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.
It’s Tuesday again, and I’m going to be aiming to get my blog hopping done earlier in the week. Last week I had an endoscopy/colonoscopy on Wednesday, and I just basically laid low all week long. I did manage to get a haircut that was long overdue, and took off a few inches because I hate the feeling of my hair on my neck when I’m hot. So there was definitely a reward after last week!
This week we’re bringing back a topic that is featured a few times a year: bookish wishes. This is when we highlight the top ten books that we would love to own, and then drop a link to our wishlist (you can find mine here), in case anyone wants to be a book fairy. Then we can go around and do a little gifting for others. No one needs to feel obligated, and I’m sure we all do a little gifting when we can, so I’m not expecting more out of this post than sharing some awesome books with others, who might be unfamiliar with them. With no further ado, here are my top ten bookish wishes:
- The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden. This cookbook that includes 800 (!!) different recipes that tell the story of Jewish people through our food, and charting of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic diaspora groups.
- Aloha Kitchen: Recipes from Hawai’i by Alana Kysar. How could I not want a cookbook featuring foods from Hawai’i? The food was so good there, and if there’s any way I can make it happen in my own kitchen, I need it.
- The Jewish Holiday Table: A World of Recipes, Traditions & Stories to Celebrate All Year Long by Naama Shefi & Devra First. A cookbook featuring more than 130 recipes for Jewish holidays from around the world is a great way to jazz up our table.
- Herbana Witch: A Year in the Forest (Working with Herbs, Barks, Mushrooms, Roots, and Flowers) by Cecilia Lattari & Alice Guidi. Random fact: I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology, with a focus on ecology and evolutionary bio. A book that highlights all the way that nature can be used while respected is important to me.
- Ashkenazi Herbalism: Centuries of Wisdom, From Culinary Herbs to Sacred Ceremonies in the Ashkenazi Jewish Community by Lyrisa Blooms. My father often told stories about my grandmother’s use of herbal medicine in Poland, but she passed when I was too young to really know her. It saved the life of my family many times, and I would love to be able to honor her legacy.
- Night Owls by A.R. Vishny. I adored this book featuring estries, Jewish female shapeshifting owls, and don’t have a copy. This needs to be on my shelf at some point.
- The Change: A Novel by Kirsten Miller. Another book I loved, featuring middle-aged women reclaiming their power in what turned out to be a very empowering, fun read.
- The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. I still have yet to read a Kate Quinn book. I tend to stay away from WWII stories, but this one just sounded too good to pass up on.
- In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari. A family saga about Iranian Americans, that is inspired by the author’s own Iranian-American heritage, the summary itself already has me so curious about what happens to the family members.
- A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters. I’ve had my eye on this series starter for years, but never got around to checking it out. Just from the sound of it, it seems to be a book I’d really enjoy—what’s not to like about a medieval monk solving mysteries? A historical cozy mystery series!
What’s on your bookish wish list? Have you read any of these yet?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
I have Diamond Eye on my book shelf and hope to read it this summer. I enjoy Quinn’s writing.
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I’ve heard such amazing things about her books, and seriously need to read this. Would you be willing to buddy read it when you get to it?
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I have not read these but Night Owl and The Diamond Eye looks so good!! Wonderful collection, Leah😄
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Thank you so much! I haven’t read The Diamond Eye although I’ve only heard great things, but Night Owls was a fantastic read. I hope you add them to your TBR!
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I still need to have some testing done, growing older sucks! But I was down last week with a perfect storm kind of migraine. All of my triggers decided to hit all at once, ugh!! I haven’t read Diamond Eye, but I have read a few other Quinn books and enjoyed them. The only one that was truly set during WWII was The Rose Code, the other two (Alice Network and The Huntress) were more post war with flashbacks. But Alice Network flashed back more to WWI.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!https://readbakecreate.com/the-ms-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-m/
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It really does suck! A few weeks ago, I had a flare of two autoimmune issues, plus a migraine, so I completely understand how bad this is to have happening all at once. Hopefully you’re doing better this week!
I haven’t read any other of her books, because as the child of a Holocaust survivor, reading WWII fiction can be triggering for me. If I do read WWII books, they’re nonfiction – historical, memoirs, biographies, etc. But since this touches on an area that doesn’t have a personal link to my family, so I don’t think it’ll be triggering.
That’s why I figured The Diamond Eye will be a better fit for me, since it’s set in a different way.
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I hope your recovery is going well and that you get helpful results from those tests!
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Mixed bag – I’m much better than I was last week, but the test results didn’t give me any answers, just more questions, so I just have to wait until August, the first appointment I could get with a new specialist. Hope your week is going well too!
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I hope your procedure went well! I am glad that you laid low the rest of the week and took care of yourself. 🙂
These books are so thoughtful sounding, and I love the connections, Herbana Witch and Ashkenazi Herbalism in particular.
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Thank you – I feel like a new person now, and apparently taking time to rest and heal *does* work – who knew??
I have limited shelf space, so I really try to pick books that I really want to keep because I plan to read them more often. I learned a few natural remedies from my parents, who grew up in the 30s and 40s, but I would love to be able to expand my knowledge in this area. I do take my health seriously and follow up with doctors, take meds consistently, etc. but I also think that there is something to be said for natural remedies helping as well. So hopefully I’ll be able to get these soon.
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The only one of these I’ve read is Diamond Eye and it is a good one. I don’t know if you are a fan of audiobooks, Leah, but Chirp has #4 to #8 in the The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael on sale for $2.99 each. I think I’m going to get them and give the series a try.
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Thank you for the heads up! I have grown to love audiobooks, and I really appreciate you mentioning this. I might just have to push this up on my TBR!
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Looks like a great collection of titles! So varied with lots of different genres, and of course some that look like they’d have some YUMMY recipes. I always find it fun to try new things even though I have have lots of repeat favorites. 🙂 Hope this week is better for you. 🙂
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Thank you! I am doing much better this week, and some really kind person sent me a copy of Aloha Kitchen!! It took me a minute to realize who it came from because of the initial given, not the name, but I really appreciate it. I’m the same way with recipes – I have some favorites that I adore, but I’m always looking for ways to recreate my favorite travel foods without the cost of travel. Thank you again for making my week!
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I hope you’re feeling better, and you get to read all these books soon!
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Thank you! I’m feeling much better, and all the resting has been so helpful for me. Now that I’m feeling back to my usual self, I’m hoping to read all these books sooner rather than later!
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The Change and The Diamond Eyes are both amazing! Great audiobooks too!
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I absolutely adored The Change on audiobook – it rocked my world, and it is set on Long Island, where I live! Can’t wait to check out The Diamond Eye.
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