In My Mailbox (15): Where I Go “Squee!”

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Tina

It’s still a pretty slow blog week and reading week, too. No slumps, I hope, just terribly slow reading because I always find something else to do whenever I find some free time. Next week seems to be a very exciting week in the book world (hee, Thursday Next reference!) since it’s time for Book Expo America, and about half of the bloggers I follow are going there. Unfortunately, I’m all the way on the other side of the world, so I can only “watch” people squee for the entire event and all. Don’t worry, one day, I’ll be there, too.

I did have my own squeeing moments the past week because of the good books I got. It’s was very good mailbox week. :)

SQUEE-WORTHY. :)

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Fully Booked). I got this one last week, really, and I know this is a splurge because it’s a debut, but enough good reviews around tell me I may like it. Plus it was sale in Fully Booked Eastwood last week, so I decided to make use of that to get 20% off on a hardcover. I love how fiery the cover is, don’t you think? :)
The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta (Book Depository). Okay let me squee! I wasn’t expecting this to arrive until next week, so seeing this package really excited me! I cannot wait to read this.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Book Depository). And another squee! This one I wasn’t expecting to arrive until first week of June, so I was even more surprised when I got it this week. It is very pretty in person, and again, I can’t believe I got this for less than $10. :) I love that the pages are glossy, and you should see the illustrations:
Now, I should probably read the two other books in the Chaos Walking trilogy soon. Hee.

My Book Depository package also arrived with cute bookmarks! The Piper’s Son came with a music-themed bookmark, one side showing basic piano chords (some I still vaguely remember, LOL) and the other side showing basic guitar chords. A Monster Calls came with a colorful calendar bookmark. I don’t know how that fits the theme of the book, but who cares? A reader can never have too many bookmarks. :)

Bookmarks from Book Depository

I also got some ebooks, which arrived last week:

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (Amazon Kindle store). Apparently, the print copy of this book won’t be here until June, so an ebook sufficed for now. I don’t mind buying a print copy since it is Sarah Dessen anyway. I’ve finished this book last week, but I’m kind of having a hard time writing a review.
Love Story by Jennifer Echols(Simon and Schuster Galley Grab). I wouldn’t have seen this if Kai hadn’t tweeted about it. It was hidden in the adult e-galleys in the Galley grab newsletter, so easy to miss. :) I have no idea when I’ll be able to read this, though.

See, pretty squee-worthy, right? I’ll be reserving some of these books for possible slump days — nothing like an awesome book to snap you out of a slump.

Oh, and there should be more posts in this blog next week. I just remembered — I’m participating in Armchair BEA! :) Now I just hope I don’t forget about it…

Have a great Sunday, everyone! :)

In My Mailbox (14): Mother’s Day and a Long Hiatus

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Tina

Before anything else!

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there! :)

Especially to mine:

Thank you for getting me all those books when I was a kid even if you’re not too fond of reading, and I know sometimes you think I read too much. :D Thank you for reading all the things I wrote despite that fact. :) I love you!

* * *

It’s been a long time since I last did an In My Mailbox post. Other than laziness and trying to resist buying books, I went on a book-buying fast during the Lenten season. I could not buy books for myself, but I can buy them as gifts, or receive them as gifts since my birthday falls within Lent. It’s all good, and I ended up using the usual book money for other equally important things, like clothes.

But as soon as Easter morning came, I went to Book Depository and ordered books. :) It felt nice, to celebrate victory in that way. The books aren’t here yet, though, so that will be for another posts.

The books I bought in recent bookstore trips are a different matter. And so after a long hiatus, here’s my 14th In My 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.

In My Mailbox (14)

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In My Mailbox (13): The First Weeks of January

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Tina

It’s been a while since I did an In My Mailbox post, and it’s not because I went on a book buying ban, but because I was just too lazy to make a post about the stuff I got. I thought I’d be able to make it long into a the new year without buying new books, but alas. Who am I kidding?

So this is a consolidated post for the past three weeks of January, and maybe even some in December. If I can remember what I got back then, of course. :P

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.

BOUGHT:

White Cat by Holly Black – I only got this because Chachic posted a positive review of the book, and see, I’m still easily swayed. It helps that I got the e-galley of the next book from Simon and Schuster, so when I saw this in Fully Booked, I knew I can’t let it go anymore. :P
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers – Holly reviewed this early this week, and well, consider me sold. I love contemporary and I like reading about high school cliques (sans the scandals, of course), and this one got really good reviews. I’m so glad I spotted this one yesterday when we visited Fully Booked after the FBB/Flippers meet up. :)
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta – This was actually the first print book I purchased this year. I saw it in Fully Booked Eastwood and didn’t let it go, forgetting that there was a sale that weekend. Pfft. Ah well. :)

GRABBED:

Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal, translated by Soledad Lacson-Locsin. At yesterday’s Filipino Book Bloggers/Flips Flipping Pages meet up, someone had this translation of Noli Me Tangere up for book swap. I have been wanting to get my hands on a translated copy of this novel for a long time now, but I wasn’t sure which was the best translation. This one was what Blooey and the Flippers read last year, and is said to be a really good translation. I got it and no one stole it from me, so…yay. Finally!

Now a little backgrounder: Noli Me Tangere is written by the Philippines’ National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. This is a required reading in high school, but I never really read the novel in its entirety because our copy in high school was the summarized version (no, it’s not abridged, if you’re thinking that’s the term — it was actual chapter summaries that we had to summarize for another report. Hmph). I figure in my life as a reader, I must read this novel at least once in my life. So yay.

The bookmark is one of the giveaways for the Flippers meet-up. :)

GIFTED/BORROWED:

Captivating by John and Stasi Elredge – this is a Christmas gift from my friend RE. I’ve read this one in college and it was one of those good books for women that I really liked. My mom has my other copy of this and I don’t even know where it is right now. Haha. I don’t know if I will read this anytime soon, but it’s nice to know I have another copy here to refer to when I need it. :)
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis – this is lent to me by RE, too, and this is the best C.S. Lewis work according to him. This is only a lending copy though. Heh. I have a feeling I’ll like this one, too, and I’ve reserved it for February reading already. Now to find a copy of this one. Hmm.

WON:

Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram. I’ve seen this book from Kai‘s blog, and I added it on my wish list for the sheer pink-ness of it. :P I followed the author on Twitter, then on Facebook for her contest and even exchanged tweets with her during NaNoWriMo. I never expected to win because I’m not really lucky with winning, but lo and behold: I was her second winner! :) Thanks, Kelly!

This kind of took its sweet time to arrive at home, and I thought it would be lost in the mail forever, but good thing it arrived just before 2010 ended. :) I love how pink the book really is. :D The book is signed, too:

EBOOKS:

I got too many ebooks since December. Talk about crazy buying binge? Sort of. :P I also got a ton of e-galleys from Simon and Schuster’s Galley Grab. :D

Bought:

Miss Match and Match Point by Erynn Mangum
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John – loved this!
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen – my physical copy is with some friend, so I splurged on an ebook.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – loved this, too! Review coming up soon
Infinity by Sarah Dessen

For Review:

Save as Draft by Cavanaugh Lee
Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell
Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
Red Glove by Holly Black
Stay by Deb Caletti
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

There is probably more, but I forgot about them.

I know I said I won’t be stressing over my TBR, but I really think I should get to reading the other books that are starting to pile up in the apartment, the ones I acquired before 2010 ended. I really should work on that. I should.

Yeah, I always say that. :P I bet most of you guys do too. :P

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

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Tina

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!

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?
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.
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:

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. :)
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.
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. :)
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!

In My Mailbox (11)

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Tina

I really did not mean to get any books these week (yes, I know I always say that), but Fully Booked Eastwood is on sale…so how can I resist? It’s not like Cyber Monday, but still. Resistance against books is always, always futile.

Oh, and I got some awesome galleys and some books I won arrived this week…and that’s totally free. I can’t help that too, right? ;)

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!

BOUGHT:

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I got the UK edition after Chachic, Aaron and I browsed it in Fully Booked Gateway during the last FBB meet up. This hardly looks like a book at all, with its layout and designs inside. Plus it’s pretty cheap for somewhat of a “hardcover”. Look:
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Grace and I were browsing through the 80% off table in Fully Booked Eastwood when I saw a very familiar spine. I picked it up and yes! It’s this book! Hard cover, 80% off! :) Of course I had to get it. Talk about steal. :P
Naermyth by Karen Francisco. I was originally planning to get The Giver by Lois Lowry (yes, I haven’t read that yet!), but when I wandered over to the Filipiniana section in Fully Booked and saw this. I read the blurb and my pulse quickened — could it be? Local dystopian fantasy? It seems like it! I started reading this yesterday but my copy had a printing error so I returned it to Fully Booked. Now I have a proper copy and I can continue reading. Watch out for my review soon. :)

WON:

On the Edge and Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

I got great news almost a month ago that I won Dee’s 100+ Follower Giveaway. I get to pick any book (or books) worth $15 from Book Depository sponsored by The Book Quoter. I was wondering when the package would arrive and I was kind of worried, too, since we moved to an apartment and I don’t know if they would get delivered to me. Friday was a good day, though, when I saw the packages waiting at my dresser. Yay! I now have more Ilona Andrews books to read! Thanks again Dee and Book Quoter. :)

FOR REVIEW:

Lots of awesome books from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster! :)

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa (currently reading The Iron Daughter, review of The Iron King up!)
My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent (must finish reading My Soul to Keep)
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Choker by Elizabeth Woods
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves
Haven by Kristi Cook
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro

So many books, so little time! :o I have no idea when I’ll be able to read this and my mountain of TBR…but I guess I should be used to that already, right?

What’s in your mailbox this week? :)

In My Mailbox (10): Hodge-Podge

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Tina

It’s been a while since I did an In My Mailbox post, and I’ve been meaning to do one for the past weeks but life has been a little bit hectic lately. So I apologize. Like I mentioned in one of my last posts, we moved to an apartment down the street because our house is being renovated. Moving is a pain when you have so many books, and I realized as I was packing that I do have a lot of books. More than I thought I owned!

This next picture is rather depressing, but I promised my books they’d have a better home once the house is finished by early next year (my parents promised me a bigger shelf in my room). I am planning to let go of some of my books though, but I’ll sort them out soon, probably after NaNoWriMo.

So, my books. In 9 huge plastic bags:

I’m pretty sure my favorite ones won’t be dented in those plastics.

Anyway, so the moving thing kind of stopped me from acquiring books since I really have no place to put it. But…does that stop me? Of course not. Especially when there are ebooks to get and read! And I’m using books as a reward for me to get to certain word counts in NaNoWriMo!

But now you also know why my word count is way behind. Shiny books = procrastination. :P

Anyway, here are the books I got for the past few weeks for today’s In My Mailbox post! 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.

I guess I should start with the books in picture, first. :)

Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Fully Booked). I gave in to curiosity because I know a lot of people like this and recommend this. The only reason I’m hesitant to jump in this series is because it has 11 books — too much investment, IMHO. But let’s see. Got this as a reward for myself in reaching 12,000 words last week. :P
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Libreria). I’ve been eying Robin McKinley books in Fully Booked ever since I’ve heard praises about her from Chachic, so I was really planning to buy Sunshine first (the sparkly vampire book LOL). But I never got around to it, then Chachic reviewed her latest book, Pegasus, and she said that she recommends reading other McKinleys first before reading that, especially Beauty and The Blue Sword. Just my luck, I got to visit Libreria earlier with some Filipino Book Bloggers (more detailed accounts of that in Jason‘s and Blooey‘s blogs), there was a copy of The Blue Sword. :) I call that fate. :P
Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly (Fully Booked). This one is an impulse buy, really. I don’t know why I got it, except I know it’s really a reprint of a YA book published in 1942. I guess I was feeling the need to read some contemporary books, and this one just jumped out at me. I know Chris from Ficsation liked this one, so I thought it was worth a try. :)
Skin by Ted Dekker (Book Sale). I’ve been wanting to buy more Dekker books, but some of them are just too expensive. I saw the hardcover of Skin in Booksale, and well…I didn’t let it go. :)

Not in picture:

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell (Book Depository). My first Book Depository order is a zombie book. Not surprising, of course. I’ve been looking for this book for ages but I can’t find it here, so I got it online. And I think I love Book Depository already, especially for hard to find books. :) There’s a more detailed post on how to order in Book Depository in Ariel’s blog if you’re curious.

Ebooks (no more background stories for this one, since I’m a bit tired of writing…plus I don’t think I should explain why I got free ebooks, right? :P):

Awaken by Kate Kacvinsky (NetGalley)
Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann (Simon and Schuster Galley Grab)
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell (NetGalley)
Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish (NetGalley)
Deceit by Brandilyn Collins (Amazon)

Pretty hefty mailbox. Of course, I have no idea when I’ll be able to read this, but I think that’s a given already. Mt. TBR, hello!

So, what’s in your mailbox this week? :)

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