Books Are Jazzy

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

As a little over a month of the new year has passed and all of us have gotten started with our reading goals for 2020, I wanted to take a moment to look back and highlight some of my favorite books  that I read in 2019, while everyone is still setting up their TBRs  for the new year. As always, these books are presented in no particular order. I hope you all enjoy!

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Crier's War by Nina Varela 

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake was one of the books I read for my courses this fall, and was my first book by Margaret Atwood. This novel was extremely disgusting in its unflinching portrayal of the dystopian future, but at the same it was incredibly thought-provoking. Oryx and Crake shows a look at a possible future awaiting us if we continue becoming more and more and dependent on the corporations that are already omni-present in our lives. Despite being conflicted about this novel, I want an adaptation of Oryx and Crake as soon as possible.

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Educated by Tara Westover

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Thank you Edelweiss+ and White Lion Publishing for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the company or its affiliates in any way.

So, here we go in no particular order:

• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
• Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
• The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
• A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
• Kingdom of Ash by S.J. Maas
• Muumipappa ja meri by Tove Jansson

Anna’s top pics/most worthy of a mention from 2018:
In total I managed to read 21 books, which I am very glad about since I had a hard time finding joy in books at times this year. I was in a sort of rut and couldn’t find a book that would keep me so hooked that, I would constantly be craving just a small moment of free time when I would brew some tea and get lost in the words of a great read. That’s why the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas  as a whole has been my most notable, favorite, life changing read this past year. It brought back not only my love for reading but my love for fantasy. I was, and still am, obsessed through and through.
And just as Laura said, I’m picking my favorite out of the four parts by reflecting on the generic feeling I get. The first was great but the second blew my mind so therefore A Court of Mist and Fury is my first.

Second I would like to mention a Finnish novel that actually won the Finlandia prize in 2016. Akvarelleja Engelin kaupungista by Jukka Viikilä taught my about the time of C.L. Engel and the building of our capitol Helsinki. I loved the journal entry style and depictions of Turku, where I now live, hit home with me.

The third book I’m going to raise to the podium here is the Swimmer Among the Stars by Kanish Tharoor, a book of short stories that I picked it in Paris from Shakespeare & Co. (I admit, the setting for reading this book did enhance my experience. But none the less I was inspired by these colorful stories.

Fourth and fifth were similar and I can’t really set them apart in my mind but both inspired me greatly and I remember them with a spark of happiness. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero and #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso have helped shape my attitude and the way I perceive things (as did Homo Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari too by the way) and they were a big part of my nonfiction phase of 2018.

We hope you find amazing reads in 2019!
Laura and Anna

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

-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.

-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

That's what I'm going to try to figure out and explain to myself as I write this post.

First I should distinguish what I mean by the alarming question of a title. Well, as you know if you've been following my updates, I'm a fantasy, fiction, mystical creature and alternative reality loving gal from head to toe, inside out. I love putting myself to sleep with fantastic beasts and lands far, far away. I take anything mysterious, supernatural and mythical as a serenade of the imagination. Just take a look at my "read" books on my Goodreads. But for the past month or so, my "to read" list has been attracting non-fiction, self-development, inspirational and more mundane opuses. See what I mean by alarming?

Am I in some sort of a youth age crisis considering I'm turning twenty come summer? Or have  I lost my love for magic and storylines? Sure I've alway enjoyed a historical fiction every once in a while or perhaps flipped through a literary classic feeling obliged to do so. But never has the ratio been 3 to 1 like it is with this years finished novels.

Spring is that you?

I still feel drawn to fictive stories and will never abandon my Ravenclaw colors or stop referencing every fantasy classic ever written. I think it might just be the light outside and spring time nearing day by day that has awaken this side of me. I definitely see myself turning the pages of a light romance book on a bench in the park or hitting up some QT with another classic or history infused read. In another sun circling revolution's time I will probably be comfortably back with my hot tea submerged in who knows what universe marvelling at all kinds of creations of the mind. But before that, I feel more up for quick, uplifting books to gulp down.

Have you noticed a shift in your preferences corresponding with the seasons? Or have you grown out of old reading habits and fallen into new ones? Let me know, I'd love some peer support. :D

So long, 'til the days warm up,

Anna

As promised, I'm coming at you with an update on Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens -A Brief History of Humankind. Unlike anticipated, however, I am still working on this book. Turns out that reading something so factual and concentration demanding doesn't go well with my idea of a relaxing read on a school night. Studying medical biochemistry and molecular medicine all day calls for a bit of a lighter pass time at night. But to the point then, here's some of my thoughts so far (I'm actually pretty close to finishing so we're doing ok).

A quality of a good book, in my opinion, is that it makes the reader think. That you find yourself pondering on the book while doing the dishes or biking to uni. Sapiens has definitely done that. I have felt a little provoked at times, but this has forced me to learn new things and look at the world from newborn perspectives. For example, it is quite curious how same cultural features have sprung up all around the world completely independently of each other. On the other hand very fundamental aspects of one culture are completely polar in another. This speaks for the human nature.

Another thing that has kept me looping back to it in my thoughts is imagination. Merely everything we view as concrete and universal things, such as rights, money or certain religious aspects, are in fact nonexistent if humans aren't around to believe in them. Money doesn't have a real, nature's law binding value. Only the sole fact that people all over decide to give it value makes it real. Human rights are also just things we have come up with (though saying it like this makes it seem as if they aren't important -I disagree). No law of physics proves them to exist. Nevertheless we have built them into our cultures and want them to be recognized. This also brings an interesting point: equality and the right of freedom can never really exist at the same time because they contradict. Only the complex (or twisted?) human mind can believe in both. A computer couldn't for instance support both. In my mind this creates an interesting question for the future with all it's technology.

The book has also been a challenge at times because I regret to say I'm not the biggest fan of economics or politics. And they play a fair role in the novel. Anyhow I'm determined to turn every page and find myself a little wiser.

-Anna

What happens when you give me a book on physics?

Do I hide away and avoid reading? Do I read on numb and dumb not understanding a word I read? Does it take me months to get through the non-fiction publish?

Or do I make time to read it, to learn more? Do I carry the hardcover with me everywhere I go like it was the most valuable object in my life? Do I literally have to ration myself to make the experience last longer as has happened with only a handful of reads such as Harry Potter?

Take your guess.

Here's a hint: I'm honestly quite a nerd on the inside.


So, I study physics at school and am on the final course in high school (lukio here in Finland) and as the eight course curriculum is so wide, my physics teacher gave the recommendation to read the legendary A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. He emphasized that we would be able to understand almost everything based on the courses we had studied and that the piece could literally be used as our text book for the final course. Already earlier, as a reading enthusiast who also happens to be very  curious to learn new things, I had added the book to my to-read list. Now the time was more than perfect to pick it up. And I am ever grateful to my teacher for encouraging me to do so at this point -it really motivated and inspired me.

Beginning the read I was mesmerized and inexplicably proud of myself for genuinely understanding so much of the things described. Most was even revision from school -just as my teacher had promised. I literally got palpitations in reading as I was so excited about this. I also became very absorbed in the theories wanting to learn more and more almost not being able to sleep afterwards since my mind was racing hard.

And I'm sure everyone I know heard about this: I went around praising the book to everybody. I apologize to all who had no clue (read: interest in) what I was talking so passionately about.

Even if you don't consider yourself a geek or interested in science and physics I do want to inspire you to give this physical literary masterpiece a chance. The way Hawking writes is both easy to grasp - thanks to his mundane language and commonplace comparisons - and really entertaining and a great experience due to his natural humour and irony.

An easy 5/5 read no matter how much it sticks out of my normal repertoire.

-Anna