Why You Always in the Mood [Board]?

If there is one thing you should know about me, it’s that when I love something, I love hard and with my whole heart. Books are not immune from this. In fact, it is a very bad idea for me to have an account dedicated to book reviews because when I love something, I cannot tone down my feelings. It usually results in me setting other people’s expectations very high. I apologize for that. A little bit.

Ancillary to my obsessive tendencies is the inevitable situation in which I “ship” a fictional book couple so much that I publicly and shamelessly admit my unwavering, eternal love for the characters. No lie, I have a spreadsheet that keeps track of the rankings of my various book boyfriend. We all know who is at the top. If you don’t…please see any of the million hints on my Instagram (the most subtle of which is not the projection of Velaris’ night sky in my living room), or ask my Siri, who calls me “Ashley, High Lady of the Night Court.”

And sometimes when you love as hard as I do, you’ve got to find creative ways to let out some of that obsession. My most recent way of coping: Pinterest mood boards.

Yup. That’s right. Pinterest isn’t just for saving DIY projects you’ll never get around to or “fall festive recipes.” It is also for curating the picture perfect aesthetic to bring your favorite books to life.

I’ve had so much fun creating boards for my favorite books. Each incorporates images that remind me of the books in some way, whether that be specific scenes, quotes, or people. The fun part is that there are no rules here (wow, an enneagram 1 saying that no rules = fun?? Who is she?) — the photos you choose don’t have to be perfectly on point. They can be anything. And it’s almost more fun when you find some obscure image that somehow, when paired with the rest of the pins on your board, just works.

My boards remind me of the time I cut out 50 Teen Vogue covers to make a magazine mural on my bedroom wall. It brings me unrefined, beautiful joy.

The books I’ve done boards for so far are: Red, White & Royal Blue, A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, and the Lady Sherlock series.

So, if you’re interested in following along on my Pinterest mood board journey, click here! Keep in mind that I don’t create a board until I finish a book (or the series), so there may be spoilers based on the images I choose.

I also plan to use this space to upload book photos I take that don’t make it to my feed. I like to think of Pinterest as my edgy, dark romantic side, while my Instagram is all light & bright. You know, “get you a girl that can do both” and all that.

Thanks for joining me as I start a new creative outlet!