Hello, and welcome to my blog, Of Pens and Swords. I have loved reading all my life, and I am starting this book blog with the hopes of being able to share and discuss my opinions of the various books I read!

For context, I am a high-schooler, and I mostly read YA books, though I do stray into middle grade sometimes and adult fiction on rare occasions (namely The Kingkiller Chronicle). My favorite genres are fantasy and science-fiction, though contemporary and mystery novels have been grabbing my attention as well recently. I am a Ravenclaw, and Pottermore says my patronus is a tabby cat though, which I can definitely get on board with. Outside of reading, I play cello, piano, and do a lot of visual art. I am also an avid consumer of musicals and have an eternal fascination with animation.

I first got into reading when I discovered Harry Potter in second grade. I devoured the entire series in two weeks, and went on to Percy Jackson, Nancy Drew, the Mysterious Benedict Society, and never really slowed my pace from there.

My favorite books of all time, in order of when I fell in love with them, include:

  • The Harry Potter series
  • The Percy Jackson series
  • The A Series of Unfortunate Events series
  • The The Mysterious Benedict Society series
  • The Ruby Redfort series
  • Anne of Green Gables (I would say the whole series, but it’s really the first one that has a special place in my heart)
  • Keeper of the Lost Cities
  • The various Shadowhunters series
  • Literally anything by Marissa Meyer
  • The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
  • The Illuminae trilogy
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • On a Sunbeam
  • Far From the Tree
  • The Folk of the Air series
  • The Truly Devious Trilogy

On this blog I will primarily be posting reviews and discussion posts, though I am open to other possibilities. I am hoping to post twice a week, likely on Tuesdays and Saturdays, though that will likely change soon as I get into the swing of things.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll like my blog!

Question: What was the first book you remember falling in love with on your own?