My Books (14): Haulin' time!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from. [Edit: I have stopped coordinating my hauls to the colour of book spines, at least for now.]

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7th of July 2013 ~ Notes

Another two months since my last book haul. As always, I'm extremely excited about a lot of these. Once again I bought a lot of books. In my defence, they were really cheap. Also got some review copies, so let's get into it!

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury, Hachette, Pan Macmillan, Penguin and Levi Stack!

• The Silent Deal (#1) - Levi Stack - 02/05/2013 - accepted
• Game On (#1) - Monica Seles - 06/06/2013 - unsolicited
• Stung (#1) - Bethany Wiggins - 04/07/2013 - unsolicited
• The First Third - Will Kostakis - 24/07/2013 - unsolicited
• The Cinderella Moment - Jennifer Kloesters - 24/07/2013 - unsolicited *
• Raven Flight (#2) - Juliet Marillier - 01/07/2013 - unsolicited *
• Dance of the Red Death (#2) - Bethany Griffin - 04/04/2013 - unsolicited *

Everything but The Silent Deal was a surprise for me. I haven't really heard too much about any of these titles, but Stung sounds promising. The First Third is written by an Aussie author. I'm currently reading Game On, which obviously has something to do with tennis. It's actually more about the social side of being in a prestigious academy but it's good fun so far--just what I needed. I do want to read Raven Flight and Dance of the Red Death eventually, but I do not have the first books right now so...

Bought

Titles will be listed left to right, top to bottom.

Adult fiction (left)

• The Help - Kathryn Stockett
• The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
• The Book of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern
• The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer

Young Adult fiction (middle)

• Guitar Highway Rose - Brigid Lowry
• Lola Rose - Jacqueline Wilson
• Kiki Strike (#1) - Kirsten Miller
• Leaving Jetty Road - Rebecca Burton
• The Lucky Ones (#3) - Anna Godbersen
• A Want So Wicked (#2) - Suzanne Young
• Finnikin of the Rock (#1) - Melina Marchetta

Modern Classics (right)

• Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote - 1958
• Town in Bloom - Dodie Smith - 1965
• The New Moon With the Old - Dodie Smith - 1963

I only preordered one thing--The Lucky Ones. I cannot wait to finally wrap up the Bright Young Things series (it was one of the very first historical fiction I'd ever read)! I acquired these books through various places online: Booktopia, AbeBooks, AllBooks4Less (sadly their online shop has been discontinued) and BrotherhoodBooks. Definitely check them out, especially if you're an Aussie resident.

Gah! I've been wanting to read some of these for ages: The Help, Guitar Highway Rose, Finnikin of the Rock... My most surprising find was A Want So Wicked, which is a fairly new release, HARDCOVER, for $5. Unheard of in Australia.

Q: Who are your favourite Booktubers?

To be completely honest I haven't checked up on book blogs in AGES. I've never adjusted to the moving away from Google Reader thing, and while I have got Feedly it just doesn't work the same. For one, there's no search function...

Anyway, some of my faves...

• thereadables - Eloquent and succint, and her videos are just so professional.
• BookedwithacapitalD - Unique and funny-awkward. Awesome chickie!
• ArielBissett - Her videos and ideas are simply amazing.
• jessethereader - What an interesting and memorable Booktuber. Love his videos!
• LittleBookOwl - Aussie! :D
• nerdintranslation - She is the ultimate collector of beautiful books. <3
• theheavyblanks - This guy is extremely thoughtful and just lovely.
• ChapterChicks - Funnily enough I rarely agree with their views but they're so entertaining!
• WordsofaReader - Probably my absolute favourite Booktuber. Aussie. Lovely. I love her book tastes and I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up her recommendations.

Happy reading~

Share with me your own book hauls! :)

MBIC (13): Show and tell!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

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12th of May 2013 ~ Notes

Happy Mother's Day! <3

All you mums in the world do so much for your families.

We love you, we appreciate you--even if we don't express it often enough!

I said in my last book haul a few weeks ago that I had more to show. And I'm finally finished with class for this semester so I had time to gather up all my new books to show for you all. :)

I'm so excited to read all of these books! Any particular ones you want me to bump up the TBR?

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury & Hachette!

• If You Find Me - Emily Murdoch - 14/05/2013 - unsolicited
• The Disgrace of Kitty Grey - Mary Hooper - 09/05/2013 - unsolicited

Neither of these titles were on my radar prior to receiving a review copy but I'm so glad I was sent these. They both sound great! If You Find Me sounds like a good winter read, so I've pushed that to my June reading list. :) I'm going to try and read The Disgrace of Kitty Grey this month, but no promises!

Bought

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Burning for Revenge (#5) by John Marsden

There has been an endless stream of praise surrounding Code Name Verity. Been anticipating this new paperback release. The presentation is just lovely. And Burning For Revenge, the fifth book in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. Which I'll definitely be reading soon.

Click image to enlarge.

• Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum
• The Lady in the Looking Glass by Virginia Woolf
• Bliss by Katherine Mansfield
• The Bad Beginning (#1) by Lemony Snicket
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• Bounjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
• Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
• The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
• Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Classics or older books. Already read the first book in the Oz series and I loved it. I'm really curious about Bounjour Tristesse and The Fountain Overflows--both coming of age stories. The first is French (obviously), the other British. A lot of these were bought through AllBooks4Less ($5!) and Booktopia (free shipping deals). And they're all gorgeous!

Q: Have you ever reread your favourite childhood books now that you're older? How was it?

Happy reading!

Share your own book hauls with me. :)

MBiC (12) ~ Book haul time!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

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28th of April 2013 ~ Notes

It's been a month and a half since my last book haul. This is only half of the books I've gotten. In a week or two I'll share the remaining titles (they're mostly more classics that I've bought). In this one I'm sharing my review books and recent YA I've bought/preordered. Super excited for some of these!

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin and Random House!

• Wildlife - Fiona Wood - 01/06/2013 - accepted
• Steal My Sunshine - Emily Gale - 01/05/2013 - requested --> review tk
• Inferno (#4) - Sherrilyn Kenyon - 09/04/2013 - unsolicited *
• The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon - 20/08/2013 - requested ARC
• The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey - 07/05/2013 - unsolicited

Excited for all these, except for Inferno, and that's because it's just not for me. Just finished reading Steal My Sunshine - at least 4 stars from me! Review will be up sometime this coming week. The 5th Wave has been generating some really good buzz from fellow bloggers/Goodreaders, so I'll be reading that really soon. (FYI: It's on Netgalley too!) I was practically begging for The Bone Season. Read the sampler here. I'm so curious about this one and I hope it doesn't just fall into the romance arc. And as for Wildlife, I love Fiona Wood's debut so I can't see how I won't also love this.

Bought

• Catching Fire & Mockingjay (#2-3) by Suzanne Collins --> series review tk
• The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
• Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys --> my review
• Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
• Ransomwood by Sherryl Jordan
• Crewel by Gennifer Albin
• Gone (#1) by Michael Grant

Just finished the The Hunger Games series last week. So good! I'll eventually get around to writing a wrap-up series review for it, once all my emotions have caught up with me. I read Out of the Easy at the beginning of this month. It was perfect (for me)! Check out my review, the link is above.

I preordered Gone for $5 through The Book Depository. It's the 'special' edition, mostly in that it's cheaper; there's also a sample chapter from the last book, Light. I actually got Ransomwood from Lisa (Badass Bookie) through a swap. All the other books not mentioned are from AllBooks4Less. I was VERY happy about getting Burn Bright - I now have the whole trilogy and I will get around to reading it soon. There's just so much dystopia still on my TBR!

Q: How many books do you read a month, on average?

Happy reading.

Share with me your own book hauls! :)

MBiC (11): More classics book haul~

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) post book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

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9th of March 2013 ~ Notes

I think I overdid it with the book buying. I'm not buying any books this month, I think. But I got so many great books, I'm not sure if any of you will be as excited as I am because there's not much YA coming to my doorstep these days. (I'm waiting for a preorder, one YA title that I'm EXTREMELY excited for!) This haul is mostly red spines (*hint hint*).

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury!

• Hostage Three - Nick Lake - 01/04/2013 - unsolicited

I was also sent In Darkness by Nick Lake, which I STILL have not read. Though I really want to, eventually. This one sounds pretty interesting--and hello? Pirates! I also like the cover of this one, though I think it could have done without the girl.

Bought

So shiny... I actually colour-organised this time!

• Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
• A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
• Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

It's partly Booktopia's fault that I bought so many books in February. Too many good deals plus the free shipping. I owe my acquisiton of Yates' novel to Lesley (WordsOfAReader ~ one of my favourite booktubers!). I want to read that one the most, but coming at a close second is Anna Karenina. Also, Chris Isherwood is classic GBLT and I like his writing style--from what I read in the online previews.

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
• The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
• Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Pickwick Papers (Penguin English Library) & Possession (Vintage 21) have this nice velvet-y feel to the covers. (And yes, I have rubbed my face on both. *sigh*)

I finally have a copy of The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate - can you believe I first ordered it in October last year? I already know I'm going to love Nancy Mitford's style.  I can't wait to eventually familiarise myself with the lives of the famed Mitfords. Also, Possession is one of those books about books; it sounds sort of The Book Thief-ish or Dash & Lily's Book of Dares-ish. And Life of Pi and The Handmaid's Tale - yay!

Task:
 Have a look at the Goodreads page for every single one of these books
and let me know if there are any new ones that caught your attention.

Happy reading! Comment below.

Share with me your own book hauls! :)

My Books in Colour (10) ~ birthday haul!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) post book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

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24th of February 2013 ~ Notes

Oh geez. I'm wait too lazy to try and colour-coordinate this haul so I'll just throw it all at you. I got some very exciting titles. I'm trying to be more eclectic in my reading, as is evident in my more recent book hauls. More on the way is a pile of classics. It's kind of strange how now that I'm out of high school and no longer have to write essays on books I'm actually just always excited about reading. Sorry guys, I'm lagging behind on my reviewing. I've just got to get back into a rhythm and I'm just not finding it right now. My birthday giveaway is on for another day. Go enter!

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy), click on images to zoom in, all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury, Hachette, Pan Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster!

• Girl of Nightmares (#2) - Kendare Blake - 12/03/2013 - unsolicited
• Anthem for Jackson Dawes - Celia Bryce - 01/03/2013 - requested
• Perfect Scoundrels (#3) - Ally Carter - 07/02/2013 - unsolicited
• Hidden (#1) - Marianne Curley - 01/03/2013 - unsolicited
• Song in the Dark - Christine Howe - 27/02/2013 - unsolicited
• Scarlet - Marissa Meyer - 07/02/2013 - unsolicited
• The Host (#1) - Stephenie Meyer - 01/01/2013 - unsolicited
• Siege - Sarah Mussi - 12/04/2013 - unsolicited
• Freaks Like Us - Susan Vaught - 01/03/2013 - requested
• Paper Valentine - Brenna Yovanoff - 01/01/2013 - requested

I've got Scarlet right up on my TBR. Been so excited for it. Just reacquainting myself with the world by reading the novella additions. I'm planning on reading The Host for March (my brick of the month). Freaks Like Us and Anthem for Jackson Dawes will be worked in sometime soon. I really like the sound of both. Hidden isn't normally... I have a hard time trusting angel books. But after reading the story of the author I just have to give it a try now. Song in the Dark is very short so I'll be trying that one soon too.

• Reason to Breathe (#1) - Rebecca Donovan - 27/02/2013 - unsolicited
• Barely Breathing (#2) - Rebecca Donovan - 18/02/2013 - unsolicited
• Girl Defective - Simmone Howell - 01/03/2013 - unsolicited

Boy, are these covers shiny! Also, the covers are already starting to curl up. That really grinds my gears. I seriously thought they were erotica, but then, it's New Adult so in my ignorant way I'm going to say, 'Well, heh, not much difference, now is there?' Ha. In actuality they deal with abuse and tough issues... meaning it will be a while before I'm up to picking these up. I'm kind of stoked about Girl Defective. Aussie author. I sampled and it seems good. And the book FEELS good. So smooth!

Edit: I woke up this morning and looked at my nightstand. I FORGOT ONE BOOK because I'm reading it now! That is Shadow and Bone/Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo (double proof). I'm about 100 pages into S&S. Absolutely loved S&B. :) S&S releases by Hachette (Indigo) in Australia 26/06/2013.

My birthday!!!

I asked for these books but it didn't lessen my euphoria at seeing feeling smelling them.

Pretty!

• Matilda by Erin Morgenstern (Puffin Classics)
• The Short Novels of John Steinbeck (Penguin Classics)

A couple of years ago I BookMooched an older copy of Matilda in the style of my other Roald Dahl books. But guys, this new hardcover was too lovely to pass up. It's clothbound, and in a nice, compact size that could easily fit in a handbag.

I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck for English class (gr.9?) and I just knew that I'd one day re-read it. And I already have. And it's just as I'd remembered. I honestly can't even tell you why that story has such a hold on me... maybe the same part of me that loves The Great Gatsby. Anyway, next month I'm planning on reading The Pearl next. After I get through all these I'll tackle his bigger novels (East of Eden!). Also, deckled edges!

Bought

Click to embiggen.

• The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• Animal Farm & 1984 by George Orwell
• Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

All bought via TheBookDepo except Do Androids..., which was acquired through AbeBooks. I'm not happy with the condition of this one. It smells. So. Bad. I can't get a refund because the seller isn't around anymore. I'll be getting this one eventually. I've read about a quarter of the poems. Tabbed some of my favourites. :P These photos aren't to scale. It's actually a really tiny book. So yeah, you can see I got a lot of "classic dystopia". Will be reading Animal Farm next month. And of course I've already read Shades of Earth. I tore into that sucker as soon as I got it. And loved it. Review to come. It's my first finished series so this review needs to be special.

And the Animal Farm/1984 edition is so lovely. I rarely indulge in hardcovers but I couldn't resist! I intend to do reviews for classics I read. Just haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do exactly.

Q: Thoughts on book buying bans?

I just watched a video on how readers who buy too many books they never end up reading (ArielBissett). Since I discovered online venues such as AllBooks4Less, Booktopia and BasementBooks (which I also visit) the amount of books I buy has shot right up. And yes, pretty much ALL of those books that I get at bargain prices I have never actually read. Actually... ashamedly I must admit I have read none of them. At all. That's pathetic. So that's on bargain books.

I'm definitely better with preorder books. Half the time I do pick the book up straight away if I'm that excited that I just had to preorder. But, phew. Guys, I have more unread books than read books in my room. A quarter of those are review books, half of which were unsolicited (to lessen my guilt). Bleh. The weight of all these unread books is crushing my spirits. And yet, I still want more.

February is usually the month I am really liberal with my book buying habits (birthday & CNY), same with November (surviving uni and exams reward). I think buying bans are good for some, but I'm weak. :|

Happy reading everybody! Comment below.

Share with me what books you got! :)

My Books in Colour (9) - New Books!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) post book haul feature, and is inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where my idea came from.

~~~~~

18th of January 2012 ~ Notes

For Christmas I got some books (which I asked for). I also bought a massive amount of books. A quick look at my track record would indicate that the chance of my reading these books in the foreseeable future is very, very slim. Well, at least my total for the month is less than $100! Also got some review copies for this month. Lots of good books!

Click to embiggen.

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy), click on images to zoom in, all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury, Hachette, Penguin and Simon & Schuster!

• Hysteria - Megan Miranda - 01/02/2013 - requested?
• Through to You - Emily Hainsworth - 01/01/2013 - unsolicited?
• Prodigy (#2) - Marie Lu - 29/01/2013 - unsolicited
• Legacy (#2) - C.J. Daugherty - 17/01/2013  - unsolicited
• The Laeduin (#2) - Leah Giarratano - 31/01/2013 - unsolicited

I'm extremely excited about these titles! Especially Hysteria... I really enjoyed Miranda's debut novel (Fracture) and I'm completely hooked in by the premise. It sounds intense. I've been seeing some mixed reviews for Through to You but I still have high hopes for it. I loved Legend (though I'm struggling to remember what happened in it) and I can't wait to delve into Prodigy! As for the other two books I received... they're parts of series that I have not started yet. Boo me!

Christmas!!!

This year I asked for three books--

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I also got a 'Things to Do' pad of paper (very handy for me) and a new computer monitor/TV (from my parents); a Luigi plush (from my sister); 2 more plushies, and a syringue pen (from my older brother); and a cute T-shirt (from my younger brother).

Oh, I love Christmas. It's not just the gifts. I just love how different the world seems when December rolls on over, when school is done for the year and the temperature starts to creep up... and the night comes later and later. :D Hope you all had a wonderful time too!

Bought

YA

• Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
• Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories
• Starters by Lissa Price
• Just One Day by Gayle Forman
• The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
• Partials by Dan Wells
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
• The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
• Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron

Adult contemporary

• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
• Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington

Classics

• Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
• Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys (my third "Bloomsbury Group" acquisition)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Again, I bought a lot of books from AllBooks4Less. When they held a holiday special ($3/book) I just went bananas. And then when I was out shopping I bought a few more since the shop had a stall open up and I found some books that weren't on the site. No regrets. No regrets.

I also bought a couple of books from The Book Depository: Ashes and Just One Day (!!!)

Q: What is your reading goal for 2013?

This year I'm going for something a little more realistic: 60 books. 5 books a month. I want to get in at least 15 books for Jan+Feb, because of the holidays and I normally read next to nothing at the end of the year (Oct-Dec). What about you?

Happy reading everybody! Comment below.

Share with me what books you got! :)