Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!
Today’s post is in honor of Thanksgiving in the US. While we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Belgium, I do think it’s a nice idea to take a minute and think about everything we’re thankful for. So that’s the meaning of today’s post. To take a minute and reflect on the things that I’ve been thankful for in 2018.
Now, obviously I’m mostly thankful for the people and love in my life. My husband, my family and my friends. They mean the world. Buta post thanking them would end up being an incredibly mushy and sentimental post and since this is in fact a bookish blog, I instead decided to list some books and other forms of entertainment I am thankful for. Because cheesy as it sounds, I am thankful for these. They have helped me in so many ways, so I’m taking the time to spotlight them and tell you why I’m thankful. Let’s go!
Annette Marie
I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone how much I love Annette Marie and her books. I already discovered her a while ago, but this year I’m still super thankful for her. In 2018, I read 5 of her books and loved every single one. We got the news that there will be a sequel series to her Steel & Stone series. I was blessed to read an ARC of Three Mages and a Margarita AND Dark Arts and a Daiquiri. AND I got a shoutout from Annette Marie herself in her newsletter, where she linked my review and said I was one of her favourite blogs. And this all happened at a time when I was feeling pretty down about myself, my writing and my blog, so you can only imagine how much that shoutout gave me the boost I needed. I can only say, thank you Annette Marie!
Kingdom of Ash
It’s the end of an era. I can’t not mention this because I feel like I’ve been living towards this final book for years now. The Throne of Glass series is what inspired me to start blogging, and every new release has been a yearly highlight for over 5 years. This series means the world to me and I feel like the final book honoured all of that. Thank you, Sarah J. Maas!
The can’t-stop-reading books that beat every slump
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In 2017 I had a huuuge reading slump. In 2018 I’m no longer slumping that heavily, but I also actively tried to avoid slumping his year because I still feel a slump lurking around the corner. So I am extra grateful for my slump-buster books. The books that I loved so much, I read them almost in one sitting. The books I couldn’t stop reading and tried to read every.single.moment I got. The books so good I re-read them immediately after finishing. Notable examples of these books are Autoboyography by Christina Lauren, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Thanks for busting my slumps!
Let’s Talk About Love and ace representation
Ā I think asexuality is sorely underrepresented in fiction, which is why I’m so damn thankful for Let’s Talk About Love, which has freaking biromantic ace rep and I am so here for it!Ā Other than Tash Hearts Tolstoy (which I read in 2017), I think it’s the only book with ace rep I’ve read so far and though this is still nowhere near enough, I am thankful that we do seem to slowly be getting more and more ace rep.Ā If you know any other good books with ace rep, give me recommendations, please?
King of Scars news
Umm, hello? I’ve been wanting Nikolai Lantsov to get his own book ever since I read the Grisha trilogy and declared him my “FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER”. And this year we got the news that it was actually happening AND it got this gorgeous cover AND we found out we’ll see Nina again as well and I’m just… my heart is bursting from happiness, okay? Thank you, Leigh Bardugo.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before movie adaptation
The movie adaptation we all needed is finally here! What else can I say about this that hasn’t been said yet? I did not expect to love this adaptation so damn much. I did not expect to watch it again and again and again. I did not expect that I could love Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean Covey anymore. But here it is. Thank you Netflix! (sequel, please?)
Kpop
I’ve always been a music fan. Music has always had major power over me, able to pick me up when I’m falling apart and able to fire up my motivation when I’m struggling. This is a general fact and something that spans many, many genres. BUT it is kpop in particular I’m thankful for in 2018, because at a time when I was feeling devoid of all self-confidence it pushed me to love and accept myself and taught me not to listen to any voices claiming otherwise. Again, many bands and artists have helped that and I’m sure to write a more detailed post on them all later, but I want to give a special shoutout to BTS and Stray Kids, for releasing just the right songs at just the right time for me <3
Ed Sheeran live
Ed Sheeran has been one of my favorite artists for years now. Thinking Out Loud was the opening dance to my wedding. And yet… I never got the chance to see him live. Until summer 2018, when he played at the Werchter festival site and through a stroke of luck I managed to get tickets before they sold out. And wow. Just wow. It still baffles me how this man can command the attention of thousands of people with just him and his guitar on a stage. Add to that amazing concert the atmosphere of an outdoor festival vibe, sunny weather and a lovely sunset, and this is definitely one of those live concerts I’ll always remember. Thanks, Ed Sheeran!
Kdramas
I used to be a huge tv junkie. But then somewhere about a year ago, I started losing my love of tv. Too many shows I loved just went on too long and made me lose my interest. But then came kdramas. I discovered kdramas in 2017 and fell in love, and the love has lasted well into 2018. I love them for their short seasons (no filler episodes, no going on too long) and their fun storylines. Some notable kdramas I watched and loved in 2018 include: A Korean Odyssey, Black, I Am Not A Robot, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and my personal favorite so far: While You Were Sleeping. If you love kdramas too, I always welcome recommendations š
Blogging
Come on, I can’t not mention the blogging community, can I? I started blogging almost three years ago and I couldn’t imagine life without it anymore. I love having a place where I can talk about the books I loved and where I have such a nice and supportive community. Though life gets busy sometimes and I’m not always the most consistent poster or the most responsive commenter, I have no plans on quitting any time soon and I hope to talk books with all of you for a long time still! Thank you for reading my posts and raving with me. You make my day <3
LOVE the TATBILB fame and adaptation. Not only did Netflix “make” me finally read the book, but I discovered some truly memorable new characters to love. Plus, I still have books 2 & 3 to get to know all these characters!! š
I too am so thankful for this blogging community. It’s always so welcoming and it’s fun to know we have all the fellow bloggers to talk all the bookish things!
Fun list, Lindsey. Happy Top Ten Tuesday.
Ah it is definitely a good thing that you still have book 2 and 3 to look forward to! Lots of new story and character moments to discover š
The blogging community is the absolute best! <3
Aw Lindsey, this is SUCH a great list! I can relate 100% to almost all of these! Especially those slump-busters – thank goodness for anything that can finish a reading slump, lol!
Glad to hear you can relate! Ahh, I am forever grateful to slump-busters that take me back to the joy of reading š
I’m seriously thinking of trying Annette Marie’s Daiquiri series since I’ve seen a few bloggers rave about it now. Looks fun! And the cruel Prince is also on my TBR and I’m really looking forward to that one!
To All the Boys was so well done- I really enjoyed that movie. I hope we get more!!
I seriously hope you’ll give Annette Marie’s serie a chance… and that you’ll love it of course š Same with The Cruel Prince!
I also hope we’ll get a TATBILB sequel!
Such a great list. Yes to the King of Scars news. I need. And yes blogging. <3
I'm so thankful for…Paw Patrol or Paw Paw as son calls it. It gives me breaks haha.
Oh Paw Paw sounds so cute! Haha, I can totally understand how you’d be thankful for it! š
This is a great list! The Cruel Prince and Let’s Talk About Love are both on my TBR, and I’m really looking forward to King of Scars – I love Nina so much. Now I just need to read the original Grisha trilogy so I can read Bardugo’s new duology…
I hope you’ll enjoy the original Grisha trilogy and fall in love with Nikolai as much as I did š
This is an excellent post! Autoboyography has been on my list for some time now, I need to read it. Oh, and I love Ed Sheeran! But then, I’m married to a ginger so I might be biased. š
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Haha, I love how you could be ginger biased š Hope you’ll love Autoboyography when you get to it!
I’m thankful for these type of things too. They really make me happy. I haven’t seen Ed Sheeran live in years, so I’d LOVE to see him again now that he’s doing his own shows (he was an opening act when I saw him). That’s awesome you were able to get tickets before they sold out. I was able to see Niall Horan and Maren Morris this summer and they are both amazing live!
-Lauren
That’s great that you got to see Nial Horan and Maren Morris (need to check his music out)! There’s something about live music that’s just both soothing and energizing to me š Hope you’ll get the chance to see Ed Sheeran live again some day!
I love all your books that broke a slump! Also To All The Boys movie. So cute!! And the blogging community is definitely the best.
The TATBILB movie was the best! (I need a rewatch soon! And a sequel would be nice too š )
That’s lovely that the Throne of Glass series means so much to you! It’s wonderful when certain books hold such significance to us.
My TTT post!
Those definitely are the best kind of books š
This is such a lovely post and I love all of the positivity and loveeeeeeeeeeeee ahh. <3 I loved the Lara Jean adaptation, I thought they did such a great job with it, that movie made me so happy. I can't wait to watch it again and again haha š
I really need to read Autoboyography and The Kiss Quotient, both these books sound INCREDIBLE š
I love getting all mushy about and writing about all the things I love, haha š The TATBILB movie was amazing, I already watched it three times and am itching for a rewatch! Oh, I definitely hope you’ll get to Autoboyography soon, I think it’s a book you’d really like š
I love those books that I can just dive into and get lost in. I just picked up Cruel Prince from the library and I’m really looking forward to it!
I hope you’ll enjoy The Cruel Prince!
Hahaha! Iām so thankful for Kdrama and Kpop too! They bring a feel-good and light vibes to my life. I can always count on these two to cheer me up. In my case, it was CNblue and Apink that released the rights songs at the right time to help me rise from slumps
Yes, you’re so right that Kdrama and Kpop help bring feel-good vibes! I feel the same! I have to check out CNblue and Apink, as I don’t know their music that well yet *goes to Spotify right now*
This is a great list, Lindsey. I’m very thankful for slump busting books too!
Slump-busters are the best! š