Books Are Jazzy

A reader lives a thousand lives before they die. The person who never reads lives only one.

 In February, I have a quite bit of reading to do for my courses so my "fun" tbr for this month is shorter than normal. I only put in 5 books that I really want to read this month, other than my books for uni work. 


Most of the books that I have on this list are fairly new releases I want to catch up on, and one is the first book in a book series that I'm buddy reading with one of my friends, so I'm very excited about all of these books. So without further ado, here are the 5 books I definitely want to read in February:

  • Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
  • The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
  • Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
  • The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Have you read any of the books on this list? What are your reading plans for this month?

Until next time, 

Laura

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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!



1. The Damned by Renée Ahdieh 

The Damned (The Beautiful, #2)

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!

2. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 

A Song Below Water

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!

3. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven

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!

4. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, #1)

Chain of Gold
is the first novel in a new Shadowhunters series and as one of my unofficial goals for this year is to read through my back log of Shadowhunters books I am hoping to read this one. One of my last few normal days before starting quarantine/social-isolation was going to one of the tour stops for the Chain of Gold tour so I'm hoping reading this book will put me back into that same mindset I had back when everything was "normal". There are a couple of other Shadowhunters books I need to read before I'm caught up to the timeline again so getting to this one will be a bit of a challenge but hopefully I'll get to pick it up soon! 

5. Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards, #1)

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. 

6. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

The City We Became (Great Cities #1)

N.K. Jemisin's award-winning Broken Earth trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time, but I haven't finished any other books of hers yet. I really enjoy urban fantasy books, and I'm excited to see what kind of a twist Jemisin will bring to the sub-genre!

7. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)

I was obsessed with the Gossip Girl series, both the books and the show, when I was younger, but I never read all of the books through. I'm hoping to read the first book in the series in July and use the rest of the year to read the rest of the books in the series and maybe even re-watch the show in anticipation for the planned reboot.

8. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)

The only thing I really know about The Poppy War is that it comes super highly recommended, with the caveat that it contains almost every trigger warning imaginable. It clocks in at over 600 pages so I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it by the end of the month but I hope so since it would fit my goal of reading a book from my library wish list each month. 

9. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle, #2)

Aurora Burning was another one of my most anticipated 2020 releases and it is the sequel to Aurora Rising, which I also featured in my Best Books of 2019 post. I really enjoy reading books with a kind-of found family element or a ragtag group of friends working together. It is also one of the book club picks that I need to catch up on, so it would be great if I got to it this month!

10. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

Decameron

Last but not least, I have The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. I have read bits and pieces of The Decameron for various courses in the past, but now in the time of quarantine and self-isolation, I thought it would be an interesting new point-of-view to look at the text through. So while otherwise it would not have been a book I would pick up on my own, I am now curious to see if it will bring me new insights into getting through this time. 

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With everything happening this spring both around the world and in my personal life (I moved to a different country!) it's no wonder I've fallen behind on my reading goals. If you follow me on goodreads or keep track of my 2020 reads, you can see that I've obviously still been reading. But with my own books stuck in boxes in storage, I haven't been able to read the books I had planned on for my various reading goals. 


With that in mind, and considering I finally have some free time, I want to focus at least in July on getting back on track with all of my goals and then make sure I'm staying on top of them through the end of the year. 

I also want to be posting on here more regularly and I have some fun new posts lined up for the rest of the year, including a couple of blog tours! Are there any types of posts you would like to see? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy reading!
-Laura
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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

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Back in late March, I found out about the Magical Readathon hosted by Book Roast on Youtube! As a lifelong Harry Potter fan, I jumped at the opportunity to pretend to be a Hogwarts student for a month. This is the second year of the readathon and my first year taking part in it!

The Magical Readathon is based around the exams students take at Hogwarts and is hosted in two parts: the first part, which are the O.W.LS, takes place in April and the second part, the N.E.W.Ts, takes place in August. And just like Hogwarts students taking their exams, you're meant to do the O.W.Ls readathon before you take the N.E.W.Ts.

There is a list of careers to choose from and your readathon experience and challenges come from your chosen career. My chosen career for 2019 is Seer - maybe next year I'll have enough time to attempt the daunting Alchemist career, which would have been my first choice. In order to become a Seer, I needed to take three O.W.L. exams (read three books), which were for the subjects Ancient Runes, Astronomy, and Divination and each subject corresponded to a different prompt. For Ancient Runes the prompt was to read a retelling, for Astronomy it was to read a book with "star" in the title, and for Divination it was a book set in the future. The books I read for these prompts were Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer, Ctaching Stars by Cayla Keenan, and The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee, respectively.

Isn't this description of the career stunning?

While for the O.W.Ls, I only needed to read one book per subject, for the N.E.W.Ts the number of books you need to read per subject is determined by the grade you need to achieve in that subject for your career. So, for the career of Seer, I need to achieve an Outstanding so I'll need to read all three books for that subject.

If all of this sounds confusing, you can find all the information for the O.W.Ls readathon here and the info for N.E.W.Ts readathon here!

After all of that, here are the prompts for my subject followed by the book I have planned to read for that prompt for the N.E.W.Ts readathon:
  • Acceptable in Divination: Read a white book
    • Runousopin perusteet by Mervi Kantokorpi, Pirjo Lyytikäinen, and Auli Viikari
  • Exceeds Expectations in Divination: Read a short story or a collection of short stories
    • Toil and Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe
  • Outstanding in Divination: Read the last book you bought / took from the library
    • At the time of making my TBR this was The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen, and I'll try to keep to that unless I grab something I absolutely have to read as soon as I get it. 
Finally, if I have time I'll try to read the group book Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell!

Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon? If you were a student at Hogwarts, what magical career would you want? Let me know in the comments below!

-Laura

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ARC August is an annual readathon hosted by Read.Sleep.Repeat., with the aim of helping book reviewers get through their piles and piles of unread ARC's (Advance Reader's Copies) during the month of August. This is the 6th year of the readathon, but the first time I'm taking part in it! You can read Read.Sleep.Repeat.'s original announcement for it here!

This year they have created a host of challenges to take part in during the readathon, including a word search, a crossword puzzle, and a bingo! Personally, I'm most looking forward to hopefully filling out the Bingo card as I read through some ARC's. Check out the empty card below!



I'll be posting pictures of the card on our instagram stories as I fill it out, and you can follow along here!

When I started making my TBR, I knew it would end up being way longer than what I'll actually have time to read, but I wanted to really challenge myself and see how many of these books I could read through during my last two weeks of vacation before I head back to college. And now, without further ado, my TBR list for #ARCAugust!






Are any of you taking part in #ARCAugust or any other readathons this month? Let me know in the comments below!

-Laura
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Cannot be killed or swept aside

Happy Pride Month everyone! As most of you know, June is LGBT+ Pride Month in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, but nowadays it is mainly known for the Pride Parades that are held across the world throughout the month, while still reminding us that LGBT+ rights are  not yet equal across the world and that there is still much room for improvement. As June is coming to a close I wanted to make a list of my favorite books featuring LGBT+ characters, books I want to read, and books I'm looking forward to that are not yet released, to make sure we keep reading these books year round and not just during the month of June!

When I originally started mind-storming this post, I spent a few hours texting with Anna, before settling on this format. We talked about how to define an LGBT+ book: does it only mean books with LGBT characters? Can we count books who have openly LGBT+  authors but no openly LGBT+ characters? Why do we assume that a character is straight if they aren't openly LGBT+, and the same goes for the authors? During our conversation I realized that my reading list so far has been focused predominantly on LGBT+ texts by white authors, so I'm looking to further diversify my reading going forward.

Without further ado, let's get started!



LGBT Books I've Read



The Magicians by Lev Grossman


The series marketed as "Harry Potter for adults" begins with The Magicians and continues in The Magician King, and the trilogy officially ends with The Magician's Land. A new graphic novel, The Magicians: Alice's Story comes out on July 10th. I recently re-read the entire series and was lucky enough to grab an advance copy of Alice's Story while I was at Bookcon!

The books follow a group of magical college students as they search for the fictional land of Fillory. These characters are all struggling in their own ways, but are brilliantly intelligent, and like many of us who grew up with fantasy stories about so-called Chosen Ones, use fantasy as a form of escapism. Imagine their surprise when the stories of their childhoods begin to come to life around them!

In the books the main character Quentin Coldwater has a few gay thoughts about his friend Eliot, who is explicitly gay, as well as a drunken threesome with Eliot and another one of their friends. The other characters in the book are not explicitly LGBT+ and don't seem to be written in a way that they could be read as such.

The Syfy show by the same name went beyond the book in making the main cast much more racially diverse and most of them can be read as some form of LGBT+, even despite the (well deserved) criticism its most recent season received.



The Disasters by M.K. England 


The Disasters is a stand-alone novel about a rag-tag group of Space Academy wash-outs, centering on the pilot, Nax Hall. Their failure allows them to escape the worst act of terrorism in the history of space colonialism but it also makes them perfect scape-goats. As they flee across space, the crew has to find a way to trust themselves and each other. 

During the course of the story, Nax expresses interest in both male and female members of his crew, but doesn't specifically label his sexuality. I loved the chemistry that he had with both of his love interests and wish I could read more of their stories!



Carry On by Rainbow Rowell



Carry On is a spinoff from Rowell's earlier book Fangirl, and it follows the enemies-to-lovers trope as seen in the characters of Simon Snow and Baz Pitch, during their last year at Watford School of Magicks.

Carry On is by no means a perfect book, but I enjoyed it because it was laugh out loud funny and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Wayward Son, when it comes out in September. Anna has talked about Carry On before here and here and she chose it as one of her favorite books back in 2017!



Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer


Too Like the Lightning is the first book in a tetralogy (the other books are Seven Surrenders, The Will to Battle, and the not yet released Perhaps the Stars). I've reviewed the first book in the series previously here and read Seven Surrenders in 2018, but I'm still waiting for the last book to be published before I finish reading the series. 

As I mentioned in my original review, I had high hopes for the book when it came to LGBT+ content, but it managed to fall short of my wildest dreams. However, it was still an extremely interesting science fiction story with a societal structure unlike anything I'd ever read before, with its clear focus on gender as a performance rather than an innate aspect of a person and the wide definition for what a family could be. 



Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz



Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe holds a near and dear place in my heart because I'm pretty sure it was the first LGBT+ book I ever read. I reviewed it here back in 2016 when I needed a feel-good LGBT book and Ari and Dante sure does deliver on those counts!

Ari and Dante is the love story between two Mexican-American teenage boys who become friends first and boyfriends, whose relationship is able to span a cross-country move. It was so well-received when it came out that it won the Stonewall Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature in 2013! The author has announced that there's a sequel in the works but so far it does not have a release date.



The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee


I loved reading The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, the first book in a duology, which also includes The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (and if you preordered The Lady's Guide and live in the States you also had the opportunity to receive and read an extra novella: The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky) I hauled The Gentleman's Guide when I received it in one of the Owlcrate boxes and named it as one of my favorite books of last year  but never got around to reviewing it.

The Gentleman's Guide was a fun romp through historic Europe featuring so much representation that when I first read through it, I was crying tears of happiness. The main character, Monty, is my favorite shameless flirt of a bisexual protagonist; his sister, Felicity, is a whip-smart asexual heroine (the second book focuses on her and I can't wait to read it!); and the love interest, Percy, is a disabled gay person of color. If you're looking for a summery gay road trip novel with a historical setting to boot, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is the book for you!



Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor


Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is the most recent LGBT+ book that I've read. It was a wild, sexually explicit look into the life of a queer shapeshifter. As a warning, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, is not a young adult novel; instead it is adult literary fiction that plays with a lot of tropes from folk tales and veers into the territory of magical realism.

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl alternates between the reality of the narrative of Paul's life as a college student and fairytales, and deals with changes of various types from the obvious shapeshifting abilities of the main character Paul, to referencing the trope of a changeling child, to a sister giving up her own identity to save her brother's life, and even reimagining the story of the Little Red Riding Hood in which the fox becomes the girl in the red cloak.

In terms of LGBT+ representation Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl is chock-full of it. Paul is queer in every sense of the word: his shapeshifting, but also his relationships and how he moves through them in each body he makes for himself. When Paul shifts into the body of a girl he is only in relationships with other women and when he is in his "own" male body, he has relationships with other men. For a portion of the story Paul, in the form of a girl, moves into a commune full of other queer women. And finally, Paul has the magical powers that many trans or non-binary people unconsciously want: the ability to shift his body to fit whatever he identifies as in the moment. 


LGBT Books I Want to Read:

Check, Please! #Hockey Vol. 1 by Ngozi Ukazu


I picked up a copy of this book when I was in New York this summer for Bookcon, despite only knowing that it was a graphic novel, hugely popular, and LGBT+. Reading through the description of it on Goodreads, sky-rocketed Check, Please! to the top of my reading list.

Check, Please! is the first in a duology based on a webcomic of the same name, that follows a hockey playing vlogger as he moves from his hometown in Georgia to start as a freshman at college and playing on their hockey team. On top of that there's baking and a gay love story! What's not to be excited about? Also the title for Volume 2 was recently released and it sounds even more adorable than the first one: Check, Please! Vol. 2: Sticks and Scones and it will be released in April of 2020!




Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories edited by Michael Earp


Recently, I've seen myself drawn more and more to collections of short stories and Kindred is no different! Kindred features 12 original queer love stories all written by Australian authors who identify as queer. I am especially excited about Kindred because the author's identify with the characters they are writing about it, making it a collection of #OwnVoices fiction. I'm hopeful this collection presents diversity in a realistic manner, not just in hopes of gaining "points" with readers who are looking for diverse stories.



Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey


Magic for Liars is a just-released book (it came out at the very beginning of June) and I was originally drawn in by the cover! The bright colors made it seem like a perfect summer read, and I was even more intrigued when I read the synopsis and found out that it is urban fantasy (a genre I love) and it reminded me of The Magicians a little. Once I found out that multiple of the characters identify as queer and are spread across the spectrum of morality, I knew I needed to pick this book up as soon as possible. It's currently one of my top choices for books to take with me on my trip to Europe at the beginning of July — all I need to do anymore is buy a copy!

Magic for Liars follows the private detective Ivy Gamble when she goes to investigate a murder at the magical school her sister teaches at... the school Ivy herself never got to, or wanted to, attend. But as Ivy gets more and more entrenched in the mystery at the school, it seems increasingly difficult to return to her mundane life. 


Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan


This Asian inspired fantasy by Natasha Ngan, follows Lei, a girl from the lowest caste in her land as she's chosen to become one of nine trained to become the king's consort. Lei is haunted by losing her mother to the same fate she is in now, and during her training at the palace Lei makes the worst possible mistake she can in her situation: she falls in love. Her romance launches a plot that might change the future of her kingdom. 

I am really excited to read Girls of Paper and Fire because courtly fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and I rarely see lesbian love stories in fantasy novels. I also love reading fantasy stories that are not inspired by a quasi-medieval European setting. 



The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon


The Priory of the Orange Tree is another lesbian love story wrapped inside a fantasy world! Priory is a standalone adult novel with multiple viewpoint characters. Priory also seems to deal with how different cultures form different understandings of ancient events, which I think would be a really interesting form of cultural tension to examine. I have heard so many good things about Priory but the 800+ page count makes me scared to pick it up.



Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston


Red, White & Royal Blue is a romantic comedy about the First Son of the United States, Alex, and Prince Henry of Wales, who fall in love after being forced to pretend to be best friends. This book sounds so cute and dramatic and like a perfect summer read!



LGBT Books That are *Coming Out* That I Want to Read:


Wilder Girls by Rory Power


Wilder Girls is a female-centric retelling of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. The students of the Raxter School for Girls are placed under quarantine, and as their teachers die off one by one, the girls are left to fend for themselves on their island and to debate whether to break their quarantine or not.  Wilder Girls will be released on July 9th.



Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater


Call Down the Hawk is the first instalment in Stiefvater's new Dreamer trilogy, a spin off based on the character of Ronan Lynch from The Raven Boys saga. Ronan's boyfriend, Adam, has moved off to college and Ronan is still struggling with his "Dreaming" abilities — the power to pull objects from his dreams into the real world. Call Down the Hawk will be released on November 5th.



Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor


Tarnished Are the Stars is a sci-fi adventure with an #OwnVoices author. Anna has an illegal clockwork heart and she supplies other sick people with black market medical technology. Her illegal activities catch the eye of the Commissioner's son who starts chasing her down. I received an ARC of Tarnished Are the Stars courtesy of Vicky Who Reads and I can't wait to start reading it and to review it closer to the release date. Tarnished Are the Stars will be released on October 15th.



Crier's War by Nina Varela


Crier's War is a fantasy story suggested for fans of Westworld and Game of Thrones, both of which I adore. The kingdom of Rabu is still feeling the after-effects of their latest war when automatons took control of the human race. Crier, a beautiful Automae, and Ayla, a human servant, struggle to find their place in their world and with each other. Crier's War will be released on October 1st.


Happy reading!
Laura



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Wow. It feels like such a long long time since I've last written one of these - a blog post for Books Are Jazzy. I checked that my last entry was in June but honestly it feels much longer than that.

I've missed this.

We took a break of undetermined length together with Laura because we were feeling a little uninspired and the whole blog had turned into more of a burden then an outlet of creativity. Slowly, over the past few weeks, maybe a couple of months even, I started to notice my love for reading and writing to grow again and I felt a really big want to share that passion once again.

So, that is how I find myself back here now, writing this.

I think I want to take it slow to reassure that this feels good and is a source creating joy, not draining me of it. It will be in your best interests too, don't worry, since I honestly believe it shows wether one does something out of honest will or a feeling of must.

For now I'm just going to leave you with a few points from the last months that I have been absent.

-I finished quite many books. And really good ones at that! I haven't in a long time felt this excited about books and have made time during the day, not just at night, to read.
Here's some top picks that I've absolutely devoured:

  • You Are a Badass -How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life -Jen Sincero
  • Akvarelleja Engelin kaupungista -Jukka Viikilä
  • I Want to Sleep -How to Get a Good Night's Sleep -Harriet Griffey (for all my fellow insomniacs)
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses -Sarah J. Maas
I think I'll be writing more about these jams later :)

-My absolute disinterest in fantasy and newer curiosity towards nonfiction and self help has taken a new turn. I found myself effortlessly sucked back into fantasy come fall (aka the ultimate season of all things magical, mystical and murky). I have the A Court of Thorns and Roses -trilogy to blame or mostly thank for this dip back into my former favorite genre. I guess my preferences change around the year to fit the seasons. I also believe that I was just in need of a good, new, more adult story to suck me back in.
Update: Currently hoping to finish A Court of Mist and Fury today with only 180 pages left (note, I am at home sick)

-As for nonfiction and self help -well I'm still going strong on that track as well and am looking for books to add to my repertoire. (All suggestions are very welcome!) Actually, all 6 books that I breezed through over my summer vacation where from this category. Let's allow that to speak for itself.

It must be this gloomy weather that has invited me to grab a book and a mug of tea by the candlelight -bliss

As for what's to come, we hope to start posting monthly from now on instead of the previous pace of once a week. I have some reviews and thoughts already in mind so stay tuned! Thanks for being so patient and more over for being loyal and sticking around! :)

-Anna
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Since I now live in the U.S. I can purchase Owlcrate boxes at a reasonable price. Ever since the "Wanderlust" box was released back in July of 2017, I have had my eyes on it. Thus over winter break, I finally grabbed myself by the neck and ordered the box. When I arrived back on campus, I had a fun package waiting for me.

The full contents of the Wanderlust Owlcrate box
Because this was a "past box", I already knew what was going to be in the box. The box contained so many amazing items, all of which I have put to use in some for . Of course, I was most excited to finally get my hands on The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Along with the book, the box also contained a signed bookplate, a letter from the author, and a map of the world of the book.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a review of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue!

-Laura


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The start of a new month means another book review of a Finnish "classic". During March my goal was to read Jäniksen vuosi by Arto Paasilinna, and I finished it with plenty of time left in the month. I was especially excited to read this book because Jäniksen vuosi is my mother's all-time-favorite-book. I even timed my reading of the novel so that she was visiting me at the same time as I was reading it, so that we could discuss it as I read along.


The concept of the novel is absolutely amazing. The novel follows a middle-aged journalist who encounters a hare on the road and decides to drop everything in his life to spend time with this hare. He quits his job, leaves his wife, even sells his boat! The novel follows the extraordinary pair for a year, but the ending is left open to suggest that their adventures continue beyond this.

I highly, highly recommend this novel to everyone! Not only is it hilarious, it also offers some valuable life lessons. Moreover, it has been translated into English and can be found under the title The Year of the Hare. Let me know in the comments down below if you've read this novel.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Readings!
-Laura


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I first heard about Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning this past fall when I went to Worldcon in Helsinki with my aunt. There, Palmer won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I filed the book away into my ever-growing list of books to read, hoping to eventually get to it. However, when I decided to do my Intro to Gender and Sexuality Studies final project about female authors in science fiction, I thought it was time to dive into Too Like the Lightning.

Too Like the Lightning is a far-future science fiction novel set in the year of 2454. The narrator Mycroft Canner, follows the events of a few days in the history of 2454, which will be continued in the next three books. Canner has found a young child who can animate toys into autonomus beings. This is extremely dangerous in a society, which has banned most discussion of religion.

The worldbuilding in Too Like the Lightning is superb. Firstly, the society no longer holds much value in the gender binary, with all the characters going by they/them pronouns. Secondly, rather than being tied by a national identity, citzens are allowed to choose which “Hive” they belong to. Hives are divided by the different vocational interests the groups represent. Finally, rather than having strict biological families, individuals can choose a group of people who share similar values with them, to form a “bash”. Members within the bash can then marry amd have children, but the bash as a whole is present in raising the children.


Too Like the Lightning had the potential to be an extremely well written socially conscious science fiction novel. With the agender characters, and loose family structures I was excited to see how the novel would cover what sounds like a millenial dream. However, the novel managed to fall short of my expectations on these accounts. There was a distinct lack of same-sex relationships, when with the lack of the traditional gender binary should be much more prevalent. Moreover, Canner decided to use gendered pronouns within his narrative. On a positive note, Canner did not assign the pronouns by sex, but rather by gender performance, which is progressive compared to our modern world. Despite these slight complaints, I found the story to be riveting and I cannot wait to read the second book in the series, Seven Surrenders, a copy of which is waiting for me back in the States.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-Laura
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Before starting college this fall, I was assigned summer reading for the first time in years! We were to read Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet before arriving on campus in August. Then, the summer reading program was rounded out by a lecture held by Jennine Capó Crucet herself.

Make Your Home Among Strangers is Crucet's second book, the first being a collection of short stories and this being a full-fledged novel. Make Your Home Among Strangers follows the main character Lizette as she struggles to adjust to life in college, as a first-generation college student. Or, as Crucet described it, "a novel about people landing in places and having no clue who they are as a result."

I related to the novel, and Lizette's feelings, more than I expected to. Honestly, I believe every incoming college student should be reading Make Your Home Among Strangers either to get accustomed to the specific culture that permeates college campuses, or to learn about microaggressions people of color can face at college, or even to read an example of what it feels like to discover your passion in a classroom.

-Laura


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Akvarelleja Engelin kaupungista is the first novel by Juha Viikilä, who has been previously known as a poet and playwright. The novel also received the Finlandia-award in 2016.


The novel is written in the form of Johann Carl Ludvig Engel's diary, which he writes at night. The story is set between 1816 and 1840 in Helsinki and follows Engel's work at designing and building the city. Engel has been hired by the Tsar to build Helsinki, which is why he has left his home in Berlin along with his family. Engel and his wife yearn to return to Berlin but as the work stretches, they must abandon their original plan of staying for six years.

Viikilä highlights Engel's opinions of the women in his life; his wife and his daughter. As the novel progresses, Engel begins to focus more and more on the inner worlds of his wife and daughter. It seems as if he is jealous of the private lives of the women, while he himself has to constantly present himself in public.

Akvarelleja Engelin kaupungista is filled with lyrical prose, as is to be expected when considering Viikilä's history as a writer. The short diary entries showcase in equal parts the events in the story, Engel's thoughts, as well as his philosophy in life. I really really enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend, and not only because of its inclusion in Finnish literary canon.

-Laura
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It's been quite some time since I've last posted a monthly to-be-read and I thought I could jump back into it during 2017. So, to start the year off, here are the books I'm hoping to read in January:

  • Do It Like A Woman... and Change the World by Caroline Criado-Perez
  • City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 
  • The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar 
What are you guys planning on reading this month and have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments!
-Laura
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Last weekend me and Anna headed to the Helsinki book fair again! During the previous years, we had chosen the day we go based on the events going on. This year however, we were only able to coordinate going on one day, so naturally we went on that day...

There weren't too many events we wanted to stop by at but as per tradition we went to an interview with Salla Simukka where she discussed her new book, Sisarla.


Mainly we walked around, checking out the stalls different bookstores had set up, seeing if anything interesting caught our eye. I purchased two books from the fair this year: Noitaympyrä by Pentti Haanpää and The City of Woven Streets by Emmi Itäranta and I'm very excited to start reading them!

All in all, we had a fun time spending a day at the fair. If you have any bookish events in your area, I'd highly recommend going to them!

-Laura
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I've been buying some books over the past month and I'm so excited to share them with you!



  1. Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch: This was the last book in the Snow Like Ashes-series and I read it as soon as it arrived in the mail! If you haven't read this series yet, I'd highly recommend it!
  2. The Odds of Lightning by Jocelyn Davies: I actually don't know too much about this but I know it's magical realism which I love so I'm interested to see what this will be like.
  3. The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace: I've been hearing about this wonderful little book of poetry ever since it came out and I loved it so much!! I'll be posting a full review once I get a chance to read through it again.
  4. The Bronze Key by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare: I am so obsessed with this series and can not wait to read the newest instalment.
  5. Unravel Me and Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi: After going to the Furthermore event in New York, I decided to read everything Mafi has written as quickly as possible.
  6. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: I thought it would be fun to sneak in a graphic novel as well and this should be a quick read. 
-Laura
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About Us

Hi! We're Laura and Anna, two twenty-something women who love reading! We originally met each other in Atlanta, GA, over 10 years ago. Since then, we moved back to our home country of Finland, and now that we are in university, Anna lives in Turku, Finland, studying medicine and Laura lives in Asheville, NC, studying literature.

We read in a wide variety of genres, including all forms of young adult fiction and some adult books as well. Laura tries to focus on fantasy, but sometimes her coursebooks get in the way, whereas Anna is happy to read anything other than her textbooks!

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