Top ten covers with autumn colors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl!

Last week I did a top 5 wednesday topic about book with autumn vibes, and I mentioned that covers would be separate. Well, this is why. I had another post coming up. πŸ˜› So this topic will be specifically covers that give off autumn vibes. Do let me know what you think!

Locke & Key vol 1 by Joe Hill – While this series isn’t my favorite, I can’t deny that’s it’s spoopy looking.

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht – Another book that wasn’t my fave, but it did have a really good tone. It definitely screamed ‘it’s blustery and chilly fall time’.

Midori Days vol 4 by Kazurou Inoue – It’s kinda obvious why I picked this one. I don’t talk about this series much though – I used to own part of it and ended up getting rid of it after I finished reading the thing. Part of me wants the full set again though, as it was a good series. Maybe if I see it used? I really need to stop getting rid of manga: it’s the one thing I routinely regret. Books? No. Manga? …. usually. No more purging manga for me.

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Rurouni Kenshin vol 5 by Nobuhiro Watsuki – I don’t believe the season is particularly specified in this series, but I can’t remember, it’s been years. This cover caught my attention though, particularly because of the clothes being worn by Kaoru, the main female character. It just looks so warm and soft.

Land of the Lustrous vol 5 by Haruko Ichikawa – I think this cover is a bit obvious as well. All the covers in this series are so bright and colorful. I dig them!

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll – This one is obviously spoopy.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier – This book I believe actually take place over multiple seasons, but the cover says ‘fall’ to me. Like late fall, bordering on winter.

The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks – I mean it’s all orange and red. What more can you ask for.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – This cover in particular, obviously. It’s been over a decade since I’ve read this – what season does it take place in?

Windwitch by Susan Dennard – The storm combined with the color scheme of this cover makes it fally to me. I dig it.

And that’s it! Ten covers that are autumny fally. Lemme know what you think!

Top 5 books with autumn vibes

Top 5 Wednesday topics can be found here!

Happy autumn! Today’s post is about books with fall-y vibes. I’m going with books that feel like autumn, as opposed to having fall-y covers, etc. That’s another post, pbtbt. And by ‘feel’ I mean… well, I mean feel! I don’t know how to explain it to you man. Work with me.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I don’t remember off the top of my head what season it is when the book takes place, but to me, the combination of the entire tone of this book would just go so well with bustling leaves and chilly nights, don’t you think?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Again, same as above, I don’t remember the actual season in the plot, if it’s mentioned at all, but the spookiness of October just seems right for this book, particularly taking into consideration the monster that shows up, y’know. :p

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson – This one I do remember better. While it’s not fall throughout the book, they definitely enter a fall zone, and that’s the part of the setting that sticks out to me the most clearly, so it makes the list.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio – I feel like the cover alone could qualify this, but as I’ve already stated I’m not basing this off of covers. This one I chose because aside from the creepy tone throughout the thing, it’s also set in college, and in my mind college = back to school = hoodies and jeans. Fall.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – Last one. I chose this one for the same reason as I chose the one above: the school setting. School and fall are basically inseparable in my mind. Why? Well, I mean, twenty-one years of going back to school in the fall will do that to you.

And that’s it! Lemme know what you think of the above! Happy reading!

Fall Bucketlist 2020

Bonus Friday post! I couldn’t find where else to squeeze it in, so HI AGAIN I’M GLAD YOU’RE HERE.

It’s fall! Hooray! Fall and winter is the best time of the year. Technically, my ‘favorite time of the year’ goes from August 1st, which is my wedding anniversary, to January 1st, for obvious reasons. So now that we’re pretty far into the best time of the year and the weather is actually starting to feel like fall, I’m making a bucketlist again!

Last year, I did a Fall and Winter bucketlist, but then I never followed up on it. So this year, I’m dividing it – my fall bucket list will go from today through Black Friday. That day I’ll go over what I did and post my winter bucket list (which if we’re being honest is just a Christmas/holiday list, so shh). I’ll follow up on that sometime in January.

So here’s my fall list. Some of these are already done, as it’s the end of September, but work with me here.

Also, most of my bucket list is food. Pbtbtbt.

Fall Bucket List

  • Pumpkin spice latte
  • Pumpkin cream cold brew – Complete
  • Pumpkin beer – Complete
  • Octoberfest beer – Complete
  • Participate in fall beer exchange – Complete
  • Pumpkin cookies – Complete
  • Break out the fall scented candles
  • Apple cider
  • Buy spoopy decorations for Halloween – Complete
  • Decorate the house all spoopy
  • Buy turkey decorations for Thanksgiving
  • Decorate the house all turkey-y
  • Break out Christmas decorations and do inventory to see if anything new/replacements are needed
  • Organize a list of blog posts to write from now til Black Friday – Complete
  • Organize a list of blog posts for Blogmas 2020 – Complete
  • Pre-write November posts, because Nanowrimo
  • Pre-write at least five Blogmas posts
  • Participate in Nanoplanmo
  • Participate in Nanowrimo
  • Go to an applefest (if possible, the plaaaaague, aaaaah)
  • Get pumpkins
  • Carve pumpkins
  • Hand out candy on trick or treat (if possible, the plaaaaague, aaaaah)
  • Get fall flowers
  • Gobblerito
  • Pilgrim sandwich
  • Turkey and Stuffing
  • Slow cooker hot chocolate
  • Fall nail art
  • Buddy read Vita Nostra with Katy @Bookbinderway
  • Watch The Lord of the Rings
  • Watch Harry Potter
  • Watch a scary movie
  • Hang all the framed art that’s been sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall since I moved in three years ago
  • Buy a new car
  • Read three of my remaining 10 in 2020 books

So you can see a lot of them are food, a lot of them are fall-specific, and a lot of them are blog related. There are a few though that are just ‘you gotta do this soon’, most the car one. My car is about dead, I need to buy a new one soon.

If you have a fall bucket list, or something even remotely similar, lemme know what you plan to do this season!

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Top 10 books on my Fall TBR!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl!

Happy Tuesday! Today’s topic is books on my fall tbr. So I want to start off by saying I don’t really do tbrs, except during readathons. So this is definitely a tentative list. So at the time of writing this, these are the ten books that are calling to me the most:

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams

These three are all on my 10 in 2020 list. Luckily for me, they’re still at the top of my ‘want to read’s. The first one I have a buddy read lined up for. The other two, to be honest, are intimidating. One’s a Stephenson book, and the other is a brick. I’m hoping I enjoy both though!

The Scar by China Mieville
Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey
Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb

The Scar is another 10 in 2020 book. Caliban’s War I’m actually most of the way through, it’s just on the back-burner. Renegade’s Magic is gonna be bitter sweet. It’s the last full-length novel I have to read of Robin Hobb’s. When I’m done with it I’m not sure when I’m gonna do. It will, as always, be buddy read with Zezee @Zezeewithbooks :”D

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

The ones on the ends are somewhat recent purchases, and I wanna pick them up, they’ve been on my mind! The middle is another 10 in 2010 book, the last of them. I’m gonna finish that list this year, dammit. I’m gonna.

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

This is the final book I wanna read this fall, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be picking it up soon-ish, as I have a buddy read set up with Katy @Bookbinderway :”D We’re both rather looking forward to this one!

And that’s it! Ten books I really wanna read. Will I get to them? Well, I mean I hope so. Pbtbt.

Happy reading!

2020 Anticipated Releases! #2| Top Ten Tuesday

Anticipated Releases
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl!

Happy Tuesday! This week’s topic lines up perfectly with a post I do semi-annually anyways, which is anticipated releases! I made one of these posts back in January too, in case you’re interested.

This is what I’m lookin forward to for the rest of the year. I don’t have ten but I have enough:

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Malorie (Bird Box, #2)

Tentative release: July 21st

Malorie by Josh Malerman – I read Bird Box last year and really enjoyed it. The movie was decent too. But with the way the first book ended, it made me really curious what happened next! So I’m pumped about it.

Goodreads synopsis of Bird Box: Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it’s time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboatβ€”blindfoldedβ€”with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, #2)

Tentative release: July 7th

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green – I was a late-comer to the first book in this series, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, but I ended up really enjoying it. This one picks up where the first left off and, again, I’m pumped for it.

Goodreads synopsis of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: The Carls just appeared.

Roaming through New York City at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship–like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor–April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world–from Beijing to Buenos Aires–and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.

Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

Black Butler, Vol. 29

Tentative release: Aug 18th

Black Butler vol 29 by Yana Toboso – I binged this series over the last few months and I am obsessed. It’s funny, it’s action-packed, it’s shocking, and heart stringy, it’s got everything, man. I am so, so very excited for this one.

Goodreads synopsis of volume 1: In the Victorian ages of London The Earl of the Phantomhive house, Ciel Phantomhive, needs to get his revenge on those who had humiliated him and destroyed what he loved. Not being able to do it alone he sells his soul to a demon he names Sebastian Michaelis. Now working as his butler, Sebastian must help the Earl Phantomhive in this suspenseful, exciting, thriller manga.

A Deadly Education (Scholomance, #1)

Tentative release: Sept 29th

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – Honestly I have zero idea what this is about, and I wanna keep it that way. It’s on my most anticipated because it’s by Naomi Novik, the author of the Temeraire series, Uprooted and Spinning Silver. I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her, so I’m pretty sure I’m gonna love this too. And here’s the synopsis I didn’t actually read myself:

Goodreads synopsis: A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) β€” until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

Piranesi

Tentative release: Sept 15th

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke – This is the author of the well-known Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which I… own, have started, and haven’t finished. hyuck. The synopsis of this one sounds super interesting though so I think I’m gonna try to read it.

Goodread synopsis: Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 4

Tentative release: Oct 13th

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku vol 4 by Fujita – Maaaan I’ve been waiting for this one for like a year and a half, two years, something like that. Wotakoi ended up being one of my favorite books of 2019 (or 2018, I can’t remember how long it’s been) and I’ve been pining for the next volume. It’s just so nice and refreshing and pleasant!

Goodreads synopsis of volume 1: Narumi and Hirotaka are, by all appearances, a power couple. They’re young, good-looking professionals. But they have secrets from everyone but each other: They’re serious geeks! Narumi is a fujoshi, and Hirotaka’s a hardcore gamer. Their sweet, awkward love story started life as a webcomic before becoming a full-blown manga series by popular demand

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade, #3)

Tentative release: Aug 11th

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson – This is probably the one I’m looking forward to the most. I read Traitor and Monster, the first two books in the series, and loved them. This latest one, Tyrant, I have high hopes for. Maaaan I’m gonna get this on release day, I’m gonna I’m gonna. I’m so pumped!

Goodreads synopsis for The Traitor Baru Cormorant:Β Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They’ll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She’ll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she’ll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery – and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

~~~

And that’s it! These books I see myself definitely buying shortly after release if not exactly on release day. I think the only exception is Piranesi, but that’s only because it’s a new book and not a sequel or by an author that’s an auto-buy. But even then, I’ll get there eventually.

If you’re excited about any of these, or if you’ve got releases you think would be up my alley, lemme know! Happy reading!

Are you ready for sweater weather? Tag!

Blogmas 2019

Hi! I got tagged in a tag so I’m gonna do the tag! I was tagged by the Orangutan Librarian (thanks pal!)

Hot Chocolate – What is your comfort book?

Ella Enchanted (Ella Enchanted #1)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – I read this countless times as a young teen, and it always was such a nice experience. I haven’t picked it up in a while, but just thinking about it makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Pumpkin Carving – What is your favorite creative outlet?

Honestly? Probably this blog. My job is very logical and doesn’t leave a lot of room for personal style, and when I get home I usually just read or whatever. I used to paint my nails a lot – I did nail art and all sorts of stuff, but I kinda fell out of that. Maybe I’ll do a nail art for blogmas, we’ll see if I get inspired. I also used to draw a lot – I worked in charcoal, mostly – but I haven’t done so in a long time. This is my favorite thing I ever made:

Used one of my favorite characters for my drawing midterm a couple years ago - charcoal 18x24in.

Falling Leaves – Changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

This one’s easy: The weather, and it’s no secret. I love the cold, I love the ice, I love the snow. I don’t even mind snowy roads when driving to work because luckily, I can work from home if that happens. So it’s like childhood snow days all over again for me.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte – Something you love that other people judge

Sticking with the season, I’ll say the season! And I say this because while I love everything October-December: the temperature, the snow, the holidays, the seasonal drinks, the seasonal beers, all of it, my husband is the exact opposite. He likes the warm weather and the sun, so during the summer I suffer and he’s in his element, but during the winter I thrive and he suffers. And he totally judges me for it.

“HOW CAN YOU LOVE IT WHEN YOU CAN’T STOP SHIVERING?!” he says. I just do, man. I just do.

Bonfire Night – What makes you explode with joy?

Books! Cats! Coffee! Beer! Dogs! Vacations! Sleeping in! Cheese! Chocolate!

Fright Night – Favorite scary book or movie

The Library at Mount Char

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – This is the only book on my favorites list that’s a horror, so it fits the bill. This is the weirdest book I’ve ever read and I recommend it.

Halloween candy – Favourite thing to eat

Gyros. Picture courtesy of… me! That’s my arm!

Scarves – Your autumn β€˜must have’ accessory

Matching socks. You have no idea how hard it is to achieve some days, man.

Fire – A book or film that burns your soul

Castaway on the Moon. Really, you should watch this movie. I think about it all the time.

Toffee apples – a book or film that seems to one thing but really has a different inside

Vanilla Sky. Honestly before I watched it, I thought it was a romance or a rom-com or something. Nope. Watch it. Really. Don’t let its appearance deceive you.


And that is it! If you’d like to do this tag, consider yourself tagged! Otherwise, I tag BookbinderWay and AllThingsMommaBlog!

Seasonal Favorites aka the best time of the year | #2

fall post.png

Hello! Today is part two of a three part series I’m going to do. Basically β€˜monthly favorites’ but focusing on fall, because, as the title says, it’s the best time of the year. Fight me on it.

You can find part one here, if you’re interested.

This is what I liked this month!

Food

They are all Thanksgiving-related items, does this shock you. Does it.

The first item is the Gobblerito, a seasonal special of Mad Mex, which is a Pittsburgh-based restaurant (these… will all be from Pittsburgh-based things, come to think of it). But basically it’s a burrito as big as your head, filled with turkey, corn, black beans, stuffing, and then coated with turkey gravy and served with a bit of cranberry. Heaven on a plate, I’ve never been able to finish one in one sitting. (Photo credit of madmex.com)

The next right below it is the pilgrim sub, a seasonal special of Get Go, which is actually a gas station similar to a Sheetz or Wawa or whatever you have near you, owned by the local grocery store Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh. It’s turkey, cheese and cranberry all loaded up into stuffing bread, and it’s delicious. (Photo credit of GetGo’s twitter account)

The final picture is the coveted Smoked Turkey Waffle, available seasonally by Pig Iron Public House, which, you guessed it, as Pittsburgh based. The waffle itself is made of stuffing, and then on top there’s smoked turkey, gravy, and friend mashed potato-and-cranberry balls. It. Is. Delicious. (Photo credit to ME. I TOOK THE PICTURE)

There’s one more Thanksgiving item I haven’t gotten to yet, called the Gobble Gobble burger, sold by the Pittsburgh burger joint BRGR… if I get to it in the next month, I’ll mention it in the next faves post. πŸ˜›

Games

Just a flash game this month. I’ve been hooked on it: Blendoku, which I know is at least available on the android app store, maybe the apple one as well? Who knows.

It’s a game kinda like a mix between sudoku and a crossword puzzle, but instead of placing numbers of letters, you place colors in a way that they blend into each other well. It’s fun!

Television

Honestly, the two I mentioned last month, Food Wars and My Hero Academia are still up there. Otherwise:

Supernatural. Man, I’ve been watching this show from the beginning. It’s just started it’s final season – the 15th one – and it’s all comin’ together. Note, do not watch the above trailer unless you’re caught up or you don’t mind spoilers that you’ll have no context for until you actually watch the show. If you don’t mind the no-context spoilers, it gives a really good vibe about what the whole show is about. Honestly when I found it I watched it twice and let my feels be feels.

Queer Eye. This is a Netflix show that I picked up maybe two weeks ago… and have since binged all four seasons plus their four-episode Japan special. I’m obsessed. Everyone is so wholesome and kind and loving and wonderful and augh ❀ Season 5 is coming out soon and I’m pumped for it.

Music

Lately, I’ve been using a playlist on spotify for my Nanowrimo projects, called ‘Epic Instrumental’ where it’s just what it sounds like. This is it!

Also, this song’s been pretty good lately:

Other Stuff

JonTron. A youtuber that’s been around for ages. He does comedy videos, and while I’ve liked him for a while, one of his latest videos, the goop video above, cracked me up. So he’s a favorite this month.

My Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. I don’t get super festive for both of these holidays, despite the fact that I love them both, haha. On the left is my one candle – Caramel Pecan, and a box of leaves. On the right is my jackolantern this year.


And that’s it! One more of these posts mid-to-late next month, and that’ll be it. It’ll be back to the boring times this month.

Happy falling and wintering!

Seasonal Favorites aka the best time of the year | #1

fall post.png

Hello! Today is part one of a three part series I’m going to do. Basically ‘monthly favorites’ but focusing on fall, because, as the title says, it’s the best time of the year. Fight me on it.

So there will be one now, one in November, and one in December. Each will talk about the things I’m currently hooked on, fall-related and otherwise. So if this is the type of thing you think will float your boat, read on, homeslice.

Food

Starbucks’s Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews – I’ve been getting at least one of these a week, sometimes two or three. I’ve basically been getting nothing else from them for the last month or two. They’re so damn good.

Peanut butter banana bread – Made by moi. I had bananas that I forgot to eat and went ‘welp, bread it is’. I found a recipe online, which is here, and it turned out to be the bees knees. I’m definitely going to make this again.

Apricot wheat beer – from the brewery that opened up across the street from me. I won’t say which one because… that’d be doxxing myself, now wouldn’t it. But man, I never knew apricot could flow so seemlessly with beer.

Leinenkugel’s Vanilla Snowdrift Porter – Technically a winter beer, I look forward to this release every year. Man, it’s so gooood.

Wedding Cookie Table Cookies – So I learned a thing recently. Apparently, giant tables full of cookies at weddings isn’t a thing in most places. Where I live, it’s standard. You get married, you have food, you have a cake, and you have a giant eff-off table full of cookies. Like, your entire family makes you cookies for this table when you get hitched. Tiers and tiers of the stuff, enough that you bring take out boxes for all the guests, because they’ll eat 20 each and take 20 home on top of it. The cookie table is the star of the Pittsburgh wedding. The picture above is from the wedding of a friend I went to this past weekend. Hell, I got married two years ago with maybe 40 people, technically wasn’t even a wedding so much as a JP showing up and declaring us married, and we still had a sizeable cookie table.

For example, a quick google:

cookietable.PNG

Personally I think they should be like… a global thing. Cookie tables, people. Make it happen.

 

Games

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm – I’ve been hooked on the Civilization series for almost a decade now, and this one – Gathering Storm – is the latest expansion released for Civ VI. To the already super-involved gameplay, it adds natural disasters, global warming, and everything like that. So now, on top of you dealing with all the other civilizations in your world, and competing in scientific discovery, warfare, culture and religion, now you have to deal with polar ice caps melting and tornadoes ripping through your capital. It’s. So. Awesome.

Television

My Hero Academia – Above is the season 1 trailer, but season 4 just started streaming on Crunchyroll two weeks ago and MAN WAS I READY FOR IT. My Hero Academia I think is one of the best anime to come out in a while, and if you haven’t picked it up yet, I really suggest doing so. It’s. Amazing. It follows a young man named Midoriya, living in a super-powered world, where most people have abilities called quirks. Because of this, ‘heroes’ have become a thing in society. Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but unfortunately he’s quirkless. This anime tells the story of how he becomes the greatest hero.

Demon Slayer – this one is a recent find for me. I’m only four or five episodes in so far but I am definitely hooked. It follows a young man named Tanjiro, who lives in a world of humans and demons alike, as he strives to save his sister after his family is slain and his sister turned into a demon. I really, really like this one – the visuals are gorgeous, the music is eerie, and weirdly there’s a bit of humor – it’s just perfect.

Music

Recently I’ve fallen into a uh.. rocky-poppy-indy-ish mood. Usually I’m all heavy metal. Who knows what’s goin on. This is what I’m currently hooked on. Definitely recommend giving them a listen:

  • Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves) by the Wombats
  • Hunter by Ken Ashcorp
  • Can’t Go to Hell by Sin Shake Sin

There are…. a lot more songs I’ve discovered this month, but those stand out as my faves. Give ’em a listen and lemme know what you think!


And that’s it! For the next two posts, if I come up with more categories, I’ll add’em in, but I figured this was a solid start. If you’d tried or like any of the above, lemme know! If my post inspires you to try them, lemme know that too!

Fall and Winter Bucket List of 2019

Bucket List

Hi, new kind of post today! As I’ve said a million times now, fall and winter in my opinion is the best time of the year. The holidays, the weather, the seasonal flavors, the cuddliness and spookiness and merriness and turkeyness of it all, I love it.

So today I want to make my own personal bucket list of things I want to do this fall and winter. Some of it will be already completed, since it my head I start ‘fall’ basically on September 1st. But they’ll still be included for completion’s sake.

PS a lot of these will be food related, because let’s be honest, what else could I want from life. πŸ˜›

The Bucket List

  • Write this post – Done (pbtbt)
  • Get hot apple cider
  • Get a pumpkin spice latte – Done (shh)
  • Get a gingerbread latte
  • Get a peppermint mocha
  • Get a chestnut praline latte
  • Go to an applefest (I missed my opportunity, I think this one will remain undone 😦 )
  • Drink fall beers – Done
  • Drink winter beers
  • Pass out candy on Halloween
  • Break out the electric blanket
  • Re-arrange my bedroom furniture
  • Plan out my blog posts for October, November and December – Done
  • Participate in Nanoplanmo – In progress
  • Participate in Nanowrimo
  • Participate in Blogmas
  • Make a list of Christmas movies to watch in December
  • Finish that movie list
  • Finish my Nanoplanmo TBR
  • Eat a pumpkin cookies
  • Bake Christmas cookies
  • Finish my Goodreads reading challenge – Done
  • Carve pumpkins
  • Decorate the Christmas tree
  • Go Christmas shopping
  • Go people watching on Black Friday
  • Get a Gobblerito
  • Get a Pilgrim Sub – Done
  • Get a Gobble Gobble Burger
  • Eat turkey
  • Paint my nails fall themed
  • Paint my nails winter themed
  • Go to a Friendsgiving
  • Drink hot chocolate
  • Organize fluffy sock collection
  • Make best of/worst of book lists (part of after-Blogmas posts)
  • Make list of good blogmas/vlogmas content to follow
  • Keep up to date with releasing anime/tv shows, etc weekly
  • Finish my buddy read
  • Go Christmas light hunting
  • Go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra live
  • Have a movie night with buddies
  • Have Christmas-flavored sweets
  • Make slow cooker chili
  • Buy point-and-shoot video camera
  • Re-arrange books
  • Finish 10 in 2019 list
  • Finish reading goals
  • Read Harry Potter books 3 and 4 in illustrated editions
  • Read at least 3 more books towards r/Fantasy Bingo
  • Watch all 8 Harry Potter movies
  • Watch the extended Lord of the Rings (again)
  • Watch the extended Hobbit (again)
  • Learn to crochet
  • Go to a Halloween party
  • Wrap presents
  • Help parents chop down a Christmas tree
  • Decorate apartment all Christmas-like

At the moment, that’s what I can think of. If I come up with more, I’ll come back and edit this post I guess. πŸ˜›

But see. See. This is the best time of the year because all of the above.

Are you planning on doing anything fun this fall and winter? Lemme know – I could always use more things to stick on my list. :”D

The Fall Bucket List Book Tag!

FallTag

Happy Saturday! A tag today, and I was actually tagged! Thank you Orangutan Librarian and Caffeine and Books for tagging me! πŸ˜€

It’s funny I was tagged in this and posting today, because tomorrow is going to be my actual fall bucket list, ahaha.

The Rules
  • Link back to the original creatorΒ in your post.
  • Feel free to use any of my graphics in your post, or create your own!
  • Tag 7 other people at the end of your post, and let them know you’ve tagged them.

light a scented candleWild Ones, Vol. 1 (Wild Ones, #1)

Wild Ones by Kiyo Fujiwara – I buzzed through this shojo series last month or so, and it’s the most fluffliest thing I’ve come across in a while. It follows the main character Sachie, whose mother passes at the beginning of the book. Her estranged grandfather shows up at the funeral and offers her a place to stay… and turns out, he’s a yakuza boss. You’d think it’d be gritty and dark, and maybe at points it touches on that? But everyone at the house are goofballs and Sachie just has to put up with their shenanigans. It’s cute.

drink pumpkin spiced lattes

The Turn of the Key

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware – Thriller is a bit outside my usual genre, but I’ve heard this one talked about over and over again, and I’m very interested. I think if my library has it, I’ll definitely pick it up.

apple picking

O Maidens in Your Savage Season 1

O Maidens in Your Savage Season by Mari Okada – This is both lighthearted and deals with serious themes, and I love it. The main group of characters are four girls in a literary club together, and they’re just wonderful – if realistic – friends. They have misunderstandings, and since they’re all dealing with new things, they’re both scared to be vulnerable with each other, and depend on each other for that support. It’s a really nice dynamic for them all, I think.

cozy sweater

Island of the Giant Pokemon (Pokemon Chapter Book, #2)

Island of Giant Pokemon by Tracey West – Man, does this series bring back memories. I read it all the time as a kid, and thinking about it makes me warm and fuzzy.

cinnamon rolls

Food Wars!, Vol. 1

Might be cheating, but literally any character from Food Wars by Yuto Tsukuda. Really, it’s about a bunch of peeps in culinary school. I’d eat any of their food, dammit.

pile of leaves

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol 1 (Otakoi: Otaku Can't Fall in Love?!)

Wotakoi by Fujita – I love this series, man. It’s just so damn cute, and it was easily a five star read for me. I loved it!


And that’s it! I tag Katy @BookbinderWay