It’s your favorite geek, back from the dead! It has been an absolutely wild last couple of months but I am back and promise to be better than ever (I’ll be posting an update / Where the heck have I been post this weekend). I’m also breaking out of my hiatus to announce the next round of Tome Topple! Round 17 begins this Friday, December 9th (aka TOMORROW) at midnight in your timezone and goes until midnight on December 22nd!
As a quick reminder for those of you who are new to Tome Topple, or might just need a refresher from our last round in April, Tome Topple is a 2 week read-a-thon where the main objective is to read BIG BOOKS (over 500 pages)… that’s it! We’ll be hosting reading sprints on Twitter and potentially Discord this time around plus there will be Instagram and TikTok challenges too! Now, you’re probably thinking “How can I participate!?” Well, it’s easy – just grab your “thicc” books and start reading! Make sure to tag me, and the other co-hosts, so we can chat about your books and use #TomeTopple so we can find you!
Tome Topple Round 17 Reading Prompts
Speaking of cohosts, I’m going to quickly introduce all of the great people that make this read-a-thon a reality! Most are familiar faces but we did add a new member to our crew this time around!
Now for the fun part, my TBR! I’m not going to lie, this has been not a great reading year for me. I got extremely behind in my GoodReads goal and have spent the better part of the last 2.5 months trying to catch up (which I’ve almost done and was part of the reason I have been MIA)! Anyway, I’ve decided to finally start The Last Hours trilogy and my first book will be Chain of Golf by Cassandra Clare. If I manage to finish Chain of Gold, and meet my GoodReads goal, I think I am going to start IT by Stephen King (which I know I’ll have no chance of finishing this year). IT has been on my TBR for years and years but weighing in at nearly 1,200 pages, I just keep putting it off. I think now is finally the time to give it a shot!
So what will you be reading for this round? Have you read either of my books? Have thoughts to share? Let me know in the comments! Be sure to follow me, @ItsMrGeekToYou, and Tome Topple, @Tome_Topple, to join in all the fun!
Today I am coming at you with a VERY special post… and probably one of my favorite posts I’ll ever write! I’ve been working with Flatiron Books for the last year and was offered an ARC of Margarita Montimore’s new book, Acts of Violet. I quite literally jumped at the opportunity to get my hands on this release early. For those of you who don’t know, I adored her last book, Oona Out Of Order, and named it one of my favorite books of 2020. It’s a captivating tale of Oona Lockhart who begins to live her life, one year at a time, out of order. On each birthday, she randomly jumps to a new age, going from 36 to 25 to 68 and so on. The only memories she has are those that she lived through and it left to fill in the gaps as so goes. It’s charming, filled with heart and so much personality – it’s impossible to not fall in love with the characters! Montimore is back with a new release, Acts of Violet, about a famous magician who performs the greatest trick of all time, making herself disappear.
I had the chance to chat with the lovely Margarita Montimore about her life, her books and everything in between! Without further ado, onto the interview!
Mr Geek: Margarita, thank you SO much for sitting down to chat with me – I’m excited to feature you on my blog! I can’t wait to talk to you about Oona and Acts of Violet but first, let’s start off with these crazy last 2 years. The pandemic was a life-changing event for all of us. What did you do to help keep yourself occupied and sane during the lockdown?
Montimore: I took the dog on lots of hikes, hung out with my husband, watched a ton of TV and listened to many podcasts, crocheted, played video games, and kept in touch with friends via phone and occasional video chats. Reading was a challenge during that time, but I still made an effort to get lost in books as much as possible. But what helped keep me busy and sane most of all was researching and writing a new novel, one about a famous magician…
Mr Geek: I also had a bit of a hard time reading during the pandemic, it really was an ebb and flow. There were times I barely read and others that I couldn’t stop! I’m excited to talk more about your new novel, Acts of Violet, and this famous magician but let’s chit-chat a little longer, shall we? You mentioned watching a lot of TV during the pandemic, any TV show or movie recommendations?
Montimore: Movie-wise, I recently saw Everything Everywhere All At Once and was utterly blown away—it’s the best movie I’ve seen in at least a decade. I don’t think I’ve been affected this deeply by a film since I first saw Amelie. As for TV, Severance is hands down the best show I’ve seen all year. I’m also a big fan of Euphoria and Succession, and rewatching The OA, one of my all-time faves, always inspires me. And I have to have occasional Dateline binges from time to time – for me, that’s the true crime gold standard, and Keith Morrison’s fabulous narration is unlike anything else.
Mr Geek: A friend of mine wanted to see Everything Everywhere All At Once and we couldn’t find it in a local theater. I also actually just started Euphoria, I’m only a couple episodes in so far but Zendaya is quite the actress!
Montimore: Isn’t she incredible? My husband and I have a running bet of who we think will win an Oscar first, her or Julia Garner – they’re both phenomenal actresses, but I think Zendaya has the edge, only because she’s been doing more film work.
Mr Geek: Ironically enough, a friend of mine just recommended I started Severance this past weekend – that has officially been added to my to-watch list as well! Speaking of the big and small screen, I love when books are adapted into either TV shows or movies. Would you ever want to see that for Oona Out Of Order or Acts Of Violet?
Montimore: I would love to see it adapted for television, and fortunately Amazon Studios is in the midst of doing just that. It’s been fascinating getting a peek into the development process and to interact with talented people who have brought high quality projects to the screen.
Mr Geek: This is INCREDIBLE news! I will absolutely be keeping my eyes peeled for more release details and will most likely be bingeing the entire season the weekend it comes out! Staying on the theme of your books, I’ll never forget the day I walked into Barnes & Noble and saw it sitting on the shelf – the cover immediately caught my attention and as soon as I read the synopsis, I was sold. I absolutely adored that book and it was one of my favorite reads of 2020!
Montimore: Thank you, that means a lot to me.
Mr Geek: I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true! Oona is filled with so many anecdotes, life lessons and meaningful quotes. One of my personal favorites was “All good things end, always. The trick is to enjoy them while they last.” Talk to me a little bit about what this quote means to you.
Montimore: The biggest lesson I learned while writing Oona was the importance of living in the moment. I’m a very nostalgic person, so it’s easy for me to slip into memories of the past, or to become preoccupied in planning for the future, but I’ve been making a more concerted effort to be present and appreciate each day for what it is. It’s such a simple thing, but it makes a significant positive impact on my sense of well-being.
Mr Geek: Hearing your explanation of that quote makes me love it even more – probably because I also tend to be a bit on the nostalgic side! It’s so easy to get wrapped up in past, or even the future, that you lose sight of what’s happening right in front of you. The present is where the magic happens and magic is the perfect segue for us to start discussing Acts Of Violet! I just finished reading Acts Of Violet and I absolutely loved it! Acts of Violet is your upcoming release about the Volkov sisters, Sasha and Violet. Violet is a famous magician who disappears during one of her stage performances and is never seen from again while Sasha is left behind to pick up the pieces. The characters were fun, well developed and relatable. Would you say that you’re more like Sasha or Violet?
Montimore: I think there’s a part of myself in every character I write, but I also strive to make sure my characters don’t resemble me too closely, so that they can develop in interesting ways. The quality in Violet I relate to most is her desire to inspire and uplift people through her creative work. I also share Violet’s embrace of synchronicities and penchant for magical thinking. When I was growing up, I did dream about having a big glamorous life like Violet’s, but now such an existence strikes me as exhausting and lonely. Which makes me lean more toward Sasha in some ways. I can relate to her devotion to her husband and child—though in my case, it’s husband and dog—and her contentment at living a low-key suburban life.
Mr Geek: I love that you incorporate bits and pieces of yourself into your characters but also give them room to be their own unique individuals! Plus, this give your readers a chance to also see themselves reflected back in the characters too – what an awesome approach! I’ve always loved reading from multiple perspectives and Acts Of Violet is told using several different writing formats: Podcast Interviews, Newspaper / Magazine Articles, Emails and Hand-Written Letters in addition to your classic chapter format. This was such an interesting mechanic and each format had a unique voice. What made you want to tell Violet’s story this way?
Montimore: Violet was always going to be this intriguing, unknowable persona, where the only way you could get a sense of who she was would be by collecting all these different accounts from people who knew her, whether in a personal or professional capacity. Plus, after listening to tons of podcasts, I thought that specific format would lend itself well to unfolding parts of the mystery, of who she was and what may have happened to her. Personally, I love stories that use a variety of narrative techniques, which offer a way to show multiple perspectives while creating an immersive reading experience. I hoped writing Acts of Violet would offer readers the same sort of experience. At the same time, I wanted to include narrative chapters from Sasha’s point of view to give the story more cohesion and reflect her more grounded character.
Mr Geek: To be honest, I had a tough time picking out which style I liked the best! I loved Sasha’s chapters, hearing what was happening in present day and how everything was unfolding but I also really liked the Podcast chapters which helped build out Violet’s backstory! Your writing flowed so effortlessly and I want to talk a little more about the multiple writing formats for another minute. Each style was used to convey a very specific part of the story – how did you go about plotting out when to use each writing style? Did you have to go back and rearrange those different parts to help the story flow?
Montimore: My plotting happens more instinctually, so while Sasha’s chapters flowed, for the most part, chronologically, I wrote some of the other media elements as they came to me. There was definitely some rearranging of articles and podcast episodes. I even had a giant “crazy wall” in my office to inspire me and help me keep track of the different sections and timelines as I went along. Here’s a peek at part of it!
Mr Geek: This vision board is INCREDIBLE! Having read the book, I can see several elements that you had mapped out and included in Acts Of Violets. It’s really awesome to see things all come together the way they did! The picture towards the bottom, Vanish, actually inspired my next question. Oona Out Of Order and Acts Of Violet are very different and unique stories that both include a little sci-fi magic! How would you say these books are similar and how would you say they are different?
Montimore: Great question! I do like to play around with magical/surreal elements in my stories. I would say with Oona Out of Order, you know pretty much from the start that the story contains time travel, whereas with Acts of Violet, there’s more ambiguity about the strange forces at play. Both books are similar in that they feature protagonists dealing with loss and complicated family dynamics. They’re also similar in that they ask the reader to accept a world that is a bit off-kilter without reason—the cause for Oona’s time travel “sickness” is intentionally undisclosed and some of the magic in Acts of Violet remains shrouded in mystery, also intentionally. While I like to provide a satisfying overall story experience, I think it’s important to leave some question marks hanging for the readers to puzzle out. I like to think that helps keep the story and characters alive in their minds, wondering about certain aspects instead of knowing everything conclusively.
Mr Geek: I think that’s what I love the most about your stories – you are able to seamlessly incorporate these magical moments into mundane, everyday life! It really makes me look for the spark in my day to day! Margarita, thank you SO much for taking the time to hang out and chat with me! Any parting words for my readers?
Montimore: Thank you for having me! I wrote Acts of Violet during lockdown, and it helped bring a little more magic into my life. I hope it has the same effect on readers.
This was such an incredible experience for me and I hope you also enjoyed reading along! Margarita is such an awesome person and I’d like to thank her again for taking the time to do this interview. Her new book, Acts of Violet, is available for preorder and will be released on July 5, 2022 everywhere books are sold (like here). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it definitely added a little magic to my life!
It’s hard to believe that today is the last round of Tome Topple! I’ll be hosting some reading sprints this evening (they probably just kicked off actually). I’ve had an insanely busy week but I’m almost done with King of Scars and BOY WAS THIS GOOD!! I’ll definitely be reading Rule Of Wolves over the summer to see how this all wraps up. Since we’re wrapping up Tome Topple, I thought it was only appropriate for my last interview to be with Sam from Thoughts On Tomes (the creator of Tome Topple)!
Mr Geek: Hey Sam! Thanks so much for sitting down to chat with me – let’s start off with the basics. Introduce yourself to my readers. What do you like to do other than reading? Have any fun hobbies? What do you do as your day job?
Sam: Hello! I’ve collected so many hobbies over the years in addition to reading. I love taking care of and collecting houseplants, witchy things like tarot, astrology, collecting insects, etc, video games… I also stream on twitch, board games, powerlifting, and hiking. I’m also about to take up roller skating! My day job is a psychotherapist.
Mr Geek: Wow, love how eclectic your hobbies are! I’m also a big video game person but don’t stream on Twitch, maybe I should look into that! Speaking of streaming, let’s talk YouTube for a minute. You’re Thoughts On Tomes on all of your social media accounts. What inspired this name? Have you always been a fan of big books? Also, while we’re on the topic of tomes, we’re prepping for Round 16 of Tome Topple. What inspired this read-a-thon and why did you originally create it?
Sam: When I first wanted to make a Booktube channel years ago, I really struggled with wanting to find the perfect name. There were so many channels with books in the title that I wanted to do something a bit different. I never really paid attention to book length when I was younger but I will admit that bigger books did intimidate me when I got back into reading. That’s what inspired Tome Topple. I wanted some motivation to read bigger books but so many read-a-thons were geared around reading as many books as possible so it tended to be about smaller books. I wanted to have a longer readathon and encourage reading those bigger titles we get intimidated by without the FOMO of seeing others reading way more because they are reading smaller books.
Mr Geek: I love that. I definitely still get intimidated by longer books, mostly because when I was younger, I would alway try to tackle longer books and it wasn’t a great experience. Not sure if I read meh books back then or what but I always lost interest and they tended to drag. I’m also really bad about binge reading series in a row but that’s a topic for another day! Tome Topple has definitely been a great way for me to start reading longer books and has definitely taken away some of the intimidation. I actually read Queen of Air and Darkness a couple rounds ago – that sucker was over 900 pages and I managed to finish it during the Tome Topple round! The Dark Artifices series was one of my favorites, I absolutely loved it. What’s your favorite genre of books?
Sam: Definitely Fantasy. It’s my favorite genre, I’m never bored, and most of my favorite books are in it.
Mr Geek: I’m also a HUGE Fantasy fan. Definitely one of my favorite genres, right up there with Thrillers and YA. I love being swept away into a fictional world. Especially after the last couple of years, it’s nice to escape for awhile! What were some of your favorite books from last year? Read any good Fantasy?
Sam: Ohh 2021 was a rough reading year for me. I read a lot of blah books that I didn’t feel strongly either way about because my brain couldn’t handle much else. Favorite was probably Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Really looking forward to that sequel. Least favorite… Lore by Alexandra Bracken or possibly Dune.
Mr Geek: Ugh, I feel you on that one. I did NOT have a great reading year in 2021 either. I read many not great books too. I did read Legendborn and loved it – definitely excited for the sequel as well! It was such an interesting blend of Aurthurian and magic, very unique! I have both Lore and Dune on my TBR, so that doesn’t bode well for them. We’ll have to chat again after I finish them to compare notes. I have heard Dune is a “you’ll love it or you’ll hate it” kind of book. I guess only time will tell for me! Our time is winding down so one final question for you. Do you have any unique ways that you celebrate your love of books?
Sam: I’m currently working on a tattoo sleeve that represents elements of all of my favorite books. It’s a piece I hope to continue adding to for the rest of my life. So far I already have a tattoo inspired by the Night Circus and I’ll be adding the Starless Sea and Uprooted this month. I also have plans for designs for the Witchlands series and trying to think of some ideas for representing some other favorite series like The Daevabad trilogy.
Mr Geek: I don’t have any tattoos, not a fan of needles, but this is such a great idea! I’ve seen a couple of the finished tattoos on your Instagram and they are turning out great so far! Such a cool idea and it’s awesome that you’re planning to continue adding to this for the rest of your life. Thanks for stopping by and chatting, Sam!
That concludes both my Co-Host interview series and we’re going to be winding down Tome Topple here in the next few hours! Now’s the time to finish those books before the clock strikes midnight!
I’m back again with another co-host interview and today I’m chatting with Gaia from Lalettricesegreta on Instagram! Gaia is our main Instagram user and creates some incredible stories/posts. If you aren’t following her, you should absolutely change that! Now let’s get chatting!
Mr Geek: Hi Gaia, thanks so much for chatting with me for my blog. Let’s kick things off with you introducing yourself to my readers. What are a few things you enjoy doing outside of reading? Do you have any fun hobbies? What do you do as your day job?
Gaia: I have to admit that I’m a “late” reader. I discovered my love for books during senior year of high school. It took me almost three years to start sharing online, opening my blog and then my Instagram account. Before that, music was my soul and heart… and it still is today. I’ve took singing lessons for years! Can’t pass a day without singing or listening to Broadway show recordings! When I have to be serious — yup, sometimes it happens — I’m a psychology student at the University of Bari (Italy).
Mr Geek: I had no idea you were into music and theater! I actually grew up going to the theater once every summer. My Mum and Grandma would buy season tickets to 3 shows playing in the city and they would always buy me a single ticket to join them for a show. It was always a really fun, enjoyable experience and I definitely appreciate the arts more now as an adult because of it. And since we’re talking about art, I love your Instagram stories and posts! You’re @Lalettricesegreta on Instagram. What inspired this name? How did you first get started on Bookstagram?
Gaia: My nickname, La Lettrice Segreta, means literally THE SECRET READER. That’s exactly what I was at the beginning of my voyage through books. I didn’t have friends, at the time, that shared my passion – except for a group of online readers I met at some fantasy-related forums.
When I opened my blog, I decided to name it “The secret worlds of books” (translated in Italian “Le Parole Segrete dei Libri”). I had this idea of whispered emotions and words shared between just me and my books. It felt so poetic — it was the right choice. My nickname came along very naturally from that.
Then starting my Instagram was one of the best choices I ever made. I love photography, especially if it’s surreal and photoshopped – it’s so fun to create! The possibility of talking about books and taking pictures at the same time was just perfect for me!
Mr Geek: Love how your book related accounts are able to also incorporate some of your other passions – that’s awesome! You’re Instagram posts all have a sense of fantasy and whimsy about them, so you’re really staying true there! Since you’re our resident Instagram expert here at Tome Topple, when did you first get involved in the read-a-thon?
Gaia: I met Sam on Instagram during ROUND 9 of Tome Topple a couple of years ago. I remember tagging her in my stories with some reading templates I had created for myself — as I just said, I’m a graphical edits and photography nerd! She saw them and we talked a little bit. Some weeks later she asked me if I wanted to be the instagram host of the readathon. Of course I said YAAAAAS!!!
Mr Geek: It’s awesome how you just randomly connected with Sam on Instagram, very similar to how I got involved. I participated in Tome Topple for a couple of rounds and then reached out on Twitter to see if she could use another co-host. She said sure and the rest is history! As we are on the tail end of Tome Topple, if you could only pick one genre to read for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Gaia: This is SO hard. My heart right now is *painfully* divided between fantasy+scifi. Yup, obviously cheating and putting them together as branches of the same ginormous tree or literary fiction. I know I’m proving myself a 100% Libra with these awful decision making skills…. Oh well, I can’t choose! May the odds be ever in my favor!
Mr Geek: Well… I guess I can let this combo slide! I definitely consider Fantasy and Sci Fi as part of the same tree. Did you read any great Fantasy or Sci Fi books recently? What were some of your favorites from 2021?
Gaia: 2021 was a great reading year. Just to name a few of my favorites, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Not a bad book, but one I was expecting a little bit more from and then didn’t blow me away as I hoped, was A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler. Good book, but not life-changing for me.
Mr Geek: I read The Handmaid’s Tale back in college and really enjoyed it. Definitely a crazy book that really makes you think. I also own, but haven’t read, The Secret History. I’ve heard great things about this one, I’ll have to get to it soon! Have you ever considered writing your own book?
Gaia: Oh well, that is a BIG dream of mine! Right now I’m concentrated on my studies, both at university and outside, reading fiction and non-fiction, especially about creative writing. Fingers crossed!
Mr Geek: Well, if you ever write that book, I am expecting an ARC! The good news is, you have already have a bunch of bookish Tome Topple friends who are waiting to hype this up for you! Were there any particular books that inspired you to want to write your own novel or that had a big impact on you growing up?
Gaia: Yes! I would not be here talking to you if it wasn’t for The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. This was THE book that made me realize I could love books more than anything! I’m a book addict, a bookstagrammer, even a Tome Topple host because of it – well… it’s a thousand page book… a forerunner indeed! Then Little Women came, and it was the first time I saw myself perfectly portrait by a fictional character. Jo March is very close to my heart today, just like when I first read this book!
Mr Geek: Gaia, we’re winding down our interview but for my last question. You speak Italian as your native language but your English is outstanding. Do you know any other languages?
Gaia: Yes, Italian is my native language and I started learning English in kindergarten. I do my best to talk, read and listen in English as much as I can every week – thank goodness we have books, movies, audiobooks and TV shows! I studied Spanish during middle school, but can’t remember a single thing now that I’m 28. It has been too many years since, but I would love to study it all over again – it’s such a musical and fun language!
Mr Geek: This was such an interesting conversation and I definitely learned a lot more about you, as did our Tome Topple readers! Thank you so much for stopping by and chatting, Gaia!
There you have it – Gaia from Lalettricesegreta on Instagram! Hopefully you know a little more about Gaia and, like I said, if you aren’t following her on Instagram be sure to do that! Tomorrow is the last day for Tome Topple and I’ll be featuring my final interview – Sam from Thoughts On Tomes, the original creator of Tome Topple (talk about a great way to close things out)!
Tome Topple is officially into Week 2 and the finish line is in sight! I’m making excellent progress on King of Scars and am really, really loving it! Today’s interview is with Tori from Tori Morrow over on YouTube! Let’s get started and chat with Tori!
Mr Geek: Hi Tori! Thanks for taking the time to chat! To kick things off, why don’t you introduce yourself to my readers. What are a few things you enjoy doing outside of reading? Have any fun hobbies? What do you do as your day job?
Tori: Hey, Tome Topplers! My biggest hobby outside of reading is definitely playing video games. I’m big into open-world RPGs, action, and games with strong narratives. Some of my all-time favorites include: Fallout 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, Control, Uncharted, and Bioshock. A hobby that I’ve started recently and have surprisingly been loving is hiking. It’s one of the few forms of exercise I’ve found I actually enjoy, but it’s also been amazing for my mental health in a way I couldn’t have imagined. The Chicagoland area has so many beautiful hiking trails and parks, and it’s been great exploring more of them and spending hours in nature.
By day, I work in non-profit recruitment in a senior project management role. By night, I’m a writer (currently struggling to clean up a terrible draft of my novel) and freelance short story editor.
Mr Geek: We’ve been co-hosting Tome Topple for awhile and I had no idea you were into video games! Also a big fan of Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted and Bioshock! I also didn’t realize you were writing a book which is very cool and a perfect transition over to BookTube! How long have you been a BookTuber? What inspired you to start your own channel? Have you always loved to read?
Tori: I’ve been on BookTube for 6 years. (No one go back and watch that first upload, please!) I was actually inspired to start my channel as a way to help with my public speaking. I’ve always been better at writing and getting my thoughts down on paper, but verbalizing them was something I struggled with from my pre-teen years into my early twenties. I used to speak faster than it’d take for my thoughts to fully form and would start rambling, so most of the time, I’d be too self-conscious to say anything at all. Talking to a camera, though, especially about books, and explaining what I enjoyed or disliked about something I’d read, really forced me to slow my thoughts down and be intentional with what I wanted to say. It’s been a journey, but the process of creating videos has been an amazing life skill for me and is something I use every day.
Yes, I’ve always loved to read! Growing up, my mom and grandma really cultivated my passion for reading, and books were a staple in our home. Even when we had moments that were a challenge financially, they still made sure I had something to read. They knew how much of an escape books were for me, and I remember they’d let me read for hours, completely uninterrupted, so I’d have time to get lost in a story. My mom also worked nights and was still in school when I was a kid, and I remember her coming home and somehow still making time to read with me. I was incredibly blessed in that way and was able to grow up on books and classic series that I still cherish now. My mom and grandma are definitely the reason why reading is still one of the biggest parts of my life today.
Mr Geek: I LOVE that you stared your channel as a way to help improve your public speaking skills! What an incredible idea. Being a strong presenter is such a great skill to have no matter what profession you’re in! It’s also great to hear that your Mom and Grandma really instilled reading in you at a young age – it is also nice to see that this is something you’ve enjoyed and have carried with you into your adult life! If you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, what would you pick and why?
Tori: Science fiction, without question! Since starting my BookTube channel, I’ve really come into my love for sci-fi, and I’m still amazed by the vastness of the genre, its sub-genres, and how some authors are defying categorization altogether. I’ve always had a fascination with the “what if”, in relation to technology, government, the environment, and even space, and I feel like that question is the foundation for a lot of great science fiction. It’s a genre that I’ve found really encourages big and exciting ideas, whether that’s done through a space opera, a futuristic setting, a dystopian, or even a literary sci-fi that’s a commentary on our modern society. Science fiction has allowed me to reflect on the world and my place in it, in a way that few other genres have been able to do for me. That’s something I’ll never get tired of reading!
Mr Geek: Sci-Fi is a genre that I don’t read very often but I usually enjoy whenever I do! What were some of your favorite and least favorite reads from 2021? Read any good Science Fiction?
Tori: My top ten favorites of last year were:
Jade War (Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee
Ring Shout by P.Djèlí Clark
My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown
Velocity Weapon by Megan O’keefe
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
My least favorite books were:
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Whisper Man by Alex North
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
Mr Geek: Should’ve thought about that question a little more before asking it! Like all of my other interviews, I didn’t think about the impact this question was going to have on my TBR. I’ve read about half of your Top 10 list and a few of those have been on my radar (like My Dark Vanessa) but I wasn’t sure if I should pull the trigger. I think I will! I as neutral on The Whisper Man but I didn’t like North’s most recent release, The Shadows. Very meh, in my opinion. Ok, as we wrap up here, what have been your favorite and least favorite books of this year?
Tori: My favorite read of the year so far is Morning Star (Red Rising #3) by Pierce Brown. My least favorite is Mickey7 by Edward Ashton.
Mr Geek: If this conversation did anything, it firmly convinced me that I NEED to move the Red Rising series up on my TBR and get to that soon! It was great chatting with you Tori – thanks for stopping by!
And that Ladies & Gentlemen, was Tori Morrow from ToriMorrow on YouTube! I think I can confidently say if you like Fantasy or Science Fiction (among other genres), you’re going to love her channel! Be sure to check her out! I’ll be posting my final 2 interviews this week, so keep your eyes peeled!
Continuing on with my Tome Topple co-host interview series, today I’ll be featuring Adri from perpetual pages on YouTube! If this is the first interview you’re reading, I chatted with Sam from Will Read For Booze already and that post can be found here! That’s enough of an intro, let’s jump in and start chatting with Adri!
Mr Geek: Hi Adri, I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. To kick things off, why don’t you introduce yourself to my readers. Tell me a little about yourself – what do you like to do outside of reading? Do you have any fun hobbies? What’s your day job?
Adri from perpetualpages: First off, thank you so much for having me on the blog! For those who don’t know me, I am a queer, trans nonbinary, Mexican-American writer, book reviewer, and YouTuber. I run a BookTube channel called perpetualpages, where I share reviews for books I’m reading, recommendations, book tags, and lots of other fun book-related content! As a reader, my taste is highly eclectic. I read across all genres, age demographics, and mediums. I put a particular focus on reading works from marginalized authors, with a special emphasis on queer lit just because that’s where my experience aligns. Every one of my new uploads comes fully captioned and I include content warnings for every book I review, because I believe access to information is power.
Outside of reading, I love to play video games, take photos, watch movies/tv shows with my family and friends, color, go on long walks, and of course write! I have a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing, and I try to balance my own creative projects—poetry, short stories, fiction manuscripts—with my content creation. For work, I’ve dabbled in a lot of different industries. I’ve done some freelance content creation and writing, I’ve worked in the field of education as a tutor and teaching assistant, and most recently I’ve started working in the postal service industry! I kind of bounce around wherever I’m needed, but I think that just demonstrates a strong range of professional abilities, and I’m super proud of all I’ve done so far.
Mr Geek: I love that your degree in Creative Writing aligns so perfectly with your YouTube channel, current projects and all of the other elements in your life that you mentions. Very cool! Since we’re talking about YouTube, how long have you been a BookTuber? I love the name perpetualpages, what inspired that? How long have you been co-hosting Tome Topple?
Adri from perpetualpages: I started my BookTube channel in late 2013. So when November hits later this year I will have officially been making videos for nine years! It’s kind of surreal to quantify my experience in that way, but I suppose the numbers don’t lie.
I got to the name perpetualpages because I started BookTubing in the early days when alliteration was very much The Thing To Do. After toying around with a lot of different book-related terms, I landed on “pages,” because I felt it was a universal part of the reading experience. Whether you listen to audiobooks, read e-books, or read physical books, the “experience” of reading is often quantified by the page count, and you make progress by working your way through those pages, however they may be presented to you. With that decided, I just needed to find another “p” word and “perpetual” struck something in me because I think it alludes to a feeling of permanence and legacy. So all together, my hope was that “perpetualpages” would signify how the stories that truly matter to us will always stay with us. What’s more, I think it ties into my “branding,” so to speak, because I am very intentional with what I read and how I read, and my mission statement as a content creator and reviewer has always been to help other people connect with the stories they need the most, the stories that will always stay in their hearts.
As far as Tome Topple, I am fortunate enough to say that I have been a co-host since the very first round! Sam reached out to a few different people to help her get this read-a-thon off the ground, and I had such a good time with it that I decided to make myself available any time it rolled around again! I always have so much fun interacting with readers, hosting reading sprints, and of course spending some dedicated time with those bigger books, so it always works out for the best.
Mr Geek: I had no idea that I was speaking with one of the original co-hosts of Tome Topple! That’s awesome that you have been around from the very beginning. It’s hard to believe that is is already the 4th round that I’ve helped co-host, and I’m obviously loving it! Speaking of things you love, if you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, what would you pick and why?
Adri from perpetualpages: As a lover of almost every genre that exists, this question is so painful! But I would probably have to say Fantasy. I think Fantasy itches that part of my brain that longs for a sense of wonder and imagination, and because it isn’t tied down to real-world constraints or logic, the concepts can really challenge a reader’s mind and provide limitless possibilities. Plus, Fantasy also comes with a lot of subgenres that would make me feel like I’m not missing out too much. I could still get those contemporary settings in contemporary fantasy or urban fantasy, I could still enjoy the richness of intimate relationships in fantasy-romance, and the fantasy genre covers everything from children’s books to adult books! The same could be said for many other genres, but as a life-long lover of Fantasy, I think I’d have to stick with it for good.
Mr Geek: I completely agree with you. When I chatted with Sam (2), she also picked Fantasy. There is just something about escaping into a great Fantasy book that I love. You previously mentioned that you’re a videogame player, as am I, and I also love a good Fantasy game. I always choose to be the magic user when I can! Shifting gears a bit, let’s talk about some of favorite, and least favorite, books from 2021!
Adri from perpetualpages: Not gonna lie, I have to go back and reference my bookish stats for this one! As a Libra, having to choose one definitive favorite is my worst nightmare, but I’m going to cheat a little bit and say it’s probably a tie between Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa and The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon. Though they’re very different from each other, both stories are incredibly written and reading them brought me a deep sense of catharsis and recognition that I haven’t experienced before. I’m definitely anticipating both Jonny and H.E.’s next books! I don’t love “putting books down,” because enjoyment of the arts is so incredibly subjective, and what’s a “bad book” for me could absolutely work on every level for someone else. It’s so often a matter of taste and reading experience that’s hard to definitively pinpoint. But just based on ratings alone, one of my lowest rated books of 2021 was Well Played by Jen DeLuca, which I think paled in comparison to the first book in the trilogy.
Mr Geek: I’ve never read either of your favorites, so you just made my TBR a little bit longer! I also don’t usually like hating on books, there is only one book out there that I despise but we can save that for another day! Since our time together is winding down, tell me about a few of your favorite books from past rounds of Tome Topple!
Adri from perpetualpages: Luckily, I can say that I’ve picked some real winners for these past rounds of Tome Topple! I’ve read everything from The Secret History to Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and almost everything you can imagine in-between. Some real standout tomes for me have been Jade City, which set me on a path of utter devastation; Braiding Sweetgrass, which turned out to be one of the most personal and memorable pieces of nonfiction I’ve ever read; Priory of the Orange Tree, which I finished in a week out of sheer force of will; the entire Daevabad trilogy, which I listened to on audio over three different rounds; and Empire of Sand, which turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2021. I’ve had so many memorable reading experiences throughout my years of co-hosting Tome Topple, and I look forward to making many more memories!
Mr Geek: I don’t know Adri, I might have to ban you from future interviews haha – I added 5 new books to my TBR and bumped Priory of the Orange Tree, Jade City and the Daevabad trilogy to the top of the list! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me! Hopefully we can do this again for a future round!
And that concludes my interview with Adri from perpetualpages. If you couldn’t tell from our conversation, Adri is EXTREMELY good at giving book recommendations and their channel is just overflowing with that type of content! Be sure to check them out over on YouTube! Keep an eye on my blog, Twitter (@ItsMrGeekToYou) and the Tome Topple Twitter Account (@Tome_Topple) for my next co-host interview! Keep toppling those tomes!
Tome Topple officially started yesterday and we’re off to a solid start! My first read is going to be King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (and I’m already about 100 page into it)! For this round, I thought it would be fun to do blog posts featuring each of the co-hosts that make this event happen! Over the next 2 weeks, whenever I host reading sprints, I’ll be sharing a blog post highlighting one of my fellow co-hosts! So without further ado, let’s chat with Sam from Will Read For Booze!
Mr Geek: Hey Sam! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me for this blog post! Let’s kick things off withy ou introducing yourself to my readers. What are a few things you enjoy doing outside of reading? Have any fun hobbies? What’s your day job?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): Hey there! I’m Sam from Will Read For Booze. I live in the DC area, am in my early 30s, and work as a consultant (like most people here). I have the cutest cat ever named Nona Grey from the Red Sister series by Mark Lawrence. Other than reading, hobbies include social sports (I play kickball) and Netflix, but my Covid hobby I picked up was doing my own nails. Been loving that.
Mr Geek: I love a good book-inspired pet name! Speaking of things I love – the name of your blog, Will Read For Booze, combines two of my favorite things into one! What inspired the name and what got you into blogging?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): Well… back in 2016, my friends and I attended our first BookCon in Chicago. Little did we know what we would get ourselves in to. We started talking about how we want to get in to BookNet but how to do so without being one of many… we also just so happened to be hammered at the time. So, myself, Ginny, and our other friend Parker started the blog. The name came from us basically starting a google doc and everyone writing ideas and we picked one haha. We’ve picked up a few others along the way, Linz and Minda. A couple of us are on hiatus, but that’s what happens when you’ve got.. you know.. life.
Mr Geek: That’s awesome! It’s great that you’re able to blog with friends… I’m flying solo over here at Treat Yo Shelf. Follow up question, that your favorite kind of booze?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): Fave booze? I don’t really discriminate when it comes to alcohol but wine. Always wine.
Mr Geek: Ahhhh, wine. An excellent choice and I might just go pour a glass after this interview is over! I also don’t discriminate but I am a big wine drinker too. Love a good Sauvignon Blanc! Shifting gears and back into book talk, if you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, what would you pick and why?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): Fantasy, one thousand percent. It’s my escape. You can learn and process so much about your life when you can get rid of a lot of the realities of the day to day. Especially now, the last thing I want is to think about the real world.
Mr Geek: I can completely understand that! This pandemic has not been very enjoyable to live through! I completely agree with you though, I also love fantasy. It’s great being able to escape to a separate world and forget about your day-to-day life for awhile! What were your favorite and least favorite books you read in 2021? Read any good fantasy?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): This is not a fair question but if I had to pick a favorite, The Burning God by R.F. Kuang. The finale just worked and the series was beautiful and tragic all at the same time.
My least favorite? Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin… listen I know these books are well loved but… not by me, and especially not this one. Nothing happened haha!
Mr Geek: There are plenty of books out there that I can’t stand but others adore. That’s what makes you, you! As we wind down, your final question. What was the most boring thing you did during the pandemic?
Sam (Will Read For Booze): The boringest thing I did in Covid, you ask? Why, I’ll tell you. I literally watched paint dry. I moved in to a new place and was painting my bookshelves and just watched it dry so I could do the next coat.
Mr Geek: Haha, I did A LOT of boring things during the pandemic but I can honestly say I’ve never watched paint dry! Sam, thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview, it was great chatting with you!
There you have it ladies and gentlemen, Sam from Will Read For Booze! Hopefully you learned a little something new about Sam. Keep an eye on my blog, Twitter (@ItsMrGeekToYou) and the Tome Topple Twitter Account (@Tome_Topple) for our next co-host interview! Hope everyone is having a great round!
I can’t believe we are almost halfway through April! The weather should be breaking but it has been surprisingly cold and even a little snowy here in Pittsburgh these last few weeks. In non-book related news, I just got back from a trip to Augusta, GA! I was invited to golf at Augusta Country Club last Thursday and then I attended the Masters golf tournament on Friday and Saturday. It was an incredible trip and I am still in disbelief that I was able to go! While the trip was packed with activities, I did get some serious reading done during my flights! So let’s chat about what books I plan to tackle during the month of April!
I originally had a pretty fun idea for my TBR planned but due to Tome Topple and a couple other events I’m participating in this month, I’m going to postpone this one more month and use this idea in May! Instead of having a fully baked plan, I’m sticking with the theme of this year and going a little chaotic. To start, I’m reading Finlay Donovan Is Killing it by Elle Cosimano. This is a funny, light and slightly dark story about an author, and recent divorcee, who gets mistaken as a hired assassin. I’m almost done with this one and I’m really enjoying it – it doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a nice distraction in this crazy world we’re living in. The next book I’d like to wrap up is This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg. I’ve been picking away at this one since last month and am going to be committing to finishing it soon. I was a little slumpy when I first started this one, so I’ve been dragging it out much longer than I meant to!
Once I wrap up these two books, we’re going to be into the start of Tome Topple Round 16! I always set lofty goals for Tome Topple and never follow through with them but I’m going to try to change that this time around! As you might’ve seen in my announcement post, I’m planning to read King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. This is the first book in the Nikolai Duology that takes place after the original Grishaverse trilogy and the Six of Crows Duology. I’m planning to try to knock this one out in week 1 of Tome Topple then move into The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig. The Book of Accidents is a creepy horror title that sounds RIGHT up my alley. I usually save these types of books for October but I got this one for Christmas from my Secret Santa (if you ever read this – Thanks again, Gigi!!) and I’ve been dying to read it ever since! Each of these books check the box for each of the reading prompts I rolled in my announcement post. I’m also going to revisit Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. I started this one back in January and while I enjoyed it, it’s slow pacing threw me off. I’m about 90 pages into that one already, so I’m going to pick that up when I can to try to chip away at it during this round of Tome Topple.
So that’s it! What books are you reading this month and are you planning to participate in Tome Topple? Drop me your books in the comments and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for when I’m hosting reading sprints (and be sure to join in)!
It’s your favorite Geek here to announce the next round of Tome Topple! As the days grow shorter, our books grow longer! I don’t know about all of you, but I’m ready for some cooler temperatures, some nice warm beverages and some quality reading time! I’ve finally managed to shake off the reading slump I’ve been in pretty much all year, right in time for Tome Topple!
It has been awhile since Round 14, so let me give you a quick refresher! Read books that are over 500 pages long… that’s it! Round 15 is going to kick off on October 18th and end on October 31st. We have an awesome group of co-hosts, all returning from last time:
Also returning is our “Bingo Card” that contains all of the reading challenges for this round! This “Bingo Card” is strictly to help everyone participating keep track of which challenges they’ve completed so far! Be sure to follow along on Twitter (@ItsMrGeekToYou & @Tome_Topple) for book talk, reading sprints and motivation! We also have a Discord channel for you to connect with other readers!
Tome Topple Round 15 Bingo Card
My goal for this round is the same one I’ve had for all the previous rounds, and that’s to hit Sage status (eventually, I’ll make this a reality)! So, without further ado, let’s dive into the tomes I’m hoping to topple later this month!
Since it’s October, I’m going with a Spooky TBR all month long. I did a similar setup last year and really enjoyed the theme and thought I’d do it again this year! I’m starting off the month with A Clown In The Cornfield, Tunnel of Bones and We Have Always Lived In The Castle. For Tome Topple, I’m planning to read Empire Of The Vampire by Jay Kristoff and either Middlegame by McGuire or The Outsider by Steven King. I am leaning more towards The Outsider because I’ve been dying to watch the HBO show but committed to reading the book first! I’m open to suggestions – if anyone has strong feelings one way or another, let me know in the comments!
So that’s it! I’m really excited to join you all for some book talk and reading sprints later this month! What are you planning to read for Tome Topple? Let me know in the comments! See you all in a little over a week!
It’s so hard to believe that September is over and we’re into the Fall season! I’m not going to lie, this is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. Unpopular Opinion: I am not a huge fan of Summer – it’s so hot, humid and uncomfortable. I’d take pretty much any other season but especially love the Fall – Pumpkin and Apple flavored things, cooler temperatures and comfortable clothes. Seriously, what is not to love?! I feel like I have FINALLY gotten myself out of the huge reading slump that I’ve spent most of this year in. September was a great reading month for me, so without further ado – let’s get onto the books I read!
First up was Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. I was lucky enough to be included in a Blog Tour helping to promote Stephanie’s new book. I got an ARC and tore into it as soon as it arrived in the mail. I won’t spend a ton of time recapping here but definitely check out my full review here and the Author Q&A we did with Stephanie! This book was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. It was fast paced, interesting, had some very “fairy tale-esque” elements and overall was a really fun read. If you’ve read the Caraval series, this is a must read for you!
Next up was Tales From The Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare. For anyone who has been around this blog for a bit, you know I have a goal of reading my way through the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I finished Queen of Air & Darkness earlier this year and absolutely loved it. The Dark Artifices trilogy was by far my favorite so far. I want to move onto The Eldest Curses and The Last Hours trilogies but first I had to knock out this short story collection. Overall, I enjoyed this novellas. Revisiting some familiar faces (like Jem & Tessa) and meeting some new characters was great and I feel prepared for The Last Hours trilogy. Most of these stories were pretty interesting but there was the occasional dud thrown in there.
My final completed book of the month was For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing. HOLY. SHIT. This book was fantastic. It was a fast-paced, thrill ride from start to finish. I loved the dark academia setting! There were so many twists and turns throughout this book that I thought I was going to have whip lash. I’m hesitant to even give a summary of this book because I don’t want to spoil anything. Basically, Teach of the Year, Teddy Crutcher, does whatever he sees fit to help his students (for better or for worse). If you’re a fan of the thriller genre, give this one a try (and go into it blind). It’s such an enjoy book and it’ll definitely keep you guessing until the tail end. There are some pretty farfetched things that happen but, it’s a book, just roll with it!
I have a few books that I’ve started and haven’t finished (probably will wrap them up in October or November, planning a “Spooky” TBR for October, similar to what I did last year). The first was Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune. I’m about 50% through this and while I’m enjoying it, reading has been a bit of a struggle. The subject matter of the book has been a little difficult to read so I’ve been picking away at this one whenever I can. The other book is When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink. This one has been pretty interesting. The book focuses on timing and when the best times are to make decisions, ask for favors or attempt a daunting task. More to come on these books soon in a future recap!
How was your September? Read anything good? Any important life events? Let me know in the comments!
Treat Yo Shelf By Mr Geek 