Embarrassingly Large May/June Book Haul! [Book Haul #2]

Hey, y'all! So remember back in April when I did my book haul and talked about how embarrassingly large that book haul was? Clearly, I didn't understand the definition of "embarrassingly large." The real definition is THIS:

In case you were wondering, that's approximately 50 books. Granted, this haul is over the course of 2 months rather than just one, and June's my birthday month so I got birthday money, but that's still an incredibly large number of books. I'm actually so ashamed of myself that I'm putting myself on a book buying ban. I've made a list of books I'm allowed to buy if I find them for a good price, and I'm allowed to buy books from used bookstores. This eliminates the real problem which is my compulsive online buying. Often, if I see a book online for fairly inexpensive, and I've heard good things about it, I buy it. Also, I'm completely out of room on my shelves, and I can't put up my full 5 shelf bookcase until I move into my new apartment at the beginning of August. So the ban will probably span all of July, and then I'll probably change the stipulations some. Because if I don't give myself limits, I'll buy all the things.

Anyway, enough rambling. On to THE BOOKS.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So I decided to start with the section that I feel the least shame about, because I actually bought less than half of these books. As I've previously mentioned, I work at a library. One great thing about working in cataloging is that if the library gets books as a gift, and it's determined that we don't need the books, I can have them if I want them. It's not like I'm allowed to take every single discarded book, but if I see some that catch my eye, I can have them. The library got gifted the first 11 books of A Series of Unfortunate Events. We already had books 1-9 and 11, so we didn't need extra copies. I'd already bought the 1st and 6th book a few weeks before, so I got to keep 2-5, 7-9, and 11. I then found books 10 and 12 at a used bookstore. I have yet to find book 13 anywhere, but I'm not in a huge hurry. I do want to re-read these eventually, because they were a pretty significant part of my childhood. And these books are just gorgeous, so I'm really glad that I have almost all of them now!

Book Outlet

I had a Book Outlet coupon and stumbled across a lot of books that I'd been eyeing for quite a while, so I made a pretty sizable purchase.

Music by Nicholas Cook

This was one of the more impulse buys of the order. I'm a music/psychology major, and I'm really interested in books examining how we think about music, and that seems like what this is about. I also liked the minimalist cover.

Nothing Feels Good... by Andy Greenwald

When I saw this book, I HAD to have it. It sounded like it was practically written just for me. I love punk rock and emo music, and I started listening to it when I was a young teenager (and it feels really odd to say that I'm not a teenager anymore). I'm excited to get into this, though I noticed recently that it doesn't have such great ratings on GoodReads. 

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

This is the first book in the Chronicles of Nick series. I've been eyeing these books for quite a while, and when I found this for only a few dollars, I decided to get it. It sounds like a really exciting and action-packed fantasy series with a similar premise to Cassandra Clare's books, and I see Sherrilyn Kenyon books everywhere, so she seems to be a pretty popular author. I'm excited to get into this series eventually. Because everything's eventual.

Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I also picked up the second book in the Chronicles of Nick series. It was a cheap hardback, and I really enjoyed the cover. I almost bought the 3rd, 4th, and 5th books, which were all also on Book Outlet, but I decided to wait just a little bit in case I didn't like the series for some reason.

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

In my last book haul, I showed the other four books in this series, which I also purchased off of Book Outlet. This time, the second book was actually on there (ONE lone copy- $2.99), so I snatched it up and plan to marathon the series sometime this year, complete with a viewing of the 1985 Disney movie, which is one of my top 5 Disney movies of all time. I'm just a little excited. 

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

This is actually the book that got me onto Book Outlet. I watched one of Ariel Bissett's videos where she raved about how much she loved this book. It sounded just so interesting, so I checked Book Outlet, and they had it for $1.49. So I grabbed my coupon and browsed around to see what else I could find. The concept behind this book is absolutely intriguing. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but it was totally worth it.

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

I saw this one in Barnes and Noble one time and the concept was interesting, so I took a picture of it to remember it. And then I saw it on Book Outlet for less than $3 so I just added it on. This one also doesn't have the highest GoodReads ratings, but the concept has me intrigued. It reminded me just a little of Thirteen Reasons Why, which is one of my favorite books.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

I've been pining for this one for quite a while. I've seen it in a handful of book hauls and have wanted it since I first saw it. It looks so creepy, which is one of my favorite types of books/ movies. I think I'm going to have a horror TBR for October, so I think I'm going to be saving this one for that, along with a few more books I really want to read. 

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

This is yet another booktube find. A lot of people I watch have absolutely loved this book, and I thought that it sounded like a really interesting concept. This is also another one I've had my eye on for quite a while. I had really wanted the paperback cover of this, but this hardcover was inexpensive enough that I decided to go for it. If I fall in love with it, maybe I'll splurge on a paperback copy. 

The Pendragon series by DJ MacHale

I already had books 7-10 in hardcover, but I wanted the entire series in hardcover since it's one of my favorite series. So, I got the first six used from various sites, to varying degrees of success. At least they all will display well on the shelves, regardless of some of the semi-damaged books. I also think that some used bookstores need to re-consider what they consider to be "very good condition." I had to bring several of these to work to clean them up and remove stickers and other junk from the books. And those were the fixable problems.

Online Purchases

This section is just a random assortment of books that I got from several different orders at several different times.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I already had this on my kindle, and I'm not sure why I didn't just buy the hard copy the first time around, but now I have it in hard copy! My one annoyance is that I ordered a used copy in the original cover... and this brand new movie-tie in was what I got. In general, I'm not a fan of movie tie-in covers. I don't dislike this cover, I just wanted the original cover. I almost returned it, but it's the same book, in perfect condition, with Logan Lerman on the cover. I can cope.

Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter

(Analysis of Book 5)

I have the first Unofficial Guide (which covers books 1-4) and found it really interesting. I happened to discover that they'd made one for the 5th book, which I was conveniently not far from starting, so I decided to pick it up and read them together. 

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

There's one booktuber who raves and raves about this book and how amazing it is. It's over 1000 pages long and sounds like a really interesting challenge. I had my eye on it for a while, and came across it one day on the Book Outlet, so I picked it up.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone and Days of Blood & Starlight 

by Laini Taylor

Katytastic on Youtube raves and raves and RAVES about this trilogy, and has touted it as her favorite trilogy ever. I tend to have a fairly similar taste in books, so I generally trust her quite a bit when it comes to recommendations. These were $6 apiece on Books A Million's website, so I jumped on the opportunity to get them.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

This book... so beautiful. I pre-ordered it back in February and finished reading it less than a week after it came out. I did a full discussion on it, which you can check out by clicking HERE. It was an amazing conclusion to one of my all-time favorite series. LOVE.

Used Bookstores

These were all purchased during multiple trips to used bookstores throughout May and June. Yay for bargain books!

Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfeld

These are the 2nd and 3rd books in the Uglies trilogy. I read the first two books of this trilogy back in junior high and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to pick it up and read the entire thing. I have yet to find Uglies, but I'm not in a rush. I want to pick up some more of his books, because I also enjoyed his Midnighters trilogy in junior high as well. 

Holes by Louis Sachar

I've been purchasing some of my favorite childhood books so that I can have a little collection on my shelves, and this was one of the ones that I had to have. It was always one of my favorites and I absolutely cannot believe that I sold this book a few years back.

Ghost Town at Sundown by Mary Pope Osborne

This is another book I wanted from my childhood. I read this series almost religiously, and this was my favorite of the books. When I found it, I jumped at the chance to get it.

Sweeney Todd

I stumbled across this and I'm still kinda confused about it. Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite movies, but as far as I know, it wasn't originally a book. I know it was a play and a musical before the Johnny Depp movie, but I don't think it was ever a book. I'm assuming that this might be one of those random movie to book adaptations, since it does have the movie cover on it. Either way, it seems really intriguing and I'm curious to see how it translates to a book.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

To be very honest, I almost didn't buy these. I've never read the series (yes, I know, shock, gasp, horror, etc.). Honestly, the hype surrounding it is what has kept me from reading it for this long. I've had the first book on my kindle for more than 2 years. I do think I'd like it, since dystopians are my thing, but I just haven't picked it up. These were all together in perfect condition for only $7 apiece, so I decided to get them, because I'll read them at some point. So they'll sit for a while, but I'll get to them eventually. I promise.

The Dark Tower Books 1 & 2- Stephen King

Like I said in my stand-alone book discussions, I've been wanting to read more Stephen King and this series was recommended to me by a few people I know. It sounds really interesting and I found the first two books in the same edition at a used bookstore, so I picked them up.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Before anyone freaks out, this is not my first copy of the book! When I originally bought the series, the first 5 were out in paperback, so I got them in paperback. I have the last 2 in hardcover because I bought each of them the day they came out, and so I've been trying to find the first five books in hardcover, first American edition. That's why I was SHOCKED to see this first American edition sitting in a used book store, in near perfect condition. I had to grab it.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

My favorite used bookstore seems to get a constant flow of Harry Potter books, and many of them are in really great condition, including this one! They also had books 6 & 7 in PERFECT condition and I was extremely tempted to buy them because the dust jackets on mine are very well used. But I refrained, because my original copies have sentimental value. The store also had Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire, but the quality wasn't as good as I wanted, so I haven't gotten those even though they're the last two I need in hardcover. I'll be patient though, because it's my favorite series, and I want them to be perfect.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

This has been on my to-buy list for quite a while. I'd been planning on buying the huge floppy paperback because I really like huge floppy paperbacks for some reason (like Infinite Jest! That's a huge, awesome paperback). I found the paperback and it was in good condition except that the spine was cracked in several places and I'm not a spine crack fan. I was going to get it, but stumbled across the hardcover on display just a few feet away for only $1 more, so I went for it because it was in near-perfect condition. I really can't wait to read this one because I keep seeing commercials for season 2 of the show based on this book and it seems really interesting.

Random/Misc. Books

This last section isn't super exciting, it's just a few books I got from assorted places.

Nobrow by John Seabrook

This is another book I got from the discarded books at work. Originally, I thought that it was a non-fiction psychology book analyzing our culture. And by looking at the cover, it would certainly seem like that. However, it's actually a fictional dystopian set in a world where the culture has deteriorated to the point where fast food restaurants are the fancy places. I don't know a ton about it, but what I saw sounded intriguing, so I took it home.

Sleeping Murder and Murder at the Vicarage 

by Agatha Christie

Once again, this is a book that I got from work. Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors, so I was really excited to come across this. These are both from her Miss Marple series. I have read several Poirot novels, but I have yet to get into Miss Marple, so I think that these may be the ones that get me into it!

Wreck This Journal

This one was a birthday present from my roommate (well, we don't live together right now, but we lived together last school year and will be sharing a room starting in August, but whatever). I've actually been eyeing it for a while, but hadn't bought it yet. I've already done a few of the things in it, but I don't want to rush anything since the point is to get creative with it. This should get exciting!

So there we go, those were the nearly 50 books that I got over the last two months. Hopefully my next haul will be significantly smaller because of the semi-ban I've put myself on, but I've already ordered 3 books (all from the list of books I'm allowed to buy, and for a good price! Promise!) so it may be a bit bigger than I really want it to be. Also, new post tomorrow- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix discussion. Fanfiction chapter will be out... soon. Probably once I'm not reading constantly to finish my challenge. But it's my first priority after the Reading Challenge posts. 

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