#tag game with your friendly neighborhood bibliophile

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

🖤 Black Stack 🖤

Thank you for the tag @abbeyx and @booktheraepy! <3

Pictured from top to bottom: The Secret History, The Picture of Dorian Gray, If We Were Villains, The Wicker King, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Circe, Ninth House, Heartless, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, Vengeful, A Conjuring of Light, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Tagging (no pressure!): @dauen, @wecandoit, @anxiousstudybuddy, @easybells-studies, @moranjpg, @mirthofbooks, @appleinducedsleep, and @arywizm

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

💞 Pink Stack 💞

Thank you for the tag @amongtomesandtales, @therefugeofbooks, and @maddiesbookshelves! <3

Pictured from top to bottom:

💋 I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

💌 Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

🐁 One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

🌙 Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

🪄 Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

🌸 A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

💝 Loveless by Alice Oseman

👑 So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

🧜‍♂️ In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Tagging anyone else who wants to do this! (If you do, tag me!)

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

💛 Yellow Stack 💛

Thank you for the tag @leer-reading-lire and @someonelookingpraediti! <3

Pictured from top to bottom: The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzi Lee, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, Fangirl, Volume 2: The Manga by Rainbow Rowell, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, Circe by Madeline Miller, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell, Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Tagging anyone else who wants to do this! (If you do, tag me!)

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

🌻 Mid-Year Freakout Tag 2023🌻

I’ve been on a brief hiatus, but I’m back with my favorite tag of the year!

1.  How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read 15 books (so far!).

2. What genres have you read?

Fantasy, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical romance, romance, and LGBTQ+ fiction.

3. Best book you’ve read so far in 2023

A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske, In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (all of which I rated 5/5 stars).

4. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. It exceeded all of my (already admittedly high) expectations.

5. New release you haven’t read, but want to

Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues by H.S. Valley. I preordered it, but my pre-order was delayed due to Indigo’s cyber security incident and I have yet to receive it.

6. Most anticipated release of the second half of the year

You can find my most anticipated releases here.

7. Biggest disappointment

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater. The conclusion to the Dream Trilogy and the broader Raven Cycle universe, Greywaren was a highly anticipated release of mine, but I was ultimately underwhelmed by it.

8. Biggest surprise

I’ve largely read within my preferred genres (namely queer historical fiction/fantasy) so I have yet to be surprised by anything. Hopefully I’ll be surprised as I diversify in the coming months!

9. Book that made you cry

No tears have been shed in the reading of these books.

10. Book that made you happy

All of them! However, if I had to choose only one... In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan.

11. Most beautiful cover of a book you’ve read so far this year

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, followed closely by A Restless Truth by Freya Marske and In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. Evidence that we should, indeed, judge a book by its cover. ;)

12. How are you doing with your year’s goals?

I set the (admittedly ambitious) goal to read 50 books (of which I’ve read 15).

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

My most anticipated releases of 2022, my new year book haul, and my most anticipated releases of the second half of 2023.

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

7 Covers in 7 Days

Rules: Every day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge.

Tagging (no pressure!): @franticvampirereads

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

7 Covers in 7 Days

Rules: Every day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge.

Tagging (no pressure!): @logarithmicpanda

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

7 Covers in 7 Days

Rules: Every day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge.

Tagging (no pressure!): @therefugeofbooks

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

Thank you for the tag @samduqs! <3

Rules: In a text post, list ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard — they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you.

Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Maurice, E.M. Forster

Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell

Carry On, Rainbow Rowell

The Grishaverse, Leigh Bardugo

The Raven Cycle, Maggie Stiefvater

Tagging (no pressure!): @ben-learns-smth, @moranjpg, @maddiesbookshelves, @cleopatras-library, @profiterole-reads, and @arywizm

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

Thank you for the tag @ninja-muse! <3

Last read: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Current read: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

(Tentative) Next Read: In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Tagging (no pressure!) @maddiesbookshelves, @profiterole-reads, @michreviews, @literateish, @moranjpg, and @dauen

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

The Twenty Book Challenge

If you could only keep 20 books (physical/ebook/audio), which would be the ones you would keep?

Rules are simple: 1 book per author. 1 book per series.

Thank you for the tag @theinquisitxor! <3

I expected this challenge to be a painful exercise in decision-making, but it proved deceptively easy with the rules (of one book per author) making most of the difficult decisions for me.

Subjecting @therefugeofbooks, @maddiesbookshelves, @profiterole-reads, and @thecasualbookreviewer to this torture challenge, hehe.

Pictured:

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Arrête avec tes mensonges by Philippe Besson

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Le Comte de Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas

Maurice by E.M. Forster

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

7 Covers in 7 Days

Rules: Every day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge.

Thank you for the tag @ninja-muse! <3

Tagging (no pressure!): @princessofbookaholics

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

Pictured from left to right: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (French Edition), Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Collector’s Edition), Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

🌻 Sunny Reading Tag 🌻

Thank you for the tag @thecasualbookreviewer and @appleinducedsleep! <3

🥞 favourite book

Fangirl and Carry On, both by Rainbow Rowell. Both are comfort reads of mine.

🌾 tropes that make you go "asfgrthgj"

Enemies/grudging allies to lovers, followed by childhood best friends to lovers, preferably with tortured gay and confused (i.e., oblivious) bisexual.

🌻 comfort book

Same as my favorite books!

🌙 death in a book you would take back

I won’t disclose the name of the character, but I would definitely reverse a specific death in Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

💡 book you wish you could read again for the first time

The Secret History by Donna Tartt, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, and These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever.

Tagging (no pressure!): @maddiesbookshelves, @logarithmicpanda, @leer-reading-lire, @michreviews, @amongtomesandtales, @petrareads, @teareads, @literatureish, and @arywizm

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

🌻 Mid-Year Freakout Tag 2022 🌻

1. How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read 23 books (so far!).

2. What genres have you read?

I’ve read romance, LGBTQ+ fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and historical fantasy.

3. Best book you’ve read so far in 2022

The best books I’ve read so far are These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, and Arrête avec tes mensonges by Philippe Besson (all of which I rated 5/5 stars).

Honorable mentions to Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, and Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell (all of which I rated 4.5/5 stars).

4. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022

I’ve only picked up four sequels so far. I DNFed two (Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera and Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson) and finished two (Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire). I absolutely adored Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World — even more so than Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe — and Where the Drowned Girls Go was my favorite book in the Wayward Children series thus far.

5. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

Fangirl, the Manga, Volume 2 by Sam Maggs, Rainbow Rowell, and Gabi Nam, followed closely by I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston.

6. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

You can find my most anticipated releases here and here.

7. Biggest disappointment

There have been quite a few disappointments, most recently My Policeman by Bethan Roberts.

8. Biggest surprise

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. It wasn’t a surprise in the sense that I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but rather that I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did and for the reasons I did.

9. Underrated gems

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever and The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. How have only 6,000-8,000 people read and rated/reviewed these?!

10. Book that made you cry

A lot of the books I’ve read made me emotional, but none of them made me cry.

11. Book that made you happy

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. An absolute delight to read.

12. Most beautiful book cover of a book you’ve read so far this year

Gallant by V.E. Schwab, followed closely by A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske.

13. How are you doing with your year’s goals?

My initial goal was to read 72 books this year, but my new goal is to read 50 books this year. I adjusted it (based on my reading rate) in order for it to be attainable. I am almost halfway through my new goal!

14. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I want to read all 40 books that I physically own. Initially, I wanted to do so by the end of the summer, but now I’m hoping to do so by the end of the year. Of course, that doesn’t account for the kindle books that I own, upcoming releases, and other books that are sure to distract me...

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

🌼 Spring Scavenger Hunt 🌼

Thank you for the tag @therefugeofbooks, @maddiesbookshelves, @theinquisitxor, @appleinducedsleep, and @dauen! <3

A book that starts with S: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

A book with a bird on the cover: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

A book with an insect on the cover: I don’t own a book with an insect on the cover, so here’s a book with rabbits on the cover instead… Everyone in this Room Will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin

A book with flowers on the cover: Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

A book that takes place during spring: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Tagging anyone else who wants to do this! (If you do, tag me!)

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

54321 Tag 📚

Thank you for the tag @thecasualbookreviewer and @maddiesbookshelves! <3

🌻 5 Books I’m loving/have loved:

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Arrête avec tes mensonges by Philippe Besson

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

🌼 4 autobuy authors:

Rainbow Rowell

Leigh Bardugo

V.E. Schwab

Casey McQuiston

(I only included authors where I have read more than one of their books.)

🌸 3 genres I love:

Fantasy

Romance

LGBTQ+ fiction

🌺 2 places I love to read:

I am a creature of habit, so I only ever read in my armchair.

🌷1 book/series I promised to read:

1. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Tagging (no pressure!): @dauen, @fluencylevelfrench, @adelinestudiess, @logarithmicpanda, @ninja-muse, @thequeerlibrarian, @theinquisitxor, and @arywizm

[yourneighborhoodbibliophile]

Nine People I Want to Know Better

Thank you for the tag @dauen! <3

Last song: Middle of the Night by Elley Duhé

Last show: I haven’t watched anything since May (when I did this last), so it’s still North and South (Re-watch)

Currently watching: I recently watched Netflix’s Persuasion. I typically read the book before I watch the movie, but Netflix’s Persuasion seemed so far removed from the book that I made an exception. Because I haven’t read the book, I wasn’t able compare the two. The result was a romantic comedy (?) that was physically painful to watch.

Currently reading: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston. It’s very “YA” (for lack of a better word), and I am very much not in the mood for YA, so we’re currently at a bit of a standstill.

Tagging (no pressure!): @therefugeofbooks, @booktheraepy, @ninja-muse, @leer-reading-lire, @thatstudyblrontea, @gwenlen-studies, @cleopatras-library, @elle-est-gabri-elle (mais en français ;)), and (of course) @arywizm