TOP TEN TUESDAY
April 26, 2016

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic was Top Ten Bookish Delights

There are so many things that make me happy as a reader and/or book blogger! I love today’s topic because it lets me venture a little outside of specific titles and a little bit more into my reading habits and loves! Here are my top selections for things that get me fangirling!

1. BOOK MAIL

Book maaaail! Who doesn’t love when a new book (or used book or traded book or ANY BOOK) arrives on their doorstep? Any mail that is not a bill is exciting and it’s even more special when it’s a BOOK.

2. BOOKISH MERCH

I’ve become even more obsessed with book merch lately! It’s been my go-to for my bookish spending money since I’m trying not to buy AS many books. Rather than buying new books that I may not get to read any time soon, I’ve been buying up all of the merch for all of my fandoms! It also is super helpful to decorate my shelves and feature in bookstagram photos!

3. WHEN YOU SPOT THE TITLE OF THE BOOK AS YOU’RE READING

Jamie had this on her list of bookish delights and I had to include it in mine as well!! I get so tickled when I spot the title of the book as I’m reading. I don’t know why but it just delights me!

4. CHARACTER CAMEOS

I just love, love, love when you spot characters from a previous book in an author’s new book. The Easter Egg in LANDLINE, the time I was re-reading ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS before ISLA came out and spotting her for the first time, character appearances in Kasie West’s contemporary books even though they’re not companions or related — those are the BEST. I also love when series do the same, like when the Wax and Wayne era books refer back to the original MISTBORN trilogy (and expand upon it!) or hearing about Grisha Trilogy happenings in SIX OF CROWS. I loooove crossovers!

5. UNINTERRUPTED READING TIME

It’s not often anymore that I get a long string of uninterrupted reading time. I cherish the days where I just get to sit and read with my coffee! It’s the best to be able to read a whole chunk at a time instead of breaking it up into short spurts.

6. FINDING NEW BOOKS VOICED BY YOUR FAVORITE AUDIOBOOK NARRATORS

When I find an audiobook narrator I love, I immediately go onto Audible and add any other possible books I might like that they’ve narrated to my wishlist. I’ll pretty much listen to anything narrated by MacLeod Andrews or Steve West BUT I also know that a good narrator can’t totally save a book I’m not interested in. I’m still picky about the books I listen to but I get SO EXCITED to hear that they’ve narrated a new book… Like Steve West narrating THE CROWN’S GAME!! I immediately preordered even though I’ve already read the ARC.

7. GETTING AN INSTAGRAM PICTURE JUST RIGHT

I’m still a total amateur when it comes to photography even though I love taking book pictures so much! It’s rare that I get that great combination of good lighting and great set-up! Usually I lose it when my lighting is bad and I try to adjust brightness and/or sharpness. Even if the picture set-up is great, it looks crappy if I edit it too much. I love those moments where it comes out juuuust right!

8. WHEN A BLOG POST REALLY TAKES OFF

I love trying to come up with some new and creative blog posts! Sometimes I’m so excited about them and it’s such a bummer when one of my favorite posts doesn’t get as much attention as I had hoped. It’s so exciting when I post something and people are just as excited about it as I am!! I love being able to share stuff like that.

9. BOOK HANGOVERS

I love a good book hangover. It means that I really fell in love with a book and it stuck with me long after finishing. I feel like this doesn’t really happen to me as often anymore, maybe just because of the quantity of books that I read nowadays, so it’s absolutely delightful when I can just revel in a book long after I’m finished!

10. SPENDING TIME WITH BOOKISH FRIENDS

This may be last on the list but it’s certainly not last in my priorities. I LOVE the time I get to spend with my bookish friends at events and conferences. I remember at ALA this year, I was just acting so incredibly goofy and I was like “Wow, I’m not normally like this” but I realized it was because I just felt so comfortable with my book friends and I felt like I was allowed to let loose and just be happy. We had an amazing time together and I got to see so many people that I love. I always cherish the time I’m able to spend with my book/blogger friends because we don’t get to do it often and it’s such a special time for me. I am excited for BEA this year but really, I’m mostly excited to spend time with my book friends even more so than the conference itself!

What are your top bookish delights? Do we share any of the same ones? What sort of things make you one happy reader?