Literary Book Gifts - Gifts for your bookie friends and family members!

Literary Book Gifts

Peter Pan

So there is a wonderful site that might be little known to some of you classic book lovers.  It is called Literary Book Gifts.  Run by a fellow Canadian in Toronto, I had a chance to ask her a bit about her business. 

Melissa launched her site a few months ago to offer book lovers gorgeous t-shirts and totes.  Here's a bit of our convo - 

Could you tell me more about yourself?My name is Melissa Chan, I have a background in design and I love reading and art history.

Where is your store located? Are you in Canada, the USA? Elsewhere?I am currently located in the beautiful city of Toronto, Ontario. However I work with a couple of great print shops that ship from the USA.

Some of our readers are from outside of North America. Do you ship internationally? 
Yes I do ship internationally. For Canada it is about a couple of weeks, while the UK and beyond could be a few weeks to a month.

How did you get started?I got started by just playing around with a few design programs really, then I had to the idea to put some of the designs out there for the world to see.

What inspires you to create something?I am inspired by the stories, characters, and the feeling of each novel. The overall cohesivness in the collection is based largely on my great love and appreciation of art history, mainly impressionism, but am am inspired by many other pieces of artwork from over the years.

Do you use your own artwork?I do all the design work myself, some of the artwork is sourced from very old book covers and I clean it up, remaster it, alter it, and get it ready for printing. Other artwork is sourced out of very old illustrations which requires a similar process, sometimes matching it with typography, choose colors etc. Every design is very different really!

What is your favorite title? 
My favorite books are Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, but as for contemporary novels I love the Harry Potter series! I am currently reading Wise Blood by Flannery O' Connor, have you read it? I think it is amazing.

Here are some of my favorite items - 

Emily Dickinson

Typewriter

The Velveteen Rabbit

I know it isn't even the end of September yet (almost but not quite) but if you are looking for a great gift for a friend, spouse or family member, you should check out Melissa's site.  The graphics are classic, clean and very cool.  Not to mention t-shirts start at $28 and tote bags start at $24 (USD). WAIT! It gets better....Melissa has been kind enough to offer readers a coupon code of 20% off to all of my readers.  You can use the code as many times as you want and it NEVER EXPIRES. Use PBACKPRINCESSES20 at the checkout.  Shipping is flat rate $5 or $10 (depending on where you are) for as much or as little as you order.  And hey, if you do order something, let me know what you got! :)

Republic of Plato

Stacking the Shelves - Ghosts of the Shadow Market

Stacking the Shelves allows us to share the books we have added to our collections - physical, virtual, borrowed, bought or received

Summary (by Goodreads)

Celine Montclaire goes to the Shadow Market to escape. She would go anywhere in Paris, or the entire world, to escape the suffering she experiences at the hands of her family. She did not expect to meet Valentine Morgenstern there, or to have him promise her freedom and the heart of the man she secretly loves. On one condition, of course. At the Shadow Market, nothing is for free.

One of the things that I love about the Mortal Instruments series is that it is so vast.  And it spans across generations. We see the Infernal Devices series which dates back in time and then current day families, events and relationships.  How Cassandra Clare has interwoven the Shadowhunter families is fascinating and I think it is one of the key components to keeping her world diverse and interesting.  Each family acts as its own web with its own story and the threads that make up this web are the relationships and complexities that tie to another person or family. Ghosts of the Shadow Market helps to bridge the gap and of course open new story possibilities to understand characters we have seen little of  throughout the books.  It is a great addition if you have read the full series but would be hard to understand if you are JUST beginning to read about the Shadowhunters.  I have been reading them for the past week or so (yes, I need to do reviews) and I LOVE these background stories and histories.  

**spoiler alert**

Celine's history with Stephen Herondale is of particular interest because it relates to a very KEY character in the Mortal Instruments series.   See how I did that? I gave you a hint WITHOUT revealing everything. 

If you have read the entire Mortal Instruments series (and maybe even Infernal Devices), I would highly recommend diving into Ghosts of the Shadow Market.  There are 10 stories in all and they seem to be released one each month since April 2018...which makes sense because it all leads up to the final installment of  The Dark Artifices.

- Christinabean

Waiting on Wednesday - Wildcard by Marie Lu

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,  that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating or books that are in our TBR pile.  This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is

Summary (by Goodreads)

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

A few weeks ago, Warcross was still on my TBR list but now I'm itching to read book #2 in the series!  Definitely a series if you read (or watched) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  I already have this one on pre-order! 

- Christinabean

Waiting on Wednesday - Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,  that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating or books that are in our TBR pile.  This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is

Summary (By Goodreads)

Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Gah!!!  How do I only have Book #2 started and not finished yet??  So many great reads this fall!

- Christinabean

Waiting on Wednesday - Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,  that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating or books that are in our TBR pile.  This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is

Summary (By Goodreads)

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

I know! I know! This title doesn't come out until October 23rd but I am SO EXCITED that it is! It is like waiting for the last book in the Harry Potter series...where everything comes together.  I am sad to see it end but I am so freaking excited to read what happens as well!  So excited in fact that I am tempted to read them from the beginning...can it be done in time? (I've already started re-reading the entire Infernal Devices/Mortal Instruments/Dark Artifices series).

- Christinabean

Stacking the Shelves - Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson

Stacking the Shelves allows us to share the books we have added to our collections - physical, virtual, borrowed, bought or received

Summary (by Goodreads)

A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty's resentment and anger.

At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions.

I know I just recently wrote about this title coming out but I actually received it this past weekend from my library!  I am not super keen on the cover but I REALLY enjoyed Mary's last series - The Remnant Chronicles so I have high expectations.  Too much reading...too little time!

- Christinabean

Waiting on Wednesday - Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,  that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating or books that are in our TBR pile.  This week’s “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is

Summary (by Goodreads)

A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty's resentment and anger.

At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions. 

Don't let the mundane cover fool you.  Mary E Pearson is a stellar author.  Her last series, the Remmant Chronicles kept me up late at night.  Reading that is. And crying and smiling and well, it was awesome.  I read that series so quickly that all the books blurred into one and I will need to re-read them to do a review on each individually.  Never fear though.  Half of them are on audio.  :)  So back to Dance of Thieves...I am actually late on this one. It was released last week.  Get on over to your neighborhood bookstore and buy it.  I have a feeling it will be another epic tale.

- Christinabean