fairy skeletons.: Cake and Addiction: What Could Go Wrong?

this has basically no significance. i just thought it was really cool that a wikipedia cake exists. [via]

*glances up at title* Um, basically everything, but we won't remark on that.

Who's brought this nefarious but undeniably brilliant combination to Christina's blog, you may ask? (I think we all know the answer at this point. HUMOR ME.) That would be the equally nefarious and even more brilliant Alyssa Carlier of The Devil Orders Takeout. She's tagged me for the Cake Book Tag and the Addictive Blog Award - my thanks as always! And if you're not devotedly following her takeout, I'd recommend it. There is much science and snark and writerly witchcraft to be had (sometimes all at the same time).

But let's get down to what you're all *really* here for: dessert.

Cake Book Tag

I think I can present this tag basically without comment and proceed, so I'll do just that.

Flour: A book that started slowly but turned out amazing.

still don't love any of the covers for this series. *sigh*

Honestly, this entire series started out slowly but turned out to be MIND-BLOWING. When I first read Throne of Glass, I was pretty 'meh' about it—I enjoyed the experience but it was nothing that I hadn't really seen before. But then I read Crown of Midnight. It was better, so I figured I'd stay with the series. And then Heir of Fire came along and IT SLAYED ME, YOU GUYS. IT... BROKE ME. The Assassin's Blade had an equally debilitating yet wonderful effect on my feels. If any of you are considering the Throne of Glass series, DO. IT. Although it may not seem amazing at first, DO NOT BE FOOLED. THERE WILL BE EMOTIONS EVERYWHERE.

Butter: A book that had a thick, rich plot.

i still don't know how i feel about these covers. i'll never know.

I mean, this series had a thick, rich EVERYTHING, not just the plot. Laini Taylor brings colorful characters and lush, vibrant settings to life with supernatural grace and power. Her writing just slides into you, settles over you like a second skin. I feel so at home in her worlds and her characters' minds, but at the same time, I'm exploring something real and new and radiant. This trilogy is such an original and powerful fantasy, fearless and gorgeous and earth-shattering. READ. IT.

Eggs: A book you thought would be bad but turned out great.

(First of all, I love eggs through and through, so I kind of take issue with this heading. But I digress.)

stop elizabeth wein 2k15

A really good IRL writer friend of mine read this book and enthusiastically recommended it to me. I super super respect her as a reader and writer to the highest power, and our tastes are usually pretty similar, so I figured I should trust her and go for it. So I borrowed the hardcover from the library and promptly decided that it just didn't click with me. The tone felt juvenile, the characters felt forced, etc. I returned it and told her that I didn't manage to finish it.

Fast forward to a deal I found for a free audiobook of Code Name Verity. Fast forward to when I decided to give it a chance.

GOODBYE, BLITHE IGNORANCE. Cue gross sobbing at the beauty and tragedy and absolute gold that is this book.

Sugar: A sugary, sweet book.

okay, fine. so this is sweet but not necessarily 'sugary'. but i am ignoring that so hard right now.

I don't really read a lot of books that could be described as 'sugary', so I'm going to have to go with Ella Enchanted. I am, as a whole, a HUGE Gail Carson Levine fan (actually, I'd say Fairest is my favorite book of hers), but I guess Ella Enchanted is the real 'classic' that she's written, and there are definitely sweet moments. And AHH THE NOSTALGIA.

And anyway, those of you who haven't read this book clearly missed out on an essential part of your childhoods. Rectify this error immediately. I promise it will help you grow up to be a more well-adjusted, awesome human being.

Icing: A book that covered every single element that you enjoy about a book.

no i will never stop book-pushing this series. #sorrynotsorry

I have squealed about this series on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, I'm certain. But I need to bring it up again because it's one of my favorites of all time and it is so horrifically underrated. There is DIVERSITY. There is BANTER. There are COMPLEX, LAYERED, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS EVERYWHERE. There is BEAUTIFUL WRITING. There is BRILLIANT WORLDBUILDING. This is one of my most treasured fantasy series ever to exist and I need EVERYONE TO READ IT. YOU MUST ALL READ IT. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE. I enjoyed every bit of it and it contained basically 'every single element' I love in books. Truly the perfectly sweet icing on the literary cake. 

Sprinkles: A book that always cheers you up.

unrelated note: why are the covers for every single edition of this series so unashamedly horrible? they remake the covers over and over again and they're all absolutely terrible. this series deserves better, random house. really, it does.

John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series never fails to pick up my mood. I can flip to any page in pretty much any of the books and be completely sucked in within a few sentences of skimming. The effortless and intelligent yet hilarious Ranger snark, the gloriously played-out fight scenes, the general kick-butt everything about the series (highly skilled and awesome women! diverse characters! rich worldbuilding! detailed descriptions of weapons!)—this is the good stuff, right here. My memories of this series are immeasurably fond, since I first picked it up in the fifth grade and never looked back. It's a staggering twelve books long, so I have lots and lots to choose from if I ever need a comfort read.

The Cherry on Top: Best book of the year so far.

actual gift from the cover design gods, clearly.

(I think the fact that Alyssa and I both put this particular book in this particular spot says a lot about our friendship.)

I mean, everyone was expecting this to be here, right? V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic sounded fantastic, yes—I even spotlighted it for Waiting on Wednesday once—but I was so not ready for THIS LEVEL OF PERFECTION. I think I was operating on some kind of book-induced high for the entirety of this reading experience. CROSS-DRESSING LADY THIEF LILA BARD! KELL, THE DASHING BLOOD MAGICIAN WITH A FABULOUS COAT! ASTRID AND ATHOS DANE! HOLLAND! PRINCE RHY! I mean, it just doesn't get much better than this.

Cupcakes: An awesome short with the epicness of a book.

also LOOK GORGEOUS ART

This is a really inventive and beautifully written reinterpretation of Penelope's side of the Odyssey, with a pretty darn wonderful twist. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for the mortal women in Greek mythology, and Penelope is one of my favorites.) It is truly epic—and look! The story is available to read for free here.

Addictive Blog Award

Rules:

1. Thank the person awarding you.
2. Share a little about why you blog and how the journey started.
3. Paste the blog award on your page.
4. Nominate 10 other bloggers you feel deserve the award.

Why I blog

My reasons for blogging have definitely evolved over the past three-odd years. At first, it functioned as my excuse for playing with Blogger and trying to sound sophisticated. But soon it became a great kind of outlet for me, allowing me to express opinions about things I was passionate about, explore new areas of interest, and just generally be unashamedly me on my own little corner of the Internet. The friends that I've made here, the memories I've squealed about here, the fun I've had here—that's all thanks to this good old blog. And that's really what it's all about for me; I'd like to thank you all for making this such a great space for me and hopefully for anyone else who takes the time to stop by.

How the, er, 'journey' began

The rather humdrum and somewhat embarrassing Fairy Skeletons origin story: I was young(er). I thought I was good at writing. (Every day I argue with myself over whether or not this is true. I'll get back to you when I've decided, which will probably be never.) I could clearly see that Wordpress was not going to take me anywhere at that point, which is what I was using at the time, and so I stumbled upon Blogger one day and was immediately seized by the desire to try it out.

After over three years of 'trying it out', I think I'm finally starting to get it right. Kind of.

I'm tagging/nominating

Adelyn @ Fable and Fancy

Anna @ Bookshores

Morning @ The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life

AnQi @ Berries and Dust

Taylor @ Paper Daydreams
...so I'm totally blanking on more nominees. But! If you were awesome enough to read down to the bottom of this post, consider yourself tagged/nominated! 

Thanks again, Alyssa, and I hope you all enjoyed reading my answers!