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.