TTT: Books I Want to Reread in 2020

With so many books on our to-read lists, it’s hard to make time for books we’ve read and deeply miss. That’s why one of my goals for 2020 is to stop stressing so much and reread, both because some books are beloved and because I can’t very well read the sequels until I remember what’s going on in the first one, can I?

I deeply encourage anyone reading this to consider rereading at least one favorite book this year, and if you want to compile a list of your own, please do so and tag me! I’d love to see what books are on your mind.

As for me and this Top Ten Tuesday post, I’m happy to see my selection of books I want to reread in 2020 be much more varied than I expected.

Favorite Book Covers of 2019

‘Ello, there! The end of the year is the time for all the super fun wrap-up posts, the 2019 highlights, and this time, I’d like to focus on my favorite book covers of 2019. (Big thanks to Sofii of A Book. A Thought. for kicking off this post in my orbit. Definitely check out hers because she’s chosen some wonderful covers, too!)

Many books out there have amazing covers, but there’s definitely some I gravitate to over others. I like a little bit of minimalism, but I also lean heavily toward that fine line between stylish and busy. If a cover has a lot of flair, color, personality, or beautiful art, I tend to be blind to all others around it. Does a gorgeous cover affect my buying habits or hype for a book? Most definitely. Have I been let down before? Most definitely. But despite the book itself, good art is forever.

If you haven’t seen these before, I encourage you to go find them in a bookstore and just. Hold them. Look at them. Let them shimmer in the light. Because so many of them have hidden details—like gold foil or rainbow effects—that a compute screen just can’t capture.

With that, here are my top ten book covers of the year!

TTT: Books I Meant to Read in 2019 That I WILL Read in 2020

Back at the start of the year, I created a 2019 Goals shelf on Goodreads. Within that shelf, I threw 69 (heh) books that I intended to read by the end of the year. And then I kept adding books. And adding them. As of this writing, 97 books are in that shelf, many of them I did actually read, yet many more were shoved aside for the shiny and new. Somehow, I was convinced I would still get to them.

You are a fool, Harry Potter, and you will lose… everything.

It’s turn-over-a-new-leaf time. I want to get back to those older books, so for Top Ten Tuesday, here are my top books I meant to read in 2019 that I will make a priority in 2020.

TTT: Halloween Books – Vibe Check Edition

Hey, everyone! Happy Halloween—almost. The Witching Hour is closing in, and soon trick-or-treaters will be hitting the streets, and cosplayers will be showing off with convention-ready costumes.

It’s a special time of the year that no other holiday can match or imitate—and it gives me an excuse to finally do another Top Ten Tuesday, so thank you to That Artsy Reader Girl for providing a freebie for us this time.

I’ve decided to do a Halloween Books – Vibe Check Edition, where I look at the books on my TBR shelf that give me both intense Halloween vibes and which I’m most excited to read (though in no particular order except alphabetical this time).

The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag – 2019

I am just destined to be late on things in July, apparently. But that’s okay! Because I’m still going to do what I want, and what I want right now is to do this really awesome tag I found on Soffi’s blog at A Book. A Thought (she’s super amazing and posts some really awesome stuff, so you should def follow her if you aren’t already).

I’m not sure who came up with the tag originally, but whoever you are: you’re lovely and amazing, too!

Here’s hoping you guys like this one. It’s the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag!

Best Book I’ve Read so Far in 2019

Seanan McGuire just flexed on everybody with Middlegame. This is a standalone that packs a punch, the story grounded in real-world New England and California but rendered incredibly complex with alchemy and the cosmic forces of the universe summed up inside, well, people. McGuire demonstrates how much she’s mastered her craft with this one, similarly to how her character Reed attempts to master the Alchemical Doctrine: it’s stunning and terrifying, beautiful and unbelievable all at the same time. Combine all that with superior characterization, flawlessly balanced third-person omniscient, and timeline juggling, and we have an ambitious masterpiece I will live in awe of for years to come.

TTT: Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Hi, all! It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday, Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, this week’s theme is Unpopular Bookish Opinions, and as it turns out, I do believe I have some of those.

I decided to go more broad with this because as much as I could say that I don’t understand the appeal behind Cassandra Clare’s books or that I think Sarah J. Maas is a hack, there are a lot more interesting things in the book world to tackle.

So let’s talk some real unpopular book opinions.

TTT: My Favorite Books From the Last 10 Years

Hey, hey! How are you today? I’m back with a very fun post I saw on Aurora Librialis‘ blog, originating from The Artsy Girl‘s weekly Top Ten Tuesday meme. Basically, I’m selecting my favorite books from the last ten years, not based on when I read them but on their publication year—and it was harder than I thought it would be! So many of my favorite books came out in the same year >:[. Naturally, I’m late to the party, but I couldn’t resist doing this one, and I hope to do more in the future.

And if doing this list proved anything, it’s that my tastes are still so predictable yet also consistent.

WWW Wednesday – 5.22.19

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. If you participated in your own post, please feel free to leave a link in the comments, so I and others can see! Otherwise, feel free to leave a comment with your responses. I’m always happy to hear what other people are reading.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

The ABC Book Challenge – L

Hey, everyone! I’m finally back with another ABC Book Challenge post. I decided to do this to add more variety to the blog and also because it looked incredibly fun (and so far, it is!). Once again, thank you to Sofii @A Book. A Thought. for introducing this tag to me, and for her support. You should definitely check out her blog if you haven’t already!

Here’s the challenge: Every week (though I have not strictly been following this, haaaa), I’ll have a post sharing my most favorite titles as well as those on my current TBR list that start with the corresponding letter. (For weird letters like Q, X, and Z, I might have to bend the rules a little and just have those letters somewhere in the title, but we’ll see.)

This week is the letter L!

The Birthday Book Tag

Hey, everyone! Today is my birthday, so I wanted to do a quick book tag for it because why not? This is actually a combination of questions from book tags I liked, so not 100% original but oh well.

I hope everyone’s having an amazing day so far. Other than my birthday, May 2nd marks some cool historical events:

• The Soviet Union announced the Fall of Berlin in 1945
• Dwayne Johnson was born in 1972
• Osama bin Laden, the FBI’s most wanted man, was killed by U.S. Special Forces in 2011

And as far as fandom events are concerned—Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort’s death, anyone?

Cool facts, let’s get to the tag!