recording my thoughts on Goodreads even earlier, so holy moly I’ve been reviewing books for a LONG time. This week I’m sharing the first ten books I ever reviewed (the date my review was posted, along with the outlet it was posted on appears after the title).

I’m excited to see the first ten books you reviewed! Now, these reviews don’t necessarily have to be long, formal reviews. They could just be a sentence or two on Goodreads or a book retail site. Whatever your heart desires. Does anyone else read their old reviews and cringe a little bit? I do!! It’s also kind of crazy to see how my tastes have changed over the years.

1. The Host by Stephanie Meyer (March 10, 2008 @ Goodreads)
I joined Goodreads in March of 2008, and I’m pretty sure this was my first review there.

2. Traitor by Sandra Grey (May 25, 2008 @ Goodreads)

3. Sailing to Capri by Elizabeth Chandler (June 11, 2008 @ Goodreads)

4. Her Good Name by Josi S. Kilpack (May 1, 2009 @ Goodreads)

5. Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark (July 26, 2009 @ Goodreads)

6. Austenland by Shannon Hale (July 1, 2010 @ The Broke & the Bookish)
My first review ever! Oh, how I agonized over this review. It took me hours and I was so scared to post it!

7. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (July 25, 2010 @ The Broke & the Bookish)

8. Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice for Women by Lawrence J. Danks (August 15, 2010 @ Amazon)
This book should be fed to the goats. It was SO awful. lol. It made me SO mad (just go read my review). We were getting very few review requests, so I agreed to read this because “Yay! I’m a grown-up blogger who people are noticing!” I’m much more selective with the titles I accept now. I refused to even post this review on our blog, so it became the first review I ever wrote for Amazon.

9. Jane Morris: The Pre-Raphaelite Model of Beauty by Debra N. Mancoff (August 13, 2010 @ The Broke & the Bookish)
This is so not a pick that is characteristic of me and my blog here, but we were trying to review a very wide array of book genres so I threw in this book from an art history paper I was writing in college at the time that I loved so much I went and bought a copy for my own collection.

10. 501 Must-Visit Destinations by David Brown, Jackum Brown, Kieran Fogarty, and Rebecca Walder (September 9, 2010 @ The Broke & the Bookish)
I love travel, and I was still trying to not just read and review YA for TB&TB so I chose to highlight this one!

It’s been raining a LOT here in my neck of the woods lately, so this topic is pretty perfect for me. Thanks to Shayna at Clockwork Bibliotheca for submitting such a fun topic through my request form! What do you consider to be a “rainy day read”? When I think of these kinds of books, I think of cozy stories that I can jump into for an entire day rather than just an hour or two here and there. I’ve been going through some hard life stuff for the last week and a half and now I’m passing a kidney stone, so I’ll hopefully be back later to update my picks! For now, here’s the link-up.

What makes a book a rainy day read?
Which books did you pick this week?

This week’s topic (Outrageous Things I’ve Done for the Love of Books) was submitted by Aggie’s Amygdala, and is a pretty daunting topic if I’m being honest! I’ve said it before, though, I’m not just going to select topics based on ones I can easily complete myself! There’s a lot of participants! If the word “outrageous” doesn’t fit your list, then change it! Shocking? Bold? Crazy? The point is to show off our nerdy, bookish badges of honor. Anything goes this week. Now, I’m not one to jump outside of my comfort zone often, so I chose the word “uncharacteristic” to describe my list picks. These are things I normally wouldn’t do.

Started My Own Book Blog
I was never a blogger! I tried personal blogging and whatever, but fell out of love with it. This is honestly the longest hobby I’ve ever had, and that baffles me!

New Moon Midnight Release Party On a School Night
The Twilight series was the first series I really went crazy over. I was not much of a recreational reader since school ruined books for me. Up to that point I never understood the appeal of midnight release parties, but I was SO EXCITED to get New Moon in my hands that I went anyway and was totally exhausted the next day.

Went to ALA Las Vegas with Really Bad Pneumonia
I LOVE attending ALA, so much that pneumonia wasn’t going to keep me away. I sat on everything I could, and I had this pale, cold, clammy sheen to my face the entire time. I was dragging my dead corpse around the convention hall, basically.

Went to Kathryn Purdie’s Burning Glass Launch Party with a Migraine with Aura
Similar to the above, I do bookish things instead of taking care of myself.

I Got Rid of Clothes to Make Room for More Bookshelves
I seriously never thought I’d do something like this, but I got rid of a dresser to get more bookshelves!

What nerdiness is on your list this week?

This week we’re talking about why we read the books we read! I’m pretty sure all of us have a list of things we look for when we read a book’s synopsis or read book reviews. Some of us might even be sold on a book’s cover alone! These are the things we’re talking about today. Hopefully you’ll have some suggestions for me based on my list!

1. Travel Destinations

This first one is a bit of an umbrella pick for me, but I had to do it this way or else all ten of my picks for this topic would be different countries! I love traveling to my favorite places and places I’d like to visit through books, so if I see that a book is set in Italy or France or Greece, etc. my interest is immediately piqued.

2. Characters On Vacation

In the same vein as above, I’m all about going on vacation with book characters. If characters are traveling abroad, going on class trips, going to boarding school, or road tripping I get excited!

3. Fauxmances/Relationships of Convenience

This is a HUGE one for me! I love the fake romance/fake marriage turned full-blown love story.

4. Non-Paranomal, Non-Erotic Romantic Suspense

I LOVE romantic suspense, but so much of what’s out there has a paranormal aspect to it or is too explicit for me. I don’t want a romance to be suspenseful because he’s a werewolf. I want a murder or a missing person or a serial killer or SOMETHING with a strong accompanying romance. Those are so exciting and swoony to me, and are my absolute favorite kinds of books.

5. Workplace Romance

I love the tension of a really great, forbidden workplace romance!

6. Nerdy Characters

I love the sexy nerds as romantic interests. I also love nerdy or bookish heroines that I can relate to.

7. On the Water

I love books set on cruise ships, pirate ships, sailboats, yachts, ferries, lifeboats, etc. I gobble them up like you wouldn’t believe.

8. Heists

I love heists! Jewelry, art, antiques, rare books, I’m here for all of it.

9. Wilderness/Survival Settings

I love it when characters are off the beaten path, whether by choice or not. Camping, hiking, getting lost or stranded on a beach or in the wilderness… Perhaps a boat goes down or a plane crashes and the characters have to learn to survive. Throw in a little suspense or danger into one of these settings, and it’s even more of a must-have for me.

10. Underwater Settings

I love books that take place in fantasy underwater cities or compounds. Mermaids are an added bonus!

Do you have any books you’d recommend to me based on my list?
What makes you want to read a book?

This week’s TTT is an audio freebie! I’ve recently jumped onto the audiobook bandwagon, and so I was really excited to do this week’s topic because I’m hoping to find a lot of audiobook recommendations from all of you! Narrators make or break an audiobook for me, and you’ll see from my picks below which narrators are my favorites!

Five Audiobooks I Loved

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater 
Steve West made me fall in love with Shawn Kendrick.
I also love the musical elements, which Maggie composed herself!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Jennifer Ikeda does a really great job with this book!

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
Fiona Hardingham is great, and I felt like the atmosphere of the
audio was perfect for the tone of the book.

A Tale of Beauty and Beast by Melanie Callier
I can’t pinpoint why I loved this so much, but I did! I’m a sucker for
B&B retellings, and even though the narrator did a rather crummy job on the
Beast’s voice, I still enjoyed listening.

Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan
Phoebe Strole and James Fouhey both have great voices, and I loved listening
to this. It was so rich and exciting.

Five Audiobooks I’m Excited to Listen To

Sherwood by Meagan Spoooner
Fiona Hardingham is wonderful to listen to, and
I loved Meagan’s Hunted so I can’t wait for her next retelling.

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Steve West is one of the narrators, GUYS. I don’t even know what the story is
about, but I bought it anyway.

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas
I’ve actually read and loved this book already, but Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell)
herself narrates it so I need to re-read!

Made for You by Melissa Marr
I’ve heard great things about MacLeod Andrews, and this book sounds great!

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan reads her own book! I’ve heard she’s an awesome reader, but
I bet she’s even better reading her own book!

What are some of your favorite audiobooks? Why?
Can you recommend any amazing narrators (I LOVE STEVE WEST)?