1. Shelves
2. Bookshelves
3. Shelfies.
4. Books
And so, for Day 19 of my blogaversary, the WONRDERFUL Ashley Herring Blake, Author of Suffer Love has decided to show off her shelves!
Let's Fangirl Together, yeah?
Hello, everyone! Ashley Herring Blake, author of Suffer Love, and I’m here to take you on a little tour of my bookshelves. There are few things in life that bring more undiluted joy than my bookshelves, so without further ado, feast your eyes. Or, just tolerate me while I jump up and down and shout lookit, lookit for a while.
First up, my contemporary YA shelf. And why yes, I do color coordinate my books. I used to go alphabetically by author, but then Kelly Loy Gilbert and Mackenzi Lee convinced me that color was the way to organize and after many hours one Friday night, I never went back. Aren’t they sort of pretty? Yes, sometimes it takes me a few minutes to find a book, but most, I already have a pretty good idea what color they are. Books tend to stick in my mind, especially when I take the time in the first place to stick them with their rightful colorful family. I have a smaller shelf full of similarly color-organized speculative books.
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The above is by no means an exhaustive list, but these books are some of my absolute favorite favorites in the realm of YA contemporary (including one NA and one magical realism). If you haven’t read any of these amazing titles, rectify that immediately if possible.
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Favorite speculative. Again, if you haven’t read these books, DO IT. I’m a sucker for gorgeous language and women who kick ass and these books include both and then some.
Favorite queer YA (and, again, one NA). Books that feature queer characters are especially important and special to me and all of these reads are fierce, emotional, and empowering stories. There’s one book of note that’s missing from the picture and that is Dahlia Adler’s Under the Lights. I’ve lent it out and haven’t gotten it back yet, but that is a groundbreaking f/f story, in my opinion.
Favorite feminist reads. The books pictures are my go-to empowering reads. Again, by no means an exhaustive list, but these books are definitely at the top of my favorite books featuring badass girls—either physically, emotionally, or in simply being open to figuring stuff out. Open to changing and to risk, love and losing. I love messy books with messy stories and messy emotions and messy girls who realize it’s okay to be messy it’s okay to be in pain and it’s okay to be strong. So yes. THESE BOOKS.
This is my classics corner. Woolf, Wharton, Plath, Dickens, O’Connor, these were the reads of my twenties. These books, along with the Brontës and Austen I have in the front entryway in my house, shaped me as a reader more so than any other books until I dived headfirst into YA.
I absolutely had to highlight this little section of blue on my shelves. Along with some truly stellar books featured, you might notice a new addition. With my name on it. And a Shakespearean title that I adore. And oh holy crap, IT’S MY OWN BOOK.
Speaking of my own book, here it is! I received my author copies—beautiful hardcovers—a couple weeks ago and it was such an amazing experience opening that box for the first time. Unforgettable. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did a truly incredible job putting my little book into the world and I could not be happier with the final result.
And that’s all I have for you! Thanks for touring around with me and I hope you’ve found a few books to add to your TBR. Let me know if you like them and happy reading!
Ashley Herring Blake lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and two boisterous boys. When she’s not writing, she’s buying books, reading books, arranging her books by color, and thinking about what book she’s going to read next. Website | Twitter | Instagram 
Blurb Description: Hadley St. Clair's life changed the day she came home to a front door covered in slips of paper, each of them revealing the ugly truth about her father. Now as her family falls apart in the wake of his year-long affair, Hadley wants everyone-her dad most of all-to leave her alone.
Then she meets Sam Bennett, a cute new boy who inexplicably "feels like home" to Hadley. Hadley and Sam's connection is undeniable, but Sam has a secret about his family that could ruin everything.
Funny and passionate, Suffer Love is a story about first love, family dysfunction, and the fickle hand of fate.
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