A Bloggoversary, and Books in a Basket: a Thrift Shopping Haul

Alright, so this post has been a couple of weeks in the making. But between soaking up the last bits of summer, helping faciliate not one, but TWO sibling moves - one out of state, the other to the other side of the state - blogging hasn't been taking up the brainspace it deserves. 

That doesn't change the fact that everyone loves a good haul, right? 

So, let's flash back to Tuesday, July 27th: where, in order to celebrate my Bloggoversary in high style, I enlisted my brother to join me on a parade through some of my favorite area thrift stores. It's an errand he's no stranger to... only this time, instead of languishing next to the dressing rooms, holding a cumbersome stack of clothing, we'd be devoting our time and attention pretty specifically to the book section. 

Of course, we couldn't content ourselves to just that. But more on that later... 

All told, the day was exactly the kind of exercise in thrifty shopping that I needed, and yet another reminder of how simple and effective it is to find yourself plenty of good reads for cheap. Was this lesson strictly necessary, in a year defined by the realization that I have over 435 unfinished books on my TBR shelves and Kindle? I mean... moving on. 

location #1: Value Village

The location I go to has a pretty decent, typically well-organized assortment of reads in their book section. Unfortunately, because we got there shortly after opening on a Tuesday morning, it seems like everyone else in the area was looking for good reads there, too... and pretty much everything else. I'm not used to having to share elbow room while shopping, but we chocked up the additional presence to the fact that it's summer, they had recently restocked the shelves, and who knows, maybe people just happen to really love spending sunny days in July stuffed inside a large store that smells like mothballs?

Because there were so many people there, I felt a little scrambled for time, and didn't expend a lot of effort in trying to find anything picture-worthy. Though I did find a definitely unofficial Harry Styles biography that made me giggle. 

All told, I grabbed six new-to-me, gently-used titles, and the kid brother managed to make off with a few as well! 

As You Like It, Shakespeare

One of my favorite things to search for while thrifting, is Folger Library copies of Shakespeare. You're almost guaranteed to see a surplus of titles on the shelf; unfortunately, the question then becomes whether you'll be able to actually read them or not, as many of them are marked up and scarred, having been used as study copies. Finding an edition that has no annotations is trickier stuff... but I found one, for a play I haven't read since college! 

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin

Another great option to look for in a thrift store, are older copies of long-faved Fantasy. Besides sorting through editions of the Wheel of Time and Eragon series, we found both of these perennial classics. I've been dying for more Ursula K. LeGuin in my life, and I was excited to pick up a title I'd heard so much about. The funnier pick, was Mists of Avalon: while my brother and I had both heard of it before, we didn't have enough understanding to determine whether it was worth picking up. I took the chance, and lo and behold, upon traveling to Barnes and Noble later on in the day, we found an almost identical copy for sale for almost $18 more expensive than what we'd nabbed at the thrift store! 

The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

If you haven't gotten the theme so far, thrift stores are a great place to pick up copies of the classics, but what's especially true, is if you're looking for classics that aren't among the expected: while odds would not be high that I'd find a copy of House of Mirth, The Buccaneers makes for an intriguing Wharton selection that hits just left of center. Similarly, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is a modern classic, rather than some stuffy, old 19th century pick. The copy I picked up had never so much been opened before! 

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Okay, so it's not all classics; thrift store bookshelves carry quite a bit of contemporary fiction, too. This particular title was much-recommended on bookstagram a couple of years ago, when it was first published in 2018. It's pretty incredible, to be able to find a completely unread copy of a recent release, but I'm very happy I got it! 

(Originally, the plan was then to move over to Goodwill immediately after Value Village, but because of numerous factors, including a much-needed bathroom break, we went for Barnes and Noble first, which is where I picked up the titles I included in my bloggoversary post. Did I briefly consider giving up Goodwill after dropping entirely too much change at the big store? You bet I did... but I'm so, so glad I didn't end up bailing off for home. Not only did I find some of my favorite material of the day at GW, but it served as a nice sort of sandwich comparison to see how cheap you can pick up certain material, if you're only willing to 1. manage your expectations and 2. stick to a budget.) 

location #2: Goodwill

I feel like I always rely on this location to have a really solid assortment of books: they have nice, built-in shelves that take up a full corner of the store, and the location is one of the prime donation spots in our area. However, I was really sad to see that the Books had been severely reduced in shelf space, with more than a few of them standing completely empty! I don't know if this is due to a deliberate attempt at limiting that kind of stock, or if there just haven't been a lot of people donating their books in the past year, but either way, I was pretty sad to see it brought so low.

That is not to say, however, that I didn't make away with a fair amount of reading material.

Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie

A much-celebrated entry into the Romance genre in the past few years, I've been hearing nothing but good things about this novel in the time I've started reading Romance (which, it's hard to believe, was only a couple of summers ago!). 

The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah

Another frequent find among thrift store book shelves? Anything with a Book of the Month tab on the side. Hey, I'm not knocking anyone else's subscription habits, but it seems like BOTM users happen to give away just as many books as they keep, if not more. 

The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown

The Corrections, Johnathan Franzen

Don't make fun: yes, I know that Jonathan Franzen is a pretty contentious topic in the book world, and yes, I'm aware that everyone's dad owns a copy of the DaVinci Code. But remember that golden scratch-off poster I got a couple of years ago, the one with all of those "contemporary classic" titles? I've been trying to make a more concentrated effort to pay attention to that poster recently. I'm hoping that this Fall will see me able to tackle a few more of those boxes to check off... especially once I'm done with my Summer Book Bingo TBR, too. 

Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Out of all of the books I've purchased today, this was the only one I've actually read before: Garden Spells, a random library check-out that came my way in the last few weeks of December, was also one of the only reasons I was able to end my catastrophic reading year on anything resembling a high note. When I saw a hardcover copy on Goodwill's shelves - completely unread - I practically snatched it out right in front of my brother's face. Couldn't be more pleased to add this magical, intensely atmospheric read to my collection. 

Not pictured: two cookbooks - which, while I will absolutely be reading them soon, I do not classify in with my "reading" books - and a very lovely little basket I'm using, at the moment, to store more cookbooks.

The Goofy Goodies

Let's be real: we love thrift stores not just because of the treasures they hold... but because some people's versions of "treasures" vary quite significantly. Here are just a few of the best things my brother and I found in Goodwill, that didn't necessarily make it into the basket to take home.

This complete DVD anniversary collection of the classic Pride and Prejudice - aka, the "wet Colin Firth" edition - contained not only two discs, but also a bonus, filled with special features. 

Also didn't pick up, though I desperately wanted to, a World Wrestling Federation Superstars cookbook; a book of "Real Alchemy" that contained, wouldn't you know it, instructions on how to perform alchemy. Try it at home, kids! 

Do you like to go thrifting? What's the best thing you've found hidden in the bookshelves of a thrift store? Let me know, in the comments below!

She's Eleven: It's My Bloggoversary!

I can't believe that time of year has arrived again. Because if it's Late July, in my book, that means it's time for yet another bloggoversary. 

That's right: the blog I started when I was sixteen, is now eleven. I'm twenty-seven, turning twenty-eight in just a loose handful of months. 

I never thought my blog would be with me this long. I also never thought my bloggoversary would be something I celebrated regularly: when I was younger, I didn't really make a point of even recognizing when it hit, late in the summer, typically when I was mid-scramble to finish off my Summer Homework before September rolled around. 

Once I reached as unavoidable a milestone as my fifth anniversary, though, I wanted to make it a big deal. 

Since then, every year, I do a couple of things to celebrate the occasion... and that typically involves buying new books. It's one of the only times of year I let myself head into Barnes and Noble, and pick out just five (or so) titles that I want, regardless of whether they're new hardcovers, or on sale, or what have you. Honestly, that first year I decided on this course of action - my fifth - was solely a personally-crafted escape hatch out of the hole I'd dug myself into, during a "no buying books" year... I was mainly getting my new releases by way of the library, and my bloggoversary became some attainable moment I could look forward to, in order to get my hands on newly-published reads. Now, every year, it's become a hallmark of the celebration. 

To ring in this particular year, one after a year-and-a-half of Covid anxiety and staying at home, I grabbed my younger brother - back from college, and good-naturedly resigned to doing my bidding - in order to go spend some money on fun things, you know, like books. I decided to travel a bit of a different route this year, as well: after more than a year without visiting thrift stores, decided to really lean into the experience, and made both my favorite Value Village and Goodwill locations an integral part of my book-buying adventure, as well. 

In total, we went thrifting at TWO different secondhand stores, swung by Barnes and Noble for what ended up being FOUR books, and I made out, in total, with FIFTEEN new reads (and that's not even counting the two cookbooks I picked up, too).

(I also didn't go to either my real secondhand fave, local indie darling King's Books, or the secondhand store I've really been meaning to visit, Tacoma Book Center. So in reality, I think I showed quite a bit of restraint!)

While my massive amount of thrifted finds seriously merit their own individual post, I still wanted to share the four - instead of five - titles I did end up picking up for myself:

Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse

I've been watching Roanhorse's star rise in the Fantasy field for the past couple of years, and couldn't wait to add this gorgeous title to my shelves.

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Not only will it tick off one of my current Seattle Summer Book Bingo squares, but I feel like for the past couple of summers, I've enjoyed a TJR read per year. She's a reliable vacation-maker!

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith

This title has been recommended to me by a number of friends over the past couple of years, and seems to be a favorite of the Dark Academia crowd on Instagram.

Across the Green Grass Fields (Every Heart a Doorway #6), Seanan McGuire 

The most recent installment in the Every Heart a Doorway novella series, one that I pull off my shelf sparingly so that I get to enjoy them as long as possible before their next inevitable release. The nice thing is that my brother is just as excited to read this one as I am... the not-so-nice thing is that he's so tired of me dragging my feet - to read the book series I INTRODUCED HIM TO - that he's threatening to start grabbing them from the local library, instead. (His threats aren't going to stop me from hiding these away in my shelves, though.)

how else I celebrated 

I got in some valuable snuggle time with my precious kitty, and enjoyed a bit of bread-y goodness from 85 Degree Bakery, conveniently located only about a minute from Barnes and Noble.

After all this action, I had originally planned on spending the rest of the afternoon in a full-out horizontal position, reading books in the backyard with my brother, but in the end, my mind was totally scrambled by the time I got home. I think the mix of spending so much time outside my house - not exactly something I've done a lot of in the past year - plus thinking over all of the books I was now so excited to read, had put my brain into something of a whirlpool. I literally ended up just sitting at the kitchen table, telling everyone who passed by about each of the titles I picked up. 

So, that's this year's celebrating all wrapped up. Thank you so much for sticking around for so many years, whether you're one of the only people who's been here from the beginning - hi, Dad! - or you just joined up after following my romance reviews. Whatever the case, I couldn't be happier to be sharing this corner of the Internet with you. 

To get a little better perspective on the start of my blogging journey, and read some of my past years' bloggoversary posts, check out what I wrote last year for the 10th Bloggoversary!

Here's to a great year past, and another into the future! I appreciate your participation in my random, sputtering reviews on the Internet. Hopefully I'll see y'all again next year!

TODAY I AM TEN: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self, After Blogging Across a Decade

Date: July 24th, 2020
Delivery to: July 24th, 2010

Hello, Younger Me. 

Remember every time you had to do that assignment in class - whether it was for an overly ambitious grade school assignment, or in an English class in January, at the top of the year when you'd just come in all pale and dazed from a too-busy Winter Break - when your teacher would have you write a note to your future self, talking about how you hoped the world would be after a year, five years, maybe ten?

First of all, spoiler, but I'm 26, and I've never seen a single one of those letters return my way. So there's that.

And second of all, I'm doing that now, but in reverse. I'm writing to you from the future. Invest in hand sanitizer and face masks.

Let's kick things off by talking about you. You are currently embroiled in the bitterly hot days of the summer vacation between your Sophomore and Junior years of high school. It's taken you until mid-July to recover from all that social interaction from the school year, which means it's now time to panic over attempting a complete makeover montage before you go back to school in September. (I'm telling you now, that in ten years, you will do nothing but gain weight. You will love yourself more in a size 16 than you ever did in a size 8).

Here's where you are: You know how to drive, but you hate it. You drink, on average, two Diet Cokes a day, but still more when you can manage it. Your parents still haven't agreed to let you own any personal electronics beyond your non-iPhone cell, so you spend every summer morning booting up the desktop in your parent's room to manually check in on a list of twenty or so blogs you enjoy.

(Don't worry: both a laptop and a Kindle are on their way within the next year, and your best friend finally convinces them to get you an iPhone before you go to college).

The North Face jacket in question, seen here on
a church retreat on 16yo Me.

You were a chubby, quiet kid, who was bullied for being chubby and quiet, so for the first two years of high school, you got dressed every morning in the same way, whether it was above 90 or just pushing 32: the same Vans shoes, the same Gap jeans, and always, always, your full-sleeve North Face jacket. Thankfully, by now, you have shrunk it in the wash so many times that it no longer hits lower than mid-forearm, and by September, you'll have to give it up for normal clothes.

Last year, that cute guy you sat next to all year in your Geometry class kept a tally in his binder of all the words you collectively said to him over the course of the academic term (Less than ten). Little did he know, you pour ink into journals repeatedly, year after year, in composition notebooks full of words, because you're addicted to observing and reflecting on the world around you. In a lot of ways, that's the only way you can make it all make sense.

(Good news: you have a documented record of all of the ways Mom and Dad unfairly punished you for minor transgressions, from the age of twelve up, to reflect on later. Bad news: your younger siblings will get away with far, far worse, with only minor retribution, and your parents will carry on with a stunning lack of awareness or sense of equity whenever you bring this up. Being the eldest will never get more fun from that period of a year or so when you were eight, and you got to stay up a half-hour later than your sister.)

But there's only so many journals you can fill. And you can only look at someone else's blog so many times in a day, refreshing every other hour to see if anything new had arrived, before you start to wonder what it would be like to publish your own. 

So, you did it!

Let's say you just hit publish on your first post. You chose from a limited selection of pre-set background themes, because you don't know HTML (but had Dad not gotten in the way of you signing into a MySpace profile while you were only eleven so many years before, you might have learned). It's pink and has hummingbirds on it, which isn't exactly you, but it's also not exactly not? You look forward to a day when you'll be able to change things up for yourself.

And you'll be pretty good at it, too. After ten years of writing and uploading to your own, invisible corner of the Internet, you'll be pretty damn good.

Here, poor precocious, terrified, frustrated and anxious Savannah, are the Top Ten Ways Blogging Changes Your Life: 

1. It became a space to call my own. 
You've got three younger siblings, two of which are still in elementary school, and if there's anything that you've learned by now, there are going to be few and far between things in your world that belong to you alone. This blog is one of them. You own it, you control it, you choose what goes in or out, and no one else - not even your parents, your teachers, or your siblings - have any say in the matter. It's all for you.

2. It empowered me to speak confidently on the things I like. 
As a little girl who took nearly a year's worth of fencing classes at thirteen because you were so desperate to find a way to be brave, there is nothing that will boost your self-confidence more than this blog. In college, you will write about Fashion, and find a love of The Bachelor, and when you graduate, you'll realize you actually love Romance Novels. None of these things make you dumber, or less worthy of writing about what you think are more "serious" topics. No one is getting in your way more than yourself, and this blog is going to help check your self-directed anxiety to the side.

3. It gave me a college admissions boost.
As it turns out, while the University of Washington will love your 3.9 high school GPA, and how you are a Daffodil Princess, and Editor in Chief of the school newspaper, they also really liked that you are self-motivated, determined, and organized enough to start your own blog. Go figure.

4. It provided a concrete reason to keep reading. 
For every friend in college who bragged that they "hadn't read a book for fun since high school," you will never had to feel that way. Not only will having a blog give you more than enough reasons to keep reading, but it will also provide a platform to inspire others to get back into the habit, too... especially when it comes to your first gig.

5. It helped me land my first writing job. 
College Fashion is a name you'll recognize, being that you type its URL into Google every morning for sartorial perspectives on your future. Little do you know, that you'll end up contributing over 50 articles, across two years, in a column that only gets more popular with your authorship... including bonding with people across the Internet about your love of Dune, Howl's Moving Castle, and more.

6. It helped me find my voice.
At a time in your life when you figure that the worst possible person to be is your own self, this blog helps develop a means of speaking that sounded true to you. While your writing style occasionally fluctuates in formality and diction, you're still very much a continuation of the person you are when you first started writing, and it's this blog that helps you find that path of evolution.

7. It gave me a way to track my writing development. 
Will you occasionally grit your teeth and moan when you read posts from back when you were your age? Yes. But it's the equivalent of macaroni art on the fridge, contextually. You've got so much room to grow, kiddo, and this blog is a means by which you can track just how far you've come. Besides, it also helps you keep track of the five times you absolutely smash NaNoWriMo. Exciting, right?

8. It gave me space to find comfort in writing. 
When you graduate late from college? When you fail two classes, and had to move back home, instead of staying in Seattle like you had originally wanted? When you feel alone and frustrated because you feel like you're no further towards your goals than when you were the age you are now? You'll tell the Internet. (A therapist or something would definitely have helped, but for now, it's been enough.)

9. It helped me clarify my focus.
At your age, I was still thinking I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to write for the News-with-a-capital-N, whatever that meant, and feel important and acclaimed and up-to-date. Now, I know that's not my course of action... and neither is fashion writing, graphic design, copy-editing, or many other things I've been able to try out while writing for this blog. I am still at a loss for what I want to pursue in the greater scheme of my life, but with this outlet, I have a means of getting closer.

10. It became a platform for something bigger. 
Whether it was talking about the election back in 2016 and inauguration in 2017, or it was the first week of Black Lives Matter protests back in June, this platform will give you an outlet to clarify and demonstrate your perspectives on the world around you, in ways that help me articulate ideas that are bigger than just yourself. You might still feel like you're just shouting into the void, but I'm more confident than ever that what I'm saying matters.

So when your mom asks you, sweetly enough, if the reason you didn't date more in college was because you spent so much time reading instead, you're going to know that it was for a worthy cause. (And to be clear, you still aren't dating all that much nowadays, either.)

All the best, 
Twenty-Six Year Old Savannah. 

2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 (the first year I actually acknowledge the anniversary!) - 

2015 Part One / Part Two - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 Part One / Part Two / Part Three - 2019 - 2020! 

I celebrated my blogging anniversary this summer in the same way I have for the past five years: by treating myself to some new books! It's one of the only times in the year I allow myself to buy hardcovers, especially recent releases, and I was so lucky to find every single book I wanted on my list.

Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
The fifth novella in McGuire's award-winning Every Heart a Doorway series, not only was this one of my most-anticipated books of the year, but I'm not the only one coveting its gorgeous cover. I finally turned over the first three installments in the series to my younger brother this Spring, and he's been clamoring for more ever since. But he'll have to wait his turn!

Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
If you recall, back in November, my National Novel Writing Month project had to do with reading Food Memoirs, as I was busy attempting to write selections of my own. Since then, I've only continued to lean into that concept... and while it's not a Memoir, you can find this title on pretty much any "Books with Food" list ever written.

The Tempest, William Shakespeare
The cheapest book on the list, and some might argue the most boring, as well. In a list populated with complex and interesting authorship, he's the one old white dude on it. But this year I've started swinging back around to reading ol' Shakesy-P for the first time since 2014, and I thought it was about time that I locked down a Folger Library copy of my favorite play.

Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, R. Eric Thomas
Memoirs and Essays are one of my favorite comfort genres, and I've had this February release on my list since the start of the year. As a gay Black man recounts what it was like growing up as both of those identities in a Christian theology, in a suburban neighborhood, and contemplates what it means to grow up in "otherness," it's been heralded by many friends as a worthy read.

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African-American Cooking, Toni Tipton-Martin 
Speaking of releases I've been looking forward to all year... this was the James Beard-award winner for American Cookbooks in 2020, and it's been hyped by an incredible amount of the content creators I love in the industry. Plus, there's shrimp on the cover!

Other things I did to celebrate the occasion: got boba tea and some baked goodies with my brother from 85C Bakery Cafe, cuddled the cat (despite the hurdle her sleepy noggin proved to be in using my trackpad), and enjoyed an entirely too-big Club sandwich from legendary local fixture, MSM Deli.

Thank you for spending ten years with me on the Internet. Without a badly-beaten-up laptop, semi-reliable WiFi, a pen and notebook, and plenty of books to read, I am nothing. 

Got any good ideas for the next ten years? Let me know, in the comments below!

There Are Few Cool Reasons to Turn 23: A Birthday Haul

This past weekend, I celebrated my 23rd Birthday. 

The entire experience was a bit of a lesson in irony... Whereas usually, when you say, "I'm turning so-and-so years old," there is an abundance of people responding positively to that information, on my birthday, when I informed people that it was 23 I was turning, those I encountered openly responded with, "Ohmygod, it totally sucks, right?" So, I guess I've hit that point: the pinnacle of birthday excitement has passed... I am officially over the hill.

Despite my old age, my Mom really wanted to make sure I celebrated my birthday with good cheer, especially because she knew how much I was missing spending it with my sorority sisters. So, she made sure I had plenty of time in Seattle to have dinner with some of my best friends, as well as my sister, Delaney, and my birthday itself was spent hitting up a local theater's costume cleanout sale, my favorite specialty grocery store, and my local library.

And, of course, there were presents, presents galore! Naturally, there was an abundance of printed material, and so, I figured I would share my bounty with you, in a sort of mini-haul:

First off, I got two magazines, which are among some of my favorites: Frankie, an Aussie import that encompasses art, photography, fashion, food, travel, vintage, and more - and best of all, totally fits my personal aesthetic - and Jamie, the gorgeously photographed and deliciously inviting publication of super-Brit Jamie Oliver, aka, my eternal middle school #ManCrushMonday.

I also received four books: two memoirs, one work of historical nonfiction, and one poetry collection.

• The first, I bought for myself: Bloom, by Estee Lalonde, is a recently published memoir from one of my favorite lifestyle YouTubers. 
• The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson, is a historical account of one of the deadliest diseases to have ever hit London, the cholera epidemic! 
• Sylvia Plath's iconic poetry collection, Ariel. What  excites me about this particular edition is that it has been arranged into a facsimile of what her original manuscript would have looked like. 
• and, courtesy of my Dad's knowledge of my favorite subjects, The Ride Delegate: Memoir of a Walt Disney World VIP Tour Guide, by Annie Salisbury. It's small-press-published, and that sort of self-made quality is what excites me the most... it means it's probably going to be really juicy! 

Of course, I got plenty of non-book presents, too, however, there were a few more that were kind-of book-related, so I figured those deserved a mention, too!

I've been on a total handbrush-lettering kick recently, and my parents are feeding the obsession with two packs of Dual Brush Pens from Tombow, as well as a Calligraphy Starter Kit from one of my favorite pen companies, Staedtler. They also got me a sort of instruction manual on the matter, which I'm definitely looking forward to marking up in the near future!

And remember that awesome Austen movie Callie and I saw over the summer? It's on DVD! Love and Friendship was a super welcome gift, though it had originally made my younger brother a little nervous: apparently, listing the words "Love and Friendship" on your bday list - even if it's underlined, like a title is supposed to be - can raise some concern for your personal well-being.

I also got a gorgeous Julep nail polish inspired by my Zodiac sign - Libra, duh! - and to wrap it all up, I got the background piece for both of these displays: the "Banned Books" scarf from Out of Print Clothing! My family got a kick out of reading between the blacked-out lines, to find some of their favorite titles among the print.

Overall, my birthday was super-fun, despite the age that I was turning itself being distinctly less-than. I am so blessed and grateful to be surrounded by the amazing friends and family that I have, who can fill up a weekend with my absolutely favorite things.

And thank you to you all, too, for sticking by me for yet another trip around the sun! Hopefully, 23 won't be as bad as everyone's chalking it up to be.



What's your favorite way to celebrate a birthday? What's the best book you've ever been given as a present? Let me know, in the comments below!