It’s Tuesday! Time for one of our favourite memes of the week. Top Ten Tuesday was created by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl and this week’s topic is: Things I’d Have at my Bookish Party. We decided to forgo ‘party’ for ‘small club’ (we’re introverted that way…) and list the essential items we have at our monthly book club meetings.
Number One
THE BOOKS. What’s a book club without the real reason we’re all there? Our book club subscribes to a local library that provides sets of physical books to use so we’re lucky that no one is left floundering each month to try and get their hands on the novel. This month’s book is: Where the Crawdads Sing. Here’s hoping it lives up to the hype!
Number Two
Teas. We’re a bit nutty about tea at our book club and we’re lucky that the book club host is a tea-fanatic. There’s always an endless list of delightful teas to choose from! My favourite is Gorgeous Geisha by T2 Tea (green tea with strawberry).
Number Three
Comfy couches. There’s nothing better than sitting back, relaxing and having a good ol’ book argument. Well, not argument but discussion. We mostly agree at book club but there have been a few notable exceptions that keep things interesting! Namely, the quality of A Dog’s Purpose. It was one book that was (almost) unanimously DNFd and disliked.
Number Four
George the Cat. He’s a regular fixture at the meetings and Tequila Mockingbird Book Club (that’s us) wouldn’t be the same without its (semi-) famous honorary member! He’s a glorious feline specimen that loves demanding attention and cuddles. How could we ever say no to that???
Number Five
Snacks! We’re all foodie people in the club (the ‘cool kids’ stick together) and book club wouldn’t be the same without something to nibble on while chatting. Our common faves include Tim Tams (an Aussie staple), Berries, Crackers and Cheese. We have all the essentials covered!
And that’s it! We’re a pretty average group with a pretty above-average love for books and all things bookish. What do you have at your book club meetings??
It’s Tuesday again and with it comes our addiction to the Top Ten Tuesday meme created by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is: Authors Who Have a Fun Social Media Presence.
This was a bit of a hard topic for me. I was stumped in the beginning and then slowly realised there were a few authors I enjoyed for multiple reasons. While most considerate and good authors will show all of these traits, some authors show them more than others.
For instance, a few authors that I was supportive of disappointed me recently with their dislike of reviewers tagging them. I can understand about bad reviews but in general the pettiness associated with famous authors being unappreciative of being tagged in positive reviews by the fans who keep them famous really bugged me.
Are any of these authors on your list of faves?
Authors that support other authors
Authors that reply to your reviews / comments
Authors that are so supportive of their fans
I know there are only 7 authors on this list, as opposed to 10, but they’re the only ones I truly follow and tune into on a frequent basis.
Welcome to another Tuesday and the Top Ten Tuesday meme created by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic was submitted by Kitty Marie from Kitty Marie’s Reading Corner and is: Books With Single-Word Titles.
I’ve decided to create a list of my most anticipated single-word titles on my TBR. They’re either on my TBR from my love of the series/author and wish to continue with them or due to reading great reviews on the book.
Let’s hope the hype is real with these!
1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I’m a bit apprehensive of retellings as they often let me down but this one has so much hype. I’m curious!
2. Caraval by Stephanie Garber has such an epic cover. I mean.. it’s no wonder I added it to my list. The hype for this was quite extensive as well. Fingers crossed it doesn’t disappoint!
3. Vicious by V.E. Schwab has so much hype. I’m not even entirely sure what all the fuss is about but hopefully I’ll find out soon!
4. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning is a book that’s been on my physical shelf for YEARS but I haven’t actually read it yet (lol, I really should have tried it at least once by now!).
5. Legend by Marie Lu is a book that I’ve read so many positive reviews on. I can’t wait to try Lu’s writing for myself!
6. Reed by Sawyer Bennett is a sports romance. More specifically an ICE HOCKEY SPORTS ROMANCE. Be still my beating heart!
7. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman is the follow up to Scythe (AKA one of my fav books of last year).
8. Overruled by Emma Chase is a legal romance. The second instalment was amazing (may have forgotten to read the first book before launching myself in to the second… whoops!) so I’m hoping the first is too!
9. Intercepted by Alexa Martin is a sports romance. That’s kinda all I have to say with my weakness for them.
10. Illusion by Sherrilyn Kenyon is a YA fantasy and a series that I’ve really enjoyed so far. Chronicles of Nick is quite underrated and I’m glad I found it!
// what Single-Word titled books are on your TBR? //
Ahh, I’m so excited for this week’s topic of Fictional Characters I Would Follow on Social Media I can hardly wait to start! As always, credit goes out to Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl for creating this meme but due to the awesomeness of this week’s topic I think Tilly at The Biblio Shelf also deserves some credit!
It was actually incredibly hard to narrow down to only ten characters. I LOVE THEM ALL!
1.Magnus Bane from The Bane Chronicles
2. Fin from Aurora Rising
3. Dorian Havilliard from Throne of Glass
4. AIDAN from The Illuminae Files
5. Mercy Thompson from the Mercy Thompson series
6. Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses
7. Manon Blackbeak from Throne of Glass
8. Klaus from The Vampire Diaries
9. Clary Fairchild from The Mortal Instruments
10. Rosalie Cullen from Twilight
// who are the fictional characters you’d follow on social media? //
It’s Tuesday again and with it comes one of our favourite memes created by Jana over at her awesome blog That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is: The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover.
For this, I’ve decided to choose the last ten sci-fi / paranormal/ fantasy books that gave me a hangover as the February ‘Month of Love’ theme has meant I’ve been neglecting some of my other favourite genres!
Here they are:
So my hangover status after these book is partly due to my love of the authors’ writing styles and epic world building but ALSO about my love for specific characters that just made my heart melt and will be added to my Book Boyfriends and Kick-Ass Females list!
I adored Finn and Ian from Aurora Rising and Shades of Wicked, respectively. They’re both snarky, arrogant and completely loyal to those they genuinely care about. As for Hexes and O’s I really enjoyed reading about Remington. She’s opinionated, considerate and hilariously funny!
The same reasoning goes for these books too. The Savior FINALLY featured Murhder’s story which I had been waiting YEARS for. I have to admit that the wait was worth it! Mercy Thompson will forever be one of my fav heroines. She’s sure of herself, incredibly kind and open minded. I enjoyed reading Silver Borne with it’s usual Mercy Thompson action-packed pace and great side characters.
What can I say about these? I feel like they’re self-explanatory. While I didn’t connect with many of the characters in Scythe this book made the list due to its theme and Shusterman’s way of creating a whole new world that borders on being so dark and yet strangely realistic. I loved the rep of AI characters in these two books including the Thunderhead and AIDAN. They stole my heart and I’ll never want it back!
These three authors will forever be in my list of must-read and auto-buy. Pratchett’s Discworld series blew me away the first time I read it but throughout the extensive selection of characters Reaper Man AKA Death was my fav! In Maas’ Kingdom of Ash there were so many characters that were added to my list but my fav of the lot had to be Manon Blackbeak – she was stubborn, loyal and insanely kick-ass. Honestly, she’s my favourite female heroine EVER and makes this series one of my go-to’s.
To Be Taught if Fortunate was such a surprising read. I don’t often cry in books but the ending of this had me tearing up and so heartsore. It was brilliant and epic and every other amazing adjective rolled in to one.
Welcome to another Tuesday and with it our take on this week’s topic! This meme was created by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl and is one of our favourite to do each week! This week’s topic is: Love Freebie.
Since we did a love theme last week, we’ve decided to stretch this freebie out to include our favourite romance authors. I mean… it’s all about love this week right and you couldn’t get us more excited than with these authors’ books!
Here they are:
Mariana Zapata
Penny Reid
Tessa Bailey
Lisa Kleypas
Emma Chase
Madeline Ash
Sarina Bowen
Susan Elizabeth Philips
Lucy Score
Helen Hoang
// who are your favourite romance authors? are any of them listed above? //
It’s Tuesday again… seriously the last week flew by! Before we know it, it’ll be the Holiday of Love (AKA Valentines Day) ❤ ❤ ❤ So, in light of that I thought it would be sweet to do a Predicted 5 Star Romance Reads in pre-celebration. Well, namely because I’m in a romance reading mood but Valentines Day is convenient!
This meme was created by the lovely Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl . The topic for this week is: Books on my TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads.
Here they are:
What is there to say about these other than their covers are super cute and I’ve been waiting A LONG TIME to read them? I know, I know… how haven’t I read Emma yet? I’ve had it on my shelf for YEARS and still haven’t read it. I loved P&P but getting myself to try another classic isn’t easy, even though I already know that I like Austen’s writing style.
The Bromance Book Club and Well Met have both been on reserve at my library for going on three months now. Seriously, why can’t people return books by their due date?!
Be still my beating heart… only three months left until The Heart Principle. May couldn’t come soon enough! I just want to know what happens to Quan!! DOES HE FIND TRUE LOVE?
Along with all of my impatient fangirl thoughts of Hoang’s upcoming release is the need to try an author I haven’t before, Alexa Martin in Intercepted, and also another book by a hit and miss author for me: Christina Lauren with Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating.
My first try of the Central Park Pact series didn’t go over so well… mainly due to my annoyance at the MC. Despite this, I really enjoyed Layne’s writing and have decided to give the third book a try (yes… without reading the second instalment) because of all the ‘pact gals’ I liked Audrey the best.
Tessa Dare will almost always be on my TBR list at some point or another and I have such a soft spot for wallflowers. If I was born in the regency period, they’re what I’d imagine to have been. An introverted gal more concerned with books than anything else.
The Gravity of Us is another book I have been eagerly awaiting for months. IT COMES OUTTODAY. Yes you read correctly… TODAY!!
Last, but not least (in fact it’s at the top of my TBR right now) is Chasing Cassandra. For those of you (unfortunate) souls that haven’t tried a Lisa Kleypas novel, let alone the Ravenels series, I hope that this sparks some interest!
One of the most fascinating ‘hero’ characters I’ve come across before in a historical romance… this book features the legendary Tom Severin and all of his lack-of-charm. How Lisa Kleypas manages to keep me SO INSANELY EXCITED to read about his odd mannerisms is beyond me. I’m sold though. This book will be next and hopefully Tom Severin will swoop away with my heart in his money-loving hands!
Welcome to another Tuesday! If you’re a blogger Down Under you’ll know that it was recently the long weekend to celebrate Australia Day. Unfortunately, all of my great plans for the weekend were reduced to smithereens in light of the uni assignments I had been procrastinating for weeks. So, for that I’m terribly sorry if I haven’t caught up on your posts! I’m hoping to blog hop today so if there’s a post you’d like me to read please post a link down below!
On to todays meme though! Top Ten Tuesday was created by the delightful Jana over at Artsy Reader Girl and this week’s topic is: Book Cover Freebie. After my dreadfully dull weekend I thought it would be nice to share the book cover love in all shapes, colours and forms. Some are one’s I’ve read and enjoyed while others are still on my TBR.
RED (PINK) // ORANGE
Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Read. 5/5 STARS. Can we just all agree that we’re in love with Blue??
Red, White and Royal Blue – Read. 5,000,000/5 STARS. This book. It literally stole my heart and I’ll be happy if it never gives it back!
This Is How It Always Is – On my TBR. A story about how a family keeps a secret…and how that secret ends up keeping them. This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world.
YELLOW // GREEN
I’ll Give You the Sun – On my TBR. At first, Jude and her twin brother Noah, are inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways.
What If It’s Us – Read. 4/5STARS.
Heartstopper – Read. 5/5 STARS. Nick was an absolute gem in this! I can’t wait to read the third volume in this series!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – On my TBR. I know, I know. I should have read a TJR book already… but I’m working on it!
BLUE // INDIGO// PURPLE
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – On my TBR. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime.
Autoboyography – On my TBR. Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.
Carry On – On my TBR. Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Carry on is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.
Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday (seriously… where has this week gone? It’s already the middle of Jan and my poor brain still thinks it’s New years!) created by the wonderful Jana over at Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is: 10 Most Recent Additions to my Bookshelf.
As my TBR is already getting ridiculously full from New Year additions, I decided to limit this topic to my most recent mystery and thriller novel additions. For those of you who have read some of my recent posts you’ll know that I’ve decided to branch out in to the thriller genre this year – which is quite a feat considering I’m your friendly neighbourhood wimp!
Here they are:
One Last Child – It was summer in the mountains when five small children vanished from their nursery school picnic. Three and a half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned by their abductor… one by one. All except for Ivy – the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.As my most recent ARC, I’m eagerly anticipating this one! It’s my first thriller ARC – Hooray!!
Into the Water – A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged. As an upcoming book club choice, Into the Water has me intrigued and excited to give Paula Hawkins’ writing a try.
Tell No One – Caroline Corbett wants nothing to do with her father, Hoff, a man who abandoned her as a young girl and then vanished from her life almost thirty years ago. Harris Fenton found the father figure he’d dreamed of when he turned eight and his mother married Hoff—but his disappearance four years later left Harris with scars he carries even now. dredging up the past will be dangerous, and confronting the truth could prove life shattering.
Two Can Keep a Secret – After reading One of Us is Lying, I wasn’t quite sure what all of the hype had been about concerning McManus’ writing but I’m willing to give another book a try. I have this one on reserve at the library and can’t wait to see how it compares.
Dear Wife – As a fan of domestic thrillers I had to add this one to the list! Described as a riveting new novel of suspense about a woman who, in a fight for survival, must decide just how far she’ll go to escape the person she once loved.
The Silent Patient – As the Goodreads Best Thriller novel of 2019, it’s no wonder this one is on my list! I mean… how can you resist the hype? The premise reminds me of a graphic novel, Bury the Lede, which was one of my favs last year. I can’t wait to see if this holds up to all of the hype!
The Wife Between Us – I put this book on my TBR after reading Kitty Marie’s Book Review. The domestic thriller exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love. My goal to read more thrillers this year has this book as a must read!
The Institute – So technically this one is horror… but I’ve never actually read a horror novel, never mind a King novel. It’s about time I took the chance and gave one a try. I’ll just make sure to only read during the day haha!
How summery do these covers seem? They were what had first caught my eye but the domestic element to the stories had me eager to give them a try. Who knew I’d love reading about family issues and drama so much? Especially given the mystery/thriller genre!
Welcome to another week and the (ridiculously belated) first blog post of 2020 on Nen and Jen. What better way is there to start off the year than with one of your favourite memes, created by the lovely Artsy Reader Girl? Especially given this week’s topic: Bookish Discoveries of 2019.
As 2019 was the start of our blogging journey, there’s arguably a HUGE amount of bookish discoveries we made but we had fun narrowing it down to a few stand out things.
Reading by colour… it’s a thing!
One of my most astonishing bookish discoveries was that I tended to read not only by genre (which is what I had always thought) but also by colour. This could change on a daily basis or I would find myself reading only orange books for a week.
How did I realise only last year that I tended to read by colour? By my WWW posts. At first I thought it was a coincidence… when the pattern continued it was confusing. I hadn’t been doing it intentionally and yet the evidence was right there. It’s so strange and yet I’m glad to finally have found it out!
Thrillers’ plot twists more than make up for their scare factor
As a newbie to the thriller genre, almost all of the books I have read so far have caught me by total surprise. I haven’t established a set of predictions or preconceptions yet on the genre and so each book has had a delightfully unpredictable plot twist. I’m eager (and yet only slightly apprehensive) to continue reading in the genre. Hopefully I’ll still remain surprised by the endings!
Indie authors deserve more recognition
There are so many good books out there and a significant portion of them come from Indie Authors. To be honest, before I started blogging I hadn’t really understood the difference between an indie author and ‘normal author’. I read widely and enjoyed stories regardless of their publishing origins. Now that I’m more aware of the distinction, especially from a marketing and ARC review stand point, I’m eager to remain unbiased toward publication. I often read some amazing books by Indie Authors that I wish would get more recognition!
Libraries still exist!
Before September 2019, I hadn’t gone to a library in YEARS, #ForShame. Honestly, I hadn’t realised all that I was missing out on. Now, my favourite part of the week is doing a book haul at my local and ending up with WAY too many books to read in a month.
Re-reading is my default setting
When I first started blogging the expectation I set upon myself was to keep up with recently released books. It was a way to communicate more in the bookish community and also share recommendations and reviews. What it really made me aware of though was the extent to which I re-read my favourite books. Those that I truly loved were read at least three times over 2019 and re-reads made up at least half of my total read books!
Romance novels deserve better cred
I’ve always been a sap for the cliched romantic element in a story and always champion its existence, even in books where it’s not strictly necessary. Love and slow-burn all the way! It’s a real shame that a lot of readers dislike romance and give its readers a certain judgemental look. You all know what I’m talking about. The notion that if it’s a ‘fluff’ piece then you’re not a ‘real reader’. Pfft.
It’s not all about the numbers
Blogging and recording your reading numbers can be quite taxing. While reading challenges and sharing bookish thoughts had never tired me out before I was startled to realise that after only 6 months of blogging (quite sporadically), I had burned myself out. The desire to read had just GONE. It was heart-breaking and quite honestly gave me some serious anxiety. Reading had always been a comfort and its loss was quite confronting.
My approach to 2020 is to set no challenges or obligations. I’m blogging and reading when and where I choose and hopefully I’ll be happier off for it.
Books I adored weren’t always well written
If there’s something blogging last year made me HIGHLY aware of, it’s the structure and technical quality of writing. I’d noticed before if a book wasn’t good but wouldn’t always have wondered and questioned why. Re-reading a lot of my favourite books has made me more aware of their technical flaws and yet sentimental attachment to the characters will forever keep them dear in my hearts and on my shelf.
Blogging makes you more aware of book diversity
I hadn’t taken much notice of book diversity before blogging. Namely because I just enjoyed stories without breaking them down too much. I would rip to shreds the ones that didn’t accurately represent others but hadn’t made a concerted effort to include more diverse books on my TBR lists. I’m glad to be more aware of its impact in the book community and the importance of having stories more representative of the world around us.
The Bookish Community is so kind!
Honestly, before publishing the first blog post I was a WRECK. I hadn’t done anything similar before and the prospect of jumping in to a competitive environment or accidentally offending someone from my reviews was quite intimidating. What I soon realised though was that the community was not only kind but so, so supportive. I hadn’t expected that and was so stunned at the amount of support other bloggers had given our little venture into the bookish community. I’m so grateful!
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