Book Haul

This will be the last book haul for a while as I am going on a book buying ban.
Gosh, I must seem like a very pitiful person.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The book cover I have to the left shows that the book has three medals. It actually has four now.
I started reading it already because I've been super excited for this book. I can't tell you much about it, but I can really relate to one of the main characters. Also, the chapters are really short, so it seems like it's going to be an easy read.



Wonder by RJ Palacio

I have been super excited to read this book. Most of the other bookstores I went to had this thing way overpriced, but I had some store credit at one of the local bookstores and got it for a little bit less.
It's about a boy with a facial deformation, and everyone has said that it has made them cry and that it was heartwarming, and I have yet to have a book make me genuinely cry.
Bring it on, Wonder.



All our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

I have heard mainly good things about this book. I don't know much about it, because I just like to immerse myself into these dystopian books. But it seems like it'll be good.







Signal by Cynthia Defelice

I am always willing to pick up a book I have never heard of if it sounds good. I read the little blurb on the back and was intrigued. It has a pretty bad overall rating on goodreads because everyone is giving it three stars, but it's pretty short and I'm willing to give it a try.






Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I bought Cinder about a week ago because I had ten dollars and that's what you do when you have ten dollars. Today, I bought Scarlet. They look beautiful on my bookshelf--just saying. I think that the author has created a really cool world and even though I'm not done with Cinder, I'd already like to see what happens in Scarlet.


The War of the Worlds by HG Wells

My brain is doing one of those things where it thinks it's the center of the universe, and ever since I bought The Time Machine by HG Wells, I've noticed his name everywhere. I noticed it in The Book Thief, and it immediately came to my attention at the book store. And I haven't read a single thing by HG Wells. So, thanks, Brain, for making no sense.
By the way, look at how crappy the cover is. It's crappy.




Death and the Arrow by Chris Priestley

I "borrowed" this one from a family member. I was just so jealous when that family member bought it about five years ago and I've been wanting it for five years.
So, I have it now.






Last but not least . . .

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I have heard fantastic things about this book. I heard that it's so amazing and that the writing is phenomenal and that the world is very cool.
What is about, you ask?
I have no idea.





There you have it. My last book haul for a while . . .

I'm cool with it, though. I have nearly 40 books to read this summer, which is plenty.

Goodwill Book Haul

I need to stop.
So, I recently went to the goodwill which is a pretty good place to get cheap books. I found that most of the adult books were given to the goodwill for a reason, but there were some decent children's books and the occasional YA book.

The first book that I got is The Barcode Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn. I'm about 100 pages into it, and everybody else hates it, but it's not too bad so far. It's a kind of stupid concept, but it's also interesting and plausible enough to keep me entertained. It deals with concepts like peer pressure, being different, rebellion, and standing up for what you believe in, which I can appreciate. But the author still needs to prove to me that everything in the book makes sense and that this is going somewhere.

I'll do a full review soon.

The second book that I got is The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman. I have no idea what it's about, but I can guess that it's fantasy and that it has a female protagonist.
On my cover, it looks like some kid drew boobs onto the chest of the girl and then crossed them out. Thanks, whoever did that. You're on the path to becoming a wonderful member of society.





I also bought Because of Winn-Dixie. I already have read this twice. It's my favorite book by Kate DiCamillo, I love the characters, and I'm also creating a little Kate DiCamillo collection on my shelf, which is pretty cool.









Then I found a Great Illustrated Classics section, and I like GIC, because it makes it much less intimidating to read classics.
And I like pictures.
So, I got 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Jules Verne also wrote A Journey to the Center of the Earth, which I loved, so I'm looking forward to this one.






I'm currently teaching myself all about quantum physics and time travel and space and wormholes and all of that fun stuff, so I thought it would cool to get The Time Machine by HG Wells.









That concludes this book haul. I'll stop buying books eventually. Eventually . . .

Barnes and Noble+garage sale Book Haul!

I have been buying all of the books for summer. All of the books.

The first book I got is The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville. I have never heard of this book and I doubt that it will be amazingly life-changing. It's a kid's book, but it didn't sound absolutely terrible.
So, I bought it, knowing full well that I will probably hate it.
Go on.
Judge me.






The next book that I got is The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, which is the first book in the thirty nine clues series. I also got The King's Ransom, but I'm not even going to talk about that one because I thought it was the second book in the series, but it's not. While we're on the topic of second books in series, I got Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon, but I haven't read the first book, so . . .
Back on the topic of The Maze of Bones, the series seems interesting enough. I like the idea of a bunch of amazing authors collaborating to create a series.



I also got Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I checked it out from the library before, but the copy that I got was so stained and ripped and disgusting that it made me hate the book itself. Now that I have a better copy, I hope that I'll be able to enjoy it.








Lost Horizon by James Hilton
Apparently, it's the first paperback ever published, which is cool, I guess. It sounded interesting enough, so I got it. But I think that it's a required reading book, because when I typed it in on google, the popular results were "notes" or "summary" or something like that. Oh well.







Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl.
I got a really crappy copy of the book. It looks like a dog ate it and then threw it back up. And then the owner tried to tape it back together but failed miserably.
All for only 25 cents!
But I've been wanting to read this for a while, and I'm almost done with The Book Thief, and I've been really interested in WWII lately, so I'm excited.






The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
My brother had to read this for required reading a while back, and he said that he actually liked the book.
He never reads . . .
He liked a book . . .
Therefore, it has been on my to-do list to read for quite some time, and I found the book at a garage sale and was reminded.





Then I go to Barnes and Noble and spend fifty dollars to help make sure that it doesn't go out of business.
It already happened with Borders. BaN is the last survivor.
Anyway, I got The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, which I started reading today--page 13, already love it. I don't read many books about aliens, but I still understand the concept and think that it's really cool.
OHMYGOSH THEY'RE MAKING THIS INTO A MOVIE????
YES!!!!!!

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I tried reading this book before, but I had so much on my plate at that time. So I actually decided to buy the book, because I thought that the concept was really cool and I was enjoying it.








The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
I recently finished The Red Pyramid and I liked it, and I have faith in Rick Riordan. So, I got the second book in the series. It's not at the top of my priorities, but I'll get around to it.








The last book that I got is The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by MG Buehrlen. I was surprised to see this one at Barnes and Noble, but it was there, and I like the concept of time travel, so I got it.









Anyway, I'm super excited to read these books!

Preparing for summer

Summer is creeping around the corner, and I will need a lot of things to fill my days with. So, today I went to a bunch of garage sales and absolutely hit the jackpot. I got twenty books, twenty AMAZING books in great condition, for less than 10 dollars. Needless to say, I am so happy!
Of course, because this is a book blog, I will show you which books I got, with the exact covers I got.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

I have already seen the movie, but you don't understand what happens to your mind when books only cost 25 cents. I had to have it. I'm sure that the movie skipped over some amazing parts in this book. I'm sure of it.







The Last Dragon by Silvana De Mari

I have not heard of this book until today. It seemed interesting enough, and I really wanted to indulge my inner fantasy geek.








The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

I have heard of this book. Apparently, it's been made into a movie but that movie looks stupid. I wanted to check this book out from the library before, but it only cost a few cents, and the summary was intriguing.







The Compound by SA Bodeen

I haven't heard of this book until today. That's the beauty of garage sales. The summary was short and sweet. "Eli and his family have lived in the Compound for six years. The world they know is gone. Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. Now, they can't get out. He won't let them." It's really mysterious, fits into the genre that I usually enjoy reading, and I always like to read new things.




Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

I don't even know what this book is about. I really like the author and trust that the book will be entertaining. The cover was cool, and it only cost me a dime.
I only skimmed over the summary, saw the words "summer" "photograph" and "die." That's all I need to know.






The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I have heard of this book before. I'm not really sure what it's about, but I'll find out soon enough. The cover is pretty and I think that I'll enjoy it. If not, I'll have lost out on 25 cents. That's a real bummer.







The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

I have a love/hate relationship with the author, but this book seems a little different from her other work, so I'm very interested to see what it's about. I know that it's about a china rabbit. I've read the first page about a million times. But I've never progressed from there and I really want to.





The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

I have read this one and I wanted to have my own copy of it, and it barely cost anything, so nothing was going to stop me from buying it.
For those of you who haven't read it, it's about a boy named Rob who has a sad background and finds a tiger. It's a bit dragged out, but it's still a short book. It's not one of those books you read for the action.
To be honest, I read it so I could count it towards my reading challenge.




A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

I have read a few books by Andrew Clements a while back, so I didn't need to read any of the summary to know that the book would be decent. It's pretty short. I'm excited to read it.







Peter Pan by JM Barrie

I have seen part of the Disney movie. I don't really remember what happens.
I really liked Great Illustrated Classics because I like the layout of the books and they make it less intimidating to read classics, so I jumped at the chance to buy this book.






Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

I have seen the movie and I remember crying at the end. I don't remember much of what happened before the end besides the fact that nearly 2/3 of all of the characters died. There are probably a lot of messages that I missed as well, considering that I watched the movie before I could tie my shoes.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll ever read it because it really takes a lot to get me to read anything that's not fantasy.




Lords of the Flies by William Golding

I've heard a lot about this book and have wanted to read it for a long, long time. Because for some reason, my school curriculum is skipping over all of the actual classics so we can read absolute crap instead.







Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I found this book at the first garage sale I went to and got it for 25 cents. Yes!
I know that this book is about a guy who finds a dragon egg, which seems a little cliché, but I'll trudge through the book anyways.
Also, people are saying that it's like LoTR (if you don't know what that stands for, something is wrong with you) but I don't know yet.





Eldest by Christopher Paolini

I found this book at the last garage sale I went to, which I think is kind of interesting. It looks a lot larger than Eragon. I don't know what it's about yet, because no sane person would read the back of the second book in a series when they haven't read the first book.






The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

I didn't actually own a version of this book until today. I'm not entirely sure how that's possible. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with me.
This is the best picture I could find of the particular cover I have, so I'm sorry about that. I know. Everything being off-centered is annoying me too.




Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien

I haven't read this yet, but judging from the title, it will probably annoy me a lot.
If they are unfinished, I will refuse to just use my imagination. If they were finished by someone else, I would probably feel like they were lacking and weird. We'll have to see.






Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I didn't realize that I had bought two books by the same author. I'm just happy that I found this book because I've been wanting to read it and I DON'T EVEN KNOW I JUST BOUGHT TWENTY BOOKS CAN YOU ALLOW ME TO BE EXCITED???






Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

I don't know what the cover looks like because I don't have the dust jacket, so we'll just assume it looks like this.
I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had this cover, but I might end up really enjoying this book and I might be happy that I bought it.






The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

I recently finished this one and now I have the actual version. I didn't love this book, but that was only because it was awesome and not AAAWEEEESSSOOOOMMEEEEEEE!!!!!








1984 by George Orwell

I have been dying to read this book and I am so happy that I was able to get such an amazing book in such amazing condition and I AM SOOOOOO HAPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
And mature. Of course.






I think that's everything. I will start reading right this second because I'm so anxious to. I will be doing book talks soon.

         

I am officially the happiest person in the world

Today I went to the bookstore because I wanted some books (duh) and I had some store credit.
So, I walk in, and I see exactly what I wanted:


 


Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

For those of you who don't know, Never Fade is the second book in The Darkest Minds trilogy. I did a review/book talk of TDM here: http://bookahooligans.blogspot.com/2014/05/dystopiathon-darkest-minds-by-alexandra.html
As soon as I finished TDM, I just wanted to know what happened next and now I get to find out.

Then, I look down and see Legend by Marie Lu. I make sure it's the first book in the series, make sure it's affordable, and then I pick it up and buy it.
I know nothing about this book but I'm hoping that it's good. I am worried that it will just be another overly hyped dystopian novel, but I want to give it a chance because dystopian books can be some of the most captivating and thought provoking if they're written well.







I go to the upstairs floor to the children's section and see if there are any cute books up there. I remember wanting to read this one a few years ago.
It's The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn. I read All the Lovely Bad Ones (book review here: http://bookahooligans.blogspot.com/2014/05/books-to-read-all-lovely-bad-ones-by.html) and I enjoyed it. However, unless the author co-wrote this with Stephen King, I think I will probably just find the book stereotypical and amusing. However, I derive pleasure from amusing books and it only cost 75 cents, so I figured, why not?



After doing a little more searching, I'm about to tell the cashier that I'm ready to purchase my books when my hand, without my consent, reaches over and picks up Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I really like the concept of the book. I think that a book with photographs sounds really creepy and cool and I'm excited to read it.







However, I am at a bit of a dilemma because I don't know which one to start first, and I'm currently reading The Book Thief, The Maze Runner, To Kill a Mockingbird, Farewell to Manzanar, Eight Keys, and now I'm going to start one of these books . . .
Luckily, summer is coming up and I have no friends, so I'll have plenty of time to read and write and play instruments and read.