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Your mother could be wrong too. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

I was soooo happy to see Anne make an appearance on your TBR! The last in her series, Rilla of Ingleside, is actually my favorite one!

Anne of Green Gables is one of my all time favorites (although I think Anne of the Island is my favorite of the whole series) and I love Jane Eyre!! A good list!

The Inheritance Games is so perfect for you!! I should read more classics but they take me forever. 🤣😭 The Bodyguard is really cute! I’m reading The Rom Commers right now!

Pastel is underrated

That copy of Little Women is so pretty!! 😍

agreeee, but I can read the one bed trope 30000x times and still be shocked and giggle EVERYTIME

I learn so much from you. 😊

You have a really diverse library! Super cool, thanks for sharing 😊 divine rivals was one of my favorites, I hope you love it!

Do you have any Free Little Libraries in your area?! That's what i do with books i don't want anymore 😆 Trade them for new books to try! That's actually how I got my Hunger Games book (along with many other books 🤣)

How do you read so many books at one time?? I cannot do that. 🤣 I have to finish a series once I start it. YOU HAVE TO READ SIX OF CROWS. SO GOOD. I recommend reading Shadow and Bone before, but it’s not necessary. Thanks for featuring me!! 🥹 I’m glad you got Legend and Powerless. I hope you love them!!

This is so interesting. I like tropes but I also agree with you. I think for me, I like it when the tropes naturally happen and surprise me. For example, I was reading a fantasy book once that had dream walking and magical gifts and politics and all this stuff. Tbh it was a bit slow at times but then all of a sudden towards the end a marriage was arranged for convenience AKA 'marriage of convenience' trope. But no where in the synopsis did I get a hint about marriage of convenience becoming a thing. It was a surprise that worked completely true to the story and characters. And i loved it. I think i mightve even liked it more BECAUSE it was a surprise. on another note i do think tropes can sometimes raise my expectations too high. like i'll pick a "widowers finding love again" book because i typically adore that trope but then my expectations are high and then im disappointed because the book wasnt as good as other books with the same trope. had i picked the book for a different reason outside of the trope, maybe i wouldve liked it more? tropes can certainly be deceiving. and so that my comment wont end up being the size of a novella, i will end it with this: I believe I like my tropes to be like the mysterious treat found in the middle of bundt cakes. I hope there's a treat, idk what the treat will be, and i want to trust that the baker will make the treat cohesive with the flavor of the cake itself ☺️ (i was going to use sprinkles as an analogy but sprinkles cant be a surprise. ...well i guess they could be but that's not normal for sprinkles 😂)

I agree! You know what doesn't get me interested in a book? Tropes. You know what does get me interested in a book? An interesting concept, a unique situation, or a complex character. Maybe a setting or activity that interests me (riding horses in the old west? sold! solving a murder in a 1920's jazz club/speakeasy? I'm in!). While there's nothing wrong with including various tropes in a story, I don't like being marketed to with tropes. It doesn't tell me what's original and unique about the story, and it can sometimes be a spoiler. I hate spoilers!

Honestly, I think you’re in the majority with this opinion, Chelsey! I like tropes because I don’t want to know what happens, but I still want an idea about what to expect. I completely understand why people don’t like them and can find it frustrating! I’ve been there before! Sometimes, a book is too tropey, but I ignore it and see where it takes me. Especially if it’s a rom-com. I don’t really expect rom-coms to be very accurate, so I come in with delusion, and that’s why I enjoy them. They’re over the top and a little tropey for a reason to me. But a book can have too many that it becomes excessive. From a writing perspective, it’s different, but if I were to write a book, it would be filled with things I like to read about. So I guess, yes, I could see my characters doing that? I have no idea, but that’s my take. What I’m saying is I don’t really care 💀 If I have fun and enjoy a book, it’s good enough for me.

I really had to restrain myself from typing all-caps agreement before I even finished watching the video. Now tropes are inevitable in literature, trope just means a certain type of story beat, and certain story-beats are utterly timeless. Certain character arcs (well done) will always resonate. The harder you try to avoid one trope, you just veer into a different one. BUT I DO NOT like trope-MARKETING, or reducing books to tropes, because I'm not reading for tropes, I'm reading for characters. It's all in the execution. If you sacrifice the character to the trope...the story will not succeed. Ironically, I have written dozens of blog posts about the WHY behind certain beloved tropes (why are we attracted to certain types of stories) and it all comes down to "are you being honest about the situation or characters" as to whether or not that story is successful, regardless of which trope it happens to fall into.

Okay I SEE YOU and I AGREE with everything but I think the problem is using tropes to market, not tropes in general 😆 like tropes would exist without us labeling them (if that makes sense) but I can’t stand that we use them to market books and ruin the whole plot for everyone or get people to read them having those expectations when it might not be right. Like cruel prince is enemies to lovers but not, at the same time, and a ton of people hated that book bc they went in with this expectation and that makes me so sad!!

I totally agree with everything said in this video! I loved when I first got on bookstagram and I first started seeing tropes.. I had no idea what that was and I thought it was cool that other people liked the same scenarios in books that I did and they came up with names for them.. Like “one bed trope” or “enemies to lovers” But lately I’ve been reading books that just seem like literally all tropes and no plot. I miss being surprised when the enemies became lovers 😂 I’m feeling nostalgic for the good ole Sarah Dessen days where you just bought the book because the blurb sounds cool and/or the cover is pretty 😂 I’ve been taking a step back from bookstagram just to get back into picking books out just simply because they look interesting to me, and not because someone suggested it based off tropes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think it can sometimes take the fun and excitement out of reading. Sorry for the rant. Im glad someone else sees this though!

Omg this trip looked like so much fun!! I’m glad you enjoyed the play! You’re too relatable when watching a show. 🤣 Thank you appreciating the performers! They’re incredibly underrated. You and your husband are literally couple goals. The East Coast is truly so beautiful!!

I love this! God is so so good and is more than able to work out every little detail! Looks like you had a great trip!

This vlog is sooooooooooooooooooooo fun!!!!!!!!!!

This trip was an absolute blast and I’m so grateful we got to take it! What is the last trip you took? 🩷

I'm ahead on my 2024 reading goal!

Can't wait for this buddy read!!!!

I can't wait to do this buddy read with you and convert you to THG fandom 🤣

How exciting, I like this idea of a group read :)

YES YES YES. I will make you like this series. 🤣 The foreshadowing is incredible. I think you need to read the original trilogy before Ballad even though Ballad is a prequel. It just makes more sense. Do you not like first person writing?

I read the first one back in the day, but didn't continue. I find I struggle with the first person present tense style narratives. It leaves you breathless and claustrophobic, which is certainly the intent, but which is not my favorite way to experience a book. I think the STORY and the COMMENTARY are very interesting, though. Buddy read seems like the right way to go!

i totally get not wanting to read Hunger Games over the holidays 🤣🤣 like "Merry Christmas 😃... okay I'm going to go read about mass murder now." 😂 no thanks. Break is a good idea 😝

Literally stawwp being so cuute! Love this video!

YAY we love Rachel!! If you’re ever in California, hit me up! 👀

I had the best time hanging out with you!!!

Random, but WHERE did you get your keyboard?! It's so cute!

Love this channel!!!

I've wanted to do the wrapping thing but as u said--time and money 😝😝 the closest thing i've gotten to this sort of thing is when I did the 30 new authors challenge where i put all those 30 books onto slips of paper and into a jar 😝 but that was just for the challenge. i am PRETTY much a mood reader

Great channel and great ideas! 😊

We are empty nesters, I would think I should be able to read daily. I’m going to try and set a timer, every day. Wish me luck! 🤞

how cute!! I just use a note document. I’m not really a mood reader, so that helps!

I tried having a set TBR once and...it didn't work for me. Usually I just walk back and forth in front of my shelves until something strikes me. Not very helpful I'm afraid! But once I start something I'm pretty dogged, and I'll finish it.

I've tried having my best friend make me a TBR pile, and I haven't even finished the first book in the pile....

Finished "Drafted" by Tommie Michele before bed... Send help, I am NOT ok. But it was lovely to read with you. <3

Chelseyyyyyy! I read Redeeming Love while doing a Bible study in the book of Hosea and let me tell you... if you cried reading the book by itself, reading it with the Biblical inspiration for the story will absolutely wreck you and heal broken places in your heart all at once. Also, fabulous video! Super excited for you and proud of you, too! <3

I finally had the time to read for an hour!! 🥳 I’m reading Steelstriker by Marie Lu and I’m a little over halfway. I think I started less than a quarter of the way through? Reading for an hour straight was kinda hard!

I have yet to read Percy Jackson but I've been wanting to! I couldn't get into Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent, etc. when I was younger. It just couldn't hook me and I lost interest so fast and just watched the movies 🤣🤣 I LOVE the Skymar Series!!! Penelope's book is my fave! I too can talk about Redeeming Love for ages. and u described it so well! Especially how the book starts. I remember I got about 39 pages in and my mom was like "How is it so far?" and I honestly didn't know how to answer because of the devastation I had witnessed up to that point 😆 But I wanted to see what happened with Sarah so bad that I couldn't put it down! There were tears and it was amazing. 🎉 Loved the video btw ☺️💛

It was a difficult road, but by the grace of God we did it

You’re the cutest!! What annotation supplies are you using? Also, keep going!! The series gets better!! Ignite Me is my favorite because everything comes together.

You guys…I haven’t picked it back up since last week when I filmed this video. 🫣 Does it get better?!?

I need you to read the rest of this series (at least the first 3 books) cause you will be even more shooketh 😂😅 and I won’t say anything but I LOVE THE LOVE STORY in this trilogy 👀

She was ✨shooketh✨

girly i love how every book had a special connection to someone important in your life 🥲🥲

ladies and gentlemen. i fear she slayed.