Books I Got This Week

This week, Barnes & Noble is sick of me (probably.) I have the premium membership, meaning I get free shipping. And I'm generally budget-less when it comes to books, so I'll order a book when it crosses my mind to (which is really my one shopping indulgence.) But considering it's directly correlated to my writing and career, I think being unlimited in that sense is pretty okay. I read most books from my local library, and also get a ton of used copies from Thrift Books for about $6/pop.

Anyway, I gave myself a lot of grief for being sick enough in November that I didn't write a ton. I did read a ton, however, and will likely underestimate how much working through my revision reading list will impact my manuscript during this round. I finished some great, valuable reads.

I also picked up the following:

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BOUGHT

1. The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer is an auto-buy author for me. I loved her Cinder series, and still remember the gasp of finishing the first book in middle school. I also loved Heartless and Renegades for other reasons. While Gilded wasn't quite everything I wanted it to be, nobody writes a fractured fairytale like she does, so I'm excited to read her take on Bluebeard. Very few people can immerse me like she does, and December has me craving that feel.

1. It Didn't Start with You by Mark Wolynn

Last month, I read Bedlam and bought What My Bones Know and all in all, have been following threads about mental illness and generational inheritance as it relates to my debut novel’s tension and stakes. I'd originally opted for the former over this one, but have been cranking through my revision reads pretty quickly so figure it deserved to be added back to the list.

LIBRARY

1. I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

Considering I've gone as Medusa for the last two Halloweens (it's so easy), this was obvious. Greek mythological retellings either win me over entirely or completely devastate me in how much I hate them. (See: Circe.) I like Gray as an author, so I'm hopeful it's the former—and think this take on Medusa mythology is long overdue!

1. Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews

I've wanted to read this one for a while (and it reminds me vaguely of The Wicker King, which I liked a lot), but avoided it while pitching my own manuscript as I didn't want to overthink the market if my book sold as YA. Now I can read it.

1. Every Screen on the Planet by Emily Baker-White

Like it or not, TikTok is a formidable presence nowadays. This book focuses a lot on the political underpinnings that shaped the rise of the social media platform. As a native digital creator nowadays, it feels like required reading for understanding my context.

1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

I read a chapter of this a while back and liked it, and just all-in-all have been liking memoirs nowadays, especially within business and the like. Maybe to convince myself that big swings are worth taking. This and the TikTok book kind of go together.

More soon!