Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga where we share books we’ve bought or received this week. Find out more and join in here!
Hi all! I went on a day trip to London this week with my lovely friend Alex and we visited a few bookshops. I ended up buying most of my books in Forbidden Planet, where we found loads of American editions of books that we’ve never seen in the UK before!
Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy—the best magic school in the realm—even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she’s never met.
Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir.
Lir is trapped on land and can’t remember where he came from. Even so, he’s everything Sophie isn’t—beloved by Sophie’s family and skilled at magic. With his help, Sophie might just ace her entrance exams, but that means standing in the way of Lir’s attempts to regain his memories. Sophie knows what she’s doing is wrong, but without Lir’s help, can she prove herself?
The first shop we visited was Gay’s the Word, which is an LGBTQ+ bookshop which I’ve visited before and love. Alex has never visited, so it was lovely to take her there for a visit. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Tidesong by Wendy Xu, who is the author of one of my favourite books of 2021, Mooncakes. I can’t wait to read this one!
Immigrant. Socialite. Magician.
Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her.
But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.
Later in the day, we visited Forbidden Planet and I picked up a few books, including The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. This one is a queer, Asian retelling of The Great Gatsby, which I read last year and I’m so intrigued by a retelling like this one!
When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang—Chrissy, Chase, Emma, and Kiki—visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings. Spooky enough to attract subscribers—and ultimately harmless.
But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads.
Sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.
My only real impulse buy of a book I haven’t heard of before was this one, which is a short book with a stunning cover! It also sounds so intense and interesting.
Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope.
North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.
Neither Alex or I have ever seen a physical copy of this book available for sale in the UK, and we found 2 copies in Forbidden Planet, which we couldn’t resist nabbing for a future buddy read hopefully! We’ve just got to find the second book now!
Which books did you buy or receive this week?
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
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