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.
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I have managed to amass so many books that I am really excited for this post. It isn’t going to take a lot of thinking back through lists of books that I have read and only vaguely recall. This week’s prompt is the first ten books I randomly grabbed from my shelf, and I am really excited to share some books I might not talk about as often. Here goes:
- The Trial by Franz Kafka. I haven’t read this one yet, but he won me over with The Metamorphosis, so I’m guessing I’ll find this one equally thought provoking. Goodreads | Amazon
- Out of Egypt by André Aciman. This was one of my father’s books, and since I’m the only sibling who reads willingly, this went right onto my Jewish shelf. It’s a memoir about three generations of the author’s family in Egypt until their sudden expulsion in the early 1960s. Goodreads | Amazon
- The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros. Aha, one I’ve read! I fell in love with this historical fiction with elements of Jewish folklore and magical realism. It’s a favorite of mine that I haven’t mentioned in a while. Goodreads | Amazon
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I came across this book at a used book store, and it sounds so good. I’ve heard great feedback too, so I just need the time to read this one. Goodreads | Amazon
- NightFall by Nelson DeMille. My mom gave me this one, and it’s based on a real plane explosion that occurred off the East End of Long Island, although the story is fictional. Goodreads | Amazon
- The Pomegranate by S.J. Schwaidelson. I was gifted a copy of this by the author, and I am so grateful to her. The story is fantastic, and I made a new friend across the country! Goodreads | Amazon
- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. How exciting to have blindly chosen this one, when it’s a book that I loved reading. Why haven’t I read the follow up yet? I have no excuses. Goodreads | Amazon
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. This looked like a good read and I got it at a used book store, so let me know if you’ve heard anything about this one. Goodreads | Amazon
- Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schaffer. For a nonfiction book that involves such a fascinating subject, I have no reason to have had it on my shelf for years without reading it. Goodreads | Amazon
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I read this in high school and have always had a copy of it ever since, even if I haven’t read it again since. Maybe it’s time for a reread. Goodreads | Amazon
Are you familiar with any of these? What made your list this week?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
I’ve read a book by Adam Polydoros, but can’t recall which one at the moment.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/11/04/top-ten-tuesday-tbr-roulette-round-2/
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I really like how Polydoros writes. I’ve read a few books by them and enjoyed them all.
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What’s so fun about this type of topic is the variety of books / mix of genres, and the chance to feature books we may not otherwise. 🙂
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Yes! I wound up picking a super-popular book on one of my shelves, and picked a new one. I love that it let me highlight some books that aren’t as hyped.
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I enjoyed an easy week collecting 10 books for this challenge too, with a mix of ones I have read and others waiting to be read. I’ve not read any on you list.
Here’s a link to my TTT post
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I am really excited to see what other people chose too! This was a fun challenge to do.
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The only book on this list I’ve heard of is Slaughterhouse Five. As such, I haven’t read any of these.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/ten-books-i-own-randomly-selected-bygoodreads/
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Slaughterhouse Five is a great book. I remember enjoying it when reading it for a class in high school. If I can remember it being good from *that many* years ago, it must have been good.
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I really should reread Slaughterhouse Five. It’s been a long time for me as well! And I feel like I have heard the My Brilliant Friend is really good. This is a fun prompt, I love seeing books that people don’t talk about as much!
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I know – I like seeing books that are a lot different from the usual weekly lists. I’ve heard great things about My Brilliant Friend, so I’m hoping to get to it soon, along with a reread of Slaughterhouse Five.
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These are all new to me! I hope you enjoy them though!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Ash @ <a href=”https://essentiallyash.blogspot.com/“>Essentially Ash</a>
Want to follow me on <a href=”https://linktr.ee/essentiallyyash“>Bookstagram, booktok, add my snapchat or check out my photography?</a>
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I love introducing people to different books they might not see as often. Fingers crossed that I enjoy them!
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These sound interesting. I went through my on the shelf, but haven’t read yet list. There were some good books that I haven’t got round to yet!!
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
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I wound up picking some that I’ve read and some that I haven’t. But it did remind me of some of the books I was excited to buy and never got around to yet.
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It was eye opening 😂
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I loved The Golem and the Djinni❤️
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That was probably my favorite read from this list! I still have to read the second book.
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Wow! I’ve not heard of any of these but what a great selection of books 🙂
Here’s my TTT – https://justreadjessie.blog/2025/11/04/top-ten-tuesday-the-first-10-books-i-randomly-grabbed-from-my-shelves/
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Thank you! I tried to pick a good, random selection that included various genres. I tried to keep the super popular titles off, even if I love them.
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Not any of them
The current book I am reading is “Elektra”- hoping to finish it by the end of November
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I read Elektra – it was a good read! Books that retell stories from Greek mythology are always so appealing to me.
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The Historian sounds interesting! Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-the-first-10-books-i-randomly-grabbed-from-my-shelf/“>Top Ten Tuesday.</a> Thank you
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It really does! I found that one at a used bookstore, and it was such a score. I just have to find the time to read it.
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I am familiar with some of these, but none are on my shelves, Leah.
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It’s funny how different our reading tastes are, yet we can still find common ground to talk about every week!
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CLEOPATRA is one I want to read, too. I enjoyed the other book I’ve read by Schiff. I hope we both enjoy it when we read it.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I haven’t read any of Schiff’s work yet, but I absolutely need to change that. Cleopatra sounded fantastic, and I scored that one at a library book sale for like, $1. Hopefully it’ll be as good as it looks, and we both enjoy it when we get around to it.
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