Hauls – Books Dani Likes

January Books Acquired

Hello all! Can you believe we’re already through with January? I didn’t buy a lot of books this month, surprisingly. I think part of the reason is because I finally sat down at the end of December and counted how many books that I own that I have not read and really looked at how full my bookshelves are (I literally have one that is being held up by books because the shelves were sagging so I strategically rearranged the books on it to support the shelves). In any case, here are the books that I purchased this month:

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Book of the Month selection)
Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin (Book of the Month selection)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (Target)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Amazon)

It was definitely a Sarah J. Maas-fest, but I finally accepted the fact that I am going to be re-reading this series many times before they are all complete. I really enjoy these books and I want to be able to mark up my copies and have them at a moment’s notice instead of waiting to get copies from my library.

December 2023 Books Acquired

December was a more moderate month for me in terms of book shopping. I did make another trip out to the really great book warehouse with their 70% off sale, but since this was my second trip and I had better expectations, I was able to control myself.

*Links open to the book’s Goodreads page*

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell- I’m not generally a big Lisa Jewell reader, but this one got so much buzz that I wanted to grab a copy when it came up as an option from Book of the Month. I was going to try to get it from the library, but the holds list was pretty long.

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver- I’m regretting this one a little bit now, but I also chose this title from Book of the Month. I wanted a fun winter romance, but I’ve seen some reviews of this one come in and they haven’t been great. Ultimately, I’ll decide for myself, but I’ll admit that I am less excited about this one than I was at the beginning.

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen- This was my last Book of the Month selection last month and is supposed to be a Nutcracker retelling. I may actually wait until next year to pick this one up because it feels like something you should read leading up to Christmas, not several weeks after it has already passed.

Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft- This completed a series that I had purchased the first few books in last month at the warehouse. The Babel series was really popular back in 2020-2021 and I missed the first wave on it, but I’m hoping that I’ll find some time to fit this series in this year. Unfortunately, this series is not included in my formal series plan at the moment.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers- This series has been recommended to me so many times over the years and I’m anxious to give it a try.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne- I have no idea why I am purchasing all of John Gwynne’s backlist (and frontlist for that matter). I’ve only read one book by him. I really liked it, but mostly, collecting these titles has been a matter of luck because of how many of them have been at the warehouse sale these last two months. I love the style of these books, that wonderfully floppy large paperback with pages that are not-too-thin.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne- see above.

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie- This was another series that I was able to complete fortuitously thanks to the book warehouse. Joe Abercrombie has been highly recommended to me. I will also be a good test for me to figure out if I really like grimdark fantasy.

Books Acquired November 2023

I have never imposed a book buying ban on myself before, but after this month…I’m considering it. It always feels like a betrayal to the library to purchase books. This was an abnormally large amount of new books for me to purchase in one month, but all but 2 of these were purchased at a book warehouse that isn’t too far from me that does a monthly sale where they offer books 70% off. I had never been before, but I went on Black Friday and they had a ton of Fantasy series that I’ve had my eye on for a while, and I went a little crazy. Without further ado, here’s everything I purchased or acquired in November.

*All links will take you to the book’s Goodreads page for more information*

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Malice by John Gwynne

Ruin by John Gwynne

Wrath by John Gwynne

A Time of Courage by John Gwynne

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington

The Light of All That Falls by James Islington

Still Life by Louise Penny

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft

The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft

The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick

Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 1. Vol. 1 by Miya Kazuki

Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans

Roll for Initiative by Jaime Formato

That’s a total of 26 books. I had already read 6 of them prior to purchasing them (the first four books in the Louise Penny series, Malice, and The Shadow of What Was Lost). If you’re familiar with some of those series, you’ll know that I only got one complete set, the James Islington series is just a trilogy. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to fill in some of the other missing titles on future book trips.

Stay tuned for my 2024 reading goals later this month, because my growing TBR is definitely going to be a factor in at least one of my goals. I’m also planning to take on the task of counting my physical TBR. Keep me in your thoughts, because I have 5 bookshelves in 3 different rooms, so this is no small task.

Library Haul- June 2020

Hello Kittens! I may have gone a little overboard with my library checkouts so far this month. I might actually need to stay out of the library for the rest of the month… Which is only slightly problematic since I work in a library. Oh well! Most of these books actually came from a nearby library system that opened for curbside before mine did. So without further ado, let’s look at what I’ve gotten myself into.

June’s Library Books (links are to each title’s Goodreads page)

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames (Read-a-long for the Shelf Space Book Club)

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (the 2nd book in the Illuminae Files series)

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand (the sequel to Furyborn which I reviewed here)

Orange V.1 & V.2 by Ichigo Takano

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Intercepted by Alexa Martin

The Return by Rachel Harrison

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Joy of Missing Out by Tonya Dalton

A Blade So Black by L.L McKinney

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Master Class by Christina Dalcher

Recursion by Blake Crouch

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

June’s Book Haul

Hello Kittens,

I went a little overboard with the book hauling this month and I need some accountability methods so I’ll stop spending my entire paycheck. I ordered a lot of these from Book Outlet (side note: I won’t be ordering from them anymore after their poor response to a legitimate question about diversity in their partnership program, but these orders had already shipped) and got a few from Amazon.

Keep in mind, this isn’t even everything and we’re only a little over a week into the month. I’ll be posting later on with the e-galleys I’ve been approved for this month, the books I’ve borrowed from the library, and my Book of the Month selections.

Also, did I mention that I only own 1 bookshelf…does anyone know anything about determining the structural integrity load of a shelf?

Each book will be linked to its Goodreads page.

This Side of Home by Renee Watson (e-book)

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (e-book)

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae (e-book)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (e-book)

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (e-book)

This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell (e-book)

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender (e-book)

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (I’ve read this one before and reviewed it here. I’m hoping to get the entire series in hardback over the next few months)

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi

The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen