Recent Additions to my Shelves Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I actually don’t buy very many books, so this went back pretty far! I try to keep many books on my Kindle and purchase only favorites to display (or ask for them as gifts!). For Review or Gifted Books below received in exchange for an honest review and/or were gifted from friends where mentioned The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson | I was sent a copy of this finished hardcover from the publisher and I was SO excited! I actually received the second book from them as well. I was hoping to read this ahead of the pub date but my reading life has been weird so far this year. I will probably be reading it as we speak though! Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber | Cristina ended up with two copies of this one so she sent her extra my way, along with an adorable photo of us from her wedding that I can’t wait to hang up somewhere!! When We Were Vikings by Andrew David McDonald | I received this book from the publisher via Big Honcho and am definitely intrigued! It’s a little different […]

Best Bookish Discoveries of 2019 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. This week’s topic is so fun! We’re looking at the best bookish discoveries we made in 2019. I’m going to broaden this a little beyond just discoveries, but bookish or reading-related THINGS I started doing, found, or changed from 2019. Reading Bullet Journal I enjoyed working on my bullet journal for the vast majority of 2019. I think I got burnt out and uninspired after a while, but I still fully completed it for the year! I hope that the new year has increased my interest in it, but it’s still a fun and creative way to mark progress on books. Booktube I obviously didn’t DISCOVER booktube in 2019 but I did find a lot of new favorites and spend a LOT of time watching it! I was recommended some great channels and found a few more on my own, plus loved watching “old favorites” that I would watch even before this year’s new obsession. TBR Cart My cart is a little less TBR-oriented right now because of how I have it arranged and where it’s located. I use it to store planner supplies and my bullet journal, my iPad, […]

Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I recently made my anticipated sequels and next-in-companion-series post the other day, so today you will find ONLY standalones or series-starters for the first half of 2020. I usually also try to avoid books that I already have review copies of, but no promises if I’m THAT excited for them 😉 Throw Like a Girl by Henning | Big fan of sporty girl books, especially when football is the main topic! Infinity Son by Silvera | Adam Silvera has broken my heart in contemporary novels, so I can’t wait to see how he pulls it off in his new fantasy series! Lucky Caller by Mills | I’m a little bummed I won’t be spending my third New Years Day in a row reading an Emma Mills novel, but I’m still incredibly pumped to read this one! Her books are so wonderful. Off Script by Watson | I’m always a fan of books taking place around Hollywood and rich people. This is an Emma retelling apparently, where a teen starlet plays matchmaker to her friends. Layoverland by Noone | Another trope I’m a sucker for: purgatory! Or, the place […]

Favorite Books Read in 2019 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’m going to keep this post short and sweet – here are the books I rated five stars and 4.5 stars from 2019. All of my favorites for the year basically! 5 Stars     4.5 Stars    

Books Gifts I Hope to Find Under My Tree Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I actually didn’t ask for many books this Christmas, so I thought I would do what I usually do – here’s what I hope to find under my tree in general. I had different wishlists for my dad, mom, and Chris, so this will be from my Amazon wishlist for dad 😉 Clothing Leopard print tee shirt | Colorblock sweater | Joggers I’ve been following a lot more lifestyle/fashion-ish people on YouTube lately and many of them swear by these tops! I also randomly found the joggers while browsing and I need some new pairs. Household Pasta cooker | Oven mitt set | Macrame decoration My friend has the microwave pasta cooker and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I want to make more pasta; the number one reason I avoid it is because I hate waiting for the water to boil and cook it haha. I also want a Panthers oven mitt set and little macrame decor item. Books and Bags Structured bag | Panthers insulated tote | SIGHTWITCH | STRANGE PLANET I have two bags on my list and two books. I still […]

Winter TBR – New & Upcoming Releases January and February Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’m still going to do a January TBR post sometime at the end of this month so I don’t want to duplicate very much… This is focused heavily on highly anticipated reads, new releases coming in the first two months of the year, and ARCs I have that I want to read ASAP. One of Us is Next by McManus: Sequel to One of Us is Lying Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McQuire: Next installment in the Wayward Children series A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Kemmerer: Sequel to A Curse So Dark and Lonely Lucky Caller by Mills: New release! The Hand on the Wall by Johnson: Finale in the Truly Devious series Mermaid Inn by Holiday: New small town companion series! The King of Crows by Bray: Finale in the Diviners series (!!!!!!!!!!) Starting Over at Blueberry Creek by Rains: Next book in the Sweetwater Springs series The Worst Best Man by Sosa: New release I’m excited for A Castle in the Clouds by Gier: Another exciting new release from a fave author

Anticipated Sequels for 2020 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I know that the “anticipated reads for the first half of 2020” prompt is coming up early next year, so I thought I would use this freebie prompt to talk about the next-books-in-a-series / sequels I’m most excited about for most of 2020 (not just the first half either!). I’m going by the Goodreads release date or year, so apologies if these change or aren’t 100% certain, but that’s what I’m going with for now! “Legit” Sequels This category contains books that are direct sequels to the previous book, for the most part (or from what I can tell!) There may be one somewhat exception to this rule, but these generally continue the plot from the previous book as a sequel and feature the same characters. One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus | I really loved the first book and was surprised to see a sequel get announced! You rarely get that in a murder mystery where things are fully wrapped up by the end of book one. A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer | I can’t believe how long this book took me to finally […]

Holiday Reads: Favorite Insta Posts Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I decided to be lazy for a TTT a few weeks ago and just went through my Instagram, pulled some favorite “spooky” or fantasy-esque book posts, and added them in. I decided I’d do the same this time around because I do SO many holiday posts around here through November and December – I don’t want to clog up my blog with the same Christmassy recommendation lists I always give! Instead, I’ll share some of my favorite holiday books or just favorite Christmassy Instagram posts!   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Dec 24, 2018 at 6:16am PST   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Dec 23, 2018 at 6:22am PST   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Dec 8, 2018 at 12:04pm PST   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lauren • Bookmark Lit (@bookmark_lit) on Dec 10, 2018 at 7:03pm PST   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lauren • […]

Thankful Freebie: Things I’m Thankful for from 2019 Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I usually do some kind of “things I’m thankful for” or “books I’m thankful for” post for this each year. I thought I’d do the usual and share some of the things I’m most thankful for from 2019, both bookish and non-bookish. Artful Agenda | This has been a planning-related game-changer for me this year. You can read my full post and breakdown here, but basically this is a digital planner that syncs over your calendars and allows you to also customize it like a real planner. You can see the floral print cover I used from the spring into fall, but now there are some Christmas covers to choose from! I do somewhat miss paper planners (and have thoughts on using one in a different way next year) but I will not get rid of this guy. Shampoo brush | A couple of shower-related things, weirdly enough… I’ve been loving this shampoo brush! It really massages the shampoo into your hair and makes sure your roots get clean. Silicone shower scrubber | We made the switch away from loofahs recently after learning how much bacteria they can hold/carry. These […]