When Did Books Get Merch? A Discussion About the Commercialization of Reading

Once upon a more simpler time, books all but sold themselves with their beautiful (or hideous!) cover art and maybe a PR campaign that included a magazine write up and some posters. I’m sure a lot more thought and effort went into it than that, but it definitely didn’t feel as flashy when I was [...]

Book Club Review: Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising is my personal Book Club's first discussed book! So I have decided to start a (virtual) book club! My best friend just finished her Master's program and was excited to start reading for fun again. Naturally she reached out to her personal librarian for recommendations and after some time discussing it, we thought [...]

State of My Shelves

I realize, it's been a minute. Truth be told, I have tried to come back a number of times in the last year or so but a few things got in the way. Yes, I am a bit more busy at work than I was in the past. And since I did the majority of [...]

[Guest Post] Author Vali Benson on Historical Fiction and her book Blood and Silver

Historical Fiction from a First Time Author by Vali Benson         History is the world’s greatest teacher. It also creates a perfect launch point for a writer’s imagination.  Historical fiction is my genre of choice because it combines the majesty of an author’s imagination with the beauty of the past. My name is Vali Benson [...]

Bubbling with Excitement; Pre-order List & September 2020 New Releases

Finally, we are starting to head into my favorite time of year! I know that the fall is going to look VERY different than what I am used to [this will be my first fall in Arizona, and you know, Covid] but I am excited nonetheless. Aside from all the spooky feels, pumpkins, crisp air, [...]

the folklore book tag

Like the original creator of this tag (ilsa @ Whisper of Ink), I have been listening to Folklore on repeat since it came out. I have been personally waiting for this sound, this vibe from Taylor since Red. It's everything I ever wanted from her. But these two tweets really hit the mark for me. [...]

Let’s Talk About Non-Fiction; TBR & why I struggle with prioritizing it

For goodness sake, I studied History as my undergraduate degree! You would think that I have a preference for nonfiction vs. fiction, but that just never seems to be the case for me. I've even committed to collecting non-fiction books to round out my personal library and I STILL can't pick any up. Why do [...]

#Blackoutbestsellerlist Book Haul

This past month has seen more than what anyone could have dreamed up. During a worldwide pandemic, the senseless murder of a black man named George Floyd erupted the country (and several others across the world) into protest. Though the Black Lives Matter (#blacklivesmatter) movement has been around since 2013, in the past it has [...]

Graphic Novel Read-a-thon Update

As some of you may know, I participated in an impromptu, personal read-a-thon two weeks ago where I was trying to read one graphic novel a day for an entire week. Things happened, books were read, but alas, it didn't go exactly as planned.   Monday June 22nd Off to a good start! This was [...]

Quarter Quell {2020}: A Quarterly Reading Wrap-Up

It's not nearly as dramatic as it sounds. Yes, in our beloved dystopian series, The Hunger Games, the Quarter Quell was a nightmare for our heroine Katniss and her compatriots, but obviously my version is not nearly as bad (we aren't gathering up a bunch of beloved celebs and pitting them against each other to [...]