November 2020 Book Haul

Hello everyone! Another month, another book haul for you guys! This month I got five physical books and I'm super excited for them all. I'm not quite sure how December is going to go since it is a the holiday season but so far I've been getting fewer books each month which is exciting. I'm trying to cut back a lot on what books I bring into my collection and I'm really excited about all of these!

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The first two books I'm going to talk about are The Darkest Star and The Burning Shadow by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I ordered these because I wanted the covers to match the newest book and I just hadn't bought proper copies yet. The Burning Shadow arrived quickly and is beautiful. The Darkest Star, on the other hand, took so long to arrive that Amazon refunded me before it showed up a week and a half later (and not the edition I ordered, either). What will most likely happen is I end up donating or giving away The Darkest Star since (1) I got it for free and (2) I have the ARC with this cover and would much rather have the new cover edition. Still, I'm super excited to binge this series when the final book releases!

The next book I got was kindly sent to me by Book Terminals and that is a finished copy of the new We Need Diverse Books anthology, A Universe of Wishes which is edited by Dhonielle Clayton and features a brilliant line up of amazing authors! This is a fantasy and sci-fi anthology featuring some authors that I really love so I was incredibly excited when I was chosen for this tour! My post will be up on December 10th over on my Instagram :)

The next book I got was Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. This is my second edition but I got it for a very specific reason...it's the Beacon edition! This edition features metallic gold edges and is signed! I'm absolutely in love with it and I'm so excited to have both the Barnes & Noble cover and regular cover in my collection. You can also find my non-spoiler review for this book here as well as a playlist curated by me if you're interested!

The final book I hauled in November was Fable by Adrienne Young. I got this off ebay and it was quite the steal! First, it is signed which is awesome since my other book by Adrienne Young is also signed. Then when it arrived I found out that it was the Bookish Box edition with fan art on the back of the dust jacket! This edition goes for $50+ so I was really surprised to find I had gotten it for less than retail price. The main reason I ordered this was because I wanted a hardcover without the Reese's Book Club sticker on it. I think it's incredible and amazing this book was chosen for the club, but I absolutely hate that sticker being put on every book under the sun (figuratively, that is). So I wanted to snag a first edition before they were all too hard to find or too expensive. I'm really excited to have this in my collection and can't wait to read it soon!

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Those are all of the books I hauled in November. Like I said, I have no idea how December is going to go. I already have at least three books on my probable haul list but that's before we even get towards Christmas gifts and whatnot. What books did you get in November? Let me know in the comments!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Why I Stopped Subscribing to Book Boxes

Hello all! Today is a bit of a different post for you all. Instead of a book review, Top 5 Wednesday, or recommendations post I thought I'd have a little discussion. I really want to incorporate more discussions on books and the community into my blog and I thought this would be a good place to start. So today I decided to talk about why I no longer buy book subscription boxes.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying book boxes aren't great, but these are just my personal reasons for not wanting them and they're not an attack on any boxes or people who subscribe to boxes. Everyone likes different items, books, and merch so what I find pushes me away from book boxes might be something that keeps a different person subscribing every month. This is just my personal situation :)

Honestly it all boils down to money and boxes not being worth it. First, of the 15+ books I've gotten in subscription boxes over the years, I've read all of two of them. One of them I hated and the other I read without remembering it was from a book subscription box. I prefer knowing what the book will be before I get the box because, as I look back on book boxes I've gotten, most of the books I've received are books I wouldn't have bought independently. While this can be a good thing in that it widens reading tastes, there are too many books I actually want to buy and I can't justify spending money on a box with an ok-sounding book. The flipside is that some boxes I've gotten before have been specifically because I knew that a certain book was in them--take Fairyloot's October 2018 box. The book was Girls of Paper and Fire, which was one that I really wanted to read.

Next, I find that I'm usually overloaded with merch that I either don't care about or can't use. One thing I've noticed recently is that of all the unboxings I see on social media every month, there's at least one box that includes a pillowcase. For me personally, I don't like having a lot of bookish pillowcases because (1) I don't have enough pillows and (2) they generally don't all match my bedding or each other. As someone who doesn't have a couch or a place to put pillows other than my bed, pillowcases are wasted on me, especially if they're for a fandom I'm not a part of.

What merch really boils down to is that I'm generally not a fan of every single fandom that's included in a box. Usually there's a mix of fandoms, but I can't justify spending $40-$60 on a box because there's two fandoms I like out of six that are included. What ends up happening is that I'm left with merch I don't care about. Take, for example, the Grishaverse. I have a multitude of merch items for this world from just two boxes. And I haven't even read most of the books.

Additionally, my favorite merch items I've ever gotten in boxes are items I can use. There are a lot of art prints and other items I can't use included in boxes. While art prints are pretty, there's only so many that I can display. A big item that's included more and more is edibles such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cookies, etc. I don't drink anything daily other than water and I don't drink tea or coffee ever. So when a big item in a box is one of these types of items, it just sits in my drawer for a long time.

Overall, with merch I would prefer to buy merch specific to books I love rather than get a whole box with a bunch of fandoms I'm not a part of. The individual merch items might be more expensive than  box items once you calculate how much you paid for each item in a box, but I'd still be saving money in the long run rather than throwing it out on stuff I'm going to get rid of.

What it really boils down to is that I don't find boxes to be worth the money I paid for them. Now, there are a few that I really felt were worth it--such as the Fairyloot box I got that had two books, a booksleeve, a reading journal, and more or special edition boxes that are completely centered around one fandom--but when looking over all of the book boxes I've ever gotten, I don't see the worth for me personally when I don't have a large disposable income. Maybe one day when I have a full-time job and don't have to pay for college I might venture back into book boxes, but for the time being it's not a viable option for me.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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February 2019 Book Haul!

Okay, so I got more books that I expected this month. Like...a lot more. But it's okay because I'm either excited to read them or they were ones I had to pick up for my classes this semester. In total, I got eleven books in February but I'm hoping that number goes down in March. I think it will since I'm not planning on getting any March releases and I just have a couple school books to get. Let's just dive straight in!

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The first two books I got were from the January Beacon Book Box which arrived a little bit into February. The first book was an advanced copy of A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein and the second was Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer. I've heard good things about these books from people who've read them and they definitely sound like books 13 year old me would love.

The next book I got was a UK hardcover of Windwitch by Susan Dennard. I started reading the Witchlands series a couple months ago and I fell in love. I'd gotten a UK hardcover of the first book in a subscription box and I realized that I wanted my editions to match, so I scoured the internet for someone who was selling the out-of-print hardcover of Windwitch for a reasonable price. Luckily, I found one and it came in very good condition! It's so beautiful on my shelf, too.

Then I was sent a copy of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen by Book Publicity Services. This is a middle grade novel that I wasn't sure about but then I read the synopsis and figured that it was right up my alley. It deals with fantasy and bookshops and so much more. I'll be reading and reviewing this book in March and I'm super excited!

The next book I got was The Cerulean by Amy Ewing from the February Beacon Book Box. I've heard a lot of people talking about this book and it was on my radar for the past few months so I'm pretty excited to read it! I'm not quite sure what it's about but the cover is definitely gorgeous.

Next, I received one of my preorders of Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard that I ordered from the Good Choice Reading virtual signing. I was super excited for this because I absolutely loved Bloodwitch when I read the arc and I really wanted a signed book from Susan. Plus, there was a gorgeous art print and a set of pins that were thrown in with our orders that I was not expecting but absolutely love!

The next book I have was a spur-of-the-moment buy, which I've been trying to avoid lately but couldn't help myself on this one. It's the 10th anniversary edition of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Not only have I heard many people raving about this series over the past few years but I saw a little quote snippet and knew that I had to read it! This edition was actually one of the cheapest I found and it's so gorgeous.

Then I picked up Sula by Toni Morrison and this was for my Women Writing Women literature class. We're currently reading it and it's interesting and definitely not something I'd usually read. There's been some...interesting scenes in the book so far and I definitely appreciate Toni Morrison's creativity for being able to write something so different.

I also picked up a copy of Macbeth for my English Literature course. I actually read this for the first time in high school but I didn't understand it really. I also realized that the literature courses I took in high school were more about just discussing the basics of what happened and who the characters were versus actually analyzing the themes in the play.

Next, I grabbed a copy of I Hate You, Don't Leave Me by Jerold J. Kreisman, MD, and Hal Straus. I'm always seeking to try and understand different mental illnesses and I'd heard that this is a book that a lot of psychologists recommend to those with borderline personality disorder and those who have friends or family with it.

The last book I picked up in February was The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a book I've been super excited about since it was announced. Of course, now that it's actually here I am super intimidated by how big it is, but I'm excited to read it nonetheless. I've heard so many people raving about how good this book was and I just know that anything with fantasy and dragons is right up my alley!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

I am a "BookishTextDesign" Influencer! Use my code LAUREN10 for a discount off your bookmark purchases! Check out the shop here

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Unboxing: Beacon Book Box's "Spellbound Stories"

Hey guys! I'm here to bring you another exciting unboxing. Today, I'm showing you Beacon Book Box's January box which was themed "Spellbound Stories." This box was full of exciting goodies and, not one,  but two books so I can't wait for you all to see what was included. If you like what you've seen, you can use my discount code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order! February boxes are sold out but they have a past items shop and a waitlist for March! But, without further ado, let's go ahead and dive into the unboxing now! 

When you open the box, you're greeted with the spoiler card with that month's art on it. As I said, this month was themed "Spellbound Stories." The first item that I noticed was a jar of Molly Weasley's Homemade Hot Chocolate. I'm not a big tea or coffee drinker, but I do love me some hot chocolate so this will definitely be getting used! 

The next item was a Caraval themed candle that smells absolutely divine. This was created by Novelly Yours and smells like "sea mist and magic." I cannot wait to use it in photographs! After that we have a set of ACOTAR-themed postcards. These have a painting of Feyre and Rhysand with the stars in the background and I'm absolutely in love. They're so beautiful.

Then we have a signed bookmark from Olivia Wildenstein for A Pack of Blood and Lies, which was also the bonus book that was included this month. This book comes out in April so it's pretty exciting to be getting it so early. It was also exciting to get a signed bookplate with it! 

 

Then we had this beautiful snowflake booksleeve. It's pretty durable quality and it's a good size for smaller hardbacks and paperbacks, which I'm excited about. There was also a gorgeous tapestry themed after The Winner's Curse which I'm super excited about. I'm just wondering if I can find a space for it on my walls! 

The book of the month was Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer which came with a signed bookplate and a letter from/Q&A with the author. This one sounds pretty interesting and, though I haven't heard much about it, what I have heard has been good feedback. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here. A brand new giveaway will be posted soon!

To get more awesome content like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Beacon Book Box: use the code BOOKSHELF5 for a discount on your order or subscription! 

I am a "BookishTextDesign" Influencer! Use my code LAUREN10 for a discount off your bookmark purchases! Check out the shop here

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link

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