Music in my life is as random as books. Just like I don’t have a fixed reading plan to tackle my TBR pile, I don’t have fixed playlists to get me through the day. I tend to shuffle a random collection of songs or pick an album or artist if I’m in a particular mood. More often than not, that leads me right back to the Backstreet Boys.

When I think of books and old but gold, three things come to mind: classics, childhood books and books that have been passed down to younger members in the family. Looking at my stack of unread classics, I thought I should show more appreciation for them.

Books don’t always have to contain stories. They can contain music too.

The understated elegance of these covers completely amazed me when I first saw them. Besides linking up the covers through the door, door knocker and keyhole, the typography completes the design of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy. I love how classy the letters look. They are decorative but don’t lead to overly busy covers.

Many years I lamented the squareness of my bookshelf. That bookshelf is so square, no matter which organization method I chose, practically every single cubby would have a gap. I detested that because this meant I couldn’t organise according to author, which is how I wanted to arrange my books for the longest time. In the end I settled for arranging books according to size, just so I wouldn’t have any ghastly gaps.