All the packages

I've pre-ordered quite a bit over the past few months, and for some reason they've all come out at roughly the same time as me expecting other deliveries. So the past couple of weeks have been present after present at my door. I'm not complaining. My bank account is but I'm going to ignore it's desperate screaming just as I always have. 

I had a little dilemma getting my hardback of Empire of Storms, I ended up having to order it online because of distributors and such, and I was worried about how long I waited before doing anything and if there would even be any hardbacks left. (In hindsight there's always hardbacks for Sarah J Maas' books so really I would have been fine.) I've not got far into the book yet, maybe 150 pages or so but I can already see things are starting to escalate, and I'm already loving the vibes between certain characters. hahahahahah

The new thin pages to accommodate for the sheer size of this book are super smooth. Like rub-your-face-against-it smooth. I'm somewhat terrified of touching it and ripping them, which is why I also have a paperback to use for the actual reading. Soon enough Sarah J Maas is going to have her own shelf in my room, she's taken over 90% of my top shelf already!

I have so many candles in my house, most of them are Yankee Candles. Fragrances like Apple Cinnamon Cider, Black Cherry, and French Lavender. But I keep seeing people on instagram with book themed candles which look amaaazing. I came across Castle of Fables on Etsy and ended up being in a high speed chase to buy some of her highly coveted soy candles. 

Ironteeth Clan is probably one of the prettiest candles I own. It has a strong fragrance of chocolate and vanilla. Whilst this is a little bit sweet for my tastes, I still love this candle and it's going to sit on my bookshelf in front of Empire of Storms. 

Rhysand is definitely something that I can see fits well with his character. Jasmine, obviously. Citrus for his sharp tongue (heuhhueehhhuehuhehueh), and Noir and Violets for his dark side. The pale lilac colour really goes nicely with the Jasmine scent. 

Rowan Whitethorn is perfect. Snow, Pine and Wind. Exactly as it is in the books. It smells so fresh and obviously pine and snow remind me of winter so of course I love it. The amber and spices in it as well suit me so well I just ugh. 

GIVE ME TEN. 

I missed out on getting The Night Court candle this time, but I'm desperate to get it the next time CastleofFables reopens their etsy shop. 

Apple Cinnamon Cider is basically Christmas in a jar. It smells so nice and it calms me down so much. Work got a very early copy of Gemina! I know I'm probably missing out on a very nice hardback, the hardback for Illuminae is gorgeous, but as I have a paperback for Illuminae I'm quite happy with the two matching. Plus I'm not actually sure if the hardback will be coming to the UK? I've only ever seen it in the US, like in Barnes and Noble. As much as I like books, I don't like overseas charges. And of course I had to pick up a copy of Crooked Kingdom. I also entered Books with a Bite's Crooked Kingdom pre-order giveaway! I didn't actually expect to win though! I'm the unluckiest person ever, my Goodreads giveaway list is just a long list of 'no'. The first 100 pre-orders get a tote bag and a signed bookplate! Lucky me! 

Forgive the crappy frame but look at the beauty within it. Charlie Bowater makes beautiful original artwork, this one The Court of Dreams is just absolutely gorgeous. Even more so in real life than it was on the website. I don't really buy artwork lightly, so when I do I'm essentially saying "I want to look at this for the rest of my life." The frame I bought is just a little bit too small for what I want, the signature is half covered and I think I want to get a frame with a white border to really centralize the print. The frame didn't come with the print, I bought it separately without thinking about it too much! Whoops!

All in all I probably need to stop spending money, maybe I will one day. But now that we're seeing more scarves, gloves, pumpkin spice, slipper socks and generally cosy things, I'm going to want to build a fort of books and stay there forever. So that whole 'saving money' thing might be a little bit tricky. 

Listen to the soundtrack of my life for the months of September and October:

Daunting TBR or spoilt for choice?

I have two sets of full bookshelves, and two stacks of books that I haven't read yet, ranging from things like Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo to Cujo by Stephen King, there are at least over 120 books between them. And today I bought two more books. Tomorrow I plan on buying another one. I also have like five on order. I can't stop myself. It's such an obsession, an expensive obsession, but I love it. 

Most of the time when I'm close to finishing a book, I have a rough idea about what I want to read next. Sometimes I actually follow through with that idea, and sometimes I completely change my mind because maybe a new book has come out, maybe someone suggested something to me, or maybe I just fancied something different. For instance, I made a bit of a plan for the next couple of months. I'm currently reading three books at the same time, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas. I started reading Red Rising quite a while ago and I've been struggling to pick it back up. It's written well, I really like all the unique language and world building, but something about it just isn't grabbing me. As I went to YALC this year and picked up an early copy of Nevernight, I couldn't stop myself from starting it asap despite already reading two other books. And last, I've only just started reading Queen of Shadows in preparation for meeting Sarah J Maas in October in London. My plan was to read Heir of fire (which I've done), Queen of Shadows, and Empire of Storms, all by Sarah J Maas. 

After I've caught up with all of those, I plan on reading either Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, or The Graces by Laure Eve. BUT- I may just change my mind! I know some people are so completely stressed when they have a massive TBR, like they feel pressured to read their books as fast as they can in order to 'catch up', but I really like just having so many books to choose from! It's like visiting a small library, lots of choices. I feel like if I only had five books that I hadn't read and I didn't fancy any of them, I would be very frustrated and end up forcing myself to read something I wasn't really in the mood for. 

Maybe some people view it as a task, like how they say to eat five fruits and veg a day because it's good for you. Unless that's part of your daily routine then eating that amount can definitely be a task! 
But reading shouldn't be. If you've bought a book with the intention of losing yourself in another world, then don't force yourself to be in that other world! Enjoy it! Pick it up when you feel like it! You don't have to read just because it's 'good for you'. Read because you like it. And soon you'll be like me, reading because it's literally your life force.