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BBNYA Semi-Final Spotlight: The City of Mist and Tears

BBNYA Semi-Final Spotlight: The City of Mist and Tears

Posted by By Veronica November 1, 2025
Hey bookworm friends. I'm back with another BBNYA semi-finalist to hype up! Today's spotlight will be shining a light on The City of Mist and Tears by Alex Robins. This…
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BBNYA 2025: My Top 5 Books That Didn’t Make Finals

BBNYA 2025: My Top 5 Books That Didn’t Make Finals

Posted by By Veronica September 25, 2025
Hey bookworm friends. Round 2 of BBNYA is now over and the scores have been counted! The competition was tight and 17 finalists have been chosen and announced. I'm so…
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Featured Book Reviewer Professional Reader 80%

dark.shelf.of.wonders

Devoted to Fantasy 🖤 Always aiming to diversify my reading.
Support Indie Authors🌻.
📚 Book Blogger, Board Game Lover & Dog Cuddler.
Tidy The Library: Week 8 (The Ancients Edition) - Tidy The Library: Week 8 (The Ancients Edition) - RESULTS . . 762 BCE: The Iliad (Homer) . . 429 BCE: Oedipus The King (Sophocles) . . 1304 CE: The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri) . . 1597 CE: Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare. The correct answer was A: Before All of Them! This week was really hard because of the extremely broad window! Sorry, but these are all the oldest cards included in the game 😜. I have been wanting to read Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad for so long so today I actually bought a copy of it as well as a copy of her translation of The Odyssey! 😍 The one time I tried to read the Iliad it was a version from the 60s and I hated it so much. But I know the story and I know it's not boring so I'm really excited to try again with a good translation 🤞🏼. 🎉Congrats for getting it right: @gianna.of.vengerberg @a.selkie.reads @freckles.and.books @bamamele.reads 🖤Thanks so much for playing! @ws_bookclub_ @bewitchingbooksravenousreads @goodbooksgreatgoats @dan.devours.words @saras.reading 🖤 @booksarethenewblack11 @irinasreading @jiplovestoread @jonesandthebooks @shona_reads_in_devon ❓Anyone else excited for the Odyssey 2026 movie adaptation? #PlayWithMe #TheIliad #Bookstagram #Game #TidyTheLibrary
📚 New month, new books! Here are my most anticipat 📚 New month, new books! Here are my most anticipated releases for March 2026! Most of them are fantasy, (only very few that don't cross over with fantasy in any way). Hopefully you find something to add to your TBR 😉! Books that already published are marked with 🎉. 🐉Fantasy: -The Library of Amorlin, Kalyn Josephson (Mar 3 🎉) -Green & Deadly Things, Jenn Lyons (Mar 3 🎉) -These Shattered Spires, Cassidy Ellis Salter (Mar 10) -Imagine A Friend, David Quantick (Mar 10) -Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 14, Kamome Shirahama (Mar 17) -Aicha, Soraya Bouazzaoui (Mar 24) -Spindleheart:Wrath of the Ravelwind Knight, T. I. Avens (Mar 26) -This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, Ilona Andrews (Mar 31) -The Geomagician, Jennifer Mandula (Mar 31) -A Widow's Charm, Caitlyn Paxson (Mar 31) -Ruiner, Lara Messersmith-Glavin (Mar 31) 🏺Hist Fic, Myths & Mystery: -Eve: A Novel, B. K. O'Connor (Mar 3 🎉) -A Ghastly Catastrophe, Deanna Raybourn (Mar 3 🎉) -Sweetbitter Song, Rosie Hewlett (Mar 17) -The Beheading Game, Rebecca Lehman (Mar 24) 👽Sci-Fi & Horror: -The Fox & The Devil, Kiersten White (Mar 10) -Bitterbloom, Teagan Olivia King (Mar 10) -The Midnight Muse, Jo Kaplan (Mar 10) -Hell's Heart, Alexis Hall (Mar 10) -Wolf Worm, T. Kingfisher (Mar 24) ❓Which books are you most looking forward to this month? #NewReleases #UpcomingReleases #FantasyBooks #Bookstagram #reading
5 Things I Learned by Reading Insectopolis by Pete 5 Things I Learned by Reading Insectopolis by Peter Kuper 🐛 Insectopolis is an illustrated nonfiction about, you guessed it, insects! It's gorgeous and uses a quirky framing device to deliver information. In some future where humans no longer exist, bugs visit an exhibition about themselves at a library. They examine the exhibits and have conversations with eachother; it's full of fun facts and whimsy. There are sections dedicated to different bugs but also to historical naturalists and entomologists, and to the ways in which bugs have played various roles in human history. Fun Facts: 🐜1. It’s estimated there are ten quintillion bugs. (That's a 10 with 18 zeroes). Which means there are 1.25 billion insects for each person. 🪲2. Dung Beetles are the first animal on earth to navigate by the stars. 🪰3. Flies are often-overlooked pollinators, second to bees in importance. For example, midges are the primary pollinators of cacao trees. 🦗 4. Cicadas wait underground for 17 years before resurfacing to mate. During that time they live off nutrients in tree roots. They have an internal molecular clock that helps them note the passage of time. But the key to the day they emerge is when soil temperature reaches 18 °C (or 64° F) 🐞5. Dragonflies intercept their prey like lions; they don't fly to where their prey is they fly to where their prey will be. Tip: Don't forget to scan the few QR codes hidden in the pages, they lead to the author's website where you can hear short snippets of experts speaking about specific bugs! ❓What's your favourite insect? I love Dragonflies! But this book gave me a new appreciation for so many tiny creatures! #GraphicNovel #Nonfiction #Insectopolis #IllustratedNonfiction #Bookstagram
Happy last day of February everyone! It absolutely Happy last day of February everyone! It absolutely flew by for me! It was full of board games, a Valentine's Day party, and seeing old friends. My reading was great if a bit outside of my usual—what do you mean I finished two nonfictions in one month 😲? "Gods prefer simple, vicious games, where you Do Not Achieve Transcendence but Go Straight to Oblivion; a key to the understanding of all religion is that a God's idea of amusement is Snakes and Ladders with greased rungs." – Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (My Current Read) Since I hardly read any physical books this month I'm organizing them slightly differently. Marking my favourite reads with a black heart (🖤) Novels & Nonfic: 📱Gen ocide Bad, Sim Kern. Essays - 5⭐ - 🖤 🎧 Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer. Essays - 4.5⭐ - 🖤 🎧 Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman - 3⭐ 🎧+📚 Obsidio, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - 3.75⭐ Graphic Novels & Comics: 📱Why Are You Like This?, Meg Adams - 4⭐ - 🖤 📱Milk & Mocha: Our Little Happiness, Melanie Sie - 2.25⭐ 📱Welcome to the Forest: The Harvest Party, Katie Risor. Children's graphic novel - 4⭐ 📱The Last Session Vol 1: Roll for Initiative, Jasmine Walls with Dozerdraws - 4⭐ The marbled paintings in the collage slide are by an artist called Ingrid McDonald, her painting are being highlighted in a community center during February and I really enjoyed walking by them every week.😍 New Progress on my goals: •2 Nonfics •2 Group Reads •1 Next in Series ❓How was your February? #ReadingWrapUp #Bookstagram #Reading #Books #WhatIRead
Tidy the Library: Week 7 - RESULTS! . . 1818: Fra Tidy the Library: Week 7 - RESULTS! . . 1818: Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) . . 1851: Moby Dick (Herman Melville) . . 1859: On The Origin of the Species (Charles Darwin) . . 1862: Les Misérables (Victor Hugo) The correct answer was A: Before all of them! I remember really liking this book when I read it as a teen but I could really use a reread! I also still really want to watch Del Toro's adaptation. Congrats to those clever folks who guessed right 😉: @karenholmeswriter @goodbooksgreatgoats @shona_reads_in_devon @freckles.and.books @gianna.of.vengerberg @literarydiversions & Thanks a bunch for playing, I always look forward to Thursdays thanks to everyone who plays with me 🥰🤩! @a.selkie.reads @dan.devours.words @bewitchingbooksravenousreads @ws_bookclub_ @alitescape @jonesandthebooks @bamamele.reads ❓Have you watched Del Toro's adaptation and if so what did you think? Or, have you read any of these books?
🫶🏾Black History Month🫶🏿 To honour #blackhistorymo 🫶🏾Black History Month🫶🏿 To honour #blackhistorymonth, I want to think back to some of the books by black authors that I loved and made an impact on me. I also want to share some of the black stories and voices on my TBR that I'm excited about! With a focus on my favourite genres; SFF 😉. 📚I've Loved: -The Deep - Rivers Solomon -Lost Ark Dreaming - Suyi Davies Okungbowa -Even Though I Knew The End - C. L. Polk -Vevin Song - Jonathan Neves Mayer's -The Black God's Drums - P. Djèlí Clark -That Time I Got Drunk and Saved A Demon - Kimberly Lemming -Get A Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert -Masquerade - O. O. Sangoyomi -When We Were Birds - Ayanna Lloyd Baneo -All Boys Aren't Blue - George M. Johnson ⌚Sci Fi & Fantasy by Black Authors on my TBR: -I, Medusa - Ayana Gray -Andromeda - E. S. McLeod (Not Out Yet) -A Wolf Steps In Blood - Tamara Jerée -Witch Queen Rising - Savannah Stephens (Not Out Yet) -A Song of Legends Lost - M. H. Shinde -The King Must Die - Kemi Ashing-Giwa -Psychopomp & Circumstance - Eden Royce -House of Hunger - Alexis Henderson -Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi -Brooms - Jasmine Walls, Teo Duvall 🫶🏿 Please see the last slide to show some love to accounts by fantastic black creators, reviewers, writers, and book lovers 🖤. Check them out and give them a follow if you don't already 😘. kamayatarpley @brisbookish @turningpagesp @queer_bookwyrm @suchabibliophile @claire_linney ❓Have you read any of these books? Or, do you have any recommendations by Black authors you think I need to read? I'm always open for recs! #BlackVoicesMatter #BlackStories #SFF #ReadingCommunity
🌾Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer REVIEW 🌾Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer REVIEW🌾 I’ve been curious about Braiding Sweetgrass for years so when I saw a Nonfiction Buddy Read Group select it, I happily jumped in. Wall-Kimmerer is botanist, a member of the Potawatomi Nation, a mother, and a teacher. She blends science with Indigenous knowledge in this part memoir, part scientific exploration that is at its very core a celebration of nature and our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. The author tells stories that focus on various indigenous teachings and history, her personal life, and experiences as a professor of science. A lot of the more science-y bits were interesting but sometimes the specific details were hard to grasp via audio for me. However I find that didn’t matter for understanding the general message of the book. I really connected to the more human parts of the story and to the ideas of a gift economy and allegiance to gratitude. It did take me two months to read because I slowly listened to the audiobook but it turns out that was actually perfect; I loved the narration by the author herself! I was on the edge of tears for huge portions of the book because of how beautifully told and poetic it was but also because of how sad it was in some parts. I almost cried in public while listening to the part where she describes how there were only 9 fluent speakers of the Potawatomi language left. But I also found so much comfort in her voice, and I could hear her joy and love for all living things in it. I leave you with the most beautiful quote from the book but there were loads! "The commodity economy has been here on Turtle Island for four hundred years, eating up the white strawberries and everything else. But people have grown weary of the sour taste in their mouths. A great longing is upon us, to live again in a world made of gifts. I can scent it coming, like the fragrance of ripening strawberries rising on the breeze." 🍓 ❓What's your favourite plant? #BraidimgSweetgrass #bookreview #BookRecommendation #BookCommunity #nonfiction
Review of Genocide Bad by Sim Kern I had been tr Review of Genocide Bad by Sim Kern I had been trying to read this book for a while. I borrowed it from my library 3 times (you’re welcome circulation numbers 😉) but I never felt in the right headspace to pick it up…until now! Back in 2023, I found the author on Instagram when they recommended books by Palestinian authors, and I’ve been watching their videos ever since. I’m forever thankful to Sim because it was through them that I was exposed to information about Palestine in the first place (I’m ashamed to say that before that I was ignorant about so much!) The way they speak in their videos is engaging, accessible, and well-argued yet passionate. And now that I’ve read it, the same can be said for Genocide Bad. At around 250 pages, it’s not a long book but it covers a lot of ground in that short time! Thanks to their background as an anti-Zionist Jewish activist and educator, Sim is in a uniquely well-suited place to show readers how to dismantle Zionist talking points, which they do one by one in their essays. Afterwards, they give concrete examples of how we can imagine and strive towards a post-scarcity society, this was hands-down my favourite section. And at the end, the focus is on Palestinian voices as they share letters written by families in Gaza. It may have taken me some time to get to it but once I cracked it open, I didn’t want to put it down. Reading this book made me feel like I was in community. It taught me a lot, made me cry and rage, and then it turned around and gave me so much hope. And book recommendations! This is the kind of book I would love to have a physical copy of to highlight passages and refer back to. Sim has been and continues to be an instrumental part of my, admittedly burgeoning, liberatory education and I will gladly read anything they write in the future! “Conflict is inevitable, and our allies are not disposable. We need to fess up to mistakes when we make them, and apologize when we’ve hurt someone, but we also need to abandon a culture of resorting to public humiliation, exile, and shunning of anyone who slips up.” #BookReview #freepalestine🇵🇸 #genocidebad #Bookstagram #CollectiveLiberation
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