worldofbai

Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas For A Bookworm

Can you believe that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a little over a week away? I can’t, this is so crazy to think that the year is already almost over! I figured now would be a better time than any to start (Dropping Hints) showing you all the best way to surprise your book loving friend or family member this holiday season.

Just a few reminders I do not own these pictures. Also I will post links to these items but I am not affiliated with amazon or any of the companies I get the links from. I just want to make it easy for everyone to track down these items. I suggest clicking on the Etsy links or small businesses before Amazon. Remember to try and shop small this year!

Gift Idea #1

TBR Cart and Cute Decals

I have been dying to get my hands on one of these carts! This probably at the top of my Christmas list this year. It is just so cute and practical that I think everyone needs one of these in their households.

The best part is the super cute decals you can buy for them! You can make these carts personal to you which I think makes this gift one of the best ones you could buy someone.

JustALittleBookedCO Etsy

This is a great Etsy link for the cute picture above!

Book Cart From Michaels

Book Carts are actually crafting carts but who said they had to be used for that purpose?

Gift Idea #2

Thumb Page Holders

I have had my eye on these page holders for a very long time! They can be resin or wood and come in so many cute designs! I highly suggest doing an Etsy search and find the best one for your bookish friend.

I think my personal favorites are the resin ones. I mean look at how cute that picture is! Every resin pour comes out different but it is also so easy to customize!

DeannaMarieCreations

thewrightring

KnitDecorGifts

Gift Idea #3

Candles

I am obsessed with candles! I always have one burning in my house or at least a Scentsy going in my office while I work.

I know setting the ambiance of the room when you sit down to read makes or breaks a good reading session. In no particular order; find a comfy spot, get a glass of wine or your preferred beverage, grab a fluffy blanket, and of course light your favorite candle.

When I don’t have a good setting for my reading I get so distracted and my reading session honestly ends up pretty short. I will talk more about ambiance and comfort items a little later on in a different post. Also maybe I am just strange and most people could just sit straight down and read but I personally can’t. Even if you can read anywhere and anytime who doesn’t need a good smelling candle in their life?

Down below will be a link for an Etsy shop that I have seen everywhere for bookish scented candles. I have been dying to try these because I have heard so many wonderful things about their business. I will be putting my order in soon!

FrostBeard: Book Lovers Candle Etsy Shop

Fresh Rain-Ginger-Lavender

Coffee-Chocolate Pastry

Butterscotch-Caramel-Rum

Gift Idea #4

Book Stamp/Embosser

Do you or your bookish friend have a book that you absolutely love and will never get rid of? Better yet, do you and your friends lend each other books? If so, this is the perfect gift!

With this stamp you will be able to always keep track of whose book is whose!

Etsy has hundreds of different stamps and embossers to choose from but this is one that I think is super cute! Remember these can be customized!

PaperPeachShop

Gift Idea #5

Reading Pillow

I know that while I read it is very easy to get into an uncomfortable position and that can be one of my main reasons to stop reading for the night.

A reading pillow is a great way to stay comfortable and honestly can you ever have too many pillows?

I don’t have one of these yet and I am regretting it!

Amazon Reading Pillow

Gift Idea #6

Favorite Book Merch

Even if you know nothing about books I guarantee you know your best friends favorite book. They are probably constantly trying to get you to read this book, constantly talking about the book or they probably already have some of the merch related to their favorite book. Check out these super cute Esty shops Full of cute bookish merch!

CreationsbyHallows

Daisychains66

DollySparklesFinds

Gift Idea #7

Book Scratch Off Poster

This is a super fun and interactive gift that will just keep giving for the rest of the year!

Being someone who can never decide on what book to read next, something like this would come in handy! I also really love surprises and scratching off things.

There are so many options out there for these but this is the one that caught my eye.

bookbundlesbyviv

Gift Idea #8

Book Ends

Anyone who owns a book knows how hard it is too keep your books organized and looking pretty. I have books just stacked on top of each other on my dresser because my shelves are so full! Having some book ends would be a dream come true to anyone like me.

Gift Idea #9

Special Editions of Favorite Books

I love that there are so many different covers for books! I think most of them are so gorgeous. I know a lot of people who own three or four of their favorite book just to have a couple different covers. A lot of the limited or special release books come out for specific reasons like special anniversaries, so to someone who is a die hard fan of a book these are a big deal!

“The Great Gatsby” Amazon

Gift Idea #10

Kindle Products

If you have a little bit of cash to burn and you are wanting to be the best gift giver this year, you can not go wrong in getting them a new Kindle product!

EReaders are such a popular item these days and I know how much I love my Kindle Paper White. I couldn’t imagine not having it.

Kindle Oasis

Kindle Paper White

Wrap Up

This Christmas, treat all your bookish loving friends and family to some of the best gifts out there! These are all in my opinion some of the best gifts you could receive this holiday season. I know a lot of these are at the top of my Wishlist! I hope you all enjoyed this list and I hope I was able to give you some good ideas.

QOTD: What is at the top of your Wishlist this year?

Book Review: “Branded” By Neva Bell

I found this book actually through an add on Facebook surprisingly enough. When I went to buy it on my paper white it ended up being part of Kindle Unlimited which completely sold me! I actually finished this book a week ago but I haven’t had much free time to write recently due to my new job but I promise I am still here! Why don’t we dive into this book.

About The Book

Author: Neva Bell

Date Published: October 31, 2019

Publisher: Self Published (I believe)

Page Count: 287 pages

Genre: Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.53

“Ellie believed every being, witch or not, deserved a happy and peaceful existence.”
Direct Quote

Synopsis

Chloe and Chelsea are twin sisters ready to leave for college, but not just any old college, Livingston is a college for witches! In order to go to this witch school you have to be branded first with either a white dove or a black hawk to decide what you will study.

When Chloe gets a brand that no one was expecting her and Chelsea’s life changes drastically! This brand becomes a dangerous mark and both of the girls lives are at risk. Werewolves are the witches biggest threat and when a surprise attack goes in the werewolves favor Chloe is forced into a dangerous path of revenge.

“It is a big deal! I act tough, but I’m still a woman. I still want the guy I like to like me back. No one wants to hear it’s nothing more than a scheme.”
Direct Quote

Rating

Review

This book had a really cute, and what I felt unique, story line. I was hooked from the very beginning of this book! I thought the twins relationship was really close and special and I really feel like Neva wrote their characters well. I loved the Idea that there were two different brands they could receive and it was fun trying to guess which twin would get what brand.

You might be asking, If I was hooked from the beginning and felt like the characters were written well, then why did I give the book only three stars? Well let me tell you! This all happened really fast in the book and about 40% into the book everything I loved was stripped away from me and I was very upset! The story line completely changed after the werewolf attack and I just felt like it happened too soon. Also the ending of the book, Without giving spoilers, was way too easy and I was left wishing not necessarily for a different ending but maybe a more thought out ending. However there is a second book and maybe by reading that book it will all come together cohesively but to be honest the ending of this book didn’t make me want to read a second one.

This could be a quick read for anyone who needs to knock another book off their list but if you want something that had you hooked for the whole book you can skip this one.

QOTD: What is a book that started off with a lot of promise but left you feeling disappointed in the end?

Book Review: “The Love Hypothesis” By Ali Hazelwood

I feel like I am a tad bit late to the game on this one. Where this book was only released back at the beginning of September maybe I am not that late to the gate but I feel like everyone devoured this book in one sitting as soon as it came out. I would say this is probably the most popular book I am seeing on my Bookstagram and Booktok feeds, no joke! With over 90,000 ratings, 16,000 reviews and a 4.47 overall rating on Goodreads, so I would consider this a very hyped up book with those details.

“Listen, I’m clearly bad at real dating. Maybe fake dating will be different. Maybe I’ve found my niche.”
Direct quote from book, page 64.

About The Book

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Date Published: September 14, 2021

Publisher: Berkley Books

Page Count: 352

Genre: Romance

Goodreads Rating: 4.47

Synopsis

Olive is a Ph.D student who has never really been a romantic person. However, in order to keep her friend happy she finds herself kissing a random stranger in the middle of the night.

This random stranger ends up being the schools most hated professor, Adam Carlson, and Olive immediately feels like her world is about to fall apart. The biggest surprise is when Adam agrees to keep the kiss a secret, but even more surprising was the fact he was willing to keep up this charade and fake date Olive to help benefit the both of them. Olive, to help her friend find love, and Adam, to convince the school to release his research funds. After all, it is a win win situation with a deadline. What could possibly go wrong?

“And then I’ll come find you, and I’ll take care of you.”
Direct Quote from book. Page 327.

Rating

Review

This book was vastly recommended by I believe everyone on my bookstagram, am I the last person to read this? I know I’m not but it sure felt that way.

I normally don’t like books that seem to be super popular, they always feel over hyped and I end up being disappointed in the book. Not with this one! This book truly lived up to its hype in my opinion. I think I am willing to say this is my second favorite romance read this year following “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston, I honestly don’t think anything will beat that book for first place in quite sometime.

(Possible Spoiler) If I had to come up with something I was a little put off on, it would have to be the steamy scenes, please don’t come after me! This whole book had so much sexual tension that by the time it all came together I was left feeling a little awkward and granted upset by the event that immediately followed. The words used to describe the scene were a little off putting such as, “He made a guttural noise.” It could just be me but that is not a sexy sentence.

This book was very well written and really had me on an emotional roller coaster! There were quite a few moments where I was ready to chuck the book at a wall because I know the full story and how each character is feeling but Olive just doesn’t understand Adams feelings and I was screaming at them to “Just get a room already!” Also there were times where I really felt sorry or upset for the character due to the way they were treated. Ali really has a way with writing to bring all the emotions out of the pages.

I highly recommend this book! I can now see why so many people have already read it more than once, maybe this will be the first book I ever read twice.

“You can fall in love: Someone will catch you.”
Direct quote from book. Page 342

QOTD: Have you ever fake dated someone? With all these fake dating books I have been reading lately I feel like this is more common of a thing than it probably really is.

5 Books I Wish Got More Hype

Todays blog post I will be focusing on books that I believe need more hype. Some of these books will probably be books you haven’t heard of from anyone other than me because they are written by Indie Authors.

I have only been reading for a little over a year and to be completely honest with you, I mostly read all the popular books because they are literally everywhere! I just wish I saw more posts talking about these books! If you haven’t read the books I am about to talk about you need to go get them right now!

Bring On The Hype

“The Intellect” by Lily Kathleen

I talk about this book every chance I can! This book is a YA Romance with a little bit of a twist. It was written by a senior in high school which is an amazing accomplishment and she really deserves the hype.

Jessica is a fifteen year old girl who has overbearing parents who make her and her siblings move at least once a year for some unknown reason. When Jessica’s parents make her move from Ney York all the way to a small town in South Dakota they make sure Jessica has no contact with her previous friends, including her boyfriend Jake. This doesn’t make any sense to her and feels as if it isn’t fair, why would her parents not let her keep in contact with old friends, isn’t moving hard enough?

Read a full synopsis and review when you follow the link down below. I will also post places where you can order your own copy of the book! If you buy it from Lily Kathleen Directly take 10% off your order with code “TheIntellect10”.

Also It is Lily Kathleen’s 18th birthday today and as a birthday gift to her I would love to see one of my followers purchase her book. Wish her a happy birthday in the comments!

Full Book Review

Buy The Book Directly From The Author

Buy The Book From Amazon

“Not That Rich” by Belinda Lei

This book was published almost a year ago and I honestly haven’t seen many people talking about it which makes me super sad! Belinda is an amazing author who created a gorgeous well rounded story.

“My hope for the book is that it emphasizes the diversity of Asian American culture, but also offers up the common challenges that teenagers all experience today – educational and familial pressures, identity struggles, and peer pressure.” – Belinda Lei

Enter a world of a handful of Private High School students born into rich families with extreme expectations. Will they get into their desired colleges? Will they find love in their relationships? Will they fight their drug addictions? Who is “The Stranger”? But most importantly does being rich really make you happy?

Belinda also sits on the board for Non-Profit called Act to Change which is a platform to help bring awareness to bullying and AAPI hate. Belinda is such a sweet and amazing person and I truly believe her book should get more love!

Down below is my full book review and synopsis of the book. I will also post The Act to Change website and a link to buy your own copy of her book.

Full Book Review

Act to Change Website

Buy The Book From Amazon

“Razorblade Tears” by S.A. Cosby

This book might have gotten a little bit of hype when it first came out but I feel as if people don’t know it exist any more. This is probably my second favorite book I have read this whole year!

Something to remember though is that this book comes with some major trigger warnings which I list in my full review.

Two ex-con fathers lost their married sons in some horrific hate crime. Despite not approving of the relationship their sons had, the fathers are out for blood to avenge their sons’ deaths because the cops have no leads! Through all the challenges these men go through they find acceptance for their sons and each other but can they get revenge on whoever did this horrendous act?

I am a sucker for anything involving a thriller/mystery! This book had everything I could have asked for and kept me hooked throughout the entire book! If you can handle reading a very violent book then this is something you would enjoy.

Down below I will post links to my full review and also where you can get your own copy of this amazing thriller!

Full Book Review

Buy The Book From Amazon

“A Deadly Influence” by Mike Omer

I actually just brought this book up yesterday in my favorite tropes post. This book is a fantastic mystery/thriller revolving around a missing boy and a cult. This book I haven’t seen anywhere other than all the times I talk about it.

Abby Is a police hostage negotiator for the NYPD. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of her chaotic life. When Eden Fletcher reports her son Nathan as missing, Abby is faced with her past. Eden and Abby grew up in a cult that Abby has worked so hard to forget. While battling her past that’s barreling towards her she knows she has to stay focused because Nathan’s life is at risk! Can Abby Find Nathan in time or will her past hold her back?

I think you all need to go grab this book immediately because the second book is coming out in 2022! I am beyond excited to read the next book and continue reading about Abby’s story.

Down below is the link to my full review along with a link to purchase your own copy from amazon!

Full Book Review

Buy The Book From Amazon

“The Girl In The Mirror” by Rose Carlyle

This was also in my post yesterday for my favorite tropes. I haven’t seen this book talked about at all since last year and I can’t put my finger on why. This book had me glued from the first page! I really love thrillers as you can see but this was one of the first books I read that actually made me enjoy reading.

Iris and Summer are identical twins but what lies on the inside is very different. Iris has always been jealous of Summer especially ever since Summer married a very handsome and rich man. But when a sailing trips go wrong Iris jumps at the chance to finally walk in her sisters footsteps.

I got this book from Book Of The Month Club last year and like I said it was one of the first books to get me excited about reading. This is one reason why it is important to me to share this book with you and I really hope it will start to get more hype!

I haven’t posted a review for this book here on my blog yet but I will link my previous Top 5 Tropes blog post down below and of course the link to buy your own copy.

Top 5 Tropes That I Can’t Get Enough Of

Buy The Book From Amazon

Wrap Up

My favorite part of this post is being able to share my love for books that don’t get the love they truly deserve! Especially the first two books that were published by Indie Authors who have to do all the promoting themselves! These books all deserve some love and I hope you all consider purchasing even just one of these books. (I am not affiliated with amazon, I just want to share the links.)

Have you heard of or even read any of these books? What are your thoughts?

Top 5 Tuesday: 5 Tropes I Can’t Get Enough Of

Top five Tuesdays is hosted by Meeghan Reads. Each Tuesday there is a new topic based around your top 5 for each prompt. I enjoy participating in these because I feel it helps readers connect to the bloggers. I started my blog to not only keep track of my reading journey but to also make connections with my readers. I am excited to share my favorite tropes with you, lets go!

Top Five Book Tropes

Enemies to Lovers
Magic School
Fake Dating
Cults
Twins With a Twist

Lets Deep Dive

Enemies to Lovers

“Red, White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston is probably my favorite example of this trope.

The Presidents son Alex Claremont has never really gotten along with Prince Henry but when pictures are taken and threatened to be released publicly these two nemesis have to act all buddy buddy. One ting leads to another and these enemies become long distance lovers.

This is my second favorite LGBTQ read, with my first being “One Last Stop” also written by Casey McQuiston. If you haven’t read these books yet make sure to check them out!

Magic School

“A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik matches this description perfectly!

El is a magically gifted girl who attends the Scholomance School for gifted children. This school is particularly strange because the only way to leave is if you graduate or die. Follow some simple rules and just maybe you can leave with your body still intact. The most important rule is never to walk the halls alone and to always be on the lookout for rogue monsters.

I loved this book because the world was so well built! I felt like I was actually attending school with El. I am very excited to read the second book here soon!

Fake Dating

“The Dating Plan” by Sara Desai was one of my favorite romance reads ever!

Daisy and Liam couldn’t be more opposite. A software engineer who is very detail orientated and a Venture capitalist who has something of a bad side. However, both Daisy and Liam need to get their families off their backs. They come up with a fool proof plan and start “Dating” leading towards an engagment.

I loved this story because neither of them really wanted it to end in a relationship but throughout the course of the book they fell in love and it felt very natural.

Cults

“A Deadly Influence” by Mike Omer was the first book I have ever read regarding cults and I fell in love with this plot instantly!

Abby Mullen works for the police department as a hostage negotiator. When a child goes missing and an old friend requests for her help memories come rushing back!

Abby and the childs mother were in a cult together when they were children and Abby was the lucky one who made it out. Where is the poor child? Could the cult have something to do with this?

I really enjoyed this book because occasionally there would be flashbacks regarding her time as a child in a cult. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did but the way the author portrayed Abby’s character and her past trauma it really pulled me in and felt very tasteful.

Twins With a Twist

“The Girl in The Mirror” by Rose Carlyle was the first thriller book I have read where I didn’t guess the twist at the end.

Like I said the twist in this book had me screaming! I know some people said they could see what happened from a mile away but for me I was shocked till the end.

Final Thoughts

There are so many different tropes out there these days but most of them that I could think of were romance based. Is there a reason why I couldn’t think of tropes other than romance and thriller? Possibly because that is all I ever read? Oh well, I just know these are tropes I always look forward too. I am currently reading “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood which is a fake dating trope!

What are some of your favorite tropes? Did any of yours make my list?

How I Annotate My Books

Hello bookish friends and family! Today I want to talk about how I annotate my books and why I started doing it. I know a lot of people do not like to annotate because it reminds them of being forced to do it in school. Honestly I didn’t have to do this in school so maybe this is why I have actually enjoyed the process but I can see why some people wouldn’t want to do this.

Do you annotate your books? Why or why not?

Also just a heads up, I will be using direct quotes and examples from books I have previously read. If you are worried about reading a possible spoiler please just beware.

Why I Started To Annotate

I actually only started annotating a few months ago back in June when I started to read “Pet Semetary’ by Stephen King. I read this for a book club and I wanted to make sure that I had a reference to come back to for our discussion at the end.

I started off with little sticky notes which I really liked because I could write my thoughts on each thing I marked so I knew better as to why I marked it when I came back.

Now I was these highlighter ones that are see through so I can mark the exact spot in the book without covering any of the words. I just wish I could write on them to be honest.

I probably excessively mark my books compared to most people, as you can see the middle book is covered in markings! Sometimes I mark a lot because a book was a bit confusing so I marked to come back and remind myself of certain important things, sometimes the book has a lot of really good quotes or other times the author put a lot of emotion into the book. I don’t think I mark excessively though, I just mark what feels right to me.

How I Mark

Each color represents a different feeling or important aspect in the book

Follow this link to order these tabs from amazon

Annotation Tabs on Amazon

Red: These are typically things that make me angry or upset while reading

Example:” “Don’t Stutter!” Jack suddenly screamed into his face. Danny cried out in shock, his body going tense, trying to draw away from his father, and then he collapsed into tears.” – Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King Page 181. This made me very upset! there was no need to yell at the poor boy!

Light Pink: These are typically things that represent love as in relationship, family or even friendship. However in the shinning I used this color for anything that was scary.

Example: “Thank you, I guess. You didn’t have to help me, but you did. August huffs out a laugh. “I just did it because I thought you were hot.” ” -Direct Quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 354. This made me feel the love and connection between the two characters and I thought it was really sweet and so it deserved to be marked.

Example: “And suddenly he found that he didn’t like the Overlook so well anymore, as if it wasn’t wasps that had stung his son, wasps that had miraculously lived through the bug bomb assault, but the hotel itself.” Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King page 198. I felt like this was the turning point in the book where things started to actually get scary.

Orange: This color is for anything that makes me happy or can make me smile.

Example: “With that the guy was gone. And Olive never got his name. But a few weeks later, When the Stanford biology department extended her an offer, she accepted it. Without hesitating.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 8. Only 8 pages in and I am already so happy for Olive!

Yellow: I use this color for anything that makes me laugh or is just generally funny.

Example: “I… Oh my God, I didn’t- I am so sorry-” “Just Kidding.” “I really had no idea that you-” “Olive. I was Joking. I’m not married. No Kids.” Direct quotes from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 44.

This was funny because Olive truly thought she kissed a married man and thought that she made people believe he was having an affair, when really he just made a quick joke. I find it funny because of how awkward that situation would have been!

Lime Green: I use this one for all my favorite quotes.

Example: “But to kiss and be kissed. To be wanted. That’s a different thing from love. And maybe, maybe if she tried, they could have something. Not everything, but something” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 210. I love this quote because it stands true in every day life.

Blue: This color is reserved for anything that makes me cry, sad or just feel down.

Example: “And Gage, who now had less than two months to live, laughed shrilly and joyously. “Kite Flyne! Kite flyne, Daddy!” ” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 209. This is sad because it was foreshadowing for the first time when Gage was going to pass away, but yet he was a happy little boy.

Dark Purple: These are things that I can personally relate too or at least feel relatable.

Example: “All I listen to are podcasts about murder. I don’t know who half these people are.” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 49. I find this quote relateable because I only listen to true crime podcasts and have no clue who any famous people are or even what songs are popular these days, but I can sure tell you all about the latest murder victims.

Hot Pink: These tabs are for all my steamy reading moments!

Example: “Just like she didn’t didn’t need to turn to know that the large, warm weight suddenly steadying her, a firm but barely there pressure applied to the center of her lower back, was Carlsen’s hand. About two inches above her ass.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis’ by Ali Hazelwood page 27. This is not the most steamy sentence I could have put, but to keep this blog appropriate I decided on this one. I think you will understand though.

Light Purple: I use this color for all of my important markings. Things that seem important to remember for the books plot.

Example: “Although he had gotten only the barest glimpse over the top of the deadfall before the shifting sensation had made him nervous, he could have sworn there was a path beyond, leading deeper into the woods.” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 86. This was marked as possible foreshadowing.

Dark Green: This is used as my extra color. Just in case I have something pop up that isn’t covered by any of the others this one will be used.

Conclusion

Even though I recently started to annotate my books I have seen a huge improvement in not only my reading comprehension but also in my reviews. I feel like my book reviews have gotten a lot better in the past few months because I can go back and see what I marked and How I felt while I read the book.

I think I will continue to annotate my books for the foreseeable future. I find it very helpful for when I do buddy reads and to be honest I love the colors. I also really love playing with the tabs while I read. I may have way too many tabs for some people but I think that is what makes annotating so beautiful, you can make it all your own!

What do you think of my annotations? Any tips and advise?