Books Are Jazzy

• Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
• Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
• Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
• Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
• Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martina
• The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
• When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
• Majesty by Katharine McGee
• The Wicked + the Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, and Clayton Cowles
• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
• The Deep by Rivers Solomon
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells
• The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood
  

As it comes time to take down the decorations, I wanted to look back on the holiday season from a bookish point of view. 

One of my favorite things to do for the holiday season is to decorate my shelves. I first had the idea last year, after I saw someone's decorated shelves on twitter. Last year, my shelves were quite lowkey as I had decorations all over my apartment. This year I moved back to my parent's house, and my shelves are the main focal point of my room so I really wanted to make them shine. I put up tinsel on three different "layers" through the length of the shelves, I put up icicle fairylights at the very top of the shelves to add some mood lighting, and I put random decorations on the shelves themselves, like elves and my Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer candy jar. I also decorated my reading chair by switching in a red throw blanket, a seasonal pillow, and a penguin stuffed animal. To top it all off, I placed my Christmas tree in front of the corner formed by my shelves. I loved how festive the whole area turned out, but at the same time I am ready to take it down and get back to my normal set up now that I've had this up for over a month.  

Like every year, most of the presents I got were books. I've already read a few of the ones I received and I'm hoping to get through the rest of them as soon as possible. A couple of the books were ones I had read earlier in 2020, but didn't own copies of yet, so I'm super glad to add those to the shelves. My aunt got me the two cat themed books (Cats in Snow and Behind Every Great Woman is a Great Cat) because we adopted a new kitten in late November. My mother had planned on buying me the whole Dark Artifices trilogy, but she had accidentally ordered Queen of Air and Darkness in German! 

 

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

Where Dreams Descend drew me in from the very first page. I was especially intrigued by the character of Kallia, who is first introduced as a dancing showgirl at a secret club, who longs to escape to the nearby city of Glorian. When she makes her way to the city, she signs herself up to compete in a competition for stage magicians as the only female in the lot. Even though she is constantly questioned by the other (male) competitors, she never loses her spark. 

The magic system in Where Dreams Descend was something completely new. Even though the magicians were born with their magic, they viewed using it for the common good as below them, and instead put on impressive stage shows using real magic. I thought this was a really interesting way of showing the role of magic in a society where it doesn't rule over everything else. 

Where Dreams Descend is the first book in a duology, with the second book due to come out next fall. I am extremely excited for the next book and I hope we get to see more of this lush world in it. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Until next time, 

Laura

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien.

Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn.

Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I want to spend July trying to get caught up with my various reading goals (book club books, library books, Beat the Backlist challenges, bestsellers, and so on). So at the end of June I opened up a blank word document and started figuring out what exactly I needed to read in order to hit my goals, while also staying on top of other reading "commitments" I had signed up for such as ARCs and blog tours. The final count of books came out to be 81, which frankly I'm not sure I would be able to read during the rest of the year let alone in one month. This wildly high number was partially due to falling behind on my goals and partially due to me stupidly adding more goals for myself when I was already behind on the ones I had. Realizing that it would be impossible to get through the whole list, I went through it and chose 10 books I definitely want to read. The shortened list includes ARCs and books that fit the various goals, but also just includes books that I'm excited about and want to read sooner rather than later. Without further ado, let's get into the books!

The Damned is the sequel to The Beautiful, which came out last year and which I featured in my Best Books of 2019 post. I was overjoyed to receive and ARC of The Damned from the publisher through Netgalley and it's one of my most anticipated books this month. Keep your eye out for an ARC review of this later next week!This is another ARC that I have, but one I'm behind on as the book has already been released. From what I know, A Song Below Water is a contemporary fantasy featuring mermaids, and I am so excited to start reading it!Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic book I have wanted to read since 2017. When I noticed it was available at my local library, I chose to pick it up for an upcoming post I have planned, so this is a high priority read for me!Where Dreams Descend is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and so I was super excited when I was invited to be a part of the blog tour for it! I won't be posting my review of it until August, but I'm hoping to read it with plenty of time to spare. 

As we are all (hopefully) spending more time at home and looking to add to our tbr piles while stuck inside, I wanted to share one of my reading goals for the year.

One of the goals that I set for myself for 2020 is to read at least one bestseller a month. I look through the different New York Times bestseller lists — Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Nonfiction, Children's Middle Grade Hardcover, and Young Adult Hardcover — and choose a list randomly. Whichever list I decide on, I then choose the #1 book on the list at that time. If I have already read the book in that spot, I move down the list until I find a book I have not yet read. 

I wanted to do this challenge for a few reasons. Firstly, I think it is good to be aware of what books are popular at the moment and bestseller lists, while not perfect representations of this, are one of the ways to see what books people are buying and talking about at the moment. Secondly, I wanted to see how much the books on the bestseller lists change from month to month throughout the year or if by the end I would have to skip over a bunch of books before finding a new one for me. Finally, I want to see how much my reading lists are already influenced by the New York Times bestsellers lists: how many am I reading already without thinking about the fact that they're bestsellers, how many are already on my tbr, and how many are books I wouldn't have otherwise picked up. 

So, during 2020, I'll read and review at least 12 different bestselling books from the various lists, while also keeping in mind how many current bestsellers make their way into my reading piles without my conscious knowledge. I want to see if there are any similarities between the books I pick up during this challenge or if the books are diverse in some way. Bestselling lists don't show if people are actually enjoying the book, so I also want to see how well my tastes align with the books a lot of people are buying. 


What kind of reading lists is everyone making while staying at home? Any genres you're gravitating towards or steering away from?

Let me know in the comments below!

-Laura

Best grilled cheese I've ever had!