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The Novel Hermit

daydreaming about books

Archives for December 2022

Discussion

BOOKS IN HANDS • What Readers Bought During Holidays 2022

December 26, 2022 Leave a Comment

You ever want to know what people are buying in bookstores? Well, it so happens that I work at one, and I wanted to write about what books customers have been asking for during the holiday season.

All bookstores are different, so the books customers are asking will be different. This holiday season have exhausted me (to the point that I forgot about my blogoversary, oops). These are just the books the customers at my bookstore asked for during the past week leading up to the Holidays in 2022.

This list isn’t a conclusive list; the books here are the ones that I’ve remembered because I’ve been asked about it a bazillion times or I’ve seen customers holding it.

Babel by R.F. Kuang | Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin* | Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty Read More

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! • US vs UK: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

December 12, 2022 Leave a Comment

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe), and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

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US vs. UK: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

A Certain Hunger is deserving of a gorgeous cover, and the question is—does either the US or UK live up to the great expectation of this book?

The US cover perfectly conveys the vibe of A Certain Hunger—dark, sexy, and unsettling. I love books that uses paintings for their covers, especially for this book because a painting gives off a cultured kind of vibe. This cover is a cropped version of Francesco Bacchiacca’s painting Ghismonda with the Heart of Guiscardo. It features a woman squeezing a heart in her hands, blood dripping down her fingers while she looks over her shoulder. It’s perfect depiction of A Certain Hunger, especially with the cannibal aspect. I love seeing the texture in the cover—scratches, dots, and such; it gives the covers so much depth. I love the typography used for the title and the author, and also that you can see the strokes and lines of each letter.

My only gripe of this cover is that it’s hard to distinguish what the bottom right blob is (if you don’t know that it’s a cropped version of a Bacchiacca painting)—like is it an arm or a shoulder? What is it?

The UK cover is a…disappointment. It goes the simple route—a bright neon green background with a butcher knife in a bloody pineapple (which is most likely human blood splattered on the side of the knife). It does give off the vibe that the book will be satirical—like there’s a tongue-in-cheek kind of joke with the use of the pineapple. From what I’ve read about pineapples, it’s 1. Good for the blood and 2. it contains an enzyme called bromelain that can break down protein, which can make meat more tender when you’re cooking it, so those can be the reasons why the pineapple is used in the cover.

For a book that delves into food culture and sex and cannibalism, the UK cover does not convey it well. It’s unremarkable. A Certain Hunger deserves to be remembered.

Final Verdict: What cover do I like better? Without a doubt, the US cover is top tier. Why would anybody pick anything else?

Which cover design do you prefer? Would you buy the the US or UK cover? 

Reviews

XOXO: Fangirling about Romances • The Courtship Dance

December 9, 2022 Leave a Comment

It seems I always want to make these romance posts every three+ years because it’s been three years since the last one (five years from that one). I’m very much a mood reader—the romance has to hit a specific trope I’m looking to read, so these romances I am going to discuss has passed the favorite trope test. But what is XOXO: Fangirling about Romances?

XOXO: Fangirling about Romances is a feature where I discuss anything (and everything) about romance novels. I will discuss everything about these romances—from my favorite tropes to wanting to slap these characters for how dense or stupid they are. Everything is on the table!

Read More

Discussion

TOO MUCH TBR • December 2022

December 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

For those who do not know, Too Much TBR is a way to help me see which books I really need to read and tackle them. Is it effective? Perhaps. It helps a lot seeing a visual of the books on my TBR pile.

Let’s get down to it.

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Discussion

BOOKS IN HAND • What Books Customers Are Buying in November 2022

December 2, 2022 Comment : 1

During the last week of February 2018, I pondered about what type of post to make for “Books in Hand.” At first, I planned to discuss all the books customers came in asking for or buying, but that’s a bit too much because everybody came in asking for different books, and I didn’t remember all of them. My boss showed me a way to check our store’s best selling books, and I found out what we sold a lot of!

And that’s what this post is—seeing the top selling books of November 2022!

FICTION

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover | It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Verity by Colleen Hoover | Babel by R.F. Kuang

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About Me


I’m Cee. Lover of books + comics. Bookseller. Former teen witch.

The Novel Hermit is written by a daydreamer who loves books and want to share her love with everybody. You will find YA, comics, reviews, discussions, book cover love, and lots of adoration for books. What more can you ask for?

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Recent Posts

  • BOOKS IN HAND • What Customers Are Buying in January 2023
  • HOLY MOTHER COVER! • Favorite 2022 YA Covers
  • MUSIC TO MY (Y)EAR • 2022
  • TOO MUCH TBR • January 2023
  • BOOKS IN HAND • What Books Customers Are Buying in December 2022

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2012

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Disclaimer

All of the books I review either have been purchased by me, borrowed from the library, and sent to me by the publisher (the latter of which I will note).

All the words and opinions in this blog are my own. I am not paid to write reviews. Synopsis are taken from either the back of the book or from Goodreads.com.

Any use and/or duplication of my material without permission from me (the author and owner of The Novel Hermit blog) is strictly prohibited.

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