The Stuck at Home Book Tag

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