About a month ago I moved a third bookshelf into my room. With glass doors on the top shelves and cabinets at the bottom, I could finally move some of my collectible titles into safer storage and reorganize my other two shelves! It took a little time to decide exactly how I wanted things to look and, finally, I decided on function over form. (How can you bear to break up a series just to make a rainbow?? HOW?!?)
While they may not go in Roy G. Biv order there is still an abundance of pretty books to see! Size constraints mean that some shelves are still mismatched from where I'd truly like them to be; on the bright side, however, books are no longer stacked on my floor—or on top of one another in the shelves, either!
Over the course of the summer I'm going to do little tours of each of my three bookcases. This week you'll get to see some of my favorite reads that wouldn't fit behind the glass of my newest shelves, as well as a sneak peek at some of the review copies I'll read between now and the end of the year!
My first shelf is my subscription shelf! I moved both my Book of the Month and Indiespensable books onto a shelf just wide enough to hold them all on purpose. I've been a little let down with the selections from both of them recently, while also going out and actively seeking the titles I really want to own. For now I'm letting both subscriptions wind down: after a third 'meh' title for Indiespensable I cancelled (although their exclusive editions are stunning and I would restart if they featured a book I already wanted to read) and I've skipped more months than I've made a selection for BOTM this year.
I do like keeping them grouped together though. BOTM puts their emblem at the top of each dust jacket and the slipcases are a luxurious touch to the Powell's books. I'm a little sad to admit these subscriptions aren't making me as happy as they used to because I did discover some really lovely books through them. Setting them aside frees up nearly $70/month for other things, though! And let's be honest, but "other things" I really just mean "more books" 😂
This is my favorite shelf outside my ~*~special~*~ bookcase and, as these series continue expanding, some of these might even make the jump over there. It took forever tracking down a UK Caraval that wasn't overpriced but I managed to find one and have it shipped over before meeting Stephanie at a signing at the end of April! Now I have a fully signed set, although the UK Legendary isn't personalized like the others. The smoky grey cover for Ace of Shades was an Owlcrate exclusive and I kind of love it, actually? Normally I prefer the original designs but this was a very pretty exception. As for Children of Blood and Bone, originally I had planned to just hold onto my review copy for the time being. Then I found out it has this gorgeous design on the front cover and my magpie tendencies took over...oops. At least I won't have to backtrack when it comes time to build up a full set!
And now. My loves. The books I always look at first when glancing at these shelves 😍 Do you ever read a book and think it was written specifically with you in mind? That's how I felt with both Furyborn and the Winternight trilogy. These. books. are. perfect. These books seriously test my conviction that all opinions, negative or positive, are equally valid because I just can't wrap my mind around not loving them. (I do believe that though; I promise I'm not judging ♥) Also both Claire and Katherine are beyond kind, which makes loving the stories they tell even better. These will definitely find a new home sometime, since there are two books left in the Empirium trilogy and I'm currently tracking down UK covers of Winternight!
This shelf is a bit of a catch-all for other YA novels that aren't currently boxed up. Oh yeah, did I ever mention I have eight boxes of books just sitting in storage? I guess I still need more shelves (and more wall!) to really have everything where I want it 🙈 The Hunger Games trilogy I've had since the series first came out, but all the others are more recent additions. I still need to read most of the hardcovers...and pick up a copy of Nemesis, since I was able to pick up Genesis at a con and couldn't find the first book anywhere.
I couldn't think of a better shelf to stash my finished review copies without matching hardcovers on, so this is where they'll sit for now. As the shelf above them continues to grow and, perhaps, forces me to reshuffle between bookcases again, these guys may wind up somewhere new by the end of the year.
Remember how I mentioned some shelves were still a little out of order? My non-fiction shelf is one of those! I would prefer to shelve these books in the same bookcase that houses all of my adult and literary fiction (and that you'll get to see in the next tour post!). That's a much wider set of shelves, though, and I needed the room for my ever-growing fiction collection, whereas my non-fiction books increase much more slowly.
Even though his books are absolute bricks, Ron Chernow writes the most exhaustive yet readable biographies I've ever encountered. I still haven't started Grant, but I think I'll tackle it bit by bit this fall. I'd also recommend Shake Hands With the Devil, a memoir by the Force Commander of UNAMIR who witnessed the Rwandan genocide. It's an incredibly reflective and emotionally heavy read that shows how complicated it can be to choose between peacekeeping missions and entering into armed conflict.
And finally, a shelf just for my upcoming review copies. Not long ago these books were relegated to the floor getting all scuffed and dusty. Gross. Now they're safely tucked away with their publisher letters (which are the sheets of paper you see balanced on top), conveniently in view of my bed where they can still throw accusing glares my way. I'm seriously excited for every single one of these, including the two at the end that I may have cheated and already read. (Side note—Sawkill Girls and Enchantee are both amazing!) I can't even narrow it down to one or two that I'm most looking forward to because each time I do, I just want to change my answers 😂
And that's it—a tour of my first of three bookshelves! I'm currently planning my second one for mid-July and that will feature my biggest bookcase, with loads of literary fiction as well as adult science fiction, fantasy, and thrillers.
Are any of your favorites on my shelves too? Did any titles catch your eye and tempt your TBR?
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