Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Red, White, & Blue Cover

Two posts in a row, that's a record! The joke aside, this week's topic of Top Ten Tuesday is more special due to the 4th of July in the USA. Basically, you need to choose books with red, white and blue covers or your country's colours if you prefer. I'll do two editions, the first would be in these colours - red, white and blue since I live in the UK now and the flag has the same colours as the USA. The second one would be with my home country colours which are white, green and red for Bulgaria.

    Books with Red, White, & Blue Covers

1) United Kingdom

2) Bulgaria

 Okay, they aren't fully coloured in one colour but you get the main idea. I love The Selection covers, they're so beautiful! Actually, I selected only favourite books of mine for this tasks. Well, I like the covers and I love the books! Which are the colours of your country?

Book Blogger Hop: 2 July 2018

Hello everyone! Lately, I forgot a little bit about this blog, I have another one in my native language and I was posting there so I ended up being active only on one blog, again. My other blog is older than this one and it's called Melly's Book Blog. I have notes about which topics and dates I'd like to make and I forgot making the topic two weeks ago but never mind, past is past. This week's topic is about Instagram and I really, really wanted to make it because I became more active on Instagram and posting only bookish related things since my profile was too general. I'll show you a screenshot of my profile and give you the link. You can follow me if you want to. 😊

      Do you have an Instagram account? If so, do you only follow book folks?

As you can see, my Instagram is called the same way as my blog - Shattered Shelves, so the easier to find. I'm not the typical bookstagrammer, I can't stick to a specific theme and colours always. If you scroll down you'll see at least several different themes. I like having a theme for some time then change it in a way that every photo suits the one before. I don't know if that sounds strange but I like having a scheme and making everything beautiful. My last theme as you can see is silver and gold. Due to my Instagram, I've bought a bunch of normally not very needful things for decoration so I can use them in my photos.

To answer the second question - no, I definitely don't follow only bookstagrams. I follow some celebrities I'm interested in as well some tennis accounts I like because I'm a huge tennis fan(you can see a few tennis related posts in my profile) and I follow someone I know I'm interested in or like their photos. I don't just follow everyone because of the label (book or tennis folk).

Well, I'd love to know what you think about my Instagram. I quite enjoy making this Book Blogger Hop posts, they're different and I love writing and expressing an opinion, to be honest.

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop: 4 June 2018

  Yeah, I like making my own post covers and I find it really hard to make them simple when I can make it as complicated as possible. #Problems Never mind, I decided to introduce another theme to my blog called Book Blogger Hop(I'll include a link at the end of the post). Actually, unlike Top Ten Tuesday or Top 5 Wednesday, you answer a question and you have a deadline of one week to do so. Again, unlike TTT or T5W when you should do it on Tuesday or Wednesday, you can choose whichever day in the week you like in the given period to make this post. I chose to do BBH(Book Blogger Hop) on Monday, I don't know why I simply decided on Monday just because. So, let's begin with this week's question.

      What do you think your blog says about you?

  Well, I think all my websites show that I love designing. I really do my best with each of my designs. I love it being beautiful and... perfect. So yeah, they'll see I did a lot of work on my blog. But I'm sure the first thing everyone to notice would be the purple everywhere. I like purple, it's one of my favourite colours and I think my blog looks awesome(yeah, I'm so modest).

  The content of my blog will also say that I'm very inactive. I'm really persistent in my inconsistency. No matter how much I want to be socially active and so on, life has other plans, unfortunately.

  If you read a review of mine probably you'll notice how honest I am and that's not always a positive trait. I say exactly what I think and trust me, it isn't usually nice. However, you'll notice that when I'm angry and say what's on my mind it's quite funny.

  You know, it's hard to assess yourself. I really hope people like what they see. I really do try to do my best with everything I do, I try being myself no matter what and getting positive results is what makes me enormously happy.

  So, I don't know what else to say. Probably, you should tell me what does my blog say about me? I'd like to know actually, so please leave your answers in the comments!

And the credits as promised:

Book Blogger Hop

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Character Names

Hey, I decided to try some of these topics. Today, I'm doing the Top Ten Tuesday topic for May 22nd - Best Character Names. Above is my TTT cover(God, I love making edits, I've made for the other articles I'll be doing as well) and I find it cute, it's purple because... purple blog! Yeah, I wanted everything to go well with everything. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I like it to be pretty and well-done.

So, that was kind of an introduction but now to the post. I saw on the original website the author says to make it as narrow/broad as you wish. Therefore, I've no idea how many names I might say but let's see. Personally, I'm a writer myself so choosing a name is something I'm slightly familiar with. Maybe I'll add some of the names I've used because I don't remember if I've seen any of them in a book or not.

      Best Character Names

1. Sebastian

Bulgarian edition of the first book,
I absolutely love it!

Okay, I like that name - I like it in any language and versions: Sébastien(French), Sebastiano(Spanish I think?) etc. Originally, I saw it in the Die magische Gondel, aka The Gondola of Time (I'm really glad I could read this trilogy translated into Bulgarian, I speak no German at all!). The main character is called Sebastiano but as I said, I don't mind at all the form. 

2. Louis

A very popular name I think - most of the French kings are called Louis. I like its Italian version as well - Luigi, it sounds cool to me. I think there was a character in The Count of Monte Cristo Luigi Vampa and I liked the name so much I can't take it out of my mind.

3. Scarlett

Scarlett because... scarlet red, its a passionate, vivid colour. It reminds me of anger, power, blood... Yeah, did I mention I have strange preferences? Scarlet was actually the title of the second book of the Lunar Chronicles. I like the heroine as well, she has curly red hair - very appropriate.

4. Chris

I like anything with Chris in it, no joke. I like that name and no, NOT because of the super famous Christian Gray (I hate these books, I do not wish to degrade as the author herself has). 

5. Rafael

I remember seeing Rafael in The Mortal Instruments series, he was the leader of the New York vampires. But it sounds cool, I like the name, Rafael. Well, I am a fan of Rafael Nadal and maaybe that has something to do with it.

6. Calypso

I've used this name in a book of mine. I like its untypical sounding. I think I first saw it in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. Anyway, Calypso is a perfect name for some adventure books(like mine, it was about pirates as well, oops but nothing to do with Pirates of the Caribbean, it was the story of a prince who had become a pirate, Calypso was the name of the female character who was a Spanish aristocrate, I really wanted her to stand out from the crowd xd).

7. Alexander

Like Alexander the Great? Yep. I've seen other version in different languages such as Alejandro(Spanish), Alessandro(Italian) and they all seem beautiful to me. The nickname Alex is also cool.

   -I don't know how much related to the topic it is but I really like surnames which are a combination of some words, I'll show you.

8. Blackthorn

We all can see the name's origins but that's not what matters. I like this kind of surnames with hidden meaning. Blackthorn is a surname of a family in the Shadowhunters world again. But I've seen it in another series called The Blackthorn Key.

9. Lannister

House Lannister in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Okay, Lannister reminds of Lancaster and I always mistake them. I like the sound of Lancaster, I know it's a city in England, maybe I should visit it sometime since I'm reminded so much of it.

Well, looks like I can't think of another name. I'm so bad at thinking of something on purpose. I'm sure when I don't have to I'll think of a bunch more names but... never mind, these nine will work. So, what are your favourite character names?

Bookish Delights

Hi guys, I'm really excited to introduce you my new blog design which I really like(purple is one of my favourite colours!). So, I decided to make a post about my bookish delights. There's no specific order but a list of the things, I don't know exactly how much right now.

The title is engraved and the cover is matte and
I'm totally in love.

1. "Engraved" title

That's how I call it when the title on a book cover is kind of engraved on the page. I love protruding letters, the feeling when you touch them ah, there's nothing like it. On a hardcover, the sensation is even better!

2. Matte covers

I absolutely love matte covers! I prefer them over gloss ones. They're so stylish and awesome! I don't know about you but for me, it's a real delight. It's soo nice to touch them because they're so amazingly adorable! I'm really glad that most of my paperbacks are matte instead of gloss. The gloss is... simply gloss, I don't like it very much on books and usually, the titles aren't protruded.

3. Bookmarks out of anything

I like creating my own bookmarks which I usually don't ever use because they're too beautiful to be used. Yeah, #bookwormproblems. I like printing bookmarks so I can have whatever I want to be printed on them as well as DIY some e.g. from boxes of chocolates. But honestly, some boxes are very, very beautiful so I can't resist making a new one which I probably won't use. :D Moreover, you'll have your unique KitKat bookmark, for instance. Oh, and I love bookmarks who go with the book itself, these I really keep brand new.

4. Bookish DISCOUNTS

Ah, is there anyone who doesn't love discounts on anything not only books? Well, that's the easiest way to get out of money and maybe get some not so necessary things. But seeing a HUGE discount on books? Meh, that's another story. A few books on the price of two or three? You have my attention already. Also, I'm sure every book lover keeps an eye very carefully on some websites and bookstores not to miss anything about books and discounts.

5. Wandering in a bookstore

Come on, everyone has done it at least once. My mum uses to tell if I enter a bookstore I can't remember to get out. I simply love window shopping in a bookshop - observe anything and everything, see new releases in person... It's so fascinating!

I really love the hardbacks of this series, so cute!

6. Hardback without the dust jacket

I don't like dust jackets. With them, the cover beneath is simply black or grey or something like that with a simple title. That's boring and the dust jacket usually bothers me when reading. So I put it off and guess what, it looks like any other book, especially classics when I want to be obvious what I'm reading. Besides, the cover made on the actual hardcover it's so beautiful! Unfortunately, most of the hardbacks aren't made like that and it's a pity. 😒 I have a few hardbacks without the jacket and oh, they're simply amazing. One is a children book but I have hardly ever seen anything more beautiful than this!

7. Bookish photos

I love going through bookish instagrams. There are so many and beautiful photos out there! Personally, I have partly a bookstagram which I intend to develop a bit more since I used to post a lot of non-related book posts. You can follow me - @shattered_shelves.

8. The library from the Beauty and the Beast

Okay, I don't know how much this is a bookish delight but... I want the library from the Beauty and the Beast. I'm exactly that girl who wants the library while the others dreamed of the prince. For me, this is the ultimate most magnificent library ever! If I have something like that, I'll be the happiest person EVER!

9. Falling hopelessly in love with a fictional character

Tell me about it. Lately, I've been reading Ben Hope series by Scott Mariani and I fell totally in love with the main character Ben Hope. I was fangirling almost all of the time but how can't I? He's sexy, he's badass, he's just... one hell kind of a man. I feel him like my bookish soulmate, really. I haven't read about anyone more perfect than him. I simply love Ben!

10. When reading real life doesn't matter

I like switching off the 'real life button'. I can simply fall in the book, sitting somewhere nice and cosy. That seems the perfect holiday plan for me. I can be all by myself with tons of books as if I've vanished from the world. Reading is a chance to travel and explore, learn and have fun. It's all here in one place - a book.

11. Reading a hilarious negative review in Goodreads

I like reading funny negative reviews. When people are mad they say the first thing they have in mind and it sounds hilarious. I know from great personal experience. I'm sarcastic and when I'm angry about a book, I come up with amazing expressions which make even me laugh.

A total of eleven. What are your bookish delights?