2012 January 8 — Once Upon A Time

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Bear with me.

I’ve been away for so long and there has been a birthday and Christmas since then, and thus it’s just a tad insane. So yes yes, “Wow, that’s a lot of books!” I know. This is a month’s worth of books and.. yeah. I like to treat myself a little with Christmas money. This year I just didn’t buy any DvDs in favour of books because the ones I really wanted were £40 so I left it.

We’re all moved in now though and getting settled, just need to sort out getting a couple of jobs and get back into blogging and all is good. It’s just difficult to get those parts sorted so please bear with me.

I would have loved to do a little video blog today highlighting my favourite new books over the past month, especially seeing as *shock* my microphone actually works now but I still don’t have access to a webcam, so crappy phone quality images it is. Though I have highlighted a few that made me squee.

Tomorrow Bout of Books starts, time to get reading! I love Bout of Books. It’s basically a fun, no pressure readathon. You can read as much or as little as you like and there are plenty of challenges and giveaways and such to join in with and meet new bloggers. I love it. There’s still time to sign up, too, so go do that. You’ll be reading this week anyway, right? (shameless slogan thief)

Have you read any of the books I’ve picked up in the past month? I’m SO FRICKING excited!! Got a lot of books I’ve been after for a while and I’m absolutely itching to get started once I’ve caught up on my review books. And and new book shelves! The little one is basically my more immediate ‘to read’ books, where I keep review copies, gifts, giveaway winnings and the odd handful that I’ve bought for myself. Some of the boyfriend’s are on the big one as well.

PS. Sod proper formatting and Goodreads links. You can have images and lists.. there’s too much for me to spend the time doing much more!

Books

Received for Review

Never Mind the Botox: Rachel by Penny Avis & Joanna Berry (Mira)
The Thorn and The Blossom by Theodora Goss (Quirk)
Touch of Power (Avry of Kazan #1) by Maria V. Snyder (Mira)
Magic in the Blood (Allie Beckstrom #2) by Devon Monk (Berkley)
Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom #1) by Devon Monk (Berkley)

I’m reading Touch of Power at the moment and I personally think it’s better than Poison Study. It’s that good. I shall read Never Mind the Botox next, which is a chick lit and my review for that will hopefully be up in the next couple of weeks. The Thorn and The Blossom is pretty awesome. It’s a two-sided story, quite literally. The book actually folds out like an accordian almost, on one side is the girl’s story, and on the other is the guy’s. It’s a really great idea and it’s so pretty, I love it.

Also can’t wait for the Allie Beckstrom books. Berkley are just brilliant. Seriously. And I love the UK covers for these.

Gifted

Sins of the Angels by Linda Potevin (Karina @ Nocturnal Book Reviews)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Hanna @ Booking in Heels)
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins (Hanna @ Booking in Heels)
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins (Hanna @ Booking in Heels)
Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch (Hanna @ Booking in Heels)

Both awesome ladies!! Linda is awesome and I can’t wait to give her book a read, and look at that! Hanna’s “little” parcel was actually one of those that helped me get out of bed one morning. Haha, do you ever get those or is that just me? I seriously sat there cooing over The Night Circus for about 15 minutes. SO PRETTY!

Won in Giveaways

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent (MiraINK)
My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2) by Rachel Vincent (MiraINK)
My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent (MiraINK)
My Soul to Steal (Soul Screamers #4) by Rachel Vincent (MiraINK)
Intertwined (Intertwined #1) by Gena Showalter (MiraINK)
Unraveled (Intertwined #2) by Gena Showalter (MiraINK)
The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa (MiraINK)
The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa (MiraINK)
The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa (MiraINK)
Inside Out (Insider #1) by Maria V. Snyder (MiraINK)
Outside In (Insider #2) by Maria V. Snyder (MiraINK)
The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1) by Aimee Carter (MiraINK)
Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison (MiraINK)
Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter (Alex @ Blethering Bookworm)

I was over the moon when I received the email saying I’d won this particular 12 days of Christmas giveaway from MiraINK, I mean just look at all of those!! There are so many books in there that I’ve wanted to read for so long and a few I hadn’t really looked into before but can’t wait to give a read. And Alex is awesome. I had a choice for her giveaway and chose Me and Mr. Darcy because I have a soft spot for chick lit and the other Alexandra Potter book I own seems fantastic.

Bought

The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter
Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower #6) by Stephen King
Sea of Silver Light (Otherland #4) by Tad Williams
A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness
Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) by Tessa Gratton
City of Golden Shadow (Otherland #1) by Tad Williams
Windfall (Weather Wardens #4) by Rachel Caine
Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1) by Carrie Vaughn
Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville #2) by Carrie Vaughn
Kitty Takes a Holiday by (Kitty Norville #3) Carrie Vaughn
Eragon (Inheritance #1) by Christopher Paolini
Eldest (Inheritance #2) by Christopher Paolini
Brisingr (Inheritance #3) by Christopher Paolini
The Fury and Dark Reunion (Vampire Diaries #3-4) by L.J. Smith
Smoulder by Brenna Yovanoff (aka The Space Between)
Blood Rights (House of Comarré #1) by Kristen Painter
Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning
The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Of Saints and Shadows (The Shadow Saga #1) by Christopher Golden
Pride (Shifters #3) by Rachel Vincent
A Storm of Swords: 1 Steel and Snow (Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords: 2 Blood and Gold (Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin
A Feast for Crows (Song of Ice and Fire #4) by George R.R. Martin

The Kitty books, Inheritance books and Vampire Diaries book were all great offers I found on The Book People.. a new website addiction I can completely blame on Ellie. The rest? A few from a closing down sale nearby, they were all 50p each (3 of them), a couple second hand from Amazon, the rest just from Amazon with Christmas/birthday money. Oh, yeah, I also had a £10 gift voucher and a £5 off when you spend over £15 voucher for Smiths so I bought a couple there too. Yes it’s a lot, and no I don’t regret it, and yes I can’t wait to read them! So many books here I’ve been after for so long. I did forget to put Of Saints and Shadows into the picture but ah well.

A few I've been after for a while

Borrowed

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King
Miscreation by Stefan Jakubowski

Shauny, friend and new neighbour, is pretty much demanding that I read Dark Tower so that she has somebody to talk to about it. Not that I mind, but these could be on top of my little bookshelf for a while. You can see why looking at the rest of this post, haha.

Ebooks

Received for Review

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen (NetGalley)
Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey (NetGalley)

Gifted

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Andrea @ The Busy Bibliophile)

This came through after I’d already received the physical copy. I felt really really bad about that but thank you!

Bought

Daughter of the Flames (Burn #1) by Zoë Marriott
Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan #1) by Kim Harrison
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

This were all on offer in the Amazon Kindle store just after Christmas for 99p each!

Freebies

Annexed (The Refuge #1) by Rebecca Mckinnon
In the Shadow of the Moonlight – The Awakening by J. J. Bidell
Tinseltown by Victoria Fox
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Forest of Adventures by Katie M. John
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Honourable Mentions

And as it was Christmas and we moved into a new flat, I wanted to mention a few other things. I did have some bookmarks from K.C. Neal but I gave the bag they were in to Dan and haven’t seen it since… Extra worried about that because that bag had my sat nav and ipod in it.

Still, limited edition boxset of all Harry Potter blurays and regular DvDs. Gorgeous box! Fingerless gloves I found in Peacocks. An overpriced but pretty notebook from Smiths and a highlighter, both for my review notes. 100ml of one of my favourite perfumes which was £23.50! And my new library card. See that key fob? That excited me so much! I’m so sad. Haha. I also got the Song of Ice and Fire art calendar which isn’t pictured but it’s absolutely gorgeous and hanging proudly in our living room.

And the comfy chair! This is my reading chair. It’s from a charity shop hence its’ disheveled state but it’s SO freaking comfortable! That cushion on top is usually beside the arm and it’s really difficult to get out of. And yeah, that’s my lion quilt. I got a new double quilt for the bed which is warm and snuggly and currently we have no heating so it’s nice to keep warm while I’m reading.

Bout of Books

Bout of Books part 3 is here! I always get very excited about these read-a-thons because they are so fun. No pressure, just read as you normally would. Great for busy folk and slow readers, but more than anything, they are great for meeting other bloggers. This time around I will be hosting a day, tomorrow (Monday) in fact! So do stop by for my challenge. Anyway, the rules and such (copied and pasted from the main Bout of Books blog, you may notice, so yes, it refers to the Bout of Books site and the lovely Amanda):

Bout of Books will run from 12:01am 1/9 through 11:59 pm 1/15 (your time zone)
However,all posts on this blog and the challenges at the co-hosts’ blogs will publish at midnight CST (or UTC-6).
Read as much as you can whenever you can. The only person you are competing against here is yourself. There is no pressure. Commit to the entire week or a few hours – whatever works best for your schedule.
Bout of Books should be about networking with fellow bloggers in addition to reading. You were going to read that week anyway, right? Bout of Books gives you the opportunity to share your reading experience with other readers.
Use #boutofbooks on Twitter to update people on your progress and what you are reading. Feel free to follow me (@BookBender) and your co-hosts (links in the side bar) for Bout of Books information, but please do NOT @ me (or the co-hosts) with all your updates. Using #boutofbooks should suffice. I will try to repopulate the Bout of Books Twitter list. For ideas for using Twitter to your advantage during the read-a-thon, visit our Twitter Tips page.
All challenges and giveaways are separate, meaning you can participate in any challenge even if you are not interested in the prize that day. All giveaway information can be found on the Giveaway page.
Help spread the word! Grab the button in the side bar and post it on your blog. Tweet. The more people we have participating, the more fun it will be.

And as I did last time, I’m stealing the format everybody else uses because it’s fantastic, just with a little Hannah twist because.. yeah I’m a slow reader. And British.

My Goals

To keep up with my reading, so read a couple of books, and have some fun. Talk to other bloggers! Hop around! The like.

Books To Read

Finish Touch of Power. Then read Never Mind the Botox: Rachel, and perhaps start on The Hunger Games finally. If not, then it’ll be another of my review books. I have a fair few of those.

Updates

I have also borrowed ‘in six words’ from Amanda. I like it.

9/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 91
Total number of pages I’ve read: 91
Books started/continued with/finished today: Touch of Power continued.
Today #insixwords: Didn’t read as much as planned.

10/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 142
Total number of pages I’ve read: 233
Books started/continued with/finished today: Touch of Power finished. Never Mind The Botox: Rachel started.
Today #insixwords: Finished book for blog tour tomorrow.

11/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 112
Total number of pages I’ve read: 345
Books started/continued with/finished today: Never Mind The Botox: Rachel continued.
Today #insixwords: Felt like gaming, but did read.

12/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 135
Total number of pages I’ve read: 480
Books started/continued with/finished today: Never Mind The Botox: Rachel continued.
Today #insixwords: On track to finish this tomorrow.

13/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 0
Total number of pages I’ve read: 480
Books started/continued with/finished today: N/A
Today #insixwords: Friday the thirteenth hit pretty hard.

14/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 23 pages and 3% on the Kindle too
Total number of pages I’ve read: 503 (+ 3%)
Books started/continued with/finished today: Finished Never Mind The Botox: Rachel. Started Magic to the Bone and The Darkening Dream.
Today #insixwords: Today totally disappeared into thin air.

15/1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 3 pages and 11% on the Kindle
Total number of pages I’ve read: 506 (+ 14%)
Books started/continued with/finished today: Continued with Magic to the Bone and The Darkening Dream.
Today #insixwords: Apparently I’m in a reading slump.