Book Blog

Tour My Bookshelves: Part One!

February 5, 2021 bookspirationbysarah

Hello, bookish friends, and welcome back to the blog! I don’t know about you guys, but I can never resist those bookshelf tour videos what pop up incessantly on my YouTube suggested watch lists. If you’re like me and can’t help but admire all the beautiful bookshelves that are out in the universe, then this post is for you! Instead of a video, I’ve decided to give you a play-by-play of each of my bookshelves and tell you a little bit about my personal organization method. I’m especially excited about this post because I just finished reorganizing all of my bookshelves for the first time in YEARS. This is going to be a three part series, so stay tuned for Parts Two and Three those in the near future! Shall we get Part One of this thing rollin’ or what?

The Quirky Contemporaries

The Montague Siblings series is hiding behind Carry On!

Of all my bookshelves, this one has to be one of my favorites because it holds contemporary reads that I have deemed simply unforgettable. Whether it be the impeccable writing, out-of-the-box overall concept, or hilariously eccentric characters I couldn’t help but relate to, all of these books have managed to steal my heart!

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The Cassandra Clare Shelf

The Bane Chronicles, The Red Scrolls of Magic, Chain of Gold, and an illustrative Mortal Instruments book are behind the 10th Anniversary edition of City of Bones!

Given the fact that Cassandra Clare has about a million books in her Shadowhunter Chronicles, I had no choice but to dedicate an entire shelf (and then some!) to these beauties. I read the Mortal Instruments series many years ago, and I love seeing how the OGs have changed and meeting new characters as more books are released.

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The Sarah J. Maas + Honorable Mentions Shelf

All merch in this picture was purchased from the Bookish Shop in their Throne of Glass and ACOTAR limited edition boxes.

Like so many of you, I am completely obsessed with anything Sarah J. Maas writes and I don’t see that changing anytime soon! In addition to her writing, Bloomsbury has done a fantastic job of making her covers absolutely STUNNING and it just seemed completely sacrilegious to hide them behind all the Maastastic merch I’ve collected over the years. I also included a few books by Holly Black and Brigid Kemmerer on this shelf because I found myself enjoying them almost as much as I did Sarah J. Maas’ books (some elements, I may have even liked more, as crazy at it is to believe!).

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Homage to the QUEEN (aka the Jennifer L. Armentrout Shelf)

The merch pictured was either purchased from the Bookish Shop, Hello Lovely, or I picked it up at Jennifer’s yearly ApollyCon event. Lots of hidden books on this shelf: the Harbinger series, part of the Dark Elements series, the Titan series, the Wicked trilogy, and the Wicked novellas.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time laying out this shelf because the QUEEN doesn’t deserve any less than perfection! I have been a JLA fan since I was 14 years old and I don’t see myself ever NOT being one. Each book I read by Jennifer is quick to draw me in and her plot twists/cliffhangers are like none other. Though this isn’t my entire JLA collection, this shelf contains all of my favorites by her (other than the Covenant series, which is on my Nook!).

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The Fantasy Faves Shelf

I am totally blanking on where I purchased the Six of Crows prints from (I’m guessing I got them in either a Fairyloot box or a Bookish Box?), but the bookmark was from Barnes and Noble! The rest of the Darkest Minds series and Prosper Redding are hidden behind The Darkest Legacy.

This shelf contains a mix of some of my favorite fantasy reads. For the most part, these are those that I could read again and again and not tire of them!

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The (Mostly!) Summery Contemporaries Shelf

Lots of hidden friends on this shelf, too: The Geography of Lost Things, Stay Sweet, The Boy Most Likely To, and My Life Next Door are behind The Chaos of Standing Still. The Unexpected Everything, Second Chance Summer, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, The Promise of Amazing, and The Natural History of Us are all behind Again, but Better.

This next shelf is for my go-to summer reads (or pick-me-ups I read in the winter when the cold starts getting to me!). As you can see from how packed this shelf is, I love a good contemporary romance that has a beachy/summertime setting and am always quick to add them to my ever-growing collection!

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The Unforgettable Series Shelves

The Hunger Games series and the Beautiful Creatures series are peeking out from behind my Throne of Glass coloring book!

I decided to used these little cubes at the bottom of my bookshelf to store some of the series I’ve really enjoyed over the years. The one on the left contains the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series – two series so long that it totally warranted its own cube! I didn’t have quite enough room on my SJM shelf for the Throne of Glass coloring book, so I decided to savor its beauty from here instead!

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Quick and Easy Romance Reads Shelves

As the title suggests, these shelfs hold the vast majority of my adult contemporary/romances, most of which were gifted to me in some form or another. I look forward to putting more of a dent in these at some point this year!

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The Fantasy/Dystopian Series Shelf

This is the first of two shelves that are actually build into the headboard of my bed (a splurge when I bought it, but totally worth it for the extra storage!). You’ll find just a few fantasy/dystopian series on this shelf. I have read all of these but the Uglies series, which I hope to dive into once my brain stops momentarily rejecting the dystopian genre (ughh… the struggle is real, you guys!).

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The Leftovers Shelf

This shelf is a bit of a mixed bag, as I honestly just ran out of room on my other shelves and these were my odd balls I couldn’t quite figure out where to put. Some of these I just wasn’t a huge fan of, while others I remember thoroughly enjoying.

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The Rando Book-Related Items Shelves

I used these two shelves to store some of my bookish merch. On the left is where I store all of my Book Beaus and bookish-themed pouches I’ve gotten in boxes and at events, as well as blankets and tapestries. On the right is where I store my Nook, any books I borrow from other people, and a binder full of the bonus stories I have received from preorders/author campaigns.

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That’s a wrap on Part One of the Tour My Bookshelf series! I hope you all enjoyed checking out how I’ve decided to organize these first few shelves. How do you organize your bookshelves? I’ve always wanted to try to make a rainbow design, but I’m a little two OCD about series titles being together that I haven’t been brave enough to try it!

Until next week, bookish peeps! May the rest of your week be filled with beautiful bookish fun! 🙂

A Few Updates, Bonus Content

Bookish Goals for 2021

January 22, 2021February 8, 2021 bookspirationbysarah

If you’re reading this, we have officially made it through the wackiness of 2020 – woohoo! Obviously last year was one for the books (yes, pun totally intended!), and I am hopeful that 2021 will be slightly less eventful and much more fun than 2020. I couldn’t think of a better way to ring in the new year than with a post all about some of the bookish goals I have for myself this year. My track record for “new year’s resolutions” has not been great – anytime I’ve made them and called them that, I’ve epically failed at achieving them, ughh. But, I do love having a list of things to strive for in life, so I thought it would be fun to carry that over into my bookish life, too! Without further ado, here are some of my book/reading-related goals for 2021:

Reading Goals

I always assign myself a certain amount of books I’d like to read in a year’s time. In 2020, that goal was 35 books (I cut myself a break and included fun books and those I had to read for school), which actually ended up being a lot to accomplish given by work and course loads. For 2021, I have yet again decided to push myself and set my goal at 42 books for the year. I only have three classes this last semester of college, and while they won’t be cake walks, I do think that not having four to five classes this go round will give me a little extra time to do some reading!

While I enjoy reading super long series, I would love for some of my 42 books to be standalone novels. Specifically, I am talking about standalones that are not contemporaries, as I think there is a lot to be said for authors who manage to do such magnificent worldbuilding and who can create developed and dynamic characters in only one book’s time. Don’t worry, though: I can assure you that I will definitely be hittin’ the contemporary sauce this year – still one of my favorite genres ever!!!

My last reading goal is to do some re-reading so that I can finish off series I started and loved, but just haven’t completed yet. This list isn’t super extensive, but there are a couple of series that I started years ago sitting on my shelves that would have started collecting dust if I didn’t dust my bookshelves frequently. Since it typically takes around a year for the next book in a series to be published, I just haven’t made the time to give the first couple of books in some series a re-read and complete the tales. Rest assured that I will be sharing a list of these “started but not finished” series with you very soon in another post, so stay tuned for that – some of my answers may flabbergast you!

Blog Goals

Given that I am still relatively new to blogging, I have found that I do have quite a few goals I’d like to start working towards in 2021 in this department. The first is that I want to find a balance of taking the time to create quality content and setting a realistic posting schedule for said content. Overall, my plan as of now is to post twice a week. One post will be a review of either a book or a book series (Mondays), and the other will be some type of bonus content post (Fridays). As far as creating content goes, I thought it would be pretty cool if I could devote 20-30 minutes each day to doing a little blog post writing. That way, content continues to be created, slow and steady, which allows me to have a little bank of things to post for you all on designated days!

I have a lot of plans circulating right now regarding introducing some new content that I haven’t had on the blog before. Some of these include giveaways, inviting some fellow bloggers to guest blog, creating some of my own original book tags, and so much more! I think these types of things will allow me to get to know more of you in the bookish community, and I could not be more excited about sharing these with you in the near future!

The final goal I have for the blog is something I have already (mostly!) completed if you are here, reading this post today. This goal was to revamp my blog’s design, some of the set-up, and overall, just make it a little more user friendly for everyone. I hope you all have been enjoying these new changes so far, and I look forward to continuing to work on the site as time goes on to make your experience here even more pleasurable!

Bookstagram Goals

My main goal for my bookstagram is to become more consistent with posting. I have set goals in the past, but for one reason or another, they have fallen apart. This year, I am going to try to create a posting schedule that I feel is realistic for me and what I feel I can feasibly do given all the other factors I have to contend with (everything always has to come back to “adulting,” doesn’t it? Blahh). A more detailed idea of this schedule will be shared with you when I figure it out myself lol!

I really like the content I have put out in the past, so I don’t think too much will change in that regard. However, I would like to create more interactive posts so I can communicate with more of you!

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Dang… I think I have some lofty goals, but you know what the great thing about goals is? You just have to try to meet them and use them as motivation to help you be more productive – you don’t have to necessarily complete them all! I can’t wait to see what I manage to accomplish this year! Do you have any life/bookish goals you’d like to share? Leave me a comment below and we can totally chat about them. I love seeing what everyone else is motivated to work on in this new year!

I am so excited to see what 2021 has to offer each and every one of you. Wishing you all a year full of love, laughter, prosperity, and of course all of the fantastic reads you can get your hands on!

–Sarah

A Few Updates, Bonus Content

I’m Coming Back, I Swear: Blogging Hiatus Update

December 1, 2020January 18, 2021 bookspirationbysarah

Hi bookish friends! It’s been awhile, huh? Though I wish I could say that this is my “return” to the blog, I have some more things I need/want to take care of before I make my true comeback – a few of which I am thrilled to be sharing with you today!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my update on my personal/bookish life where I shared that between my three jobs, school, and just the craziness of life these days, I just haven’t had time to create content that I’m proud of. I’m all about quality over quantity, and I want you all to be able to see that in my posts each week, which I knew would not be the case if I kept my current blogging pace in the midst of what I literally had to get done each day.

Though I am not one who often experiences reading slumps, I found myself getting so bogged down with reading and homework for school that I just haven’t wanted to pick up a single “fun read” in MONTHS. Since I haven’t been reading as much as I’d like to lately (or at all, really), I’ve lost a lot of my inspiration for my posts. As you can probably surmise, the struggle to write quality reviews is REAL when you’ve basically shunned all reading that wasn’t required for school for a solid four months.

Now that you’ve read my little soap box that I am sure so many of you can relate to, let me get to the fun stuff: what’s to come in the next few months! The biggest news I have to share is that I am currently taking this long break from college to overhaul my website (new design, creating a fabulous new logo, and much more!) to make it both more user friendly and more warm and welcoming for you guys. I have also been brainstorming and writing brand new content that I am so looking forward to sharing in the new year. Not sure if any of you are into giveaways, but if you are, keep your eyes open 🙂

Lastly, I wanted to thank those of you who have been following this blog since day one and those that have recently discovered this “passion project” of mine. I absolutely adore being a part of this wonderfully bookish community, and I hope that you all will be willing to stick around for this next adventure.

May the rest of your year be filled with some fabulous reads that make the end of such a wild year merry and bright! See you soon, friends!

–Sarah

Bonus Content, Book Tags

The Liebster Award

September 18, 2020December 9, 2020 bookspirationbysarah

Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to another Bonus Content Friday! I’m so excited to share that this week’s post is a book tag I was nominated to do by a fellow blogger, Riddhi Bhargava over at Whispering Stories. Thank you so much for the nomination, Riddhi! Please go give her blog some love when you get finished over here — she has some fabulous content up on her site!

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog
Answer the 11 questions given to you
Nominate 11 other bloggers
Ask your nominees 11 questions

Riddhi’s Questions for Me:

1) What is your favorite book series?

This question is such a hard one because there are so many series that are near and dear to my heart. If I had to pick just one, it would have to be the Dark Elements series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The characters are just so lovable (and some hateable lol!), the plot is perfectly paced and action-packed, and the plot twists blow my mind every time I read it. It was also one of the first series that got me into reading!

2) What is your favorite song?

Hamilton - Broadway | Tickets | Broadway | Broadway.com

My favorite song changes almost weekly (so many good tunes out there now, y’all!), but this week’s would have to be Blow Us All Away from the musical, Hamilton. I don’t know what it is about this song that’s so addictive (the whistling because I can’t for the life of me whistle, maybe?), but I swear I could listen to it for an hour straight and not get bored of it!

3) Favorite movie?

Divergent (Includes Digital Copy) (dvd_video) : Target

I’m not a big movie-watcher, but I guess I would have to pick Divergent for this one since I always feel so kick butt after watching it (even though I sure as heck would not have been a Dauntless!). And, it just so happens to be a book-to-movie adaptation, so perfect choice to put on my book blog, I think!

4) What are your hobbies?

I made this cake for my stepsister’s wedding this past year, along with matching cupcakes! Both tiers are white, but the lighting makes the bottom tier look cream, for some reason.

When I’m not reading or blogging, I absolutely love to cook and bake! I also have the most precious two-year-old sheltie pup named Rowan (yes, named after the fictional character from Throne of Glass!) that I have so much fun hanging out with in my free time.

5) Dogs or cats?

I know I’m supposed to just pick one but I literally cannot for this one — BOTH!!! Huge animal lover here if you can’t tell!

6) Favorite genre?

My favorite genre definitely fluctuates from time to time, but I think with the current goings on of the world, I have been reading a lot more contemporary romances than I used to and LOVING them because they never fail to bring a smile to my face!

7) One genre you have never read?

Horror fiction — and I don’t plan to read it ever, if I can help it! I’m not a huge fan of doing/reading things that intentionally scare me, though I do know a lot of people who enjoy this genre of reading!

8) Favorite month of the year?

You’re killing me with these tough questions, Riddhi (LOL!). Though I don’t love the cold weather, my favorite month would have to be December because I love the family time I get to soak up around the holidays. The long break from school is also a huge plus since I have so much extra time to dedicate to other, more exciting things (like blogging and reading!).

9) One thing that people love about you?

8,000+ Free Creativity & Creative Illustrations - Pixabay

Other than my endless book recommendations (HA!), I think people appreciate the fact that I’m willing to help them brainstorm and implement creative solutions to relatively common problems they are having to contend with. This especially comes in handy and has appeared to be helpful to others when we have had to work together on college group projects.

10) One character you would die for?

Oh, man. Hmmm…. This one has to be the toughest question on the list because most of the characters I would want to save are perfectly capable of saving their own lives even in the most extreme of circumstances. I guess I would have to go with Percy and Monty from A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue because they’re kind of hot messes and could use all the help they could get if put in a life or death situation!

11) Which habit of yours do you want to change?

Free Nail Biter Cliparts, Download Free Clip Art, Free Clip Art on Clipart Library

So I actually just recently just started working on this, but I am a habitual fingernail-chewer when I get stressed out. Luckily this habit is almost broken now, but I’d totally be lying if I said I wasn’t guilty of falling back into this bad habit!

My Nominees:

Questions for My Nominees:

Least favorite genre you’ve read?
Favorite animal?
What’s something many people don’t know about you?
Favorite book you’ve read this month?
Who is your favorite author?
How many books do you own (physical, ebooks, and audiobooks included)?
Favorite midnight snack?
What post on your blog are you most proud of and why?
Paperbacks or hardcovers?
Favorite season?
Fruits or vegetables?

Even if I didn’t tag you, I still highly encourage all of you to do this tag. Not only was it a ton of fun, but it will also help your readers find some fabulous new book blogs to check out — what a great way to support others in the bookish community, right? 🙂

Until next week, bookish friends! May your weekend be filled with all the books 🙂

A Few Updates, Bonus Content

Why I Started Blogging

June 26, 2020December 9, 2020 bookspirationbysarah

Literally my favorite shirt ever! Purchased the JLA Lux/Origin box and this shirt was included.

I know you guys have been used to recommendations and/or tips going up each week as bonus content, but I wanted to try something different this go round. For this week’s post, I’ve decided to go for a more discussion-like vibe where I tell you all a little bit more about me, beginning with why I decided to start my own book blog in the first place.

There are honestly tons of reasons why I made the decision to start this blog, but the main reason is that I wanted to create a space where readers could feel at home and have a convenient, welcoming place to go when looking for recommendations, reviews, and other bookish content. I have my bookstagram and Goodreads accounts that I love dearly, but having this blog as my own platform has allowed me to not only continue sharing my love of reading, but has also given me the chance to put out additional content for fellow readers they may find helpful outside my normal review and photo scope.

When all of my schooling is complete, I would love to either become a literary agent or work in a managing editorial capacity at a book publishing house. What this has to do with blogging, you ask? Well, for one, it keeps me writing. While I don’t necessarily want to write a novel myself, I think it’s important to keep honing crafts you may need down the line, and this blog has given me the opportunity to write about one of my biggest passions: literature! Having my own platform also gives me some professional credibility. Regardless of how many people read my blog posts each week, employers and other book publishing industry professionals can tell how much I love books and reading by just glancing at my posts, as well as get a sense of who I am through my writing style and the kinds of content I put out into the world.

Trust me when I say that I have had my fair share of days where I’ve had no idea what exactly to write about and post for the week. But what I’ve learned from this experience thus far it it’s okay not to always know exactly what you’re going to post. All that matters is that I put together quality content that I know will be of assistance to someone out there, and knowing that this platform has the power to do that has made the experience that much more rewarding!

QOTD: Have you started your own blog, or maybe you follow some pretty rad ones? Leave me links below! I’d love to check out what others are writing about. 🙂