On My Reading List
Books I want to read, getting excited about books again, and how I miss OG Bookstagram
Lately, I’ve been feeling something I hadn’t realized I was missing as much as I actually have been. The genuine excitement about books.
I am not only talking about the vague, ever-present intention to “read more” than I currently am, but actual can’t-wait-to-crack-this-open kind of excitement that comes with reading. The one that makes me consider midnight pub releases even though I also know that by then, I’ll likely be curled up in bed asleep. I want to get back to the place where reading a book feels like reconnecting with an old friend. It’s familiar, comforting, and a little bit magical.
Okay, a lot a bit magical.
I’ve been slowly rebuilding my TBR (to be read) stack, and for once, it doesn’t feel completely overwhelming like it has been for a few months now. It feels hopeful.
A few titles that have me counting down to my next reading moment.
Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh - I just started this one on my kindle after months of seeing it, well, everywhere. I feel like I need to get back to my reading roots and this might be the way to do it.
Great, Big, Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - I mean, it’s Emily Henry. I literarlly read her grocery list.
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley - This book has been all over the place. I know it is about music and there is a bit of a love story(?) perhaps, so, let’s see where it takes me. Deep Cuts was also the March book for Bad on Paper Podcast by
and , so I am excited to finally dig in and then watch the episode chatting about it soon as well!Broken Kingdom by L.J. Andrews - Though this series is a little intimidating (I see that there is 9?), I picked up book one from the library and hope to settle in with it. And love it. The new covers really drew me in and I’m excited to hopefully get back into falling into a fantasy world.
The God of the Woods - I gifted this book to my mom for Christmas as a well known mystery reader. She said it was really good and I continue to see it everywhere. So I plan on hopefully picking this one up at my local library to give it a go even though I am not a mystery thriller gal.
It’s not just about the books themselves though that I am thinking about a lot recently as I try to “find myself as a reader again.” It’s about rediscovering what reading means to me. I’ve missed the way a good book can rewire your thoughts for a few days, or the feeling of staying up too late because you have to know what happens next. That kind of obsession is the best kind of indulgence.
And it’s got me nostalgic for OG Bookstagram. You know, the version that wasn’t all perfectly curated aesthetics or algorithm games.
I miss the days of scrolling through cozy book stacks on mismatched quilts, dog-eared pages, random tags in get to know you challenges, and people gushing in the comments about how much they loved the same story. Back then, it felt more like a conversation than a performance. You didn’t need a professional flat lay or matching tabs with your highlighters and witty phrases in the margins. You just needed a love of stories and the urge to talk about them with strangers who got it.
I miss that simplicity. The sincerity. The way we’d recommend books to each other like we were passing notes in class.
But about books. Very cool.
So here’s to getting excited again. About stories. About characters. About the people who love talking about them. Maybe we can bring a little bit of that old-school bookish joy back—one post, one comment, one enthusiastic DM at a time.
Tell me what you’re reading.
Or what you’re excited to read. Let’s make it feel like the early reading, book loving days again.