We are a couple weeks away from the release of Tempest's Queen!!!!

Remember yesterday when I told you about Bookshop's FREE SHIPPING SALE through tonight, October 8th?

Well, if you like stacking savings and are looking to purchased banned books, Bookshop is ALSO HAVING A SALE ON ALMOST 150 BANNED BOOKS from now until October 19th!

So if you pick up any of the books on my banned books list by tonight, you'll not only get 20% off, but you'll also receive free shipping!

Happy shopping,

Carmen

Hey my lovebugs,

Wooo... it has been a long couple of weeks for me, and that is just in my personal life. I got into a car accident, if you didn't know, and it's been stressful picking up the pieces together. I am okay physically, it just has been rough.

I also went to Book Harvest in Chicago this past weekend. I had a blast meeting author friends as well as making some new ones. I was fortunate to be a PA for my friend Rae Douglas! (If you haven't read a book by them and you like soft mafia dark romance, then you absolutely should). I also bought SOOO MANY BOOKS that I plan to do a video about soon!

I also got a new job as a Elementary School Librarian Assistant! So I am constantly around books and loving it!

Also, on Thursdays I am hosting movie nights 6CST/7EST PM! We will be watching on watch2gether. I have provided the link in my Discord (Which you should absolutely join if you have not already!)

I think that is all the updates for now. Thank you for being so patient with me. I know my posting schedule has been a bit hectic, but I am grateful for each and every one of you!

If you could have any dream bookish related job, what would it be and why? OR If you work that job now, why is it your dream job?

You probably already know this but I work in freelance book publicity for my day job. But my dream job is being a bookish content creator. Making videos is my biggest passion and if I could do it full time, that would be the dream. Of course, I also want to be a publisher, publishing books, which is why I partnered with Bindery.

Choices:

• Author 

• Editor 

• Literary Agent

• Creative at a Publishing House (Marketing, PR, etc.)

• Book Designer 

• Book content creator 

• Own a publishing house

• Bookseller 

• Librarian

• English or Literature Teacher 

• Other (Tell us in the comments!)

Hello my darlings! It's time for the big unveiling of the new name, logo, and mission statement for what WAS just called @amanda.the.bookish's Books and is NOW called Inkspoken Books! This is specifically to angle this account toward becoming a Bindery Imprint. ✨

Name: What does Inkspoken Books mean? the name Inkspoken Books came to me as I was brainstorming imprint names over the summer and it just stuck. I like how it's lightly whimsical and calls back to antiquity; 'ink' and 'spoken' as the foundation of all stories, written and verbal alike.

Mission Statement: Here at Inkspoken Books you will never go unheard. It’s a community of people who love the written word and the voices behind it. We plan to begin this with our Coffee For Artists Initiative. Join me in creating a place that will -- someday-- be the imprint that publishes your favorite author. Join me 💛

Logo: I've attached a few ideas for logos that I've been hemming and hawing over for the past few days. I announced on IG that I was planning to reveal everything with regards to Inkspoken Books on Sunday, and then I came up with too many cool logo ideas to choose from! I've attached a few here - do any of them stand out to you?

Stay tuned for more news and updates, and for the launch of our Coffee for Artists Initiative! To help us on our journey to become a publisher, please consider becoming a Inkspoken Insider. 💛

Amanda - Inkspoken Books

Shop all the latest and greatest in Latinx lit on my bookshop.org bookshelves between now and October 8th and get FREE SHIPPING on your order!

Some of my favorite shelves are my 2025 books by Latinx authors, Latinx Heritage Month Personal Curriculum, Building Your Home Library, Latinx Cookbooks, and Young Reader’s editions of Nonfiction Books.

Are you picking up some books during the sale? Let me know in the comments.

xoxo,

Carmen

Review:

Chills, chills, chills! (And sobbing)

Li’s perspective on time makes me think about anishinaabe language/ worldview. She says time is not “now and then” but is “now and now and now.” You always are, even if the action shifts. This is so relevant to Anishinaabemowin where the world is understood through processes and relationships rather than static things. For instance, a garden is gardening “gitigaaning”. Existence is continuous action, not frozen in past or future.

I also really appreciated the reflections on suicidality from both the perspectives of a thinker and a feeler. The author was able to respectfully and meaningfully express how thoughts about wanting to live/die may be interpreted by both types of people. As someone who struggles with these thoughts, it resonated with me deeply.

The end left me pondering: If you were sent back in time and told about everything you would have to go through in life- would you continue to live it?

Fav quotes:

“Not calling a fact by its name can be the beginning of cruelty and injustice”

“True compassion takes courage”

“Sometimes there is no silver lining”

“The border between all right and all wrong like the border between life and death is not solid… our life is never going to be right again, but we are doing all right”

“The world seems to care more about children’s doings than about their beings”