H.G. Wells Quotes - Top Ten Tuesday

Ten quotes from this month's featured author - H.G. Wells

1. “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.”
   ― H.G. Wells


2. “If we don't end war, war will end us.”
   ― H.G. Wells


3. “We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams.”
   ― H.G. Wells


4. “Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate. But, losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel.”
   ― H.G. Wells


5. “What really matters is what you do with what you have.”
   ― H.G. Wells


6. “I hope, or I could not live.”
   ― H.G. Wells The Island of Doctor Moreau


7. “It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.”
   ― H.G. Wells The Time Machine


8. “Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough---as most wrong theories are!”
   ― H.G. Wells The Time Machine


9. “The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow.”
   ― H.G. Wells


10. “I write as straight as I can, just as I walk as straight as I can, because that is the best way to get there.”
    ― H.G. Wells

Quotes provided by goodreads

Mark Twain Quotes - Top Ten Tuesday

1. “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
   ― Mark Twain


2. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”
   ― Mark Twain


3. “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
   ― Mark Twain


4. “Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.”
   ― Mark Twain


5. “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
   ― Mark Twain


6. “The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.”
   ― Mark Twain


7. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.”
   ― Mark Twain


8. “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
   ― Mark Twain


9. “A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.”
   ― Mark Twain


10. “Out of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.”
    ― Mark Twain

Quotes provided by goodreads

Merry Christmas - Top Ten Tuesday

     I would like to wish you the Merriest of Christmases from my family to yours. In honor of the holiday, instead of a top ten, it's the twelve days of Christmas quotes.

     On the first day of Christmas Maya Angelou said to me, “I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”

     On the second day of Christmas J.K. Rowling said to me, “One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

     On the third day of Christmas George Carlin said to me, “The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.”

Top Ten Tuesday - Free Christmas eBooks

     These e-books are currently* available for free on Amazon and are good and festive to get you in the holiday spirit. The top four will be this December's monthly picks.

My Only Wish by Anna Robbins is a contemporary romance that takes place within the Christmas season. Read my review.

Married by Christmas by Scarlett Bailey is listed as Comtemporary Fiction on Amazon, but I'd bet it is a romance. Read my review.

The Cricket on The Hearth by Charles Dickens never reached the notoriety of A Christmas Carol but is another Christmas story written by the classic author.

The Night They Nicked St. Nick by Carl Ashmore is a story that the whole family can enjoy.

Licence to Love by Kristen James. I love free boxed sets and can never pass them up, this is a set of four holiday themed romance stories!

Favorite Books for Halloween - Top Ten Tuesday

     This list represents some of my favorite books to read for Halloween that are not typically free.

Amityville Horror by Jay Anson is allegedly based on a true story.

Personally I think It is one of Stephen King's creepier books.

Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas is a whimsical mixture of both Halloween and Christmas.

Going to try not to fill this list with Stephen King books but he IS the master of horror after all, and Pet Semetary is an interesting take on zombies and the undead.

If you are having a halloween party you can get some great ideas from Debbie Goard's book, Twisted Cakes!

Top Ten Tuesday - Free Stories for Halloween

     These books tell the story of classic characters that we associate with Halloween or are just good and creepy to get you in the Halloween spirit. The top four will be this October's monthly picks.

When I think of Halloween stories, Dracula by Bram Stoker is the first one that comes to mind! Read my review.

Even though most Frankenstein movies really have nothing to do with Mary Shelley's original story, it is still sufficiently creepy to read for Halloween. Read my review.

This is a new book for me, it was listed in the free Kindle books on Amazon so I thought I would include something for those readers who don't enjoy classics as much as I do. Read my review.

Another new book for me, I decided it might be best to split the monthly picks up between half classics and half new books. I was looking for a zombie story for this month too!

This book of creepy short stories is currently free for download on Amazon! Read my review.

Top Ten Tuesday - Dean Koontz Quotes

1. “Where there is cake, there is hope. And there is always cake.”
   ― Dean Koontz


2. “The most identifying trait of humanity is our abilty to be inhumane to one another.”
   ― Dean Koontz


3. “Books were this wonderful escape for me because I could open a book and disappear into it, and that was the only way out of that house when I was a kid.”
   ― Dean Koontz


4. “When we hope, we usually hope for the wrong thing.”
   ― Dean Koontz, Brother Odd


5. “As long as I have laughter, I am not without hope”
   ― Dean Koontz


6. “Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton.”
   ― Dean Koontz


7. “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.”
   ― Dean Koontz, False Memory


8. “There are no explanations for human evil. Only excuses.”
   ― Dean Koontz, Intensity


9. “Human beings can always be relied upon to exert, with vigor, their God-given right to be stupid.”
   ― Dean Koontz


10. “We are not strangers to ourselves, we only try to be.”
    ― Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas

Quotes provided by goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday - Charles Dickens Quotes

1. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
   ― Charles Dickens


2. “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”
   ― Charles Dickens


3. “I only ask to be free, the butterflies are free.”
   ― Charles Dickens


4. “There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.”
   ― Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist


5. “Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.”
   ― Charles Dickens


6. “Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we'd give blood.”
   ― Charles Dickens


7. “In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.”
   ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations


8. “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
   ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol


9. “To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart.”
   ― Charles Dickens


10. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will.' Consider nothing impossible, then treat possiblities as probabilities.”
    ― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield 

Quotes provided by goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday - From the Small Screen

     These books are a little more obscure. I had originally seen as a mini-series or made for television movie and read the book to become better acquainted with the story and/or characters.

Two words: Liam Neeson. As a teenager, it was hard to pick a favorite between Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Liam Neeson as Blackie. A Woman of Substance was Barbara Taylor Bradford's first novel and gives only a hint of the power she has to enthrall an audience. I couldn't find a book set for the trilogy, but I definitely recommend reading the entire series!

Wonderful cast of characters and talented actors and actresses that I couldn't help but draw into my imagination as I read the book as they were so well casted.

A very powerful story about an immigrant who works hard to rise to power and money and an aristocrat who was born with a spoon in his mouth as they become bitter enemies and strive towards causing the other's demise.

I didn't actually read this book, though I did TRY to. I actually read Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South which was a complete surprise as it has nothing to do with the civil war. This book is actually still in my TBR list but I've included it in this list anyhow.

Don't believe all the hype about this book? Believe it! This is one of the best stories ever written.

A story of four tight-knit women who grew up together and one young woman who knows that one of them is her mother. The question is, which one?

I'm not a big fan of romance books, but there was a time when I was young and gullible enough to believe in couples living happily ever after. The Promise is one of those timeless love stories that is a must-read.

This book has become a family favorite as it is very short and we read it every year at Christmas time.

Also a family favorite to read and watch every holiday season. You can never get too old for classics.

I'm not entirely sure if this was a made for television movie, but I remember watching it on television long before the days of cable (ugh did I just admit to being that old?). This movie is a great introduction to Agatha Christie's work and the world of Hercule Poirot.

Top Ten Tuesday - From the Big Screen

     While most movies have obviously been books, these are the movies that I had enjoyed so much that I wanted to read the book.

I could fill up the entire list with all of the Harry Potter books so will just lump them all together as one. I had originally bought these books to try to entice my daughter to read. It worked :)

I will also list Star Wars series as one. For me personally Star Wars always has a hint of nostalgia as I can remember seeing the original movies in the theater as a child, as they were released.

My mother instilled in me the joy of classics, whether it be old books, old movies, or musicals. This is my all time favorite musical.

This book was actually kind of disappointing. Not that it wasn't as good as the movie but it didn't answer the questions that the movie had left me with. Also the movie was set in the beautiful Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI where the book was not.

While the whole series hasn't been made into movies, I did end up reading the entire series, and several others by V.C. Andrews.