Category: Book Lists

The Aesthetically Pleasing Book Tag

Posted June 22, 2017 / Book Lists, Features, Personal / Information / Etc. / 6 Comments

Man, I have never seen such a perfect book tag for me! I’m so glad Morgan pointed it out to me when I asked for recs on Twitter. She originally saw it on A Kernel of Nonsense and then did it herself too. It’s about boooook coversssss. MY FAVE. Best color combo on a book cover Piper Perish | All We Have Is Now | The Summer After You + Me I’m a big fan of bold colors or watercolors on book covers. These three use color very nicely! I have waaaay too many others on my shelves I could feature here but I was struck by these when I went through my list. I like colors blending together or fading like an ombre. Best typography/font on the cover TATBILB | The One That Got Away | The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend Okay this is something I could have A MILLION for. I’m a huge sucker for fonts and fancy, handwritten typography on book covers. All of the TATBILB covers in the trilogy have the same perfect typography, so I’m including just book one as a placeholder. Clearly I’m a fan of cute cursive! Best simple cover Who Runs the World? | An Unkindness of Magicians | We All Looked Up I know you could argue that the center cover is not simple, by any means, but I love the simple colors mixed with the intricate background. Otherwise, the simple covers shown here get the job done by intriguing the reader (for me […]

(Re)Reading Sarah Dessen | Introduction and Someone Like You Discussion

Posted June 7, 2017 / Book Lists, Book Reviews, Features / 7 Comments

Everyone knows that Sarah Dessen is the queen of contemporary romance and adorable (and often darker or more complex), coming-of-age summer stories. I have read and loved most of her books already, but I made it a point recently to read (or in a lot of cases, reread) all of her books. Her books are important to so many people and really are what got many of us into reading contemporary romance books. This summer, Cristina from Girl in the Pages and I have teamed up to talk alllllll about Sarah Dessen – when we started reading her books, our experiences with rereading, and other fun discussions, recommendations, and personal stories. Our feature will take place over 4 weeks this June on Wednesdays (here) and Thursdays (there). Schedule Introduction, Our Sarah Stories, and Discussion of Someone Like You June 7th on Bookmark Lit – June 8th on Girl in the Pages Dessen Recommendations and Similar Stories June 14th on Bookmark Lit – June 15th on Girl in the Pages Blog Features: Cover Colors and I Will Go Down with My Ship June 21st on Bookmark Lit – June 22nd on Girl in the Pages Once and For All, Dessen Favorites, and Wrap-Up June 28th on Bookmark Lit – June 29th on Girl in the Pages As I mentioned in my intro paragraph, Sarah Dessen has been my go-to favorite for years and years. I don’t remember the first time I picked up one of her books, but I’m fairly sure it was This Lullaby or The Truth About […]

June TBR

Posted May 31, 2017 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features / 22 Comments

I recently started a monthly TBR feature, where I try to pin down which books I plan to read in the upcoming month. It also helps remind me throughout the month which books I’m supposed to be reading, for various reasons. I add a little poll at the bottom too, so you guys can vote and help me narrow down some of my options as well. Here are my top TBR choices for this month and how I did last month… May Progress May was a pretty good reading month! I had two HUGE books to read between ACOWAR releasing and THE SWEET FAR THING being “due” for my book club. Those two books totaled 1,435 pages. I’m impressed I was able to finish as many books as I did! I’m glad I prioritized some of the May releases I was really looking forward to as well. Definitely a solid job on my May TBR. On Deck for June ARCs to Read Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel | The Possible by Tara Altebrando I Believe In a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo I’ve had a couple of these on my TBR before (and I’m very excited to read them) but keep letting them slide into the following month. I hope to bang all three of these ARCs out before their release date (or at least very close to their release date!). Fingers crossed they’re all awesome, obv. Owned and/or New Releases Just Dreaming by Kerstin Gier […]

My Favorite Instagram Pictures

Posted May 24, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 9 Comments

I don’t do a lot of fancy bookstagram things. I usually use ~action shots~ to show what I’m currently doing, where I’m currently reading, and especially what I’m currently reading! I like to share my book hauls, the food I’m eating while I read, and other related objects/locations. I don’t do much with props. So, in other words, my bookstagram is actually kind of boring. However! I decided to toot my own horn a little and share my personal favorite Instragram pictures from my account. (I’ve previously shared my favorite other bookstagrammers also, FYI.) A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on May 17, 2017 at 10:12am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Apr 14, 2017 at 12:35pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Nov 14, 2016 at 4:38am PST A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Apr 13, 2016 at 4:25am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Feb 16, 2016 at 4:27am PST A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Oct 16, 2015 at 6:31pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Jul 5, 2015 at 12:05pm PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Jul 1, 2015 at 11:52am PDT A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Oct 31, 2014 at 7:58pm PDT

ContRom Challenge Topic: Sports Romances

Posted May 12, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

Each month, Andi poses a monthly topic for the Contemporary Romance challenge. I try to participate in my wrap-up posts if it’s a quick, short list, but I like to have a full post about it when I have A LOT to discuss. The topic of sporty romances certainly leaves me a lot of room to talk about some of my FAVE books and series. Rusk University (Football) This is the first sporty romance series I think of! I loved all three of these books in different ways – All Lined Up, All Broke Down, and All Played Out. The fourth book, All Closed Off, is coming later on this summer. It’s been delayed because Carmack wants to make sure she gets the story perfectly right, as it deals with a super sensitive and important subject. NA sports romance books are my FAVORITE. I have to also note that this series (a) will apparently also have a fifth book coming out and (b) is about FOOTBALL, aka the best sport in the world. Off-Campus (Hockey) Aaaand this is the second series I think of. I LOVE these boys so much and am incredibly happy there’s a spin-off series in the works! I admit that I didn’t love the final book (The Goal) as much as the other three, but it’s still an incredibly steamy and nearly perfect series to read. My order of favorites otherwise goes: The Score, The Deal, and then The Mistake. These focus on some hot hockey boys. […]

Ten eBooks I’ve Owned FOREVER

Posted May 4, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 17 Comments

I love freebie week for TTT because it brings so many other topics to my attention for me to steal borrow later on (with credit of course!). Pure Imagination featured a TTT of top ten books that have been on her Kindle for way too long… and I knew I needed to tackle this topic in one way or another! Top 10 Kindle Books I’ve Owned the Longest and Still Plan to Read Someday I bought so many Kindle books back in the day that I’d love to return. My reading tastes have definitely changed since 2009-2011 when I first got my Kindle(s). Fun fact: the first Kindle book I ever bought and read was The Hunger Games. That was fun to see when looking at my Amazon history! I remember reading it during college nonstop, whenever I wasn’t working on homework. Here are ten ebooks I’ve owned foooorever and still think I’ll read at some point in the future… The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti On my Kindle since 2011 Why I’ll probably still read it at some point: This is definitely the kind of book I used to reach for, but I can still see some of its appeal for my current reading tastes. People coming together to get information and learn about their family, past mistakes, etc. is definitely a topic I’m still interested in reading about. I love seeing the journeys people take and new relationships developing along the way. Key piece of the synopsis […]

May TBR (and Bout of Books 19 Sign-Up)

Posted April 28, 2017 / Book Challenges, Book Lists, Features / 13 Comments

I recently started a monthly TBR feature, where I try to pin down which books I plan to read in the upcoming month. It also helps remind me throughout the month which books I’m supposed to be reading, for various reasons. I add a little poll at the bottom too, so you guys can vote and help me narrow down some of my options as well. Here are my top TBR choices for this month and how I did last month… April Progress & Challenges April’s TBR was a little different because I participated in some month-long challenges. One was my own personal challenge to read mostly books from my own shelves, plus there was a blogging community challenge to read ARCs in April. (More info below.) Overall, I did pretty well! I got derailed because I forgot about my book club pick AND that I had a book coming from an ARC tour. I only read three books from my actual April TBR list because of those things… and I didn’t read much at all until the very end of the month regardless! Owned Book April Goal: 75% of books read in April should be books from my shelves (physical ARCs or pubbed books) Progress: Started and/or finished 11 books in April – 5 of them were owned copies – 45% A Very ARC-ish Readathon Goal: 50% of books read in April should be ARCs (physical or egalleys) Progress: Started and/or finished 11 books in April – 5 of them were ARCs – 45% On […]

Summer Releases to Add to Your TBR

Posted April 27, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 11 Comments

I have a tendency of reading summertime releases really early for some reason. I posted a round-up last year of summer 2016 releases to watch out for as a result of this weird habit. I happened to notice the same thing happening in 2017, so here we are today. A little more background: I love when bloggers make “save the date” style posts like Jamie and Ginger, so this is sort of a quick version of that. Here are a few books coming out in the summer (starting in May, because I can’t resist) that I’ve already read and enjoyed. This book was a breath of fresh air and really kicked my reading year off right. I love Emery Lord, but NAMES is easily her best story. I don’t like reading about religion but this was incredibly well-done and accessible for people who don’t like it. I wouldn’t have read it if her name wasn’t on it, but I’m so glad I did. I LOVED the characters, the ship, the family and friend feels, the setting… you name it. I loved reading this geeky romance between Dimple and Rishi, whose parents are trying to push them together during a summer coding camp. I thought the Indian rep was really well-done from my seriously limited perspective. If yo’re looking for a new OTP, I highly suggest this book. It was so fun to read and I couldn’t believe how quickly I would fly through it in each sitting. I expected to love […]

Book Cravings

Posted April 20, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 12 Comments

I’ve written and rewritten an intro to this post over and over again, but everything I wrote sounded stupid. Do books ever make you crave specific foods? Yes. I’m sure they have. Because obviously. I love books involving restaurants, friends who have food “traditions,” and characters who just constantly eat the same things over again. These books make me super hungry for those specific foods and I totally end up associating those foods with the books. Sorry not sorry for making you hungry today, but here are some books that made me crave certain foods while reading! The book: Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler | The craving: bacon tuna melt Why: The main character in this one always ordered the same bacon tuna melt whenever she visited the diner where her friend worked. I’m not usually a fan of tuna melts because I prefer them tuna to be cold, but this ALWAYS makes me crave a nice bacon-filled tuna melt. This is the first food-related book I think of. The book: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen | The craving: pizza, fries, and lollipops Why: The family in this one own a pizza shop and there is CONSTANT mentioning of pizza and french fries. I already crave pizza 24/7 because it’s my favorite, but just thinking about this book makes that craving even more real. I love fries too, so I had to include those. There’s also many mentions to Dum Dum lollipops. The book: Winter series by Elin Hilderbrand | The craving: fancy breakfasts Why: The B&B that the family operates […]

Weird-for-Me Covers I’m Inexplicably Loving

Posted April 17, 2017 / Book Lists, Features / 15 Comments

In keeping up with my never-ending stream of book cover-related posts, here’s a different one for you. I have certain elements I LOVE about book covers (pretty colors, hearts, watercolor, typography… all of those items can be found here). Not ALL of my favorite book covers have those elements. Lately I’ve found myself more and more drawn to weirder book covers, or more unique ones at least. Here are some book covers that are out of MY normal range of favorites that I’m kind of obsessed with. In fact, there are quite a few books of the opposite design. I’m a fan of the pretty, colorful, upbeat covers with lots of intricacies (or beautiful text). Now, I’m adding a lot more plain, simple, and dark covers to my “cover love” shelf. Book cover feature I usually love: sunsets and sunrises Book cover feature I love lately: dark, outer space elements I usually love books set on earth (lol) with sunsets or sunrises. It makes for a beautiful, colorful background in the sky. There’s something so jarring about outer space covers; I can never look away from them. These two are really striking for some reason, with the small color elements and black background. Book cover feature I usually love: pretty and/or watercolor flowers or floral patterns Book cover feature I love lately: dead and/or creepy flowers As you can see everywhere on my blog, flowers are my THING. I love watercolor floral designs and pretty, living flowers on book covers. These two covers have very […]