Top Ten Tuesday #48: Colorful Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic:

Colorful Book Covers

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do a post that’s entirely focused on book covers 😀 and not go a bit overboard with it, lol. Below are 12 books with beautiful, colorful covers: 6 I’ve read (linked to reviews) and 6 that are on my physical TBR.

Books I’ve read

An Embarrassment of Witches by Sophie Goldstein (illus.) & Jenn Jordan

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, illus. by Shae Beagle and Kate Leth

Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault, illus. by Camille Rose Garcia

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

Books on my TBR

A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illus. by Camille Rose Garcia

Erté: Art Deco Master of Graphic Art & Illustration by Rosalind Ormiston, illus. by Erté

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Last Stop on the Reindeer Express by Maudie Powell-Tuck, illus. by Karl James Mountford

Zodiac by Romina Russell

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LET ME KNOW IF YOU’VE READ ANY OF THESE.

“Kushiel’s Chosen” by Jacqueline Carey

I finished Kushiel’s Chosen quite a while ago but, as usually happens when I love a book too much, I procrastinated on the review because I don’t know what to say or where to begin. So, as is also usual, I’ve decided to just start typing and hope it all makes sense by the end. 🙃

Kushiel’s Chosen is the second novel in a trilogy that I was introduced to by the Wyrd & Wonder crew, who have hosted readalongs for the first book and this one. It’s a high fantasy story set in a world that is heavily influenced by European culture, history, and mythologies. The story is mostly set in Terre D’Ange, a country peopled by descendants of angels, and focuses on a young woman named Phèdre, who spent most of her childhood growing up in the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, a.k.a. the Night Court, which is dedicated to the service of the angel Naamah. Members of the Night Court are molded into courtesans. They see copulation in service to Naamah as sacred, which Phèdre wholeheartedly believes.

The angels are, of course, regarded as gods. Because Phèdre has a red mote in her eye, she is considered marked by Kushiel, who is considered the punisher among the angels, and god-touched. Kushiel’s chosens are called anguissettes and, due to being chosen by such a god, tend to derive pleasure from pain. Thus, as a servant of Naamah and marked by Kushiel, the services Phèdre partake in are often masochistic.

In addition to all that, Phèdre was also trained as a spy and is often wrapped up in whatever major political machination is in play or is trying to find out about it. So, much of the plot’s drive comes from political intrigue. It all makes for a very compelling read!

Never Have I Ever Book Tag

I wasn’t planning to post another book tag this week. I’m in high reading spirit, but I’m not in the mood to draft reviews or anything else, so… a book tag it is! 😀

And this is another tag that I was actually tagged for! Yeahie!! 😀

I was tagged by Lisa at Way Too Fantasy for this tag that I’ve never done before. 🤣🤣 (Yep, cracking myself up here.) It was created by Madame Writer/Anne With a Book.

Apparently, there are rules:

1. Link back to the original creator! (Madame Writer)
2. Link back to the person who tagged you!
3. Answer all prompts.
4. Add one more prompt of your own.
5. Tag at least five people.
6. Don’t lie.
7. Have fun!

Never Have I Ever… read a later book in a series before reading the first book.

Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid

Top 5 Tuesday #51: Books I’d Rerate

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 books I want to rerate

(Are there books out there that you loved the first time you read them but now not so much? Or maybe it’s the opposite and you didn’t enjoy a book the first time you read it, but later on you changed your mind?)

I’m pretty set on the ratings I give books. Well, to be more accurate, I’m pretty set on the ratings I give books once I’ve posted a review of them. I rate the books I read on Goodreads as soon as I complete them. But sometimes, once I start reflecting on the book to draft my review, I’ll end up changing the rating I initially gave it. This often happens with comics and picture books since they are short and I’ll read them quickly without giving them the time they deserve. That’s why I often read those a second time before starting on my review and finalizing my rating of them.

Meet the Book Blogger Tag

It’s been a while since I’ve done a tag that I was actually tagged for because I tend to procrastinate on all things, like the good procrastinator that I am.

But, since I’d like to procrastinate a bit more on doing book reviews, here’s the Meet the Book Blogger Tag!! 😀 I was tagged for it by Aaron at Swords & Spectres. The tag was created by Samantha and Amber, the Bibliomavens.

Who is your all-time favourite book character?

2021 Reading Wrap-Up: First Quarter

Can you believe the first quarter of the year has passed? Winter is done, and we’re now entering the spring months that’ll hopefully bring us some new, good reads.

Reading-wise, I think I did good this first quarter. I read a variety of stuff and managed to get through 15 books! If I keep that up, I’ll certainly pass my Goodreads goal for this year, which is at a manageable 50 books. Let’s see what I got through.

BOOKS | AUDIO BOOKS | COMICS

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Let’s Rewind: March 2021

March seems to have taken it’s own little time to go by, and I appreciated that. I don’t want to rush through the year. Despite all the craziness going on, I’m hoping this year will turn out much better than 2020 so I can savor each day.

Let’s Rewind is a monthly wrap up but instead of talking about only books, I include all types of other stuff, like articles… bookish news… commercials… random-ass links… movies… art… podcasts… cartoons… and whatever else happened to me in the month. You know, the usual stuff that people talk about in monthly wrap ups. So read on to see what I did and read this month. You might stumble upon something that interests you.

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For the most part, March was a good month for my personal life. Not much happened other than me celebrating my birthday, for which I did nothing except take the day off and buy some books. I also celebrated the anniversary of my grandfather’s passing and had some family bad news toward the end of the month, but things seem to be turning around quickly (fingers crossed), so hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Top 5 Tuesday #50: I Want to Redo My First Time With These

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 books I wish I could read again for the first time

(Rereads are still great, but there is a kind of magic in reading a book for the first time.)

I decided to focus on some of my favorites. The first time I read these books was such a wonderful, magical experience that I’d love to experience it, feel it, again. But I’ve reread them too many times for that to happen now.

Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan, illus. by Fiona Staples

Book Haul #71: A Bit More

Okay. I’m pushing for this to be my last book haul for the year. Hopefully, I can hold out until then… either that or I’m not allowed to purchase anything more until the end of summer, when I’ll hopefully have read a couple more of the books I already own.

Anyway, I only have a few here.

Purchases

Physical

Weekend Reads #119: Why Do I Procrastinate on Books I WANT to Read

Weekend Reads is a post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading.

For this week, I’ve decided to participate in the Let’s Talk Bookish meme hosted by Eternity Books and Literary Lion. A discussion topic is given each week for us to post about. This week’s topic is

Putting Off Books That I Want to Read

Do you ever put off the books you actually want to be reading? What do you end up reading instead? Why do you put off the books that you would rather read for other stories? Do you treat reading books you’re excited for as a reward?

I chuckled to myself when I saw this topic because it’s something I often do. There are several reasons why I might delay reading a book, but the main ones are that I’m just too eager to read it, I’m not sure I’d like it, and I feel “pressured” to read it. Let’s briefly explore them.

I’m just too eager…

It makes sense that I delay reading books I’m not sure I’ll like or ones I’m pressured to read, but I also procrastinate on reading books that I’m eager to read, ones I know I’ll probably love. I think that’s odd. I think I’m an oddball for not immediately grabbing and reading books I’m excited about. Why do I delay on reading them?

I can’t answer the question, but a possible reason is that I probably psyched myself out getting too excited about the book and subconsciously assume that my high excitement and expectations of the book will make it a disappointing reading experience.

The books I’m eager about are the ones I’m more likely to purchase and… then forget about as they lay on my shelves collecting dust; so that’s another reason. My shelves are double- (and in some causes triple-) stacked, so if these purchased eager-to-read books somehow end up on a row that I do not see on a daily basis, then I’ll forget they’re there to read.