Tag: tbr list

Monthly Wrap-Up | July 2025

Posted July 31, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 3 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

July 2025 Wrap Up

July went by in a whirlwind. I feel like I got a lot of things done, but I also feel like there’s still so much to do! And of course, my coping mechanism is reading for escapism, so the good news is that I got a lot of reading done this month. The bad news is that now I’ve got even more book reviews to catch up on, in addition to the ones I’m already behind on! 😅

My July 2025 TBR Intentions

I made my July TBR list based off a friendly team reading competition in my online bookclub for thick books, plus also books that had July deadlines. My team didn’t win unfortunately, but we had lots of fun! I also actually did pick up The Brothers Karamazov but in the last minute realized that my copy was the abridged version and it was too late to put a hold for the unabridged one. I wouldn’t have gotten it in time so I just let it go.

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  4. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  6. If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

Books Read in July 2025

  1. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
  2. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
  3. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  5. The Accidental Text by Becky Monson
  6. The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown
  7. Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
  8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  9. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  10. The Love Haters by Katherine Center
  11. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
  12. If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino
  13. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  14. Revival by Stephen King

Notable Books This Month

Purple Hibiscus, and Atmosphere were the standouts for me this month. They both packed an emotional punch and made me feel all the feelings! I love books that make me feel, and these two did that the most for me. However, I cannot exclude The Count of Monte Cristo because it is one of my all-time favorite books that make me feel but it’s a reread and I’ve talked about it a lot already so I thought I’d let other books have a chance.

Also, I cannot not mention Sunrise on the Reaping, but I thought it’s a series and people who loved The Hunger Games don’t need convincing, and people who don’t love THG probably wouldn’t care for another book in the series. But I have to mention it because I need the world to know I personally loved it too!

August 2025 TBR Intentions

Every book on this list are books I have to read for August BOTMs or buddy reads with August deadlines. The Hunger Games series are rereads but I’m in the mood because I want to revisit after reading Sunrise on the Reaping. I’m probably going to end up reading other books based off my mood as well, but these are the priorities.

  1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
  3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
  4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
  5. Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  6. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
  7. The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin
  8. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

How was your month in July? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful August with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

Posted July 28, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 28 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Beach/Beachy Reads 

Going with a topic I missed again today with the Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025. A couple of them have already been released since I’m late with the topic, but I’m excited about them and definitely still anticipating when I can read them!

Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

  1. No Body No Crime by Tess Sharpe – 15th July. I have enjoyed a few of Tess Sharpe’s books and I’m so excited about this one. I love how she writes her female protagonists and I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one too.
  2. The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst – 15th July. I only just finished reading The Spellshop recently but I loved it and I love that there’s another one! Telling us more about Caz’s mom, no less, and what comes after!
  3. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher – 19th August. I am aware that I haven’t even finished Kingfisher’s other works yet, but this one sounds so good too! I love fairytale retellings, I can’t help it!
  4. The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin – 26th August. Fine, I’ll admit it! I haven’t finished Martin’s other books either, but I’m still really happy to know that there’s going to be more waiting on me.
  5. We Met Like This by Kasie West – 16th September. I read a lot of Kasie West’s books when I was younger and I have maybe aged out of the genre, but I still love her books because it’s the comfort of reading a familiar author whose works make me happy.
  6. Thief of Night by Holly Black – 23rd September. It’s about time the sequel to Book of Night was released! I loved the first book and I’ve been waiting for more!
  7. Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane – 7th October. Another author whose earlier works I haven’t finished, but you can never have too much of a good thing!
  8. Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree – 11th November. Yayy, more books in the Legends & Lattes universe! You know I’m totally here for it!
  9. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth – 30th September. I’ve read a couple of Sally Hepworth’s books and they are just the kind of mystery/thrillers I enjoy. Some are better than others, but I’m excited about this new one!
  10. The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer – 4th November. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series and I’m excited to read something else by the author. This one is about a witch who sees ghosts, totally right up my alley! I’m so excited!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books Set in the Dream Realm

Posted July 21, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 34 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books Set in/Take Place During X 

I’m choosing books set in the dream realm for today’s topic. The distinction for me with “dream realm” is that they are not portals to an alternate world, but rather a place where you can only go with your mind, ie. your body does not follow.

Having said that, I haven’t read some of the books below (and some I read a while ago and might have forgotten details) so I can’t be 100% sure if they fit the criteria. I’ve added them here based on their book descriptions, what others have said about them, and other non-spoilery info. If you’ve read them and you think I’m wrong, feel free to let me know!

Top Ten Books Set in the Dream Realm

  1. The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick – This series has one of the best world-building and magical lore. Most of it relates to card divination but it also includes navigating the spiritual realm. It needs a reread!
  2. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo – This is one of my favorite books that I’ve talked a lot about. A big part of the story has the FMC’s body sick and unconscious and her spirit spending a lot of time in the underworld.
  3. Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan – A recent favorite, but interesting enough, it also has the FMC sick and I’m assuming in a coma, while her consciousness is in another world.
  4. Super Powered by Drew Hayes – This is a series featuring super powered young adults. One of them has the ability to go into people’s dreams and influence them that way. I loved the series, it was so much fun!
  5. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King – The sequel to The Shining, it follows a now-adult Dan. Dan and another one of the MCs, Abra, communicate through dreams. One of my favorites from the King.
  6. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin – I have heard much about this book but haven’t read it. It’s a scifi story where the MC’s dreams can affect reality. Definitely adding to my TBR.
  7. Dreamfall by Amy Plum – This is a thriller/horror where the MCs participate in some kind of sleep study and end up stuck in the dream together. It sounds so good!
  8. Dreamology by Lucy Keating – This is a romance where the two MCs dream about each other all the time, but one day they meet and realize the other person is real! I’m intrigued!
  9. Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente – I’ve only read one book by the author but loved it. This one is about a world that you can only access through dreams, but you have to sleep with someone who’s already been there.
  10. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor – Dreams choose the dreamer in this book. I had this on my TBR but forgot all about it. Now it’s back on my radar!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Sunday Post | 20 July 2025

Posted July 19, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 10 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Unsleeping Grumpy

I haven’t been getting enough sleep this last week, and that means I’m not a Sleeping Beauty, but rather, an Unsleeping Grumpy. It’s no fun. I have been so irritable lately even though it’s been an objectively good week.

Ironically, I bought some new pillows and a duvet last week because the old ones were wearing out, and the cats have also started sleeping with us at night more regularly, which have given me a such a lovely sense of peace and coziness; so I should be sleeping better, but I’m not… Hmm…okay, maybe I should clarify. I have actually been sleeping better in terms of quality, but I haven’t been getting enough sleep in terms of quantity. And since we’re being honest, I have to admit it’s my own fault because I’ve been staying up late reading.

And therein lies the truth; I did it to myself. 😭

It’s hard to regret choosing reading over sleeping, but I’m not as young as I used to be and lack of sleep affects me a lot more than it used to. I have to be a responsible adult now. Ah, well.

On my watchlist:
I have been watching Building the Band on Netflix and I am so hooked! I’m loving SZN4 and Soulidified and I can’t get enough of them! I think no matter who wins, these two bands are going to do well post-show. 3Quency is really good too, but I don’t like them as much as the first two bands.

There’s also some drama with a couple of the other teams that are annoying to watch, but part of the draw of reality tv, I guess. I’m just impatiently waiting for the next episodes to be released this week, and then after the show, I want all the deets on what the bands have been doing since then! As I said, I’m pretty sure at least a couple of these bands are going to keep going strong no matter who wins the show, and I’m excited to see it!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – It’s been on my TBR for ever and I finally finished it. I ended up getting quite sick of the characters, but I love how Tolstoy kept me interested in their drama. I just couldn’t stop reading!
  2. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – This book played with my emotions like a cat plays with its prey. It gave 100% emotional damage and I was ugly crying at the end.

Books I’m reading:

  1. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost – Listening to this on audio right now. I’m about 35% in. I love him on SNL and Pop Culture Jeopardy!
  2. The Love Haters by Katherine Center – I’m about 40% into this and really enjoying it! It’s funny and lighthearted and I’m loving the interactions between the two MCs.

Last Week on The Blog

So many posts the week before and only this one last week.

This Week

I want to finish up the two books I’m currently reading, and I also have If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino on the to-read list. I have to finish it before the week it out because our bookclub is meeting this weekend!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books on My Summer 2025 TBR

Posted July 14, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 20 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books with Honorifics in the Title 

I like today’s topic and I can’t wait to see everyone’s lists, but I missed several previous TTT topics that I really want to do so I decided to go with Books on My Summer 2025 TBR for my topic today! We did Books I’d Like to Re-read last week and I stated that I wanted to read them soon so they are definitely on my Summer TBR as well, but I’ll try to go with different titles today!

Top Ten Books on My Summer 2025 TBR

  1. If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino – It’s one of my in-person bookclub friend’s favorite book and I’m excited to read something she likes.
  2. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman – A different bookclub friend’s favorite book, I’m always excited to see what my friends love to read.
  3. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I love TJR and I love Julia Whelan who narrates this. Definitely listening to this one on audio.
  4. The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich – I’ve read one other book by the author and loved it. I’m curious to read another and I thought this one sounded interesting.
  5. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston – This has been on my TBR for ages now, plus it’s been talked about favorably. I really should get to it soon!
  6. The Love Haters by Katherine Center – I’ve read and loved several other Katherine Center books and I’m sure I’ll like this one too.
  7. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green – I’ve heard so many rave reviews about this one I got curious. I’ve read a couple of the author’s books and liked them, but this one is nonfiction.
  8. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – I’ve been meaning to read this but never got around to it. I recently watched the movie and loved it so it’s motivating me to read this sooner rather than later.
  9. Never Flinch by Stephen King – I don’t care what people say, Holly is one of my favorite SK characters and I can’t wait to read more of her!
  10. The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – This one came out two years ago and I had been anticipating it before it even released. I don’t know why I haven’t read it!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books I’d Like to Reread

Posted July 7, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 9 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books I’d Like to Re-read 

It’s been some weeks since I’ve done the Top Ten Tuesdays and I’ve missed some really great topics. I’ve had some things going on but I’m hoping to get back some semblance of normalcy and do the TTTs regularly again. Please bear with me!

I am big on rereading because I tend to rush over details when I read books the first time, and rereading helps me appreciate the books more and see things I didn’t see before. I’ve previously done a TTT for Books I Love to Reread, so I won’t repeat the same titles. The ones below are books I intend to reread soon. Hopefully before the year is over!

Top Ten Books I’d Like to Reread

  1. The Long Walk by Stephen King – The movie is coming out and of course I have to reread this before then!
  2. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel – I might leave this until later because I want to reread the whole series and that means I need to have dedicated time for all of them.
  3. The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan – I’ve mentioned this author many times as one of my favorite underrated authors. This may be my favorite book he’s written.
  4. Momo by Michael Ende – The author is better known for writing The Neverending Story, which I love, but I love Momo more and I need to reread it.
  5. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – I was enchanted by this book when I read it the first time and it’s been a long while.
  6. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – This one touched me in a visceral way and has been on my reread list for a while. I need to make it happen.
  7. Grass by Sheri S. Tepper – I love this author but haven’t read a lot of her works. This book is one of my favorite books.
  8. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This is another series I need to allocate dedicated time for. I love the characters and it’s been too long since I read it.
  9. The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – I remember thinking that every married couple needs to read this. I don’t remember why, but I guess that’s why I have to reread it.
  10. The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike – I used to reread this regularly as a teenager, but I can’t remember the last time I read it. It’s time!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Monthly Wrap-Up | May & June 2025

Posted June 30, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

May and June 2025 Wrap Up

Hello my friends, I have been so very absent on the blog to the point that this month’s wrap up is actually a combination of May and June. I have posted some book reviews but only because I have a compulsive need to keep track of the books I read and record my thoughts about them. Even so, I’m far behind on keeping up to date on writing the reviews, and I haven’t replied to any comments in the last couple of months. I am so sorry!

A lot of things have happened that have kept me busy, but only two worth mentioning right now;

First, we lost one of our beloved cats, Loki, very unexpectedly earlier this month. One day, he was fine and perfectly happy as usual, the next day he started having seizures and vomiting. We took him to the vet in the afternoon, but he wasn’t getting better, and we ended up having to go back later that night to put him to sleep.

It was a horrible day.

He was the most vocal and active of our cats, and it’s very noticeable that he’s gone now. We miss him every day, and it still hurts to think of him. The worst thing was how sudden it was. He was only nine years old and had no signs of any health problems. I don’t know why this happened. We’ve been cuddling our other two cats, Button and Pepper, a lot more than usual lately, and they’ve been more receptive to it as well. They notice he’s gone too and have been more affectionate with us.

The second thing is a happier thing, although it has me nervous. I’m going back to school for an Accounting certificate this fall. I had been busy with paperwork and applications, and recently just got my acceptance letter! I am very excited and nervous at the same time. It’s been a long while since I’ve been in school but I also love learning new things and once upon a time, my biggest aspiration was to be a “professional student”.

I still have a lot of things to organize and prepare for going back to school but there’s a couple of months to go. Being so absent from the blog these last couple of months, I do worry that I might not be able to keep up with the blog once school starts, but I like fixed schedules and routines and I’m expecting things to settle down once I adjust to the student lifestyle once again.

Now on to the book updates;

My May 2025 TBR Intentions

I did manage to finish all the books on my TBR intentions in May. Yay! The ones on the list were the priorities and I wanted to leave space for mood reads, and I got some in.

  1. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (The Wayfarers #4) by Becky Chambers
  2. Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  3. Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage
  4. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
  5. Rose Madder by Stephen King

Books Read in May 2025

  1. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
  2. Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
  3. The Accounting Game by Darrell Mullis and Judith Orloff
  4. Every Tool’s A Hammer by Adam Savage
  5. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
  6. Rose Madder by Stephen King
  7. Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  8. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
  9. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  10. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

My June 2025 TBR Intentions

My June TBR intentions were chosen because my online bookclub was having a friendly competitive read-off event, where the team that got the most points for books read would win. There were exponentially higher points for books over 1000 pages and 1500 pages, so I made my list with that in mind, although some books were chosen because they were BOTMs, and/or had end-of-June deadlines. I also did end up reading a lot more than expected because I was trying to distract myself from Loki’s passing.

  1. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  6. 1984 by George Orwell

Books Read in June 2025

  1. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  2. 1984 by George Orwell
  3. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  4. Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley
  5. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
  6. The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
  7. Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum
  8. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  9. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
  10. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
  11. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
  12. The Complete Double Dead by Chuck Wendig

Notable Books

For May, the notable books were Perdido Street Station, Rose Madder, and The Ghost Bride. For June, the notable books were Les Misérables, Gone with the Wind, Scarlett, and Oz: The Complete Collection. I won’t go too much into detail about the books here because these are two months’ worth of books and I’m somewhat rushing this post as well.

In brief, Perdido Street Station is a little wordy but the world-building is incredible, and the story is haunting and heartbreaking and lives in my head rent-free. Rose Madder is a Stephen King book and everyone knows I’m a fan. It’s not gory horror, but it’s psychological horror and that really gets me. The Ghost Bride is a reread and written by a Malaysian author about the early 1900s’ in Malaya. It’s so reminiscent about my life, family, and culture in Malaysia, and I love that it incorporates our folklore into such a vivid fantasy story.

I listened to Les Misérables on audio and absolutely loved the experience of it. It is a little long-winded but I enjoyed it still! The whole story infuriates me but it’s told so well that I can’t help but love it, and I feel like this is one of those books where I’ll come back to and get more out of every time I reread.

Gone with the Wind, and Scarlett, are two of my favorite books that I’ve read over and over again. My experience and thoughts about them have changed over the years, but this last read was very nostalgic and I appreciate them for the works that they are.

Oz: The Complete Collection is the collection of books 1 through 14 of the Oz books. I have never read them, not even the first book, and I had no idea there was so much to the stories! Reading them as an adult, I’ve fallen in love with the stories and the characters, and it makes me wish I had read them as a child. They are just so magical and imaginative, they were so fun to read!

July 2025 TBR Intentions

My online bookclub is continuing the competitive read-off event in July, so I’m planning to continue with the big books, plus also July’s BOTMs and other buddy reads with July deadlines.

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  4. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  6. If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino

How was the last couple of months for you? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful July with lots of great books!

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Monthly Wrap-Up | April 2025

Posted May 6, 2025 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 3 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

April 2025 Wrap Up

I’m posting April’s wrap up a little late, it turned into quite a hectic month for me and I have so much to catch up on with the blog! I didn’t finish as many books as I wanted either; I overcommitted to too many buddy reads in the last few months and I have learned my lesson! I’m making good progress in finishing the ones I’ve committed to though, and I’m a lot more careful about signing up for more. I’m also missing a lot of books I want to read that aren’t buddy reads, so I’m excited to make space for them as well. Still, I love buddy reads and I can’t give them up completely. If only everyone else wanted to read the books I want to read at the same time I want to read them! 😂

My April 2025 TBR Intentions

Five out of six of my TBR intentions aren’t bad. And the only reason I didn’t get to Stoner is because the library hold is still 3 weeks out at the time of this writing. I’m probably going to defer it to later since I already missed the deadline for the buddy read, but I’m still very much interested in reading it eventually.

  1. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
  2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
  3. The Terror by Dan Simmons
  4. The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
  5. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
  6. Stoner by John Williams

Books Read in April 2025

  1. The Terror by Dan Simmons
  2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
  3. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
  4. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
  5. The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
  6. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Notable Books This Month

The Terror, Little Fires Everywhere, and Sunshine were all really amazing books for me this month!

The Terror was weird and a little trippy, but I was surprised by how invested I got into the characters and what happens to them. It’s a fictionalized account of real events, but I’m not very familiar with the history of the expedition so it was interesting trying to figure out what was real and what was made up.

I watched the adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere with Keri Washington and Reese Witherspoon and loved it, and it was nice to read the book and see that the show stayed quite true to the story. I got a lot out of the book, some of the nuances of the rich and privileged’s thinking processes were quite jarring to see on the page, but so incredibly well-written.

Sunshine was a reread. This is the third time I’m reading it and I’m still loving it! There were definitely some things I didn’t notice the first couple of times that I noticed now. The relationship stuff were… questionable, in that I’m curious as to the kind of relationship Rae actually has with the people in her life, but the story was amazing nevertheless.

May 2025 TBR Intentions

These are some of the books I’m planning to read in May. I read fewer books in April than usual and I’m definitely hoping to read more than five in May, but these are the priorities and after that, I’ll see where my mood takes me!

  1. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (The Wayfarers #4) by Becky Chambers
  2. Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  3. Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage
  4. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
  5. Rose Madder by Stephen King

How was your month in April? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful May with lots of great books!

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books with the Word “Sleep” in the Title

Posted April 28, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 13 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books with the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title 

I am unfortunately writing this post after a sleepless night laying in bed tossing and turning until 5am this morning. My brain can’t brain and the only thing I’m thinking about is sleep. So I’m choosing books with the word “sleep” in the title for this prompt.

Top Ten Books with the Word “Sleep” in the Title

  1. While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark – I read this book in 2012 and gave it 3/5 stars but for the life of me I can’t remember anything about it, and the fact that I rated it 3 stars gives me so much indecision about whether it’s worth a reread. I do enjoy mysteries and thrillers so I might just read other books by the author that I haven’t already tried.
  2. Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey – I remember binging on a whole bunch of fairytale retellings years ago and coming across this book, but I don’t remember if I ended up reading this one. I still love fairytale retellings so I might binge a whole bunch of them again!
  3. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel – This was one of the first books I listened to on audio and I remember being blown away by the production. It’s the first book in a series and I loved the first two books but was unfortunately disappointed with the last one.
  4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving – This is one of those stories that we see so much in pop culture that I feel like I know the story already even if I haven’t read the book. It’s still on my TBR though and I do intend to read it one day.
  5. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson – I read this book back in 2012 and remember enjoying it. I gave it 4/5 stars but wrote nothing else about it. I’m a bit mad with my 2012 self, tbh, lazy ass not writing reviews, or at least some notes, for me to refer to, especially knowing how forgetful I am.
  6. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King – This is the sequel to The Shining, which is probably the more popular book but I personally think it’s a strong book in itself and it holds it own. I loved both, and I loved Danny in both.
  7. The Places We Sleep by Caroline Brooks DuBois – I have not read this but it looks interesting and I want to try to get my hands on a copy. It’s middle grade, poetry, historical fiction (it’s crazy to me that 9/11 events is now classified as historical – it doesn’t seem that long ago), and that’s a combination that I hardly ever read but I’m sure I would enjoy.
  8. While the World Is Still Asleep by Petra Durst-Benning – This book intrigues me. The cover intrigues me. The subject matter intrigues me. It’s historical fiction based in Germany in the 1890s and it’s illegal for a woman to ride a bike. I am so intrigued.
  9. Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson – A paranormal romance about a mermaid. I had this book on my radar some years ago but never got around to it. Now that it’s crossed my path again I’m adding it back to my TBR.
  10. Where Children Sleep by James Mollison – This is an art photography book of children’s bedrooms all around the world with stories about the children and how they live. I would really love to take a look but my library doesn’t have a copy. I’ll keep looking.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Top Ten Tuesday | Books with Spring in the Title

Posted April 7, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 33 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Books with Springy Covers

I couldn’t come up with a creative spin on this topic so I just went with books that had the word “spring” in the title. I ended up a pretty good list, I think, and unfortunately, more books added to my TBR! 😂 I hope you enjoy these!

Top Ten Books with Spring in the Title

  1. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – This book has been on my TBR forever! I keep meaning to read it but haven’t gotten to it yet. It sounds like a very important book to read about the environment and I can’t believe it was written 50 years ago!
  2. Rumours of Spring by Farah Bashir – This is a memoir about a girl in India and I must say I am intrigued! I came across it as I was looking for books for this list and it just caught my attention.
  3. Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews – I’ve seen this author’s name everywhere and I thought I must have read at least one of her books but apparently not. Maybe it’s time to remedy that.
  4. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This is the third book in the Dragonlance Chronicles that I’m trying to do a reread on this year! I cannot wait to get to it!
  5. Absent in the Spring by Agatha Christie – Written under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott, it just reminds me I’ve still got many of the author’s books on my TBR!
  6. The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett – I have heard good things about the author when it comes to historical fiction. I had a few of her books on my physical shelves at one point but I moved and had to give away a lot of books so she’s still on my TBR!
  7. Black Spring by Henry Miller – I’m not sure I’m interested in this book, but the cover is very attention-getting and I had to include it.
  8. Spring Fever by P.G. Wodehouse – The second book with this title on my list, but it sounded good, and I’ve been curious about the author’s works so it’s on the list!
  9. Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang – Historical fiction set in China with magical realism! I must read it!
  10. A Spring Without Bees by Michael Schacker – This one is another one about the environment and I’m simultaneously wanting to read it and scared to. I think it’s important to educate ourselves though.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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