The Birthday Book Tag (2023 edition)

Happy birthday to me!! And today I am continuing the tradition of doing the Birthday Book Tag (from Antonia @ Always Books). You can browse my posts from previous years here!

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1) Birthday Cake (A book with a plot that seems cliché but you adore it anyway)

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I think a lot of urban fantasy stories can seem cliché at first, but just because they have a similar structure doesn’t mean they’re not good stories. A couple years ago I chose the Kate Daniels series for this question, and today I’m choosing another urban fantasy series. Heroine Complex is a book (and series) about superheroes and fighting demons. It is full of heart, friendship, and Asian American representation. It’s such a fun series, and I definitely recommend it.

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2) Party Guests (Your most anticipated book release for this year)

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I actually recently talked about some upcoming debuts that I’m excited for in this Top Ten Tuesday post! I’ll pick two that I’m most excited for, plus another I recently learned about:

• Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell (release date: March 14th, 2023 – only one more week!!)
• Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai (release date: March 14th, 2023)
• The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (release date: July 11th, 2023)

A few non-debuts that I’m stoked for are:

• Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (release date: April 11th, 2023)
• Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong (release date: July 25th, 2023)
• Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto (release date: July 25th, 2023 – I NEED THIS SO BADLY)
• Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire (release date: September 5th 2023)
• The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire (release date: October 24th 2023 – AN OCTOBER DATE NOVEL FROM TYBALT’S PERSPECTIVE AHHHHHH I CAN’T)

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3) Birthday Presents (A book that surprised you with how much you loved it)

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My answer for this one is two different YA fantasy books: Little Thieves and Vespertine. I absolutely LOVED both, and I think Vespertine is a new all time fav. Maybe Little Thieves is as well!! I definitely want to do a reread of it, and I bet I’ll love it more on reread. Vespertine reminded me a lot of my favorite books that were super formative for me (Sabriel, etc) and it was just so well done. Also I wrote this without looking at my last year’s post, but apparently I also said Vespertine last year hahaha. But that just tells you how much I love it and how great it is!

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4) “Happy Birthday” Song (A book that certainly deserved all the hype it got)

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“All of the scenes were written with a touch of whimsy, and dare I even say, with magic. I loved all of the quiet scenes of learning, potion making, visits to bookshops, and etc. Those scenes reminded me of something that the director Hayao Miyazaki said. He talked about how those quiet moments in his movies made the dramatic scenes all the more impactful. They also provide a place to rest, so to speak.”

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5) Happy Music (A book with some very beautiful and truly memorable quotes)

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Ooooo absolutely Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki!! I read this last year, and it definitely became an all time favorite of mine. I reread it this January, and annotated it. Here of some of the quotes that stuck out to me!

“When you think of love, is it somewhere the colors are brighter and everything seems to glow?”

“With no pain, like your heart is skipping and doing cartwheels?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Good. Because love is so much more than that, isn’t it?”

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars

Tomorrow is tomorrow. Over there is over there. And here and now is not a bad place and time to be, especially when so much of the unknown is beautiful.

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars

What is magic, anyway? If magic is more than illusions on a stage, if magic can actually change the world, then what is reality but a song that one imagines and sets free?

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars

With no need for a beginning, nor any reason to end, the music continues. And so, no matter who you are, where you came from, what sins you have committed or hurt you have endured… when you are alone and there is no universe left to remember you.

You can always, always rewrite your song.

Ryka Aoki, Light from Uncommon Stars

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6) Getting Older (A book that you read a long time ago, but you think you would appreciate more if you read it as a more mature reader)

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I think I’d like to reread Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These are the only two of the Western classics that I really like. Not a huge surprise, since these are the big science fiction ones! I think it’s been 10+ years since I read them both, so I’m really intrigued to read them as an adult, and as someone who has read a TON more sci-fi at this point.

If you haven’t read these, I believe both are available for free on Project Gutenberg, which is a resource I shared the other day in my bookish resources compilation post.

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7) Sweet Birthday Memories (A book that kept you incredibly happy during a sad or demanding period of your life)

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Honestly feel like a lot of my life last year was pretty demanding, in the sense that I was job searching which SUCKS. One book that brought me a lot of joy during the job hunt was The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. It’s a cozy fantasy romance book that features the two main characters falling in love via written letters to each other – without knowing who the recipient is. It was so cute and I was just smiling to myself while reading. The world was super interesting, and I really hope the author chooses to write more books in this world! I want to learn more haha.

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I hope you enjoyed this latest Birthday Book Tag post! Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Tell me about how you would answer one (or more) of these question!