Holiday Swap Package!

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On my way home earlier, I was just thinking of what mail I should expect this week. My packages usually arrive at home from Wednesdays to Fridays (yes, my packages get delivered right at my doorstep — our postman is awesome), and when I remembered that, I felt a bit sad because I would have to wait a bit more before I can get anything — if I do get anything this week, that is.

And then when I got home, I saw this:

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I knew what it was immediately, so I put my bag down and started opening it right there, not even bothering to change or get some dinner first. I know there’s a book inside. I wonder what else? I sure hope there are no free cigars inside.

Inside was a wrapped package, a card, a snowman Pez dispenser, Pez candy and…”snow”!

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Because I wanted the suspense, I opened the card first. Here was the message:

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Hope your holidays are full of frosty fun!

I hope you enjoy the books I have chosen and the touch of snow I’ve sent. I figured you didn’t get a lot of it there!

Happy holidays!

My Santa is right — we hardly have snow here. Lots of rains lately, but snow — never.

And so I finally opened the wrapped package:

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Yay! I finally have a copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs! It’s one of those books on my wish list that I sorta kinda forgot was there. :) My Santa did her research well! Thanks so much to my Santa, Cassandra from Indie Reader Houston! Thank you for putting together such a thoughtful package. :) This just totally made my Monday, and I’m so glad it arrived just a day after Christmas. Nothing like opening another package to keep the Christmas spirit, yes? Happy Holidays!

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In My Mailbox (12): Holiday Swap, Merch and Ebooks

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I meant to do an IMM post last week but I can’t remember why I skipped it. Perhaps it was because I had too many posts lined up. That, or I just felt lazy doing one. It was kind of a good thing, though, because it turns out I don’t have my camera cable at home so I couldn’t transfer photos, anyway.

This week is a pretty good book week, with Christmas coming and all that. I haven’t been to many Christmas parties yet (not until next week, anyway), but this week I received a lot of packages. Not all of them were books, but they were still packages, and it’s always fun to receive stuff in your actual mailbox. :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly book meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren, where bloggers post about what books received that week, be it via  mailbox, library or store. Here’s this week’s stash!

  1. The Giver by Lois Lowry (National Bookstore) – I got this because I was thinking of getting Matched, but I thought I’d read this one first since Matched has been compared to this a lot. I already posted my review here and suffice to say I really liked it. :) Will I get Matched now? Still not sure — what do you think?
  2. No Strings Attached by Mina V. Esguerra (National Bookstore) – I’ve been hounding the bookstores for her newest book after she told us about it in Twitter, but alas, it’s not in Eastwood. Then she tweeted that she saw it already, and since I can’t find it anywhere near I work, I took a special trip to the mall near our place and found lots and lots of copies. :D I finished reading this last week, will post a review next week.
  3. Mistwood by Leah Cypess and Blue Angel, White Shadow by Charlson Ong – After getting Mina’s new book, I got home and was welcomed by a package! It was from my Holiday Swap Santa, Tarie! She already sent me a message about it before I got it, telling me that the review copy of Blue Angel, White Shadow will be added in the package so I didn’t have to pick it up where she’s leaving the other copies for the other bloggers who will get it. :D I was really excited to see she got me Mistwood! I’ve been eying this one in the bookstore for a long time now. :D Thanks so much, Tarie! :)

I also braved the mall crowds yesterday to pick up the NaNoWriMo merch I ordered with some Wrimos from Johnny Air Cargo. The shipping fee kind of set me back a little, but I’m glad these things finally arrived. The jacket and the books aren’t mine, but I got my ML shirt, key chains and posters. :)

EBOOKS:

  1. Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck (Amazon Kindle store) – I still have that ebook itch, so after buying and reading Anna and the French Kiss, I browsed the store again and found Rachel Hauck’s latest novel. I liked the first two books in the Lowcountry Romance (Sweet Caroline, Love Starts with Elle), and this third companion novel seems very promising. :)
  2. Reaper by Rachel Vincent (Amazon Kindle store) – I found out this ebook is free from the store, and I can never resist free ebooks. :) I must finish reading the rest of the books in this series.
  3. Invasion (A C.H.A.O.S. Novel) by J.S. Lewis (Booksneeze) – Booksneeze recently received a lot of new titles lately, and I found this new young adult series. It seems pretty interesting, plus it has an ebook version so it saves on shipping time. :)
  4. Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harrison (NetGalley) – I know I still have a lot of NetGalley titles lined up in my TBR, but this book caught my eye. Looks very interesting. :D I don’t know when I’ll be able to read it, but I will. :)

Next week, it’s our Goodreads group’s Christmas party, and I’m sure there will be books to bring home there again. :) But that’s for next week. I still have to shop for presents for that!

Now I shall get ready for my godsister’s wedding. :) Have a great Sunday, everyone!

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Holiday Swap

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As of this writing, there are only 46 days till Christmas. Again: where did time go? Why is it going too fast? Before we know it, November (and NaNoWriMo) is over, and it’s December! And it’s Christmas!

Okay, so I think everyone can see that I love Christmas, and Christmas always makes things better for me, no matter how bad my mood is. Plus, Christmas automatically makes me more generous for some reason (must be the spirit of giving!). When I saw posts from Holly and Chachic about the Book Blogger Holiday Swap, I decided to join in for the fun!

I love exchanging gifts during Christmas (I am almost always the mastermind for other exchange gifts/Secret Santa/Kris Kringle plans among my friends) so a book swap is definitely something I’d love to do. I know international shipping is going to make a dent in my wallet, but still I chose that option, because it’s fun! And it’s just once a year anyway, so why not go all out? I’m already starting to think of ideas to put in the package like bookmarks and trinkets and rings, and maybe add a couple of local books that I like in it, to share local literature. :)

Hm. That reminds me, I think I shall suggest something like this to my friends now. :D And maybe think of a Christmas giveaway too? Hmmm.

Ah, Christmas. I love it. It’s the most wonderful time of the year… :)

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