Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.

Sometimes I love a book so much, but don’t actually review it on my blog. This can be in the interest of time, or just because I didn’t think I’d have enough to say about it to create an entire blog post. Here’s some of my favorite books that I haven’t brought up on my blog:

1. The Kingsbridge series by Ken Follett. What’s this? Books in the neighborhood of 1000 pages about building a cathedral in Middle Ages England? How could it possibly be interesting enough to warrant this many pages? But it was recommended and I gave it a shot, and FELL. IN. LOVE. The characters are fascinating, and it never felt like I was reading this many pages, because I was so absorbed into their lives and stories.
2. The Outlander series. Another one with seriously chonky books that I couldn’t put down. It was a recommendation from a different friend, but I flew through this series in record time, and now I’m stuck waiting for the next book. In other news, the show is amazing, if a little different from the books, which I recommend you read first.
3. Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo. This is a memoir about the author’s life and I truly enjoyed this book. However, it was a short one, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t have enough material to justify an entire blog post about it.
4. Sister Outsider by Audre Lord. This collection of essays wasn’t written with me as the intended audience, but I felt like I learned so much about feminism, and especially Black feminism from this book. It has earned a place in my list of classic modern literature, and I think we can all learn a lot from this book, whether we are Black or not.
5. The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak. I was fortunate to get an ARC of this amazing book through NetGalley, and while it’s nonfiction history, it honestly read a lot more like a historical fiction book. It centered around two queens in Medieval Europe, who led their countries for decades but have been basically erased from history for daring to be strong women forging their own way in a world that was dominated by men.
6. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugong. I had no idea what to really expect from this book, but once I started it, I was absolutely hooked. It’s about a boy who is born with ocular albinism, leaving him with red eyes, and his journey through an amazing life. It was suggested as part of my 12 book challenge in 2022, and I’m so glad it was!
7. The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. These books are the inspiration for The Last Kingdom on Netflix, and they bring the Viking battle on English land to stunning, vivid life with characters I loved and hated. My nephew recommended this series to me, and I figured any book that can get a devout non-reader to become obsessed would be a great choice for me.
8. White Oleander by Janet Fitch. I absolutely loved this book, as harsh and unflinching as it was. It was a fascinating look at the life of a girl with an artist mother who goes off the deep end, and her subsequent experiences through the foster care system.
9. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I read this book so many years ago, and periodically reread it. Which reminds me, I’m about due for a reread. It’s a sweeping saga about a family of witches, and their experiences over hundreds of years. 
10. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. This book about a leper colony in Hawaii was captivating. The main character goes through so much, and still finds things to be hopeful about. I loved this book so much, but it just never made it onto my blog.

What are some books that you adore that never made it onto your blog?