2023: The Year of Jane Austen

I talked about my attempt to finish reading all of Jane Austen’s books a bit in my last post, and how 2023 is going to be my new Year of Jane. This year, I plan to read all of Jane Austens works, including rereading my old favorites, as well as some of her lesser-known and unfinished works. There are roughly enough to fill in a whole year if I pick one book a month. So here is a rough sketch of my yearly plan, though it may shift a bit here is my generalized reading schedule. And if you would like to join along for discussions and group reads, come join the Jane Austen Book Club today!

January: Pride and Prejudice

February: Sense and Sensibility

March: Sandition *season 3 of Sanditon premieres March 19

April: Emma

May: Mansfield Park

June: Love and Friendship

July: Lady Susan

August: Persuasion

September: The Watsons

October: Northanger Abbey and The Mysteries of Udolpho

November: Poems

December: Fanny Burney’s CamillaCecelia and Evelina, or Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda (all of which were some of Jane Austen’s favorite books)

Join my Jane Austen Book Club HERE!

Join my Jane Austen Book Club!

Join my Jane Austen Book Club!

For lovers of Jane Austen and Historical Romance, come join the Jane Austen Book Club today!

It is no secret that I absolutely adore Jane Austen. She is easily my favorite classic author, and Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favorite book. I even planned on finishing reading her entire works last year in what I dubbed “My Year of Jane Austen” … sadly I fell a few books short of my goal.

So, 2023 is my NEW Year of Jane. I plan to read the works I have yet to finish (Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, as well as her unfinished works and poems), as well as re-read the ones I already know. Because with each reading I gain something new, and I will never be tired of reading Jane Austen. I would also like to read more fan fiction, and some of the books that were Jane Austen’s favorites in her life. So, If you would like to join me for a Year of Jane, this book club is for you!

This Jane Austen Book Club idea is something I have been playing around with for a long time, and I thought I would just go for it! And what better time than during my Year of Jane? In the club, I hope to suggest Austen-esque book recommendations, plan group reads and discussions, and hopefully connect with other Austenites and Janeites! If this is something you would be interested in, come join the club and suggest our next book!

2022 Reading Wrap Up

Another year, another reading challenge met! I am very proud of myself for meeting my 100 book challenge. 100 books a year sounds like a lot, but its really only 2 books a week. I also count audiobooks, and it’s really easy for me to make that number when counting those. This is such a fun challenge for me and I love keeping track of all the books I read throughout the year. I use both Goodreads and Storygraph to track my stats (GR because it has more reviews, SG because it’s easier to use), and I love that Bookstagram and Booktok help me find so many great reading recs.

Looking back on my stats, I am proud that I kept my formats balanced (for the most part!), but for next year I would like to add an sub-goal addendum to my challenge: I want at least 52 of my reads to be physical books, and 52 to be audiobooks, for a total of 104. Also, I would like to read more e-books in the next year!

𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟? Yes! I exceeded my 100 book goal and read 113 books this year, and I am very proud of myself

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟: 104+

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯? I hope to finish all of Jane Austen’s works in ’23

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall and Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗: Pride and Prejdudice, Flower Fables, and Honeycomb

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦: for at least 52 of the books I read to be physical books and at least 52 audiobooks. Also, I’d like to read more e-books! 

💬QOTD: Have you met your reading goal? Any bookish resolutions going into 2023? 

Thank you to @mommas.library and @honeydukesbooksfor sharing this 2022 book tag!

Unboxing Penguin Teen YA Paperback Picks

Christmas came early for me this year! A huge thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me such an amazing book box! I can’t wait to show you all of the amazing books they sent me!!!

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Iris Hollow and her two older sisters are unquestionably strange. Ever since they disappeared on a suburban street in Scotland as children only to return a month a later with no memory of what happened to them, odd, eerie occurrences seem to follow in their wake. But now, ten years later, seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow is doing all she can to fit in and graduate high school on time. But then one of the sisters goes missing without a trace, leaving behind bizarre clues as to what might have happened, and Iris and Vivi are left to trace her last few days. They aren’t the only ones looking for her though. As they brush against the supernatural they realize that the story they’ve been told about their past is unraveling and the world that returned them seemingly unharmed ten years ago, might just be calling them home.

When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez

Sarai is a first-generation Puerto Rican question asker who can see with clarity the truth, pain, and beauty of the world both inside and outside her Bushwick apartment. Together with her older sister, Estrella, she navigates the strain of family traumas and the systemic pressures of toxic masculinity and housing insecurity in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. Sarai questions the society around her, her Boricua identity, and the life she lives with determination and an open heart, learning to celebrate herself in a way that she has long been denied.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Aza Holmes never intended to pursuethe disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can’t decide what’s worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

In this YA contemporary queer romance from the author of Hot Dog Girl, an openly gay track star falls for a closeted, bisexual teen beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars. But while Morgan–out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start–doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn’t ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath and the Dawn is the first of a two-book duology. It is a reimagining of the Arabian Nights and is about a teenage girl, Shahrzad, who, as an act of revenge, volunteers to marry a caliph, Khalid, even though she is aware that he takes a new bride each night and has them executed at sunrise, but then finds herself falling in love with him.

Dark And Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

In a fantasy world inspired by Ancient Rome, the story follows a girl named Laia spying for rebels against the reigning empire in exchange for their help in rescuing her captive brother; and a boy named Elias struggling to free himself from being an enforcer of a tyrannical regime. The novel is narrated in the first-person, alternating between the points of view of Laia and Elias.

Have you read any of these? Any votes for which I should read first?
They all look so good, I have no idea how I am going to pick just one to start with!!!

The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles)

The Last Bookstore is a book lovers’ paradise.

Tunnels of books. Floor-to-ceiling gallery walls. Hidden reading nooks. Comfy mismatched reading chairs. Endless bookshelves. A rare book annex. This is the bookstore of my dreams!

I absolutely loved it. It was such a pleasure to visit the world-famous book arch and check out the Spring Arts Collective. Plus, I snagged some really beautiful books!

Here are some of the amazing shots I took of our unforgettable spur-of-the-moment visit:

For news and updates, follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

My Favorite Witches (90’s edition)

Happy October!

I have been watching and reading lots of witchy things this season, and it has me feeling so nostalgic! I loved the new Hocus Pocus (which was done so well! The Sanderson Sisters haven’t aged a day!!) and have been watching Sabrina and Practical Magic on repeat all month. So I thought it would be fun to to honor some of my favorite witches for spooky season!

The Owens Sisters

Two is a magickal number: 2 is the very essence of duality, and Gillian and Sally Owens are the perfect duo – where Gilly is rebellious, Sally is prudent. Where Gillian is spontaneous, Sally is predictable. They are polar opposites, but together they complete each other.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina is the type of which many of us strive to be — navigating through the world, taking care of the people we love, and always using our powers for good. Yes, sometimes her magic causes more hijinx than heroism, but she can usually fix her mistakes and learn from them, and her heart is always in the right place.

The Sanderson Sisters

27 years later and the beloved movie Hocus Pocus is still watched every Halloween season, and the new sequel only solidifies this classic in witch lore. The Sanderson Sisters represent the quintessential trine, and are the youth-stealing monsters of myth that everyone loves to hate.

The Craft Coven

Nancy is who I think of when I think of the ultimate dark witch. She dabbles in shadow Magic, loves a good hex, and even taps into astral maniulation. But if Nancy is a dark witch, then Sarah is her opposite: a light witch.

Sarah Bailey is a witch who understands that right choices are not always easy to make. She could easily could’ve followed her coven into reckless and harmful magic, but instead she fights against them, even when they try to use her mental health struggles against her.

The Wicked Witch of the West

I can’t make a list of witches and not include her! She isn’t a 90’s witch, but she is a classic!

The Five books that define your reading taste?

Five books that define your reading taste?
This was so much harder than I thought it would be! I went back and forth, but finally I pulled these together—I think they represent my favorite genres pretty well. I enjoy mythology, witchy fantasy, magical realism, nature poetry and classics. And of course my ultimate favorite is Jane.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

It’s no secret that this is my favorite book. Anyone who knows me knows of my obsession with all things Jane Austen. (I wont go into it here because this is a post for the 5, but if you want to read more about how I fell in love with Jane read my blog post here!)

Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life

I love books about nature, because I want to gain a better understanding of our amazing home and how it works. We are all connected and I want to understand that relationship, and sustain it when I can. It is important as a human being to know about the world you live in. I believe it is our duty to protect the environment and hopefully make the world a better place, if possible. We affect nature, we are nature. Dickinson’s musings on nature give us all a great reason to remember and reestablish that relationship with Mother Earth, and I love coming back to the lines in this book when I need to realign myself with nature.

The Greek Myths by Robert Graves

I have loved Greek Mythology since I was a teen. I first read this book, along with Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, and they sparked a huge love of myths that I never could shake! I was lucky enough to be offered classes in both high school and college that taught me so much more about the myths, but I will never be done learning about them. C. S. Lewis’ Til We Have Faces was the first ‘myth retold’ that I ever picked up, but not the last.

Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott

I love this book. So so much! It is a lovely little collection of shorts, telling of all the good deeds done by the fairies of the flowers. Elves and Spirits, Kings and Queens, Roses and Clovers, Birds and Butterflies — nature spirits dwell all around us. “Few are the mortals to whom we give this lovely gift;” But, if you can learn to look and listen, you will find them, in the sweet melody of songbirds and the sweet scent of the flowers. This is essential cannon if you love fae folk!

The House of The Spirits by Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende is another one of my all-time favorite authors. I love her books and will seriously read anything she writes. I just love the way she weaves together history and whimsy and romance!

September Wrap-Up + One-Word Reviews

Pizza Girl — messy
Marionette — possessing
Funeral Girl 🎧 — ghostly
Marple 12 new mysteries — disappointing
Tales to keep you up at night 🎧 — layered
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau — scientific
Maria, Maria — fantastical
Melissa (previously called George) 🎧 — inspiring
Feed 🎧— discomforting
Neon Gods — smutty
Women and Other Monsters — feminist
Sistersong — folkloric
Selected Ghost Stories by Edith Wharton — spectral
The Mary Shelley Club 🎧— dramatic

Progress: 69/100 | 🎧 *audiobooks

ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴀɴʏ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪɴ Sᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ? 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 14!

 Tʜᴇ 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐴𝑚 𝐼 Cʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ 

 Tʜᴇ 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐴𝑚 𝐼 Cʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ 

ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ᴏʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ: mornings are for reading books, evenings are for listening to audiobooks

ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ᴏʀ ᴇ-ʙᴏᴏᴋs: my eyes aren’t as good as they once were (and I’ve needed glasses since I was 12) so honestly e-books aren’t easy for me to read. That’s why I love audiobooks so much, they are so much easier on my eyes

ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏʀ ɴᴏɴ-ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: I try to read at least one non-fiction a month, fiction is my fav

ᴜɴʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ᴏʀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ sᴘɪɴᴇ: I try so hard not to break the spines, but it is inevitable for me! I’ll get halfway through, and then a action scene will make me nervous and I start bending the book and playing with page corners unconsciously 

ᴘᴀᴘᴇʀʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴏʀ ʜᴀʀᴅʙᴀᴄᴋ: both are beautiful

ɴᴇᴡ ᴏʀ ᴏʟᴅ ʀᴇʟᴇᴀsᴇs: I like older ones—whenever I read a new releases there is no one to discuss it with!

ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴏʀ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ: I love happy endings

ᴄʟᴀssɪᴄ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴏʀ ʜᴀᴛᴇʀ: I love classics! I think they can spark really important conversations

sɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ sᴏᴜɴᴅ: I prefer to read without distractions

ʙᴏᴏᴋᴍᴀʀᴋs ᴏʀ ᴅᴏɢᴇᴀʀ: bookmarks!! shoutout to anyone who remembers when I was making and selling them on etsy 

ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴏʀ TBR: I am a huge mood reader, and I am so crazy I coordinate my monthly TBR with seasonal themes!

ᴏɴᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴏʀ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ: I’m always reading multiple books at once. Yes sometimes I confuse storylines. No it doesn’t bother me!

 I’ve tagged some friends whose answers I’d love to see, but if you see this consider yourself tagged too! 

Louise Reads | myhoneyreads | sanjariti reads | paperbacktomes | Tessa Talks Books | Elaine Howlin | Spines in a Line | The Classics Club | Books With Michelle | BOOKSWITHNATASA

#bookchallenge #bookstagramchallenge #whatreaderamichallenge #bookchallenge
#meetthebookstagrammer #bookstagrammer

Book Tag | Meet the Bookstagrammer

Hi friends! I’ve posted some of these on my bookstagram, but never here on this blog! So let me (finally) introduce myself. My name is Mandy, I just turned 30, and I live in sunny California with my husband and toddler. My pronouns are she/they. I love reading, writing, and talking about books!

How long have you been book blogging?
I have been bookstagramming and book blogging since 2017 — the blog was launched as The Wanderer Literary Journal with some college friends contributing to review articles, but eventually I branched out on my own and became Roses And Reviews.

What was your first review?
My first review was of Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

What is your favorite book?
My all-time favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is easily my favorite author.

What are your favorite genres?
I love classics, historical romance, magical realism, fantasy, mythology, poetry, and YA

What is a fun-fact about you?
I can read fortunes—palm reading, tarot, and astrology are my love languages ❤ I also love gardening! Planting flowers and herbs and garden crops is something I look forward to every spring.

What do you like to binge watch?
I am obsessed with period dramas!! Regency and Tudor history are my favorites, and my dream vacation is a Jane Austen tour through England.

Where else do you post your reviews?
You can find me on GoodReads | StoryGraph | Bookstagram | TikTok | Amazon

#MeetTheBookstagrammer

I am tagging a few friends for this challenge, but I would love to see everyone’s answers so if you see this consider yourself tagged!

Louise Reads | myhoneyreads | sanjariti reads | paperbacktomes | Tessa Talks Books | Elaine Howlin | Spines in a Line | The Classics Club | Books With Michelle | BOOKSWITHNATASA

August Wrap-Up + One-Word Reviews

🌸A Lady For A Duke—Extraordinary
🏝Happily Ever Island—cute
🧙‍♀️Everyone Knows Your Mother Is A Witch—historical
🔍Agatha Christie The Body in the Library—logical
📖Girl In Translation Jean Kwok—persevering
💐The Neapolitan Sisters—tripartite
🐝The Bees Laline Paull—scientific
🪴Cosmic Botany—genius
✨Magic of Birthdays—educational
🔮The Modern Art of Brujería—insightful
🌿The language of Herbs—glossary
🌹Flower fables Louisa May Alcott—Enchanted
📎office BFFs—funny

QOTD: How many books did you get through in August? Any favorites? My top 2 were A Last For A Duke and Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott!

Progress: 55/100