Jane Austen: 200 year anniversary!

It’s actually been a while since I posted about Jane Austen and in case you didn’t know, she’s one of my favorite authors of all time! She got me through my first year teaching and during that time my father passed away, so she also has a sentimental place in my heart..

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of hers and got me into writing fanfic and eventually pursuing my dream to becoming a published author.

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I was able to visit her home Chawton Cottage and saw the little writing desk where she wrote her novels in secret. She wrote during the Regency era in England when women’s standing in society was restricted to respectable positions–being a writer was not respectable for a woman, but she wrote anyway and 200 years later we are still reading her books!

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Notable facts: July 18, 1817 marked the anniversary of her death. She was 41 when she died. While she was alive, she published four novels which were noted to be “By A Lady”. After her death, two more of her novels were published and those were published under her name.

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Do you have a favorite Austen novel? Which author inspires you?

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Book friends are the best friends! Wonder Woman Anthology

So here’s more on how awesome this book community is! I had posted on my Story on Instagram weeks ago that I was going to see the Wonder Woman movie and my friend Renee @bookishblissandbeauty chatted about the movie which lead to the comics and it turns out Renee is a fan and also quite the comic book reader! I was so happy to talk about Wonder Woman and her history with Renee and how comic books feel like they’re becoming more accessible–at least for me. My current favorites are Ms. Marvel and Saga because I can identify with the characters in these stories..

A few days later, I received a package from Renee with these comics that she thought I’d enjoy! I already had Squirrel Girl and Monstress on my TBR and so I was thrilled to see the first issues included here. I was also touched by the handmade card she included! I’m so grateful to have found you Renee!

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After seeing the movie and talking with Renee, I found this Wonder Woman collection at Costco (Renee highly recommended the artist from this collection) and of course I also had to pick up some Wonder Woman Funkos too! I’m including a brief flip through of the graphic novel of you’re interested in getting a peak at the art.

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I’m always looking for comic/graphic novel recommendations! Let me know in the comments some of your favorites! And if you’re not following Renee @bookishblissandbeauty, please visit her and give her a follow! She’s amazing and very sweet!

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Hope you’re all have a fabulous Monday!

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July TBR

Okay. Where did the weekend go? I swear it was here just a minute ago! Summer needs to slow down and stop rushing through the weekend!.

That’s when I realized I hadn’t posted my July TBR! 😅 The Emperor’s Blades, The Sun is also a Star, and Lord of Shadows are from June that I’m hoping to finish this month. All the rest are buddy reads! I knowww. I usually only do two buddy reads, three if I’m daring each month, but this month, I somehow agreed to seven. 😅 Maybe it was the allure of summer reading and the promise of more free time (I’m donkey laughing at myself for being so naive) that had me saying yes to all the buddy reads this month, but I love buddy reads and I’m enjoying these so far! (And just to clarify, these buddy reads are not happening all at the same time.) Featured is my reading tracker in bullet journal to help me track my reading. Scroll down to see a close up or check out the tag #jennfscurrentreadstracker on Instagram to see more. 

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What’s on your TBR this month? What has been your favorite summer read so far?

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My son’s 5th birthday is on Tuesday but we’ve been doing all the celebrating this weekend. Today we’re surprising the family to a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. My five year old and three year old have never been and have seen the commercials (Well played, Chuck E. Cheese. Well played.) What are your plans for today?

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June Reading Wrap-Up

Here’s my June Wrap-up! I had a fantastic month of reading. I’m going to try a different way to rate my books because I really enjoyed most of them. Instead of a star rating, I’m going to use categories instead. Hope you enjoy this!.

✅Heartbreaking and beautifully done:

🔹The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

🔹At the Edge of the Universe by Sean David Hutchinson

🔹The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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✅Funny with likeable characters:

🔹Geekerella by Ashley Poston

🔹When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

🔹Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

🔹Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan 

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✅Authors who deliver what they promise–incredible feats of action, dynamic characters, and astounding worldbuilding:

🔹Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (for YA fantasy audience)

🔹Last Argument of Kings, Book 3 in the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (Dark fantasy for adults)

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✅New author I enjoyed and want more of:

🔹The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

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✅It’s not you it’s me–books I thought I’d enjoy but it didn’t work out:

🔹Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza (The summary and the actual story didn’t deliver, but I do want to read the next book.)

🔹Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill (Romance with a fantasy setting–for fans who enjoyed The Selection series.)

🔹Dreamology by Lucy Keating (I think it’s bc I had this on my TBR for so long, I may have hyped it up too much. It was still very cute though.) 

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✅The second book was better than the first:

🔹The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye

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Any books you’ve read recently fall into these categories? What were some of your favorite reads in June?

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Happy Friday! Books and Tea bookmark by Marked by Mary

Happy Friday! I hope you’re all having a fantastic day so far. Here’s a chocolate chip cupcake and some Earl Gray to help you get your weekend started.😁.

Aristotle and Dante and I Believe in a Thing Called Love are some of my favorite contemporaries I’ve read this year. I was also lucky to snag an ARC of A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess @jesscluess. If you haven’t read A Shadow Bright and Burning, Book 1, I highly recommend it! Book 2 will be out in September.

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I’m going to post a June Wrap-up of the books I read later. How did reading go for you this month?

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Featured also is my wood burned bookmark Books and Tea from @markedbymary. Tea is life for me and when I saw that Mary put this bookmark up in her shop, I HAD to have it. It’s perfect!

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 If you missed my story about Mary’s health situation, please visit Mary’s profile on Instagram and click the link to her Go Fund Me page. If you can’t donate, please help spread the word. Thank you!

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Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

Hey!! How are you all doing? Can you all believe June is almost to end? 😨 I’m not ready for July! .

Here’s one of my June reads Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner. I started reading The Queen’s Thief series earlier this year in preparation of meeting Megan Whalen Turner at Y’all West. The Thief had been on my TBR for a while and so I moved it up for the signing. I’m so glad I did! If you enjoy stories of adventure and intrigue with charismatic, clever characters, you’ll enjoy this series! Eugenides has become one of my favorite characters of all time. The world building is inspired by ancient Greek culture which is done so well!

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Megan Whalen Turner wrote each book so that you could pick one up without needing to read them in order but I recommend reading them in order. The plot is specific for each book so it can standalone but there’s character references made to other characters from other books, while it won’t confuse you to hear about these other characters, it will add more depth to the character’s actions and story.

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What are some of your favorite fantasy series? Is there a series you’re trying to work through?

Words Deep in Blue by Cath Crowley

When I read the synopsis for Words Deep in Blue by Cath Crowley @cathcrowleybooks, I was expecting a cute contemporary read. I got that and more! It’s a story about missed chances, dealing with loss, and friendship. I also love stories about childhood friends growing up to have feelings for each other, but something goes amiss, they lose touch, and they find each other again, but there’s a Pride and Prejudice vibe going on between them (I love Jane Austen! If you’re not familiar with P&P, it’s the hate turns into love trope!).

Another aspect that I loved about this story was that Henry’s family owns a used bookstore. They have a section called the Letter Library. People are welcome to use the books there to write notes in the books or leave hand written notes in certain books for others to pick up. It’s such a fantastic part of the story but becomes even more exciting when the characters use it themselves to write notes to each other. 

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Childhood friends? Coming to terms with loss? Bookstores? Cute letters? Pride and Prejudice vibes? Pretty much the perfect recipe for a summer read for me. I included the Goodreads summary below

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First day of summer, but it’s been summer vacation here for the past few days. We’re enjoying our time off but it’s quite an adjustment having everyone home! 😊

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QOTD: What kind of stories do you like to read during the summer? 

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