Top Ten Tuesday: Holiday Gifts I’m Considering

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Holiday Reads.” So I don’t have too many books that necessarily remind me of the holidays, probably because I don’t pick up a lot of seasonal themed books. That being said, what does remind me of the holiday season is buying books for my nieces and nephews. This year the older ones are at the perfect age for MG and even some YA books and I am so excited. So for this week’s topic, I am sharing ten books I am considering buying for them this Christmas. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. Dear Martin by Nic Stone

2. Unwind by Neal Shusterman 

3. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

4. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

5. Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes

6. Tight by Torrey Maldonado

7. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

8. Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

9. The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

10. The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Do you gift books for the holiday season? Any you are considering and for whom? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Been Avoiding and Why

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Thankful Freebie,” but because I have a couple of TTT posts in my drafts I didn’t get a chance to share, I am going to post one of those. This posts’s topic is “Books On My TBR I’m Avoiding Reading and Why” and lo and behold, I didn’t have to change a single one of these on my list because I am still avoiding them all. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – I’ve learned to space out my Adam Silvera books because he just loves to rip out readers’ hearts and stomp on them. I do really want to get to this one before the year ends. Stomp away, Adam, stomp away.

2. Jade City by Fonda Lee – I love fantasy and I’ve been getting into more adult fantasy lately, but this one is so thick and every time I look at it I think of all the other books I can get through during the same period of time.

3. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez – I think my expectations for this one are just so high which is why I’ve now been avoiding it for years.

4. Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West – I’ve been terrible at picking up Kasie West novels lately. Maybe I’m just in the mood for something different in terms of the contemporaries. I’ve had this one for a while and started it a couple of times, only to get that nagging feeling that I’m not going to like it. I might skip it all together if I’m honest.

5. Vicious by VE. Schwab – Another book I’ve avoided. I am pretty sure I will love it and yet it just sits there on my shelf looking all sad.

6. Now I Rise by Kiersten White – I loved And I Darken and have no excuse for putting this off other than I haven’t been in the mood to see these characters suffer. It’s now been so long I’m in need of a reread before picking this one up.

7. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik– I’ve had high expectations for this one because of how much I loved Uprooted, but a couple of other bloggers who have similar taste said they didn’t enjoy this one as much which has me hesitant to pick it up.

8. Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco – I put this one off last year and there’s just been so many other books to pick up, I think I’ve forgotten my love for this duo. I really do plan on reading it and finishing off the series, but probably not until next year.

9. Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie M. Liu, Illustrated by Sana Takeda – So me avoiding this one goes something like this…”I just don’t want to say goodbye, okay? And I have no idea if this is the actual end, but I’ve always assumed as much and that’s why I’ve avoided it. What is this? People talking about a volume four? I’m laughing rn because I am so dumb, haha.”

10. Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta – The only reason I’ve avoided this and the next book is because I know I need a reread of Finnikin and I have to be in the mood for it and that just hasn’t happened.

Have you been avoiding any of these as well? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Changes in My Reading Life

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Changes In My Reading Life.” I love this week’s topic. A few of these habits have fluctuated one way or another. I kind of love that even though I love a certain genre right now that doesn’t mean I won’t love a different genre with the same kind of fervor or that I won’t return to the first genre of my heart. Sometimes my reading habits change because I change and other times they change because of circumstances, but I still have a big passion for books and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

1. I read just as many contemporaries as I do fantasy – When I first started blogging, I would say my favorite genre was without a doubt fantasy and while I would probably still argue this, in recent years I’ve renewed by love for contemporaries. Now I’m just as likely to reach for a contemporary as a fantasy novel.

2. I read less – I’ve been on Goodreads for a few years now and you can see how my reading goal and final count has trended down. I feel like I’m in a really good place though. I’m not reading a hundred titles, but I am almost enjoying everything I’ve picked up and not stressing when it comes to numbers.

3. I read more enjoyable books – Maybe it’s because I’m just picking up more diverse titles that are consistently more enjoyable, or I’m more likely to put down a book I’m not enjoying, or I’m more picky with what I pick up because I know I only have so much time to read, but my average rating is much higher now than it’s been in years.

4. I joined social media – Before I started blogging, I wasn’t on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but now I am on Twitter and IG. I never pictured myself as someone who’d be invested in these platforms, but I don’t think I could live without Twitter.

5. I enjoy giving books away – I used to buy books and keep them because I wanted a big library, but as more time passes (and the less space I have), the easier it’s been for me to unhaul books. I would rather my personal library be about books I love rather than quantity.

Have you started reading less over the years? Do you find yourself being more discriminatory when it comes to which books you pick up? Let me hear from you in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Bookmarks

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Favorite Bookmarks.” I used to be one of those people who used whatever was lying around as a bookmark, but am more into actual bookmarks these days. That being said, I don’t spend a lot of money on bookmarks, but prefer to make my own. So here are only a few of my favorite kinds of bookmarks.

1. DIY Bookmarks – Did you know that I can sometimes be crafty? After gathering a few ideas here and there, I’ve put together these bookmarks. I even had a small giveaway for ones I made a couple of years ago (I don’t know, time means nothing to me right now). I have a purple bookmark I made that I always use, but it kind of fell apart recently, so I’ve had to reach for another in my own collection.

2. Book Depository Bookmarks – I haven’t purchase a book from Book Depository in a while so I don’t know what their bookmarks look like these days, but I have in the past adored some of their bookmarks that come with their books. I like to tuck them away in the book purchased and then forget about them and scramble to find them when a topic like this comes up (*sarcasm*).

3. Character Bookmarks – I’ve always adored character bookmarks, but have never purchased any for myself. I can’t remember who gave these to me (I’m pretty sure it was a fellow blogger. I’m so sorry, my memory is terrible!), but I think they are so cute.

Have you ever made your own bookmarks before? Should I host another bookmark giveaway? Be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.