2022 New Releases!

December 29, 2021 ~ leilaslibrary ~ Leave a comment

Hello Patrons! 🙂

As you can tell from the title I am going to be talking about all the books in 2022 that I want to read. Let’s get into it!

I organized this list by month of release. Click the links for synopses.

In January we have 3 releases coming out that I want to read. On January 4^th we have Heart Stopper vol 4 by Alice Oseman which was pushed back from December 2021. We also have Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes Transformed edited by Marisa Meyer. On January 18^th we have Game On: 15 stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between edited by Laura Silverman.

In February we have 4 releases I Must Betray You by Ruta Septys coming out on the 1^st and Ophelia After All by Raquel Marie and You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen coming out on the 8^th. On February 22^nd The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh being published.

In March we have 3 big releases. On March 1^st we have Every Variable of Us by Charles A. Bush. On March 8^th we have And They Lived… by Steven Salvatore and One For All by Lillie Lainhoff.

In April we have 2 releases the first titled The Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke coming out on April 5^th. The second release is Jonathan Van Ness’s new book titled Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life that comes out on April 12^th.

In May we have 5 releases coming out. First is Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer, which is a spin off to the Cursebreaker trilogy coming out May 3^rd. on May 24^th we have Only on The Weekends by Dean Atta, and Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton coming out. On May 31^st we have Flip the Script by Lyla Lee, and Tokyo Dreaming (Tokyo Ever After #2) by Emiko Jean coming out.

In June we have 2 releases Out There: Into The Queer New Yonder edited by Saundra Mitchell which comes out June 7^nd. This is the final anthology in a Queer YA companion series. The second June release is titled Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane which also comes out June 7^th.

There weren’t any July releases I was super jazzed about, so we’ll just skip to August.

In August Husband Material (Boyfreind Material #2) by Alexis Hall comes on the 2^nd, as well as The Feeling of Falling In Love by Mason Deaver.

We’re going to fast forward to October 13^th for the release of The Heartstopper YearBook by Alice Oseman, and the last book in the Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Steifvater which comes out on the 18^thof the month.

We then make one final jump to November, where I have 1 big final release I am pumped about, which is Chain of Thorns (The Last Hours #3) which comes out November 1^st. (Spoiler alert for my November 2022 TBR It’ll probably just be this book).

Okay everyone tell me what books you’re excited for to read 2022 in the comments below. Take care of yourselves, wash your hands, get vaccinated, practice some self-care, and…

Stay Golden! 🙂

-Leila

My 2022 Bookish Goals!

December 27, 2021 ~ leilaslibrary ~ Leave a comment

Hello Patrons! 🙂

As the end of 2021 approaches, I decided to talk about my goals for the upcoming year. I made a list of 5 goals that I want to achieve in the next 12 months. Let’s get into it!

These are in no order:

My first goal is to only have books that I am actively reading on my bedside table. If I don’t pick up the book after putting it on my bedside table after 6 months, I must take it off the bedside table. That could mean donating it to my local Goodwill or getting the audiobook version. I just have a small bedside table and need to only have the books I’m reading on the table. I don’t want to have a lot of clutter or dust in 2022.

Libby Logo

My second goal is to continue using Libby for audiobooks. In 2021 I changed jobs twice, my job in the beginning of 2021 gave me a lot of time to listen to audiobooks, then the first job switch didn’t allow me a ton of audiobook time. My second job switch, my current job, gives me a little more time to listen to audiobooks. Also, I like that Libby allows you to have multiple audiobooks checked out, where Audible only allows you 1 credit a month and you have to pay for a subscription. Libby is free with your library card. I want to be thrifty in 2022, and I also don’t want to give any more money to Jeff Bezos than I already do. I’m hoping to read a couple audiobooks a month in 2022. We’ll see how that goes.

My third goal is piggybacking on my second goal which is just to listen to audiobooks in general. 2021 was crazy for the reasons mentioned above, and because of my master’s program. I’ve gotten into listening to a lot of podcasts this year, but I also want to carve out some of that podcast time to listen to audiobooks.

My fourth goal is read more graphic novels and books in verse in 2022. I read a handful of graphic novels this year and I want to read more in the future. I love graphic novels, so I was surprised I didn’t read more. I only read 1 novel in verse this year and want to read more in 2022.

My last goal is to try eBooks again. I used to have an OG Kindle when I was 13 but ended up spending a ton of money on eBooks and my e-reader broke and I grew bored with it. I just got the newest generation Kindle for Christmas and am excited to be more intentional with my e-reading. I tried reading eBooks on my phone but couldn’t get comfortable with reading eBooks on my phone. I am currently reading TR: the Last Romantic by HW Brands on my Kindle and am liking it so far.

Tell me what your goals are in the comments below. Do you have any similar goals? Let me know.

Take care of yourselves, get vaccinated, wash your hands, practice some self-care, and…

Stay Golden! 🙂

-Leila

It’s Not Me It’s You: My Least Favorite Books of the Year!

December 22, 2021 ~ leilaslibrary ~ Leave a comment

Hello Patrons! 🙂

So, yesterday I talked about my favorite books of the year. Today we need to talk about the books I didn’t really like. Thankfully, this year I didn’t have any books that I absolutely hated. These books are just kind of boring or were bad endings to series in my opinion. I rated these all about 3 or 3 ½ stars. I’ll also get into my dishonorable mentions as well. Let’s get into it.

Okay my first book I didn’t like was The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. This is a novella with the premise that the Queen of England becomes a bookworm thanks to a book mobile that comes to Buckingham Palace. I liked it up until the last third. The writing style changed drastically. It went from a fun story with a royal cast of characters to a boring meditation on why books are awesome. (Books are wonderful, but like it wasn’t subtle). This was my second read of 2021, and I was really pushing through it.

My next book I didn’t like was Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle. I read Strange Planet the year before and thought it was hilarious. This book is the sequel to that book. I thought it wasn’t as funny as the first book. For those who don’t know about these books, it’s a graphic novel about a bunch of aliens trying to be humans. The first is very kooky.

My third disliked book is A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer. This is the last book in the Cursebreaker trilogy. I thought this was a bad ending to the trilogy. I loved the first book A Curse so Dark and Lonely and thought that A Heart So Fierce and Broken was good. This was just boring, and the characters annoyed me. Kemmerer is writing a series that is set in the same world but with different characters. The first book to that series comes out next year.

My fourth book hurts my soul a little because it was a gift. That book is On Writers and Writing by Margret Atwood. This is the 4^th book I’ve read by Atwood and was underwhelmed. On Writers and Writing is Atwood teaching readers about the craft of writing. Obviously based on the title. I prefer Atwood’s fiction a little bit better. I was just a little bored with it.

The last and final book I must talk about is The Doctors Blackwell by Janice M. Nimura. This is about the first two women to receive a medical degree to become doctors in the United States. I just was so bored. The audiobook was bad. At the end of reading this book, which I was reading for book club, I just thought what was the point? You shouldn’t have that after reading non-fiction.

Okay let’s run through the dishonorable mentions: Victoria the Queen by Julia Baird boring and again the aforementioned “What’s the point?”, Dear Justyce by Nic Stone I’m just not a Nic Stone fan this is the third book I’ve read of her and just it wasn’t for me, Ida B the Queen by Michelle Duster was boring and the audiobook was terrible, and lastly Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers which bored me and the ending was so dragged out.

Did you read any books that you didn’t like this year? Tell me in the comments below. Take care of yourselves, get vaccinated, wash your hands, practice some self-care, and…

Stay Golden! 🙂

-Leila

Gush City: My Top 11 Favorite Books of 2021!

December 21, 2021 ~ leilaslibrary ~ Leave a comment

Hello Patrons! 🙂

My semester ended on Friday so now I have more time to blog! I want to start the end of the year posts with a positive vibe and talk about my favorite books of the year. Tomorrow I will do my least favorites, and then next week I’ll do my 2022 goals and 2022 TBR. In other book news, I’ve been crushing my December TBR! So far, I’ve read 11 books this month. I will post my January TBR sometime before New Years Eve. (Cut to January 4^th me posting my January TBR).

Okay, let’s get into it! I am going to give super brief descriptions, so this won’t be super long. I rated all of these books highly.

These are in no order:

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. Fake dating. Luc is the son of a rockstar, Oliver is a barrister (lawyer), and they need to pretend to be boyfriends for an event that the organization Luc works for is doing, and Oliver’s parents wedding anniversary party. Shenanigans ensue. I laughed so hard I snorted. I read this in January, and it’s stuck with me. (There’s also a sequel coming out in 2022).

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. It’s a sequel to The Hate U Give where readers follow Mav, Starr’s dad as he becomes a teen dad. I liked seeing Mav become the person we meet in THUG. I read this in February and love the cover.

Last Night at The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Queer historical fiction with an Asian main character. The main character wants to be a scientist. She falls in love with another girl in school. The book is set in 1950’s San Francisco. The writing style is so vivid and interesting, because along with the main character Lily, and her love interest Kath’s story, you get Lily’s family story. The Red Scare plays a big part of this story which I found interesting. I read this at the end of February. I keep thinking about it.

That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler. YA Shakespeare retellings! Unlike a lot of short story anthologies, there were a lot of strong stories in this collection. I had a lot of fun reading it in March, and if you want my in-depth thoughts, you can read my review.

Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach. A girl is passed up for being her high school newspaper’s editor. Then a manifesto she wrote gets posted online. This is a meditation on feminism. It wasn’t preachy. I liked that the main character was Asian and not white, so that gives a different perspective. I thought the main character, Eliza was super interesting. I read this in mid-September.

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare. This is the second book of the 4^th series in the Shadowhunter world. It takes place in Edwardian England. Demon Hunters in Edwardian garb! I can’t get into the actual plot because that would spoil all of book 1, Chain of Gold. (Chain of Thorns comes out in late 2022). Chain of Iron was such a rollercoaster! I can’t wait for Chain of Thorns. I read this in March.

The Agitators by Dorothy Wickenden. This is a non-fiction book about 3 women fighting for suffrage and for abolition. The audiobook was fantastic. Each woman’s story had a different narrator. Each woman super distinct. I read this in November. So good!

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Four adult kids in 1980’s Malibu throw an end of summer party. By the end of the night their house goes up in flames. Along the way you learn about their history. The audiobook is very good. TJR was redeemed this year after I didn’t like Daisy Jones and the Six last year. I read this over the summer, I think in June.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo by Marianne Cronin. A young girl in a Scottland Hospital meets an older woman and start a friendship. It made me tear up. The audiobook is cute. I read this in September.

Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Larson. An anthropomorphic garlic goes on an adventure to discover if there’s a vampire living outside her villain. It’s a graphic novel. Very cute. I read this in mid-October.

These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett. These are essays written by the Ann Patchett about various topics. I love the cover. I love the writing style. So good! I finished this a week or so ago.

Tell me your favorite book of 2021. Have you read any of the books I talked about? Let me know. Take care of yourselves, get vaccinated, wash your hands, practice some self-care, and…

Stay Golden! 🙂

-Leila

My December 2021 TBR!

December 3, 2021 ~ leilaslibrary ~ Leave a comment

Hello Patrons! 🙂

Am I three days late to posting my TBR for December? Yes. Do I have two weeks left in my semester. Also, yes. I decided to hop on before I go into full studying editing mode. Let’s get into it!

I didn’t get to finish The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks in November. So, I plan on finishing it soon. Also, I didn’t finish These Precious Days by Ann Patchett either, but I plan on finishing that too. I am really liking both. Nobleman’s is giving me the historical road trip vibes I didn’t know I desperately needed. These Precious Days is reminding me that Ann Patchett is a goddess to literature. She can write so beautifully! When I die Ann Patchett needs to write my obituary. Please.

Also I plan on trying to read some of the books I didn’t get to in November. Will I get too all of them, of course not! But the couple that I want to get to are Instructions for Dancing, If the Shoe Fits, and The Rose Code obviously. These still intriguing to me. November was just a crazy month. If you want a more in-depth synopsis, click the links.

The library books I want to get to are Tide Song by Wendy Xu, Thick: and Other Essays by Tressie McMillian Cottom, and Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Moldonado. Tide Song is a graphic novel about a witch in training who summons a sea dragon accidently. Thick is an essay collection about being Black in America. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega is a YA book about Charlie Vega a fat Latina who just wants to live her life. It looks cute! I also want to read Fools in Love, which is a YA short story collection.

I also just ordered a copy of I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Mason Deaver, it’s a novella with the characters from I Wish You All The Best during Christmas time. I follow Mason on Instagram and when they said this novella was going to come out in print, I immediately ordered it from Amazon. (It’s $6 y’all go order it and IWYATB!) It will be to my home tomorrow by 10pm and I plan to read it the first chance I can.

I am also listening to a ton of audiobooks: Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper, The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas, and Passing by Nella Larson. Vanderbilt is the story of the Vanderbilt family. If you want to read about rich people being rich pick this up. The Bully Pulpit focuses on the presidencies of Teddy Roosevelt and Taft. If you’re an American history nerd, pick this up. Dear America, is a memoir about a man who is an undocumented Filipino man who becomes a reporter and then comes out as undocumented. I find Vargas’s writing style super unique and super honest. Passing is about two Black women living in Chicago in the 1920’s (Larson wrote this in 1929), one woman decides to pass as White, while the other decides to live as Black. I want to watch the Netflix movie. The book follows them and their struggles. I am also listening to When Women Invented Television off and on.