Bookish Troves · Blog

Grab Free Bookish Centerpiece Printables!

Ash Stral — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:00:00 -0700

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Free Reader’s Junk Journals

Ash Stral — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0800

Create a Reading Journal You’ll Actually Love Using

Beautiful kits for book lovers who want to combine reading, journaling, and junk-journal creativity.

Do you love books but find yourself wishing your reading journal could be a little more beautiful, creative, and fun?

Maybe you’ve searched for reading journals only to find pages that feel too plain and functional.

Or you’ve found gorgeous junk journals for book lovers—but they’re missing the practical reading pages you actually want to use.

✨ That’s exactly why I created READER’S JUNK JOURNALS!

It combines the best of both worlds: useful reading journal pages + beautiful junk-journal-inspired designs + ephemera!

✨ Get the Starter Kits FREE when you join the Bookish Troves newsletter

Sign up below and access the freebie library, including the Reader’s Junk Journal Starter Kits!

Instant digital download • US Letter PDF • Personal use only

Your Reading Journal Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

A traditional reading journal can help you keep track of what you read.

A junk journal gives you a place to play, create, collect, and express yourself.

Why not have both?

Reader’s Junk Journals let you create a reading journal that is:

📚 Practical enough to actually track your reading
✨ Beautiful enough to inspire you to keep using it
🖋️ Creative enough to make it uniquely yours
🧵 Flexible enough to become a reading journal, scrapbook, or junk journal

Mix and match the pages. Add your own ephemera, stickers, stamps, book quotes, photographs, notes, and other treasures.

There’s no “right” way to create your journal.

Turn Reading Pages Into Junk-Journal Magic

This isn’t just another plain reading journal.

The pages are designed with junk journaling in mind, so you can get creative with how you use them.

Layer pages with:

Book pages • Ephemera • Washi tape • Stamps • Stickers • Lace • Clippings • Pressed flowers • Book quotes • Library cards • Notes • Photographs

Create pockets and tuck spots.

Tear the edges.

Layer different papers.

Add your favorite bookish treasures.

Or keep things simple and elegant.

You decide what your reading journal becomes.

Ready to Create Your Reader’s Junk Journals?

Whether you’re a meticulous reading tracker, a creative junk-journaler, or somewhere in between…

your reading life deserves a place to live.

✨ Grab the reader’s junk journal Starter Kit FREE!

✨ ✨ Discover more reader’s junk journals and bookish treasures in my shop!

Explore My Etsy Shop

A Little Note Before You Go…

You don’t have to become a professional journaler.

You don’t need perfect handwriting.

You don’t need an elaborate craft room.

You don’t even need to decorate every page.

Just start with the books you love.

Then make your journal as simple—or as wonderfully extra—as you want.

Happy reading & happy journaling!

— Bookish Troves

From the Heart: Simple DIY Bookish Gifts for Readers

Ash Stral — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0800

The most memorable gifts are those that blend thought, creativity and a bit of effort to show that it truly is “from the heart”.

You can make a meaningful gift and have creative fun doing it, so they are kind of a gift to yourself too! The gift of fun, of learning a new hobby perhaps. They don’t have to be complicated either.

So here are some ideas to make you think about it, and to put some skill and effort into making a meaningful gift. From Blind Date with a Book tailored to your recipient but also presented with panache, to pressed flowers and wall art.

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Use the giftee’s favorite flowers—or petals you’ve saved over time. If you love pressing flowers between book pages, this makes a beautifully sentimental gift.

Turn those preserved moments into a bookmark: a flower they once gave you, now returned as something meaningful and lasting.

Or use printable floral bookmarks from my shop—just download, print on cardstock, and embellish with pressed flowers or keepsakes.

Blind Date with a Book

For this you only need a book and brown paper (or book themed wrapping paper or tissue paper) and a gift tag! You can also turn this into a cozy gift bundle by pairing it with a candle (a DIY candle perhaps!), a snack and drink sachet. Is your book lover a tea or coffee drinker?

If using brown wrapping paper, you can decorate it yourself with clues about the book such as the genre or tropes used in the book. If you haven’t read the book, you can do some quick research.

On the other hand, here is a book-themed wrapping paper perfect for wrapping books for “blind date with a book” for your book club or for wrapping books for gifts!

Buy On Zazzle

Decoupaging Magic

You can gift decoupage supplies to booklovers who love DIY. Or you can use them yourself to customize book lover items such as book boxes, bookends, journal covers, bookshelf trays and decorative crates for book nooks. Decoupage tissue sheets are lightweight, craft-friendly and here you can find ones bookish in vibe.

These tissue sheets are also great for stuffing in gift bags or wrapping small gifts and party favors! Give your perfect gifts you spent so much time finding a perfect presentation!

Here’s a gorgeous vintage book spine themed decoupage tissue sheet you or your book loving gift recipient can use to customise your reading nooks, notebooks and much more.

Buy On Zazzle

Custom Book Box/ Basket Kit

You can assemble all these items and more to curate a wonderful book lover’s gift box! Your book box can be a based on a bookish theme or a mish-mash of eclectic bookish items. You can include your handmade items such as the DIY candles, bookmarks and decoupaged items. Or you can buy items separately that you think go well together. Some items to consider:

Blind date with a book.
Handmade reading journal.
Candles or mini-candles.
Snacks and or tea/coffee/cocoa sachets.
Bookmarks, handmade or printable or store-bought.
Personal note on a gift card or tag.

Printables for Book Lovers

Some of the most amazingly simple but thoughtful, handmade gifts include those you can create from printables! Great gifts such as personalized literary wall art with frames you can custom decorate with decoupage paper, or book junk journals that you can fill with memorabilia of your relationship with the gift recipient.

Final Thoughts

Thoughtfulness doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, the more budget conscious you need to be, the more creative, resourceful you may find yourself becoming. And you might find yourself rediscovering the value of intangible gifts → moments, memories, experiences and emotions!

Looking for more inspiration? Read these related articles:

→ Stunning Free Wall Art for Book Lovers

Literary Wedding Inspiration for An Epic Love Story

Ash Stral — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0700

If you are a diehard book lover and are about to plan a wedding, the idea of a literary wedding probably passed through your mind! And why wouldn’t it?! A literary wedding is an epic story waiting to happen; the next chapter in the life of two lovers; an epic turning point!

For the couple who fell in love between reciting favorite book quotes and swapping bookmarks, there’s no better way to celebrate your love story than a storybook or book themed wedding!

Whether you’re drawn to the mystery of forgotten gardens or the opulence of Rococo decor, the wedding collections below blend literary charm with romantic styling. Each one is a love letter in itself—crafted for dreamers, readers, and hopeless romantics.

Are you planning a literary-inspired wedding? I hope you find this post useful and inspirational!

The Secret Garden Literary Wedding

Inspired by the beloved classic The Secret Garden, as you may have guessed, this collection invites you to step into a storybook wedding where ivy-covered arches open to a hidden garden blooming with romance and nature’s quiet magic.

You can create the aesthetic of an antique library overgrown with florals! Think old book stacks tied with vines as centrepieces! Surrounded by mossy stone paths and ferns, fluttering pages strung like garlands, and antique look keys nestled in overflowing bouquets!

Perfect for couples who love books and gardens, and especially for those who love the classic The Secret Garden!

Think garden gate invitations! This is where I have you covered!

Shop Collection

The beautiful ornate border you see in this Secret Garden collection of wedding stationery is adapted from the book cover of the vintage book in the public domain: The Nests and Eggs of Birds Of the United States., by Thomas G. Gentry (1882).

Vintage Scrollwork Literary Wedding

This collection is for the bookworm couples who find beauty in vintage books, in the pages illustrated with ornate flourishes of scrollwork and sepia tones.

Evokes the aesthetics of antique libraries and other venues with remnants of Greek or Roman architecture, this collection of wedding invitations are perfect for book lovers looking to celebrate old-world charm and the beauty of antique libraries.

Shop Collection

Burgundy and Cream Bookish Wedding

Think rich velvets, cascading roses, cream-colored stationery and heart motifs! This bold and romantic color palette blends deep burgundy passion with the soft elegance of cream.

Shop Collection

Curious: The Desire to Know, A Book Review

Ash Stral — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Filled with facts, colorful stories and anecdotes from personal experience and research studies. A thought-provoking page-turner that can help you discover the curious nature of mankind and something about yourself.

Introduction

This book includes references to academic studies but the intended audience is the non-academic, the layperson. So perhaps it would be nothing new to the academic but that is not who I would recommend this book to.

Pure curiosity is unique to human beings. It’s only people, as far as we know, who look up at the stars and wonder what they are.

The book is aptly titled “Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It”. It dives deep into the subject of curiosity in three parts (other than the introduction): how curiosity works, the curiosity divide and staying curious.

Available on Amazon

The cover of the copy of the book that I read had a photo of a curious looking owl. It proves to be attention-grabbing and will definitely compel you to pick up the book out of curiosity if you glimpsed it passing by a bookstore or library shelf. I mean who doesn’t absolutely adore owls?

It is written by Ian Leslie, a London-based journalist who writes on psychology, social trends and politics. He recalls in the introduction to the book,

“Being epistemically curious seemed like a natural way of life. As I grew older, I came to think of it as a crucial condition of feeling fulfilled and alive.”

This recollection of the author gives me the impression that the subject of the book is close at heart to the author and to this I can relate. It was easier to dive into the book knowing that it was a passion project of the author.

The book delivers on what it means to be curious, and why our future depends on the desire to know. It reads effortlessly and it has an uplifting style of writing, packed with inspiring and colourful anecdotes and stories about inspiring people and achievements. The writing is clear and concise in addition to being colorful. There are instances of ambiguity and lack of precision of word usage, however.

Curiosity in a new light.

Definitely for people who take their curious nature for granted. I certainly have. Proud and appreciative of it, happy that it drives me forward and yet overlooking its depth, its causes, its drives.

The best thing about this book is that it makes you understand and appreciate this concept in a whole new light. And perhaps compels you to dig further into your own curious personality. It does this by using a style that attaches romance to the concept of curiosity by presenting research studies and facts with stories and anecdotes.

Understanding the ideas in this book is actually helping me become more focused and prioritize more, keeping the more devilish, temptation kind of curiosity in check while fully owning and reveling in the deep-dive kind of curiosity.

So anyone who would like to understand and hone this powerful behavior driving force, curiosity, and use it more consciously or actively rather than passively would get value out of this book.

The author has referenced lots of other works in the book, presented concisely at the end of the book in the form of notes on each chapter. This is a bonus for those interested in reading further on the subject.

If this is the first time you have picked up a book on this subject, you could love this book as a concise introduction to concepts using colorful illustrations and anecdotes and as a resource with its ample references for further reading. This is what makes this book so accessible and entertaining to read.

If you are an academic having already read extensively on the subject, you might find it less inspiring, entertaining or original. Then you might want to continue with sources such as academic articles unless you want to appreciate the style of the book even though you already have the knowledge presented in the book.

I do have quibbles with the book in a few instances, on word precision and integration of the subject matter to the wider sweeping theme.

There are a couple of ideas and technical definitions and details that I disagree with but overall, I love this book and it is definitely a thought-provoking page-turner that can help you discover something about the curious nature of mankind and perhaps something about yourself.

Highlights

Let’s look at some of the highlights of the book, some of my favorites and least favorites.

Anecdotes

As I started reading this book, what I loved most about it were its stories or anecdotes. The style of telling stories to illustrate a point is one of my favorite things.

It starts off with a story about Kanzi the intelligent ape, who was a prodigy, who loved to play and to learn, who learned more than two hundred words and used the keyboard with specific symbols to make requests for food or games or to announce what he was about to do. But Kanzi never asked why, never showed curiosity.

He never furrows his brow, leans over the keyboard and bashes out a sentence like “Why are you asking me all these questions”.

This story tells us that one of the differences between an ape and a human is that we have the capacity to have curiosity, the fourth drive, as the author classifies it.

Pure curiosity is unique to human beings. When animals snuffle around in bushes, it’s because they’re looking for three other things [three basic drives: food, sex and shelter]. It’s only people, as far as we know, who look up at the stars and wonder what they are.

Of course, I consider the difference between an ape and a human to be rooted in the much more fundamental difference between animals and humans.

Only humans, the only sentient beings we are aware of, have the capacity to think rationally, to be conceptual. Hence, to be curious.

But my disagreement with this idea does not actually distract from the essence of the entire introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to raise the reader to wonder in curiosity and it definitely succeeds in this regard.

The introduction goes on to colorfully illustrate other stories. For instance, it talks about John Lloyd, the TV producer who hit bottom only to discover a passion for books, reading and knowledge in general. He consequently went on to discover or perhaps rediscover curiosity, leading to his greatest success yet.

It also reminds us that our oldest stories about curiosity are warnings – Adam and Eve and the apple of knowledge, Icarus and the sun, Pandora’s box, Early Christian theologians claiming that,

God fashioned hell for the inquisitive.

Speaking of Pandora’s box, you can grab a free copy of my short story “Pandora” on my author website.

In this way, it mentions the trends in the history of embracing curiosity as virtue versus stamping on it as vice. And for me, it succeeds in provoking thoughts and emotions regarding the injustices of society on individuals, by treating a wonderful trait of humans as sin.

The introductory chapter has a fitting conclusion – a burning question for the readers to think about, a choice to make.

Beyond the age of information,” said designer Charles Eames, “is the age of choices.” Isn’t it time to reassess your relationship with what Aristotle called ”the desire to know” — to choose curiosity?

In a few pages, the book had already grabbed my attention, compelled me to admire my own curiosity, inspired me to be more curious and stirred me to the fact that it is a virtue that has always been for most of history suppressed by society and that we should all be more actively choosing to be more curious and questioning.

This book does indeed have a very compelling introductory chapter that will hook you in and keep you turning the pages with curiosity.

Another one of my favorite accounts is given in the following chapter on how curiosity begins. We find a delightful account of studies of and hypotheses about babies and children and their curiosity. We get hypothesized explanations of their babbling, pointing and questioning behaviours. Furthermore, we get an insight on how curiosity depends on not only intelligence but a feedback loop between child and adult and how it can flourish or atrophy under different conditions.

Children are scientists, experimenting on their physical world, but they are also investigative reporters, pumping their sources for secrets.

Evolution and Culture

The author believes that curiosity can lead to a waste of time and energy in pursuits to achieve knowledge that has no immediate use or benefit. Furthermore, the author tries to explain why the Homo sapien species is such a curious animal even though it is:

hard to understand from an evolutionary standpoint. If our primary goal is to survive long enough to pass on our genes, why are we born with this apparent need to put our well-being at risk, or at least to create difficulty and uncertainty where before there were none?

At this question posed by the author, I thought to myself, well because what makes homo sapiens distinct from the other species is our rationality and our ability to think long-range instead of just the immediate and it is this exact distinction that has enabled homo sapiens to thrive and dominate.

As I read on, I got a less fundamental answer but a related one from the author: culture.

Culture freed humans from the limitations of their biology, according to evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel, when humans discovered culture, they achieved a momentous shift in the balance of power “between our genes and our minds.

Culture endows us with the “ability to pass on knowledge, not only to each other, but down generations”. And to absorb culture, we must be curious.

Puzzles and Mysteries

While humans seem to have a romantic view of child-like curiosity and wonder, reading the chapter on puzzles and mysteries brings to light why a waning of curiosity is not necessarily a bad thing. It enables adults to act on the world they have learned about rather than be helplessly and perpetually enthralled by it. Of course, an excessive waning of curiosity would be a bad thing since it would lead to an adult’s inability to revise their knowledge and habits. So, we need to find the right balance between curious exploration and exploitation of current knowledge.

He discusses many theories to explain the existence of curiosity.

Freud’s theory that curiosity is a derivative of sexual desire. No surprise there, now is there?

Piaget’s theory that curiosity is a response to a discrepancy between what we think we know and what we see.

Lowenstein’ theory that curiosity is a response to an information gap, a gap between what we know and what we want to know. Not simply the absence of information but a gap in our existing information.

There are interesting implications of Lowenstein’s theory discussed in this chapter as well. Such as that curiosity increases in tandem with knowledge and that to be curious you have to be aware of an information gap in the first place. Hence explaining why people who walk around thinking that they know everything, unaware of the gap in their knowledge are less likely to be curious about the things they think they know everything about. It also helps us understand our lazy assumptions and stereotypes in everyday life, Lowenstein says.

Other implications explored are the relationship of curiosity to confidence, it’s evolutionary basis, it’s emotional complexity and how puzzles and mysteries arouse curiosity by providing the right amount of information that engages and gap that hooks and compels us to keep seeking more information.

Here is a section that interests me specifically as a literary artist. The use of information gaps (or McGuffins as Hitchcock called them) and the related curiosity of the readers (or viewers or listeners) for mastering compelling storytelling.

There is a mention of Robert McKee and his magnum opus “Story”, who is now on my reading list.

“Stories depend on the artful manipulation of what Loewenstein calls information gaps. In McKee’s words, ‘Curiosity is the intellectual need to answer questions and close open patterns. Story plays to this universal desire by doing the opposite, posing questions and opening situations.’ The storyteller plays a cat-and-mouse game with the viewer (or reader or listener), opening and closing information gaps as the narrative unfolds, unspooling the viewer’s curiosity. According to McKee, every scene in a movie should be a turning point. ‘Each Turning Point hooks curiosity. The audience wonders, What will happen next? And How will it turn out?’”

This part of the book made me wonder whether I can successfully apply this technique to my advantage as a write in another way. To compel me to write everyday. By ending each writing session with unfinished business, with an open situation, to create an itch to be scratched the next day. I admit this is to some extent might be self-torture for the itch must be resisted till the next writing session. Might not be the best technique for the insomnia afflicted for instance, which I am.

However, “curiosity is more than the hunt for missing information” says the author and Lowenstein’s definition of curiosity is more useful with a modification, one that explains the distinction between puzzles and mysteries.

Puzzles are orderly and definite. You know that they have an answer and when you get the answer, the frustration at the missing information is replaced by satisfaction. They tend to ask the how many and where questions.

Mysteries are disorderly, murky waters. The answers to mysteries are less definite, much more complex. They tend to ask the how and why questions?

Once again the author delves into storytelling as an example to make this more clear. He makes the distinction that Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries are in fact puzzles with the question who committed the murder having a definite answer at which point the curiosity dies. Whereas the curiosity inspired by real mysteries are deeper and longer lived that compels the reader to continue being engaged well after the story has finished, asking questions such as What kind of man is that character?

Truly ambitious artists are more interested in mysteries than puzzles.

Perhaps the author stretch the merit of mysteries qua mysteries too far when he says,

In Shakespeare’s version [as opposed to the original Scandinavian legend], our hero is already a young man and the murder is a secret, revealed exclusively to Hamlet by his father’s ghost/ Hamlet’s feigned madness and his delay are therefore entirely unnecessary and not easy to understand or explain. As a consequence, Shakespeare’s Hamlet still fascinates centuries later, whereas Amleth is forgotten despite being more easily understood–actually, because he is more easily understood. Mysteries have a longer shelf life than puzzles.

And when he says “ Great scientists and inventors think in terms of mysteries rather than puzzles too, they are more interested in uncertainty than certainty. Physicist Freeman Dyson has remarked that science is not “a collection of truths, but a continuing exploration of mysteries””

As if murkiness and uncertainty are to be valued over clarity and certainty. As if mysteries and curiosity are valuable not because they lead to the pursuit of knowledge and truth but because their source is knowledge gaps, murkiness and uncertainty.

One of the author’s goal is to show us the cause and effect of curiosity. By which I mean to show us what curiosity is, why we are curious beings and why being curious is important. As such, by including the above examples in the way that he has, the author has, even if briefly, dropped the underlying message that curiosity drives us towards knowledge and truth and that is why it is important. Instead with these few paragraphs he has diluted the merits of curiosity, contradicted the message he was going for and hence failed to integrate the subject to the theme, in this instance.

The author illustrates how mystery inspires long-term, sustained curiosity. And the related importance of difficulty of finding answers to sustaining curiosity and interest and hence learning well.

The harder things are to grasp or memorise, the more our brains rise to the challenge.

Difficulty is desirable when it comes to human information processing (learning) because it forces our brain to work harder at encoding and integrating the inputs that it has coming in. It makes us think and the harder we think, the better we remember. The same applies to anything we can get better at. Skills come from struggle.

The author applies the concept of mysteries to learning in an interesting way and provides an all too relevant example of the relationship of the ease of Google searches, that is of finding answers, to the waning of sustained curiosity.

Some Criticism

If I am strict, there are a few places that the book lacks in word precision that lends to ambiguity and perhaps misunderstanding and disagreement on my part.

Such as when he says, “We should all feel privileged to have access to a deep well of species memory.”, I gather he means the accumulated knowledge of our species that we have access to, stored or communicated orally through the ages. Not that we as a species pass on our memories to the next generation? I hope he is not saying the latter as if we are like the fictional Gou’ld species of Stargate and their DNA memory.

And there are a few other examples of this I have pointed out below as I analyse the chapters in more depth.

The first part of the book discusses definitions and beginnings as well as the relationship of curiosity to evolution and culture and to puzzles and mysteries.

I found myself going back and forth a few pages trying to look for a clear-cut definition of epistemic curiosity. There are many references to what it leads to, descriptions of what it looks like, what actions it drives; lots of descriptions and concrete examples are given from which you can deduce what the author means by all these three terms but especially for epistemic curiosity there is no clear-cut definition, something that goes along the lines of, “Epistemic curiosity is…”.

There is something of this sort in the footnote of one of the pages, that reads:
“Curiosity is often discussed in relation to scientific discovery. Science and scientists certainly play major roles in this book. But I’ll be placing curiosity in a wider context, one that accommodates curiosity about the structure of a Beethoven symphony or the life of Martin Luther King. Epistemic curiosity, in these pages, refers to a wide-ranging desire for intellectual and cultural exploration.”

I found it frustrating that the definition of “epistemic curiosity” was not stated explicitly in the format “Epistemic curiosity is…” I can deduce from his descriptions and explanations, but I am left to wonder — is this what he wanted me to conclude the definition is?

It is a great approach to make the reader think and come to his own conclusions but I prefer that at some point the author’s own definition is stated clearly and directly.

Some of the other things discussed that I found stood out were:

How powerful diversive curiosity can be, powerful enough to override our most deep-rooted instinct of self-preservation.
How “diversive curiosity–the desire for novelty”, can become distracting and dangerous.
How curiosity is crucial to feeling fulfilled and alive. I found a study into the concept of “cognitive reserve” interesting.

Overall

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to the curious amongst us. For me the highlight of the book were the many delightful anecdotes about the curious nature of humans.

Printable Gifts for Book Lovers: Thoughtful, Budget-Friendly & Last Minute

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Gifts made with your own hands, with a bit of love and a touch of creativity and thoughtfulness are the best kinds of gifts anyways, right! If you have a printer at home and a bit of creative, DIY energy, you have a last-minute affordable gift. Here are some DIY projects and instant download printable ideas for you to get started!

A thoughtful, affordable, last-minute gift for book lovers? What could be better than a handmade journal? It hits the sweet spot! It’s a book you made yourself, bound with personable care – you don’t have to be an expert book-binder either, there are myriad of ways those sheets can be bound together!

Printables for Book Lovers

Printable Bookish Junk Journals

And instead of looking all over the internet for printables that you can turn into an amazing gift for the book lover in your life, I’ll hand it to you on a plate! My Enchanted Book Lover bundle has over 500 printable sheets from over a dozen printable kits! All with a book loving theme!

And I’m practically giving it away at the fraction of the original price!

Click here for the Enchanted Book Lover bundle.

Pick any of the book lover themes that you think your gift recipient would love, or mix and match, add some cozy heartfelt details that tells them that you know them and you will be sure to please!

Bonus Tips:

But if you are even shorter on time, you do not need to need to print out entire kits, you can pick out the sheets with ephemera, tags and bookmarks, envelopes and cards.

Printable Reading Journal Pages

Print out selected book review or reading log pages. There are so many to choose from! Here are some that you will find in almost every kit in the Enchanted Book Lover bundle!

Include a few book recommendations or inspirational quotes on the journal, reading planner or scrapbook you just made.

✅ Reading Lists such as TBR, library books, recommended books, etc.
✅ Reading Trackers & Activities pages such as book bingos, reading logs and more.
✅ Book Analysis & Reflections such as book reviews, reading reflections and more.
✅ Personal Favorites & Covers such as favorite authors and quotes.

These also work great when included into a customized hand assembled gift basket.

Printable Bookmarks

Print the bookmarks and tags on cardstock and laminate for a polished finish.

Printable Literary Wall Art

Make a collage of selected illustrations, quotes and add your own handwritten quote or inspirational words. Frame it for instant literary decor!

Want to go with something more classic and elegant? There are many brilliant artworks that are a book lover’s dream and totally free! You heard that right, free to obtain the digital file at least, because they are in the public domain.

It won’t cost much to print them at home or in your local print shop or online, either. A great frame might be the costliest item in this project, but you can also go with the standard frames available in stores for cheap. No need to hit the antique frames shop! But if you can find an antique looking frame at a thrift store or yard sale, they do look great!

Read More → Stunning Free Wall Art for Book Lovers

Printable Cards & Gift Tags

There are many journal cards and tags to choose from. Print them on quality cardstock and write a personal note. Great to attach to gift baskets that you may have assembled.

More Gift Inspiration

Looking for more inspiration? Read these related articles:

→ Stunning Free Wall Art for Book Lovers

Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman, A Literary Analysis

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Title: Good Omens
Authors: Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

You are not reading a review of Good Omens – it is a literary analysis. I shall assume you have read Good Omens. If you have not, please do so before you read further. It’s a short, easy-to-read book. More importantly, it is a good book (whoops, a spoiler!)

There are considerable spoilers here. Most are in the “Characters” and “Theme” sections. The “Plot, Pacing, and More” section should lack significant spoilers. Still, I take no responsibility for you reading the spoilers – I have warned you!

If you do not wish to read the book, you might watch season one of the Prime show. It is a very accurate adaptation of the book. There are some differences. I will cover some of them in the “Differences Between the Novel and the Series” section.

As literary studies go, this is short. I cannot cover every character, theme, or plot point. I will analyze what I consider the most compelling aspects of the book. If you wish to add to my analysis, leave a comment.

Without further ado, I will start my analysis of Good Omens!

Plot, Pacing, and More

Most of the book’s events occur on Armageddon Day. An eleven-year-old boy brings about the world’s end. It is a day predicted by one Agnes Nutter, allegedly the world’s only true prophet.

It is a day thousands of years in the making and opposed by almost nobody. The forces of heaven and hell certainly do not oppose it. A small part of the scant opposing forces is an angel and a demon best friend duo.

There might be a million Armageddon novels. However, I found this version refreshing, compelling, and rather amusing.

It reads more like a Pratchett novel than a Gaiman novel. Perhaps that is because Gaiman’s wittiness blends well with Pratchett’s style of humor. Or, perhaps, as I am more of an experienced Pratchett reader than a Gaiman reader, I noticed more of the Pratchett style.

It bears much of the humor typical of a Pratchett novel. Gaiman’s whimsical wit is abundant. The atmospheric and eerie writing style of Gaiman blends in so well with the weird and compelling writing style of Pratchett.

The plot gets going rather fast, with relatively little setup time. Good Omens thrusts us into Armageddon early on. Many events occur, especially since most of the book happens in one day, with a significant amount in the latter half.

The novel is fun – sometimes a little too fun. Important, compelling scenes sometimes cut away to arguably unnecessary or ill-placed scenes. That creates several pacing issues. However, this is nothing serious, and they do not significantly impact the flow of the novel.

For instance, it spends time on hilarious moments that seem out of place. Most of the moments with the Four Horsemen are examples of such scenes. Some such scenes are rather humorous. However, they seem unnecessary. Some seem somewhat drawn out.

First Edition cover of Good Omens.

Multiple factors swiftly converge towards the rushed end. You expect more than what happens – and then it ends almost abruptly. Despite this, the ending is compelling. It makes sense and is consistent with the book’s themes. However, it is hard to deny that it is a little rushed. It is hard to deny that elements of the ending do not seem necessary.

The nuclear and ecological Armageddon is predictable. That makes sense, given its 1990 publication date. All the same, the ending is predictable. I saw much of it coming from several miles away. Perhaps the way the world is ending is not surprising. The world is ending. Why not use this as an excuse for commentary about pollution and nuclear technology? Never mind whether these are credible concerns. The authors think they are. Although, their points are a little ham-fisted.

However, none of these issues prevented me from enjoying the book. Despite its pacing and other issues, the plot is brilliant, entertaining and tackles some compelling themes.

Characters (Spoilers)

The main characters are Aziraphale, Crowley, Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifier, Shadwell, Madame Tracy, Adam, and Adam’s friends, The Them. The Them dominate the story, have some of the most impact on the story, and are central to the novel’s themes.

I rather liked Aziraphale and Crowley. The latter might be a demon. However, he doesn’t show much commitment to the demonic routine. He loves Earth enough to be a sympathetic character. Crowley has spent considerable time here. He loves watering plants and driving his Bentley. He enjoys listening to the Velvet Underground and everything.

Aziraphale might be an angel. However, he is not enough of a boring choir-going Gods-boy to be uninteresting. He runs a second-hand bookshop. And loves restaurants. And he is very fond of the Sound of Music movie. He and Crowley have a powerful attachment to the material world and its pleasures. He opposes his angelic instincts and upbringing.

Their friendship is captivating, especially so because of its forbidden nature. Yes, they are on opposing sides. So what? Why should that stop a great friendship? They will not let a small thing like Armageddon stop their friendship!

Why would an angel and a demon cooperate? They both love this world. Both are unusual. Both are more evil or good than they are supposed to be. They are both more morally ambiguous than they are supposed to be. Neither Aziraphale nor Crowley care for the war between their respective sides. They want to enjoy their time on Earth and their time together. There are many reasons for them to work together, and I loved everything that brought them together.

Adam is the Antichrist. He is an eleven-year-old boy. Adam wants to have fun with his friends. He loves riding his bike and playing with his friends, The Them. Adam and The Them love debating mysterious nonsense such as UFOs, Atlantis, and Tibetan Monks who allegedly dig through the Earth.

He is a typical eleven-year-old boy. Granted, very few eleven-year-old boys have inherited the powers of Satan. No other young boy has the power to bring about Armageddon. No, in that he is unique. And he is the sort of little twerp you cannot help but find adorable. So are his friends, The Them.

The Them is the name for Adam and his gang of friends: Brian, Wensleydale, Pepper, and later in the novel, his pet dog, known as Dog. The human members of The Them might seem like minor characters. However, they are not. As we shall see, they are crucial.

Dog was delightfully cute. He helps show how human Adam is. He was unaware of what it was. But it showed that despite being the Antichrist, that deep down, Adam is an average human boy. And not evil incarnate.

He is the Hellhound sent to aid Adam in bringing about Armageddon. Unfortunately, although Adam desires a dog, he wants one of those hopelessly cute, tiny dogs with one ear that flops down. Unfortunately, it is in the hound’s nature to take the form his creator wishes. And so, he becomes the pet Adam wants him to be. By the end, nothing hellish remains in him.

Making the human members of The Them generic and non-distinct would have been easy. However, each member of The Them has a sufficiently compelling, distinct personality to make them somewhat interesting. However, I found Pepper and Wensleydale the most interesting. Brian seemed to contribute the least.

The character of Anathema Device is crucial to the plot themes of the novel. However, I did not find her overly interesting. Perhaps it was her rabid and unreasonable belief in the prophecy of Agnes Nutter. The prophecy the book made abundantly clear was not as reliable as she believed. That made her seem less reasonable and sympathetic than she otherwise might have. Or, perhaps, she was not a very interesting character.

I had similar issues with Newton Pulsifer. I enjoyed the gimmick of his curse of almost instantly firing electronics upon touching them. They did not explain this. But perhaps it is not important. It proves to be a plot device later on. However, I am not sure it is a necessary plot device.

His primary purpose in the novel seemed to be to counter Agne’s unreasonable faith in the prophecies of Agnes Nutter. That is a valid contribution. His contribution near the end seems unnecessary. That’s why I call it a gimmick.

Gaiman and Pratchett might have cut Newton from the novel. Crowley might have played the role of prophecy skeptic. He held the book for some time. However, that could have slowed the plot. Perhaps it was best Newton played that role.

My issues with Newton and Agnes do not much detract from my enjoyment of their scenes. Their scenes, though not always as tightly written, were still entertaining.

Crowley. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Credit to sokoistrying.

Madame Tracy is a clairvoyant who appears later in the novel. Tracy exists to play host to Aziraphale after he accidentally disincorporates himself. And to help make a point about human kindness regarding Shadwell. Otherwise, her role is not very significant.

She is not a standout character. I have no problem with this. Her character is not well-developed. However, that is not an issue. The story does not require it.

Shadwell is a more well-developed character than Madame Tracy. Shadwell plays a relatively minor role in the novel other than to disincorporate Aziraphale. Although he gets more development than Madame Tracy, it is not by a great deal. I found him more interesting than her. Although, like Newton, the novel might work without him. He serves to motivate Newton in his actions.

Perhaps they could have combined Newton and Shadwell into one character. That would have denied Madame Tracy a love interest and her happy ending. Was it strictly necessary? I suspect it might not have been.

Perhaps I am over-analyzing. Perhaps Newton and Shadwell should be distinct characters. It is not as though I disliked them. I am just unsure if they were both necessary.

Let’s not forget the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They get a fair amount of coverage in this book. More than I think is justified. Fans of the Prime series may know that their presence there has decreased significantly.

That’s the optimal approach. The book gave too much attention to the Horsemen. Their scenes were entertaining. However, they did not significantly contribute to the plot, and their scenes were sometimes distracting. These scenes hinder the flow of the novel.

There are many other characters. Regrettably, I cannot cover them because of time constraints.

Let me add one more thing: Gaiman likely enjoyed creating these characters. The book has many quirky characters here. Even those that do not seem strictly necessary are at least interesting. Pratchett is surely also to thank for that.

Themes (Spoilers)

Before I begin this section, I will remind the reader of the purpose of this review. Consider the theme of good vs evil and how the novel suggests everyone is morally gray. However, I do not believe everyone is morally gray.

My disagreement does not alter the book’s position. If we are to judge the book qua art, we should judge how well the book presents the position. Not whether we agree with that position – that is a separate issue.

I will mention if I take issue with other themes in this book. However, I shall not go into detail. This review will judge this book as an art form, not a philosophical treatise.

The book’s opening makes one of the central themes obvious: the hypocrisy of organized religion. God gives people free will. However, he expects them to trust him for no reason. God expects them to have faith in him.

Adam and Eve did not possess the knowledge of good and evil. When they sought it, God punished them by banishing them from paradise. How was he to know that was wrong? They were supposed to take it on faith and not exercise the full extent of their free will. Why give man free will if he wished to keep them ignorant and subservient to their faith? Truly ineffable.

The novel examines the themes of good and evil. Aziraphale and Crowley are on opposing sides of the divine war between Heaven and Hell. But neither are perfectly good or evil. The novel argues that everyone – mortal and divine – is sometimes good and bad. Nobody is purely good or evil – there is always some moral ambiguity or shade of gray.

Many are morally ambiguous because they lack the conviction to take a clear moral stance. However, not everyone is morally gray. Many take a clear stance, for good or evil. The novel expresses this well. That counts more than anything.

The theme explores the difficulty of judging someone’s character based on appearance alone. The armies of darkness made the Antichrist into the form of an eleven-year-old child. Who could have known just by looking? Nobody. Not right until the day of Armageddon.

Despite the intentions of the armies of darkness, the Antichrist grows up as an average rural English boy. Once he realizes his world-ending powers, he gives them up so that he and his friends can lead a happy life. That shows that not even the Antichrist must be evil. Even the Antichrist can choose between good and evil.

Another theme is that of friendship. Aziraphale and Crowley have been friends for 6,000 years. They do not let the fact that they are on opposite sides of the eternal war between Heaven and Hell impede a wonderful friendship! Isn’t that touching?

Aziraphale. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Credit to sokoistrying.

Their friendship helps illustrate a theme I mentioned earlier – that nobody is fully good or evil. Neither Aziraphale nor Crowley are truly good or evil. And that makes their friendship work! Crowley quips that his angelic friend is “just enough of a bastard to be worth liking.”

Their friendship would not work were Aziraphale purely good or Crowley pure evil. That is why their friendship works. It is also one of the many ways Pratchett and Gaiman deftly integrate the novel’s several themes.

Adam and his friends have a tight-knit friendship in The Them. Adam is ready to destroy the world. Only his strong bond with his friends helps him rein in his powers and realize that he is terrifying his friends and not acting in their interest. That brings him down from the edge of Armageddon.

Friendship helped save the day. It helped convince Adam not to end the world. It allowed Aziraphale and Crowley to help work together. You might think it sounds cheesy, but it is not. Friendship is important. It can bring out the best in us.

Another theme is that of free will versus destiny. Anathema Device makes much of the claim that the prophecies of Agnes Nutter are accurate. However, is this the case? Her ancestors have spent three hundred years analyzing her prophecies, and almost none seem to make sense – except in retrospect.

Nutter’s writings make no sense. It is almost impossible to match them to anything in advance. However, it is possible to match them to events after they happen and then assume that is what Nutter predicted. That is not a prediction; that is a post-diction.

It is easy to take seemingly random nonsense and make it seem to predict something that happened in the past. That is how Nostradamus appears to make predictions. That is how Nutter’s ancestors make it appear as though her prophecies are accurate.

It is easy to believe in prophecies if you take vague nonsense and only identify what that nonsense means after the events happen. It is easy to pretend that the nonsense was a prediction. The nonsense could have meant nothing or nearly anything.

Are destiny and free will two sides of a coin? Good Omens argues that. Aziraphale and Crowley both believe that they are likely powerless to prevent Armageddon. Aziraphale believes it is part of God’s ineffable plan, and Crowley believes Satan wants the end to come. Still, they try to stop it.

Why should they attempt to stop Armageddon? It would seem that God and Satan both wish for Armageddon. They both desire the last war to decide whether the universe shall be good or evil.

Crowley argues an angel should stop the triumph of evil. And is it not Crowley’s duty to stop the victory of good? Therefore, is it not perhaps part of the larger plan for them to prevent Armageddon? How are they to know? It is all very ineffable, as Aziraphale likes to say.

Near the end, Adam refuses to mobilize the Four Horsemen. Death claims Armageddon is “Written,” but Adam counters that what is “Written” can be crossed out and rewritten. Writing does not invalidate free will.

Aziraphale and Crowley maintain that an Ineffable Plan is inherently elusive and adaptable. Destiny is not something set in stone – it is whatever people make of it. Free will is what ultimately matters. Destiny said Adam was supposed to end the world. Yet, he chose not to.

Good Omens posits that one thing that defines humanity – as opposed to demon and angel kind – is their immense capacity for cruelty, kindness, and creativity.

The demons gave Crowley credit for the Spanish Inquisition. However, that was a product of creative human cruelty. Something Crowley believes is beyond the unimaginative cruelty of demons. Only a human could conceive of that kind of innovative cruelty. Crowley believes humans are capable of cruelty beyond the imagination of demons.

However, Madame Tracy always makes Sunday lunch for neighbor Shadwell, even though he is a disagreeable and ungrateful grump. Good Omens argues for the better side of humanity where kindness and benevolence shine through. She seeks companionship with him even though he might, superficially at least, appear to be an unlikeable man.

Anathema Device attempts to prevent Armageddon for allegedly altruistic reasons. Some might see this as proof of the goodness of humanity. I do not consider altruism to be rational or noble. However, that is moot. There is nothing altruistic about saving the world. If you save the world, is it not in your self-interest?

However, the best example of this theme is Adam, the Antichrist. He has an enormous capacity for evil. However, he rejects it and rejects the innate evil within him. He elects to live as an innocent child – free of the evil of the Antichrist. If he can reject evil, then so can anyone. Whatever evil is within us is a choice.

The book presents the idea that good and evil exist within us all, but this is false as they are choices that we make. Some of us choose both.

Differences Between the Novel and the Series

There is a mini-series adaptation of the novel. Series one of the Good Omens Prime Video series is very faithful to the book. However, as you should expect, differences exist.

Aziraphale and Crowley are much more prominent in the Prime Video show. They are the main characters in the book. Long sections of the book go by where they do not appear, unlike the Prime Video show.

Gabriel and other characters from Heaven and Hell – such as Beelzebub – barely appear. They appear rarely in the book but have plenty of screen time in the show.

The Four Horsemen receive significantly less screen time in the mini-series. That is an appreciable change that helps give the Prime Video show better pacing.

Viewers of the Prime series will remember a bit at the end involving a trick involving the forces of Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, that is not in the book. The book ends almost immediately after the aversion of Armageddon – unlike the Prime show.

Death appears in Good Omens. He TALKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS, just as he does in the Discworld novels.

Conclusion

Good Omens is a fun and quirky story about friendship and free will. It has a lot to say about many things, but it is, above all, a fun story. If you enjoy the quirkiness of Neil Gaiman’s characters and his worlds, you will love this book. Whether you enjoy Pratchett and Gaiman or want a humorous take on friendship, free will versus destiny, or other compelling themes, this book is for you.

It’s a funny tale of two friends saving the world from Armageddon. That is all right – that is as good a reason to love Good Omens as any other. There is much more to Good Omens than that – but take away what you will.

It is not my place to tell you what you should value. I like what it says about free will and prophecy. It is instructive to apply this to religion. Here, you can choose from a variety of riches. Take your pick.

Hopefully, we can all agree that it is well-written, intelligent, fun, and packed with quirkiness. Pratchett and Gaiman set out to do so – and they succeeded. Congratulations to them both!

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, A Dark Urban Fantasy Book Review

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, A Book Review

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jone
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This magical story revolves around Sophie Hatter, a young woman cursed by a wicked witch that transforms her into an elderly lady. With nothing to lose and reservations cast aside, Sophie leaves her mundane life behind in search of her fortune.

After having a bad night out in the world, Sophie seeks refuge in the mysterious moving castle. Only to find out it belongs to the enigmatic wizard Howl. As she settles into the peculiar home, she discovers that there is more to Howl than the rumors would have you believe. Nothing is as it seems.

The author’s world building is wonderfully imaginative, weaving together elements of steampunk, fairy tale, and coming-of-age themes. It is a rich world that captivates both young and old alike. She created a world where a moving castle and a hopping scarecrow themselves become characters with vivid personalities.

The characters are richly developed with quirks and complexities. Sophie, who is initially a timid girl, finds herself being fiercely stubborn, daring and outspoken when faced with the unique challenges of her new life in the castle.

Howl, who is outwardly charismatic and charming, hides deep insecurities. He is outwardly thought to be superficial and vain but is found to care a lot about the people close to him. The dynamic between the two and their banter is engaging, sweet and often humorous. It leaves you yearning for more depth.

More time could have been spent on the interactions between Sophie and Howl, showing more of their feelings towards each other. In this regard, perhaps their interactions are almost too subtle. Although I also loved the subtleties of their sweet romance.

The plot is filled with fun events, mystery and character development to engage the reader’s interest throughout. The story just flows and is easy to read, with a series of twists and turns which all come to a satisfying end. Once again, some plot points might feel slightly rushed, leaving the reader yearning for more.

I found the writer’s style most refreshing and sophisticated. She weaves subtle clues throughout the story that all connect in the end. Her writing style makes the story feel organic and cozy, even with all the strangeness going on in the story!

Combined with the delightfully quirky and multidimensional characters, the imaginative world and events, this proved to be an amazing read! This is a book where my only complaint is that there needed to be more of certain aspects. So, of course, highly recommended!

Other Books in the Series (On my TBR, to be read and reviewed)

Book 2: Castle in the Air

Book 3: House of Many Ways

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, Book Review

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: Night Watch
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Night Watch is the 29th novel in the long-running Discworld series and the 6th novel in the Watch series. That might confuse some of you. I thought you said this was the Discworld series. Indeed, it is. However, the Discworld series comprises several sub-series. Night Watch is part of the series focusing on the adventures of the City Watch of the city of Ankh-Morpork.

The Watch series is one of the more popular series. It includes some of my favorite Discworld novels, such as this one and Guards! Guards!

[The other series are Witches, Death, and the Industrial Revolution. There are also some standalone books not in any of these series. Thief of Time and The Truth are standalone novels.]

Before we go further, I should clarify that this will be a somewhat spoiler-laden review. If you have not read the book, do not read the Themes section. That contains spoilers. Sorry, I could not avoid spoilers in that section. If you have not read the book and do not want spoilers, skip that section. The rest of the review is safe.

The main character of this novel is a fan favorite and a leader of the City Watch: Samuel Vimes. On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May Revolution, Vimes is chasing the notorious criminal Carcer Dun.

Because of temporal shenanigans during Thief of Time, Vimes accidentally travels back to the days before the famous May Revolution! You can read my review of Thief of Time here.

That is not good. What if Vimes runs into his younger self? It is funny that you should mention that. That is a plot point of the book. Vimes has to protect and train his younger self.

From whom, you might ask? The primary villain of our book accidentally traveled in time along with Vimes. This crazed villain, Carcer, has a grudge against Vimes and decides he might try to take out the younger version of Vimes if he gets the chance.

That would be a bad thing for the future Vimes. Supposing he wishes to continue existing. Or if he died when he was Young Vimes, does that mean Old Vimes never traveled back in time? Time travel is confusing!

Young Vimes had a mentor, John Keel. He was the man who helped make Young Vimes into the man Old Vimes would grow up to be. Night Watch sees Old Vimes replace John Keel and become a mentor for himself. Throughout the book, Old Vimes has to pretend to be John Keel without letting Young Vimes or anyone else know who he is. See, I told you time travel was confusing!

To make matters more interesting, they have traveled to the past of the city of Ankh-Morpork, a rather dark period, thirty years in the past. Ankh-Morpork suffered under the rule of the corrupt Patrician Winder. During this period, the City Watch was deeply corrupt, and a Gestapo-like branch of the Watch, the Cable Street Particulars, terrorized the city.

Ah, that might have something to do with this May Revolution, no? Probably! That is not much of a spoiler. Nor is it much of a spoiler that old and young Vimes find themselves wrapped up in the events of the May Revolution. It is pretty obvious, what with that kind of setup!

A lot more happens. However, as I do not want to provide serious spoilers, I will leave that up to the reader to discover. Hopefully, the historical revolution will occur. We can hope the revolution will see Winder removed from office. Hopefully, Young Vimes lives to become a less naïve Vimes. Hopefully, he will become less of a twerp, as Older Vimes might say.

If you have not read the novel, skip the next section. Sorry, I cannot discuss the themes without providing spoilers.

The book cover. Yes, it is a reference to a certain Rembrandt painting.

Night Watch Themes [SPOILERS]

I should acknowledge the many similarities between this novel and Les Miserables. For instance, both novels involve the heroes joining revolutions.

In Les Miserables, Valjean is a good man running from justice because he stole a loaf of bread. Like Valjean, Carcer claims his original crime was to steal a loaf of bread. Do not mistake him for an innocent man! The book clarifies that Carcer is very far from an innocent man.

Such parallels exist but are not a focus of the book. Revolutions and evil governments are typical literary tropes, and it is tricky to write about such without having common elements.

For instance, it is virtually impossible to tell a story about a revolution without the presence of impassioned revolutionaries on the front line, leading revolutions. Both stories have these. Both stories mimic Earth in a roughly similar period, so it should not be surprising that both books include revolutionaries with frilly shirts.

Much fuss can be made of such parallels, and there are many more I could mention. They are interesting. However, I see no point in making them the focus of this review.

I do not believe they were a focus of Pratchett’s writing. Many of the parallels likely exist as comedic references. However, they are not very relevant to our discussion of the themes of Night Watch.

One theme of this book is how “nothing changes” and how “history finds a way.” That manifests in two primary ways.

First, of course, Old Vimes tries to avoid changing the past. That is very difficult to do, and he predictably fails. However, he finds that although he seems to change certain events in the past, this does not significantly alter the flow of events. Things seem to mostly happen the way he remembers them, despite his accidental changes to the past and the changes his enemy Carcer inflicts upon the past.

That has very little relevance to the real world. Some have read it as a commentary on parallel universes or determinism. However, I do not believe in either of these. I do not find this theme very interesting.

The second way the “nothing change” theme manifests is not better. After the revolution, things largely continued as they were for most Ankh-Morpork citizens. Winder is gone. But another madman, Lord Snapcase, takes over. The Cable Street Particulars might be gone. But this does not seem to make much difference to most people. The revolution has made little impact on the lives of most citizens.

Meanwhile, the evil people continue scheming to take power as they had before. Indeed, as I mentioned, Snapcase becomes the next Patrician. And he is hardly any better than Winder, the previous ruler. How much difference did the revolution make?

That is also overly cynical. Why do I think this? For many of the same reasons, I stated earlier. There is no reason evil has to win in this fashion. That is a rather deterministic view, which I take issue with. Yes, it often happens this way. But it does not have to!

I do not always agree with the ideas he expresses. However, he makes his point well, even if I dislike what he is saying. You do not have to agree with the theme of a work of art. It might not be a good theme. Is it expressed well? When judging a work qua art, always focus on how well the author delivers his themes. Here, they are well-delivered.

Another theme of Night Watch is how you should always act to set a good example. Old Vimes spends much of the book teaching his younger self and other members of the Night Watch how he thinks they should act as members of the Watch.

They start as corrupt officers, and he does not like this. He believes that if the city is ever to improve, the Watch must rise above corruption and set the proper example. And he spends a considerable portion of the novel teaching the Watch how to do this.

That is a theme I had no issue with. I agree that you should certainly lead by example, especially if you are in a position of authority. That is a theme Pratchett expresses very well.

Finally, another theme of the novel ispeople not having the courage to say “no” to what they might think to be minor things.

For example, various members of the Night Watch feel it is immoral to take bribes from citizens. But they do not dare to say so because everyone does it, and they do not want to feel they do not belong.

Several leading members of the city militia wonder if it is immoral to mow the public down with cavalry charges or employ martial law. That is what military tradition says should be done. Should they not do it?

No, they should not do that. People in these situations must stand up and refuse to do such things. Imagine if more Nazis had questioned their orders during WWII or more American soldiers during the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1968.

People in a position to make a difference need to speak up where they can make a difference. To not do so is to allow evil to grow stronger. The excuse “everyone does” is not an excuse. Nor is “What can we do?” You can do something. You can encourage other people to do something. Nothing ever gets better if you allow evil to win.

Characters

Samuel Vimes is the main character of his book. We get a two-for-one, in that we have a young and an old Vimes. The Old Vimes is the main character. We do not see a lot of the Young Vimes, although obviously, we see a fair bit of him.

What is Young Vimes like? According to Old Vimes, he is a naïve twerp. He recently joined the Night Watch. Young Vimes has much to learn about how to survive as a copper in Ankh-Morpork. He has much to learn about what Old Vimes considers right and wrong. Fortunately, Old Vimes is there to teach them these things!

Of course, Old Vimes is his cynical self. Despite this, he is the moral compass of the story. He might be old and cynical. But he values justice and he wants the City Watch to become the better self he has seen in the future. He has seen that the Watch can be better.

I have always liked Vimes. He might be a cynical, world-weary man. But beneath all that, he has a strong sense of justice, and Old Vimes is a good man. But do not tell him I said that. Please do not tell him I said that!

We see a return of other City Watch favorites, including Captain Carrot, Detruituis, and Angua. These three get a very brief cameo. Colon and a certain Watchman of a dubious species affinity have a significant role in the story.

We see the History Monks for the first time since Thief of Time. They help Vimes recover from the accident that sends him back in time. They play a small and vital role. Although, I thought only one of them was necessary.

We also see a younger version of Vetinari. Yes, he is the future Patrician, ruler of Ankh-Morpork from the other Discworld novels. In this book, he is a young student assassin. If you know Vetinari, you will not be surprised by the version of the character you see here. It is very much a Patrician in waiting.

Sam Vimes, the hero of our piece. The older and cynical version…

The Good

Overall, I thought the themes were well expressed and integrated into the plot. I might not have agreed with all the themes. However, that is a separate issue to their well-delivered expression. It expresses several political themes in a clear and sometimes thought-provoking manner.

This book deals with grim issues. Yet, it provides a lot of great moments and frequent laughs. I thought it was one of the more funny Discworld novels I have read in a long time.

It is probably the best City Watch novel I have read since Guards! Guards! Although I still think Guards! Guards! is a more enjoyable book than this one. I have personal reasons for preferring Guards! Guards! Fans of the City Watch series will almost certainly love this book, especially if they are a fan of Vimes.

The book provides some fascinating backstory to some beloved Discworld characters. However, I still enjoyed discovering a little about the backstory of Cut My Own Throat Dibbler, Vetinari, Nobby, Colon, and more.

The Bad

If you are unfamiliar with the City Watch series and Vimes, you might enjoy this book less. I do not believe you will be lost. However, the book assumes some familiarity with Vimes and the City Watch that a newcomer to Discworld may not possess.

However, it attempts to provide a sufficient background for newcomers so they may not be lost. I do not believe most newcomers will be lost. However, they may need to work a little harder to follow along. I do not think it is a significant issue. While I suggest readers read the other City Watch books, a new reader can start with Night Watch if they wish.

This book is darker than most other Discworld books. I do not think this is an issue. However, it is a flaw some have commented on, and some might consider holding against Night Watch.

Pratchett asserts that the political status quo triumphs over idealists. However, I very much disagree with that. That may be how it often works in reality. However, this is not always the case.

The idealism of the American revolutionaries triumphed over the political status quo rulership by the divine right of kings. To this day, America, for all of its political problems, is not ruled by a king (despite what Trump and the Republican party might wish). America can still be free, or at least relatively free, if its people choose to be.

At no point did America have to stop being the Land of the Free. To the extent this is no longer true, that is because Americans chose for it to stop being so. They might have chosen otherwise. The idealism of the American Revolution could have continued to the modern day or hundreds or thousands of years into the future. It could continue almost indefinitely into the future!

Pratchett is overly cynical in his assessment that revolutions and idealism ultimately do not matter. Perhaps, historically, they do not make a significant difference.

Sometimes, things never change. Sometimes, things can change a lot. Massive change is possible if the proper revolutionary ideas come along. If these ideas have widespread support, there may be a political revolution. It may be a violent revolution, or it may not be. If it is a revolution backed by ideas with popular support, much can change. Things can change. Sometimes, history changes drastically and for the better.

Conclusion

Night Watch is a sometimes thought-provoking and hilarious book. While Night Watch is darker than many other Discworld books, it is still hilarious. It tackles some interesting, although debatable, themes. It is a recommended book for any fan of comic fantasy, those who like stories about revolutions, or who love Discworld!

It lacks the pacing issues of The Truth novel I have reviewed. It also does not have the distracting elements of Thief of Time. No, Night Watch is a lot tighter than either of those books and is one of the more well-written books in the series.

Is this my favorite Discworld novel? No. Is this the best City Watch novel? I prefer Guards! Guards! That might be nostalgia or other personal attachments I have to that book.

However, Night Watch is a must-read for any Discworld fan, comic fantasy fan, or fan of revolutionary drama, despite my disagreements with some of its themes.

I hope you pick it up and enjoy!

Stunning Free Wall Art for Book Lovers

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Art is not a luxury; it is food for the soul so why are those walls empty? You do not need to spend a lot to nourish yourself with art, either. If you are a book lover, you have come to the right place for here you will find troves of bookish art. In this article, let’s get you started with wall art, available freely in the public domain.

Some of the most beautiful and certainly my favorite paintings in history are those of people reading in sunlit rooms and scholars in their libraries surrounded by books. Below you will find many such paintings, my curated collection of book lover art for you to peruse.

If you fall in love with any of them, feel free to download these images to your devices. Which you can then get printed and framed at home, online or your local print shops. These can really liven up your reading nooks and personal libraries or studies! Not to mention your moods!

Shop Polished Ready to Hang Prints

If you are looking to get it printed online and would like most of the work done for you, other than adding to the cart and checking out, you can find prints of these paintings on my Zazzle shop.

With this option you get a professionally printed, gallery quality reproduction that’s difficult to achieve at home. It’s printed on high-quality poster paper or for an even more gorgeous print, select the “Art Print” option!!

You also get a variety of size options, plus optional framing and matting, making it easy to create a polished, ready-to-hang piece without extra effort. There’s no need to source specialty paper, adjust colour settings, or risk wasted ink and uneven prints. Buying from my Zazzle shop means with a few clicks your art print will be on its way to you!!

Let’s dive in!

Please use the links below to support this book blog with referral commissions (there is no extra cost to you!).

Book Lover Art Prints from Vintage Paintings

Browse on Zazzle

Girl Reading a Letter by Johannes Vermeer (1659)

Original from Wikimedia Commons. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1770)

Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg (1850)

Mother and Child by Gustave Leonard de Jonghe (1861)

Original public domain image from The Clark Art Museum

Amsterdam Orphan Girl by Nicolaas van der Waay (1890 – 1910)

Original public domain image from The Rijksmuseum

Claude Monet by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1872)

Original from the National Gallery of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Josephine and Mercie by Edmund Tarbell (1908)

Original public domain image from National Gallery of Art

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett, Book Review

Ash Stral — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Title: Thief of Time
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thief of Time, another comic fantasy novel penned by one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, is the 26th novel in the Discworld series. Astute readers may notice that my last review was the 25th novel in the Discworld series, The Truth, the review of which you can read here.

This novel sees the return of the dreaded Auditors of Reality. Regular readers of the Discworld series might remember this horde of cosmic auditors from the previous books, Reaper Man and Hogfather.

The Auditors are, as their name implies, the beings responsible for enforcing The Rules. According to the Discworld Wiki:

They make sure that gravity works, file the appropriate paperwork for each chemical reaction, and so forth.

Discworld Wiki

While they enforce The Rules, in a sense, they are The Rules. They are an anthropomorphic personification of the Laws of Physics.

The Auditors hate life. It is unpredictable and messy. It is hard to square life with the Rules. And so, they hate it. And so, not for the first time in the Discworld series, they have set out to wipe it out.

Why not do it directly? That is against The Rules. They have to get life to do it themselves. That is not against The Rules. And so the book begins with the sinister plots of the cosmic bureaucrats.

Themes

The book explores the nature of what makes us human. Now, I know, isn’t that the role of all fiction? True enough. However, let me present one false alternative, one held by the Auditors.

The Auditors are creatures that are part of a soulless hive mind. They are immortal beings with no imagination and no grasp of life at all.

The Auditors attempt to understand life as if they were physicists! They cannot understand humans’ desire for anything. To them, food is merely there to keep the meat sacks running. What other purpose could it serve?

However, if you attempt to understand humanity as a physics problem, you are doomed to failure. You cannot understand human psychology on a purely chemical level. You cannot understand human sociology on a purely chemical level.

And you certainly cannot get much of anywhere with art by studying physics! For that, you need to study psychology and philosophy! That is what the Auditors are missing. They do not understand that you cannot understand humans on a purely mechanical level.

We understand other people precisely because we do not approach them as math problems. We comprehend that people have emotions and ideas. People are not math problems. People are not chemical equations to be solved.

You cannot understand the human experience by reducing it to a mechanical problem. That is a major theme of the book and one I enjoyed the most.

But the book is called “Thief of Time”, so does time come into it? Yes, it does! Time is another theme of this novel.

To quote the book:

People have been messing around with time ever since there were people. Wasting it, killing it, sparing it, making it up. And they do it. People’s heads were made to play with time.

Lu-Tze

In the book, this is very literal. Time is literally being taken away. Time is a very real thing on the Discworld and people can have it taken away from them. Seconds, hours, and years are being taken away from people.

In reality, of course, time is not so literally real. We invented this concept of time. We can waste it, use it productively, make it up, and do many things with it.

I don’t consider this nearly as interesting as the other major theme of the book. We have this concept called time management. Some of us are better at it. Some of us are worse with it.

Characters

I have discussed the primary antagonists of Thief of Time, the Auditors. These soulless creatures are rather compelling enemies.

Is it right to say that they are evil? I am not convinced “evil” is the right word. The Auditors are amoral beings, soulless beings. They do not understand life. They are opposed to its existence.

Watching the Auditors struggle to understand humanity, or merely the concept of individuality, is revealing. Imagine if the laws of physics were conscious. Imagine if those laws tried to relate to us.

We meet a strange Order of monks known as the History Monks. This secretive religion ensures that time follows its correct path. These custodians of time are something like the Time Lords from Doctor Who, if that helps.

The History Monks have abilities to do things like manipulate time. They can “slice” time. This allows them to move much faster than anyone around them. They can move time from one place to another and manipulate it in other strange ways.

I will not go into it much here. It can all be confusing, even in the book, if you are not paying close attention.

The History Monks we spend most of our time with are Lu-Tze and Lobsang Ludd.

Lu-Tze is a wise elderly monk known as The Sweeper. He also uses a lot of seemingly paradoxical anecdotes, some of which he may not have noted down properly. Such as “It never rains, but it pours” and “Do unto otters as you would have them do unto you”.

We also met Lobsang Ludd. He is a gifted History Monk and apprentice to Lu-Tze. He was an orphan and a former member of the Thieves Guild in the city of Ankh-Morpork.

Lobsang has a natural talent for the work of a History Monk. The History Monks found him when he stopped time as he was about to hit the ground just after falling off a building.

Susan, the adopted granddaughter of Death, makes an appearance. Susan has inherited traits from her grandfather. She can walk through walls and manipulate time. And do many other supernatural things Death can do.

In this book, she is a schoolteacher. She uses her powers to make things rather interesting for her students. All very useful for this story, as you will see.

And finally, we have Jeremy Clockson. He is obsessed with making clocks. He can’t understand people. But he understands everything there is to know about clocks. As you may guess, clocks play a major role in the plot of this story, so I cannot say too much more. Not without wandering into spoiler territory.

The Good

The Auditors of Reality are a collection of all-powerful celestial bureaucrats. They despise life. And yet, they seek to understand it. For all of their knowledge of The Rules of reality, they cannot understand life. Why?

The Auditors could not understand humanity. They view humans as a physics problem. The Auditors’ failure was the best part of the book. I loved it!

You cannot reduce human behavior to the sloshing of chemicals or the tracking of the dancing of atoms. Not even if you are the most skilled godlike cosmic accountant. It does not work like that.

Thief of Time does not give very much detail about why it does not work like that. Why is this? The reasons are fairly obvious. Human behavior is too complex, and we have free will.

The book explores this hilariously and with great color. It is worth reading for this alone.

The Bad

Thief of Time is a little slow-paced in several places. I think Thief of Time spent too much time on Lu-Tze and the History Monks.

The theme of time is not that interesting or novel. While I think it is a valid theme, I don’t think it is all that interesting. And I do not think the plot supporting it is all that interesting.

Nor do I think it integrates well with the other Auditor plot. I think it should have been made shorter.

Lu-Tze is not a very interesting character. Most of his should be condensed or cut.

There is some forced romance near the end. I think it is only mentioned to be covered in later books, but it seems to have no impact on this book. It seems forced and out of place here.

Conclusion

Thief of Time is a highly amusing book! I would highly recommend it if you want to see why a mechanistic view of humanity does not work.

Are you a fan of the Auditors or stories about alien lifeforms trying to understand humanity? Then you will love this book.

I was not a great fan of the temporal aspect of the plot, but your mileage might vary. Perhaps you will disagree. Perhaps you like stories about monks slowing down time, playing with time, and that kind of thing. If so, check this book out.

If you like Discworld, enjoy comic fantasy, and want to read a highly philosophical story about the human condition, you must read this.

The Truth by Terry Pratchett Book Review

Ash Stral — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: The Truth
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Truth is a comic fantasy novel written by one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett. It is the 25th novel in the Discworld series of novels.

The novel introduces “movable type” (the printing press) to the city of Ankh-Morpork. As a result, we see the foundation of its first newspaper. The results are, as is not news to Discworld fans, hilariously absurd.

Our publisher and primary protagonist, William de Worde, learns that where there is a paper, there is always news. And that said “news” often includes things such as humorously shaped vegetables, political scandals and people’s fascination for irrelevant details such as the ages of interviewees.

Themes

The book explores the nature and roles of journalism in society. We explore the nature of both good and bad journalism. It explores the importance of freedom of speech and journalistic issues such as sensationalism, censorship and libel.

The book presents a look at the worst kind of journalism. We see how some people rarely think rationally when presented with this kind of poor journalism.

It also explores various ways journalism can influence politics, for both the better and worse. In doing so, it frequently references the Watergate Scandal.

We also learn the incredible power of the truth.

Characters

The primary protagonist of his novel is William de Worde. With the help of the dwarf, Gunilla Goodmountain, he establishes Ankh-Morpork’s first newspaper.

On his staff is a woman reporter, a reformed vampire with a suicidal interest in flash photography and an army of dwarves required to run the printing press.

The main villains are the duo of the New Firm and the zombie lawyer, Mr. Slant. The New Firm is an interesting duo of villains. However, I found elements of their characterization slightly distracting.

Mr. Tulip is a mindless killer. He is always consuming some allegedly (but usually harmless) substance that he thinks will destroy his few remaining brain cells. And yet, he has a great eye for fine things.

Mr. Pin is the brain of the New Firm. He has a cold, calculating mind of a very mindful killer.

Mr. Slant is the sort to never let a minor thing, such as being dead, stop him from meddling in the legal affairs of the city. He is not a fan of the Patrician. Even though it must be said, the rule of the Patrician is at least predictably despotic.

Existing fans of Discworld will enjoy the return of several fan favorites. Such as Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, Captain of the Watch Vimes, the Patrician and Gaspode.

My favorite version of the cover of the book.

Buy On Amazon

The Good

It is a hilarious look at its very important and interesting themes. It is often delightfully absurd, almost always hilarious and very often thought-provoking. The humor is very well-written and relatable, no matter your familiarity with Discworld, or fantasy.

While it is absurd, it tackles serious themes intelligently. It presents a look at good and bad journalism and successfully makes you think about what role journalism should have in society.

The new characters in this book are very interesting. William de Worde’s passion and dedication to the truth are inspiring. I enjoyed the character of Otto, the vampire that has sworn off blood and who acts as a flash photographer.

It is great to see cameos from fan favorites such as Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, the Patrician and various members of the Watch.

Gaspode makes a welcome reappearance for the second Discworld book in a row (he had a major role in The Fifth Elephant).

The book handles the frequent political themes of this book very well. The political parts of this book are hilarious and not at all boring. Pratchett writes very compelling political humor and some of these sections are among the most interesting in the entire book.

The Bad

Some may consider the book a little slow-paced in places. I did not find this to be a serious issue.

I thought the ending was a little rushed, although I still enjoyed it. The presentation of a few details could have been clearer.

I thought some of the interpersonal character threads were left hanging.

One of the main characters, the woman reporter, Sacharissa Crisplock is underdeveloped (hence why I have had not much to say about her).

While she plays an important and interesting role in the book, I think she was not a very well-developed character.

Conclusion

The Truth is an excellent and hilarious read! You do not have to be a fan of Discworld to appreciate its humor, but if you are, you will appreciate it all the more!

It has something intelligent to say about its themes and the plot explores this in a very interesting and creative way.

The plot is excellent. It has minor pacing issues, and a slightly rushed ending that leaves a few threads dangling. However, the conclusion is very satisfying.

If you like Discworld, then this is a must-read. If you love comic fantasy, then this is highly recommended. It is also highly recommended for any fans of fantasy or thought-provoking comedy.

How You Can Get My $97 Book Lovers Printable Junk Journal Bundle for FREE?!

Ash Stral — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0700

🖤 15 Book Lovers Junk Journal Kits!

🖤 500+ Printable Pages & Ephemera!

Explore all the individual junk journal kits now!

Click here for the full bundle details and buy now!

Or here’s how to claim the entire bundle for free!

Purchase $20 (or more) worth of bookish printables from my shop.
Other than the junk journals of course because you’ll be getting that for free!
Message me via email to claim this bundle for free!
Email: ash@bookishtroves.com
I will verify your purchase and send you a link to the bundle via email!

Why You’ll Love The Enchanted Book Lover Bundle!

✅ 15 book lover kits with 500+ beautifully designed junk journal pages and ephemera.

✅ Including reading journal pages such as book trackers!

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Click here for the full bundle details!

Free Books from Indie Authors, the Public Domain and More

Ash Stral — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:00:00 -0700

Are you one of those readers who hoard digital titles? It doesn’t matter if you get around to reading them, but you probably should 😉

With the digital revolution, came easy access to reading material. And there are plenty of free resources to get your hands on free eBooks and audiobooks, if you are on a budget!

I mean other than your local public libraries….

Below are some of my go to resources such as Project Gutenberg for books in the public domain. Free trials for Amazon Prime Reading, Kindle Unlimited and Audible. For discovering new authors, you can check out the many indie authors offering free eBooks as ARCs or freebie promotions.

Whether you love classics, new indie releases, or niche genres, there’s no excuse not to keep your eReader loaded with great reads.

Do you have any favorite platforms or go-to sources for free eBooks? Here are some resources for you to get your hands on more free books!

Free eBooks by Indie Authors

There are always some group promotions going on that you can browse! It’s a great way to discover new authors! Sign up to my author newsletter for such new promos every month or so! You can do so on my author website ashtral.com.

And in the process you support indie authors!❤️ Here is a free short story from me!

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is a digital library offering over 70,000 free eBooks, with a focus on works for which U.S. copyright has expired. It was founded by Michael S. Hart in 1971, making it the oldest digital library. The collection includes classic literature, historical documents, reference books, and more — all available for free download in various formats like ePub, Kindle, plain text, and HTML. Project Gutenberg relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and maintain the collection, with the goal of encouraging the creation and distribution of eBooks.

Top 100 EBooks downloaded

Some Favorite Classics on Project Gutenberg

Classic Literature Merchandise

Celebrate your love for timeless stories with classic literature merchandise inspired by or derived from works in the public domain! Be sure to follow my shop and check back to see newest additions! Or sign up to my newsletter for the updates!

Free Kindle eBooks

There are loads of eBooks on Amazon Kindle store by authors who like to offer their first book or first few books for free to give their readers a taste of their writing.

Check out these lists of Top 100 Free Kindle eBooks.

Top 100 Free Kindle eBooks

Top 100 Free Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Top 100 Free Teen and Young Adult

Free Audible Trial

If you are an audiobook fan, you can sign up to audible.com for a free trial. There are thousands of included audiobooks and originals, so how many can you listen to in the one free month?

Try for $0

Plus, one free credit so you can choose and keep one title, including bestsellers and new releases. This is yours to keep even after the trial is over! Don’t forget to cancel the membership before the trial ends.

Free 30-day Kindle Unlimited Trial

Kindle Unlimited offers unlimited reading and unlimited listening! It boasts over 4 million digital titles (eBooks) featuring best-sellers, popular series, classics and more. And thousands of audiobooks! Plus, magazine subscriptions

Try for $0

Free 30-day Amazon Prime Reading Trial

You can get a free 30-day trial of Prime if you are new customer. It includes free delivery on Amazon purchases, Prime Video, exclusive deals and more!

But we are here for the Prime Reading that is included in this free trial. It includes a catalog of thousands of eBooks, comics and audiobooks!

Try for $0

Bookish Troves · Blog

Grab Free Bookish Centerpiece Printables!

Free Reader’s Junk Journals

Create a Reading Journal You’ll Actually Love Using

Beautiful kits for book lovers who want to combine reading, journaling, and junk-journal creativity.

✨ That’s exactly why I created READER’S JUNK JOURNALS!

✨ Get the Starter Kits FREE when you join the Bookish Troves newsletter

Your Reading Journal Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Turn Reading Pages Into Junk-Journal Magic

Ready to Create Your Reader’s Junk Journals?

✨ Grab the reader’s junk journal Starter Kit FREE!

✨ ✨ Discover more reader’s junk journals and bookish treasures in my shop!

A Little Note Before You Go…

From the Heart: Simple DIY Bookish Gifts for Readers

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Blind Date with a Book

Decoupaging Magic

Custom Book Box/ Basket Kit

Printables for Book Lovers

Final Thoughts

Literary Wedding Inspiration for An Epic Love Story

The Secret Garden Literary Wedding

Vintage Scrollwork Literary Wedding

Burgundy and Cream Bookish Wedding

Curious: The Desire to Know, A Book Review

Introduction

Highlights

Anecdotes

Evolution and Culture

Puzzles and Mysteries

Some Criticism

Overall

Printable Gifts for Book Lovers: Thoughtful, Budget-Friendly & Last Minute

Printables for Book Lovers

Printable Bookish Junk Journals

Printable Reading Journal Pages

Printable Bookmarks

Printable Literary Wall Art

Printable Cards & Gift Tags

More Gift Inspiration

Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman, A Literary Analysis

Plot, Pacing, and More

Characters (Spoilers)

Themes (Spoilers)

Differences Between the Novel and the Series

Conclusion

Related Post:

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, A Book Review

Other Books in the Series (On my TBR, to be read and reviewed)

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, Book Review

Night Watch Themes [SPOILERS]

Characters

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion

Stunning Free Wall Art for Book Lovers

Shop Polished Ready to Hang Prints

Girl Reading a Letter by Johannes Vermeer (1659)

Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1770)

The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg (1850)

Mother and Child by Gustave Leonard de Jonghe (1861)

Amsterdam Orphan Girl by Nicolaas van der Waay (1890 – 1910)

Claude Monet by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1872)

Josephine and Mercie by Edmund Tarbell (1908)

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett, Book Review

Themes

Characters

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion

The Truth by Terry Pratchett Book Review

Themes

Characters

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion

How You Can Get My $97 Book Lovers Printable Junk Journal Bundle for FREE?!

Explore all the individual junk journal kits now!

Free Books from Indie Authors, the Public Domain and More

Free eBooks by Indie Authors