Favorite Reads (& Watches) of 2018

I'm not going to give too much of an introduction because we all know why you're here and what this list is. I will say that this is a long list because I've been reading a lot of really great things, and I've enjoyed most of them. I'm really starting to hone in on my reading tastes and what I do and don't enjoy when it comes to that. For your convenience and my sanity, this list is separated into fiction works (mostly novels), nonfiction, and comics. Not all categories are created equal, and a lot of my favorites are actually in the comics section, so, yay! Also, strap in, this is a long one.

FICTION

• A Princess in Theory & A Duke by Default - Alyssa Cole: I normally cannot stand romance novels. At least that's what I thought before I found my new favorite, Alyssa Cole. Not only am I sucker for any kind of royal romance, I've finally found one that lives up to being a modern, feminist romance. Because I've tried to read the other "feminist" ones that still perpetuate gross and harmful behaviors. This series is a gift to us all, and the next in the series (a novella) is a F/F romance and the cover is two women looking in love. I'm gonna cry.
• The Language of Thorns - Leigh Bardugo: I don't know how to even begin to talk about how great this was? These are very good, amazing, magical short stories. Some of them give you hope and others are just horribly dark and cruel. If you like fairytales and Bardugo's writing and haven't read this, you should because it's amazing.
• An American Marriage - Tayari Jones: Probably the most acclaimed and buzzworthy book on this list. This is very good, top-tier writing and storytelling. It's one of Barack Obama's favorites for a reason. Because it's good. And amazingly written with complex characters and situations and it's really just remarkable. 
• The Refrigerator Monologues - Catherynne M. Valente: If you stick around towards the end of the list, you'll see how much I love and adore comics. They have been such a large part of my life for the past five years, and at this point, I can't imagine my life without them. And since I started reading comics later in the game, I've read a lot of really great representation of women, that's mostly written by women. But that's not the history of comics. This is one of the two books in this section that completely has my whole heart. This is told in series of short stories, each told by a different woman that has been fridged in their superhero's story. These are the women that are killed, raped, brainwashed, stripped of their powers in order to service the story of their male protagonist. This works best with some working knowledge of comics and the history of fridging (links here, here, and here), and I completely fell in love with it.

• Beartown - Fredrik Backman: This one wins the award for the book that made me cry the most on this list. This is such a strong story, and incredibly well written. People rave about Backman's stories and writing for a reason. It's amazing, and heart-wrenching and is another one that makes me love and hate the world all at the same time.
• If They Come For Us - Fatimah Asghar: The only poetry on this list, and of all the poetry I read this year, it's the one that I want everyone to read and is shamefully underrated and needs to be on more people's radars. It is the best poetry collection that I've ever read. This one has my heart.
• Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi: This book is phenomenal. And whether or not you think it follows certain fantasy tropes or adheres to YA cliches, it is phenomenal because it is a stunning YA fantasy written and starring a black woman. The family relationships far exceed regular YA and fantasy novels. This is a fantasy novel that has a really amazing character, especially for our main character Zelie, but really for all of our featured characters. Really a great story, and I'm incredibly excited to continue.
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid: Because I don't want to go on for seven years, I'm going to encourage you to read my goodreads review (linked through the title). I have never read a book that I feel more personally about. This book is mine, and it is me on the page. I was laughing and crying and this book encompasses my whole soul. I love it with my whole heart, and it's a new all-time favorite. 

There are also two series that I started and finished in 2018 that I also absolutely loved, both for their individual stories and for their overall series arcs. And here they are: 

Crazy Rich Asians, series (I, II, III) - Kevin Kwan: These are the audiobook stars of the show for this year. (Also, one of the movie stars of the show: stay tuned.) Are these phenomenal literature? No. But are they a good old romp with characters that I love and adore? Yes, I would die for and marry Astrid. And due to the really gossipy, social nature of these books, the audiobooks really sold this series for me, because I felt like I was getting the inside scoop on these characters. It was an experience. 

Binti, series (I, II, III) - Nnedi Okorafor: Afrofuturism is a genre that I've only dipped my toes into, but is already one of my favorites. It combines my love of speculative, science-fiction and culturally-and-character-based stories. Home is my favorite of the series, closely followed by the first. I read all of these fairly close together, and that definitely helped me grasp the story and characters. I really recommend these (also as audiobooks because they really helped me with a lot of pronunciations).

NONFICTION

I'm still learning how to accurately talk about nonfiction books, so this section should be a nice reprieve from all my writing. Also, all of these are pretty popular and well-read, so most of you have probably already read or heard of them.

• The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls: The most popular book that I read in 2018, and I know why. Jeannette Walls had a truly fascinating childhood. The common thread with all these nonfiction books is that they kept me engaged during the reading process. 
• Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness - Susannah Cahalan: This is a terrifying but fascinating recollection of a month of Susannah Cahalan's life. I could not put this down. It's so well-written and always kept me engaged.
• Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates: This is the one that blew me away out of this section. It is so profound and amazing. Definitely recommend listening to the audiobook, as it's read by Coates himself. This book covered a lot of ground, and is one that I will think about for a long time.

• In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom - Yeonmi Park: This book really took the world by storm a few years ago, and I finally got around to reading it. It still feels so relevant. It was endearing and heartbreaking and horrifying. If you've gone without reading this like I had, I definitely recommend it.
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Caitlin Doughty: I found Caitlin's YouTube channel earlier in 2018, and I bought this soon after. This is part memoir, part facts about death and dying and different options for what happens to you after death. This is really, very good, and is the one that I will reference and revisit as I need to.

COMICS

• Goldie Vance, vol. 3 & 4 - Hope Larson: I love a queer Nancy Drew. I'm not sure if we're getting more of this series, and that makes my heart hurt a little bit. This is a precious story with so much heart, and I adore it.
• Aquicorn Cove & The Tea Dragon Society - Katie O'Neill: These are the cutest, most adorable short children's stories. They are compassionate and educational and I love the art. Everyone loves these for a reason.
• Bitch Planet - Kelly Sue DeConnick: Standout comic writer of the year for me is Kelly Sue DeConnick. I am a true stan now. I love her so much. This comic is set in near-ish future where the men in charge send the women they deem "non-compliant" (those who aren't content to simply comply to their patriarchal overlords) are exiled to a different planet. I'd been meaning to read this for years, and I really enjoyed the story and the feminist nature of it. It's great, please read it.

• Giant Days, vol. 8 - John Allison: If there's ever a year where this comic doesn't make my favorites list, it will be a truly sad day. This is the only series I've ever followed from the beginning for this long. Allison always keeps me interested in these characters and their day-to-day adventures. I love this series so much.
• The Life of Captain Marvel - Margaret Stohl: Okay, okay, so after you read the 2012 run of Captain Marvel (see: next entry), you have to read this. The collected volume doesn't come out until later this month, but I read the single issues of this as they released towards the end of 2018, and I've got to applaud this story. As a bit of a *nerd, there were some story issues that I wasn't immediately a fan of, but this story has sat with me since I finished it. I think what this story does is very important and a vital change that Carol's story needed. Please just read it, this is a truly spectacular series.
• Captain Marvel (2012) - Kelly Sue DeConnick: I love Captain Marvel's story. And this is the arc where she was promoted from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel. This first volume isn't my favorite, but the overall arc of this series (1: In Pursuit of Flight & 2: Down & 3: Avengers: The Enemy Within) is so good. And though I'm partial to the 2015 run of Carol's story because that's how I was introduced to her, this is really spectacular writing, and it really established DeConnick as one of my favorite comic writers of all time and Carol as my favorite superhero.

MOVIES

So, if you haven't heard of letterboxd, and you watch a lot of movies like I do, it's basically a goodreads (but better!) for movies. The full list of 20 movies is here for you to peruse, but just quickly here are my top favorites from that list (ordered roughly with my absolute favorites at the top):

The Shape of Water

Paddington

Sorry to Bother You

Annihilation

Carol

Widows

Inside Llewyn Davis

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

And that's it. It was a long one, but I had a whole lot of favorite things this past year and I wanted to share all of them with you. I've been reading less bad things and more things that I know I'll enjoy, which is why this post has been seven years long.

Please tell me down in the comments any of the favorite things you've read or watched this year, if you've read any of my favorites, or if you have any favorites you'd think I'd enjoy please let me know! I'll see you all soon(er than I have been). 

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One Year of Favorites | Tomes Project

I've been gone for a while (almost exactly a year, in fact) and that's been for a lot of reasons: school was far too stressful, issues with medications, and just general gloominess. But in the time I was gone, I still read quite a lot (over 50 things just this year, in fact) and most of them I really loved because I've mostly stopped reading things just because everyone else is reading it. If I finish it, I've got to love it.

I've also been watching a lot of movies, and I've been tracking them on letterboxd, which is a goodreads-esk equivalent (with half stars!) for movies. (You can follow me, if you'd like.) And I may end up incorporating more movies/tv type content here as well, so if you're interested in that, let me know.

Either way, here are the 21 books, two complete series, and a handful of comics that I've been loving in my time away from blogging (ordered by read date).

END OF 2017

• JANE, UNLIMITED - Kristin Cashore: 4/5 - Oh my gosh, I loved this so much. It's the most unique book I've ever read; it's multiple universes plus a 'choose your own adventure' story that bends genre. So lively and fun.
• DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES - Seanan McGuire: 5/5 - Probably one of the ones on the list that I continue to think about the most. This was everything that I wanted from this series--a dark, portal fantasy fairytale. The even numbered books of this series are the ones that show the students from Eleanor's school finding their doors. I love those stories, and McGuire writes them so well. In addition, this has some really powerful writing and messages about gender norms and the restrictions and expectations that we put on children that I think about on a regular basis.  
• THE PRINCESS DIARIST - Carrie Fisher: 4/5 - I didn't grow up on the classic Star Wars trilogy. I never really cared, to be honest, but one of my earliest memories is seeing Episode II in theaters. I only got into the series when the new trilogy premiered in 2015. And, this provided a lot of context to those movies and that fandom that I hadn't known. When I started reading this, I was the same age as Carrie's diary entries from the first movie, and there was a particular connecting power in that for me. 

• MARCH, BOOK THREE - John Lewis: 5/5 - An absolute must-read non-fiction graphic memoir series that takes place during the civil rights period, with flashes of the "current time" of 2009 on the day of Barak Obama's inauguration. 
• THE POWER - Naomi Alderman: 4/5 - This is another one that I continue to think about on a near-daily basis. While not my favorite book or the most well-written book for me, this has fundamentally altered the way that I not only interact with the world but also with my own ideas and beliefs. 
• LONG WAY DOWN - Jason Reynolds: 5/5 - Actually the only one on this list so far that I've reread. I read this both in print and on audio, and while both great, I would definitely recommend the print version because this is a book in verse, and Reynolds' poetry is very visual in nature.

SO FAR IN 2018

• ALL AMERICAN BOYS - Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely: 5/5 - Jason Reynolds is a fantastic author, and I love his work. This is a complex look on police brutality against black people in America. It was written a few years ago now, but it's still very relevant and taught me a lot of things. 
• THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO - Taylor Jenkins Reid: 5/5 - I literally cannot talk about this book without going on for about three hours about it, so I'll keep it short. This is my book, I've never connected to anything like I've connected to this. I've never felt that type of ownership over anything before, so much so that I cannot listen or read people talking about how much they love this book because it's just such a personal story for me. I absolutely loved this, and it's my favorite book of probably ever.
• THE REFRIGERATOR MONOLOGUES - Catherynne M. Valente: 5/5 - Another book that has fundamentally changed my outlook on things. In this case, comics and superhero movies, of which I consume a lot. This is a series of short stories parodying the "Women in Refrigerators" trope. Here are some resources for you to look deeper into the topic (Vox article on Gail Simone, wikipedia page, WiR website) but basically, this is the plot device where, disproportionately, women are killed, injured, driven insane, or depowered for the advancement of the men in the story. It's a thing that happens a lot in comics, and *cough cough* especially recently in big superhero movies.
• THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS - Leigh Bardugo: 5/5 - Bardugo is a queen. I love her. These are the dark fairytales that I've always wanted and never got until this.
• WE ARE OKAY - Nina LaCour: 4/5 - I read this when I was in an especially dark period, and Marin was so incredibly relatable to me, and the arc that she goes on in this book really helped me.

• Crazy Rich Asians trilogy (I - II - III) - Kevin Kwan: 4/5 - *screams for seven years about how much I love Astrid Leong*

• Binti Trilogy (I, II, III) - Nnedi Okorafor: 4/5, 4.5/5, 3.5/5 - Such a phenomenal series of sci-fi novellas that stars a young girl, Binti, who is the first in her family to leave their village, their planet in order to go to university. I consumed these, and they're so great.

• IF THEY COME FOR US - Fatimah Asghar: 5/5 - Absolutely beautiful and stunning and incredibly eye-opening and relevant poetry. I actually bought my own copy recently so that I could go through and mark it up. The best poetry I've read in the past year.
• THE HATE U GIVE - Angie Thomas: 5/5 - You've all heard of this, you all love it, and the only reason it took me so long to read was that I specifically wanted to listen to the audiobook, and the waitlist from my library was ridiculously long.
• SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - Caitlin Doughty: 4/5 - My family was low-key concerned about me when I was reading this, but this is a really good book for anyone looking to know more about the death industry and what happens when you die. This is something I know that I will go back and reference as I need, and it's another that I continue to think about.
• IN ORDER TO LIVE - Yeonmi Park with Maryanne Vollers: 5/5 - Another that I'd been meaning to read for years, but felt that I needed to due to current events. This is a terrifying recount of Yeonmi's life and her escape from North Korea. An absolutely necessary read, especially now.
• THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE - Heidi Heilig: 4/5 - At the time, I really needed something to lift my spirits. I'd been reading a lot of really heavy material at the time (see: above) and this was a really fun YA romp with pirates, time-travel, and myths. Oooh, I loved it, and I'm hoping to read the sequel soon.

• UNDEAD GIRL GANG - Lily Anderson: 4/5 - It was a girl gang with witches. I couldn't not enjoy this.
• AQUICORN COVE & THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY - Katie O'Neill: 4/5, 5/5 - CUTE
• BRAIN ON FIRE - Susannah Cahalan: 4/5 - Another memoir that was terrifying and gripping. This was Susannah's recount of the medical mystery that surrounded her at 24. A really amazing story that's incredibly well-written.
• CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE - Tomi Adeyemi: 5/5 - Speaking of well-written, I'm low-key shook after this book. So, so amazing, and another one that only took me so long to read because I was waiting for the audiobook from my library. (Sidenote: Bahni Turpin is now one of my favorite audiobook narrators of all time, she always does an amazing job.)

COMICS OF NOTE

• MISFIT CITY, VOL. 1 - Kirsten Smith: 4/5 - Kind of a female Goonies written by one of the writers of Legally Blonde. It's a fun time.
• SPELL ON WHEELS - Kate Leth: 4/5 - Gay! Witches! Roadtrip! I didn't fall in love with this as much as I wanted to, but this was so much fun and I'll keep an eye on anything Kate Leth does in the future.
• GIANT DAYS, VOL. 8 - John Allison: 4/5 - I LOVE GIANT DAYS. 
• WONDER WOMAN, VOL. 2 & 3 - Brian Azzarello: It took me forever to continue on with this series, but if you loved the Wonder Woman movie, you would be a great fit for this series. It's wild and fun and kind of reminds me of Percy Jackson?

• BINGO LOVE - Tee Franklin: 4.5/5 - This is one I'm gonna recommend my goodreads review for because this was a really important and beautiful story, but I had some issues with it that I go into there.
• BITCH PLANET - Kelly Sue DeConnick: 4/5 - KSD is a phenomenal writer. I love her so much, and when I heard we were getting more of this comic soon, I picked up the first volume of this. It's definitely more mature than the others on this list, so maybe don't pick this up if you're not keen on nudity (purposeful, not excessive or super sexualized) and violence.
• CAPTAIN MARVEL (2012) - Kelly Sue DeConnick: I'm like crazy excited for the new movie, and I loved the 2015 run of Captain Marvel, so I've been making my way through Carol's backlist. It's been so much fun, and if you're looking for a place to start with Carol before the new movie comes out, this is a good place to start.
• GOLDIE VANCE, VOL. 3 - Hope Larson: 4.5/5 - Queer Nancy Drew. Fight me, it's so much fun.

• THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN MARVEL #1-2 - Margaret Stohl: Have I mentioned that I'm excited about the Captain Marvel movie? (The trailer drops today, and I literally can't handle the excitement.) This is exceptionally well-written, and issue #3 comes out this week. *can't handle the excitement*
• BY NIGHT #1-2 - John Allison: When I was picking up the previous comic from my local comic book shop, I saw this and John Allison's (see: GIANT DAYS) name and immediately bought the first two issues. It's a wild, supernatural ride, and I'm really enjoying it.

That was a lot, and if you've stuck around in my absence then I really appreciate you. If you're new, welcome! I hope you stick around. I'm dipping my toe back into blogging for now but I'm looking forward to coming back to this world. I've missed it a lot. 

(I am working retail right now, so I'm a little dead inside but we're all good.)

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Favorite Books of 2017 (So Far)

I've seen a few people do posts like this this and last year, and I prefer it to the Mid-Year Book Freak Out because I don't have to talk about books I didn't like. Also, I've read some fantastic books so far this year, and if this list is any indication, then making a single list at the end of the year will be near impossible.

Now, these aren't all books that released in 2017 (though many of them are), but rather books that I have read and loved so far this year. Also, these are in no particular order because I could not do that to my children.

All links go to my full Goodreads reviews if you want more detail about my thoughts!

• FAKING NORMAL: This is definitely a book that I would never have picked up because there's a person on the cover, and nothing about it is particularly striking. But I got to listen to Courtney Stevens talk on a panel at SEYA-fest in March and immediately went to buy her book. This is an honest and raw depiction of how one girl handles the time after being raped. 
• WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI: I'm sure 99% of you have heard all the great and wonderful praise about this book, but it's all true. It's kind of ridiculous, but it's basically a Bollywood movie in a book so it's ridiculous by nature but also extremely heartwarming. 
• THE UPSIDE OF UNREQUITED: Another one that so many people have read and loved this year, but it really is that good. For me, it was so amazing to see Albertalli's writing improve, but I also adored how she connected this book to her previous one. It's almost Matson-like and it's probably one of my favorite things that contemporary authors can do.
• A CONJURING OF LIGHT: I was pretty skeptical going into this final book in the Shades of Magic trilogy because I was not a huge fan of the second book. But I adored how Schwab concluded this series and wrapped up everyone's character arcs. I loved this.
• MARCH, BOOKS ONE AND TWO: If there is one (or two, technicalities) book that I would tell every single person to read, it would be this one. 
• RADIO SILENCE: Now, I said that these were in no particular order, which is true about all the books except this one. If I had to pick a singular favorite book of the year at this point, I would tell you Radio Silence. This book is phenomenal. 
• SLEEPING GIANTS: I only gave this book 3.5 stars, but this book was still one of my favorite reads (and listens--pick up the audiobook if you can) this year. (Clearly, it's on the list.)
• GIANT DAYS, VOL. 4: Definitely my favorite volume of this comic series so far. It's also just one of my favorite comics out on the market right now. I can only tell y'all to read this so many times.
• EXIT WEST: Just an amazing, amazing book. It's a refugee novel with magical elements and it's done absolutely wonderfully. This is a short book, less than 250 pages, and absolutely flies by. 

What have been some of your favorite reads so far this year? Have you read any of these? Are they on your TBR? Tell me down in comments!

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Favorite and Least Favorite Books of 2016

I read 79 things this year. That includes novels, memoirs, comic volumes, novellas, and essays among other things. Jaime's book survey is coming later (at some point) so a more comprehensive 2016 reading recap is coming soon! This list won't include rereads, but obviously, books that I reread this year are favorites otherwise, I wouldn't have reread them.

LEAST FAVORITE BOOKS

These first few books are actually DNFs, so I didn't actually finish them but judgment has been passed nonetheless.

• Captive Prince: I have so many problems with this book. I absolutely hated it, and the main ideas around this series are incredibly romance focused. And, knowing the ship that sails at the end of this series, I just cannot get behind this book, nor could I force myself to read through unnecessarily graphic and gratuitous text. 
• Second Chance Summer: I really, really tried with this one, probably more so that the other two books on this portion of the list; however, it was just so bad that I couldn't even force myself to finish this book. I thought it was Matson's debut because, for me, the writing itself was leagues beneath the writing in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. There was absolutely no plot (a person dying is not a plot, sorry) and whatever it was that happened between this group of characters (I didn't even get to that point in the story) . . . I can't realistically see the weight of it because it happened when they were about 12 or 14. 
• The Wrath and the Dawn: My main issue with this was that it threw you into a story with no explanation or buildup. I didn't relate to the characters because I just felt so distant from them because we don't spend much time with them before the plot starts moving.

Okay, so now continuing on with the books I actually finished.

• Cursed Child: Just go to the link to read my review of this because I have too much to say about this in such a short space. TLDR: It was basically the My Immortal fanfiction that we all laughed at ten years ago.
• Slammed: Again, I have too many problems with this, most of which boil down to an imbalance of power in a relationship, and it portrays a horribly unhealthy relationship as something swoon-worthy and healthy. 
• Lady Midnight: Wow, I'm getting repetitive here, but I had multiple problems with this. After a lot of reflection, I think it's coming down to me growing out of Cassandra Clare's writing style and just a general fatigue of the Shadowhunter world.
• Can You Keep a Secret?: Again, this one boils down to an imbalance of power in a relationship that is founded on blackmail. Additionally, there is an incredibly harmful and inaccurate portrayal of feminism in this book. I just can't support it.

FAVORITE BOOKS

(there will be a bonus comic round, fret not!)

also, these are roughly ordered from "least favorite favorite" to "most favorite favorite"

• The Unexpected Everything: For someone who doesn't generally like contemporary novels, I was surprised when I was done making this list that there were so many. The thing about this book that I loved the most about this book was the realistic portrayal of friendship. I mean, obviously, so many of the events are a little classically-crazy-contemporary
• City of Heavenly Fire: I find it strange that Cassie Clare makes both my favorite and least favorite list, but I would be lying if I said that this wasn't one of the most enjoyable and satisfying books that I read this year. (It was almost City of Glass, but I refused to put two books in the same series on this list.)
• What We Saw: I want to shout this book from the rooftops and make every single high school English class read and discuss it. If you don't know, this is a book that talks about sexual assault in high school and how sports teams, social class, and social media affect that issue. Extra non-fiction reading material to pick up: Missoula by Jon Krakauer
• Hamilton: I mean, what did you expect? The insight into Eliza's character alone is enough for me to tell you to grab this from your library if you haven't already.
• Station Eleven: DUUUUDE. Just go pick this up. It was beautifully written and important and moving and impactful. Please, please, check it out.
• Six of Crows: *for full flailing, please read my review*
• Simon: *for full flailing, please read my review*

FAVORITE COMICS

these are in no particular order

• Giant Days: I actually read the first three volumes of this in 2016, and I loved them all. This is a contemporary comic series that follows a group of girls in their first year of university. I love all the girls in this series (and the guys) and one of the girls in this series is queer, which I thought was only really beginning to be explored; however, I definitely see more of this character being explored in future volumes.
• Lumberjanes, vol. 3: I live for female friendships and magic in ordinary settings. It's everything I want in a series and more. Distribute it to all the children. 
• Captain Marvel: I read this during BookTubeAThon, and this character has definitely stuck with me. I constantly think about Carol Danvers and how important the Captain Marvel movie will be for a bunch of girls and teenagers. She is so strong and brave, but flawed and human and breakable. My god, I love Carol Danvers.
• Spider-Gwen: The theme of these comics (save the next one) is strong female women. Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman and the backstory behind her and how she got her powers and all the shit she goes through prior to this is amazing and it just makes her stronger. She's phenomenal.
• Doctor Strange: This was my first exploration into Doctor Strange, and I picked it up because the movie was coming out, like, the next weekend. A few things: 1) the art, the art was absolutely stunning and magical and was so much of the story and the explanation of the story and the world (I thought it was explained extremely well) and 2) 
• Wonder Woman: Another first venture into a popular character for me. I am naming any future female offspring Diana. That's it. Also, I'm a little bit in love with Wonder Woman.

WHEW. Long post is really long, sorry? If you made it through that, *gives you a million chocolate chip cookies* thank you very much! What were your favorite and least favorite books you read in 2016? Have you read any of these? Let's discuss in comments!

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The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson | Review

Playlists were such a big part of Amy and Roger and Since You've Been Gone that I was both glad for a break from the playlists while also missing them deeply so I was really happy that the Target edition of the book has "Andie's Summer Playlist" (missing a few songs, but it's the thought that counts, yes?) for me to obsess over*.

* But really, it's all I've listened to since I finished the book. It's an amazing playlist.

Also, if you haven't seen these two beautiful wallpapers from Pop! Goes the Reader, you have to check them out because they are super cute and one of them is already resting comfortably on my desktop background.

I absolutely adored this book. It's by far my favorite Morgan Matson book that I have read*, and it has my new favorite book boyfriend. His name is Clark, and he's the most adorable nerd you'll ever read. I promise. 

Aside from the most perfect romance story, there are two main things that I absolutely loved about this story: the family aspect and the friendships. So many important things are brought up with both of these topics while still feeling realistic and incredibly well done. We see Andie going through ups and downs with both her father and her friends which I think is super important and great.

* I've just started Second Chance Summer!

It's also really funny (and also really sad?) and I genuinely appreciate the humor in this. We get so many amazing "dad" jokes in this book. (I put dad in quote marks because this my same sense of very dry, pun-driven humor.) We get all the emotional punches in this book, and even though I could see some of the plot points coming*, I was still hanging on to every word and seeing the journey Andie would take to get that point.

I'm usually not pleased with contemporaries because it's always boy meets girl but they can't be together because reasons or boy meets girl and they immediately fall in love, conflict happens, and then they overcome struggle (but then the book ends before you really see their relationship grow). We get the before and during of the relationship in this book so if you, like me, are constantly displeased by the amount of couple-ness happening then I honestly think you'll love this romance.

There are really important places that the friendship goes in this book, and while I won't tell you where it goes (because spoilers) it takes a really powerful turn. (And honestly I could read a whole other book about it.)

*especially if you've been around the YA contemporary block a few times

But honestly, if you haven't picked this book up, please do because I don't think you'll be disappointed.

(Also, this is a perfectly acceptable first Morgan Matson book, so don't feel super intimidated if this will have been your first Matson.)

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Published: 3 May 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Format - Length: Hardcover - 519
Source: Target
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads | My Goodreads Review

Andie had it all planned out.

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected.

And where’s the fun in that?

Have you read this yet? What's your favorite summer contemporary? Tell me down in the comments!

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MY FAVORITE BOOKS! | 2016

Happy Friday, everyone! (Also, welcome back to my blog. I have been away for an embarrassingly long time, I know.)

I have been in a horrible Spring-Semester/Netflix/I-Have-A-Ridiculous-Amount-Of-Homework induced reading slump since basically January. It's been horrible. I miss reading so much, so so so much that it actually hurts me. (I have resulted to writing really bad, never-see-the-face-of-the-internet fanfiction for basically everything ever.)

One of the supposed "cures" to the reading slump is to reread a favorite book. I, however, do not have the time for this, nor do I have most of my favorite books with me. Instead, I am going to look back on some of my all-time favorite books.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: (because I only wanted a list of five) Carry On by Rainbow Rowell & The Martian by Andy Weir & Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Look at their beautiful, beautiful glory. 

These are in no particular order.

HARRY POTTER (The entire series, really): I have a bit of a different story accompanying my Harry Potter journey than most people--most "Potternerds" or other varying names. (Why am I putting this in quotations?) (It sounds sarcastic.) (I promise it's not; I am one.) My sister, who is six and a half years older than I am, is the part of the Potter generation that essentially grew up with Harry. She was eleven when the first book came out, and she forced my mother to stand at the bookstore doors at midnight with her to pick up the next book.

I won't pretend to have that experience. I wish I had that experience. When I was "old enough" to actually read the story, my sister was shoving it into my hands at every possible moment. I grew up reading, but because this was something my sister loved, I naturally--and probably force of will--hated it. I would sit at school with my elementary teacher's classroom copy of the book and try to force myself to read it. I read the first chapter and thought it was boring probably a dozen times before the day that I just read it straight through. The day that I took the copy home with me and read it at home.

I like to imagine my sister doing a victory dance in the background. Don't know if that happened or not, but I like to pretend.

At that point, I think all of the books were out or at least most of them. For the next few years, I read all of the books. (I also think this is the point in my life where I began talking to myself because I distinctly remember hypothesizing out loud while reading these books.) I don't remember when exactly I finished reading the books, but I think it wasn't soon before the release of the sixth movie because I was furious they blew up the Burrow in my self-righteous, middle-school anger.

OUTLANDER: Call me Sassenach. Do it. I will probably cry over Jaime Fraser. Historical fiction is my favorite genre (as you can tell by this list) and this is just such a wonderful, wonderful book and I need to read the rest of the series. I'm just intimidated, okay?

THE DREAM THIEVES: Talk to me about Ronan Lynch. Do it. I will probably end up in tears. Talk to me about Richard Campbell Gansey III. Do it. I will probably end up tears.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: This book is not what you think it is. This book is not the play. It's not the movie. It's the best thing I think I've ever read. I definitely recommend getting this B&N edition--or at least some edition that has notes in it--and it's just. *flails arms*

A TALE OF TWO CITIES: I will admit, part of the reason (a very small reason, but still a reason nonetheless) that I dislike Will Herondale and Tessa Gray (and a little bit of Jace in COLS/COHF) is the fact that they love ATOTC so much. Let me try and describe this feeling to you. *clears throat*

So many people don't like Dickens. They hate Dickens because they were forced to read Great Expectations freshman year. I read this book in junior year with a teacher that loved it and explained all the symbolism and meaning to us. People still hated it, but I loved it. It's the best Dickens that I've read. So it's like my gem; it's my precious and when people that I am not predisposed to like enjoy this book, I get jealous.

From that description, you may think I am Gollum. I am not Gollum. I am not Smeagol. Pinky promise.

Have you guys read these books? What are some of your favorite books? Tell me down in the comments!

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Fall Favorites | 2015

Next to Christmas, fall is my favorite time of the year. (I also thoroughly enjoy spring.) But mainly it is my favorite because it is socially acceptable to drink hot drinks and light candles in the Northern Hemisphere.

Winter is officially here on the 21st of December, so while some people in the United States have snow and ice (and I have seventy degree weather) it is still technically fall.

My two absolute favorite books that I read this season were Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Both are super amazing, and if you haven't read them yet then you need to.

I love candles and I use them year-round. I have different scented ones for each season. This is one that was gifted to me, so I don't know the exact brand. Also, it is a fairly recent favorite. Despite the name, it smells nothing like pumpkin. It's just blueberry in a pumpkin shaped container. 

And it's amazing.

I drink chai tea all year round (and Tazo classic is the best), but I especially love it at this time of the year because it is such a spice-y and warm tea that is perfect for fall. However, the ultimate fall drink in my opinion is apple cider. Again a spice-y and warm drink that reminds me of times huddled around bonfires, a classic fall activity in the southern US. Also, this is the drink I pick when I want something a little sweeter to drink as I don't like adding sugar and/or milk to my teas.

Also, note the Secret Garden coloring book in the background. So amazing and such a great stress reliever (especially during finals).

I love lotions and hand creams. I have always hoarded them and honestly haven't finished many. I love the smell and the thickness of this one. Also, the packaging is A+.

These are the first two Lush products that I have ever bought, and honestly they have both worked so well on my skin. Ocean Salt has an amazing limey scent to it, and while it is a bit tough on the skin, it does an amazing job. Herbalism smells a bit like vinegar and tastes like salty almonds if I am being honest. However, whenever I use it I can feel how clean my skin is afterwords and it's great.

What was your favorite product you used this fall?

Monica x

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