#I do still have a lot of books on my tbr shelf 😅 they are just not ones I can get from the library on audiobook

[ofliterarynature]

September-December reads from my physical tbr -

And that's a wrap! In 2024 I challenged myself to read 3 unread books from my shelves each month - my definition of "read" got a little loose by the end, but by my count I ended the year having finished 46 books, officially dnf-ing 11, and unhauling another 50+ books, so I'd call it a success.

My tbr shelf is now a great deal shorter, so stick around to see what my challenge(s) are for 2025!

[faejilly]

Guess who finished her first book of the year and is going to make it everyone's problem?

Not really me, because I don't actually have a lot to say? Wrede's Lyra books were some of my favorites when I was younger, but I haven't re-read any of them in a decade or two, until now. (I did Shadow Magic last year.)

I still enjoy them, but I'm not sure this one would land on a favorites shelf now without the nostalgia/formative influence going on. Partly because it's aimed at a younger audience, so I really was the target originally and I'm not anymore, which is fine, no book can be *it* for everyone, but it is a little melancholy to re-read something that was, but isn't anymore, yk?.

I do think Wrede does an excellent job of giving the world depth outside of what the POV/narrator can make explicit, which is something that can be hard to pull off and is very satisfying to read, to feel that even if the main character doesn't know about it, all this history, world & character & magic, clearly exists.

Not sure if I'll keep going with Lyra or try something else next... the TBR pile is vast, after all 😅

[booksandrandomfandoms]

Mid year book tag

@thereadingchallengechallenge tagged anyone with a B in their username so I guess that includes me 😂

1. Best book you’ve read so far : Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots - and I definitely recommend the audio if you can (some of the voices the narrator did reminded me of like cartoon villains and I loved it😂)

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far : Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo - I’ve read a few but this one’s still top of the list

3. New release you haven’t read yet but want to : The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman - just ordered it too 😂

4. Most anticipated release for second half of the year : A curse for true love by Stephanie Garber - like I’ve already ordered 3 copies 😅

5. Biggest disappointment : Babel by R. F. Kuang - honestly I have many disappointments to choose from but this feels like the biggest 🤷‍♀️😓

6. Biggest surprise : How Lucky by Will Leitch - not what I was expecting, but that was probably my fault for not reading the description better 😂 (I was expecting mc to be a grouchy old man … and he’s only 26🤷‍♀️) very good book, audio was a lot of fun too 👍

7. Favorite New Author : Little Thieves by Margaret Owen - quickly ordered the sequel and am excited I already have some of their other books on my shelf (moving them closer to my top tbr 😂)

8. Newest Fictional Crush : The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson - still looking for my Marco 😂

9. Newest Favorite Character : Court of the Undying Seasons by A. M. Strickland - Kashire was a LOT 😂

10. Book that made you cry : Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston - wasn’t expecting it to but the end hit me hard 😭😭😭

11. A book that made you happy : Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chockshi - picking one that isn’t already mentioned and I was kind of surprised by , really cute

12. Favorite adaptation : actually haven’t been watching anything except Owl House lately 😅, i did see the Dungeons and Dragons movie (if that counts, though I’ve never read or played any D&D before) I do want to beg everyone to read my newest WEBTOON obsession Cursed Princess Club by LambCat (I fear we’re near the end though 😭)

13. Prettiest cover : Eternally Yours by Patrice Caldwell - it’s an anthology and it’s so pretty 😂

14. A book you need to read before the end of the year : Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool - another anticipated release that actually come out next week, I liked her there will come a darkness series and I hope I’ll love this one too 🤞

I’m tagging @themelodyofspring & anyone else who would like to share their mid year thoughts

[ticiie]

my fave @wunderlichkind tagged me to answer those questions which isn't easier when you're working as a bookseller 😅😂 anyway thanks for tagging dearest silija, here goes nothing 💖

An estimate of how many physical books i own: uh...last time I counted was two years ago when i was moving out and therefor had to sort out some of them and I eventually moved around 350...now i guess there are about 500/550 in total

Favourite author: way too many and they change on a regular basis but Benedict Wells and Ferdinand von Schirach will probably stay on top

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: easy: "where the crawdads sing". It's almost a sin to say it out loud as a bookseller that I haven't read a single line from that book but i will not change it 🤷🏽 also everything that comes from the "seven sisters" (Lucinda Riley) -universe

A popular book I thought was just meh: I'm really sorry to say this but that's gotta be "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin (sue me) I liked the writing and the story was okay but I really don't understand the hype around it...

Longest book I own: that would also be "Anna Karenina"

Longest series I own all the books to: Literally the only series I own all the books to (and I really don't know why I don't seem to be able to keep track to any other/new series) is Harry Potter. 1-7 in paperback (both english and german), the three Hogwarts-Library books, "cursed child" (still haven't read that one shhhhh...) and 1-5 as illustrated versions and I am so excited for the 6th to come out 🤩 so yeah about 1/5 of the limited space on the shelf in my bedroom is used by Harry Potter 🙈

Prettiest book I own: wow okay that's a hard one...Probably the illustrated version of Gaimans "ocean at the end of the lane"? and also Andy Weirs "der Astronaut" (OT: Project Hail Mary)

A book or series I wish more people knew about: "Portrait of a theif" by Grace D. Li: I loved the whole vibe of it and although the end was so frustrating I still loved it a lot.

Book I’m reading now: "20'000 leagues under the sea" (in german though) because Jules Verne is the GOAT.

Book that’s been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven’t gotten around to it: way more than I'd like to admit so it's hard to pick just one but I think "Crescent City" is leading the very very long list

Do you have any books in a language other than English: german (duh) and one spanish edition of an old Nicholas Sparks-novel

Paperback, hardcover or ebook?: I don't really differentiate between paperback and hardcover, I enjoy both equally but ebooks really aren't my thing, the only thing I read digitally are fanfictions, apart from those I am a child of haptics

tagging bestie @nonbin-arii because I just know their answers will be a lot more interesting than mine 🙈💖

[batgirlgeek]

Funko Pop Collection

So I got this ask a while back from a mutual (aka @blackcat2907) and I mentioned in the tags that I could show off my funko pops so here I am! I started collecting them in middle school. They’re probably a money waster and will most likely be thrown away by future descendants but I like them🥰

I tried to get them all pictured together since they’re all scattered about my room but that didn’t happen bc I either misplaced some or they weren’t standing right (bc as we all know, Funkos can be finicky with if they want to stand properly on a given day).

My Harlequin Batman/Alfred Hitchcock/Darla/Lock/Mr. Rogers are usually on a shelf together since I don’t know where to put them and I’m not sure where most of them came from. I imagine Lock was purchased around the time when I was making my descendants fics (one of them featured Lock, Shock and Barrel’s Children) but idk for sure😅

From back -> front/left -> right we have:

Carmen Sandiego (she was my first)

Drowned Batman/-11 Batman (I haven’t actually read Death Metal but I really like the aesthetic of that AU Batman😅)

Regular Batman

Harlequin Batman

Darla from Shazam (I really liked the first live action—and the second—and I thought Darla was sweet❣️)

Alfred Hitchcock

Lock (nightmare before Christmas)

Mr. Rogers (I think I bought this when I saw the Tom Hanks’ biopic)

Eric + Ariel (I keep them with my fairytale retellings. I’m hoping to get a Cinderella figure at some point since

Batgirl

Pride month Robin (I usually buy my Funkos from retailers or Amazon but this one I got from funko’s official store since it came out during June last year shortly after Tim came out)

A bonus Dorian from D&D: Honor Among Thieves:

I enjoyed that movie a lot and I have a soft spot for tieflings so when I saw Hot Topic had the movie Funkos, I snagged her. I nearly forgot to include her since she’s usually sitting on a corner bookshelf behind my chair/desk. Since D&D is a roleplaying game, I’ve kept her with my game disks/switch & DS cartridges

The bombshells collection:

Left -> right:

Hawk girl

Supergirl

Batwoman

Poison Ivy

Catwoman

I’ve been trying to collect DC’s Bombshells line because I just love their 40s aesthetic a lot—I’d like to get the comic series also but I’m currently on a book buying ban to curb my physical TBR (there’s 58 books left if my Storygraph’s count is right).

And finally, my minis:

My mom got me this DC funko advent calendar for Christmas last year and it was very fun opening them all up since it gave me something to look forward to every day. Unfortunately, a lot of them were duds as there were so many duplicates (I suspect the company just retooled actual Funkos and didn’t bother to make new ones lol). Also the flash ones don’t stand unless they’re leaning against another mini. But I still think they’re cute so they’re displayed on their own shelf :)

I’ve never officially counted all my Funkos before but in total (excluding my advent calendar minis) we have 18. There’s a lot more I’d love to buy (including a Huntress funko) but at the moment all I can do is stare wistfully at an Amazon wishlist and I’m okay with that for now😅

(I’m sorry this took awhile BTW. I could lie and say I was busy but I really got sucked into the tv series White Collar of all things. It’s good, I’m on s4 <3)

By the way,, before you leave: if anybody is reading this and is collecting the deluxe editions of these dragon age books or knows where I can get copies for a reasonable price, I would appreciate it. They are very hard to find now since they’re technically out of print I think. I’m missing The Calling, The Stolen Throne and Last Flight. Might have to cave and buy them in their original editions which would be a shame bc I think these copies are gorgeous and have incredible art😅