Nose stuck in a book
My dolls are not the only collection I currently have! As of now, I am collecting dolls, figurines (mainly Peach Riot), enamel pins, dvds, books, paper junk, and postcards (I typically just pick those up when travelling). In this post I really want to talk about the books.
When I was young, up until around age 14, I read like crazy. I went to the library about once a week, and I would roam the kids' section and pick out anything that looked interesting. The three series I got the most hooked on were Disney Fairies, Thea Stilton, and Rainbow Magic Fairies. As I got older I read more Percy Jackson and other YA books, but I have always loved fantasy and fiction.
My mother always encouraged my to read more complicated things, as my reading level was higher than average for my age, but I couldn't help that the fantasy I was interested in was aimed towards a younger audience. The world of Pixie Hollow specifically drew me in so particularly. I loved the online MMO where I could play as my own fairy, pick out my special talent, and meet my favorite characters. It was quite the tragedy when I tried to log in one day, only to find that it had been shut down!
Earlier this year I decided to start collecting the Tales of Pixie Hollow series and the adjacent Disney Fairies books. I was inspired by a couple people I saw online doing the same, mainly Kristin Shires on Tiktok. It has been slow going! In the past couple months, I've gotten ahold of A Masterpiece for Bess, The Trouble with Tink, Secret Fairy Homes, and three books from the Never Girls series. My town only has a few good thrift stores, and only one or two used book stores that I frequent on weekends, but their selections are lacking to say the least. I plan to drive the couple hours to nearby larger cities to try my luck!
Other series I'm working on collecting right now are Thea Stilton, Emily Windsnap, American Girl Innerstar U, the Royal Diaries, and books by author Alice Oseman.
My current reads definitely differ from what I actively collect. Last year I picked up my first western, Devil's Gulch by William J Johnstone. I love me some classic cowboys. I read Passin' Through by Louis L'Amour. I read Call me By your Name over a beach trip last summer, which I loved. I could talk about that book and the movie for so long. I read a couple books from Lauren Shippen, author and creator of one of my most beloved fiction podcasts, The Bright Sessions. I read the first of the Shadow and Bone series, recommended to me by a friend. I read the School for Good and Evil series (the movie of which we do NOT talk about). I read my first Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. And currently, I am reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, as well as Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (a re-read).
There was a long stretch of time where I barely read at all, so it feels good to be getting back into it this past year, even if it is mainly on my Kindle over lunch breaks or for an hour or so in my free time during the week.
If I continue this blog, I plan to maybe do a little book review here and there! We'll see.