January Snapshots

1 & 2. I've been trying to take bookish photos for my Instagram lately. I really love the bookstagram community, I can get lost for long periods of time looking at book photos. These snaps are my first few ventures into the scene. 

3. It snowed for the third time in ATX this month, although the second time was really miniscule. Texas weather is crazy, cause right now we are already experiencing spring weather. /// 4. I skipped my snapshots post last month, so I didn't get to share the new bookmarks I got from Happy Hello Co then. I absolutely love the holiday HP themed set and I wish I could have used it more during the holidays. I also got some more ToG ones, cause I'm planning a big reread later this year, since the last book will be coming out.

5. Last month, one of my favorite musicians, Darren Criss, released his first solo EP in over 7 years. I absolutely love this EP and I had to snag one of the signed copies. /// 6. In other music news, the last volume of the Skin and Earth comic was released, and it was a whirlwind. I love this series and I really hope to see it continued.

7. And here's a cute photo of Fawkes, just cause. - Jessica

Bookish Goals and Lists for 2018

Every year I give myself some bookish goals to accomplish. The first goal is to read a certain number of books, each year I've been steadily increasing my reading goal and ideally I should set it at 150 books, but reading 140 books last year was a bit of a stretch so I'm modestly setting my minimum goal at 100. If I end up reading 150 books, it would be great, but I'm not going to push myself to read more than I can handle.

The second goal is to read some books that I've been procrastinating on. This year I'm hoping to finish a lot of series that I have started, but haven't finished. I usually don't have the best track record with sticking to these lists, and I almost didn't make one for this year, but I decided to give it another try. I especially hope to stick to this list, because these are books that I actually see myself reading soon.

1. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore - I have been trying to read this book for ages. This book has been sitting on my nightstand to read for a month now, it even has my Christmas themed Hermione Granger bookmark in it. I've heard really great things about it and I'm planning on reading it next.

2. The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan - This is the final book in the Magnus Chase trilogy. I really liked the first two books in this series, I don't love it as much as Riordan's other series, but it's still really good. I've bought this book on it's release date and still haven't come close to picking it up.

3. The Invasion of the Tearling and The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen - These are the last two books in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. I read the first book last year, and I unfortunately never got around to finishing the other books.

4.  The Inquisition and The Battlemage by Taran Matharu - These are the last two books in the Summoner Series and a prequel novel is going to be released this year. I've been on the fence about continuing this series for a while, because I thought the first book was average. But since I already own these books, I'm going to try and give it another try.

5. Love Charms and Other Catastrophes by Kimberly Karalius - I read the first book in this series in 2015, and I really need to stop procrastinating on this book so I can complete this duology.

6. The Farmer's War by Elise Kova - This is the final book in the Golden Guard trilogy, which is a prequel series to one of my all time favorites the Air Awakens series. I really have no excuse for not reading this book yet because it's so short (132 pages)!

And the final list is my most anticipated releases for 2018! There are so many books that I'm looking forward to coming out this year. Here are some of them... 

Links (left to right): 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 

And those are only the books with covers released, I'm so excited for the A Court of Frost and Starlight and Throne of Glass #7 by Sarah J. Maas. I seriously don't know what to do with myself when the last ToG book comes out, because it's one of my all time favorite series (second only to Harry Potter, of course). And then there's the sequel to Warcross and the sequel to Renegades. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas sounds fantastic, and What If It's Us by Becky Albertali and Adam Silvera is sure to be amazing. And maybe this year J. K. Rowling will finally bless us with the fourth Cormoran Strike book, because it has been over two years since that ending and I need to know what happens! I could seriously go on, because there are so many good books being released this year, and I hope I can read them all. - Jessica

Litjoy Magical Crate: Year 3

I recently received the new Lit Joy Magical Edition crate, which is a one time special edition crate and each edition focuses on the events of a particular Harry Potter book. This is the third crate which focuses on the Prisoner of Azkaban. I previously shared the first and second crates on my blog. I look forward to the release of these boxes each time they're announced, because they are the most creatively put together boxes I've received. This box had 14 items and 12 are exclusive to this crate (so it is well worth the $75 price tag), and it was so hard to pick my favorite items, but here are some of them:

I've wanted a bookmark from My Bookmark for ages, and I was so happy when I heard that one was included in this crate. The shop usually designs 3D foot bookmarks, but this design features hands holding up Sirius' prison sign. The box also features a book sleeve from Sweet Sequels, that mimics the cover of the Monster Book of Monsters. I constantly use the sleeve included in the last box, so I was happy that I have another one. I also love that the backside is made of a furry fabric, so it acts like the spine of the book.

I loved the Dementor Repellant Kit, which features a lip plumper from Literary Apothecary Shop, a patronus pin designed by Sarah Condradsen, and of course chocolate. I love how clever each item is to the kit. I also loved the copy of Sirius' letter to Harry and the Buckbeak feather that was included.

The bookmarks from Nerdy Girl Designs are adorable, I especially love the Fat Lady portrait. One of my all time favorite from this box is the tote bag featuring art from the Imaginative Illustrator. I absolutely love the design and I can't wait to use it. The box also featured a set of Marauder's portraits by Rob Bruno (sorry I didn't really want to take a full photo of the Wormtail one).

My other all time favorite item is this Hogsmead candle from Wick and Fable. The candle smells amazing and I love that it sparkles while it burns. I honestly really loved this crate, and I'm already anticipating the fourth one. - Jessica

Books I Read In December

During December, I read 10 books and one comic, which meant that I exactly finished my reading goal of 140 books! It was a fairly decent reading month for me, considering I had finals and I was working a lot for the holiday season. So here are the books I read and some of my opinions on them...

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy - This book follows Ramona, who starts to question her sexuality, after she meets a boy. This book originally received a ton of backlash for seeming to have a character turn straight after meeting a boy, but that's not true in the slightest. This book really handled the subject matter well. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can definitely see myself rereading in the future.

Anna and the French Kiss Trilogy by Stephanie Perkins - This was a reread for me, after going to San Fransisco recently, I started thinking about this series again, and I thought it would be fun to give it a read through. I had the same opinions while reading the first two books, as I did the first time I read them, because they're great and the romances are adorable. But this time around, I really struggled through reading the last book, and I kept comparing it to the first two books. I still really love this series, and I especially love Cricket Bell.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - This is a Russian fairytale inspired novel. I had heard great things about this book, so I was looking forward to picking it up and ultimately I was a little disappointed. I decided to listen to the audiobook, but because there are so many characters and the plot is really detailed, the format did not work for me.

Skin & Earth (Issue 6) by Lights - This is the concluding comic in Light's Skin & Earth verse, that ties into her album of the same name. I absolutely loved this ending, I was absolutely blown away with the story that Lights has created. I also did a complete read through of this series after finishing this issue (while listening to the songs of course) and the story building is incredible. Light's teased on twitter that this is an origin story, so I'm really hoping that she ends up writing more to this series, because I think there's so many different directions that this project this could lead to.

The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano - This book follows the fourth heir in her family line, after she discovers her touch can turn living things to gemstones. I really enjoyed this book, it is a solid start to a series. This book has great elements of political intrigue and a hint of developing romance. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel, when it comes out. 

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills - This book follows Claudia, who becomes involved in her school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and finds new friends from the experience. I really love Emma Mill's books, they're well written coming of age stories, with great romances. This book was no exception, I really enjoyed it and I ended up reading it all in one sitting. I also love that one of the characters is named after a Harry Potter character. 

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell - This book follows Esta, who travels back in time to save magic in her own time. I absolutely loved this book, I feel like I haven't been able to find many great fantasy novels lately and this book was exactly what I was looking for. I also haven't read a ton of good slowburn novels in a while, so this was a great read to stumble upon. I can't wait for the sequel to come out, because I need more from this verse.

Rebels of Gold by Elise Kova - This is the final book in the Alchemist of Loom Trilogy. I really enjoyed the other books in the series, but this one was my favorite. It definitely took some time for me to get back into this world again, but once I did, I was fully immersed. There was one minor detail that bothered me, but other than that I absolutely loved how this book wrapped up.

A List of Cages by Robin Roe - This book follows Adam and Julien, two former, foster brothers who meet again in high school. I really enjoyed this book, and I like how it dealt with some series issues that I had never read about. I really liked the dynamic of Adam and Julien's friendship, and that was probably my favorite part of this book. I really wish that this book had a better representation of female characters, but other than that it was a solid read.

And those are the books I read in December. I'm really looking forward to so many releases this year, and I'm really happy to star the year feeling optimistic about reading. - Jessica