Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Good morning, friends! If you live in North America, I hope you had a lovely long weekend. I had a wonderful time taking my dog out for some day-long fun, and watching the historic release of an Asian-led cast in a Marvel movie on a big screen under the stars. All in all, I’m feeling more refreshed for another long week at work, and I’m hoping you all had a restful weekend too.
Today’s TTT is all about books that make you smile. I enjoy books, but I find that I’ve become more picky over the years after all the books I’ve read over my lifetime. While I’ll like it, that doesn’t always mean that they make me smile. For example, I love fantasies, absolutely ADORE them, but when I just want to smile and relax, I want something lighter and more carefree like a rom-com.
If I really consider it, books that are guaranteed to make me smile fall into two categories. Books I loved and read growing up as a child with a book always under her arm, or books that have the best romantic angst that kept me flipping pages. The first category because they have such strong connections to a specific time period in my childhood/early teen years, and the second category because I’m so connected with the characters and want to root them on.
I list some titles below that fit either category.
Nostalgia from childhood!
- Ella Enchanted / Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
- Childhood fantasies at its finest with this master author!
- Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
- You know my thoughts and love for Anne, but my fave is definitely book #3!
Romance with ALL the angst
- If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
- Mean girl falling for a hot geek – opposites do attract!
- Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
- Navigating a new relationship through life’s dramas is never better than this novel
- Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
- A will-this-become-something-real? Romance
- Love, Life, and the List / The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
- Best friends to lovers trope versus the fake dating trope – which is your favourite? I love both!
- Magnolia by Kristi Cook
- Enemies to lovers written well and realistically
What do you think about these titles? Have you read any of these before and enjoyed them? Or do you have a particular category of books that are guaranteed to make you smile?
Let me know in the comments below! I love hearing from you and discussing!
Down the Rabbit Hole 
I haven’t read any of these titles but I’ve seen some of the romcoms mentioned in a few TTTs this year! That Nora Roberts cover makes me want to read her books again at some point—it’s been a while lol
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Yes, it’s been a while for me too with Nora Roberts novels! I definitely recommend the rest of the series that Savor the Moment is part of
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Anne of Green Gables was on my list, so we sort of matched. 🙂 Anne of the Island was one of the best books in that series.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-guaranteed-to-put-a-smile-on-your-face/
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Such a classic! So glad it’s on your list too
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I’ve only read Anne of Green Gables. I just found out recently that it’s a series. I only read the first book this year. Here is my post-https://paigesofbook.blogspot.com/2021/09/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-make-me-smile.html.
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Oh yes! There’re 8 in the series but the last 2 focuses more on Anne’s children. I hope you get into the rest of the series 😊
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Anne is on my list too! Well, of course she is, her with E in her name and her puffed sleeves. Ella Enchanted deserves a gold medal too, and that movie was so good too. I never got to read Fairest, and I’m very tempted to do that even though I’m probably waaaaay too old for it. 🙂
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Anne just steals all our hearts! I think Fairest is still great if you enjoyed Ella Enchanted. Definitely will be a bit different reading it at an older age but I loved that book so much
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I haven’t read any of these, but they all sound great. This week’s topic is going to be expensive, I fear. 🙂
My list is here—https://fiftytwo.blog/2021/09/07/ttt-ten-books-that-are-guaranteed-to-make-you-smile/
Happy TTT!
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Haha tell me about it! So many good books to get my hands on 😊 Your list is great too
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Loved Anne of Green Gables. I also love clean romances and rom-coms!
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Yes! Clean romances are great and focuses really on the emotional connection between characters.
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Anne of Green Gables is the only book you’ve listed that I’ve read. I enjoyed it, and if I had read it as a child, I probably would have read it over and over.
When you get the chance, I hope you can pop over to my post: https://readbakecreate.com/10-books-with-yellow-covers/
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Love your twist on the list this week! Yellow is the colour of happiness. Thanks for stopping by 😊
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