Do you ever struggle on bookstagram with having a book you want to talk about but not having a picture to go with it, or having a picture of a beautiful cover but not feeling particularly excited to talk about the disappointing story it held, but you make a post anyway that’s mediocre in one way or the other because it’s the only content you have and you have to post consistently to appease the algorithm?

Well, eff the algorithm! I stopped posting on bookstagram regularly and the world kept on spinning (still promptly updating my Stories with most of my current reads though!). It feels great not stressing about it anymore. Plus, I had my best reading month of the year, though that may just be a coincidence and better attributed to the fact that I finally read The Poppy War trilogy.

Y’all, I’ve been reading the same three books for ages! Those would be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, and Everybody by Olivia Laing. I feel bad that I have nothing new to report to people who ask. But I’ve added two more reads to the mix: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart and The Poppy War by RF Kuang. Kinda wanna drop everything for The Poppy War then Shuggie Bain, but also wanna finish and be done with all those other books, which are interesting, but which I can’t seem to focus on :/ I’m tempted to put them on pause for now and pick them back up later when I’m in the mood, but I have a feeling that I might just never pick them back up… which… is not necessarily bad… but potentially sad to think about…

This post is for anyone who is feeling a little lost in all the world building after watching the first episode of the Netflix show, for fans of the book who are wondering how the show combined the Shadow & Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology, and for new fans who are discovering the Grishaverse through the Netflix show and are now wondering where to start with the books.

The fandom is huge and there are so many resources out there, but there are also lots of spoilers, which can make them hard to browse through. So I’m here to give you a quick rundown to get you started, with spoilers from the first episode of the Netflix show but spoiler-free otherwise. I tried to only hit the questions that seem to always come up—nothing too deep—so feel free to ask any questions you have left!

The bookish event of the month was the Netflix adaptation of Shadow & Bone, and it did not disappoint! I convinced my brothers to watch the first episode with me when it released at midnight, and we finished the rest of the show in the afternoon. I haven’t been reading much this year so I haven’t been as active on bookstagram, but that weekend bookstagram lit up and it was so much fun chatting with people about the show and answering questions noobs had about the books hehe. I’m thinking of writing a blog post guide for it!

Only two reads this month, the last of which I just finished yesterday… and still working my way through The Count of Monte Cristo with Evie veryyyy slowly. I had the best news mid-month, and I don’t know if the normal reaction is to feel rejuvenated or to float in a haze like I have been. But now that I’ve had my moment of bliss, it’s time to get back to business—reading regularly, sleeping regularly, exercising regularly for the first time since quarantine, getting some sun, and continuing to keep up with classes.

This was the month I joined book Reddit. It all started with r/bookexchange. I’d been content creeping on Reddit for two years and enjoying the memes, but it wasn’t until I found this sub that I felt inclined to participate in the community myself. For a week I was obsessed with building my karma so that other Redditors would trust me enough to do a book exchange. After some research, I decided that 500 karma points would be a good goal to settle at, which I’ve reached, so I can chill out now. Anywho, I exchanged my paperback of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert with a Redditor for their gorgeous Vintage Classic Russians Series edition of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy! Now I just gotta read it…