Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want To Read In Spring

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
We've stepped into spring here in Australia, which makes me absolutely happy to greet warmer weather and clearer skies. Albeit, we're still stuck inside, but it's nicer sitting in front of a window with the sun shining through rather than feeling like I want to be in bed to hide from the cold all the time. So with this change in season, what books will I be looking forward to reading? Here are 10 books I would love to get through this spring!

Top Ten Books I Want To Read In Spring

1. The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham
Ever since I found out about Pham's creation, I was captivated by the idea of following a first generation Vietnamese-Australian through her coming of age story. To make it better? It's set in Cabramatta, Sydney - a suburb that is relatively similar to the one I've grown up in. How much of myself will I see Sonny I wonder?

2. The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning by Long Lit Woon
I bought this book on a whim, liking the feeling, the weight of it in my hand. It could be that I believe Woon has much to offer through her recount of suddenly losing her husband and finding herself not only having to navigate through grief but also being in a foreign country without any family or friends.

3. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
I was lucky enough to win a copy of Clap When You Land and am desperate to get through this as soon as I can. It sounds like a heartwrenching tear-jerker, which both frightens and draws me in.

4. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
Ok, what's with me and books with deep and meaningful themes this spring? They Both Die At The End has actually been on my radar for the past year and I finally got my hands onto it. Having read one of Silvera's other books, I expect to also feel so much pain and heartbreak, but also love for the story he brings to life.

5. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta 

Both the premise of this and its cover come across as equally gorgeous to me. Michael takes us on his journey of self-discovery, learning of labels and how to identify with them.

6. The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R Pan
X.R Pan incorporates a little magic in the form of a mysterious red bird, which leads a young girl, fresh from the loss of her mother, to the country where her family's story started. I've read reviews on how The Astonishing Colour of After depicts strong views and values that are closely associated to Asian cultures and that's a major reason as to why this has made my TBR.

7. The City We Became (Great Cities #1) by N.K Jemisin 

I star the five star reviews and bit the bullet with this one. It's a mix of sci-fi and urban fantasy, which I probably don't read enough of, so here I am dabbling in something a little out of my comfort zone but exciting nonetheless. 

8. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton 

Another Australian based book that I have been meaning to read. Dalton delivers a contemporary revolving around a young boy named Eli who is attempting to learn and grow in life, whilst being surrounding by environments and people who aren't exactly going to guide him in the right direction.

9. Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer 

I've been meaning to read another Safran Foer novel and of course my ambitiousness has decided to dive right into this hefty sized book. I know absolutely nothing about Here I Am but I don't really mind. Here's to being surprised. 

10. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

I am wholeheartedly in love with Code Name Verity by Wein that I immediately knew I would have to read Rose Under Fire. Wein features strong, independent women to tell stories of friendship that really tug at your heart. I cannot wait to get to this.

What Are You Planning To Read This Season?

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Tilly & the Lost Fairytales Changed My Opinion On Its Entire Series

Title: Tilly the Lost Fairytales
Author: Anna James
Series: Pages & Co #2
Publication Date: September 19th, 2019
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A magical adventure to delight the imagination. The curl-up-on-the-sofa snuggle of a series from a uniquely talented author.

Tilly Pages is a bookwanderer; she can travel inside books, and even talk to the characters she meets there. But Tilly’s powers are put to the test when fairytales start leaking book magic and causing havoc . . .

On a wintery visit to Paris, Tilly and her best friend Oskar bravely bookwander into the land of fairytales to find that characters are getting lost, stories are all mixed-up, and mysterious plot holes are opening without warning. Can Tilly work out who, or what, is behind the chaos so everyone gets their happily-ever-after?

Review

The second instalment in Pages & Co has proved to be much more enjoyable and memorable. Tilly and Oskar make their return after learning of their wonderful bookwandering abilities. This time they're armed with all the information they need in order to travel in and out of books as safely as possible. Or so they thought. Tilly and Oskar are thrust into an entirely unusual and highly dangerous situation, inviting what I had hoped would happen in the first book of this series - adventure, excitement and intrigue.

As Tilly & the Bookwanderers (review here) had already outlined the world, character and how the magic of bookwandering worked quite thoroughly, I greatly appreciated how little recap was involved in Tilly & the Lost Fairytales. Instead, I was almost immediately transported into the adventure that awaited our duo and enjoyed the pacing of the story. James' writing was also a lot better, in the sense that this time, rather than feeling like I was being told of what was happening, I could visualise each scene, the characters actions and emotions. This led to me feeling as though I was part of Tilly and Oskar's journey, that instead of a duo, I was part of a trio. This was exactly what I was after from this story, and any middle grade novel for that matter. The feeling of being part of a quest with the characters, immersing myself in the challenges and excitement that comes with it. That's really all the fun in reading middle grade stories. 

I thoroughly enjoyed what James brought to this series this time around, flying through the book in one sitting. I've also learnt quite quickly that the Tilly's story is in fact not a stand-alone like I initially thought nor is it a duology, which I told myself was the case. Instead, the Pages & Co series is a trilogy and am eager to get my hands on the latest release, Tilly and the Map of Stories, to be part of Tilly and Oskar's next adventure.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers with POC & Black Characters

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a Cover Freebie, so I wanted to highlight 10 12 (yes I am cheating) beautifully illustrated covers that feature coloured and black characters. I am loving how the book publishing industry is opening up for owned-voice stories and for non-white readers to see representation of them on covers. Covers are linked to Goodreads

Top Ten Book Covers With POC & Black Characters

  

  

There are so many more covers that could go on this list. I had heaps of fun compiling this list. 

What Are Your Favourite Diverse Book Covers? 

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Talking Personal: What The Last Five Months Have Looked Like

I'm probably not the only one to say this and most likely you're sick of hearing this, but it's absolutely mind-blowing that we are now in September. 

Since my last Talking Personal, not a lot has happened in my own personal life, but more so the world itself. Especially in Victoria. COVID-19 has really reared it's ugly side and with that brings a whole host of emotions, chaos and whatever else that could be wrong this year. Still, I'm trying not to dwell on the negatives. Even if some days aren't as great as others. So what have I been doing?

Well, I got stood down from work, so I've had 5 months of trying to fill out my days.

I re-found my love for reading. I read and read and read and read. So much reading during the months of April to July. It was so enjoyable and pushed me to reconnect with the book blog and booktube community. There's been some great people I've gotten to know because of it! And of course with reconnecting with booktube it means I've been filming videos again. Something I didn't realise I was missing until I restarted. 

I was able to reflect on myself and my goals, including 2020. Yes, this year hasn't turned out the way anyone has wanted it to be. Yet, to be frank, I lost control of the last 2 years of my life and couldn't see a way out. So being able to sit back and really deep dive on who I am and what I want really allowed me to realise that there are some things that will happen out of my control, but what matters is the actions and behaviours that I exhibit within these restraints that work towards goal progression. I am really proud of myself for being able to tick off each goal, no matter how small, in the last few months. It's shown me that I am capable of achieving what I set out to achieve. 

I watched a lot of Korean dramas for a few months, and started a Korean drama review blog. Unfortunately, it's collecting dust at the moment, as I've now moved over to rewatching Criminal Minds. When it comes to TV shows/movies I really cannot multitask or watch different ones at the same time. In line with Korean dramas or Korean culture I guess, is my attempt at re-learning Korean. It hasn't been as consistent as it should be when you're learning a language but I'm getting there. Slowly. 

Still, there's been a lot of eating, lying around and having a terrible sleeping pattern. Alongside getting dolled up for random photoshoots (don't laugh) and then finally, and the most recently, giving myself a haircut. I took scissors to my hair 2 weeks ago and I loved every moment of it. If anything, it means I've learnt a new skill that'll save me some money in the future!

    

I've been trying to see this as time given back to me. Time, a lot of time honestly, that you wouldn't expect to have until retirement really. I try to ask myself when I'm feeling unmotivated and dejected, how would I feel/what would I think looking back on this time now and how I spent it. Don't get me wrong, this isn't easy, if anything the extension of the lockdown makes it harder to stay positive and motivated. Everyone's feelings are valid. You don't have to be cheerful and energetic everyday. We've been deprived from the things that humans normally thrive on as well as added stressors that make it more difficult. But this is the situation we've found ourselves in. We can only do so much with what we have. It's a matter of what you want to do and how you want to face each day. 

Sending love and good vibes to everyone out there. 

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The Animal Crossing Book Tag

Sure enough I have found myself caught up in the ISO phenomenon that is Animal Crossing. I'm definitely new to the game, but have watched my brother play it before the Switch release. Surprisingly, I've come to enjoy it quite a lot although my progress in the game is a lot slower than what I've seen from others. Anyways! I saw Jenna from Happy Indulgence complete the tag and had to jump on board. 

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The Rules

• Please link back to the original creator of the tag, Bookish Things and Tea
• Answer the following Animal Crossing themed book questions
• Feel free to use McKenzie's graphics (which I have), but please don't take credit for them 
• Tag some friends to spread the love!

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I've had Anne of Green Gables, both the novel and series (not the Netflix one), on my shelf for awhile now. I keep meaning to read it but have been avoiding it for some reason. The new Netflix adaption has definitely piqued my interest more so it's now moved up on my priority of books to read. 

Such a particular question to ask and honestly, not an easy one to answer but I'd have to go with World After, which is a bit of an older read but the second book to the Angel Fall series. To be fair I haven't actually read the ending to this series yet, but whilst the first book was okay, the second book grabbed my attention straight away and finally got me excited about the entirety of the series. 

It's hard not to go past the Shade of Magic series with this one, as V.E Scwab takes world-building to such an exciting and creative level. She introduces the notion of parallel worlds, London in this case, with a touch of magic, that makes the world's that much more fun to read about. 

I have and will continue to rave about After the Flood, a debut novel from Kassandra Montag that speaks volumes on climate change, the end of the world and what that may mean for us, whilst also exploring themes of sacrifice, loyalty, guilt and family ties. It's a thought-provoking and emotional read. I wrote a full review on it, which you can read here, to know more of what I thought about it. 

Is it too easy to say Harry Potter with this one? If I did have to choose another book then Scatterheart is my next choice. I read Scatterheart in year 7 and can't seem to forget how much I really liked it and what it aimed to deliver to readers. It's a gorgeous story of learning to be strong and finding yourself in the midst of trouble, whilst also having a rather heartwarming romance play out. Also, I appreciated that it was set during the colonisation of Australia, just to highlight Australia's history. 

If we're talking characters, then Neil Gaiman's American Gods is a standout for its eclectic group of gods that the story involves. They each have such different characteristics that jump out at you and remain memorable, especially Mr. Wednesday and the god who is represented as a baby gangster. 

This is such a controversial selection but Sarah J Maas' A Court of Mist and Fury, the whole series really, I could go without and did honestly. I never finished ACOMF because of the direction it was heading and how much it bothered me. Even now I wouldn't think to revisit it. I still like her A Throne of Glass series though so don't @ me just yet. 

Where do I even start with this? If we're talking Adult historical fiction, I will always recommend The Other Boleyn Girl because that was the first historical book that introduced me to the genre and made me fall in love with it. I do acknowledge it's dramatisation, based on a lot of speculation, but it made for a rather thrilling read. If we're looking more at YA historical fiction, if you could call it that, then there is The Book Thief, an absolutely beautiful read. 

I'm not sure I know enough bloggers who haven't done this to tag them, but please, if you're interested definitely go ahead and share with me! I would love to read your answers. 

Quick note: I wrote this post a few months back but for some reason never shared it!

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