Julia's Bookshelf Tour: August 2016; Part 1

Hello! In the book-loving community, I have noticed a lot of videos of bookshelf tours uploaded to YouTube or posted on social media accounts. Now, while this is not a video, it is still a bookshelf tour! I thought I might as well do this so that I can share with you my shelves and some of my favorite books!

Unlike some people where they have several huge bookcases, I have one bookcase with two shelves. In this post, I will be sharing with you my top shelf, which contains my most liked books that I own. Also, a good number of the books mentioned have a book review up on the blog, so I created links to these posts when you click on them. With that all said, let's get started!

Above is a picture of my top shelf. It is not as fancy as some other people's bookshelves, where they put knickknacks and bookish objects in between. I might add something later, but I think that, for now, it is fine this way. I think it gives the books themselves more attention.

As you can see, I used two of my larger books in my favorites collection as a podium of sorts for other books. This section contains my most favorite books. On the bottom there is my beautiful, special 10th anniversary edition of The Book Thief, with Markus Zusak's signature inside! (I was thrilled to get a copy!) Stacked on top of that you'll find The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, which is beautiful inside and out.

The books that are placed on top of that are not organized by how much I like them, but rather by their size. Therefore, the first book (from left to right) is Jeff Garvin's Symptoms of Being Human. I liked this book because of the characters and diversity in the book.

Next are two Julia Alvarez books: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is a favorite of mine because of how real the characters and their relationships with one another feel, and because it has a unique format: reverse chronological order! And I don't know how I even begin to describe In the Time of the Butterflies. 

Now we have Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a book that I think a good number of people have read (at least in the teen section of bookstagram). Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book: I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did! It's been a while since I've enjoyed fantasy books with action, that's all.

If you haven't heard me talk about the next book I don't know where you've been. To the right of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is my favorite book: The Light Between Oceans! Oh, how beautiful it is! I absolutely fell in love with the writing style and the characters. The book is about beautiful people who are challenged with a horrible decision. And I love the metaphor in the title! (Now I just have to hope that the movie is even a tenth as good as the book!)

Another great book is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so it got a place on my podium for amazing books. It's a book about seeing the world differently, and follows main character Christopher Boone as he discovers some shocking secrets about his family. I highly recommend it, if you haven't read it already.

I'm not sure how much I would like Openly Straight if I reread it, but for now, it has a spot on my favorite books list. It's an eye-opening book about accepting yourself, being proud, and learning to be comfortable in your own skin. Em has read this book too, and we both enjoyed it.

Yes, my paperback copy of The Book Thief is also here, but it's such a lovely book how could I let it sit with some other books on my other shelf? The reason why I actually have two copies is because I had accidentally gotten water on my paperback copy, causing the back pages to be wave-like. But, that's okay, because that means that I had a third reason why I should buy the hardcover copy, the first being that it was a special 10th anniversary edition and the second being that it was signed!

The last books in my top favorites section are Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Diary of a Young Girl. The first one I read quite some time ago, and, in all honesty, I'm not sure how much I like it. I liked it back when I did read it, but would I like it if I reread it? One of the main reasons why it is there with the other books is because it fit. I think most of you know what The Diary of a Young Girl is, and I find it to be a wonderful book. It really is a book to think about.

I also have five other books on my top shelf. Even if they are not on my little podium, I still like them. First up is How Many Letters Are in Goodbye?, a book that actually deserves to be on my podium. I just didn't have enough space. I like this book because of the growth of the main character, Rhea, in the book, and because of the themes in the book. You really need to read it yourself to understand how great it is.

Next is my previous favorite book (before I read The Light Between Oceans), Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez. I read it a while ago, and I think that the main reason why I enjoyed it so much was because it was one of the first books that I had read where I started to appreciate themes. So when I read Something to Declare and I found all of these little themes and messages in each essay, I was thrilled.

Skyscraping is another one that I read a while ago (which is actually only a year). I enjoyed this book because I found the main character's journey to be so amazing to read. Also, this book is written entirely in poetry, something that I find to make a book so beautiful if done properly. It was heartbreaking to see her give up, and to see as her life fell apart. But her comeback was inspiring. Thinking about it really makes me want to reread it!

The last two books on my top shelf, Being Jazz: My Life as A (Transgender) Teen and Beautiful Creatures, I have read this past year. I have read Being Jazz more recently than the other, and I did enjoy it. I always have like biographies, autobiographies, diaries, and memoirs. Beautiful Creatures I had first read because I saw the movie, liked it, and wanted to read the book. So glad I did, for, once again, the book proved to be better than the movie.

And with that I have introduced you to my top shelf! Yay! You now know some of my most favorite books (that I own, hehe). Next Monday I'll have part 2 (the final part) published. Until then!