#I'm pulling these titles from my Goodreads list

[spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub]

SO's Bookclub : The Viscount Who Loved Me

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me Author: Julia Quinn Genre: Romance

Goodreads Summary :

Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry—he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Review:

It should not have taken me a month to read this, I've just been super distracted...

The second book of the Bridgerton series focuses on Anthony and Kate's romance, and I found it to be a lot of fun, actually. While this is only the second book I've read because I am reading them in order, I can already see why this ends up at or near the top of the lists.

If you've seen the show -- there's a lot that the show pulled from the book, more so than I had expected. It definitely hinges on that enemies to lovers-ish trope. (And while not a favorite of mine, personally, I think it's handled relatively well here.) Kate is a great protagonist -- she's smart and clever and holds her ground really well, which makes her someone to root for. Anthony is... fine. Look, I probably will never like these male heroes because they usually descend too far into anger and bad boy with a heart of gold figures out love when a level headed woman straightens him out gets a little old after a while. Plus, I do appreciate Jonathan Bailey bringing some great charm to the show that book Anthony lacks a bit.

But I think there's a lot of fun to this book, too. There's a real competitive spirit that's enjoyable to read. The pall mall, family stuff is great and a clear stand out in the book, which I can see why they adapted it. I also think the book does tension relatively well, and the push and pull between Kate and Anthony works!

I do still think there are times the book drags (I felt this in the previous book as well) where Quinn sometimes lets scenes go on for a little too long, or she gets repetitive within a scene. But as someone who isn't an outright fan of romance novels, and has read quite a few bad ones, Quinn is at least a solidly good writer, and it's a fairly quick and easy read.

The only plot thing that I took any issue with is the fact that two thirds of the way through, Anthony and Kate are forced to marry due to circumstances of the time, and I wish they could have not been forced into it? Part of it is the schtick of Anthony having to really fall in love with his wife, and I get that. But that kind of thing just isn't my cup of tea. All things considering, I really don't have a whole lot to complain about with this one.

One drawback coming from someone who's watched the show first, is the fact that these books are so focused on the couple, we don't get as much of a sense of the greater world. All the rest of the Bridgertons play a relatively small role (though it's nice to see Daphne and Simon back). Eloise shows up at the end for the first time as a little spy, which is cute. Colin continues to be a delight, though he's less in this one. I'm surprised Benedict was hardly here, and there's really no mention of the younger ones or even Violet. I will say, one of my favorite things, though, is that Kate and Penelope got to have an entire sequence where they strike up a friendship, and I did love that!

I was also kind of surprised that, while they were featured a lot in the first half of the book, Edwina and Mary don't play as big of roles in this book as I thought they would. They're still very important to Kate and her character, though, and their family unit is really nicely on display throughout.

Also, we end on another tease of Lady Whistledown, and I am so ready for it. But, alas, we have to get through Benedict's book first. So, let's do it!

Overall, I think if you liked the show, you probably would like this as well. It's fun and uses the tropes it sets up relatively well. It's still a regency based romance novel written in the early 2000s, but I think it is better than a lot of the same kinds of stuff written around and at the same time.

Rating : 4 stars

[koraesrambles]

KORAES SUPER DUPER COMIC READING CHALLENGE 2024

Alright, I've decided to set a goal for myself. I've been binge reading comics for over a year but only of a specific variety and it's time to expand my tastes. Especially since OUTCAST ODYSSEY is updating on webtoons. The more comics I read, the better my own comic should be, right? I mean, supposedly.

I decided to read 100 of the top graphic novels on goodreads. The list spans all ages and genres, so there's going to be some VARIETY here. There are some graphic novels I've already read (like Maus or Calvin and Hobbes) that I didn't include. I dunno if I could handle reading Maus again (It stabs you in the heart, twists it and pulls it from your chest still beating, but instead of being happy about it like I am with fiction it's soured by the realization that this actually happened and then I want to die).

Here's the list I copy and pasted from Goodreads. If you don't see your favorite on here, add it! I need to read all of the things!

Watchmen

V for Vendetta

Batman the Dark Night Returns

Saga

The Complete Persepolils

The Sandman

Y: The Last Man

Batman: Year One

Batman: The Long Halloween

The Walking Dead

Preacher

Sin City

Locke & Key

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Fables

From Hell

Blankets

Fun Home: A family tragicomic

The Arrival

Haven

The Far Side Gallery

Marvels

Kick-Ass

Habibi

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Pride of Baghdad

Cult Girls

The Crow

The Absolute Batman: Hush

Chew

Amulet

X-men: The Dark Pheonix

American Born Chinese

The Umbrella Academy

Kingdom Come

The Absolute Death

Marvel 1602

Sweet Tooth

The Cartoon History of the Universe

Transmetropolitan

Superman: Red Son

All Star Superman

The Ultimates

The Unwritten

Runaways

Astonishing X-Men: Ultimate

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Planetary

Wolverine: Origin

Identity Crisis

Black Hole: A graphic novel

Spider-Man: Blue

Hellboy: Library Edition

The Books of Magic

Astonishing X-Men

Lone Wolf & Cub

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

300

Squee

Rat Queens

The Uncanny X-Men: Days of Future Past

Monstress

Wolverine: Weapon X

The Wicked + the Divine

Captain America: Winter Soldier

My Friend Dahmer

Blake Orchid

Dr. 2

Once Upon a Time

Superman: Secret Identity

Asterios Polyp

Ex-Machina

Domu: A Child's Dream

One Piece

Civil War

Mouse Guard

Summer Blonde

Desolation Jones: Made in England

I Kill Giants

Pumpkin Heads

The Wolves in the Walls

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Through the Woods

Absolute Dark Knight

Lenore

The Fountain

The Eternal Smile: Three Stories

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Death Note

Girl Genius

Wonderstruck

The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch

Happy New Year

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

Skooter Girl

Daytripper

A Little Prince in the Land of the Mullahs

Absolute Justice

Wanted

Velvet

Obviously, a lot of these are series, and I'm not going to read the whole series of every book on this list. If I like it enough, I might continue it for fun, but it won't count toward the list. I'll cross the title off as I finish them and write up my thoughts. Cuz what's the point if I don't post an analysis, right?

[katrinegrey]

January 2025 Reading Wrapped

Total Titles Read in January: 9

Still Currently Reading: 6

Titles Read:

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

------

My Mountain Man's Desire by Lena Rae

Star Rating: ⭐⭐& 0.5

------

Psycho Shifters by Jasmine Mas

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ & 0.5

-----

Psycho Fae by Jasmine Mas

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ & 0.25

-----

A Cursed Kiss by Jenny Hickman

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐& 0.25

-----

Her Shadow by Elliot Ason

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

-----

Anthropologists Like It Wet by Elliot Ason

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

-----

All Knotted Up by Elliot Ason

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐& 0.5

-----

The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐& 0.25

-----

I track and rate using the 0.25 system and my ratings will shift throughout the year as books sit with me. Sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down. The end of the year solidifies it, though, and the next year starts over fresh and new.

After being in such a book slump last year after bingeing books for ApollyCon, I struggled to get back into reading. Eventually I just decided to ride the year out and start fresh in January. I couldn't have picked a better first book to ease my way back into writing. Though so many books in the romantasy genre are divisive, I really loved Quicksilver. I had a great time and it pull me out of the slump.

I also seem to have developed a pattern of reading a large book, usually fantasy/fantasy adjacent followed by a short story or two to cleanse the palette a little. It's helping so much! I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

If you read a short story, do you count it toward your reading goal? I'm struggling with this because it doesn't seem fair to compare the size of Quicksilver to Her Shadow (roughly 670 pages to 30 pages), but I also like to track my titles read. Storygraph and Goodreads both count them as objective books read. Does it even out in the end if it's roughly equal numbers of both creating normal sized novels? Or should it not matter because it's a dorky hobby and anxiety is just creeping on me again?

I haven't made much progress of several of the books I was reading before the slump really hit last year but since I was still enjoying them, I'm hoping to get at least one of those done this month. That's my main goal for February: Get through at least one of the books left over from last year without putting myself back into a slump. Of the six books I'm "currently reading", only one was started this year, last week in fact. I've always been a mood reader to the extreme but now we're approaching a year on one of these and it needs to go. It doesn't help that after DNF'ing so many books last year, I'm hoping to avoid adding to that list this year by only choosing books I really think I'm going to enjoy.

[ub-sessed]

Book title formulas

Adjective Blitzed

Adjective with the Noun Gone with the Wind

Adverb Noun, Adverb Noun Over Sea, Under Stone

Adverb the Noun Against the Grain Through the Looking Glass

A (Modifier) History of Noun A Short History of Nearly Everything A History of Reading

A Modifier Noun A Christmas Carol A Frivolous Distinction An Elegant Madness A Midsummer Night’s Dream

And Noun Verbed And No Birds Sang

A Noun for Word(s) A Widow for One Year A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Noun for the Verbing A Whale for the Killing

A Noun in (the) Noun A Wrinkle in Time A Walk in the Woods A Wind in the Door

A Noun to Place A Passage to India

A Noun Verbed A Bear Called Paddington

A Person of the Place A Son of the Circus

A Tale of Modifier Noun A Tale of Two Cities

A to Z Shakespeare A to Z

At Place At Home At the Back of the North Wind

Beyond Noun Beyond Continuity

Born to Verb Born to Kvetch

Exclamation! Noun Hark! A Vagrant

For Pronoun the Noun Verbs For Whom the Bell Tolls

How I Verbed Noun How I Killed Pluto (and Why It Had It Coming)

How Noun/Pronoun Verbs How Language Works How We Decide

How to Verb (a/the) Noun How to Write a Play How to Read the Bible How to Cook a Tart How to Make an American Quilt How to Make Love to a Negro How to Talk Minnesotan

If Pronoun Verb Noun Modifier If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Say It in Yiddish

Imperative Verb (Adverb) Noun Discover Grammar Step Aside, Pops

In the Noun of a Noun In the Skin of a Lion

Into the Noun Into the Woods

I Verb Noun I Am Not Spock

Legends of Person Legends of Zita the Spacegirl

Made-up Word Neuromancer Ubik Neverwhere Mockingjay Patchworkbook Ringworld

Making Sense of Noun Making Sense of Grammar

Modifier Adjective Letter Perfect

Modifier Name Fantastic Mr. Fox

Modifier Noun Holy Bible Memory Book Moving Pictures Movie Speak Slayer Slang Good Omens Great Expectations Elimination Dance Different Seasons Damp Squid Soul Music Human Accomplishment Brief Lives Infinite Jest Jitterbug Perfume Half Magic Chocolate Wars American Cake Twelfth Night

Modifier Noun Adverb Odd Girl Out

Modifier Noun in the Modifier Noun Social Life in the Insect World Little House in the Big Woods

Modifier Noun Verbing Adverb the Noun Big Man Coming Down the Road

Modifier Person/People Evil Genius Wonder Boys Reaper Man Little Women Small Gods Midnight Cowboy Dear Friends

Modifier Place Red Mars Wuthering Heights Bleak House Flea Circus Dream Country Stone Country Animal Farm Rubyfruit Jungle Interwoven Globe

Modifier Verbing Full Catastrophe Living Crafty TV Writing

Name Ms. Marvel Siddhartha Hamlet Cerebus Doctor Who Lucifer Alan Turing Gene Roddenberry Uncle Tungsten Eva Luna Nikolski Dolly Lolita Maurice Emma Death Clea Mountolive Balthazar Justine Jane Austen King John Julius Caesar Nexus Richard III Henry V King Henry IV

Name and Name Romeo and Juliet Antony and Cleopatra

Name and the Modifier Noun Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban

Name Meets Name Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang

Name of Place Anne of Green Gables Emily of New Moon Anne of Avonlea

Name’s (Modifier) Noun Howl’s Moving Castle Buddha’s Brain Darwin’s Dangerous Idea Charlotte’s Web De Niro’s Game Lady Chatterly’s Lover Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency Emily’s Quest Brian’s Winter Darwin’s Century Susie Sexpert’s Lesbian Sex World Jane Austen’s World Jane Austen’s England Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Name the Noun Zita the Spacegirl

Name Verbs Leviathan Wakes Emily Climbs

Never Verb Noun Never Learn Anything from History Never Cry Wolf

Notes from a Modifier Noun Notes from a Small Island

Noun Navvies Persuasion Atoms Maskerade Genome Greenwitch Style Rollback Space Hatchet Amulet Orientalism

Noun Adverb (Noun) Witches Abroad Two Years Before the Mast

Noun(, the) (Noun) and (a) Noun Hyperbole and a Half Words and Rules Preludes and Nocturnes Fables and Reflections Lords and Ladies Smoke and Mirrors Guns, Germs and Steel Genes, Peoples and Languages Sense and Sensibility Pride and Prejudice Culture and Imperialism Life, the Universe and Everything

(The) Noun at (the) Place The House at Pooh Corner The Murder at the Vicarage The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café

Noun(s) in the (Modifier) Noun Castle in the Air Love in the Time of Cholera Flowers in the Attic Gorillas in the Mist

Noun Is Modifier Noun Moab Is My Washpot Peace Is Every Step

(Modifier) Noun of (Modifier) Noun House of Many Ways Heart of Darkness 100 Years of Solitude

(Modifier) Noun on the Noun Little Town on the Prairie

Noun’s Noun Midnight’s Children Cat’s Eye World’s End

Noun Verb Adverb Nothing Lasts Forever Things Fall Apart Dykes to Watch out For

Noun Verbed Screenwriting Updated Relativity Visualized Love’s Labours Lost

Noun Via Noun Nature Via Nurture

Noun with Noun Still Life with Woodpecker

Noun with the Person Interview with the Vampire

Of Noun and Noun Of Mice and Men

On Noun (and Noun) On Food and Cooking

(Modifier) People Verb Noun Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Person/People of the Noun Killers of the Flower Moon Lord of the Flies People of the Deer

(The) Person’s/People’s Guide (to the Noun) Vancouver Residents’ Guide Quilter’s Complete Guide The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Person’s Noun Ender’s Game

Person of Place Prisoner of Tehran

Place Watership Down London Middlemarch

Selected Modifier Nouns Selected Short Stories

(The) Chronicle(s) of Noun The Chronicles of Narnia Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The (Modifier) Adventure(s) of Noun (and Noun) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay The Adventure of English The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

(The) (Modifier) Book/Encyclopedia of (Modifier) Noun The Wonder Book of Chemistry The Story Book of Science The Wonder Book of Science The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space The Book of Negroes

The Modifier Name The Next Nexus The Inimitable Jeeves The Riverside Shakespeare

The Modifier Noun(s) The Subterranean Railway The Scarlet Letter The Color Purple The Fly Trap The BFG The Marriage Plot The Basketball Diaries The Tin Drum The Incredible Journey The Blind Side The Secret Garden The Polished Hoe The Cider House Rules The Invisible Gorilla The English Language The Selfish Gene The Real Thing The Mother Tongue The Venetian Betrayal The Language Instinct The 10,000 Year Explosion The Factory Voice The Golden Compass The Da Vinci Code The Famished Road The Satanic Verses The Hunger Games

The Modifier Noun and the Noun The Old Man and the Sea

The Modifier Person/People The Railway Children The Princess Bride The African Queen The Orchid Thief The Last Samurai The Railway Navvies The Reformed Vampire Support Group

The Noun The Wake The Getaway The Moonstone The Silmarillion The Inferno The Iliad The Fountainhead The River

The Noun According to Person The World According to Garp

The Noun Book/Bible The Baby Book The Sewing Stitch and Textile Bible

The Noun for Noun The Hunt for Red October

The (Modifier) Noun Handbook The Official Preppy Handbook

The Noun in (the) Noun The Woman in White The Body in the Library The Woman in the Dunes

The Noun Is Verbing The Dark Is Rising

The Noun of Modifier Noun The Secret of Everyday Things The Gallery of Regrettable Food The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms with Observations on Their Habits

The Noun of a (Modifier) Noun The Diary of a Young Girl

The Noun of Noun The Best of Me The Colour of Magic The Grapes of Wrath The How of Happiness The Origin of Species  The Origins of Virtue The Power of Babel The Sense of Style The Wisdom of Crowds The World of Carbon The World of Nitrogen The Comedy of Errors The Noun of the (Modifier) Noun The Lord of the Rings The Life of the Spider The Life of the Fly The Turn of the Screw The Creation of the Modern World The Code of the Woosters The Voyage of the Beagle The Fellowship of the Ring The Autumn of the Patriarch The Day of the Triffids

The Noun of the Place The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Noun on the Noun The Mill on the Floss

The Noun’s Noun The Handmaid’s Tale The Cat’s Table The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

The Noun, the Noun and the Noun The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Fang of Fenrir The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Shades of Nyx

The Noun (Modifier) Verbs The Sun Also Rises

The Noun Who Verbed The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be

The Noun with the Modifier Noun The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Person/People The Rescuers The Sandman The Hobbit The Vampire Lestat The Chrysalids The Pigman

The Person and the Person The Professor and the Madman

The Person of (the) Noun The Wizard of Oz The Buddha of Suburbia The Queen of the Damned The Merchant of Venice

The Person/People Who Verbed Place The Men Who Built Britain

The Place The Hotel New Hampshire

The Return of Person The Return of Zita the Spacegirl

The Revenge of Person The Revenge of Hothead Paisan

The/A Story/Stories/History of Noun The Stories of English The Story of English The History of the Siege of Lisbon The History of Love A History of the English Language The History of Sexuality

The Tale of Person The Tale of Genji The Tale of Peter Rabbit

The Word for Word The Fight for English

This Side of Noun This Side of Brightness

This Is Your Noun on Noun This Is Your Brain on Music

Verb, Verb and Verb Eats, Shoots and Leaves

To Verb a Noun To Kill a Mockingbird

Verbed in Place Made in America

Verbing by Noun Quiltmaking by Hand

Verbing for Word Looking for Alaska

Verbing in the Noun Reading in the Brain

Verbing (the) Noun Breaking the Spell Unweaving the Rainbow Biting the Dust Making America Understanding Comics Understanding Physics Thinking Physics Catching Fire

Verbing to Noun Swimming to Cambodia Crossing to Safety

What If? What If?

What Pronoun Verb What It Is

What Verbs Noun Verb? What Makes You Tick?

Why (People) Verb Noun Why We Make Mistakes Why Shoot the Teacher

Word! Same Word! Guards! Guards!

You Mean Pronoun Verb Adjective? You Mean I’m not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!

Your Modifier Noun Your Inner Fish

I have no fucking idea So Long, And Thanks for all the Fish

[mermaidsirennikita]

No Elisa Braden books in the top 100??? Smh goodreads smh...

Iiiiiiiiiiii'll be honest that doesn't surprise me lol. And I'll tell you why.

For one thing, while I think Elisa's books do have a strong niche following among historical romance readers, historical romance is very much *not* the top subgenre in romance right now. Goodreads primarily relies on trad published titles, which is why almost everything on there was contemporary, and to a lesser extent historical--sci-fi romance, fantasy romance, and paranormal romance is much easier to find in indie.

Elisa is an indie author, and while she has a strong following, the list was about the top 100 romance novels of the past three years. Elisa didn't even publish anything full length in 2022. Her last full-length book, The Temptation of a Highlander, came out in 2021 and has 1,570 ratings on GR and 254 reviews. Compare that to another 2021 historical title, Bombshell, which has 9,897 ratings and 1,581 reviews. The Temptation of a Highlander has a higher star rating than Bombshell, but theoretically, that's much easier for the Braden book because it has fewer ratings and therefore fewer people who aren't the target audience coming in to low rate it. Then, for an example of how historicals are strugglebusing at the moment, take Bombshell--a book by Sarah MacLean, a strong, super established author who is for sure one of the top selling historical romance writers active right now--and compare it to The Love Hypothesis, a contemporary title published in 2021: 934,109 ratings and 108,573 reviews.

That isn't a knock on MacLean or historicals--I love her books, and historical romance is my favorite romance subgenre. But shit is rough right now. Now, TLH was for sure a juggernaut, so let's jump in with a different contemporary--Act Your Age, Eve Brown. A successful 2021 contemporary on the list (which I love, by the way). 70,367 and 11,537 reviews.

On a personal level... I love a couple of Elisa's books (The Truth About Cads and Dukes and When A Girl Loves An Earl are 5 star books for me.) and I really like several others. I'm on the last Rescued from Ruin book right now, and the past few have been kind of rough for me. Moments that I like, but a lot of pulling the punches on plot and character moves, a lot of the same basic type of heroine (she's kinda wacky and spunky and rebellious but she's also an innocent virgin who gasps at the sight of a penis, even when she's rumored to be the type that sleeps around, even when she enters into a sex deal arrangement with the hero which he then doesn't actually engage in because let's wait until marriage I guess). I think that when she is strong, she's very strong, but she definitely seemed to run out of gas in these more recent books. I haven't read the Scotland books; I hope I like them more. But I did give Rescued from Ruin a break because I thought that part of my issue was me just over-consuming her books, and like... Yeah, the last couple books in the series didn't rise above a three star for me, and this final one is early days, so maybe I'll like it more as it goes on? But it's been a sloooow start.

I think she's super talented, but I do think she's a bit repetitive? I haven't read any of her books published in the last three years (the one I'm on now was published in 2019) but I can see where these wouldn't stand out to people who want something a bit more daring from historicals.

[bibliophilebookreviews]

August BOTM Wishlist

As we approach another month, anticipation is building and I can't wait to see what BOTM will be offering in just two short weeks. I was glad to see a couple of my July hopefuls actually made it, so fingers crossed for August!

Before I get to my "official" list, let it be known that I'm still hoping for Love on the Brain, as mentioned in my previous hopefuls post. I knew I was pushing it for July, but with an August 23 release date, it has a good chance of being chosen this time. BOTM, don't let me down!

MAIN PICKS

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Contemporary Fiction, pub date: 8/30/22)

Goodreads Blurb: Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.

My Thoughts: First of all, we stan TJR. And even though Malibu Rising was hit-or-miss with a lot of TJR fans, Carrie Soto is sure to be a hit (see what I did there?) -- the book already has a 4.5 star rating on Goodreads. Personally, I love both tennis and a comeback story so I will be supremely disappointed if this is not chosen.

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead (Mystery/Thriller, pub date: 8/16/22)

Goodreads Blurb: While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.

Recruiting the help of the podcast host, Shay goes back to the place she vowed never to return to in search of answers. As she follows the threads of her friend's life, she's pulled into a dark, seductive world, where wealth and privilege shield brutal philosophies that feel all too familiar. When Shay's obsession with uncovering the truth becomes so consuming she can no longer separate her desire for justice from darker desires newly reawakened, she must confront the depths of her own complicity and conditioning. But in a world built for men to rule it—both inside the cult and outside of it—is justice even possible, and if so, how far will Shay go to get it?

My Thoughts: I'm slowly getting more into thrillers, and even though this one sounds a little vague and open, it makes me interested to see what might unfold in this story. The reviews are off the charts and it sounds really intense and un-put-down-able so hopefully BOTM is getting in on this!

Mother in the Dark by Kayla Maiuri (Literary Fiction, pub date: 8/9/22)

Goodreads Blurb: When Anna's sister calls with an urgent message, Anna doesn't return the call. She knows it's about their mother.

Growing up in working class Boston in an Italian American family, Anna's childhood was sparse but comfortable--filled with homemade pasta sauce and a close-knit neighborhood. Anna and her sisters are devoted to their mother, orbiting her like the sun, trying to keep up with her loving but mercurial nature as she bounces between tenderness and bitterness.

When their father gets a new job outside the city, the family is tossed unceremoniously into a middle-class suburban existence. Anna's mother is suddenly adrift, and the darkness lurking inside her expands until it threatens to explode. Her daughters, trapped with her in the new house, isolated, must do everything they can to keep her from unraveling.

Alternating between childhood and a single weekend in Anna's twenties, in which she receives a shattering call about her mother and threatens to blow up her own precariously constructed new life in New York, Mother in the Dark asks whether we can ever really go back home when the idea of home was so unstable. Whether we can escape that instability or accept that our personalities are built around the defenses we put up. Maiuri is a master at revealing the fragile horrors of domestic family life and how the traumas of the past shape the present and generations of women.

A story about sisterhood, the complications of class, and the chains of inheritance between mothers and daughters, Mother in the Dark delivers an unvarnished portrayal of a young woman consumed by her past and a family teetering on the edge of a knife.

My Thoughts: I'm always fascinated by stories that revolve around family drama and secrets. And I love that this story alternates between Anna's childhood and adult life. Though it sounds like it might be a slow burner, the few ratings and reviews so far seem promising enough that this could be a hidden treasure for BOTM.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell (Mystery/Thriller, pub date: 8/9/22)

Goodreads Blurb: Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.

Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.

After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.

As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.

In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.

My Thoughts: Having not read The Family Upstairs, I'm glad to know that this can be read as a standalone. However, I'm sure fans of The Family Upstairs would love the "sequel" to match their BOTM copy. However, Lisa Jewell already has 5 BOTM books so it might be a stretch for them to pick this one.

ADD-ON/SPOTLIGHT

Again, add-ons are a little unpredictable, especially with the possibility of more than 5 main picks. But here are some that I would love to see.

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe (Romance, pub date: 8/2/22)

Goodreads Blurb: In this funny and sharp romantic comedy, a woman with a knack for turning her boyfriends’ lives around starts a professional service to help wrangle men, only to be unexpectedly matched with an old flame.

Ever since she can remember, Aly has been fixing everything around her: her parents’ marriage, her colleagues’ work problems, and her friends’ love lives. After a chance meeting with an ex who has gone from a living in his parents’ basement to a married project manager in three years, she realizes she’s been fixing her boyfriends, too…

So, Aly decides to put her talents to good use and, alongside two work friends, sets up The Fixer Upper, an exclusive, underground service for women who are tired of unpaid emotional labor. Using little tricks and tips, Aly and her friends get the men to do the work themselves – to get out of the job they hate, sign up for that growth seminar, to do more parenting. Before long, a high-profile Instagram star hires them to fix-up her app developer boyfriend. There’s just one catch – he’s also Aly’s childhood best friend and first love. As Aly tackles her biggest “fixer upper” yet, she’ll have to come to terms with their complicated history and figure out how much to change someone she’d always thought was perfect as he is…

My Thoughts: Okay, I'm a sucker for romance, and I love the premise of this book. (I'm also really interested in how Aly gets these men to improve themselves!) But any book that reunites first loves is already a winner in my book. Though this one has just under 4 stars on Goodreads, I am attributing that to this book not really being on people's radar. Fingers crossed that BOTM picks this one up!

How You Grow Wings by Rimma Onoseta (YA, pub date: 8/9/22)

Goodreads Blurb: Sisters Cheta and Zam couldn’t be more different. Cheta, sharp-tongued and stubborn, never shies away from conflict—either at school or at home, where her mother fires abuse at her. Timid Zam escapes most of her mother’s anger, skating under the radar and avoiding her sister whenever possible. In a turn of good fortune, Zam is invited to live with her aunt’s family in the lap of luxury. Jealous, Cheta also leaves home, but finds a harder existence that will drive her to terrible decisions. When the sisters are reunited, Zam alone will recognize just how far Cheta has fallen—and Cheta’s fate will rest in Zam’s hands.   Debut author Rimma Onoseta deftly explores classism, colorism, cycles of abuse, how loyalty doesn’t always come attached to love, and the messy truths that sometimes family is not a source of comfort and that morality is all shades of gray.

My Thoughts: Every once in a while, a YA novel really piques my interest. I love that this is another family drama kind of story, and in particular, that these sisters are described as polar opposites and one will come to depend on the other. I am super excited to read this, and the few ratings and reviews make this sound like another hidden gem.

Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean (Contemporary Fiction, pub date: 8/9/22)

Goodreads Blurb: One phone call changes everything.

At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she’s been fired from her latest dead-end job.

Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny—the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career.

The details of Mika’s life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny’s adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all—love, her daughter, the life she’s always wanted? Or will Mika’s deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth—about herself, her family, and her past—and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life?

In this brilliant new novel by from Emiko Jean, the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel Tokyo Ever After, comes a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns.

My Thoughts: I love when authors are versatile and write in multiple genres, so though I haven't read the Tokyo series (yet?) I am excited to read this adult novel from Emiko Jean. Not only am I interested to see how Mika builds a relationship with Penny, but I see that there might be a budding romance in the works for Mika as well. This book sounds like a light but heartwarming read and I really hope BOTM chooses it!

Thanks for reading this far! That’s it for this month!

If you have thoughts on these books or other books BOTM might offer I’d love to hear from you!

And if you’ve never tried BOTM and are interested, feel free to use this referral link to join and get your first month for just $5!

❤️

[the-bear-woman]

hey! would u mind sharing a bit about how your book spreads are set up? i think they're really cool looking but i'm not totally sure what information you're including/how to read them, and im always looking for new ways to set up book trackers :) thank u!

Oh absolutely !!

It’s something I started back in February when I was feeling kind of at odds with my book log ( I love love love and still use my book log, but I wanted something that was a bit more visual and fun to set up). I liked the idea of pulling my book tracking into my journal and I liked the idea of looking at it month to month.

I wrote a guide to setting up the page here:

Essentially the idea was to have a calendar that I could glance at and see if I was reading more than usual, if I was slowing down, if I hadn’t read as much as I’d hoped to. So I outline 28/30/31 rows - one for each day of the month - and 2 columns - for am and pm.

And each time I finish a book I draw in a shape highlighting when I was reading it. So looking at my November tracker so far:

I finished my first book of the month on the morning of Nov 2. I finished my second book of the month in the pm of the same day.

I don’t label my books until the end of the month, which is only a viable option because I keep my book log up to date so I can go back and fill in the details later:

When I do fill out the page, I list the title, author, page count, and number of stars. I also have signifiers for book club and rereading.

(From October).

I also keep track of a few statistics month to month:

My total number of books (this is the total number of books I read in the month, not just the number of books finished, usually there’s one that carries over to the next month)

My total page count (pulled from goodreads)

My average page count (probably the most useful, I like to know if I’m reaching for longer or shorter books through the month)

My average star rating

Month to month, these are always my favourite pages in my journal. I feel productive filling them out and I like being able to look back at what I read over the month.

When I moved into my journal for the second half of the year I was able to pull my reading stats for the first half into one spread and I’ve honestly surprised myself with how often I’ve gone back to it over the last few months:

I’d love to see if you give this spread a try and I’d be happy to answer any other questions you might have 🌿

[anitabyars]

Title: The Bastard

Series: The Filthy Duet #1

Author: Lisa Renee Jones

Release Date: November 14, 2018

ABOUT THE BASTARD

I'm the bastard child, son to the mistress, my father's backup heir to the Kingston empire. He sent me to Harvard. I left and became a Navy SEAL, but I'm back now, and I finished school on my own dime. I'm now a few months from being a billionaire myself. I don't need my father's company or his love. My "brother" can have it. I will never go back there. I will never be the mistake my father made, the way he was the mistake my mother made.

And then she walks in the door, the princess I'd once wanted more than I'd wanted my father's love. She wants me to come back. She says my father needs to be saved. I don't want to save my father but I do want her. Deeply. Passionately. More than I want anything else.

But she's The Princess and I'm The Bastard. We don't fit. We don't belong together and yet she says that she needs me. We're like sugar and spice, we don't mix, but I really crave a taste. Just one. What harm can just one taste do?

BUY THE BASTARD

iBooks → https://apple.co/2MnlwQd

Amazon US → https://amzn.to/2L9lV3v

Amazon CA → https://amzn.to/2MqZhJl

Amazon UK → https://amzn.to/2ORhRa7

BN → http://bit.ly/2OUjMLl

EXCERPT

“This is a bad idea,” she whispers, but her voice is raspy, affected, the taste of her hunger damn near on my tongue.

I kiss her, a quick brush of lips, and a lick that has the heat between us damn near explosive. “Still think it’s a bad idea?”

Her hands flatten on my chest but they flex rather than push. “We both know this is wrong.”

“And yet you followed me here.”

“You said that already,”

“You knew what would happen,” I accuse.

“I was angry.”

I certainly know where anger and family collide, in ways I won’t explain to anyone. My jaw sets hard and I release her, putting a wide step between us. “Stay or go, but if you stay, you’re going to end up naked.”

“I know your father’s an asshole, but my mother loves him and my father’s company is now a part of this one.”

“The part where I said that if you stayed, you’d end up naked.” I reach for her and pull her to me. “You did understand that, correct?”

“I don’t scare off that easily. If I did, I wouldn’t be working for your father and under your brother.”

“It’s me I want you under,” I say, molding her close, my hands sliding up her back.

“I’m too young and stupid for business, but I’m just right to fuck?” she challenges.

“I’m warning you, Harper, not talking down to you. And if you’re young and stupid, so was I.”

“You wanted to be here,” she says.

“Yes,” I say, tangling my fingers into her hair. “I wanted to be here, just like I want to be right here, right now, with you.” My mouth closes down on hers once more, a deep thrust of tongue that’s as unforgiving as my father would be if it came down to choosing her or Isaac. It’s all about demand and I expect her to push back, to give me the rejection that sends her to the door and me to the fucking airport. That’s not what I get.

Her hand on my chest doesn’t push me away. She moans and her elbow softens, those perfect curves I’d admired from a distance now pressed nice and close, right up to the moment she jerks back. “My God. What are we doing? You’re my stepbrother.”

I walk her back against the wall, my hands caressing up her ribcage to cup her breasts. “I told you,” I say, stroking my thumbs over her nipples. “I’m not your fucking brother. Not now. Not ever.” I cup her face, lean in and my mouth finds her mouth, and if she thought my tongue unforgiving before now, she was wrong. This is unforgiving. It’s in my blood. It’s who I am, who I was born to be. A bastard who wants her.

I have this sudden need that consumes me. I shove my hand into the top of her dress, fingering her nipple. She makes this soft, sexy sound that has my cock twitching, expanding beneath my zipper. As if she knows, she presses her hand to my crotch and holy fuck, I need inside this woman. I push off the wall and shrug out of my jacket, my gaze raking over the tops of her breasts. Her teeth scrape her bottom lip, and I want that mouth on my body. I want my mouth on her body.

I toss the jacket, rip away my tie, and she doesn’t run away as I half expect she will. She closes the space between us, her fingers on my buttons, working them down my shirt, but when one hand slides down to my crotch, I react. I slow things down before I fuck her and this is over, and when it is, I’m gone. Suddenly I’m not ready to leave, which is why I turn her to the wall, and force her hands to its surface, yanking down her zipper before I pull my shirt over my head. I step into her, my erection at her backside, my lips at her ear.

“You saw me watching you across the pool,” I say, my fingers catching the straps at her shoulders.

“Of course I saw you. You wanted me to see you.”

“Yes. I did. I wanted you to know I wanted to fuck you.” I shove the straps of her dress down her arms. “I wanted you to know I wanted you naked.” I pull the dress down, and with no bra to contend with I have it down her hips and to her feet. I lift her and kick it away, taking a moment to appreciate just how perfect her heart-shaped ass is before I turn her to face me.

My fingers tangle in her hair and I pull her to me. “And since you’re here,” I add, “I will assume you got that message loud and clear.”

“I’m still angry and you’re still an arrogant asshole, but apparently it doesn’t matter, so fuck me before I come to my senses.”

I press my cheek to hers, my hand on her cheek, lips by her ear. “I promise to use my tongue in all the right places to make sure you have no regrets.”

She pants out a breath that tells me my words affect her and I’m right there when she does, kissing her again, drinking her in, and damn she tastes good; one part innocence, one part a drug that knows how good it feels. And she does feel so fucking good.

I scoop her up and carry her through the living area to the bedroom, because hell, I don’t know, it just feels like I should fuck her on the bed, though I could have easily kept her right there by the door. I want this woman. I want her in a bad way and I wanted her from the moment I saw her by that pool. I set her on her feet and I pull her close. “This is where I lick and you come on my tongue.”

THE PRINCESS IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

THE PRINCESS IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE FILTHY DUET! The finale to Harper and Eric’s story will be out on January 23rd and is available for pre-order everywhere!

iBooks → https://apple.co/2OAVBAN

Amazon US → https://amzn.to/2Obz11H

Amazon CA → https://amzn.to/2AZFCZx

Amazon UK → https://amzn.to/2RJyIwY

BN → http://bit.ly/2OJbQw0

ABOUT LISA

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series.

In addition to the success of Lisa's INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is also the author of the bestselling WHITE LIES and LILAH LOVE series.

Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women's Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

CONNECT WITH LISA

Newsletter ➜ http://lisareneejones.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Bookbub ➜ http://bookbub.com/authors/lisa-renee-jones

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2MoWosB

Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/LisaReneeJones

Instagram ➜ http://instagram.com/lisareneejones

Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/LisaReneeJones

My Review!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

Addicting, Consuming, Palpable Allure!

This embodies everything that makes Lisa Renee Jones the phenomenal writer, of romance, of which I just can’t get enough. So consumed, I could not put this down and read this in one sitting.

Edgy, intense, provocative, passionate and full of intrigue, danger, secrets and deception. These characters are well developed and their sizzling attraction jumps off the page. Their push and pull of lust and need is constantly consuming the characters as well as the reader, taking us along for the ride, leaving you breathless and affected.

You don’t want to miss this book! Anxiously awaiting what happens next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

4 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨, 28 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, 672 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨—𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙…

Check out the 𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗨𝗦 Cover for Fractured Vows, Book One in Author Jessica Ames’s 𝗡𝗘𝗪 Fraser Crime Syndicate Series! Coming January 20th!

BLOGGER/READER SIGN UP ↳ https://bit.ly/ReleasePromoFracturedVows

PREORDER ↳ https://books2read.com/FracturedVows

ADD TO GOODREADS ↳ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59127992-fractured-vows

GOODREADS VOTE ↳ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/163261.January_2022_Most_Anticipated_Romance_Releases

⥬ BOOK INFO ⥫

Title: Fractured Vows

Series: Fraser Crime Syndicate, Book One

Author: Jessica Ames

Genre: Mafia/Syndicate Romance

Release Day: January 20, 2022

⥬ ABOUT THE BOOK ⥫

Sariah

4 weeks, 28 days, 672 hours—that’s all I have left until my fate is sealed.

I am promised to a monster. A man twice my age. He plans to keep me like a pretty doll, making me move to whatever whims he has.

Trapped, all my choices are taken away apart from one.

A handsome stranger. He tells me his name is Lucas and for one night I'm able to leave my cursed future behind. The pull to Lucas is unexplainable and undeniable. One thing is certain—I have to find a way out of this arranged marriage. I have to claim my life back. And Lucas might be the key.

Lucas

Sariah has secrets. I can see it in her eyes. There's a sadness that swirls within them, a fear of what we're doing. I want to know who put that look on her face and protect her from it. I will burn the world to ashes to keep her safe.

But when the truth is revealed, and I learn she is being forced to wed a man who has a reputation darker than my own, I realise how much danger Sariah is in. I'm not sure the might of the Fraser crime family will be enough to save her life.

Or mine.

*𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 : 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑒 18 +. 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑐 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜��𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠.

#FracturedVowsCoverReveal #JessicaAmes #MafiaRomance #SyndicateRomance #FraserSyndicateSeries #BookOne #KindleUnlimited #ComingSoon #TheNextStepPR

* * * *

Hosted by The Next Step PR

Never miss a promotion with TNS again!

→ https://www.thenextsteppr.com/work-with-us

[seeingteacupsindragons]

This is interesting to me, because, as someone who is swallowed up in publishing and writer stuff, I knew what would happen walking into a big chain bookstore these days.

A lot of authors have been talking for months how B&N is only willing to stock the biggest one or two titles from a publisher each season. And of course this goes to previously published authors. And it especially impacts authors of color, because they're getting even less of that space.

So word of mouth isn't actually a bad thing, in this case! It's the only way midlist authors and debuts are getting any sales at all. They have to make sure people have heard of their books.

(This book isn't mine or anything, but I talk about JR pretty constantly and I can assure you it's not going to hit any lists).

And there's a lot of people I know, reviewers, writers, people in the industry, who will make up lists of debuts and new releases coming up. Or lists or smaller representation. Or indie books. And that's another word-of-mouth tactic to help people know that these books even exist.

But I think, most people who aren't involved in those circles would never know those lists and roundups even exist, would they?

And you can't just rely on lists, because most of the top ones from a Google search will be from the same big publisher featuring the same twenty well-known authors. Again.

And I use StoryGraph and GoodReads, which can offer recs based on what I read. And people can peruse my bookshelves on the sites to see what else I've been reading to see if they might like those as well.

Honestly, I wonder if it's not a good thing at this point that I have such a huge audience in fandom spaces and not just writing spaces--because I'm going to have to breach into non-writing spaces to get the word about my books out there.

As for randomly perusing bookshelves to pull up something that looks interesting: I love doing this so much, and it's so hard to do online. If taking this approach, I would suggest:

Libraries. They are much more likely to pick up smaller titles and requests that big chains will. And they're free to you, but you can buy them if you like to support the author extra. But authors do get paid for library check outs; don't worry.

Smaller indie bookshops. I have a friend who works in one and gets to pick books to put on their favorites and even picks manga that the store is going to order and takes recs from her friends on twitter/etc. sometimes.

Used bookstores. True, most won't directly benefit the author's sales. But they're a good way to expose yourself to new authors and books and many of them may still be publishing. Authors love their backlists, too.

In accordance with exposing yourselves to new authors you might like: anthologies! Anthologies of short stories are great for this!

Just ask for book recs from people whose taste you trust. Who will parrot something besides the favorite top 20 authors. Forums and social media can be bad for this if you just put out a general call, but plenty of people try hard at this.

Thoughts on a visit to my local big chain bookstore

(Cross-posted from my rarely touched Twitter)

I don’t tend to browse the bookstore. I usually go for a specific thing, and generally nonfiction. It’s been a long time since I sat down and read a novel (other than the ACD canon, supplemental to my Yuumori obsession.)

But after conversations this week with some authors, I thought, “Well, I can’t magically fix the publishing industry overnight, but at the very least I can go spend some money on a novel; something I haven’t heard of & have no pre-existing opinions about.”

I want to be sure I’m not being hypocritical when I say that a lot of us need to shake off the habit of constantly turning to the familiar – the same shows and movies and music, fanfiction about the same characters over and over – and invest in new and original works.

Our urge to spend what little time and money late-stage capitalism leaves us on things that are comfortingly known is understandable, but it’s demoralizing creatives and suffocating the spirit of art.

There’s nothing wrong with the familiar; the handful of people who read this likely all know that I write & love to read fanfic. I can listen to the same song for days, and eat the same food a million times. But we need to be supporting creators of original works too!

I think we subconsciously frame it as risk. I don’t *know* that I will like this thing, so I am scared to gamble time and money on it. But it’s easier if we reframe it in terms of experience: I am going to try something new, and that is its own reward!

SOOO I went to buy a book. The first thing I noticed was that my local chain store does not have an LGBT+ section, which, rude. You expect me to read about straight people? In this economy? (jk. ish.)

But what REALLY stood out to me was the unfortunate proof of a theory I’ve been spouting to the aforementioned wonderful authors. That their struggle to gain a foothold in the industry is not representative of a lack of talent or skill: it is representative of an unwillingness for publishers to give a chance to something new, which is in turn likely CAUSED by the unwillingness of the consumer to try something new.

I went in with the intent of buying something little-known and mysterious, maybe an author’s first work. But I literally did not see A SINGLE BOOK that did not say “NYT bestselling author” or “award-winning author” or the like.

And it hit me that the publishing industry is essentially doing the same thing so many other industries are: “Entry level position, 5 years of experience required.” You don’t get published if you haven’t *been* published.

Now I’m sure that online catalogues DO contain some new works. I’m making broad generalizations here. But at the very least, newly published & little-known authors are being robbed of any potential for impulse purchases, for someone opening a book in store & getting into it.

Anyway I don’t have a magic answer. My ideas are: if enough of us deliberately seek out new stuff it might make a difference. And also, FULL SCALE SYSTEMIC REVOLUTION. 

I decided to focus on books that didn’t have a million copies stocked and weren’t front and center, so here’s my “I know nothing about these” reads!

(I’ll try to report back what I thought of them, but that’s not the point. If you can afford to, go pay for and read something you’ve never heard of!)