Next 5 TBR: Volume 4 — Femmeuary and Black History Month continued

Hello, biblios!

It might seem impressive that I got through five books in only the first 12 days of February, but two of those books were under 200 pages, so ... that helped.

So it's time for my TBR for the second half of Femmeuary and Black History Month. As noted previously, I'm combining these two observances and reading only books by Black American women authors this month.

I completely forgot to order a couple of them earlier in the month, though, so pardon my very basic photo artistry here, haha.

I am reeeeeally excited about all of these books, TBH.

Booktube Faves, Volume 4: SavidgeReads

Hello, biblios!

Sigh. As has become obvious, I am really bad with sticking to ... well, anything. I know hardly anyone is reading this, and it doesn't really matter, but I feel like such a loser for not even being able to get a couple posts up in a whole week. I mean, yes, my work is nuts and leaves me with little time or brainpower afterward. But still.

ANYWAY HI I AM HERE with another Booktube fave! Today, I am bringing you the adorable gay British joy that is Simon of SavidgeReads.

I love Simon's channel for so many reasons ...

Next 5 TBR: Volume 3 — Femmeuary and Black History Month edition!

Hello, biblios!

I'm really excited for my February TBRs. In the U.S., February is Black History Month. And on Booktube across the pond, the adorable Lauren of Lauren and the Books announced that she'd be observing Femmeuary.

"I will be reading, watching films, listening to music and just generally consuming ANYTHING I CAN GET MY MITTS ON stuff that makes me proud, empowered and delighted to be a woman!"

I am all about it, Lauren! So I thought I'd combine these two and read only books by Black American women authors in February. And I have some amazing looking books on my whole list.

Since I do my TBRs in groups of five, this isn't the full list but rather the first five I plan to read, and I'll see where we're at on the calendar once I'm done with these.

Synopses and thoughts below!

January 2018 reading wrap-up

Hello, biblios!

It's time for my very first monthly wrap-up — aren't you so excited?!

I like watching and reading people's wrap-ups because it's obviously a lot more interesting to find out what someone thought of a book as opposed to what they think they're going to think about a book, as you get in a TBR or haul or whatnot. Plus, it's a nice excuse to give yourself a little pat on the back.

I read 10 books in January — well, technically, 10.5. I did unfortunately DNF one book about halfway through it, the very last one I picked up. I'll include it in this post but only as a DNF — not in the demographic stats or the overall number of how many I read, nor will it count toward my yearly Goodreads goal.

Details, thoughts, and ratings below!

Tag Tuesday: Book recommendations

Hello, biblios!

Yeah ... I'm still in crap mode when it comes to posting regularly. In my defense, I work in political news, so you know ... every day basically feels like the fucking apocalypse is around the corner.

IT'S SO MUCH FUN.

(It is not fun.)

But I wanted to do a short and sweet Tag Tuesday for you, as well as to give my brain at least a few minutes of thinking about something non-Trump related.

The Book Recommendations tag was created by ZarriahRose very recently, and is just four basic but crucial questions.

1. Recommend the best book that you read last month.

It's the second to last day of January, but it is still technically January, so I'll use December for this. And the best book I read in December was Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I wrote about this one in my Favorite Reads of 2017 post, so you can hop over there to see why I loved it. But basically, it's a beautifully written and very authentic story that touches on so many issues of family, love, society, class, and about who gets to make mistakes and how much we punish them for doing so.

2. Recommend an old favorite.

There are so many I could choose, but I'll go with In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, one of my all-time faves. This is a historical fiction novel about four sisters living under the dictatorship of General Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. At the beginning, three of the women are found dead at the bottom of a cliff in an apparent car accident. But as we hear their stories over time and across miles, much comes to light about who Las Mariposas — the "butterflies" — truly were, and what they risked in the fight against political oppression. It's absolutely haunting and gorgeous, and it was a novel and a cast of characters that stayed with me ever since.

3. Recommend a non-fiction book.

LOL, well — I read a decent amount of non-fiction, and most of my favorites are in the doorstop category. I know most people aren't into the idea of reading an 800+ page book on anything, especially non-fiction that can feel too close to schoolwork for some folks.

So I'll choose one that's a reasonable length but absolutely brimming with brilliance and sharp insights, and that offers a perspective that deserves a much bigger platform in this country. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa Harris-Perry is a deep and thoughtful exploration of what it means to exist in our society at the intersection of Black womanhood. The stereotypes of Jezebel, Mammy, and Sapphire force Black women into what Perry terms the "crooked room" from which they must attempt to navigate a straight line in a country that seems dead-set on knocking them down, and on ignoring the issues that affect their daily lives. It's a must-read for anyone who truly cares about equality, especially for those of us who inhabit a higher place of privilege and ought to be using that position to better the lives of those more marginalized than us.

4. Recommend a book that will help people escape.

My mind immediately went to Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. This is the first volume in a young adult fantasy trilogy that I absolutely adored, partially because Taylor's writing is so captivating, and partially because it does indeed help you escape even this garbage world in which we're now mired.

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

It's dark and dangerous and scary, but in a fantastical way that makes it fun and exciting, rather than terrifying like, well ... *glances in the general direction of the White House, 3000 miles away*

Have you read any of these books? If not, have I piqued your interest in them? Do tell!

January 2018 Owlcrate unboxing

Hello, biblios!

I realize an "unboxing" in a blog post is not quite as fun as it is in a video ... but I still wanted to share the excitement, muted though it may be! 😜

Owlcrate is a young adult book subscription box that sends you a recently released (within 45 days prior to shipping) hardcover YA novel, along with a bunch of other goodies: candles, tea, pins, mugs, art prints, jewelry, and so much more — many of which are exclusive to Owlcrate and made my independent artists. The books might be fantasy or contemporary, and what's really awesome is that Owlcrate procures editions with exclusive cover designs.

I've only been getting Owlcrate boxes since May 2017, but I absolutely adore it and from my experience with other YA book subscription boxes and from watching unboxings for ones I haven't tried, I really think Owlcrate is the best bet as far as what you get for your money, the variety and quality of the items — and the fun of opening the box every month!

If you want to try it out, be a dear and use my referral link? 😗

Now, onto the unboxing!

Tag Tuesday: Goodreads Book Tag

Hello, biblios!

Yeah, I suck. Work has been ... a Thing lately, and once I'm fiiiiinally done (12 hours yesterday, 10 today, ugh) my brain is fried and my eyes really do not want to keep looking at my laptop screen.

But it's Tuesday, and I wanted to keep up my tag posts, so I'm gonna crank one out, LOL.

Today I'm doing an oldie, the Goodreads Book Tag, which has been done by about 35168 people on Booktube, so I found it through ... one of them.

On to the questions!

Booktube Faves, Volume 3: Book Roast

Hello, biblios!

I've slacked off a bit with posting this week, because ... life.

(But of course, I realize there's not really anyone following this blog yet.)

(But maybe you are! If so, hi!)

But I definitely wanted to do my weekly Booktuber shout-out, and this week I'm highlighting one of the funniest women I watch: Book Roast, aka Gintare, aka G.

G from Book Roast

The fact is, G is just delightful beyond words, but as this is a blog, I'll try to put some together.

Tag Tuesday: Reading Habits

Hello, biblios!

I tried to find the original version of this tag on YouTube, but all the links in other people's videos went to broken or missing accounts or videos. So, apologies for not being able to properly credit, but that's the nature of the internet sometimes ...

I've seen this one on many channels, but I specifically remembered Hardback Hoarder's (aka my name twin, Alison).

Via Pinterest

Reading is basically my only habit, so let's delve into the habits of my habit!

Next 5 TBR: Volume 2

Hello, biblios!

I'm pretty sure I enjoy choosing my next books to read almost as much as actually reading them.

Almost.

And I've got a nice variety in my next TBR stack!

Deets behind the jump ...

Booktube Faves, Volume 2: Rincey Reads

Hello, biblios!

I'm back to give a bloggy shout-out to another one of my favorite Booktubers.

Rincey Reads is run by Rincey (duh) who you may also know from her work as a contributing editor at Book Riot. She's on their YouTube channel a lot, but her own channel is definitely worth following, too.

One of the main things I enjoy about Rincey's channel is that while she reads plenty of "big" and popular books, she also reads a lot of under-the-radar stuff, including nonfiction. If like me, you find yourself getting a little bored with the repetition that happens on Booktube, she will definitely provide a nice change of pace.

On a technical level, her videos are great — just the right length, really easy to watch and understand, lots of helpful info. From her work at Book Riot, she always has some great lists of upcoming releases, as well as good backlist recommendations.

But moreover, she's super sweet and charming, and she always makes me laugh a little. She seems like she'd be a great person to hang out with, even for an introvert like me. I appreciate the sensitivity she brings to discussion of serious topics, as well as the carefree moments of silliness that never fail to make me grin.

She brings a lot of diversity in books to the table, especially books by authors of color outside the United States, and offers some really wonderful and sharp insights into the need for and benefits of intersectionality in your reading life.

She also does a lot of readathons, if you're looking for some motivation to get into those!

You can quickly get to know her a little better by watching her two recent Q&A videos.

I think she ought to have ten times the subscribers that she does, so go click that subscribe button and give Rincey some bookternet love!

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You Didn't Get to in 2017

Hello, biblios!

I've loved watching the Top 5 Wednesday videos on Booktube, and thought it would be fun to take the topics on as blog posts.

Yay, regular content!

Top 5 Wednesday is hosted by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes, and you can find topics and discussion at the corresponding Goodreads group.

This week's topic is: Books you didn't get to in 2017.

Oh, there are many! But I took a look over my TBR case, and pulled out five that I really, really should have gotten to last year ...

... and damn well am going to get to this year!

Blogging about it will make me more likely to do it, right?

Right?

Tag Tuesday: Your Life in Books

Hello, biblios!

For Tag Tuesday this week, I decided to go with the Your Life in Books tag.

This is a short and simple tag, another one I found on Lala's channel (link to the original tag is in the description on her video.)

Eight quick questions that should be fun to answer!

To re-read or not to re-read?

Hello, biblios!

I'm sure I am hardly alone when I look at my TBR bookcase and my master TBR list and have a mini existential crisis.

"How am I ever going to read ALL THE BOOKS?!" The unanswerable dilemma for bibliophiles everywhere.

And thus, for me, the concept of re-reading feels almost laughable. I'm going to spend time reading a book I've already read when I have aaaaaaall these ones I haven't read yet?

Via Pinterest

But ... but.

There are a handful of books I've read years and years ago that I would actually like to dive into again, either to see if I feel differently about it as an older reader, or to hopefully experience anew the same joy I felt the first time.

Here are the top contenders:

Booktube Faves, Volume 1: BooksandLala

Hello, biblios!

I watch a whole lot of Booktube videos — it's probably the thing I do the most, after actually reading. It's a fun way to learn about new books, get opinions on books both good and bad, explore issues raised in books you've read or in the bookish or publishing community, and so much more.

There are some really terrific folks making bookish content on YouTube, and I wanted to start a series shouting out my favorite ones to watch, because you should be watching them, too!

And my very first installment absolutely must feature the woman who is probably my number one fave: Lala of BooksandLala!

BooksandLala via YouTube

(Lala is short for Kayla, BTW, but I think Lala fits her quite well!)

Lala is super sweet and funny as hell, and also has the most adorable family ever — as evidenced by videos like her recent "Husband decides what I read," where her husband Robbie chose her January TBR books for her, and her Owlcrate Jr unboxing videos with her ridiculously cute son, Liam.

(Just saying, you know a kid must be really adorable if I, a happily child-free feminist spinster, says they are.)

Lala's videos are so nice to watch on a technical level, but also because she makes a real effort to put out consistent and interesting content. Plus, though she does, like most of the better-known Booktubers, read a lot of YA, she also reads plenty of adult fiction so you get much more variety from her channel than you might from some others.

And did I mention she's funny? Because SHE IS. And the best way to experience that is to watch her famous "Closet unhaul" series.

I'm barely even exaggerating by calling it famous — people on YT love the shit out of those videos, where she watches her book haul from 2 years prior, takes note of which books she's already read, which she's previously unhauled, and which books remain in her big book-storage closet ... and those last ones get put on her next month's TBR.

She did one a month for I believe 11 months, and they are all so much more fun to watch than you might think from reading that summary. Her facial expressions when she sees the stack of books or listens to her past self talk about her reading plans are just priceless.

She does fantastic monthly wrap-ups with all the stats your nerdy little bookish heart could want, and also has a terrific series called Bookmark'd, where she talks about cover reveals and adaptation news, with a whole lot more information than most of us could ever have the patience to dig up on our own.

So with Lala, you get a ton of info, a ton of books, and a ton of fun from a woman who I'd totally want to be my best friend in a YA novel. If you're not already subscribed to her channel, well what are you waiting for?

Who is your favorite Booktuber? Do tell!

Next 5 TBR: Volume 1

Hello, biblios!

Most people do monthly TBRs, which certainly makes sense. But I prefer to make shorter lists for a couple of reasons.

First, it's not always easy to figure out how many books you'll be able to get to in a month. I'm pretty good at estimating how long it will take me to read a given book, but sometimes that can be off by a couple of days if a book is so good I can barely put it down — or if it's so crap I can barely pick it up, LOL. With speed reads and DNFs, the time allotted per book can end up being off by a noticeable amount. Plus, life is a thing that happens sometimes, and has the audacity to get in the way of reading.

Second, I average probably nine books per month, so if I were to do a monthly TBR, I'd probably choose 10 just to make it nice and even. But I like to stack up my TBR books on my coffee table, and a stack of 10 is pretty big and a little intimidating, and it also makes me second guess myself. Do I really feel like reading that one this month? Do I want to follow Book A with Book B? And so on.

So I prefer to choose my next five books, and then just choose another five once I'm through that stack. And with my goal to clear out the backend of my TBR, most of my next five are the books I've owned without reading the longest.

Currently, I'm reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, which is the last of her major works I needed to read. I'd bought it in December 2016, which put it at the top of my list for 2018.

Also purchased in December 2016 were Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill, a young adult fantasy about a girl trying to avenge her father's death while beset by warring kingdoms and dark magic; Heartless by Marissa Meyer, about the life and times of the girl who would go on to become the Queen of Hearts; and Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, the early 20th century classic about an upper class woman driven into the arms of a working class man — a notorious novel in its day, and I'm interested to see if time and changed norms have tempered that at all.

In February 2017, I bought This Side of Home by Renée Watson, a young adult contemporary coming-of-age novel about Black twin sisters who have always agreed on everything, but find themselves growing apart as they approach adulthood, and trying to figure out exactly who they are as individuals.

And the last book in this group is my random selection from my undated TBR books, I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, a thriller about a woman whose young son slipped from her grasp and was killed by a hit-and-run driver — but of course, things are far more complicated than just a sad but straightforward accident.

I plan to read them in the order pictured, and once I begin reading the last one, I'll choose my next five and volume 2 will be coming your way!

What's on your TBR for the month? Do you make plans or just play it by ear — or eye, more accurately? Do tell!

Tag Tuesday: New Year's bookish resolutions

Hello, biblios!

I'm not sure if Tag Tuesday is solely a Booktube thing, but no reason why it can't work on a blog, too!

I got these questions from one my absolute favorite Booktubers, Lala at BooksandLala. She hasn't done it yet this year, but I remembered her video from January 2017 and I assume the questions would be generally the same.

Favorite reads of 2017

Hello, biblios!

Out of 102 books, it's obviously not easy to narrow it down to just a few favorites. I know a lot of people make their favorites list match up with the year — so like, "Top 17 of 2017" ... but then what happens when it's 2049 or something?

And ten is a nice round number, and putting a limit on it forces you to be more thoughtful in how you think of "favorites," which I appreciate.

However, I definitely can't rank these in any kind of order among them, as they all received 5 stars, so this list is just in the order I read them. (And note, these are not my favorite books published in 2017, although five of them were.)

Click through to read my abbreviated thoughts!

2018 reading goals

Hello, biblios!

made by Stefani at Caught Read Handed

I'm not making any big New Year's resolutions, beyond just "try not to completely lose it" and "maybe clean more often?!" and such.

But I do have a few bookish goals/resolutions that I'm excited to start delving into, and I've got a shiny new spreadsheet to keep track of aaaaaaaaall the data. Because I am a nerd.

2017 reading wrap-up!

Hello, biblios!

So 2017 was a garbage year as far as, you know, our country being on a warp speed path to hell and all.

Which is why I had never been more grateful for books than I was all throughout the year (or, more accurately, since November 8, 2016, ahem). And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be even more grateful for the myriad opportunities to lose myself in literature in 2018.

But don't let's get ahead of ourselves. First, my 2017 reading wrap-up.

New year, new books, new venture

Well, hello there.

It's 2018 and I am starting a blog. This feels sort of like the internet version of the Society for Creative Anachronism, but that's okay.

You see, I really like books. Like, a lot. A whole fucking lot. And I like talking about books and thinking about books and getting other people to talk and think about books. I thought for a long time about starting a Booktube channel, but I am just a little bit (meaning: very) uncomfortable about being on camera, plus I could not for the life of me figure out how to use iMovie even after watching like 10 tutorial videos.

So a blog it is!

A little about me:

I LIKE BOOKS AND READING.

Okay, you probably picked up on that already. So in addition:

I'm 37 and I live in the northern SF Bay Area with this adorable little baby whose name is Zoe:

I work from home as an editor and writer for a political news media organization, which is so much fun these days ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha no it's not.

I am hella gay and hella progressive and hella feminist. (I'm from Northern CA, so you'll have to deal with the hellas.)

I'm a vegetarian. I'm Jewish. I'm in recovery from anorexia. I like soccer. I curse a lot. I love birds. I'm really short.

I also live for music — unless I'm reading (or watching the news for work, God help me), I have music playing. Long-time and current faves include Depeche Mode, Tegan & Sara, FKA Twigs, Underworld, Marshmello, Armin van Buuren, Bjork, Ben Harper, Goldfrapp, Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Dua Lipa, Robyn, CHVRCHES, Santigold, Valerie June, Scissor Sisters, The Cure, Tori Amos, and a whole lot more.

And did I mention I like to read?

I read a wide variety — non-fiction, young adult fiction, and adult fiction (a term I dislike because it sounds like you mean porn, which I definitely do not, but oh well); and within fiction I read fantasy and contemporary, historical fiction, literary fiction, literary mysteries/thrillers. I don't read romances or westerns or genre mysteries, and am not a fan of sci-fi in general.

I'll probably do other posts in the near future about my all-time favorite books and other various favorite lists, because if I start listing those now, this intro post will be a novella all its own.

If anyone sees this post (which ... they probably won't), comment below and say hi and tell me one of your all-time favorite books.

Welcome to the blog, biblios!