Nov 30 2014

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Stacking the Shelves: October/November 2014!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Even though I brought home some titles last month, I never got around to composing a Stacking the Shelves post, so lucky you, here’s two months in one! ;-)

Hardcopies:

Considering I have just these six books to show for two whole months of book buying, I think I’m doing pretty good at moderating my spending. Oh, wait… I forgot about:

Vegas Valley Book Festival 2014:

Hee hee. All signed! Although, I’d like to clarify that I only actually purchased four of these at the festival itself and of been slowly collecting the others over the past six months. Still, they feel like brand-new books! The two authors I was most excited to meet were Mindy McGinnis and Amy Tintera:

Yeah, I totally fangirled… It was awesome! I enjoyed meeting all of the authors and listening to them talk about their books on panel. Even though I read most of the books on my list before attending, I didn’t get a chance to read them all. Next year I have the best intentions to read them all, and I’m also getting my mom involved, so between the two of us will have talking points for everyone we meet at VVBF 2015!

Library Books:

I’ve hung onto Reboot longer than I intended, but I’m kind of saving it for a rainy day. I’m also super excited to pick up The Merchant Emperor by Elizabeth Haydon – it has been several years in the making.

Not too bad for a haul, eh? I have to admit that even though I’ve been more conservative this year than in any year prior, I’m still behind in my, Read 4, Buy 1 Challenge, and it’s not looking too good for me to catch up by the end of the year. The bulk purchases made at that awesome used Seattle bookstore and the ones at the Vegas Valley book Festival are what did me in. Oh yeah, and four of the six books I’ve purchased in the last two months outside of those events were bought yesterday with my nifty Barnes & Noble 30% off coupons… I’m screwed LOL. Before that, I was only four books behind (if we don’t include the bulk purchases… which I’m not). In any case, I’m still showing progress and I wager next year will be even better!

What books did you bring home this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 27 2014

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Stacking the Shelves – September 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

I have to admit, of all of the memes my fellow bloggers participate in, Stacking the Shelves is my favorite. I love seeing the books other readers are bringing home and especially love getting peeks at all of the ARCs floating around out there (I don’t get physical copies often, so it’s nice to live vicariously through those that do). Because I’m doing a self-imposed Read 4, Buy 1 challenge, I only participate in STS once a month – let’s face it, no one needs a play-by-play of the single titles I’m getting every couple of weeks. This month, however, could of been a different story because I broke my rule (*sort of) and I broke it in style!

New Hardcopies:

Considering I only purchased a couple “new” books this month, I can think of many other authors I’d be THIS excited to add to my collection! And two of them are SIGNED!!!! The Kim Harrison one will have to wait until I’m caught up in the series (I’ve been savoring them), but I am ready and eager to devour this short story collection by Patricia Briggs! And, of course, I’ve already read and loved the Rothfuss. :)

“Used” Hardcopies:

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*You see, there is an addendum in my R4B1 challenge (which I added, of course) which states that I may break the rules and buy books if 1) I find them at a screaming deal or 2) they are among the half-dozen titles I’ve been searching for to complete certain series within my hardcover collection. Thank goodness for this amazing bookstore in Seattle, because I found almost ALL THE THINGS I have been looking for, and at a bargain to boot!! So, technically I cheated (from a financial standpoint), but technically all of these titles fall into that “addendum” category so I’m letting it slide…

It amazes me how us book-lovers can rationalize away potentially destructive behaviors… Books are definitely my drug of choice.

The Used Bookstore of All Things AWESOME:

And this is where I sold my soul. Seriously, this bookstore went on for miles! The photo on the right is ALL Science Fiction/ Fantasy, and there was even more behind me! I was in heaven. :-)

Library Books:

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Four books really isn’t that many to have checked out at a time, so why have I been so stressed? Oh, yeah! It’s because I went to request-crazy and put another 10+ books on hold (which will be trickling in within the next month). Reading new books before I buy them is a part of my strategy to cut back on book buying (and it’s working), but I still occasionally feel like library books fall into that deadly “obligation” category, regardless of how awesome they are. In any case, I’m stoked to read anything by Ann Aguirre, and Shaheen over at Speculating on SpecFic has me all pumped about The Falcon Throne (read her review and you’ll see why), so I’m still excited about this month’s haul.

ARCs:

: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

: December 19, 2014

: March 23, 2015

: October 21, 2014

Seriously, what would I do without Netgalley and Edelweiss? While these books may not be at the top of my priority list, I’m definitely excited that I have the opportunity to read them!

Well, that just about does it for my adventures in book buying this month – I hope you enjoyed going on that mini journey with me. I just have one more question: what books stacked YOUR shelves this month? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 30 2014

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Stacking the Shelves – August 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

While I didn’t go totally hogwild this month buying books, I still somehow managed to knock my Read 4, Buy 1 challenge back several weeks. As it sits, I have about twelve books to read before I can start working towards my next book purchase. I have no one to blame but myself… and those really awesome Barnes & Noble coupons. I was tempted to just say “Happy August to me – here are some extra books!” which I’m totally within my rights to do (because I make the rules for my own challenge and that’s one of the perks). However, this reward system has been working so well for me this year that I decided I’m going to actually “earn” the books I splurged on this month before I let myself buy more. Don’t panic!! I have a two week cruise coming up where I will have ample time to read and very few opportunities to purchase books. :) Here’s a look at what I picked up this month:

Hardcopies:

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I love the books I acquired this month. A couple of them were bargain splurges, but the real gem is my signed copy of Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb. It’seasily one of my favorite books EVER and I am tickled to add it as a beautiful hardcover to my collection. I also thoroughly enjoyed Defy, and will be chasing down the author at the Vegas Valley Book Festival this October to get it signed. And you all know how much I loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns, so I had to have these short stories… it really wasn’t a choice.

Library:

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March this year is the first time since I was twelve that I have taken advantage of my local library. You see, after working for a bookstore for eleven years, I got used to the convenience of buying all the books I wanted to read at a discounts and being able to check out hardcovers (although, I tended to just buy everything). I am a very flighty reader, so I was concerned that I would check books out from the library and end up returning them unread because I never got around to them. While that has happened with a few, I have actually managed to get through almost everything else. This surprises me. Anyway, I’ve already read Perfected and will definitely be adding it to my collection (as soon as I catch up with my reading challenge of course).

That’s it for me this month! All-in-all, not a bad haul. :-)

What books stacked your shelves this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 2 2014

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Stacking the Shelves – July 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

Stacking the Shelves is probably my favorite book blogger feature. I absolutely love looking at all of the great books other readers bring home and equally love sharing my own haul! Here’s a look at the books that stacked my shelves this month:

Hardcopies:

This month I surprised myself by sticking to my Read 4, Buy 1 challenge. I’m excited about all of these books, but of course, Silver Shadows is going to get top priority!

Ebooks:

: Kalimpura by Jay Lake

: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

: How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

: The Bond by Wayne Pacelle

Yeah, totally an eclectic ebook category this month…

Library:

Even though I want to read these, I sadly won’t get around to all of them. I don’t know what it is about libraries, but I find myself requesting things constantly that I don’t have time for just because I know I want to read them eventually. Less effective.

Audio:

: The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind

: Red Seas Under Read Skies by Scott Lynch

: The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

: The First Confessor by Terry Goodkind

Even though I read constantly, there’s something nice about being able to devour a book while focusing on something else. I listen to them on walks, while doing dishes, while cross stitching, and even as I fall asleep. Audiobooks rule.

ARCs:

September 23, 2014

October 14, 2014

September 2, 2014

I have been clamoring for copies of these for months – so excited!!

What books stacked your shelves this month? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 6 2014

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Stacking the Shelves – June 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

In the last month’s STS I mentioned splurging on a ton of bargain hardcovers that wound up lost in transit. They turned up a week later (evidently one of my neighbors had been hanging on to them) and I was stoked! So much so that I shamelessly went and ordered even more. I added twenty-one books to my collection, most of which were hardcovers, and paid less than three dollars for most of them… How cool is that?

Hardcopies:

ARCs:

The only ARC acquired this month was actually a loan from Nikki over at There Were Books Involved. She saw my twitter post about how much I absolutely loved The Naturals and graciously offered to let me borrow the sequel (how awesome is that? Best blogging friend EVER!). Anyway, I’ve since read it and send it back and it is every bit as awesome-sauce as the first book – review to come.

In other news, I finally caved and bought another bookshelf for my YA/Middle Grade library. I’ve been needing it forever, but the company I bought my shelves from discontinued the cherry color about two years ago (hence my stalling). I finally decided I’d rather have a mismatched shelf than none at all. It looks a bit odd, but now all of my books have space on the shelf so I’m happy. :-)

In conclusion, it was great month over at The Obsessives Bookseller.

What books did you get this month? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

May 31 2014

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Stacking the Shelves – May 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

May was a humble months of purchasing over here at The Obsesses Bookseller, though that wasn’t due to any concerted effort on my part, haha. You see, I did stick to my personal Read 4, Buy 1 challenge, but there is this footnote in the challenge contract which indicates that all book buying bans go out the window if I find any “killer deals.” Therefore, I ordered about 16 bargain hardcovers online and would be showcasing them… had they not gotten lost’s in delivery (just my luck). The company says they’ll replace them but, until then, this meager (although pretty) pile of acquisitions will have to do!

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