Heyooo friends, readers, loves, I’m officially back! As you may know (or not), I’ve been on an unplanned hiatus for the last month or so because shit has hit the fan once again, and I just couldn’t handle everything at once. All is well now, and I’m glad to be back to my second favorite thing in the world (the first one being reading duh)!
There couldn’t be a better opportunity for my comeback than this week’s TTT theme, which is Favorite Book Blogs/Bookish Websites. I’ll do bookish blogs and remind some of you of my tiny existence. ๐ Of course, there are a lot more blogs I love (basically all the ones I follow), but the limit is 10, so don’t get offended if you’re not on my list, I love all of you in the blog world, and you’re the reason I’m staying sane at certain moments. ๐
In no particular order:
As you may have guessed, this blog is focused exclusively on nonfiction, mainly memoirs, true crime, history, social topics, etc. I ran into it because I’m a true crime aficionado like the lady who runs the blog (sorry, I don’t know your name), but over time I found many other interesting books on topics I would’ve never thought of because I read 99% fiction. It doesn’t hurt to come out of your box a bit and try some different reading material, and if you decide to give nonfiction a try, make sure to check out What’s Nonfiction?, because this lady writes reviews only, and she does that exceptionally. Plus, she’s a very kind and interesting person, and one of her favorite books is The Handmaidโs Tale. ๐
Some of the posts I loved (I have a lot to catch up on):
Book review: Iโll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara
Book review: Miss Ex-Yugoslavia, by Sofija Stefanovic
Book review: Deliver Us, by Kathryn Casey
This amazing blog is run by Inge, one of the most charming and interesting people I’ve met through blogging. Although her favorite genre is mystery, and mine fantasy, we certainly have many topics to talk about. Even if you’re not a mystery lover yourself you’ll have plenty interesting things to read on her blog, like her New BFF series, where she introduces a fellow blogger each month through a series of interesting questions, in which I was happy to participate this month. Also, her Same book, different cover post series is very entertaining, as she puts up various covers of the same books, chooses the one she likes the most, and invites other bloggers to pick their favorites!
Some of the posts I loved:
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Same book, different cover #06
New BFF: Reading Under A Blankie
Yep, the same one. ๐ I was actually introduced to Norrie’s beautiful blog through the above mentioned Inge’s BFF post, so thanks Inge for the amazing discovery of Norrie, one of a kind blogger and blog friend! Norrie loves mystery quite a lot too, but also science fiction. Other than reviews, she also does various memes, tags, challenges and book recommendations! These are especially interesting to me, as I love new books recs, and she offers some genres I’m not used to, but would certainly like to try. I also have to note how beautifully designed her blog is, and that I’m a tad jealous. ๐
Some of the posts I loved:
7 Tips For Getting Over That Reading Slump
10 Books That Will Make You Want To Travel
Teenagers Save The Day โ 16 YA Dystopian Series, Not Only For Teenagers
Now, you all know who Mel is, right? If not, then visit her blog pronto! Not only is she one of the most popular and influential bloggers/reviewers both here and on Goodreads, but she’s also one of the kindest, loveliest and inspiring people I’ve met here. Melanie is really a pro at what she does, so you’re guaranteed a tons of great content on her blog, and she casts a special spotlight on diverse and LGBT+ reads! Other than being a reader and blogger, Mel is also an avid gamer, and she was the one who introduced me to my new favorite game I can’t seem to stop blabbing about – Stardew Valley, so thanks Mel! โค
Some of the posts I loved:
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1) by Victoria Schwab
Top Ten Tuesday | My Favorite Booktubers
One of my dearest friends in the entire blog universe is Amalia, the wonderful owner of this blog, and one of the most intuitive, refreshing and wonderful people I’ve ever met. She has a tremendous love for good writing, and you can feel that love in each of her (positive) reviews, to which she adds wonderful images closely connected to the writing itself. Being an English teacher only proves her admiration of the written word, but seeing as she understands books so deeply and that she’s Greek, she should be a literature muse. I’m not exaggerating. Her favorite novel is Wuthering Heights, and she has a great love for folklore tales and legends, which you can see in her amazing reviews.
Some of the posts I loved:
Gerry. Ah, my dear friend Gerry, who is at the moment busy within the process of becoming a Mrs. Gerry. She is THE funniest blogger I’ve ever met. It took me reading one of her posts to follow her, another one to become her ultimate cheerleader fan, and one single comment thread to call her my friend. Go and read a couple of her reviews, memes or tags to witness the wittiness (ha) of her British (or should I say Gerryish?) humour. She is my favourite Brit in the world, and not just because I don’t know any others, or because she works near Tom Hardy’s home (hisss). She also does these lovely book edits for novels she loves, and they’re plain gorgeous! As are her notorious Paint skills. ๐ Also, you probably can’t tell, but she is a huge Neil Gaiman fan. ๐
Some of the posts I loved:
Bookish: Top 5 Friday โ Favourite Siblings
If you’ve somehow missed this omnipresent awesomeness of a blog, then head right over there and give the Orangutan Lady a wave (or a comment). Being an ultimate Terry Pratchett fan, I followed her just after seeing her name and her wonderful Orangutan doodles, but I was in for a surprise when I discovered we shared many, many more interests in literature. Other than her deeply thoughtful and genuinely critical reviews, this lady writes some of the best discussion posts I’ve read. She also rates books with banana doodles, and I especially love the floppy banana peel one. ๐
Some of the posts I loved:
Dear My Lady Jane โ A Love Letter to a Book
Game of Thrones Season 1 โYou Win or You Dieโย (Love all the posts from this series)
Now, although Kara’s been neglecting her bloggly duties for a while now (shame on you! ๐ ), her blog is still an amazing one and worth mentioning here. And to ensure it doesn’t crumble into lava and ash like Pompeii, I’ll keep tagging her in everything which will either result in a permanent impression of her blog like the Pompeii bodies, or it will get Kara pissed. Hmm. What I love most about her blog, other than amazing reviews of equally amazing books, is the fact that she writes very well, which is no wonder since she’s an aspiring writer herself, and has had two short stories published! You can check out both of the stories on her about page. I’d also like to add that I just love her watercolor blog design which she does herself!
Some of the posts I loved:
Book Review: Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1)
I’ve been following this lady for quite some time now, because we have an insane amount of things in common. She reads awesome books, she loves comics, video games, flowers, sharks, and she draws these amazing Tim Burton style doodles that I adore! She also posts yummy recipes, need I say more? If you share any of these interests with her, you should definitely go and check out her awesome blog!
Some of the posts I loved:
I Kill Giants (No-Spoiler Graphic Novel Review)
30 Day Video Game Challenge: Post 1
Other than cool book reviews and other bookish things, Kat does this great series of posts called Trailers You Might Have Missed, which is exactly what the title says, and I often do miss many of these, so I love scrolling through her finds. I’ve run into many great new movies or TV shows through her posts! She also draws pretty good, and sometimes posts her drawings on her blog, check them out!
Some of the posts I loved:
Trailers You Might Have Missed โฆ (Aug 6-12)
Mini Reviews: Comic Book Edition
Honorable mentions:
Book ‘Em, Jan O –ย Do you happen to like creepy ghost stories? Then this is the blog for you! Besides posting these genuinely scary stories, Jan is also an author of ghost stories herself, and she regularly posts a short and funny series called Mob Haiku.
Touch my Spine Book Reviews –ย Dani is definitely the most inspirational, kind and generous blogger on this side of internet, and her posts always make me smile and feel better! She’s also a very active blogger who does blog tours and a bunch of awesome stuff!
The Tattooed Book Geek –ย On the other hand, if you need a healthy dose of sarcasm and laughs in your life – go and visit Drew’s blog. I think he writes some of the best discussion posts out there, and he coined the term bloupies, which made me cry a bit. ๐
Callum McLaughlin –ย I’ve discovered Callum’s blog only recently, but I already love it for a variety of reasons, especially because we’re both big fans of Gothic fiction. If you like quality literature of almost any genre, pay him a visit!
Always Me –ย Lauren is a prolific blogger with great taste in books, especially fantasy! She also participates in many memes and tags, and today is her 4th blogoversary, so make sure to go and congratulate her! ๐
My fave book sites:
Okay, I couldn’t resist so I’ll just list a few. ๐
Goodreads – well duh! I’m a proud member since 2011, and GR has made my life so much better since I joined. Add me if ya want here.
Netgalley Edelweiss+ – My go-to site for ARCs, and I’m extremely grateful for its existence in this trying time of discrimination against international bloggers.
Tor.com – The safe haven for fans of speculative fiction, and the place where I’ve read some of the best short stories ever, and found new authors to follow.
Bloody Disgusting – Books and comics are covered much less on BD than movies and TV shows, but this is the best site out there for any true horror fans.
Ah well. As I was writing and editing this monster of a post, it suddenly wasn’t Tuesday anymore, so it made no point to delay my sleepy time more than necessary, and here we are today, a Wednesday, again. Sorry for that and for the insane amount of spam I’ve put you guys through today, but I hope you’ll enjoy my post and find some new, amazing bogs to follow! Happy reading everyone! โค
Wow thank you so so much for your kind words and sharing my blog like this- it really means a lot โค I love so many of these blogs- especially Norrie's Mel's and Kat's!! Lovely post to do!!
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Awww, you are seriously SO awesome. Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m sitting here with an ice pack on my face after oral surgery (damn wisdom teeth) and this made me so happy. Thank you for brightening my day. โค ๐ Can't wait to check out all these other awesome bloggers and their posts as well. ๐
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Thanks, hehe, I love your blog! โค Ahhh, hope you'll feel better soon, I went through the same hell. :S Hehe glad I made you feel a bit better. ๐
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Terrific features! Gerry, Kat, and Orangutan are the best and friendliest bloggers I am (currently) aware of, so I totally agree with your picks. ๐ Very nice post!
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Thanks! They really are, and check out the others when you have time, some of the best people I’ve met here. ๐
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I will! ๐
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Thank you muchly for including me on this! What an absolute honour that had me grinning from ear to ear! I have missed your presence and our chats over the past month so I’m really glad you’re back!
I need to bring back my epic paint skills and include those on some more posts. We all know that’s where my true talent lies….
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Hehehe well of course I’d add you! ๐ Me too, I really missed you too and all the amazing people, and I’ll make sure to never make that mistake again. ๐
Yes you do! It’s worth the effort. ๐ Just look at that paint lady on YT, I think it’s called “87 year old grandma uses MS paint” or something like that. Goals. ๐
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Ok, I’m going to have to check out that grandma now! She is #lifegoals
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This made my day!!!!๐ You are amazing!๐ XOXOXOXO ๐น๐
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You are amazing Dani! ๐ โค xx
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As are you, Marina!!!๐
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Some great blogs on the list and thank you for the mention. ๐
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So many lovely blogs โค I LOVE Stardew Valley as well! I didn't know many people in the book blogging community enjoyed it as well. We should definitely play multiplayer together ๐
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Thanks Ayunda! Ah squee!!! I’d love to! ๐ Ever since the multiplayer officially came out I’ve been looking for someone to play with, and my friends don’t like it, ugh. :S I’ve been so disappointed I haven’t actually played it since then, but this changes things, we’ll be in touch! ๐ โค
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Same hereee!!! I play it all the time, but mostly by myself cause I can’t find anyone irl to play it with :”(
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Well, then you’ve found your kindred soul! ๐ Out of the three of my best friends – one doesn’t play games at all, one said the graphics were ugly (blasphemy!), and the third one said plain nope, “I don’t play farming games”. -.- I think you can understand my frustration on at least the last one. I’ll add you on GR and/or instagram so we can chat more! ๐ xx
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Sure! My instagram is @ayundabs ๐
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Added you! We’ll be in touch soon! โบ๏ธ
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Ah thank you so much Marina, you’re just the sweetest!! I’m so happy to be mentioned among so many wonderful bloggers. One funny thing though, when you mentioned Gerry becoming Mrs. Gerry I thought he was becoming a she because it’s usually a man’s name here :-). Hihi. Anyway sorry about my blondeness and you can spamlink me any time (except for tags ;-))!
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You’re welcome Inge, I love your blog, and you’re awesome! ๐ Hahahahaha oh noo, she’ll kill me. ๐ It’s a secret, but her full name is Geraldine, shhhhh. Noo you’re not blonde (except if your hair is), I’m just daft haha. ๐ Will do, hehe. ๐
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Hihi. I’m a brunette but my hair is colored blonde.. I don’t know if that counts or not.. I guess it depends on the situation ๐ xxx
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Hehe I guess, I feel a bit blonde sometimes too. ๐โค๏ธ
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Aww thank you for always remembering me!!! And for the super nice words โค I am so ashamed for how little Iโve been blogging. Itโs been so long! Maybe Iโll try and at least post something this week. Also wtf is going on with my header?? Another reason to get back into it ๐
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Weee, you’re welcome! ๐ Hahaha I know, I miss you here! Yay, give it a try, you used to do the blog hop thingy, I loved that. ๐ Hahaha I think you might have put both a logo and a header image, and they overlap. ๐ See, you need to fix it, so I can replace the image in this post haha. ๐
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I miss you too! But it makes me feel a little better that you took a break too, haha. Are things going okay?? Yeah I do miss those blog hops. Theyโre so much fun! Ahhh gotcha. Iโll fix it! ๐
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Aww! ๐ I needed a break as it turned out, even though I didn’t plan it haha. Well here and there, hopefully going for better now. ๐ Yay, I look forward to your comeback even if it’s one post per week, try that ๐
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You’re so sweet, thank you for such a lovely and thoughtful writeup! I’m blushing! I’m so happy to connect with you here and talk about everything from unimpressive Jonathan Norrell covers to noticeable lack of Serbian serial killers. Big hugs!!
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Anytime, you have a great blog! ๐ Hahaha me too, hope we’ll chat more! Hugs to you too! โค
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MARINA! I didn’t ask for these tears, sweetheart! Gosh, you are such a blessing. Forever and ever thankful that the book community gave me your friendship, love. Seriously, I love you more than words. And this means so much to me. Thank you, love, thank you. ๐xx
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Awww thank you Mel, you’re too kind! Love you too! โค ๐ค
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Thanks very much for the shout out! What an honor! I’ll have to check out some of these other blogs. ๐
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Anytime Lauren! ๐ Awesome, hope you like them! ๐
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Thanks so much for the nice blurb! How kind of you – and delighted that you’ve enjoyed my posts! ๐
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Anytime Jan! I love ghost stories. ๐
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Glad to hear I’ve got company! ๐
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I’m loving this Top 10 Tuesday book sites post going around! I’ve followed so many new people in the last two days. This is great for new bloggers like me who are still trying to figure out the who’s who in the book blogging community. Thank you!
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Thank you, and thanks for the visit! ๐ I know, it was a great subject, it would be awesome if people would do this more often. ๐
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Welcome back! And thank you so much for the mention, Iโm very flattered! ๐
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Thanks Callum, and you’re welcome, you have a terrific blog! ๐
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The feeling is mutual! ๐
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Oh, my dearest, dearest girl, we’ve all missed you so so so much!! Welcome back to us!! Your words have moved me to tears, honestly. I am not exaggerating! I can only thank you for your beautiful, beautiful words!!๐๐๐ A superb post, Marina, so many of our friends included and I have discovered a couple of new great blogs to follow๐๐
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Oh I’ve missed you and the whole community more! ๐ Thank you so much Amalia, you’re a love! โค๏ธโ ๐ Wish I could have included more blogs, but there’s always next time. ๐
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โคโคโคโค๐๐
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AH!!! Thank you so much for featuring me ๐ I am so happy that the trailer posts continue to help people add to their to-watch-list (which is just as important as a TBR haha). Also, welcome back ๐ you really did pick an amazing post to return!
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Thanks Kat! ๐ Of course, who doesn’t like to watch trailers? ๐ And you dig up so many good ones! The only downside to it is that sometimes I end up in the vicious YT cycle, jumping from one clip to the other for hours haha. ๐
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Hahaha I have mastered the art of YT clip jumping and now when to get out. This has been the only consistent feature on my blog for over 2 years now.
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Haha good job, I get stuck for hours and then have to slap myself. ๐ Well I hope you continue it for a long time, I love it, and I have to catch up now that I’m back. ๐
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Take your time! It can be overwhelming, so definitely don’t feel like you have to catch up on EVERYTHING!
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But I NEED hahaha. ๐ Still counts as reading though. ๐
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Welcome back!!!! ๐ค
*squee* So sweet, thank you for the mention. I’m glad you enjoyed the recommendations!
Some awesome blogs here i didn’t know ๐
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Thanks Norrie! ๐ Anytime, I love your blog! ๐ I know, there are many more awesome ones that I follow, but then I’d be writing until next Tuesday. ๐
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