My Bookshelf

First book on our shelf is Monstrous Regiment by Sir Terry Pratchett! This is part of a three way tie for my favorite Discworld novel. If you're looking for something funny and clever that is very Gender(TM), then this is the book for you. I'm in the middle of rereading it at the time I'm making this page and wowza is it a good book. A Pratchett classic without necessarily following the pattern of many of the other books in terms of how the plot goes. I cannot recommend it enough! I'm currently in the midst of making a page dedicated to this book, which you can check out here! Be warned, it's a work in progress and contains spoilers.

Second book is my other Terry Pratchett novel, Going Postal. This is the second member of the three-way tie for my fav Discworld novel (the third is Night Watch, which sadly I do not have with me.) and is extremely good. I have been a sucker for charming conmen ever since I watched The Music Man as a child and Moist Von Lipwig quickly became my new favorite conman. I originally listened to this as a book on tape when I was rather young and only recently got a physical copy, and it was quite nice to be able to read it myself. Another 10/10 book from Pratchett I really have no notes.

The next book is The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green! I don't usually read a lot of essay collections but I absolutely loved this. Everyone should read this book. It made me laugh so hard I cried, and then made me bawl like a baby. John Green's writing is really top-notch here, and this review book/quasi-memoir will make you think about all the things it means to be human. I own a hardcover first edition, which means that it's signed!

The first YA book on our shelf is In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan! This is an absolute masterpiece of a fantasy novel that I highly recommend to all YA fantasy lovers. It's an excellent book on its own, but is best appreciated if you have a general background in fantasy books for kids and young adults, as most of the premise and the plot is in conversation with the conventions of the genre. Plus it's chock-full of queer characters which is always a plus!

Listen, you can judge all you want, but ever since early high school The Selection series by Kiera Cass has been my go-to comfort series. I have sat down and read these three books without getting up once more times than I am willing to count. Yes, it's silly and a little stupid, and yes it is clearly supposed to be "what if The Bachelor but royalty and also The Hunger Games?", but as cheesy YA romance series go it's rather good! If you like your romance marinated in cheddar and with weird world-building twists and are able to suspend disbelief like a champ, then you may love it as much as I do! Do keep in mind that it is definitely not without its flaws though, especially in terms of how the Asian characters are written.

Next we have The Crown by Kiera Cass, aka the fifth and final book in the Selection series. Now you may be wondering where The Heir is, since I've got all the other books, which is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. Sadly, I have the boring answer that I simply don't own it! I originally read the series on my now missing Nook, and had only gotten the first three books in paperback after first reading their e-book versions. When The Heir came out, I read the e-book version and hadn't yet gone out and bought the physical book when The Crown came out. I saw the book in the airport traveling and was so excited to see that it had finally come out that I bought the paperback on the spot, without thinking of the fact that I would then own all the books except for the fourth one. Perhaps someday I'll buy it, but for now I'm simply missing one! The last two books, which follow the daughter of the main character of the first three, are not as good as the original and I've read them a lot fewer times, but they're still good mindless romance reads if you're up for it. Plus we love a next-gen sequel that doesn't villify the og characters but still shows that they'd have some issues in their parenting skills for totally realistic reasons!

Speaking of YA romance series, next we have Carry On by Rainbow Rowell! This is another one of those books that I've reread a bazillion times because it's just so addicting and good! I believe I bought this after buying and reading Fangirl, which sadly I don't have with me as of right now. I highly recommend it to all YA fans, especially if you've spent any time at all in the world of fandom, since Carry On is kind of in conversation with fantasy series and their fandoms.

Wayward Son, aka the second book in the Carry On trilogy, is a bit of a controversial one among Rowell fans, but personally I enjoy it. The important thing to remember going into it is that the series is inspired by fake fanfic from another Rowell book, and that roadtrip aus are a staple in the realm of fanfiction. Plus, it introduces Shepard Book, who is one of my favorite characters in the series! As you can see, I got the B&N exclusive version of this book, which I quite like having as the illustrations are lovely.

Then of course we've got the last book in the Carry On trilogy, Any Way the Wind Blows. Just the regular version of this one, as I saw it in a bookstore after it came out and immeadiately had to snatch it up so I could read it right away. As someone who loves to see characters grapple with trauma I quite liked this as the final book in the series, especially since I felt like it continued the theme of being in conversation with fanworks rather well.

Continuing on with the YA series theme, next we've got Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo! I have both these books in hardcover, which is nice since they'r rather cool looking editions; the edges of the pages are black for Six of Crows and red for Crooked Kingdom. As for the books themselves, they really are excellent heist/crime fantasy books with engaging characters and plenty of twists to keep you guessing. There are also some great romantic subplots and loads of angsty backstories, especially for my favorite characters, Kaz and Inej. It is important to note that there are a lot of triggering subjects that are talked about in detail throughout the two books, so if that's something you're concerned about then I definitely recommend looking up the trigger warnings.