25 bookish facts: the post in which i talk about myself a lot

1. i buy tons of books and i don’t feel guilty about it all. realistically speaking, will my TBR ever reach zero? probably not? but i don’t care because…one, i can spend my money any way i want to (believe me I’m not going into debt over books) and two, i love books. i love owning them. i love looking at them. i love admiring the covers. i love the publishing industry. i love authors. i love supporting those authors and the industry. i love books.

2. i can’t read books with tiny fonts. if a book has tiny font, i will try to find another edition or just get it on my kindle. alot of adult fiction paperbacks have tiny fonts and i purposely avoid them or try to buy the hardcover if i want to read them. WHY DO YOU MAKE BOOKS HAVE TINY FONT PUBLISHERS

3. i used to prefer paperbacks about a year ago, but that has definitely shifted. i prefer hardcovers. i don’t even know when it happened, but now i will always choose the hardcover over the paperback. there are exceptions though but that usually has to do with covers and what not.

4. i probably own close to 1000 books? it’s at least 800. i think.

5. i have always been a reader ever since i was young. i probably stopped reading for a brief time in middle school. my parents always bought me books or took me to barnes and noble and the library as a reward for doing well in school when i was really young. in high school, most of my reading was required but i snuck some books in for pleasure. but my reading really took off again in college with harry potter (yes i read them for the first time when i was in college) and twilight (yes, i am a walking cliche).

6. if a book has too much hype, i will purposely put it off. hype really makes a book unattractive to me and idk why.

7. i have to use a bookmark. it’s why i have SO MANY because i won’t use anything but a bookmark to mark my spot in my book.

8. this is a recent development, but i prefer to read an author’s work in chronological order. like i have to. so an example of this was morgan matson. i was able to get a review copy of the unexpected everything way back in january, but i still hadn’t read second chance summer and since you’ve been gone. so i read those first and NOW i feel like i can actually read the unexpected everything.

9. if you don’t like my favorite book/books, i won’t ever tell you or say anything out loud because it’s cool everyone’s allowed to have their own opinion. internally i feel like this though:

but i’d never actually tell you this because i’m nice like that.

10. i will love the YA genre/category/etc forever. people say i’ll get tired of that. nope you’re wrong. :D

11. i used to read with my dust jackets ON. but then about 6 months ago while reading with the dust jacket on, i fucked it up somehow and ruined the dust jacket. i now happily read with them off.

12. this is such a bad habit, and i’m currently trying to break it. i tend to buy entire series when i haven’t read the first book yet or i’ve only read the first book. what can i say? when i commit, i commit.

13. i used to booktube. sometimes i miss it.

14. i really don’t like reviews that tell me NOT to read book. i moreso enjoy reviews that are like this — here are all the reasons i liked/disliked a book. here’s why i think some people will love/like/dislike/hate this book. because a book you might hate? I could totally love.

15. i’m not a super critical reader and i don’t feel bad about it at all. just because i don’t analyze the books i read doesn’t mean my opinion doesn’t matter.

16. that being said my favorite kind of reviews to read or watch are critical book reviews.

17. the raven cycle is my baby. it’s the series i will defend to my death.

18. i’m pretty obsessed with ya booklr (book community on tumblr) community. the edits and the graphics give me so much life. it’s honestly how i pick books from my tbr. if i find a fandom or pretty edits i’m like okay time to read this book.

19. i’ve become best friends with some of the best people on booktube all because of the falling kingdoms series by morgan rhodes.

20. when i’m the only person who likes a book and everyone else hates it i’m like…psssshhhhh i’m cool i don’t need anyone but really i’m like:

21. sometimes i think about giving sarah j. maas books a second chance. but then i remember. it’s like this ongoing internal battle.

22. i am trash for morally ambiguous antiheroes or villains. PURE TRASH

23. i’m really excited when i book i love starts becoming popular but sometimes, internally, i’m like NO GO AWAY IT’S MINE but overall, i’m happy.

24. if i watch a movie adaptation before i read the book, i will never read the book.

25. i’m so in love with the bookish internet community. booktubers, bookstagrammers, booklrs, book bloggers, etc. y’all fill my heart with happiness because we share our love for the same thing on the daily. <3

all the books i've bought since march...i think?

Disclaimer: All books were purchased with my own money unless otherwise stated in the blog post! All opinions are my own. All photos are mine unless otherwise credited.

Oh boy, so I haven’t posted a book haul ANYWHERE since I’ve stopped making videos on my youtube channel. As you can imagine, they’ve accumulated. I haven’t even posted a bookstagram photo of all my books. And as a result, I’ve been avoiding working on this blog post for awhile. I finally got off my butt and stopped procrastinating….so here are all the books I’ve bought since the beginning of March.

Okay so I did my best to divide them up into genres, and here we go.

So I grouped these together as my Sci-Fi books. I'm hesitant to call Everland by Wendy Spinale sci-fi? It's a retelling of Peter Pan with some sci-fi elements maybe even fantasy elements but I wasn't too sure what genre to place it in. All I know is that I am so excited to read it!! (I'll be linking goodreads links for every book - just click on the titles through out the post!) The Hunt by Megan Shepherd, Marked by Jenny Martin, The Countdown by Kimberly Derting, and The Last Star by Rick Yancey are all sequels or conclusions to series that are currently out. I am pretty excited to read The Last Star because I'm eager to find out what happens to Cassie and Zombie and everyone but ONCE AGAIN, I am disappointed with the size of the book. It should be AT LEAST 500 pages. AT LEAST. Bloodline by Claudia Gray was an auto buy for me. I'll read anything by Claudia Gray and bonus points she's writing tons of star wars fiction and I am totally here for that.

These are all the historical fiction books I've acquired since the beginning of March. I sort of fell in love with this special edition of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I had to have it! I STILL haven't read it!! BUT I WILL. I recently watched a video by itsjanelindsay (you guys need to check out her channel! I love her videos so much!) on booktube and it made me want to delve into the historical fiction genre even more so. Another recommendation that I got from that video was Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse. So thanks Jane! I think the book that I'm the most excited for is Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee -- POC author writing about POC characters, yes please! I also picked up Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey, Traitor Angels by Anne Blackman, The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry, and A Tyranny of Petticoats by many authors and edited by Jessica Spotswood.

In this group, are all my thrillers, mostly young adult but one adult thriller in the mix. Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman is the adult thriller. I heard about this book from Lala at booksandlala on booktube. You should also check out her channel as well. It's another that I love going to for recommendations. All the rest are YA thrillers. I am so excited for The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas and The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight. There's lots of buzz surrounding these two titles. The other three YA thrillers I've picked up are Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims, Fiona by Meredith Moore, and The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude. Can I also say that the covers for Girls on Fire and The May Queen Murders are to die for. So freaking gorgeous and haunting. I'm hoping that the words on the inside are just as haunting and gorgeous!!

These are all the books I thought were classified as "contemporary with some magical/fantastical elements". One of them is definitely almost magical realism. The one I'm the most excited for is Some Kind of Happiness by Claire LeGrand. It's about a little girl who lives by a forest that may or may not be magical! I'm also super excited for Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn. It sort of has that "be careful what you wish for" theme. The other books that I've picked up in this genre are Dreamology by Lucy Keating, Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins, A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann, Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano, It Wasn't Always like this by Joy Preble, and Behold the Bones by Natalie C. Parker. If the name Elle Cosimano sounds familiar she wrote the Nearly Gone duology!

Okay so here are all the contemporaries. The contemporary genre is always a genre I come back. It's like old faithful. I definitely complain about it sometimes, but nothing can top that feeling I can get when I read an emotional, swoony, poignant contemporary story. SO HERE ARE A BUNCH THAT I'VE GOT SINCE MARCH. It's alot. So I'm going to list them all now...ready? Scarlet Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw, The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian, Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, When We Collided by Emery Lord, This is Where It Ends by Amy Zhang, This is the Story of You by Beth Kephart,  Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch,  The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood, Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods...still with me there? *deep breath* The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter, Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake, Did I Mention I Need You by Estelle Maskame, The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley, Summer Days and Summer Night by many authors and edited by Stephanie Perkins, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, and finally, The Only Thing Worse than Me is You by Lily Anderson. Okay did you get all of that? If you're still here...one I really appreciate because that was a whole lot of books to list in row and two I'm gonna talk about three of the books that I'm probably the MOST excited for. Although, it WAS hard to choose because I'm excited for ALL THESE.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson is a book I've been highly anticipating for a long time. I was actually approved for digital review copy on edelweiss in exchange for an honest review so shout out to Simon & Schuster! I, however, couldn't get to it in time to review for its release BUT I did end up getting an autographed copy from my local independent book store!! AND I'm all caught up with my Morgan Matson reads so The Unexpected Everything is next on my contemporary TBR. I'm also EXTREMELY excited for The Last Boy and Girl in the World. I've heard nothing but amazing things! Girl in Pieces is an arc that I was able to snag at Yallwest this year! So big thank you to Random House for being so gracious and generous at their booth this year! The foreword letter from the editor at random house has me really excited to pick this one up soon. I'd really like to review it for its release date!

Okay these are all the fantasy books! OH BOY...so ummm, did I mention this is everything since the beginning of March AND it's almost June! LOL. Okay where do I even begin. Well...are you ready? I got The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, Ruined by Amy Tintera, Shadow Magic by Joseph Khan, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes, Warrior Witch by Danielle L. Jensen, Heartless by Marissa Meyer (!!!), Soldier by Julie Kagawa, Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun, The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan, Let the Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger, The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye, The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge, The Rose & The Dagger by Renee Ahdieh (!!!) and Scythe by Neal Shusterman. 

I'm the most excited about these three. HUGE SHOUTOUT AND THANK YOU TO FIERCE READS. I was able to get a Heartless arc at Yallwest. It was literal hunger games trying to get this arc at yallwest and I waited in line with my friend Kennia and her cousin for TWO FREAKING HOURS. It's one of my most anticipated especially after I loved The Lunar Chronicles. Also thank you to Simon & Schuster for this arc of Scythe by Neal Shusterman! It was a surprise arc, but it sounds SO GOOD. And of course, I had to spotlight The Crown's game -- MAGIC! RUSSIA! TSARS! YESSSSSSSSS!

OKAY THAT'S EVERYTHING! 

Have you guys read any of these? Which ones are you the most excited for! If you made it to the end of this post! All the applause from me!! XD because I almost didn't!

New Beginnings: That time I stopped booktubing and started blogging and bookstagramming?

Okay that's a pretty long title, but it pretty much sums it all up. I've stopped booktubing...so now what? Well, I'd like to really focus on blogging/goodreads and bookstagram. Making videos is a ton of work that I just don't have time to do anymore and my passion for the actual video making part is sort of gone. Don't get me wrong I LOVE watching booktube and I've met some of my best friends on there, but I didn't want to half ass my videos anymore. So the passion for video making is gone, but my passion for reading and books is just as strong as ever which leads me here, friends. It's almost like I'm starting over which can be sort of scary, but I don't want to stop being a part of the bookish internet community. I just want to be a part of it in a different way. So let's get to know each other all over again.

Hi. Hello. I'm Jillian. I'm 30. I'm a nurse who loves dat YA FICTION. I work full time, but in my free time I enjoy trying to read all the books while buying all the books (it's an endless cycle that will inevitably end in me buried under a HUGE pile of unread books).

Let's see I love The Raven Cycle. It's my fave. Let me refer you to this vsco'ed out bookstagram worthy picture here:

See how much I love it. SEEEEEE. But really this is ONE of my sets of The Raven Cycle. I have a pristine pretty set that's autographed by Maggie Stiefvater who is my queen that  NO ONE is allowed to touch. 

I also really like aesthetics. You'll find me scrolling through tumblr and pinterest searching for YA book aesthetics. It's pretty much how I choose 85% of the books that I read...which is most of them. So you may see me posting my own aesthetics here one day because I used to be a boss with photoshop and I want to relearn.

I also really like gifs. I pretty much communicate with gifs at least 50% of the time. Here's one for posterity.

This is real. This is me.

And I enjoy fanmixes. So you might see those here. I've been dabbling in making my own. 

Let's see I think that's all things books and fangirl...I also really like to eat at good restaurants so maybe I'll even post some foodie pics here. OH i also have a bookstagram which I'll post some photos from there over here. I feel like I'm all over the place, but like i said this is real THIS IS ME. 

OH AND OBVI, I will post book reviews with gifs! and fun stuff. And if you're looking for someone super critical over here, I'm just gonna have to point you in the other direction. I'm just not super critical. I like what I like. And sometimes I love ALOT of the books I read. BUT if there is something that I don't like about a book or is problematic I'm not afraid to acknowledge it. BUT STILL, i have many problematic faves. you've been warned.

Anyways...I hope this introduction wasn't all over the place. I also hope you stick around because I wanna talk about books with you.