A Last-Minute Bookish Gift Guide: Perfect Presents, Without Blowing Your Budget at Barnes and Noble

Here's an uncomfortable truth I've observed about the world: we're only few days away from Christmas Eve, and for many, there's still a lot of panicked, last minute shopping to be done. 

Listen, you were preoccupied, you didn't prepare, and now, every parking lot you enter is a warzone. Stepping through the doors of Target, at this point, could be classified as reckless endangerment of self and sanity. This is not the time for donning rose-colored glasses alongside your gay apparel; instead, this is crunch time, and lest you be the one who gets crunched, you need to find a good present ASAP. The good news is, be it a Work Secret Santa, a Family White Elephant, or what have you, there's always joy to be found in delivering a new book-shaped present to the pile under the tree. 

And yet, here's an additional wrinkle: the damn things are certainly getting expensive these days, aren't they? I recently fell into a bit of a quandary while shopping for my brother, and realized that one of the titles I had been planning on picking up from B&N was currently going for over $40 in hardcover. While sliding a new freshly-printed set of titles off of the shelves might be easy, it certainly isn't cheap. 

The good news is, there's something we can do about that. In fact, by combining a new recently-procured read with a few other budget-friendly and easy-to-find basic pieces, not only does your bookish present come across as thoughtful and deliberate, but they'll never know how many parking lot brushes with death you avoided to do it. 

Consider the following method: 

A GREAT BOOK + A BUDGET-FRIENDLY BOOSTER + A FUN CONSUMABLE

Note: I understand why some people don't like combining multiple presents in one package. In the words of one of the family's most-quoted seasonally-appropriate SNL music videos of all time (which is now, horrifyingly enough, seven years old), you might think that "that just makes each gift seem smaller and dumb." But to be fair, maybe you want to repay a special amount of kindness this year, or maybe you're dealing with someone who has a tendency to get extravagant with their generosity... and besides, I'm not advocating for buying two gifts. I'm saying go for three!

1. first, focus on a great read

First of all, we need to pick out a Really Good Book, one that you know they're going to enjoy. 

Consider how to best select a great bookish present (in a very sneaky way):

• Ask them what some of their goals are for 2024... a really good friend would want to help them achieve those goals! Are they looking to try their hand at penning some words of their own in the new year? Try Stephen King's On Writing. What about spending more time in the kitchen? A cookbook or piece of food writing could be really beneficial here. Want to explore more classics? Pick out one of your favorites, one you know will hold their attention. Use your own experience, but don't be afraid to look up a good list of recommendations or two. Just try to make sure you're aligning with what they've got envisioned for themselves! 
• Check out their home shelves, especially their favorite genres. For best practices, you should probably have an idea of what they have and haven't read already - if only so you can avoid buying a duplicate of something they already own - but it can also tell you what they gravitate towards naturally. For instance, if they've got every single copy in the Murderbot series, then you've got a decent sense they might appreciate Martha Wells' latest release, Witch King, or something like Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series. 
• Think about ebooks and audiobooks: not every likes reading on ink and paper! Maybe they've got a long commute that lends itself to an engaging audiobook, or maybe they live in a small space that can't accommodate a ton of shelf room. Amazon or Spotify giftcards may ensure they actually use your present in a way that works for them! An easy way to "upgrade" it, of course, is to accompany it with a list of recommendations that you think they might want to look at when they're thinking about how to spend it. 
• Casually ask them to tag along, and help you pick out a present for someone else. While you're doing your own "browsing" watch carefully for what they pick up and put down. If there's something they mention or focus on in particular, something that grabs their attention, you know what to do! 
• And here's the big alternative: ask your friend what kind of reading year they've been having in 2023: if there's something in particular that's been keeping them from reading lately, it might not be the year for a bookish present; maybe something like a Hello Fresh delivery or a homemade "in-house babysitting" coupon would help them enjoy some reading time, more than just another book sitting on their shelf! 

2. something they can reuse + a treat to up the ante

Once you've got your book in hand, it's time to put it together with a few budget pieces that will really make the package perfect. By including something they can reuse time and again, you guarantee that your present has some mileage on it, and with a fun consumable accompanying alongside, they can start enjoying your gift as soon as they open it! 

For instance, lets say your best friend's favorite kind of coffee talk is dishing about The Great British Baking Show, and she can't stop pointing out all of the butter-related Christmas ornaments that all seemed to hit stores this year. Naturally, you've decided to pick her up a copy of one of Paul Hollywood's cookbooks, like Bake, or maybe you grabbed something penned by a past contestant, like Ruby Tandoh's Cook As You Are, or Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain. What next? 

Well, stopping by a HomeGoods or chef supply store could easily add to the conversation, with something like a large mixing bowl, a set of kitchen towels, a cutting board, or interesting cake tins. Rolling pins and spatulas are typically in pretty good supply, and the same goes for cookie cutters. Then, all you have to do is swing by the local grocer and pick up a pretty baking mix, or favorite ingredient - nice baking chocolates are always appreciated, but you could also try a pretty jam or even just a slightly nicer-than-normal bag of flour -  and voila! You've got a great set of ingredients for a very happy afternoon spent in the kitchen. 

Or lets say you've got a real Romance reader on your hands. Sure, you could just walk down the mass market paperback aisle at your local Fred Meyer with your arm outstretched, and aim for anything with a brightly-colored color block illustration on the cover... but chances are, if you give a girl a Romance, she's going to need at least one or two favorite beverages to enjoy it with. What about a set of pretty thrifted wine glasses or champagne flutes, and a great bottle of something to sip on? If she's a Historical Romance girl, a set of gorgeous thrifted teacup-and-saucer combos and a box of her favorite tea go together like the leads in your favorite Tessa Dare or Eloisa James story. 

Someone who lives and dies by their latest Self Help obsession - think bullet journals, 5am wakeup calls, and reformer Pilates - might appreciate yet another paradigm shift before the new year. James Clear's Atomic Habits is a best seller for a reason, but they might have picked that one up already; look for displays nearby to guide you into what titles generated some buzz this year, or has people looking forward to 2024. A thrifted crock and a new bag of coffee beans, or maybe a thrifted mug and a sampler set of coffee syrups would definitely give this present some pizazz, but something like a fresh, pretty notebook and a can or two of their favorite energy drink works just as well: whatever will help inspire them to start generating their next life upgrade! 

The list could go on and on, really. Your favorite fast-paced Thriller or bone-chilling Horror from this year would pair perfectly with a cozy blanket and a chocolate bar to keep them toasty while things get tense; a buzzy new celebrity memoir - what about those published this year, from Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? - would go great with a new pair of fun sunglasses and some bubblegum to chew. Why not get your Fantasy reader some unique thrifted glassware (aka, goblets and decanters, which I always find while shopping secondhand!) and pair it with one of their favorite sodas? The list goes on and on. 

The point is, of course, that you make the whole thing feel like an experience in itself. It's not just the book, but the environment you create around the book... and besides, this way, even if that title ends up getting a two-star review on Goodreads, your friend still ends up with something cool they can reuse, and when's the last time you turned up your nose at a tasty treat? 

3. don't have time to think that hard? just go with the bookish vibes

Listen, I get it: the last minute always isn't the best time to think creatively. Sometimes, you just need a guaranteed win, something that doesn't require combing the thrift store's homewares section or a Target snack aisle for just the perfect touch. 

Here are a few easy ideas for pieces that can amplify every bookish present: 

• a snack pack, with something salty, something sweet, something crunchy, and/or something chewy, for them to enjoy while making their way through a new stack of books!
• a container of their favorite hot chocolate brand, preferably with marshmallows or peppermint sprinkles alongside!
• a big ol' candle for them to light to set the mood while they're reading. Bonus points if you manage to make it match the book cover! 
• fuzzy socks or slippers. It is a truth universally acknowledged that whether you're playing video games, watching a movie, or reading a book, that your feet are going to get cold. Everyone could use some cozy toes!
• a new journal or notebook, especially when paired with a set of really good pens!

4. make it personal

If you've managed to read this far in this blogpost - or if you've somehow made it out into the Target parking lot with all of your bags, extremities, and sanity intact - then chances are its because you really care about the person who will be on the receiving end of this present. It never hurts to tell them that sort of thing yourself! 

Regardless of what book you buy them, or what you're stashing into your cart alongside, I think it's always a great idea to write a card, too. Listen, you've already established that you're shopping for a reader; why wouldn't they want to read what you might have to say, too? Just a few brief sentences about why they are important to you, and why you chose that particular book out for them, will really make your gift feel special and deliberate.

It's the thought that counts, and when you're putting this much care and attention into giving someone a present, it will undoubtably be one of the most meaningful things they find under the tree this year. 

(Never mind the fact that you waited until the night before Christmas to wrap it.)

Are you done shopping for everyone on your list? What's your favorite present you've purchased for someone this year? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Mainstream Popular Authors I Still Have Not Read

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish shareable, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

The year always starts out with the best of intentions: I'm going to post a new blogpost four times a month! I'm going to read at least one book a week! I'm going to actively engage with my blog-affiliated social media platforms! 

And then you're staring into your computer screen at midnight on a Monday because you realized earlier that day that you haven't read anything new or posted on your blog in over a month. And that is NOT the way this year is going to go down! I've still got a month and a half to course correct this tilting vessel before it sinks entirely. 

Hence, the last-minute post assembly... someone's going to do the heavy lifting around here, and if it can't be the Spirit of Slow, Deliberate, Intentional Action possessing me, it's going to be the scrambling, beady-eyed Demon of Late-Night, Stream-of-Consciousness Word Vomit that has been a recurring figure in my life since college (They're a regular around these parts in November, anyways). 

Anyways. 

Recently I was putting together a short list of recommendations for a friend, someone who is already a fairly robust reader in their own right, and who required a little bit of extra thinking outside of the box, in order to hit upon something widely enjoyed, that she wouldn't have already read before (I eventually settled on Martha Wells' Murderbot series, Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, and Erik Larson's Devil in the White City). 

Trying to pick out books that are much-loved, without being already-read, is tough. But then again, there are oodles and oodles of much-loved authors out there, who I've heard of regularly, and haven't had the opportunity or inclination to pick up yet myself. 

There are plenty of buzzy authors that I HAVE read, of course... to varying degrees of success. Sarah J Maas was a college fixation for me, who now feels like she occupies a weird grey area between too juvenile and too adult, too complex and too basic; J. R. R. Tolkien has served as the focus for an excruciatingly inaccessible read for me, ever since I struggled my way through Fellowship in my freshman year of college across the course of an entire month; Sally Rooney's distracting attention to aesthetic choices overshadowed her artistry, in my opinion, which is why I haven't attempted her since; Taylor Jenkins Reid, probably one of the most popular authors currently publishing today, still owns acreage in my brain and bookshelf due to Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones, but has lost some of my attentions because of how unmoving I found Malibu Rising to be in comparison. 

So the "Top Ten Tuesday" topic of the day - that of popular, "mainstream" authors whose work has somehow never ended up getting consumed by my brain - felt appropriate to the kinds of thoughts I've been having recently anyways. How convenient that one of the collections posted on Goodreads last week was "Goodreads Members' 76 Most Popular Books of the Past Decade," so I could have an easy-to-scroll place to go over where my personal proclivities had been represented... and more importantly, had not. 

1. Rebecca Yarros

Yarros' Fourth Wing has been unilaterally adopted by what feels like the entire Internet, which means I've been aware of "that one horny dragon book" for a while now. And to be honest, I was so close to not even being able to include her on this list, being that I had waited through five months of a library holds line to get my hands on it this past summer... only to totally bail when it conflicted with my rigorous Summer Reading Challenge plans. 

To be honest, I have heard a LOT about this book at this point, and who knows if I'll end up picking it up in the future. But I know what it's like to have a highly-anticipated read come out when you're obsessed with a series, which meant the recent Reels I've seen on Instagram of people getting excited about Iron Flame's drop were still pretty darn fun to see. 

2. Patrick Rothfuss

If we were able to organize my physical TBR shelves by which books have languished on them the longest, The Name of the Wind would rank among some of the most... patient. Dusty. Long-suffering? I was recommended this title personally, by a friend, back in my college days, but despite the hype, it just hasn't been in the cards yet. One day, though. I think? 

3. Pierce Brown

Even my relatively Sci-Fi-averse younger brother has managed to read through Red Rising, which makes it all the more embarrassing that his Sci-Fi-enthusiastic older sister hasn't. I think it might just be because of the impact the first page has... it's the kind of thing that makes me feel like I'll have to be in a particular mood to read it, and that mood just hasn't actually managed to land quite yet. 

4. R. F. Kuang

Despite the fact that Babel came through the bookish universe like a wrecking ball when it was published; despite the fact that not just one, but several people have recommended it, including the "Staff Sections" bookshelf in practically every bookstore I've entered in the last year or so; despite the fact that it sounds absolutely incredible... I just haven't been able to swing it yet. Again, the curse of being a mood reader! But I don't just have one, but two, of Kuang's books on my shelves... I'll have to get around to The Poppy War eventually, too! 

5. Brandon Sanderson

Listen, whatever mean names you want to call me about this one, I can guarantee you my younger brother has already done so much worse in his head. It is probably one of the most irritating sources of regular heartache that he experiences, that I have never picked up a Branderson book... especially because quite a lot of his other friends haven't read them, either, and he just really, really needs a buddy to talk about them with. And unless I suddenly get struck with some kind of Superman-esque ability to focus on complex tasks for a consistent, lengthy amount of time, that's not going to happen for me for a while. 

6. Celeste Ng

This is going to sound nuts, but I occasionally have a really hard time working up the interest to read a particular book, when I know a TV series adaptation exists somewhere out there in the universe, too. Even if I have no intention of watching it! I don't know why that is... I don't even particularly like TV. So the problem is that despite the fact that I know several people who really enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere, I don't think I'll be picking that one up any time soon. 

(I feel like there should be an honorary mention for Liane Moriarty in this bullet point, as well.)

7. Colleen Hoover

I don't know, depending on what kind of circles you run in, this is either an affront of the most dramatic proportions, or you're fully on my side. As opposed to quite a lot of the other entries on this list, whom I at least feel a general sort of sense of getting around to reading eventually, I am completely uninterested in reading Hoover. Part of that is due to an issue of genre - I can't stand Thrillers, so they are generally not found on my shelves - but also due to a general sense of writing style and audience; simply put, I don't particularly think these are books that are written for me, and that's totally okay. 

 

8. Kristin Hannah

I'm a fan of Historical Fiction - as a kind of holdover from my Dear America-loving days back in middle school, I guess - so Kristin Hannah has been on my radar for quite a while now. But there also seems to be a pretty regular sense of discussion, even by those who love to read her books, as to which ones hit at their hardest, or not, and that her canon of work - though plentiful - might be fairly uneven. While I know that she's a popularly-selling author, her books also rank among the ones I see the most regularly on the bookshelves of some of my favorite thrift stores. That's how I picked up my copy of The Four Winds, which I have, but haven't read yet. 

9. Emily St. John Mandel

I know so many people who love Station Eleven. Like, "got tattoos of references to it immediately when they could get back into tattoo parlors during Covid" kinds of ways of loving something. And I am happy for them, I really am, but as it stands right now, I'm not really capable of seeing any kind of future for myself in reading a book where the catalyst of the current structure of society was a big ol' pandemic. And yes, I know she's written more than just this one, but that book is the one that everyone loves the most! 

10. Katee Robert

Speaking of loving, I'm obviously a fan of a well-written Romance novel (and to be frank, quite a lot of the ones who aren't well written. Have you seen the rest of this blog?). And I have the utmost admiration for writers who know their audience, and know their market, and utilize all this knowledge to build a career, and I know that Robert possesses that knowledge in spades. But some of her books feel a little too much like gimmicks for me to buy into fully... and after the frustrations I had after reading Lore: Olympus earlier this year, I think it's going to be a long, long, long time before I bother picking up a Hades and Persephone retelling again. 

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books on My Fall TBR

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish shareable, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Let's get two things straight, right off the top: I am three days deep into the flu, and I am a proud mood reader, who is absolutely terrible at following a TBR plan. 

If there's anything I can guarantee you right now, it's that 1. There is only a negligible chance that I will recall even a single selection that makes it onto this list by the time I emerge from my Robitussin haze come morning, and 2. There was only a snowball's chance in Florida that I will actually manage to follow this plan to begin with. 

That being said... isn't planning out a TBR kind of fun? 

It's the same reason I make huge To-Do Lists for the Fall season, or big ol' themed posters that hang up in our kitchen during Advent. Because sometimes, it's nice to daydream about all of the cute seasonal things you want to do, while you're trapped in the rushing torrent of a schedule that cares naught for your whims. By the time you actually manage to drag your flannel-bedecked compatriots to the pumpkin patch for an apple cider doughnut, or drop off that meticulously-wrapped package to the family Secret Santa gift exchange, you'll be glad you did it, of course... so much so that you're more than willing to overlook the eight or nine checkmarks on your list that didn't get completed in time. 

So to be honest, if I manage to finish even one title off of this list, I'll be pleased. Because it will mean I indulged in a read that makes best use of the advantages of the Fall season... and because it means I will not have died from the flu. 

(I'm not dying, I'm just very peeved. It's my personal guardian angel's way of striking me down after complaining so hard about the marathon traveling I was compelled to do for the past month or so. "Oh, multiple air plane flights, ferry trips, and numerous hours in a car have you feeling worn out? Then it's time to sleep, idiot."

Trust me, from the bottom of my soul, I'd rather be reading.) 

Fall Vibes

because some reads just conjure up those "I'm wearing a sweater, there's apple cider in the Crockpot, it smells like rain outside and it's getting dark at 5pm now" vibes

1. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Listen, my college-aged younger brother inhales books like he's Kirby, which means he travels through his library holds at a blistering pace I simply cannot match... but because he tends towards reads by people like Brandon Sanderson, I don't take it too personally. 

Until, of course, he started coming for my English Major cred, and now I have to put up some stalwart defense to retain my title of Nerd Supreme of the family, by trying to read or reread at least one work of Classic fiction a quarter. Because otherwise it's hand to hand combat, and the kid is built like a truck. 

2. The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

To be honest, I haven't read this book since my Freshman Year of college, and being that that was now eleven years ago (*insert gagging noise here*), I feel confident enough to say I remember almost nothing of the specifics, just that I really like it, and found it to be very atmospheric. 

However, I still possess its sequel, and I wouldn't be happy removing one from my shelves without at least consulting the other first. Besides, how many times do you think to yourself, "Man, I wish I could read this book for the first time again." Now, I pretty much can! 

3. The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Sometimes, we've just got to call a spade a spade: this book has leaves on the cover, and they're the same colors your kindergarten teacher would choose for Fall leaves, and sometimes, we just don't have to think that hard about things, okay? 

Besides, I feel like the vibe of "mysterious fortune teller informs a group of siblings of the ways they all eventually die" feels kind of October-y. 

Spooky Season

because my family goes all out for Halloween in the decor department, and heaven help me if I leave something out of theme on the coffee table

4. A Dowry of Blood, S. T. Gibson

This particular read gained some rave reviews on that bedeviled clock app last year, and the resulting hype spilled over to Instagram, including the posts of some people I really like and trust. So I took a gamble and picked up a copy for myself at the Barnes and Noble Hardcover Sale in late December last year, and it's been sitting on my shelves ever since, waiting for October reading. 

Because, vampires! Blood! Fangtastic fun! 

5. How to Sell a Haunted House, Grady Hendrix

So my family is obsessed with this kind of sleeper Syfy show Surreal Estate, which was somehow miraculously brought back from the dead (cancelled) to gain a second season, which will be premiering in a few weeks. It's about a real estate firm that specializes in the sale of haunted houses, and it's one of the best scripted shows on TV I've seen in recent memory. I have been informed that this book is literally nothing like the completely unrelated show, but the similarities are too fun not to mention, and I will do just about anything to make sure this show does not get cancelled again. 

But also, various members of my family are very into Grady Hendrix, and even though I'm not exactly a Thriller fan, I've been informed that this one is fun enough that I'm willing to take one for the team. I think it only took me two or three days to finish Final Girls Support Group, so at least it should be quick. 

6. Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3), Libba Bray

I am a Libba Bray fan - one of the many bookshelf holdovers from my adolescence - and I was actually on track with reading The Diviners series as they came out... until the third one. And then it just kind of sat on my shelf for a little bit. And then aforementioned brother asked if I had anything to read, and I recommended these, and he, again, blew through them like a wolf and a house made of dandelion fuzz, and finished the whole series without me while I wasn't paying attention. 

And yes, it's been three years since that last one in the series was published. I'm still trying to knock out that third. But being that these books really ARE that spooky, I'm going to need all the lights in the house on when I do it. 

Just for Me, Just Because

sometimes, you've got to just do some things not because they're aesthetic, or because they're on-theme, but because your brother will yell at you if you don't

7. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Alanna #3), Tamora Pierce

Okay, sorry to bring up my brother again - actually, you know, by this time, you should be used to it - but when the then-teenaged kid came to me when Covid locked down the libraries and asked if I had anything new for him to read, I handed him my stacks of Tamora Pierce with a nonchalant "Meh, I don't know if these are really your speed." Smash cut to him outpacing me in pretty much every kind of trivia, having read each of the Tortall series multiple times. 

You can imagine how much it smarted when he then turned to me, and asked if I really hadn't read any of the Alanna books before. (To be fair, my Tortallan introduction was completed somewhat laughably out of order). So I'm trying to get through the Alanna books - in a boxed set he bought me - by the end of the year, so I can finally stop feeling the eyes of my little brother boring into the back of my head. 

8. Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot #6), Martha Wells

Your honor, I would like the record to show that I read them first. Me! Not my brother, not my Dad. I was the one who brought Murderbot into this family, but it's not my fault my family members have the laser focus of machinery themselves. Some of us like to read from multiple genres and not simply blast our way through an entire series, mind you. 

So yes, it's taken me some time, but I'm very much still on track. And at least this one is another novella; that novel of #5 was good, but Science Fiction can really burn you out in large quantities. So I'm taking my time. 

9. The Art of Eating In, Cathy Erway

Okay, so this is really a kind of placeholder for any number of Food Writing selections I might whimsically whisk off of my shelves come November. 

Preparation for Thanksgiving in this household starts in early October, and is treated like a one-day event in the same way that the Olympics are just like Field Day at the local elementary school. I like leafing though a Cookbook or an engrossing Culinary Memoir when all of the couches are haphazardly Jenga-stacked next to the TV, to make way for the three long serving tables we use in the Family Room. And of course, I need something cool to fill in the commercial gaps when we're watching the Parade. 

10. Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2), Leigh Bardugo

So, Netflix's Shadow and Bone Season Two came out in mid-March, right? And I pretty much immediately read a spoiler that said you really should have read all the way through Rule of Wolves before attempting the new season. But my schedule was full-out blockaded until the first week of May was over, and I only had a few weeks to read before Summer Reading Book Bingoes started up on June 1st, and my attentions were required elsewhere through the end of August....

Now we're finally into September, and during a chance conversation with my brother (I know, I know) he revealed that he hasn't watched any part of Season Two, either... because he's been waiting for me. 

Buddy, I promise, we're making it through Season Two before December. 

Just... give me a little time, okay? I might still be in bed, recovering from this damn flu. 

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

I Read Five Romance Novels in Five Days (And I Still Didn't Get a Bingo)

It may be September now, but around this time last month, I was in the process of slowly losing my mind. 

A week-and-a-half on vacation was yielding its way towards one last run at freedom, before prep for a double-header of flights down to LA and ferry rides to Roche Harbor, two weekends in a row. Temperatures were dropping, thoughts of Summer were plummeting sharply without any sort of mercy, and I was facing an abrupt, vicious ending to those lazy sunshine days, by somehow being forced onto a slalom course of social engagements, family expectations, and packed luggage, without poles. 

Now I'm still here, slowly losing my mind, on the other side; my personal distress has resolved itself into a defeated state of exhaustion. My sleep schedule, digestive system, and extroversion threshold are completely wrecked, and for every meeting that gets added to my calendar, another month is taken off of my life. The only trips I plan on taking for the foreseeable future are to Costco; the only pictures I want to post to Instagram are of my cat. 

And yet, we must press on. 

While I was busy covering my ears, with Summer's swan song blaring through the open windows, I decided that I really should hurry up with the whole Reading Challenge thing. Unwilling to sacrifice so much of my season without even a bingo to show for it, I decided to spend a week powering through, with the project goal of finishing at least three before I left for vacation. 

I ended up reading six books total across the course of one week, and five Romances specifically, over five days. 

So while I'm still sucking down water to recuperate from the dehydration caused by persistent, unregulated stress, I figured I might as well send off some reviews. If I end up dying from prolonged social exposure - by being forced to leave my house, and into unforgiving environmental conditions that wore on my psyche - at least you'll have something to remember me by. 

You can't always talk about a Romance without dishing on a few important plot points, so heads up: here thar be spoilers. 

SPL Bingo Square: "Audiobook or EBook"

Ripped Bodice Romance Square: "Kissing for Science" 

(note: I don't really think this matches this square, based on the narrative; I simply saw someone else who had marked it as this choice and thought, "Well, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me," and moved on. I mean, there are equations on the cover!)

The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang 

A math whiz with Asperger's seeks to "cure" her aversions to a sexual relationship, by hiring on a pro to help navigate her through the basics... but gets more experience than she bargained for, when she falls for real. Will this illogical pair find a way to make their love last in the real world, or is the outcome just too improbable? 

This particular Romance feels like it comes unilaterally recommended across the internet fandom for Romance in general. Its sequel gets high praise, too, for its heart, humor, and #OwnVoices perspective (but from what I understand, the third in the series doesn't so much). Romances with an autistic heroine are unfortunately few and far between; same for an Asian-American couple as main characters. The fact that the novel is also well-written makes for what should be an obvious draw: as romances happen with people belonging to these communities out in the real world, shouldn't they also be lovingly rendered on paper? 

Ironically enough, the reason I didn't quite like this novel was because of how unrealistic it was. Yes, she was autistic... but also came from absurd wealth, is obsessed with performing a high paying skill in a lucrative field, owns a nice house and drives a Tesla, is abundantly remarked upon being beautiful and petite, and occasionally becomes so consumed by work, she just forgets to eat. He, on the other hand, is an escort... but also a gifted tailor and aspiring fashion designer, who drives a motorcycle, is very accomplished in martial arts, and is so good looking, that it is regularly commented on in the context of how other people respond to his beauty. It was like all of those other desirable factors were there to somehow, for some reason, make up for the fact of her being autistic, or him being a sex worker. You don't have to be dripping with wealth or carved from marble to be worthy of respect and love. 

I also really didn't love the very patriarchal bullshit present in his eventual courtship of her, at the end. Stalking, sending lavish gifts in a public space, continuing to show up to her place of work, getting jealous about the other men in her life... very deeply strange, especially when stood up against an undesirable rival who also refused to take no for an answer. 

I can totally get why people liked it... it just wasn't for me. 

Two and a half stars. 

SPL Bingo Square: "Recommended by an Independent Bookstore"

Ripped Bodice Bingo Square: "Vigilante S#!t"

The Duchess Deal, Tessa Dare

A seamstress trying to collect on payment for a wedding dress, sewn for a bride who never made it to the altar, is propositioned by a disfigured duke: quietly marry him, and bear a male heir, and she will be taken care of for the rest of her life. However, it becomes clear that there is more going on with the Duke of Ashbury than his gruff and straightforward demeanor would suggest... and that Emma is unlikely to follow his orders without testing his limits, too. 

I am a huge fan of Tessa Dare, and have read numerous other titles of hers, to varying degrees of success. She will forever be one of the first ever authors in the Romance category I really became a fan of, when I first started reading them back in 2018, and so carries that estimation whenever I encounter her newer material. I really enjoyed Books #2 and #3 of this series, but have been saving #1 for a rainy day, being that it is generally the favorite amongst them as determined by fans. 

Well, maybe not a rainy day... but what about a sunny, late-August one? After all, The Ripped Bodice Book Bingo Card had an "Alliterative Title" square, as well as the one I ended up choosing. Being that the Ripped Bodice itself is an independent bookstore, I felt it was more than appropriate to use on both cards. 

This selection from the series was generally enjoyable, but it was just that something kept me hanging back from falling all the way in love with it. The banter was funny and consistent, the side characters were a lot of fun, and it was silly and campy in the way that Dare writes very well. 

Maybe that was the problem? It felt too much like Dare's other works, and her other foibles I've encountered in my extensive readings of her work already. The dynamics and general conceit were over-the-top unbelievable, the sex scenes felt repetitive and weirdly male-gaze-y, the repeated misunderstandings between characters required just a little too much mental contortion to make fit. By the time it got to the reveal of a "real" wedding ring at the end - a ruby, cut into the shape of a heart, set into a gold band - it all felt almost juvenile.

Maybe I've finally outgrown one of the first Romance authors I really fell in love with in the first place? 

Three and a half stars. 

Ripped Bodice Bingo: "Swimming"

Him, Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Four summers ago, Wes made the biggest mistake of his life, by pushing Jamie too far during a friendly bet at hockey camp. The two haven't spoken since. When a chance run-in during a tournament in their senior year of college inspires a reconnection, they find themselves sharing a bunkroom at the same place they trained as teenagers. Maybe they can go back to the way things used to be... or even something better, if one of them can just manage to break the ice. 

What on earth is it about Gay Hockey Romances Written by Dual Authors that manages to so easily reinvigorate my faith in the Romance genre as a whole? As not a gay man, nor a hockey enthusiast (or even a sports fan, in general), nor someone who generally enjoys co-author situations, I really shouldn't have such strong feelings about these kinds of books... but somehow, both Him and Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn's Goalie Interference have easily become some of my favorite Romance reads ever, let alone from the past year. 

Each was an incredibly caring and nuanced portrayal of a relationship forged in a subculture that isn't always welcoming, and has rigid structures around perspectives of masculinity and patriarchal values. They depict two people genuinely learning how to care for each other in a not-always-comfortable environment, with other kinds of people and relationship dynamics to consider, and social expectations about how they can and should behave. They call into discussion issues around greater topics, like class, family values, and more. 

And yeah, they're pretty steamy. Really great heart, but absolutely scorching heat. These are very much still Romance novels, after all. 

What sets Him apart is that it really feels interior and earnest; thanks to a trade-off POV for each of the main characters, you feel very intimately aware of Jamie and Wes' emotions, their past traumas, and how their actions are informed by those experiences. They're two people who genuinely care about each other, but are still figuring out how their lives fit together in an organic way, particularly in how they navigate a relationship with that shared harm behind them. It's a person learning how to let someone in, whose walls might not have been built to endure this kind of heartbreak again, and another figuring out that what he thought was his guaranteed life plan suddenly feels a lot more subject to uncertainty. Both are vulnerable in ways they haven't had to be before, and are not only learning how to cope, but help each other move through it... together. 

And, again. Spicy as hell. 

Four stars. 

SPL Book Bingo Square: "True Crime or Crime Fiction" 

Ripped Bodice Bingo: "We Have the Same Job"

Wolf at the Door, Charlie Adhara

The bodies keep stacking up at a remote state park, and Cooper Dayton's on the case to track down the killer for the BSI, a department of the FBI specializing in crimes of a... different nature. It's his first chance to prove himself on his own merit, away from his legendary partner; too bad he's been attached to the reserved and mysterious Oliver Park, who has his own paranormal perspectives to offer. Can the two work together to catch a killer? Or will Dayton's past come back to bite him... literally? 

This book was just... the happiest surprise. 

Take, for instance, the fact that for over half of its narrative, it reads straight out of a gritty crime procedural, like in a True Detective kind of way. A series of mysterious disappearances have been ravaging a tourist town, two unidentified corpses have been unearthed in a secluded forest, and yet another missing local seems to have heralded yet another death, if something isn't done in time to stop it. Cue the entrance of two polar opposite detectives, called to partner up across different departments, in order to collaborate on putting an end to the killings once and for all. 

The only difference that separates this from any other run-of-the-mill Thriller, is that it's actually, definitely, a Romance. The two detectives - cue the shock and awe - end up stripping down and getting REAL interdepartmental around the 62% mark through the book. 

Well, that, plus the fact that one of them is also a werewolf. 

That's right, this whole dark-and-dangerous tale also takes place in a world where not only are werewolves real, but there's a whole secret subdivision of the FBI dedicated solely to werewolf-related crimes. One of our lovebird detectives is a human, used to simply hauling in the nearest wolf to the crime in handcuffs; now, the nearest wolf is a hunky past-English-professor-turned-werewolf-Trustee-agent who he just can't seem to keep his own paws off of. 

And it's SMART. The entire thing is a well-written-and-carefully-structured metaphor, about conflicts between the greater justice system and persecuted populations, who have been historically forced under the thumb of unfair governmental prejudices. It's for anyone who's had to hide who they were and are. It's like every other person is either gay, or a person of color, or a werewolf, or all of the above. It's GREAT. 

I'm so glad I already own the sequel, because I don't know how I'd get through this Book Buying Ban if I didn't. I'm already planning it for my TBR for October, so I can enjoy it the week of my Birthday. 

Five stars. 

Ripped Bodice Bingo: "It Was Supposed to Be One Night" 

The Rake Gets Ravished, Sophie Jordan

After her dissolute, social-climbing, ne'er-do-well brother barters the whole of their family lands on a game of cards - literally betting the farm - during a drunken night out in London, Mercy decides to secure the deed back by breaking into the personal quarters of a gambling hell kingpin. She definitely didn't plan on distracting him with an unexpected night of seduction. And she certainly didn't account for him following her home. He claims he's only interested in protecting what's his, and she has her mind set on doing the same... but maybe what she should be protecting, is her heart. 

Okay. So. Talk about starting with a literal bang, and ending with a metaphorical whimper. 

This book got off to such a blistering start that I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air like a teenager at the back-and-forth banter. I read up to the 48% mark in one night, and went to bed completely won over by what was, at the time, blisteringly hot pacing that verged on the Erotica genre. 

Unfortunately, things were not as sexy in the light of day. It seems as though Jordan decided to do nearly the whole plot backwards: by having the main characters experience their hottest scene the second they meet each other, there's no way the tension or stakes are sustainable throughout the rest of the narrative. By the end of the novel, hearts are expected to flutter at the fact that they're kissing in bed, having finally made it to the happily-ever-morning-after for the first time? I don't think so. 

Additionally, by beginning on such a spicy note, it makes the main heroine seem a little flighty and disingenuous by the end of the novel. That goes double for when she catches her younger sister in the same compromising position she's indulged in numerous times throughout the plot already, and totally flips out; her 17-year-old sibling, whom she was responsible for raising, is totally warranted a bit of a teenage meltdown about it. 

Not that she's warranted to much else. Both of the heroine's siblings are utterly infuriating: Grace was undoubtably supposed to come across as a spirited and romance-minded menace of a young woman, but ended up an egregious flirt and an unrepentant brat, while Bede was so intolerable that up to about the 95% mark I genuinely thought that there was no possible way the book could have a happy ending without him dead (He ends up getting shipped off to New Zealand instead). 

Not to mention the hero's own threadbare excuses for pretty much any of his actions, which was also incredibly frustrating. 

Three stars. 

But that was last month; now, we're well into September, and I've had the same books staring at me from my coffee table since before I left for LA at the end of August. What on earth will I read next? 

Well, there are some OTHER Romance novels that require my attention...

Did you read any good Romances this summer? Let me know, in the comments below!

Summer Reading Challenge Pt. 3: What I Read in August!

Man, this summer has just been... a LOT. 

Hence why I haven't been able to muster up the ability to tell you about the end of my Summer Reading Challenges until we're nearly halfway through the month of September. I'm experiencing the brain scramblies, as a result of a pseudo marathon of travel and social engagements, and the only thing more ravaged than my mental health, to-do list and Fall planning, is my digestive system. Things have been full chaos city in my life for the last month or so, and some days it feels like the only tape binding my broken parts together is a combination of iced caramel coffees and the fact that I actually get to sleep in my own bed every night from here to the end of 2023. 

(I washed my bedding AND two week's worth of travel laundry yesterday. It took all day to get done, and when I went to bed last night, between those crisply-folded, freshly-laundered sheets, I truly felt the bone-deep-exhausting reward of self care. I nearly cried.)

But it's time to move on. Fall, in my mind, is already here, even though the calendar insists that it doesn't start until a week and a half from now, for some obviously incorrect reason. The local school district I volunteer with has already begun their academic year; friends have begun asking me what my plans are for Halloween and my 30th Birthday next month. This morning, the Dancing with the Stars cast list for this season was announced, and tonight, I'm headed to the local state fair to see one of my favorite country bands in concert with some of my cousins. 

Autumn has arrived. And yet, until I get this blogpost - and its inevitable successor, which we'll address in a second - published, August keeps hanging over my head like a disgruntled cloud that just wants to rain, already. 

So. Let's talk about August. 

What I Read in June

What I Read in July

The final month of Summer, stymied by a packed travel schedule but desperate to gain at least ONE Bingo before I resigned myself to September, I ended up reading EIGHT books... however. However! Only three of them were quote-unquote NORMAL books. 

With about ten days left in the month, I suffered something akin to a mental breakdown and read five Romance novels across five days, and ended up finding two of the best Romance novels I've read in the last few years. So. That's going to have to be a different kind of blogpost, you know? 

But I still have those three "normal" books that I read. I ended up being able to count two of the Romance novels on my regular Seattle Public Library Book Bingo Summer Reading Challenge, too, and altogether, I not only managed to get one Bingo... I got three! 

While I'm still busy trying to recover from the effort, why not read some of the reviews I wrote for them? 

Bingo Square: "Debut Essays or Short Stories"

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion, Jia Tolentino

A funny, self-deprecating - but nonetheless salient and well-researched - collection of personal essays, covering topics like reality television, coming of age in the Internet, and the wedding industrial complex, with a unique and feminist edge. 

The first time I attempted this dense, yet conversational, collection of essays, I was suffering from an extended panic attack while flying home alone from LA in October of '21. I had been mislead in the idea that it would make for beneficial vacation reading, but the jaded and often pessimistic discussions of gender and culture were only adding to my distress the higher we flew. I ended up bailing out 30 pages in, and decided to listen to the Beetlejuice musical cast album for the umpteenth time instead. 

It was only when I saw the square "Debut Essays" on my Summer Book Bingo card that I figured I would have to give this particular hardcover another chance. Even so, I absolutely dreaded returning to it. 

Then I saw it pop up on one of my social feeds, in an Instagram post shared by a friend, in a list of reads titled "Books to Read After Watching Barbie," and that comparison felt way more apt and appropriate than calling it a beach read. Barbie's gentle perspectives on constructions of femininity, impacts of the patriarchy, and coming of age in a complicated girlhood, felt salient to the topics discussed in the collection, and approaching it within that mindset made the whole thing feel far easier to digest. Instead of feeling overly dismissive or glib, the author's voice felt more like an extended vent session with a friend, after a particularly spirited Gender and Women's Studies quiz section. 

The fact that one of the final essays in the collection involved an exploration of the author's views on marriage felt particularly notable to me, as I was on vacation with my sibling, her partner (fiancé), and her partner's family, in celebration of the engagement (Yes, I did end up reading it on vacation after all). The conversations that resulted from me sharing quotes from the floor of our shared bedroom lost no degree of authority for all that they also made us laugh. 

It's complicated, being a woman. 

Four stars. 

Bingo Square: "Includes a Recipe"

Something Old, Something New, Tamar Adler

A joyful exploration and authoritative retrospective on vintage and antique recipes that a well-versed chef believes should find their way back into dinnertime rotation. 

I've been a part of the growing appreciation for Tamar Adler's impeccable first book - An Everlasting Meal - for several years now, including at a time when securing the elusive ten-year-old hardcovers felt impossible enough to consider "misplacing" the only one I could find (the solo copy on offer from our local library system. I have a paperback copy now, though, so don't worry for my immortal soul). The near cult fanaticism many feel for that installment in her canon of work made me giddy enough to pick up this next title shortly after its paperback release, then preserve it for the occasion where I could fully read it at my leisure, with a bundle of page flags nearby. 

The "Includes a Recipe" square on my Summer Book Bingo card certainly helped promote this decision. 

SOSN carries the same meditative elegance present in AEM, the same blissful confidence that you, too, can cook like this, punctuated by flashes of Adler's characteristic humor. The topics, however, couldn't be further from each other: whereas Everlasting's gastronomic perspectives make you feel like you will never waste a scrap of food ever again, SOSN dives into antiquated gustatory novelties with gusto. I have no room to talk - I literally have a monthly cooking newsletter dedicated to exorcising trapped recipes from decades-old cookbooks, myself - but seeing her glom onto recipes for aspic, souffles, and seafood served with a variety of surnames attached, did feel a little detached from her previous theses. 

What seemed unequivocally true, regardless, is that Adler seems to be having an excellent time while doing it. It doesn't quite live up to my levels of appreciation for its predecessor, but then again, very few selections of Food Writing do. I have a favorite within M.F.K. Fisher's ranks, as well, and the comparison feels worthy of merit. 

Three and a half stars. 

Bingo Square: "Trans or Nonbinary Author"

I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Casey McQuiston

After the popular and intelligent daughter of their private Christian high school's principal goes missing a few weeks before graduation, those she left behind - her boyfriend, the boy next door, and our main character, her closest rival for the valedictorian title - piece together a series of intricate clues she left behind, to figure out why she left... and where she's hiding now. 

I was an early adopter and fan of McQuiston's debut novel - Red, White and Royal Blue, which was also adapted into a very popular Amazon Prime movie this past summer - and have continued to be a fan of it in the years since... but their other novels haven't really interested me. One Last Stop seemed a tad convoluted, and this, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, trod a little too close to John Green's Paper Towns to capture my interest... something that, funny enough, the characters own up to the context of the story. 

However, the continued goading of my younger sister finally got me to commit (as talking about novels we have in common has become one of our favorite phone conversational topics now that she's established in California for good). And, of course, the Book Bingo square for a "Nonbinary Author" made for a compelling argument. And it was a title I already had on my shelves, thanks, of course, to the aforementioned sister who had abandoned it in my keeping.

To jump to the end, and provide some high-key spoilers, I was fairly disappointed. Because I was already acquainted with McQuiston's authorial voice and subject matter, most of the plot felt fairly predictable: in both an "obviously those two characters are in love with each other" and an "obviously those two other characters are in love with each other" kind of way. Obviously if the main character mentioned her penchant for "megabitch" villains who fall for the hero, then her archnemesis will be revealed to be a secret megabitch who's obsessed with her. Obviously. This all made each "plot twist" revelation the kind of thing that sent me pedaling backwards, thinking to myself, Wait, why is this a reveal? I thought we knew that already. 

Shara, for all that she was seemingly the focus of the entire novel, also felt bizarrely two-dimensional, like one of the Ashleys from Recess, or any other bitchy queen bee of the '90s or early '00s, crossed with the competitive streak of Tracy Flick. The final act conflict - the revelation that the principal had been taking bribes to alter peoples' grades - felt like McQuiston had simply popped on the news to determine how to resolve character conflicts, in ways that actually didn't end up meaningful to the overall narrative. Parts of the resolution felt unreasonable, or unrealistic. 

And yet, there were absolutely parts that made me laugh. I believe it's McQuiston's first YA attempt, which explains why the whole thing feels ripe for another Amazon Prime adaptation. I just might not watch that one. 

Two and a half stars. 

So, those are my August reviews. Except, of course, the five Romance reviews I read in the space of one week, which I'll talk about some time in the next few days... and the Paranormal Romance I DNF'd. That Big Box is due for another update soon, I think. 

Hopefully I'll manage to wrap up August sometime before October starts. 

What did you end up reading this summer? Any guesses for what some of those Romances are? Let me know, in the comments below!

Playing in the Pages Turns Thirteen! Bring on the Tween Angst.

About a month ago - in fact, almost exactly a month ago - this corner of the Internet turned thirteen years old. 

When I was thirteen years old, I was heading into the eighth grade, had a major obsession with the Sci-Fi-for-Teens show Kyle XY on ABC Family, and was relatively confident that this was the year I was finally going to have my first kiss (I did not). Only four years later, when I was seventeen years old, I started this blog. 

Had I given birth to a baby - that stale and boring summer between Junior and Senior years of high school, when I would reliably boot up the shared computer in my parents' room every afternoon, to check the handwritten list of URLs I had curated in the back of a notebook - instead of a blog, I would have a middle schooler on my hands. If the Disney Channel Original Movies of my youth are to be believed, this would have been the year they found out they were secretly a mermaid. 

Thankfully, instead of back-to-school shopping for training bras and awkward conversations around a well-worn copy of American Girl's The Care and Keeping of You, I get to spend my days pursuing such self-directed insanity as sending 40+ slide PowerPoint decks dedicated to sections of Shakespeare's The Tempest to my brother, compulsively reading backlist mass market paperbacks about vampires and aliens and psychics falling in love, developing a dangerously dependent relationship and pseudo-retail-addiction with my local secondhand store bookshelves, and occasionally remembering to actually talk about it all on this blog. 

Again, I celebrated this anniversary a month ago, and this is the first time you're hearing about it. Clearly, if anything has managed to develop in the space between my ears within the last twelve months, feeling some kind of obligation to regularly update my blog on my various daily goings-on is certainly not one of them. 

(In the spirit of transparency: I've been doing a mind-warpingly awful amount of travel, have been dedicating quite a lot of time and attention to my OTHER internet project, and most recently, in the spirit of "seasonal transitions give me depression," decided to read five-and-counting Romance novels off of my Kindle within the space of a week. Just in case you were feeling left out.) 

So, you might be wondering, how did I spend my bloggoversary this year?

I listened to a bookish podcast while getting ready in the morning, before I realized that I have an extremely limited amount of mental capacity to listen to just about anything while I'm cooking. Certain playlists on my Spotify have the ability to make getting out of bed a minutes-long affair, rather than a nearly hour-long one, but I don't think that I'll ever be able to effectively navigate my morning to the sound of people talking. And then there's the other issue: the difference between a podcast about books, and conversations with friends, is that you can't interrupt the other person when they unleash a blisteringly bad take.

I read for an hour while my zucchini bread was baking in the oven. While there absolutely - at least, in my experience - is a documented and significant correlation between those who enjoy reading and those who enjoy baked goods, no one ever really talks about how great of an excuse having something in the oven is when you just want a little bit of time to yourself. The ten-minute bouts between batches of cookies are especially good for delegating some attention to other kitchen chores - you can unload a dishwasher in ten minutes, spend another ten clearing off countertops, and then another organizing the fridge - and at the end of it, you are rewarded with not only fresh cookies but a clean kitchen, which generates the kind of euphoria in my brain that others might find only accessible through hard drug use. Zucchini bread, on the other hand, requires over an uninterrupted hour of baking, which makes for a great reason to sit on my couch and pick up a novel, while the entire floor of the house begins to smell of delicious things. 

I went to Barnes and Noble. Shocker! I do this every year for my bloggoversary, for the celebratory purpose of picking up some of the books I've specifically saved for that occasion. Thanks to the traditions of years past, my bloggoversary had become one of the only times a year I can justify paying full price for hardcovers, and thanks to choices made during my Fifth Bloggoversary, I typically pick up five titles each year. However, much to my chagrin, arriving at this well-known establishment quickly revealed to me that they had, once again, decided to reorganize all of the shelves and store layout. This, coupled with some pretty dramatically bad shelving mistakes, means I only ended up purchasing three books: 

Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries: A Novel, Heather Fawcett

The Way Home: Two Novellas from the World of The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

The Best American Food Writing 2022, ed. Sohla El-Wayly

At only three titles, that still ended up setting me back $80. How on earth are some people only buying books new? I maintain that reading is one of the most cost-effective past times you can pursue as a general hobby - thanks to things like The Library, secondhand and discount retailers, ebook sales, and lending books with friends - but damn, aren't these publishers and bookstores making it difficult? 

I bought myself some reading snacks from Trader Joes. I had originally restricted myself to a short list: at the age of 29 years old, I know myself well enough that to roam untethered in a Trader Joes is to suffer a short blackout and emerge from the mental fog back in the car with multiple bags of groceries in the backseat, so I knew that some kind of structure was necessary. I had optimistically thought that tags like "something bubbly," "something spicy," and "something creamy" would direct my focus a little more intentionally, but I ended up scrapping it completely and just picking things up that looked good. Meringues, s'mores bars, strawberry beverages, buffalo almonds, pickle cheese curds, and more... 

I scooted over to my local library to pick up a hold of mine that had just come in: The Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros. It has undoubtably become one of the buzziest books of the year, thanks to BookTok reviewers, and what seems to be a universal penchant for books about dragons and love triangles. Billed to me as "Horny How to Train Your Dragons," I had originally placed a hold after a handful of confused conversations with my brother about how seemingly everyone on the Internet was talking about this book, then dedicatedly waited over two months for the hold to come in. (Naturally, the other 44 people waiting for their own holds after me ended up weighing far too much on my conscious, and I ended up returning it early.)

I worked on the final slide deck for my Sibling Book Club I have with my brother, where we spent the month of July reading The Tempest together. It was a tremendously rewarding experience, one I'm still debating on dedicating a higher word count to on this blog later, so all I'll say at this point that one of the most beneficial things I think you can do for yourself before 2024 hits in about four months, is picking one of the funniest people you know and deciding to read Shakespeare with them. 

And while that was the extent of my actual Bloggoversary Day celebrations, it didn't end quite yet. Because I had only picked out those three books from Barnes and Noble, I made myself the promise that if I was able to locate any of the other titles on my list while on vacation, I would be allowed to purchase one or two more at an independent bookstore of my choice. Thankfully, while in Sunriver, Oregon, with my family, I was able to track down Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire, much to my immense relief.  

And how do I feel about it?

Maybe it's because I've been doing this all for so long... maybe because I've been checking out a lot of library books this year, during my Book Buying Ban of 2023, so picking things up new doesn't hold a lot of shine for me... maybe it's because we're so busy, that my brain is already more subsumed under a million other focuses... I don't know. 

At certain points, it felt like less of a special occasion, and more of an obligation, which is a bummer of a way to feel about a happy anniversary. 

It doesn't help that I'd been massively trapped in a Summer Slump since the very beginning of July, and  had barely gotten through three books in total that month. I'd only managed to publish once on the blog, which meant that it didn't feel like there was a ton to celebrate in that arena, either.

That all being said, it is so important to me to reflect on the person I was when I first started writing this blog, how much I have managed to write through - the end of high school, all of college, and heading into my 30's this Fall - and what this changing hobby of mine has shown me about myself in these past thirteen years. I would never think of letting this kind of a moment go by unremarked. 

Yeah, I celebrated my thirteenth bloggoversary a month ago. It's pretty cool that I've had something to call solely my own for that long, and that I've kept it going while so many other hobbies have still managed to fall by the wayside as I've gotten older. Whether I'll ever be the maintainer of the "perfect" blog I desired - the kind I'd painstakingly stalk through that summer before I started Senior year - it's a space that has just as much to say about me and how I've grown up, as the stacks of journals I've been keeping in notebooks since I was in middle school. It's telling a whole story on its own, beyond the ones I talk about in its text. 

Happy Thirteenth Year, Playing in the Pages.