Hello friends! I took my teacher certification exam that I've been studying for this past month a couple days ago which means that I finally have time to sit down and write all the posts I've been planning. The top one of my list is of course the Fourth Annual 2020 Book Blogger Awards which is being co-hosted by Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books and May @ Forever and Everly!  😍

The Book Blogger Awards serves as an opportunity to share some book blogging love and celebrates all the creativity and hard work amongst the blogging community. Before I get into the nominations, I just want to send a HUGE social-distanced hug to everyone. Ever since quarantine started and I was able to spend more time on the blogosphere, I've been reminded over and over again how amazing this community is. Every blogger out there deserves all the recognition in the world and I have met so many amazing people over the past couple of months. ❤️

claire @ clairefy is so incredibly well-spoken and her blog has a very calming and cohesive theme. She explores a lot of how the books we read impact our everyday choices and outlook on life. All of her posts, whether on her blog or on instagram, also push me to think beyond my narrow understanding and to continue learning more about the world around me.

paula @ her book thoughts was one of the first bloggers I ever followed back in 2014-15 and I recently rediscovered her! She's so incredibly friendly on social media and is constantly engaging with her readers as well. She also puts a lot of work into featuring different authors and it's been really fun getting to read all the special spotlights!

michelle @ magical reads - I always love reading Michelle's reviews because she puts a lot of her personality into her writing. She also champions a lot for diverse books and I've found so many great recommendations through her! (Currently reading The Gilded Wolves and my heartttt ❤️)

sofia @ bookish wandress put so much effort into her reviews and it's evident in how clear and articulate her writing is. Her reviews just encompass a lot of thoughts in such an organized manner and on top of that she's one of the nicest people I've met on the internet! 

clara @ the bookworm of notre dame - first of all, Clara's instagram is absolute aesthetic GOALS, but on the topic of recommendations, I love how creative she is. There is literally a recommendation list for any mood you might be in which for a massive mood reader like myself is so incredibly helpful. 

marie @ drizzle & hurricane books - I first discovered Marie through her discussion posts and they're some of my favorite because of how much thought is put into them. I love her voice and personality that shines throughout her writing and she's also so incredibly nice and fun to interact with! 

mieke @ mouse that reads is someone I've discovered pretty recently but I've absolutely fallen in love with her aesthetic. While I'm all about the pretty pink, pastels, and flowers, I also adore the muted and neutral color palette. Mieke's blog looks so relaxing and comfortable and just overall reflect her lovely character as well!

tiffany @ read by tiffany honestly writes some of the best posts and I'm not just saying that without reason. Her lovely personality shines throughout her posts and she's just able to express her excitement so clearly that whatever she writes about I automatically want to check out! She's also such a pro at finding the best gifs to add that extra emphasis and her posts are always so fun to read! 

belle @ belle can read is one of the nicest people I've met and I'm so grateful for her friendship! She always has the sweetest comments and also shares a lot of wonderful posts/videos that she finds and they're always an amazing way to discover new voices on the internet.💕

tessi @ book rapt is another person who I have gotten to interact with over the past couple of months and she's so incredibly nice! She pays so much attention to what is going on around the bookish community and is always up for a conversation as well! 

noura @ the perks of being noura is someone I've also discovered during quarantine and she has come up with some of the coolest readathons recently! I found her through her Kpop Readathon and she's also currently hosting a readathon inspired by Totally Spies! She's also super wonderful to interact with online and is always spreading so much positivity!

chloe @ marshmallow pudding is one of my favorite human beings ever. Not only is she super sweet and kind, but she's also such an aesthetic queen?!?! She always has a nice comment to share and is also constantly championing so many important social justice movements and spreading a lot of wonderful vibes. 💕

divine @ rea(d)ivine - I discovered Divine's blog through her Do I Make Enough Effort? My Struggles in Promoting Diverse Books and have since fallen down a rabbit hole with reading her posts. She shares some really great diverse recommendations but also incorporates some thought-provoking discussion in the role of the reader in promoting and consuming diverse books.

sara @ words with wings just recently started in May I believe and has always created some super high-quality posts! I remember starting out and being a complete mess, but she already has developed such a wonderful voice as well in her writing that really shines through her posts. I definitely can't wait to see more of how she'll continue to grow!

joey @ my booktastic life also recently started but I wasn't able to find a banner on her website. She started off as a bookstagrammer but set up a blog in the past couple of weeks. I love interacting with her on social media because she's the absolute nicest person and I'm super excited for her blogging journey!

cw, joce, and skye @ the quiet pond are honestly such a powerful group! The Quiet Pond recently featured some AMAZING people in their Asian Heritage Month (May 2020) and Pride Month (June 2020) editions and each post is honestly such a gem to read. All of their posts are created with so much care and dedication, I honestly cannot stress how amazing they all are!

Ahh this was difficult but also so much fun to do! I'm honestly so grateful and happy to be part of such an amazing bookish community and getting to reconnect has been one of the best highlights of this entire quarantine. 

I would love to read your rendition of the book blogger awards if you also made a post so please link them below! Also, if you are a book blogger, please also leave your latest post - I've been so behind on blog hopping and I can't wait to get back into it now that I don't have to spend hours studying anymore!

        

If I had to prioritize the books on my tbr, this one would be on the top. I've had The Queen of the Tearling on my shelves for years now and actually dnf'd the book when I first picked it up from my library. From some strange reason, I felt compelled to pick up the paperback edition and it's been collecting dust since then. I thought I'd take this time to really push through and see if it might be something I'll end up enjoying now that I'm a bit older.

As a side note, my birthstone is the garnet which is technically a darker shade of red, but for the sake of wanting to read this book at last, try to think of it as a garnet that's under a light? So maybe the red will be a bit brighter 🤷🏻‍♀️

This was kind of fun to choose even though I clearly cheated in the choosing process. I closed my eyes and spun around a couple of times before reaching for the book while knowing its exact location. With that being said, I did really want to get started on my reread of the Infernal Devices trilogy so I thought I'd take advantage of the fact that it takes place in London which is a whole ocean away from where I am in the United States.

I just rewatched the Studio Ghibli rendition of Howl's Moving Castle and cannot begin to tell you how much I love that movie. This also happens to be shelved as a middle grade on Goodreads which is a larger genre that I haven't read a lot of books from since I started blogging. I've heard that the original text delves more into character development especially for Howl which was more left out of the movie so I honestly can't wait to read this. 

Also, in keeping with the social distancing protocols and the fact that I literally never read outside unless I'm on public transportation, I'm going to take one of the additional adaptations that the hosts provided for the "read a book outside" prompt. I will still challenge myself to try reading on the porch but I'll also allow myself to read this with an open window and/or while listening to one of those asmr outside sound rooms if I can find one on YouTube.

     

Since my track record with The Queen of the Tearling isn't promising, I wanted to give myself some options in case I still hit a bump and feel like putting the book down.

This cover has a lot more dark red elements so it definitely fits the garnet aesthetic. I'm super excited to pick up my e-arc from NetGalley especially since it's inspired by Russian mythology and if I haven't raved about The Winternight trilogy, here's a friendly reminder that I adore books inspired by Russian folklore.

I mentioned this in my June wrap up as one of the potential options for series that I've been wanting to reread. This book is also currently available for Prime Reading in it's beautiful 10th anniversary glory so you bet I picked it up and am now just waiting for myself to get around to it.

If I really want to be ambitious, I would love to get to all five of these books and maybe even add another two books. I don't think they have the challenge to read 7 books like they did in previous years but it's an iconic part of the readathon that I would like to strive for. Of course, I don't want to put too much pressure because knowing myself I'll struggle to even read the original three books.

June has been the wake-up call that our world has needed and with the month officially winding down, let's continue to fight for change so that our futures will be brighter than our past. Black Lives STILL Matter and there are still many petitions to sign. In the past week, several members of the Black trans community have been targeted as victims of hate crimes (some names: Riah Milton and Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells) and there's been a resurgence of news about crimes done in the past - among them is the murder of Elijah McClain in 2019. 

Just because one month is over does not mean we stop using our voices to uplift the Black community. Continue signing petitions, calling your representations, and letting them know that this corrupted system must be torn down.

In addition to reading a lot of important and informative articles, I was also able to finally score some new favorites. I feel like most of the books I've read this year have all been on the "meh" level and while some were good, very few have really impressed me.

         

         

This book definitely surprised me and I'm sure you've seen all the praise it's been getting on the bookternet. I struggled a bit getting into the story at the beginning but there was a crucial turning point where I suddenly became incredibly invested. This has all the classic elements of a young adult fantasy and it's set amongst lush West African folklore - I'm definitely excited to check out future works by this author!