Birthstone Book Covers: January = Garnet!

I participated in Birthstone Books Covers for the first time in August, and now I’m hooked! Leslie at Books Are the New Black hosts this fun monthly meme — and since I love anything related to spotlighting amazing book covers, I just had to jump in.

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

January is my daughter’s birth month, so I’ve been buying her garnet-colored gifts all her life! I must say, though, that I’ve never given her a book with a garnet cover! Clearly a major oversight!

According to Thomas Michael Jewelry:

Garnet is January’s birthstone. Garnets symbolize eternal friendship, loyalty and a light heart. There is evidence of garnet jewelry found in Bronze age burials in Eastern Europe. Garnet jewelry has been discovered in ancient Egypt and Sumeria. Garnets were treasured in jewelry by the Greek and Roman cultures as well as Pre-Columbian Aztec and Native American cultures. In Medieval times, garnets were thought to possess medicinal powers and were thought to protect one from poisons, wounds and bad dreams. They were thought to relieve fevers, hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases.

Samples of garnet jewelry:

Onward to the books!

Garnets! Garnets everywhere!

Or at least, on two Outlander series book covers, which makes me very happy.

But I suppose I should include some non-Outlander books too… so here are a few more with hints of garnet that I found on my shelves:

Do you have any favorite garnet book covers to share?

21Dec2025

Birthstone Book Covers: December = Turquoise!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

December has three official birthstones: tanzanite, zircon, and turquoise. I’ve always loved the look of turquoise, so that’s the one I’m choosing to highlight.

Samples of turquoise jewelry:

And info about the stone itself:

Onward to the books!

My turquoise-inspired books may not be an exact match… but they capture the mood well enough for my taste!

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey
Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco

Do you have any favorite turquoise book covers to share?

20Nov2025

Birthstone Book Covers: November = Topaz + Citrine!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

November’s birthstones are topaz and citrine. And while they may look very similar, apparently they’re quite different stones!

No, citrine and topaz are not the same; citrine is a variety of quartz, while topaz is a different mineral species. They are often confused because they can have similar yellow and brown colors, but they have different chemical compositions, hardness levels, and crystalline structures.

And from Bremer Jewelry’s website:

WHAT IS TOPAZ?

Check out the raw topaz above and compare it to the raw citrine at the top of this post. It’s easy to see how these pale yellow stones have been easily confused throughout history! Citrine (quartz family) and topaz are actually unrelated mineral species. Topaz belongs to the silicate mineral family, not quartz. Before these differences were clear, many cultures called citrine (the yellow variety of quartz) by other names like gold topaz, Madeira or Spanish topaz—contributing to the confusion.

The name topaz derives from Topazios, the ancient Greek name for St. John’s Island in the Red Sea. Although the yellow stones famously mined there probably weren’t topaz, it soon became the name for most yellowish stones. Pure topaz is colorless, but it can become tinted by impurities to take on any color of the rainbow. Precious topaz, ranging in color from brownish orange to yellow, is often mistaken for “smoky quartz” or “citrine quartz,” respectively—although quartz and topaz are unrelated minerals!

One of my close childhood friends was a November baby, and I remember us comparing our birthstone rings — my sapphire vs her topaz! (Of course, I insisted mine was better — but her topaz was quite lovely too!)

And now for the books!

Here are the topaz/citrine book covers I’ve found on my shelves:

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Parable of the Sower (graphic novel edition) by Octavia Butler
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
Bloodhound (Beka Cooper, #2) by Tamora Pierce

Do you have any favorite topaz/citrine book covers to share?

25Oct2025

Birthstone Book Covers: October = Opal!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post! Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

October’s birthstone is opal. (Well, also tourmaline, but I’m sticking with opals!) According to the American Gem Society:

The name “opal” originates from the Greek word opallios, which meant “to see a change in color.” The Roman scholar Pliny used the word opalus when he wrote about this gemstone’s kaleidoscopic “play” of rainbow colors that could simulate shades of any stone.

Opal’s characteristic “play-of-color” was explained in the 1960s, when scientists discovered that it’s composed of microscopic silica spheres that diffract light to display various colors of the rainbow. These flashy gemstones are called “precious opals.” Those without play-of-color are “common opals.”

Dozens of opal varieties exist, but only a few, such as fire opal and boulder opal, are universally recognized. Opals are often referred to by their background “body color” of black or white.

Opal’s classic country of origin is Australia. Seasonal rains soaked the parched Outback, carrying silica deposits underground into cracks between layers of rock. When the water evaporated, these deposits formed opal. Sometimes, silica seeped into spaces around wood, seashells and skeletons, resulting in opalized fossils.

Since opal was discovered in Australia around 1850, the country has produced 95 percent of the world’s supply. Opal is also mined in Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Ethiopia, the Czech Republic, and parts of the U.S., including Nevada and Idaho.

Learn more about the history of opals.

I’ve always loved opals, probably ever since my grandparents gave me a pair of opal earrings when I was a wee tween… which I still have, even though I haven’t worn them in decades.

I’ve only ever seen the white or lighter blue varieties, but apparently there are endless color combinations in these beautiful gemstones.

*Opal varieties (source: http://www.geology.com)*

Which makes it hard to figure out how to match opals with book covers! Since the opals I’m most familiar with have a mostly white look with streaks and splashes of pink and blue, I’ll go with a mix of white, pink, and blue covers… which don’t necessarily look like opals, but I think that’s the closest I can come!

Here are the opal-inspired book covers I’ve found on my shelves:

Echo Boy by Matt Haig
The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan
Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson
The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye
Emmett by L. C. Rosen

Do you have any favorite opal book covers to share?

Next month is Opal for October… seems like it’ll be a tricky one!

19Sep2025

Birthstone Book Covers: September = Sapphire!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post!
Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

September’s birthstone is sapphire. According to the American Gem Society, sapphire gemstones symbolize loyalty, nobility, sincerity, and integrity. Learn more about their history.

Sapphire is my birthstone (yay, September!), and I’ve always loved the rich color (and love checking out sapphire jewelry of all sorts). But more importantly…

Onward to the books! Here are the sapphire book covers I’ve found on my shelves:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
The Poisoner’s Ring by Kelley Armstrong
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Do you have any favorite sapphire book covers to share?

Next month is Opal for October… seems like it’ll be a tricky one!

14Aug2025

Birthstone Book Covers: August = Peridot!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Trying something new! Leslie at Books Are the New Black hosts this fun monthly meme, and since I love anything related to spotlighting amazing book covers, I thought I’d jump in.

The rules are simple:

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back so she can see your post!
Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!

August’s birthstone is peridot. According to the American Gem Society:

Though peridot is widely recognized for its brilliant lime green glow, the origin of this gemstone’s name is unclear. Most scholars agree that the word “peridot” is derived from the Arabic faridat, which means “gem;” however, some believe it’s rooted in the Greek word peridona, meaning “giving plenty.” Perhaps that’s why peridot was, according to lore, associated with prosperity and good fortune.

Peridot is the rare gem-quality variety of the common mineral olivine, which forms deep inside the Earth’s mantle and is brought to the surface by volcanoes. In Hawaii, peridot once symbolized the tears of Pele, the volcano goddess of fire who controls the flow of lava. Rarely, peridot is also found inside meteorites.

Peridot’s signature green color comes from the composition of the mineral itself—rather than from trace impurities, as with many gemstones. That’s why this is one of few gemstones that only comes in one color, though shades may vary from yellowish-green to olive to brownish-green, depending on how much iron is present.

My son is an August baby — so even though he doesn’t actually wear gemstones of any sort, peridot is near and dear to my heart!

Onward to the books! Here are the peridot (or peridot-adjacent) book covers I’ve found on my shelves:

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
Heartsong by TJ Klune
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

Do you have any favorite peridot book covers to share?

Next month is Sapphire for September… and since it’s “my” month, I’ll be excited to work on the next birthstone post!

20May2025

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 books with ballgowns on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books with a ballgown on the cover, with the prompt: We are hitting it old school and FANCY this week. Your top five books with ballgowns on the cover, if you please. State of the ballgown is up to you.

My first thought was that I could just go with five books from the Bridgerton series! But I’ll try to expand my reach just a bit beyond that.

Here are a few from my shelves that fit the theme:

Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman (I ended up DNFing this book, but I still like the cover!)
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Bridgertons, #4) by Julia Quinn (I couldn’t entirely omit Bridgerton books!) (review)
The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain (review)
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (review)
Valour and Vanity (Glamourist Histories, #4) by Mary Robinette Kowal (review)

What covers did you feature this week? Do you have a favorite “ballgown” books on your shelves?

If you wrote a T5T post, please share your link!

13May2025

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 books with stars on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a T5T post — not for any specific reason, but just because my blogging habits have been a bit scattered lately. Too many real life distractions! Anyway, this topic caught my eye and seemed like fun, so here I am.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books with a star on the cover, with the prompt: Time to find your fave books with a (or multiple) star(s) on the cover. And in the immortal words of Nicola Yoon: The Sun is Also a Star. (Just saying!).

Here are a few from my shelves that fit the theme:

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (review)
A Brilliant Night of Ice and Stars by Rebecca Connolly (on my TBR!)
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (review)
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell (review)
The Midnight Watch by David Dyer (review)

Interesting… my five include two Titanic books!

So, those are my five top books with actual (astronomical/celestial) stars… but I’ll add two more books as a bonus, since I loved them both. These books’ covers have stars representing military service — another type of star!

Blue Stars by Emily Gray Tedrowe (review)
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon (excellent book of linked stories; I read it before I started posting reviews)

What “star” covers did you feature this week? What other books with stars on their covers do you especially love?

If you wrote a T5T post, please share your link!

3Dec2024

Tuesday’s topic: Favorite book covers from 2024

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Lately, I’ve been bouncing back and forth for my Tuesday posts, switching between the Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday memes, depending on their topics for the week. This week, I’m doing them both!!

First up… Top Ten Tuesday:

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is a freebie… and since I like the Top 5 Tuesday topic this week, I’ll use it for both memes.

And speaking of Top 5 Tuesday:

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 covers of 2024, and the prompt is: What are some of your favourite covers that you have seen this year? Maybe these were reprints, redesigns or alternate covers that came out this year, or maybe they are brand new books!! Whatever they are, tell us all the pretties you have been coveting.

For my list of favorite covers, I’m looking at books I’ve read in 2024 — not necessarily books published in 2024. (My list, my rules!)

Here’s a selection of covers I loved this past year:

Weyward by Emilia Hart
The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman
Schemes & Scandals by Kelley Armstrong
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
Until Next Summer by Ali Brady
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
Hula by Jasmin Iolani Hakes
Camp by L. C. Rosen
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

What do you think of my cover choices? Do any particularly catch your eye? What were your favorite book covers this past year?

Also, I’d love to know what freebie topics other people came up with!

If you posted a list for TTT or T5T, please share your link!

Save

5Nov2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with BOOKSTORES on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.)

Last time this topic came up for a TTT post, I went with books on the cover… and this time I’m doing books with bookstores on the cover. So, yeah, I’m not particularly thinking outside the box here!

Without further ado, my bookstore book covers are: