Top 10 Lists

S.E.’s Favorite Mentor Characters in Literature

2026-07-15
SE White
Blogging, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

Today’s favorites list (which literally no one asked for) is all about those wise, solemn characters who give guidance to the other characters in some of my favorite books. Because I am me, they deliver this instruction with a healthy helping of sarcasm and sass. It’s just not quality counsel without that sassy component. Today’s favorite: Teacher/Mentor Characters Dimitri Belikov–Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead Let’s go ahead and lead off with my (definitely inappropriate) love of May/December romances. Dimitri is EXACTLY what…

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Pleading for Some Change in the Book Industry, an IWSG Post

2026-07-01
SE White
Blogging, Insecure Writer's Support Group Post, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a place where writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It’s a safe haven for you on your author journey and available at this website where you can also find resources, articles, and various other help. The awesome co-hosts for the July 1, 2026 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Cathrina Constantine, and Jacqui Murray!Don’t forget to go say hello as you’re hopping…

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Book Tropes: Why Choose? Both is Good

2026-05-20
SE White
Blogging, Book Reviews, Recommendations, Romance Tropes, Top 10 Lists

Have you heard that old joke: Honey, the secret to happiness is to find you a man who’s good around the house. Find a man who takes you out on dates and has a good time. Find a man who’s good in bed. Find a man who shares your values in life. And most importantly of all, don’t let them find out about each other! It’s a joke, of course, but there is a sub-genre of romance that exists on…

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Has Tunes

2026-04-01
SE White
Blogging, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

It’s April 1st and this is not a trick, it’s IWSG Day. I’m assuming the timing only comes around once every few years, so enjoy the irony while you can, bookworms! To sign up for the group yourself, go here. You can also find us out and about on the interwebs by looking for @TheIWSG and #IWSG. We owe our thank you comments this month to Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale, and Rebecca Douglass! Thanks for co-hosting! And the question…

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The IWSG and 15 Sparkly Fun Fail Safe Ways to Get People to Buy Your Book, Guaranteed*

2026-03-04
SE White
Recommendations, Silliness, Top 10 Lists, Writing Process

*By “Guaranteed” I mean “I have no idea, take these suggestions at your own risk, this list is just for fun, please don’t sue me when it isn’t fail safe and doesn’t work”* The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets monthly, online, so you can air out and dismiss your anxieties in the comfort of the group setting where we are always on your side. If you’d like to join, go here. Our generous co-hosts this month are PJ Colando, Ronel Janse…

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The Great Reading Wrap-Up of 2025

2026-02-18
SE White
Blogging, Book Reviews, Recommendations, Romance Tropes, Top 10 Lists

In the grand tradition of the new year, let’s do some tidying, list making, and wrapping up the previous year. Number Of Books I Read in 2025: A respectable 66 new books. My goal for the past few years has been 80, so we’re creeping up little by little to that goal. I don’t want to startle it. We’re sneaking up on it slowly. Number of Re-Reads: at least 80 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and probably more. Surrounded by horrors as we have…

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The Great Blogging Wrap-Up of 2025

2025-12-10
SE White
Blogging, Holiday Wishes, Recommendations, Romance Tropes, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

Lets get to some maths for the year. Although I am terrible at all types of maths, I still genuinely have a lot of fun breaking my blogging year down in stats. I acknowledge that this is boring for anyone other than myself or other book bloggers. But my philosophy there is Bore Big or Go Home, so on that note, other bloggers if you’re interested the 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 breakdowns are linked. 2020 was a lot of…

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My Favorite Books With a Lovely Yellow Hue

2025-07-23
SE White
Blogging, Recommendations, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

My favorite color is yellow. It’s the color of sunshine, hope, happiness. It’s an energetic color and it makes me feel positive. It’s also summer, which makes the sunshine even more appropriate. Just because I feel like it and it’s sunny, here’s a list of books with my favorite color on the cover for you! All photos and descriptions are from Goodreads. 1. The Girl With All The Gifts This one was such a great subversion of the zombie trope,…

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My Favorite Couples in Love

2025-02-12
SE White
Blogging, Recommendations, Romance Tropes, Silliness, Top 10 Lists

In honor of Valentine’s Day: Fictional Couples This topic speaks to me on a deep, personal level as an author of romance. I read all around the genre spectrum. From horror to sci-fi to fantasy, with a short detour in middle grade and a light stop at young adult. Set me loose in a bookstore and I’m hopping between shelves like a monkey on banana-based amphetamines. But there’s one subplot which will always catch and keep my attention. If a book,…

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The Great Reading Wrap-Up of 2024

2025-01-01
SE White
Blogging, Book Reviews, Holiday Wishes, Recommendations, Romance Tropes, Top 10 Lists

In the grand tradition of the new year, let’s do some tidying, list making, and wrapping up the previous year. Number Of Books I Read in 2024: A somewhat respectable 55 new books Number of Re-Reads: at least 55 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and probably more. My reading goal is usually 100 new-to-me books, and as many re-reads as my heart desires. Turns out in 2024 my heart desired more predictable books than unfamiliar new ones. It has to do with my neurodivergent…

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