Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
It’s been a harrowing week of sickness and I do NOT want to repeat that again in a long time. I guess I avoided being sick for all of 2020 and 2021 that I have forgotten how awful it is to be truly sick. I just want to wish all you well out there, and everyone please keep safe as we keep fighting the good fight against this pandemic.
This week’s topic is looking at releases in 2021 I was excited to get to but didn’t yet. I do hope to read a number of these (if not ALL of these) this year, but of course, my TBR is always super crazy so that’s not a guarantee.
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Have you read these releases last year? Are any of these still high on your TBR? Let’s chat below!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Maybe it’s just this time of year but generally I don’t buy too many books or add to my collection unless they’re ARCs. But in the last 2 months, I’ve collated a number of new titles for my shelves that I am happy to share with you all.
Secondhand bookstore
I’m a huge believer of buying secondhand books. I loved just going through those stacks with endless gems of books hidden away somewhere, and the absolute KINDEST store owners ever. It’s always been a wonderful experience whenever I walk into an indie secondhand store, and I definitely encourage supporting them more.
With that being said, I picked up 5 books (all together under $30 in excellent condition!) at the end of November when I took a little short family road trip nearby and HAD to explore the town’s indie bookstore.
1. Rule (book 1) andRise (book 2) by Ellen Goodlett
I’ve seen this series around but haven’t had the chance to read it so I thought I would try it out.
2. Nancy Drew books
I’m constantly adding to my Nancy Drew collection of the OG yellow hardcover spines. So any one I can find in such bookstores is a huge win for me!
3. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
I’ve read this book when it came out and I enjoyed it! I like to buy books I know I like than end up collecting books on my shelf that I end up not liking at all and just have to donate.
Presents for birthday/Christmas
As may have been indicated by my post last week, I just celebrated my birthday. One of the perks (or the only perk I guess?) of being born at this time of year is that I sometimes get twice the amount of presents from friends for Christmas and my birthday.
4. 6-book paperback box set of Shadowhunters series
I mentioned in my previous TTT post that I wanted this box set, and my lovely boyfriend secretly got it for me for my birthday! I just love the graphics on the spines and how they connect with one another. I can’t wait to display it prominently on my shelf.
5. One of Us Is Lying duology box set
Likewise, this was another box set I wanted from a series I adore! Friends know me well 😌
6. Bibliophile
This is a birthday present from one of my childhood friends who knows I’m a huge book lover (obviously). This is a beautifully drawn list of various book genres and major titles recommended from all sorts of book lovers. I highly recommend flipping through the drawn book stacks , and it also makes for a great coffee table book too.
7. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
This was a gift from a friend whom you will be introduced to soon as she has joined us here at DTRH this year! I’m super excited to see what she’ll bring to the table here and the kind of books she loves to read and review.
Presents from the book community
Since joining this book community, I have come to realize just how compassionate and amazing the people here are. From RAOK (random acts of kindness) to participate on Bookstagram to amazing giveaways and strangers I haven’t interacted with sending along a gift to make me smile, I am so grateful for you all! Thank you for being a part of my community.
These were the lovely books that some fellow book bloggers and bookstagrammers gifted to me last month.
8. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
9. Love Her Wild by Atticus
10. The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
December FairyLoot box
Bonus! I have tried out a FairyLoot box for the first time as a little birthday gift to myself. It arrived over Christmas but as it’s not time to share yet, I won’t say what books were in there though I’m intrigued by the selection. I will share over on my bookstagram when it’s time if you are curious, but these have been interesting additions to my book collection too.
Have you gotten any books in the last 2 months you are excited for? Or do you own any of the books I’ve listed above? Let me know in the comments below!
Good morning everyone! It does not look nice outside, but when does it ever on a cold early January day? This is the perk of being born in the winter.
I have chosen to do this birthday book tag again that was one of the first posts I did last year after an almost 2 year hiatus from the blog. It was a lot of fun and I thought I would give different answers now that I’m a year older with answers reflecting my last year.
I also wanted to take this time to thank all of you new friends who joined us on this journey in the last year. I have loved interacting with your blogs, the books you read and just sharing things with all of you.
Birthday Cake – a book with a plot that seems cliche but you adore it anyway
If I’m Being Honest was such an unexpected contender for top books of last year because it seemed like such a cliche. Mean girl can’t get the guy she likes so she tries to make him think she’s not so bad by helping the nerdy guy she made fun of previously. And then falls for him unwittingly! When I put it like that, yeah, it doesn’t sound like much, but I loved the way the authors went about this, especially because Cam wasn’t necessarily likable at first but I got to understand her. Plus, the nerdy “loser” isn’t just your typical stereotype, and their relationship felt so organic to me.
Happy birthday song – a book that certainly deserves all the hype it got
The Love Hypothesis has topped so many people’s lists last year, popping up literally everywhere in the book community. Being a scientist myself, I had wanted to check this book out solely for the fact that the protagonist is a Ph.D. student with an author who is in scientific academia. The hype actually made me wary it wouldn’t meet my expectations. But lo and behold, this was everything I wanted for the science references AND the romance was too adorable! It makes so much sense that so many adored it, and I feel it’s 100% well deserved.
Happy music – a book with some very beautiful and truly meaningful quotes
I talked briefly throughout a number of posts that I was dealing with some betrayal from people I’ve known for many years. We didn’t get to meet in person (thankfully because I would’ve been an absolute mess) in the aftermath of everything so I always felt like I didn’t have closure, but I didn’t want to hold onto the anger and hurt when they lived their lives like hurting me was no big deal. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget came right at the time I needed it in the aftermath of this storm (God’s timing!), and it has wonderfully quotable lines (and tips) that stuck with me – even when the rhyming got a little annoying.
Getting older – a book that you read a long time ago but you think you would appreciate more if you read it as a more mature reader
I actually did in fact re-read this book last year when I took on tutoring a friend taking senior year English class. Let’s be honest, I wasn’t particularly enthused to have to pick up The Great Gatsby again. I didn’t much like it the first time around when I had to read it for class. But when I did look at it again now as a mid-twenty something year old, I understood more of what the book was trying to say? Maybe it helped that I’ve read so much more since then, and I’ve experienced more in my life that made me empathize with the depictions in this classic. Nonetheless, I can fully say I enjoyed it more as a more mature reader.
Party guests – your most anticipated book release for this year
Book of Night, hands down. In lieu of the fact that I have yet to see ANY new news about the sequel to Ninth House, I will have to settle with this release that is apparently in the same vein as Ninth House. I haven’t forayed too far into dark academia books but the synopsis has me super excited for this one to hopefully fill the void in my heart.
Sweet birthday memories – a book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life
I was dealing with some anxiety earlier in April that even led to wearing a 48-hour heart monitor. Needless to say, it was a darker time in the year. But it was around this time I got to reading this gem of a book, Counting Down with You, that helped me forget a little about my anxieties even for just a tiny while. I loved the cultural insight, the romance, and everything in between – you can read the full review here.
Birthday presents – a book that surprised you with how much you loved it
One of my earliest reads of 2021, Vicious Spirits caught me by surprise because I didn’t really like its companion novel so much? With this book, I already met most of the characters and I actually much preferred the two leads in this one over the leads for the other book. I am always an advocate for more Asian stories, especially written from an Asian author with some of their experiences imbued into it, but this one just blew me away. I think the romance made more sense in this book and there was more closure for the major plot arcs.
Well, friends, that wraps up my birthday post for 2022. I hope you enjoyed. Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart (and Fives’) for being a part of our book community in sharing who we are and what we love.
Down the Rabbit Hole 