Weekly Snapshots No. 2 + Stay at Home Book Tag

I accidentally flew through a bunch of audiobooks and got a lot of my August TBR done this week, which I’m very happy about! I also finally received the romance novels I purchased from The Ripped Bodice, a romance bookstore here in Southern California, and have had a blast starting my *romance journey*. I think that this pandemic portion of my life will be marked by the beginning of my obsession with romance novels…they are just so inexpensive and cute and I can’t stop searching the internet and thrift stores for all the romance novels. It’s truly an addiction.

I also watched Love Between the Covers on Amazon Prime, a documentary on the booming romance novel business, and became even more fascinated by the romance industry.  My haul and reviews on the romance books I received will eventually be posted here. For now, I want to have some fun- so here is the Stay at Home Book Tag created by Princess of Paperback on YouTube!

Laying in Bed: Book you could/have read in a day

I started and finished listening to the audiobook of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars yesterday. It was a super quick read that mixed magical realism with a memoir-ish format. I have mixed feelings about the execution of the book, but it was still a very impactful read all about the true and not-so true story of Kai Cheng Thom as she moves to a new city and embraces her identity as a trans woman.

Snacking: Guilty pleasure book

I’m all about being comfortable with what you like, so I don’t really love saying something is a guilty pleasure. But in the traditional sense, I think that the Vampire Academy Series would fall under this title. There are some issues I have with certain aspects of these books, but I still love reading them. They are a lot of fun and revolve around vampires…and I will always have time for vampires! I haven’t finished the series, but I am slowly going through them so I can extend the experience. (The movie is also awful and wonderful and I have watched it way too many times.)

Netflix: Series you want to start

The Wildwood Duology by Juliet Marillier is one that I have been wanting to read for awhile. All I know about this series is that it is a fantasy with strong female characters, talking frogs, and GORGEOUS covers. That’s all I need to know. I will probably read this series this fall!

Deep Clean: Been on your TBR for ages

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder has been on my TBR longer than any other book. It still seems like an interesting plot and I have it on my Kindle…so I’ll get to it…eventually.

Animal Crossing: Book you recently bought because of hype

I don’t ever really buy books, but since romance novels are so inexpensive compared to other books and not typically carried at my local libraries, I’ve purchased quite a few recently. The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics is just one of these books. It’s a sapphic historical romance that I’ve heard praise of from many different book bloggers and booktubers across many genres. I think the hype will prove to be well deserved for this one and I can’t wait to read it!

Productivity : Book you learned from or had an impact on you

I’m just going to link to this post about the nonfiction books I read last month. Inside This Place, Not of It was my favorite from this list, though. It was a tough read, but taught me a lot and put actual faces and stories to the flawed prison industrial complex in the United States.

Facetime: A book you were gifted

I haven’t been gifted a book in a long time, but I was gifted a bookstore gift card from my mom for Christmas. With that card, I bought Lucky Caller by Emma Mills, who is my one auto-buy author. She writes the cutest books with the most heartwarming friend groups. I really liked Lucky Caller and ended up giving it 3.5 stars.

Self Care: What is one thing you have done recently to look after yourself

I went back to basics recently and decided to listen to one of my favorite albums while reading some historical romance with my cat. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with cassettes and I found Live Through This by Hole on cassette at a local record store. Ever since then, it is has been one of my prized possessions. Nothing like 90s grunge on scratchy tape to get through the angst!

BONUS: Name a book coming out soon

I am super excited to be on the blog tour with Hear Our Voices for Miss Meteor  by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore, which is coming out on September 22nd. It has been on my TBR ever since I first discovered it mostly because of how cute the cover is. I’m excited for the Mexican-American representation and what I’m sure will be a cute story!

How has your week gone? Have you read any of these books yet or want to soon?

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great week! 💖