
I can not believe that I am thirty years old today. My twenties have just flown by. It was a difficult decade in many ways but I am grateful for the lessons that I learned along the way. I can not wait to see what my thirties have in store for me!
I actually did this tag last year and it is interesting to see how my answers have changed. I am currently in Montreal celebrating, so I apologize if it takes me awhile to respond to the comments. I appreciate you all so much!
BIRTHDAY CAKE – a book with a plot that seems cliche but you adore it anyway
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
What makes Waiting for Tom Hanks so great is that it is full of cliches and tropes, and it knows it! That is the whole point of this book and it makes it so fun to read. You go in to it knowing that it can not be taken too seriously. It is just light-hearted and romantic and full of pop culture references that are delightful.
PARTY GUESTS – your most anticipated book release this year
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
I was lucky enough to have received an eARC of The Nickel Boys, so I have already read it. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my shelves. It is so heartbreaking, which is just confounded by the fact that it is based on a true story. It is beautiful written as well, and I would expect nothing less from Colson Whitehead. He is brilliant! It comes out July 16th.
BIRTHDAY PRESENTS – a book that surprised you with how much you loved it
My Sister, the Serial Killer
I do not think I would have read My Sister, the Serial Killer if it had not been longlisted for the Women’s Prize, and that would have been such a shame. Thrillers are the genre that I normally gravitate towards so I didn’t have high hopes for this one. It totally caught be off guard and was more literary than I was expected. It is not your tradition mystery/thriller and I loved it for that reason!
THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG – a book that certainly deserved all the hype it got
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book has been absolutely everywhere and everyone is talking about it, for good reason! I am normally wary about really hyped books, but I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo so I knew I needed to pick up Jenkins latest work. It was such a unique reading experience and I loved every single second of it.
HAPPY MUSIC – a book with some very beautiful and truly memorable quotes
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
I have noticed this trend where short story collections often have really fantastic quotes, and this is particularly true for Her Body and Other Parties. I will let the following quotes speak for themselves:
“Many people live and die without ever confronting themselves in the darkness.”
“I took a step toward her. ‘It is my right to reside in my own mind. It is my right,’ I said.”
“I understood that knowledge was a dwarfing, obliterating, all-consuming thing, and to have it was to both be grateful and to suffer greatly.”
GETTING OLDER – a book that you read a long time ago, but you think that you would appreciate it more if you read it as a more mature reader
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I will have to repeat my answer from last year! I read Frankenstein in high school for a philosophy class. I really hated that course and was not a fan of the teacher and I wonder if that hinder my enjoyment of the story. I remember being completely bored by it but now I wonder if I would appreciate the nuances more now than I did fifteen years ago.
SWEET BIRTHDAY MEMORIES – a book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
This is probably the book that I have read the most. It is the one that I turn to when I need something that will lift me up. I take something different away from it every time that I read it.
Happy Birthday and many happy returns of the day!
Thank you!
Happy Birthday! – And welcome to the 30s! 😀 A trip to Montreal sounds like the BEST way to celebrate! (Please go to L’Avenue for me!)
Thank you! L’Avenue looks amazing. Going to try and make it there!
Happy birthday! So many people told me your 30s are going to be much better than your 20s and it’s kinda seemed true so far. I think it’s when you can finally start applying all those hard-learned 20s lessons 🙂 Enjoy Montreal and wish you the happiest start to your next decade!
Thank you! I think that that is probably true. Looking forward to my 30s.
Happy birthday ! I hope you’re celebrating well in Montreal and have the best fun !
Thank you. Montreal is amazing so far!
Happy birthday!
Thank you!
Happy birthday
Thank you!
Happy birthday to you!❣️🎉
Thank you!
Have a great birthday AND year!
Thank you!!
Happy happy birthday!! Hope you have a great day and a wonderful year!!
Thank you, Keri!
Happy birthday and wonderful post! I love Montreal! I’m only a 2 hour drive from it so my friends and I want to visit more this summer 😍 i hope you have a fantastic day!!
Thank you! Montreal is so beautiful and there is so much to do!
It is!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Thank you!
Happy birthday! I hope your 30s are fantastic!
Thank you so much!
Happy birthday! 😊 I’m totally with you on My Sister the Serial Killer! It was such a pleasant surprise.
I read Frankenstein when I was like 15 and took very little from it, but then I revisited it a couple of years ago and it became my of my favourite books! Hopefully you’ll have the same experience if you decide to give it another shot 😊
Thanks!
I have a feeling I will have the same experience with Frankenstein. There is probably so much more depth to it than I realized back then!
Happy Birthday!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day 💕
Thank you so much!
Happy birthday!
Thank you!
Happy happy birthday! Welcome to the 30’s, it’s actually quite fun 😉
Thank you! I’m looking forward to it!
Happy Birthday!!
Thank you!
Happy birthday!! 🎂
Thank you!
Happy 30th!!! 🎈🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉🎈🎉
Thank you!!
Happy Birthday and have a great day celebrating! <3
Thank you! 😊
Happy Birthday Kristin!!! Your posts are always so refreshing and make me add so much to my TBR🙈 I will deff read Waiting for Tom Hanks now. It sounds perfect for a summer beach read! Hope you have a nice birthday! 🎁
Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear. I love adding books to your TBR!
Happy Birthday! I’m sure its going to be an amazing decade 🙂
Thank you! I hope so! 😊
Happy birthday!!
Thank you!!
You’re welcome!!
Happy Birthday!! 🙂
Thank you!
Happy Birthday!! Hope you have a great time celebrating it!
Thank you! I really did!
Happy birthday!
Thank you!
Happy Birthday! I hope your 30s are even better than your 20s 🎉!! Also, you’ve gifted us with all these solid book recs, but shouldn’t it be the other way around??
The Five People You Meet in Heaven sounds exactly like the type of book I need right now. It’s a book I always imagine put-together adults read, so maybe I should follow your example 😁.
Thank you, Belle!
Haha I really think you will love The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It’s charming and makes you reflect on life. Such a special book!
Happiest of birthdays to you!
Thank you!
Happy birthday 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you!
You’re welcome 💜
Happy Birthday, and great answers to a fun tag!
Thank you!
Happy birthday! I hope you had a great day!😊
Thank you! I really did!
Happy Birthday! I hope you’re having a fabulous time celebrating in Montreal! 😀
Thank you! I really am. It’s such a great city!
Glad to here it! And it totally is… one day I need to go back! 🙂
Happy Birthday!🙂
Thank you!
Happy belated Birthday! Welcome to the 30s club ^_^ It really doesn’t feel all that different from the 20s, maybe just a lot more adulting? Haha
Thank you! Inside I still feel like I’m 20 just with more adulting for sure.
I still feel that adulting is like soup and I’m a fork! 🤦🏻♀️ Haha
Haha that is a great analogy!
Belated happy birthday!! Really agree about Daisy Jones!
Thank you!
Happy (belated) birthday! I hope it’ll be a great year ahead. 🙂 And as always, you’ve complied an excellent list of books. I’ve read four of these and would have categorized them just the same. I’ll have to check out The Nickel Boys!
Thank you! The Nickel Boys is a tough read but wow it’s amazing.
I hope you had a lovely birthday (:
I really need to read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books! Oddly when I had to study Frankenstein at school we only had to read one chapter and the teacher just put the movie on for the rest /: so I should probably try to read it for real sometime.
I did! Thank you! What a strange way to teach Frankenstein. We watched the movie as well and I have distinct memories of it. Would be interesting to read it and then watch the movie again!
That’s good to hear (: I agree, especially as it was for English. I think we only had to analyze one particular bit for coursework so the teacher decided it would just be easier for us to get the rest of the background information from the film? Yes that’s true, although I’d have to try and figure out which film version it was. I do want to try and read it sometime but there’s so many recent releases that I want to read that I find it all too easy to put picking up classics off :L
Belated happy birthday! 😊
Thank you! 🙂
Happy Belated Birthday! May your smiles turned into laughter and laughter turned into wonderful memories!
That is so sweet. Thank you!
Happy belated birthday. May you spend successful, good and happy life.
That’s really nice. Thank you!
Happy Birthday! I love the eclectic mix of stories.
Thank you!
Happy 30th birthday!
Thank you!
Happy birthday! Hope you had a great day and wishing you a beautiful year ahead
Thank you so much. I really did!
Happy birthday. Ider hope your celebration in Montreal was wonderful. Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey sounds funny. I will try to check it out.
Thank you! I really did!
Waiting for Tom Hanks is so refreshing. So light and fun!