Skip to main content

Barnes & Noble Haul - 02.04.17

On the fourth of February, Em and I made another trip to Barnes & Noble, and I thought I would share what we got! Together, we got a total of three books and two little blind boxes!

Looking around the store, it was a bit difficult to pick exactly what it was I wanted. I mean, there’s such a large selection! Sure, I’ve seen most of the books before, but there’s always ones that I’m thinking about reading later. And then there’s the question of if I want to buy the book, or give it a try first with my library’s copy of it. (If they even have it!)

There were some sections I knew I could skip over. That’s the first step towards progress. For me, that was skipping the usual fantasy-action-“I must save the world” type of teen book. (Sorry. They’re just not my thing.) I also could pass by this table of popular teen books, which mostly had those type of books.

On my book-searching journey, there was also books that I have read, such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. When I had first read it four years ago, I didn’t like it much because I was bothered by the main character’s ignorance. (I know that was the whole point of his character, but it bothered me still.) However, whenever I see the special anniversary copy of the book with the amazing art, I always wonder if I should buy it and give it another shot. (Talk about buying it for the cover!)

There were also ones that just happened to catch my eye.

As I was looking, it wasn’t long before Em announced that she was done. That she had found everything she wanted and she was ready to go. And I had nothing.

She had picked out the book Every Day by David Levithan. The story is about teenager A, who wakes up every day in someone else’s body. Every morning, they figure out who they are and prepare to live a day in someone else’s life. They try to keep things normal for the person, acting how that person might act, even though they are still themself and might not like the person they’re stuck with. And then one day - day 5,994, in fact - they meet a girl. And they fall in love. Now, A has something to live for, but the problem is, are they allowed to love? Is it too dangerous to love for a person in their position?

[Is that okay? I haven’t read the book and made it up as I went along.]

She also decided to get two blinds boxes: One was a Kid Robot Barnes & Noble Exclusive Labbit blind box, and one a Neko Atsume blind box that she got for me (aww).

But, moving on: panic time. I had nothing. She had everything. I didn’t want to hold them up. Panic panic panic.

Soon I was flying through the shelves. There had to be something I liked, right? But I’m so picky! Eventually, after running around the aisles a bit and a cute yet strange encounter with a toddler (kinda long story that I’ll save for later), I had picked up two books.

The first book that I got was In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, a book I had actually stumbled upon earlier and started reading but had delayed confirming my purchase because it’s not the type of book I normally read. It’s a psychological thriller, something that someone like me, a person who typically reads historical fiction, coming of age, and introspective-type books, would normally stray away from. But this one not only has a thrill/horror feel to it, but also has to do with relationships and secrets, something I can find interesting. To add, the reviews, which claimed that it was the type of book that you stayed up all night reading (although reading a scary book at night probably isn’t the best idea), drew me in. I also must admit that I thought the cover would, at the least, look nice in bookstagram pictures. (And it's a good thing I bought it, because I did enjoy it and I do recommend it if you want an exciting and interesting book!)

Still, I wasn’t done. I wanted more. (A bookworm’s problem, eh?) Once again I was in search of an amazing book when, thank goodness, I found the gem of a book that is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Now, I don’t know what you’re doing if you haven’t heard of this book, because I know that I’ve heard great things about it. Chbosky’s book is more like what I read: a coming of age story about wallflower Charlie as he tries to navigate his life and growing up. It’s an award-winning book that can even be found on the “Best Books Ever” list on Goodreads.

With that, we were done.

Em ended up getting an adorable polka-dotted labbit from her blind box…

...and I got Ms.Fortune in all her glory from mine!

I loved In a Dark, Dark Wood, and, while I still haven’t read my Perks, I look forward to it. And, as for Ms.Fortune, she has a very special spot on my bookcase headboard*!

*Thank you to the glossary of terms used by Ashley HomeStore for this one, haha.



I never got to explain what happened about the blog post that never published two weeks ago. I got sick Sunday (which then continued on into the beginnings of the week), and, while I already had the post written, I had planned on scheduling and tweaking the post on Sunday. But, as you know, I was sick, so I didn't get to do that and ended up not posting. Sorry! Next week's post may or may not be the book review I was going to publish. Things are still undecided. Sorry for any trouble!


Comments

This Month's Popular Posts

Quotes: The Nightingale

I realized that, over a year ago, I wrote a post called "Quotes: Audacity" , and that this post did really well (it's actually Reading is Inevitable's most read post!), and yet I never wrote another post of quotes from a book. I liked writing that post, too. I like sharing quotes I like from books. That's why I started doing it on our bookstagram page . So why did I never write another one of these "quote blog posts"? I don't know. But I intend to write at least another one. And that's why I'm here today. Well, there's that, and then there's also the amazing book that is The Nightingale.  If you've read some of my recent blog posts or have poked around a bit, you would know that exactly a month ago I published my book review on The Nightingale , in which I explained my love for it and why you should read it yourself. And while I actually have another post in the works on that book because it definitely deserves more than on...

5 Activities to do on a Reading Break

You can't read forever. Even I, an experienced reader, get aching eyes after reading for even an hour. If you are like me and sometimes end up reading for several hours, you may find yourself not feeling too well. Of course, you could be like my co-blogger, Em, who surprises me by not appearing to be bothered at all by reading for several hours. And if you are not affected, that is great, but I have always preferred not to finish a book in a single sitting. If you too get tired eyes or like to have a break, then be glad, for this post is completely dedicated to activities to do on these breaks!

Book Review: On Writing

Title: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Author: Stephen King Genre: Nonfiction Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Julia Personally, I've never read any of Stephen King's fiction works, titles such as The Shining or Carrie . However, I am a fan of writing and am interested in writing little stories myself, so I thought, "Hey! Reading a book on writing by a bestselling author might just be a good idea." I was actually motivated to fulfill this notion of mine by the amazing Brittany of @bookbarrreview on Instagram, who said to me, "If you like writing, or you're just interested in how stories are created, it's definitely worth a read!"   --Brittany, Book Barre Review Blog and @bookbarreview (Instagram) On that great description courtesy of Brittany, let's get this review started!

Navigating Bookstagram: Stories & Tips From a Small(er?) Account - Introduction

Hello, everyone! How are you all today? As most of you probably know already, Em and I have a bookstagram (bookish Instagram account) where we share pictures of books and our love for reading! The bookstagram community is actually pretty large (the largest account I have found so far has 200k followers), and while it’s full of great and wonderful people, it can also be a bit intimidating and scary for newbies and smaller accounts alike. We’ve been on bookstagram for about seven months now, give or take, and have gotten more used to the swing of things on bookstagram. While there’s still so much for us to learn, we do know quite a few things that should prove to be useful to beginners and fellow smaller accounts. (I know that we have 1.1k, but if an account with 3.8k followers I was talking to considers themself small, then I think we count.) That’s why I’ve created this little series of posts where I plan to share some of my own stories every other Monday. Us smaller guys have t...