I saw May @ Forever and Everly do this tag, and it was a great post! Since she tagged anyone who wanted to do it, I decided to take her up on the invitation. Thank you, May!
FIRST, THE TAG RULES
- Thank the person who nominated you
- Answer all the questions down below
- Pingback to the creator: Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx
- Nominate 5+ bloggers you’d like to know more about, to do this tag
NOW, THE QUESTIONS!
What are you currently reading?
I just finished two fantastic books on the same day (A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian and Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson) so I’m at the beginning of the reading cycle now. I’ve gotten back into audiobooks for the first time in about two years while stuck at home, so I decided to re-listen to the Howl’s Moving Castle audio! I figured an old favorite can’t let me down even compared to two great books.
What’s your favorite “can’t leave the house” activity?
Doing embroidery while catching up on youtube videos and TV (currently working on a bookmark for someone whose birthday is very soon! I need to figure out what to do next, or else I’ll end up letting the hobby lapse again). Me and my friends just finished watching The Dragon Prince together over netflix party, and it’s so good! Waiting for the next season is going to be unbearable.
I also dug out my drawing tablet for the first time in ages to draw the little bits and bobs for this blog—logo, page dividers, banners and such—and that’s been surprisingly enjoyable too. Maybe I’ll try to keep doodling going forward!
A book you’ve been meaning to read forever?
Despite the frankly terrifying amount of books this could apply to, the title that jumped out to me when I browsed my goodreads TBR for inspiration was The Abyss Surrounds Us. WLW pirates and sea monsters—could anything be calling out from my TBR louder than this? And I really need to break the seal on Emily Skrutskie’s books so I can jump right in and read them all!
An intimidating book on your TBR?
The Monster Baru Cormorant, without a doubt. I read The Traitor Baru Cormorant in 2018 and loved it to death, despite the way it WRECKED me. This came out later that same year and I’ve been putting it off ever since, even though I literally had it pre-ordered. The Traitor just hurt me so much that I’m scared of what Seth Dickinson’s writing can do to my emotions, and I never feel like I’m ready to read something that might be just as intense as the first one!
It’s really a problem, because I need to know what happens next, and the only way to find out is to risk my heart once again. Truly, the real monster in this series is Seth Dickinson and his BLATANT DISREGARD for my EMOTIONS.
Top three priority books on your TBR?
The three books I plan to read next are Ninth House, Belle Révolte, and A Dress for the Wicked! Other books will undoubtedly sneak in at the same time. I don’t plan audiobooks ahead, so I don’t know what will follow Howl’s Moving Castle in my audiobook slot. And if I need an ebook, I’ll go for whichever of my eArcs come out the soonest (though I think the only ones I haven’t read yet publish in September). But these are the three print books I plan to pick up next!
I’m so excited for all of them! I got to hear Leigh Bardugo speak at an event back in Ye Olde Normal Times and get the book signed, so it pains me that I haven’t read it yet. Belle Révolte has been tormenting me since Linsey Miller first announced it with how awesome it sounds, and I’m so antsy to get to read a new series by her (I am, notably, Mask of Shadows trash). And finally, A Dress for the Wicked will be a new author for me, and its premise came for my childhood dreams specifically, so I don’t know what to expect except goodness!
Recommend a short book?
I think you’ll find that I am legally obligated to recommend this book. Not only is A Little Light Mischief the most recent novella I’ve finished, but it was also wonderful from beginning to end. Sapphic shenanigans! Being gay, doing crimes! Sweet shy character x gruff guarded character! This novella fits into the Turner series of MLM historical romance, of which I have read and loved two, but can be read standalone.
The audiobook is so well done too. I’m in awe of how narrators shift their accents and registers to embody different characters without sounding silly or cartoonish. Witchcraft? Bookmagic? You decide.
Recommend a long book?
Like so many other things, Villette is another aspect of my personality that I stole from my Women In 19th Century Lit class and will not be returning. I have so firmly taken up the previously un-inhabited camp of “Lucy Snowe should kiss a girl! And a ghost! She should kiss a girl ghost!” that I actually wrote my final project for the class about it. (Of course, “Lucy Snowe should kiss a girl” is a very popular camp, I did not found that one)
Like, @ my professor… I am so sorry I made you read like 15 pages on how I would rewrite Villette to be gayer and sexier (an incredible undertaking, as we all know Charlotte Bronte is the pinnacle of sexiness). But like… not that sorry.
This is the retelling that Lucy Snowe deserves, that we deserve, and most importantly, that I deserve. Long live Ghostette!
Something you’d love to do while stuck at home?
I downloaded this stuffed fox pattern by Misty’s Whimsies, cut out the pieces, and then promptly commenced procrastinating. As a newbie sewer it’s my first time using a pattern, and I guess I’m scared! But I would love to learn how while I’m stuck home, and I WILL begin by sewing this cute thing. Eventually.
What do you plan on reading next?
So I answered this previously because I guess a priority book isn’t the same as one you’re going to read next? Which actually makes total sense but I will not be redoing that answer because that seems like unnecessary work. To recap, Ninth House is up next, once I can convince my heart to let go of Sorcery of Thorns and open itself up to reading a book that is not Sorcery of Thorns.
I TAG:
(G-d I hope I’m doing this right) (EDIT: I did not do it right, it had to be fixed 😭 thank u Faith!)
Lulu @ Library Leopard, Noura @ The Perks of Being Noura, Naemi @ A Book Owl’s Corner, and Althea @ Althea Reads! Hope you don’t mind being tagged, no pressure of course!
Hope you enjoyed this post, and enjoy doing it if you choose to do so! Let me know if you’ve read the books I have up next—have you read The Monster Baru Cormorant and survived? Are you already deceased because you read The Traitor? Do you think Seth Dickinson would meet me in the pit?
So many questions the world is not yet ready to answer. Stay safe, send your opinions, and maybe also send backup, I think my TBR is going to fall over on me.
—Abi
Ooh, thanks for tagging me!! I can’t wait to do this 😊 Also, you’ve got me super intrigued about Villette now – it’s one of the few books by the Brontë sisters that I haven’t read yet, and I think I might have to remedy that! And that fox is just the cutest!! 😍 I’m looking forward to seeing the finished project 😁
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I think you’ll love Villette if you’re a Brontë fan! It has a lot of notable Brontë tropes with some fun twists (and some Real Sapphic undercurrents).
The fox! I know! I only hope mine comes out half as cute. Fingers crossed I’ll be writing a post about good results sometime soon!
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That sounds right up my alley! I’ll definitely have to check it out 😊
And I’m sure the fox is in good hands! I’ll be waiting for that update 😉
Also, since you loved Sorcery of Thorns, what are your thoughts on Silas? Are you as obsessed with him as I am?
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I don’t know why I can’t reply to your most recent comment (wordpress why???) but YES Silas! Monstrous yet loving! Inhuman yet caring! I so did not expect that he would become so much the heart of the story and it kind of broke me, ugh, the ending was perfect 😭 (my review for this book is so long because I have to point out every single thing and say “I love it” lmao)
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WordPress just always has to complicate things 😅😂 But I think there is an option somewhere in the depths of the admin where you have to specifically “allow nested comments” if you want to reply to things – though I have no idea why you can’t just do that in the first place…
But yes, Silas is the best!! The ending also really hit me with a punch. And his cat shape! Not that I didn’t like Elisabeth or Nathaniel, but Silas just really stole my heart 😍
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Oh thank you! I have explored the deep dark depths of admin and found the setting to fix it. No more will wordpress attempt to limit very important discussions of how great characters who turn into cats are (or even just catlike characters, which was one of my favorite things about Rook in Enchantment of Ravens!)
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😂😂 I’m glad you were able to find it – I’m usually completely lost when it comes to the admin 😁
And I actually haven’t read Enchantment of Ravens yet, but knowing it has a catlike character really makes me want to prioritize it now! That’s definitely going on my list of books to read this summer once I’m done with my super stressful end-of-degree exams and hopefully have something resembling free time again 😁
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Yesssss, Sorcery of Thorns and A Little Light Mischief are both great! And thanks for tagging me!
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They’re my new obsessions! You’re welcome!
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Ooh I love The Dragon Prince! 😀 I’m also anxiously awaiting the next season. And I thought Ninth House was amazing – I hope you love it! 😀
THAT STUFFED FOX IS SO CUTE I’M DYING
Okay, I’m fine. Good luck with your reading!! 😊
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Thank you, you as well! Even more excited for Ninth House now!
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Howl’s moving castle is such a classic ❤ I love sorcery of thorns and I really want to read a dress for the wicked! happy reading!
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I love that as soon as I came to the book blog community I found so much love for Sorcery of Thorns! I feel like I hadn’t seen all that much about it on tumblr and twitter but everyone here seems to be on the same page about how awesome it is haha
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I recently took out my graphics tablet as well, although it was to play osu! 😭😭😭 I’ve been meaning to read Ninth House for so long now! Also, the fox looks so cute. (And to tag people, you have to link to a post of theirs, the person isn’t notified if you just link to their blog!)
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Oh shoot… Thanks for telling me, I’m still getting the hang of wordpress! No idea if editing it now will alert everyone but we’ll see what happens when I fix it lol
I’d never heard of Osu before, it looks cool!
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No problem! And it’s a fun game, but can be really frustrating and addicting 🙈
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Also, omg I can’t believe I forgot to say – I love your graphics so much! They’re so cute.
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omg thank you so much! the dragon is pretty much copied from a photo tbh, the page dividers were harder because they were freehand and flowers stop looking like flowers real fast when you keep redrawing them 😭😂
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Ahhh thank you so much for tagging me!! Wow there’s so many books here I’m dying to read! Especially The Abyss Surrounds Us, it’s exactly the kind of book I love to read so I have no idea why I havent read it yet! I’ve never heard of A Little light Mischief but I’ll definitely be checking it out!!
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Bookworms united in an inexplicable inability to read books we want to read! 😭😂
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