read-a-thon

Many People are now familiar with the annual Reading Rush read-a-thon hosted by Ariel Bissett and Raeleen Lemay every year. It’s become one of the most popular read-a-thon’s out there and it’s a lot of fun! Inspired by our continued isolation, the creators of The Reading Rush have decided to host a mini Stay Home read-a-thon from 4/16-4/19. They’ve also created a tag! I’m going to answer the questions and then share my mini TBR with you all!

Q1 How is your reading going staying at home?

There hasn’t been much of a change in my reading since the quarantine started. I work in healthcare and am considered essential so my life really hasn’t changed all that much! I can say my reading has been a bit slower this year and that hasn’t changed, unfortunately.

Q2 What have you been reading at home?

I don’t think think my reading tastes have been affected much. My latest reads include: Docile by K.M. Szpara, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, Daytripper by Fabio Moon, and A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood. All of which I gave 4 or 5 stars. There’s been less fantasy lately but I plan to rectify that as soon as possible. ; P

Q3 What is the best book you’ve read during isolation?

I read and loved Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, the sequel to Beartown. Fredrik Backman can’t write a bad book. Or at least that’s been my experience and I’ve read many of his books now. I can’t recommend this author enough and I also think he writes extremely versatile books as well. Anyone can read them regardless of genre preference.

Q4 What is your favorite feel-good book?

I struggled a bit trying to think of an answer to this question. “feel-good” isn’t my go-to when looking for a book to pick up. I really prefer the dark and twisted stories, whether it be fantasy or contemporary. But a great book that I did read recently that definitely falls under the “feel-good” category is A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood. I never expected to love this book as thoroughly as I did. I do love how the 1920’s setting feels and it was because of the time period and the stunning cover that I picked this book up. It didn’t disappoint. It’s one of those books you enjoy like a dessert, savoring every page. I highly recommend it!

Q5 What book do you wish you could buy or borrow from the library if it’s not available?

Oh man, this I can answer very easily! Although, the reason I don’t have the book/s is not because I can’t buy them or because they’re not available. One of my favorite series of all time is the Nevernight series by Jay Kristoff. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered these books the UK hardbacks for both Nevern ight and Godsgrave were long out of print. This broke my heart because I so badly wanted to own them in the UK editions. Needless to say, when Illumicrate announced that they would be working with the publisher to do a one-time-only reprint of the first two books I was literally hysterical. I vowed right then and there that I would get a set of those books even if I had to crawl to the UK to get them. I did end up getting a set and waited not-so-patiently for the shipping date in March to arrive. When the books showed up at Illumicrate’s warehouse, they noticed a finishing touch was missing from the books and they had to send them back. Am I grateful that their attention to detail means I will get the best possible quality book? Absolutely! Am I dying a little inside because I just want to have them in my hand? YEEEESSSS. As of right now we are still waiting for a new shipping date. Ho hum.

Q6 Who is an author that you want to shout out right now?

First I want to give a shout-out to all the authors out there offering up free e-copies of their books during this time of crisis, and also to companies like Scribd who are giving away free service so people with no access to books can still read while in isolation. I think it’s wonderful to see the community come together in this way to help each other!

As for an author I’d like to shout out… well I have several favorites that I could choose from, but the first author that came to mind when I read this question wasn’t one of my favorites, but a newly discovered author. Tessa Bailey. I want to shout her out for writing and releasing Reborn Yesterday because it’s literally been so much fun reading this book! I’m not quite done with it but I am loving it, and right now I’m very grateful for that! When I heard that a popular contemporary romance author was releasing a vampire love story, I was all-in! And let me tell you.. it’s been a fun ride!

And now for the long-awaited (probably not) TBR. There are four prompts to choose books for and they are: