2023 Christmas Book Haul + What’s on my Shelf?
Every year, I write/type out a list of what I want for Christmas and for my Birthday. Like every year, I ask for iTunes and Spotify gift cards, books, Legos, clothes, games, etc. This year I also got things I didn’t ask for, such as a Cricut Maker 3 for shop related projects and more, a build your own music box, and Lego roses for my mom and I’s graduation (Bachelor’s and Master’s, respectively).
Among the books I had asked for, I received the following:
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation books 4 and 5 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
The Postcard from Italy by Angela Petch
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
The Way to London by Alix Rickloff
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The Parisian Dancer by Doron Darmon
Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
These books will be featured in future blog posts.
What’s on my bookshelf?
My bookshelf is divided into seven cubicles. Let’s see what my bookshelf contains as of April 2024.
The first cubicle contains:
The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (book 1) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (books 1 to 5) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Heaven Official’s Blessing (book 1) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Cruel Crown (novella) by Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen Series (book 1 to 4) by Victoria Aveyard
The second cubicle contains books I've already read and books from college history classes:
The Worst Hard time by Timothy Egan | I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma by Camilla Townsend | The Internal Enemy by Alan Taylor
Inferno by Max Hastings | What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross | Life of Pie by Yann Martel
Her Secret War (book 1) by Pam Lecky | The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli
The Girls in Navy Blue by Alix Rickloff
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray | Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict | Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris
The Inheritance Games Series (books 1 to 3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The middle section, cubicles three through five, contains:
The Siren by Kiera Cass | Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
The Jewel trilogy (books 1 to 3) by Ewing
Realm Breaker (book 1) by Victoria Aveyard
The Selection series (books 1 to 5) by Kiera Cass
Happily Ever After (novella) by Kiera Cass
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles | The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I’ll See You in Paris by Michelle Gable | The Parisian Dancer by Doron Darmon
Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal | The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz
All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr | The Way to London by Alix Rickloff
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris | The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
The Light After the War by Anita Abriel
Send for Me by Lauren Fox | A Bookshop in Berlin by Françoise Frenkel
Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford | Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
The Daughter’s Tale by Armando Lucas Correa | We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund
Sisters of War by Lana Kortchik | The Postcard from Italy by Angela Petch
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys | The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassell | The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff
The sixth cubicle contains:
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
First Life by Gena Showalter
H2O by Virginia Bergin
City of Bones (book 1) by Cassandra Clare
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Wintersong duology by S. Jae-Jones | Graceling series by Kristin Cashore
The seventh cubicle contains:
I Was Here by Gayle Forman | Winter Town by Stephen Edmond
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco | Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney | Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney
The Little Prince (English version) by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry | The Memory Tree by Joseph Pittman
By Your Side by Kasie West | Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus | After the End by Amy Plum | Wanted by Caroline B. Cooney
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins | Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors | Leap Day by Wendy Mass
Saving Zoë by Alyson Noël | Butterflies by Susanne Gervay | It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover | The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
In June 2024, my mom and I were out running errands and stopped at Barnes & Noble. I limited myself to one book, which as any book lover knows can be difficult. I could choose between book 2 of Before the Coffee Gets Cold series or The Alchemyst by Michael Scott; but I ended up buying The Alchemyst mainly because I had started reading the series when I was younger and I don’t believe I ever finished the series. I believe I have every book with the original cover but I am sure they may have been damaged with time sitting at my grandmother’s. While I prefer the original covers, I am just as happy with the new covers.
Stay tuned to see what I read during 2024. The next blog will be a summary of my favorite books and series + new releases. Feel free to send me book recs, ideas for reading challenges, and ideas for future reading blogs at blueoceans.sanddollar@gmail.com or comment down below.
