New Year, Old Shelves: Book-Buying Stats from 2022... and My 2023 Book-Buying Ban

We start with a flashback. 

In a fit of self-imposed expectation -  after gorging myself on bullet journaling content on Instagram at the end of 2021 - I decided to impose some radically different structures on my Book Journal for 2022. Quite a few of these design choices ended up being totally welcome, and honestly, darn helpful... and one, in particular, threw one of my absolutely worst impulse habits into pretty sharp relief. 

I monitored each book I took onto my shelves. I started tracking all of my bookish buys, at the top of each month, on a spread I called "The Receipts." 

(And before you asked, no, I did not manage to spell "receipts" correctly each month. In fact, I got it wrong more often than not. Sometimes, I spelled it correctly, and still second-guessed myself, and had to do it over again anyways.) 

That's not all I tracked, either, as I also made sure to write when I had been given a bookish gift, or checked out something from the library, too. 

Am I positive the numbers are correct and squared away on everything? No, of course not. There's a margin of error for everything human-shaped, and honestly, I feel that mathmatical margin should have a higher allowance when dealing with an English major (Or, at a minimum, just this particular English major). But the fact of the matter is, even if there was some how a chance that I flubbed the numbers a little, the overall effect would still be the same: I spend way too much damn money on books. 

For instance, in January 2022 alone, I checked out ONE book from the library, purchased TEN discounted Kindle novels in ebook format, was delivered SIX books from a Book Outlet order for myself, and purchased SIX additional books for other members of my family. 

Of all those books, only ONE of those ended up getting read by the end of the year, let alone month. 

And it was the library book. 

You see my problem? 

Now I know what you're thinking: what kind of numbers are we talking, here? Well... 

All told, I read FORTY-SIX books in 2022. (Of those, far less than half were from my own shelves as they existed before the start of the year.) 

According to my own (flawed) bookkeeping, the number of physical, in-my-hand-and-on-my-shelves measurable books I either purchased or was gifted and own now, taking up room on my tangible, material shelves, is NINETY-FIVE.

And that's not including the THIRTY-NINE ebooks I also added to my Kindle. 

Nor does it factor in the SEVENTY-SIX books I checked out - be it in person, on audiobook, or on Kindle - from my local library. (That being said, a lot of those are cookbooks, or audiobooks I don't actually end up listening to, so... free pass, right?) 

I also ended up buying THIRTY books for other people - I'm such a giver! - which, depending on which member of my family you are, typically end up making their way onto my shelves, too.

As you can clearly see, that kind of math doesn't scan. Not even a little bit. What's the point of clearing books off of my shelves, like I did in June, if I'm just going to fill them up almost immediately with enough reading material it would take me another two years to clear it all out again, to find my way back to NOT zero, but instead, the over 300 books I had started with? Why do I do this to myself? 

Obviously, something has GOT to give. Which means taking a step back... once more, into a time machine, back to the years of 2015 and 2017. (We were so young back then.) 

By far, my biggest month for obtaining physical books was my Birthday month, back in October. Whether it was due to a self-indulgent Powell's haul, or presents from family, or a splurge at my favorite local secondhand store, I got a total of THIRTY BOOKS added to my shelves.

And of course, three from the library.

book buying ban: we've been around the world, and we'll do it again

First up: 2015. I'm a Junior-then-Senior in college at University of Washington in Seattle, soaring through my term on Panhellenic, living in the city over the Summer for an internship that falls apart almost immediately, and then, moving into an apartment for the first (and so far, last) time. I'm not yet horrifically depressed, and instead, only a gentle sort of semi-depressed, one that comes from being tremendously busy, and seeing a cliff edge in the horizon but not yet being close enough to panic about hitting the brakes.

I don't even mention my Book-Buying Ban until after it's already over, on January 9th of 2016, when I talk about what I learned from the experience. My reasoning behind the decision was basic enough - I was saving money, and reading books I already owned, natch - but I still ended up reading 79 books all-told that year. 

(Ahem. We don't need to talk numbers in the wake of this year's botched Goodreads Challenge... but it's nice to reflect on what you were once capable of, you know?) 

Some of the lessons I learned: how to effectively use every corner of the Tacoma Public Library system, both virtual and physical; understanding the emotional catalysts in play that make me want to buy books; recognizing the benefits of collecting hardcovers; the joys of having friends who lend you things without making you pay for them. 

We take 2016 as it comes - and it seems to be, both personally and socioculturally, kind of a loss all-around - and we stumble into 2017 with the best of intentions. We've done it before, right? Why not make the challenge again? After all, we did it when we were just a poor college student... we're now a poor college grad, and that feels even worse! 

At the time, I head my blogpost announcing said ban with an image, of the 80+ books I have amassed, and not yet read. Oh, no. Eighty? Poor January 2017 Savannah might drop dead of shock if we tell her that we're now well into the four hundreds. (She'd also probably be angry about the fact that we're still single, and maybe even the haircut, but she'll recover.) 

My Word of the Year was "Curate," and I was feeling the editorial spirit; hence, why the intentional streamlining of shelves. More than that, I was having troubles going into bookstores and finding anything I was actually interested in buying, rather than reflecting on all of the unread things at home (Was 2016 just a particularly bad year for publishing, or something?). 

I ended up reading 60 books in 2017 - a steep drop-off from, again, 69 in 2015 - but expressed dismay that I didn't end up clearing as many books off of my shelves as I had originally intended. (That siren song emanating from the local library branch is a beguiling mistress.) 

Both years, though, I gave myself a couple of "outs" for my challenge: I would be allowed to purchase FIVE books on my Bloggoversary, in late July... and in 2017, I budgeted for TWO books on Independent Bookstore Day, as well (which brought the total for that year up to seven). And of course, library books were always a given, and I was open and available to receive books as presents, too. See? Totally doable. 

Which is why I know I'm more than capable of doing it all again. 

what the plan is for 2023

It's a testament to how badly I need this challenge this year, in how desperate my weasel-brain has tried to squirm its way into a couple of exit tunnels already, even before the year had really begun in earnest. "But this doesn't count for the library, right?" it whines over breakfast. "And not cookbooks, either? We love new cookbooks!" 

No, it doesn't count for the library. Or, for that matter, for cookbooks (because I am weak, and extremely susceptible to thrift stores). But I'm being a lot more conscious of why I pick up books in the first place... what makes me feel that desperate, wiggly sensation in my chest that makes me think, "I need to get to Barnes and Noble before it closes!" 

So remember how I said I had those pages in my Book Journal about what books I was buying, every single month, "The Receipts"? (Editor's note: I spelled it wrong again in typing this out.) I'm keeping those pages, but calling them something different: Book Cravings. When I feel those intense emotions in a bookstore, or when I find myself wandering through the paperback aisles in Goodwill, what am I feeling? What am I actually looking for, lusting after? Is it something I can actually find on a shelf? Is it something I can find on a shelf at home? 

Am I looking for an emotional release, some kind of self-soothing technique that's morphed into something transactional? When I use it as a way to celebrate myself on a good day, is it something that could instead be better turned towards a coffee with friends, or a call with my sister? Am I trying to distract myself from something important, that warrants more of my attention? Is there more at play here than just a credit card scan, or that pressed-paper, unbroken-spine, tactile sense of physical grounding when the cashier puts the book back in your hand, along with a receipt? 

You know, Book Cravings. Those things you're feeling when you're Craving a Book. It's not rocket science. 

I think that by tracking the emotions I tie to the act of acquiring new reading material, it will give me greater clarity as to how this particular hobby impact my emotional needs long-term (let alone the financial ones). Chances are, there are other needs here that are not being met when I download a batch of $1.99 romance novels on my Kindle that end up sitting there, untouched, for over a year, and I want to find out what they are. 

So, that's the plan! No Barnes & Noble, Powell's, King's, Thrift Books, or Book Outlet, until the new year... or, you know, July, for my Bloggoversary. Unless I want a cookbook, or to go to the library. 

Come on, guys. I'm being serious. Stop laughing!  

Have you ever undertaken a book-buying ban before? Do you remember when I completed these challenges last time? Let me know, in the comments below!

Birthday Haul 2022: Because I Went to Powell's, and We've Got to Talk About It

So, as you might be able to surmise from the title and the accompanying opening image, I went to Portland to ring in my birthday!

It happened the weekend before last. We left Tacoma on Friday the 14th, zipped around town on the 15th, took a lazy morning on the 16th, and languidly made our way home that afternoon. And honestly? I still feel like I didn't get everything I wanted to do worked in to the mix. 

I've had plenty of time to plan: it was the first time we've been back to the major PNW hub since I moved my younger sibling out of their dorm at Portland State in June of 2019, at the end of their freshman year. They transferred schools, the world suffered a massive stop, and things were pretty homey for a while. Since then, they have graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Portland has sat in the back of my mind, relatively untouched. Until, of course, that same sibling - who makes an average of ten or so trips back a year - brought it up as a potential destination for my birthday! 

In between eating just, literally, so much incredible food - from truly so many unique and remarkable places - we also made plenty of time for zooming around other parts of the city we haven't seen before.

But one that we've definitely spent our fair share of time in, year in and out, was Powell's City of Books.

For those who are unfamiliar with the nerdy mecca of Powell's, it is the largest independently-owned bookstore in the world. So named due to its footprint taking up the length of a city block in the middle of downtown Portland, Powell's is heralded the world over for its extensive catalog, sprawling real estate, and generous amount of secondhand and rare books.

Hands-down, it's one of the favorite (and honestly, only) reasons that Portland has become a regular fixture in my life. If I'm being hauled two-and-a-half hours out of my comfort zone to visit a city with a heinous lack of parking and overabundance of one-way streets, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm spending a minimum of an hour and $50 drifting around inside of Powell's. 

Originally, we had planned that our excursion would take place on Saturday afternoon - giving me an ample amount of time to wander, owl-eyed and drooling, to my heart's content - but we ended up leaving our house several hours earlier than anticipated on Friday, and suddenly found ourselves with a fair chunk of time before we were due at Bamboo Sushi for dinner. After some schedule redesigning, it became one of the first things on the agenda upon entering the city. 

While it might have felt a little scrambled in the moment - and truly, it is impossible not to feel at least a little overwhelmed every time you walk in - I eventually hit my stride, remembered my plan, and stayed on course. When I slowed down later that night, unwinding back at the hotel after a batch of homemade, bespoke s'mores from 1927 S'mores Company, I figured that it was probably the best possible way to start my birthday weekend. 

The text I received from my sister after I sent along the news.
Needless to say, you can tell we're a family of "itinerary" people.

the shopping experience

Here's the thing: 

I am Pro-Library-Noise. The library is a public institution, representative of equitable access, and is not only a source of knowledge, but also public benefits. You don't just come to the library for books, but also assistance, also understanding, and to be perfectly honest, for comfort without cost, because the library is one of the few places you can exist freely without the expectation of payment. 

Do I think that you should maintain a respectable understanding of your surroundings in a library, and accommodate your voice levels accordingly? Absolutely. But I believe that it's important to feel free to talk in the library. 

Meanwhile, I think I should absolutely be allowed to start shushing people in Powell's. 

If you're someone who suffers from sensitivity about volume, or just the occasional bout of social overwhelm, you need to know beforehand that IT IS NOISY. Yes, it is a large and well-known store in a populous downtown area, so you're going to have plenty of people chattering or shopping with friends, but this goes far beyond that. Occasional cacophonous call-outs across the intercom came regularly and without warning, with an audio trigger that crackled like lightning. People would stand in the middle of narrow aisles and hold boisterous, arm-flailing conversation, and still manage to look at you derisively when you asked to slide past them to get to the other side. Those seeking recommendations or help from booksellers - following along in their nametagged trail, still trying to explain what they were looking for - expected people who were simply browsing on their own to, no joke, cut a path and stand aside, regardless of who had been browsing at that same bookshelf first. 

For someone who was already a little sweaty about being in an unfamiliar city, and trying their best to juggle a large stack of books in their arms, it was honestly chaos. 

The relatively peaceful second-floor, which I believe is where most of the Nonfiction is stored.
Photo courtesy of my mom, while I was maneuvering the shelves of a nearby room in a hazy stupor.

But maybe that's Portland for you. It felt like everywhere we went this that weekend - be it a dimly-lit, well-populated restaurant for dinner, or an early morning café stop bumping egregiously loud '80s tunes - was too damn noisy. So maybe that's just the claim of the hustle and bustle of a large metropolitan area. 

Still. Seriously. Let people look at books in peace, without feeling like the father in "Harrison Bergeron," with the extreme audio feedback of the intercom kicking on every other minute. For a place full of knowledge-to-be-gained, you can barely hear yourself think in there. 

the haul 

Book spread + hotel bed = vacation paradise.

Okay, so, to clarify: did I intend to walk out of Powell's with this many books? Of course not. You never do! But you've all seen my bookshelves, so it's not like I can kid you guys with some expressed measure of self-control you already know I don't have, especially about discounted printed material. Instead, I'll simply excuse myself with this:

You don't walk into Powell's with books in mind. Sure, you can come up with some kind of a gameplan... in fact, I recommend it! But that's not saying you follow it to the letter. Instead, you blackout completely, and emerge an hour and a half later, brain full of cotton fuzz and arms buckling under the weight of a tower of new titles you barely remember picking up. If you met me just beyond the doors after checkout and put a gun to my head, and told me to name all of the books I'd just purchased, I'd maybe be able to get all the way up to three. 

The easiest way to explain it, is by comparing it to an afternoon trip to Trader Joe's. Only you leave with books, instead of some undiscernible amount of exotic dips, frozen entrees, and a dessert within which there exists an ungodly amount of cookie butter.

Maybe this is a little bit of exaggeration, on my part, but I'm willing to bet you know what I mean.

Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of Spiritual Life, Fr. James Martin, SJ

Case in point: this was one of the only books I entered into the store with a direct title in mind! I've been a fan of Fr. Martin's for years, and funnily enough, have bought my copies of all of the other wonderful books of his I own only from Powell's. So, one of the dedicated stops on my list was to the Catholic shelves, buried within the scope of the heinously unorganized Christian Religion section. 

To be fair, this was one of the quietest sections of the store, which would lead me to believe not a ton of people venture up here... including, it would seem, the staff. 

365 Saints: Your Daily Guide to the Wisdom and Wonder of Their Lives, Woodeene Koenig-Bricker

This selection has slightly less intention behind it, beyond the conscious thought of "Ooh, only $4." Basically, I've been wanting to pick up a book of collected saints for a while now, just to kind of browse out of as the fancy strikes me, and one that comes jam-packed with a whole year's worth of them sounded pretty alright to me. 

Besides, I kind of recognize the cover, and think that it might have been the one from my Confirmation classes over a decade ago, the book that gave my friend Madi the idea for St. Scholastica. 

And, you know... four dollars. 

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, Jackson Ford

The first of the Frost Files series, this novel follows telekinetic government specialist Teagan Frost, as she encounters an unexpected body at the site of her latest break-in job. With less than a day to clear her name, LA teeters on the brink of an underground battle, one only she can stop before it's too late.

Full disclosure, my interest in this one was peaked weeks beforehand, at an entirely different bookstore: while pacing the Fantasy section of Barnes and Noble - which never seems to carry the books we're actually looking for - I stumbled upon this expletive-titled series... or at least, what remained of it. It seems that someone had picked up the first title, but not the rest of the books, and no one at B&N had thought it fit to refill the slot. Does this bode well for my own reading enjoyment? Well, if I'm looking to find the second and third books in the series when I'm finished, at least I'll know where to go. 

Senlin Ascends, Josiah Bancroft

The first in the Books of Babel series, this novel follows "man of letters" Thomas Senlin, as he takes his wife on a honeymoon through the boisterous metropolitan Tower of Babel. However, after the two become unexpectedly separated, he is forced to combat against the mysterious inhabitants and numerous fellow tourists of the strange and dangerous city, in order to find her again. 

This title comes highly recommended from fellow Fantasy-loving friends, and also carries the distinction of having been touted multiple times by BookTuber Regan from PeruseProject. Plus, I've heard it referred to as an "unknown treasure," which is a title carried by several other faves from the genre. 

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden

The first in the Winternight trilogy, and inspired by works of Russian folklore, this novel follows Vasilia - whose father has recently remarried after the death of her mother - and the mysterious figures in the snow, the ones from her nurse's stories. While her city-bred stepmother forbids the family from honoring the spirits of the house Vasilia was raised with, the young girl begins to believe that their halted rituals have been protecting them from forces far beyond their reckoning... ones that are now growing nearer.

Another popular Fantasy title, I've actually been pondering this one for a fairly long time, as well... but from yet another bookstore. We frequent Sunriver, Oregon, a couple of times a year, and this title was always a standout on their slim-stocked Fantasy shelves. I neglected to pick it up due to the fact that we never saw it when seasonally appropriate, and then after a while, someone else beat me to the punch, and the only titles left on the shelves were those of its sequels. But now, I finally have it... and snow should be coming down soon! 

The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison

The first in the Goblin Emperor series (yes, yes, I know you're sensing the pattern with all of these Fantasy selections), this series follows the youngest, half-goblin son of the emperor, who unexpected ascends to the throne when his father and three older brothers are killed in an "accident." Despite never having lived at Court, he is now expected to contend with politics he doesn't understand and social rituals he's completely unversed in, all while keeping wary of those who may have caused the past emperor's demise.

Originally published in 2014, this book had - to my knowledge - somewhat of an indie / cult favorite following, before being brought back for a reprint and two additional series installments in 2021. In that time, though, it's gained the attention of plenty more genre fans, and was recommended in more than one video, again, by Regan at PeruseProject. (To be fair, she's also the one who I first learned about Sarah Rees Brennan's In Other Lands from, so I'm thinking that's the rightful justification for my fan-for-life mentality. At least, when it comes to Fantasy novels). 

The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton: The First Domestic Goddess, Kathryn Hughes 

In Victorian England, any information you'd need to know, from hiring maids to making dessert, could be found between the pages of Beeton's Book of Household Management. Little did her readers know, though, was that Beeton herself was only twenty-one when she started writing, and passed before her book was even published at twenty-eight. This biography explores the short life and enduring legacy of the precursor to Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker alike, as her name and title bring about family disaster, are subjected to the whims of social flux, and are used to market products far beyond her passing. 

Honestly, I was simply darting around the Food Writing shelves like a mosquito that had swallowed some Red Bull. The Cooking section is one one of the main floors of Powell's, and the people who were shopping there were not terribly nice, so I wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible. This was the first title that compelled me to stick it out, and keep moving down the shelves, and I'm glad I did, because it looks like the sort of thing that I can pass along to my aunts after I'm done reading! 

The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, Cathy Erway

An underpaid executive assistant in New York City cuts off restaurants cold-turkey, and pledges to learn how to use her own kitchen, across the course of two full years. What began as simply a way to scrounge together some extra cash from her budget, becomes a project full of not only favorite recipes, but a newfound love of sharing meals, ethically grown ingredients, a bout with dumpster diving, and more. 

I take to "books about normal, everyday adults learning to cook for the very first time" like a toddler takes to a loose packet of glitter in a precarious location: I just wanna roll around in 'em, to be quite honest. And while I'm still working - continuously writing, always thinking about - my own 100K+ word manuscript on a similar subject, it's still a genuine source of joy to read. 

The Food Lover's Garden, Angelo Pellegrini

While I could expand upon the blurb that actually exists on the back cover of this book, I'll err instead on the side of its Goodreads summary: "How to successfully marry gardening and food." Truly, again, never has anything been written more for me. 

But to be honest, despite the conversational tone, illustrated figures, and more found within its pages, I almost didn't pick it up. After all, I have quite a few books about gardening that I don't really read already, and those ones even come equipped with full-color spreads! The selling point, however, was also found on the back cover, in the author's info: "Angelo Pellegrini was a professor of English literature at the University of Washington in Seattle." Not only my alma mater, but my specific department?! How could I put it back on the shelf? 

Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More, Dianne Jacob 

I feel like the title explains enough of what this book is for you to get it: it's like a Writer's Market, but just for all of the various directions you can take the concept of food writing, be it for critical review, journalism, fiction, etc.

Are there certain targets within this scope that draw my particular bow more than others? Absolutely. But I've already checked this thing out of the library on three separate occasions, and I'm tired of having to return it every once in a while for other people to read.

the birthday haul

Because like I said, it was my birthday, and you don't just have a birthday without someone wanting to buy you one or two books. Or, more likely than that, you don't just have a birthday without having purchased a couple of them online for yourself at least a month in advance, handing it off to other people to wrap for you, and then doing your best to forget about it in the ensuing month so that it can feel more like a "surprise." 

When we came back on the Sunday afternoon, we made certain to leave enough time for a couple of drinks out, a quick Zoom call with family members, and, of course, opening up some presents. 

If You Lived Here You'd Be Famous By Now: True Stories from Calabasas, Via Bleidner

Via Bleidner transferred from a close-knit Catholic school, to Calabasas High, and decided to navigate the change by taking notice of the chaos that suddenly surrounded her: extravagant family homes, casual mentions of plastic surgery and drug use woven into school gossip, and elbows-length relations to various celebrities. Now in college, Via has translated her careful notes into a full-scoped perspective of her time spent attending one of the most affluently-attended schools in the country. 

As I might have mentioned before, my sister's girlfriend is a Calabasas kid. In the time since they started dating, she's become one of my favorite people, and does things like drive me around Malibu to look at the Bachelor Mansion during the one visit I've taken to visit them in LA so far (to be fair, they just moved down there last year. Besides, California's so HOT). I had seen this on a shelf in Barnes and Noble over the summer, and sent her a pic for some gentle ribbing... apparently, she saved that photo, because this copy was waiting for me on my birthday. Now I'm threatening to form a book club. 

The Spiderwick Chronicles boxed set (Books One through Five) 

As you might recall from a recent blogpost of mine (or from the other times I mentioned it on this blog, once or twice), I read the first two installments of the Spiderwick Chronicles books based off of a prompt from this past Summer's "Seattle Public Library Book Bingo," and man, was my world rocked. Lo and behold, things that you enjoyed as a kid might still be capable of keeping you enthralled as an adult. 

I mentioned this to my younger brother, who never read these books growing up, and he took the initiative to do some eBaying early. While they're not the deckled-edged hardcover books I read in my elementary years, they're a freshly-sealed, crisp and clean package of the complete paperback set! And of course, they're headed right in his direction once I'm done. 

But speaking of things that I read when I was younger...

Selections from the Once Upon a Time series, various authors 

Don't ask me why, but sometime over the summer - honestly, probably when I was reading the Spiderwick Chronicles books - I got a bee in my bonnet about other books that were on my regular library rotation when I was much younger. I'm one of only two of my siblings that remember what it looked like before our local library branch got its upgrade... a part of my brain can still render, in extreme detail, the various organizational formats of the building has gone through in the past two decades. Which means I remember, what must have been fifteen years ago, back when all of the YA mass market paperbacks were lined up, unalphabetized, on some suspended racks on the back wall in the children's section...

And these books dominated my attention. 

(Well, for the most part. I was also really into the Fear Street books, which I believe were all arranged on the shelf above.) 

Published, for the most part, by Simon Pulse between 2002 and 2010 - then repackaged as sleekly-styled compendiums in 2012 and 2013 - the Once Upon a Time series were retellings of well-known-and-not fairy tales, with gorgeous and distinctive illustrated covers for their original run. There were almost twenty published in total, and now, I've got ten of them... including some of my favorites, Scarlet Moon (a werewolf-y rendition of "Little Red Riding Hood"), and Midnight Pearls ("The Little Mermaid"), both written by Debbie Viguie, as well as Golden ("Rapunzel"), by Cameron Dokey. Other remixes in the mix include retellings of "The Magic Flute," "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," "The Princess and the Frog," and more. 

It's a minor miracle that between two $15 eBay purchases of just general lots of these books, I somehow managed to only have one repeat (Beauty Sleep, Cameron Dokey). And now, I  can really lean into the whole "repeating my childhood" thing throughout the month of November!

So, that's what I got for my birthday. And if you, like my mom, are currently thinking, "Man, this kid really needs to implement a no-book-buying year again," then maybe... maybe you're correct. Or maybe, the problem at hand has absolutely nothing to do with my bookish impulse purchases, and maybe more with the fact that my 2022 Resolution to read at least 25 books off of my shelves is completely floundering. 

But more on that at a later date. As of right now, I'm just having fun luxuriating in the new reads and the promises of adventures to come, now that I'm finished up with Fall traveling. My packed Autumn schedule means that I'm not due to get out of town at least until the end of the year (if that, depending on how the new year starts shaping up), and the forecast is such that it has finally started (blessedly, welcomingly) dumping rain for like the next two months straight, so I've got plenty of reasons to stay inside and read! 

What's a good bookish gift you've received recently? Did you notice how many authors named "C/Katherine" are mentioned in this blogpost?  Let me know, in the comments below!

A Bloggoversary, and Books in a Basket: a Thrift Shopping Haul

Alright, so this post has been a couple of weeks in the making. But between soaking up the last bits of summer, helping faciliate not one, but TWO sibling moves - one out of state, the other to the other side of the state - blogging hasn't been taking up the brainspace it deserves. 

That doesn't change the fact that everyone loves a good haul, right? 

So, let's flash back to Tuesday, July 27th: where, in order to celebrate my Bloggoversary in high style, I enlisted my brother to join me on a parade through some of my favorite area thrift stores. It's an errand he's no stranger to... only this time, instead of languishing next to the dressing rooms, holding a cumbersome stack of clothing, we'd be devoting our time and attention pretty specifically to the book section. 

Of course, we couldn't content ourselves to just that. But more on that later... 

All told, the day was exactly the kind of exercise in thrifty shopping that I needed, and yet another reminder of how simple and effective it is to find yourself plenty of good reads for cheap. Was this lesson strictly necessary, in a year defined by the realization that I have over 435 unfinished books on my TBR shelves and Kindle? I mean... moving on. 

location #1: Value Village

The location I go to has a pretty decent, typically well-organized assortment of reads in their book section. Unfortunately, because we got there shortly after opening on a Tuesday morning, it seems like everyone else in the area was looking for good reads there, too... and pretty much everything else. I'm not used to having to share elbow room while shopping, but we chocked up the additional presence to the fact that it's summer, they had recently restocked the shelves, and who knows, maybe people just happen to really love spending sunny days in July stuffed inside a large store that smells like mothballs?

Because there were so many people there, I felt a little scrambled for time, and didn't expend a lot of effort in trying to find anything picture-worthy. Though I did find a definitely unofficial Harry Styles biography that made me giggle. 

All told, I grabbed six new-to-me, gently-used titles, and the kid brother managed to make off with a few as well! 

As You Like It, Shakespeare

One of my favorite things to search for while thrifting, is Folger Library copies of Shakespeare. You're almost guaranteed to see a surplus of titles on the shelf; unfortunately, the question then becomes whether you'll be able to actually read them or not, as many of them are marked up and scarred, having been used as study copies. Finding an edition that has no annotations is trickier stuff... but I found one, for a play I haven't read since college! 

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin

Another great option to look for in a thrift store, are older copies of long-faved Fantasy. Besides sorting through editions of the Wheel of Time and Eragon series, we found both of these perennial classics. I've been dying for more Ursula K. LeGuin in my life, and I was excited to pick up a title I'd heard so much about. The funnier pick, was Mists of Avalon: while my brother and I had both heard of it before, we didn't have enough understanding to determine whether it was worth picking up. I took the chance, and lo and behold, upon traveling to Barnes and Noble later on in the day, we found an almost identical copy for sale for almost $18 more expensive than what we'd nabbed at the thrift store! 

The Buccaneers, Edith Wharton

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

If you haven't gotten the theme so far, thrift stores are a great place to pick up copies of the classics, but what's especially true, is if you're looking for classics that aren't among the expected: while odds would not be high that I'd find a copy of House of Mirth, The Buccaneers makes for an intriguing Wharton selection that hits just left of center. Similarly, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is a modern classic, rather than some stuffy, old 19th century pick. The copy I picked up had never so much been opened before! 

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Okay, so it's not all classics; thrift store bookshelves carry quite a bit of contemporary fiction, too. This particular title was much-recommended on bookstagram a couple of years ago, when it was first published in 2018. It's pretty incredible, to be able to find a completely unread copy of a recent release, but I'm very happy I got it! 

(Originally, the plan was then to move over to Goodwill immediately after Value Village, but because of numerous factors, including a much-needed bathroom break, we went for Barnes and Noble first, which is where I picked up the titles I included in my bloggoversary post. Did I briefly consider giving up Goodwill after dropping entirely too much change at the big store? You bet I did... but I'm so, so glad I didn't end up bailing off for home. Not only did I find some of my favorite material of the day at GW, but it served as a nice sort of sandwich comparison to see how cheap you can pick up certain material, if you're only willing to 1. manage your expectations and 2. stick to a budget.) 

location #2: Goodwill

I feel like I always rely on this location to have a really solid assortment of books: they have nice, built-in shelves that take up a full corner of the store, and the location is one of the prime donation spots in our area. However, I was really sad to see that the Books had been severely reduced in shelf space, with more than a few of them standing completely empty! I don't know if this is due to a deliberate attempt at limiting that kind of stock, or if there just haven't been a lot of people donating their books in the past year, but either way, I was pretty sad to see it brought so low.

That is not to say, however, that I didn't make away with a fair amount of reading material.

Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie

A much-celebrated entry into the Romance genre in the past few years, I've been hearing nothing but good things about this novel in the time I've started reading Romance (which, it's hard to believe, was only a couple of summers ago!). 

The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah

Another frequent find among thrift store book shelves? Anything with a Book of the Month tab on the side. Hey, I'm not knocking anyone else's subscription habits, but it seems like BOTM users happen to give away just as many books as they keep, if not more. 

The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown

The Corrections, Johnathan Franzen

Don't make fun: yes, I know that Jonathan Franzen is a pretty contentious topic in the book world, and yes, I'm aware that everyone's dad owns a copy of the DaVinci Code. But remember that golden scratch-off poster I got a couple of years ago, the one with all of those "contemporary classic" titles? I've been trying to make a more concentrated effort to pay attention to that poster recently. I'm hoping that this Fall will see me able to tackle a few more of those boxes to check off... especially once I'm done with my Summer Book Bingo TBR, too. 

Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Out of all of the books I've purchased today, this was the only one I've actually read before: Garden Spells, a random library check-out that came my way in the last few weeks of December, was also one of the only reasons I was able to end my catastrophic reading year on anything resembling a high note. When I saw a hardcover copy on Goodwill's shelves - completely unread - I practically snatched it out right in front of my brother's face. Couldn't be more pleased to add this magical, intensely atmospheric read to my collection. 

Not pictured: two cookbooks - which, while I will absolutely be reading them soon, I do not classify in with my "reading" books - and a very lovely little basket I'm using, at the moment, to store more cookbooks.

The Goofy Goodies

Let's be real: we love thrift stores not just because of the treasures they hold... but because some people's versions of "treasures" vary quite significantly. Here are just a few of the best things my brother and I found in Goodwill, that didn't necessarily make it into the basket to take home.

This complete DVD anniversary collection of the classic Pride and Prejudice - aka, the "wet Colin Firth" edition - contained not only two discs, but also a bonus, filled with special features. 

Also didn't pick up, though I desperately wanted to, a World Wrestling Federation Superstars cookbook; a book of "Real Alchemy" that contained, wouldn't you know it, instructions on how to perform alchemy. Try it at home, kids! 

Do you like to go thrifting? What's the best thing you've found hidden in the bookshelves of a thrift store? Let me know, in the comments below!

She's Eleven: It's My Bloggoversary!

I can't believe that time of year has arrived again. Because if it's Late July, in my book, that means it's time for yet another bloggoversary. 

That's right: the blog I started when I was sixteen, is now eleven. I'm twenty-seven, turning twenty-eight in just a loose handful of months. 

I never thought my blog would be with me this long. I also never thought my bloggoversary would be something I celebrated regularly: when I was younger, I didn't really make a point of even recognizing when it hit, late in the summer, typically when I was mid-scramble to finish off my Summer Homework before September rolled around. 

Once I reached as unavoidable a milestone as my fifth anniversary, though, I wanted to make it a big deal. 

Since then, every year, I do a couple of things to celebrate the occasion... and that typically involves buying new books. It's one of the only times of year I let myself head into Barnes and Noble, and pick out just five (or so) titles that I want, regardless of whether they're new hardcovers, or on sale, or what have you. Honestly, that first year I decided on this course of action - my fifth - was solely a personally-crafted escape hatch out of the hole I'd dug myself into, during a "no buying books" year... I was mainly getting my new releases by way of the library, and my bloggoversary became some attainable moment I could look forward to, in order to get my hands on newly-published reads. Now, every year, it's become a hallmark of the celebration. 

To ring in this particular year, one after a year-and-a-half of Covid anxiety and staying at home, I grabbed my younger brother - back from college, and good-naturedly resigned to doing my bidding - in order to go spend some money on fun things, you know, like books. I decided to travel a bit of a different route this year, as well: after more than a year without visiting thrift stores, decided to really lean into the experience, and made both my favorite Value Village and Goodwill locations an integral part of my book-buying adventure, as well. 

In total, we went thrifting at TWO different secondhand stores, swung by Barnes and Noble for what ended up being FOUR books, and I made out, in total, with FIFTEEN new reads (and that's not even counting the two cookbooks I picked up, too).

(I also didn't go to either my real secondhand fave, local indie darling King's Books, or the secondhand store I've really been meaning to visit, Tacoma Book Center. So in reality, I think I showed quite a bit of restraint!)

While my massive amount of thrifted finds seriously merit their own individual post, I still wanted to share the four - instead of five - titles I did end up picking up for myself:

Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse

I've been watching Roanhorse's star rise in the Fantasy field for the past couple of years, and couldn't wait to add this gorgeous title to my shelves.

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid

Not only will it tick off one of my current Seattle Summer Book Bingo squares, but I feel like for the past couple of summers, I've enjoyed a TJR read per year. She's a reliable vacation-maker!

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith

This title has been recommended to me by a number of friends over the past couple of years, and seems to be a favorite of the Dark Academia crowd on Instagram.

Across the Green Grass Fields (Every Heart a Doorway #6), Seanan McGuire 

The most recent installment in the Every Heart a Doorway novella series, one that I pull off my shelf sparingly so that I get to enjoy them as long as possible before their next inevitable release. The nice thing is that my brother is just as excited to read this one as I am... the not-so-nice thing is that he's so tired of me dragging my feet - to read the book series I INTRODUCED HIM TO - that he's threatening to start grabbing them from the local library, instead. (His threats aren't going to stop me from hiding these away in my shelves, though.)

how else I celebrated 

I got in some valuable snuggle time with my precious kitty, and enjoyed a bit of bread-y goodness from 85 Degree Bakery, conveniently located only about a minute from Barnes and Noble.

After all this action, I had originally planned on spending the rest of the afternoon in a full-out horizontal position, reading books in the backyard with my brother, but in the end, my mind was totally scrambled by the time I got home. I think the mix of spending so much time outside my house - not exactly something I've done a lot of in the past year - plus thinking over all of the books I was now so excited to read, had put my brain into something of a whirlpool. I literally ended up just sitting at the kitchen table, telling everyone who passed by about each of the titles I picked up. 

So, that's this year's celebrating all wrapped up. Thank you so much for sticking around for so many years, whether you're one of the only people who's been here from the beginning - hi, Dad! - or you just joined up after following my romance reviews. Whatever the case, I couldn't be happier to be sharing this corner of the Internet with you. 

To get a little better perspective on the start of my blogging journey, and read some of my past years' bloggoversary posts, check out what I wrote last year for the 10th Bloggoversary!

Here's to a great year past, and another into the future! I appreciate your participation in my random, sputtering reviews on the Internet. Hopefully I'll see y'all again next year!

My Brother Bought Me $25 Worth of Paranormal-Fantasy Romance : An Unboxing

 

As you may have seen in my recent Christmas Haul post, my brother bought me a pretty exciting present this year: a $25 box of Romance novels he purchased wholesale through an eBay retailer, themed around the premise of "Paranormal Romance." 

Here's the backstory as to why this is all so hilarious, because I realize that this is not the typically gift purchased by a 19-year-old college dude: 

My brother has never really been one for Romance romance, per se. He's an avid Fantasy reader, a genre in which there's typically at least a hint of romance present, but he's never felt any special kind of kinship to cupid's genre... the furthest he's gone was probably a couple of years ago, when he and I decided to read Stephanie Meyers' Twilight one summer. The reread was a great time, and one of the best parts about it was his teenaged perspective on some of the most iconic aspects of that book. 

Once I started reading Romance myself, a couple of years ago, he's enjoyed sharing this genre with me, too... not necessarily as a dedicated fan of the genre itself, but a willing participant in listening to my own effusions about what I've been loving (and hating) in the books I've been reading. 

(In particular, one of my favorite series from the past year - Sarah MacLean's The Bareknuckle Bastards trilogy - became so popular with him, that he still is able to refer to it, months later, by name. He's never read the books, and doesn't plan on it, but simply listening to my own half-garbled ramblings about the characters and plot beats made enough of an impression on him so that he's been bringing it up in random conversations ever since.) 

So, when a certain eBay retailer began making the rounds on BookTube and Bookstagram earlier this year - like in this video from Chandler Ainsley - of course I joked about it with my brother, just a little. I have a bit of a habit (or at least I did, back in the pre-Covid days) of trawling the shelves of my local Value Village for compelling backlisted mass-market-paperback Historical Romances I found intriguing; now there was this convenient way of amassing a large quantity of them, all at once, for only a little over a dollar a piece! 

On a lark, I added it to my Christmas list, and sent it off to my family, not really thinking anything of it. It was only after a chance conversation with my brother towards the beginning of December, that I managed to guess it outright: my brother had purchased a giant box of romance novels for me as a present. That was only half of the challenge, though, as he assured me that he'd included a set genre request that he was positive I wouldn't be able to guess. But that just made me laugh. 

"As long as it's not vampires!" 

to be entirely fair, it wasn't just vampires

So: 20 titles, for about $25, all backlisted, all, by his choice, Paranormal Romance. To my brother's credit, it really wasn't just vampires, something I was easily able to ascertain simply as I took each of the books themselves out of the box. Torsos and tattoos and claw marks and pensive stares... oh my.

All in all, unboxing all of the titles only made me more excited to delve deeper. Within 24 hours, I'd sat down with my book journal and a pen, and painstakingly researched each on Goodreads, in order to ascertain their average rating, how many ratings had been uploaded in total, and sleuth out some general plot theming. 

Two were set in small, fictional towns in Oregon, while two others dealt specifically with haunted houses in Savannah, Georgia. One involved a family of magic users in New Orleans, while two others were not of this earth at all, involving aliens and a cyborg with intergalactic origins. Amongst all twenty, there were dream-walkers, psychics, angels, aliens, ghosts, immortal fae beings, protectors of Olympus, and even a Celtic demigod, with vampires and werewolves ending up as a bit of a minor population. (Even within the two werewolf books involved, both of them involve a male werewolf falling in love with a dog-adjacent female professional: a veterinarian, and a K-9 handler!) One book features a focus on a spirit from the "Navaho nation," which - thanks to its 1994 publication date - will no doubt be the most problematic in the whole box, while another book included doesn't even appear to be a Paranormal Fantasy at all, and instead, has to deal with a Las Vegas mob family. 

Needless to say, I'm positively thrilled. 

So, here's the rundown of what, exactly, was in the box:

Master of Wolves, Angela Knight

The third book in the Mageverse series (a title I had to read three times through, as I thought it was "Megaverse" twice), this book has an average of 4.16 out of a little under 4,000 reviews, and was published in 2006. A werewolf goes undercover with the police force of a nearby town to find out who covered up the murder of his best friend, when he ends up catching feelings for... the K-9 dog handler for the precinct. 

Touch the Dark, Karen Chance

The first in its series, this book averages a 3.71 out of 35K reviews, and was published in 2007. It involves both a ghost-talker main character who has to work under a master vampire... and its description involves the joy-inducing inclusion of both "a bloodsucking Mafioso" and a "vampire Senate." 

The Guardian, Sherrilyn Kenyon

Not only is this the twentieth installment in its Darkhunter series, but it also stacks up a pretty impressive 4.34 average rating out of 18K reviews. Originally published in 2011, this is the one with the most dizzying concept, involving Dreamhunters, the Nether Realm, a missing god of Dreams who is needed on Olympus, and more. Please tell me I don't need to read the previous nineteen installments in this series to get a good grip on it? 

Dream Eyes, Jayne Ann Krentz 

The second in the Dark Legacy series, this book has a 3.98 out of 5 on Goodreads, with approximately 6,000 reviews. Published in 2014, it involves one of my favorite setups of the whole collection: a psychic counselor, protected by a psychic investigator, trying to track down a serial killer who's seemed to be targeting, you guessed it, psychics. Marvelous! 

The Crossing, Joy Nash

Number six in the Immortals series, this has a 4 average from 1,200 reviews, and was published in 2008. A Celtic demi-god rock star has to start taking life more seriously, when someone makes an attempt on the life of a fae child in his care, and involves a protagonist named "Artemis," who appears to be some kind of witch. 

The Phantom of the Bathtub, Eugenia Riley

Out of all of the books on this list, it has one of the lowest number of ratings - 3.46  average out of 246 total - and I'm willing to blame at least part of that on the jaw-droppingly hideous cover. Published in 2006, this is the one that I've been cheekily summarizing as "Everyone in this haunted house wants to kiss me," as a recently moved-in tenant battles out a love triangle involving not only the mysterious hunk next door, but the ghost of a sweet-talker who lurks inside her bath. Updated info for this read on Goodreads also promises ghosts in the square, a werewolf in the garden, an axe-slashing woman, a knife-wielding houseboy, and many more. 

Servant: the Acceptance, L. L. Foster

The second of its series, this read has a 3.87 out of only 511 ratings on Goodreads, and was published in 2008. This is one of the two books involving angels in this box, but at first glance, appears to be the eminently less readable one: a "God warrior" angel is sent to Earth, to serve as protection for streetwalkers, and comes face-to-face with the only person who makes this celestial being feel "human": a detective named Luther Cross. Heavy handed names aside - Grabielle as a riff on Gabriel, the dual gut punch of both "Luther" and "Cross" - one of the worst things about it, is the terrible cover. 

Nico, Sarah Castile

Remember the one I said wasn't even a Paranormal Romance? This is it! Though with a darkened, tattooed six pack on the cover, I think it's fine to make a mistake. It has a 3.94 out of 2,600 ratings, and was only published four years ago, and follows a Las Vegas mob king who falls for a girl from a rival crime family. Not vampires, but still sounds decent! 

All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire, Kerrelyn Sparks

How topical, for something that was a Christmas present! The fifth installment in the delightfully named Love at Stake series, this title carries an impressive 4.22 out of 12.6K reviews on Goodreads, especially because it was published back in 2008. This story involves not only a vampire-hating heroine, but a reverse bodyguard trope, a best friend stuck in a psych ward, and desperate attempts to prove that the vampire population is real to a deeply apathetic police force. 

Dangerous Tides, Christine Feehan

The fourth in a series about the Drake sisters - a magical family full of inherited gifts - this installment is rated a 4.3 out of 5, with 11.5K reviews, which I feel like is a pretty good showing for this list. It was published in 2008, and the sister in question has been blessed with the ability to heal people, which is pretty in keeping with the concept of water, and the title of the novel. As an overall concept, it's pretty tame compared to some of the others on this list. 

The Empath, Bonnie Vanek

The only other werewolf book on this list, this title is ranked a 3.48 with 431 reviews, and was published in 2007 as the first of its series. It plays into the classic romance trope of "fated mates," with a werewolf seeking out his mate, an empath, in order to bring her home and strengthen the pack from which he was recently ousted. The mate, in a wonderful play to type, is a veterinarian. 

The Summoning, Heather Graham

While the cover looks a lot more like a Suspense / Thriller than a real Paranormal Fantasy, it is - I kid you not - the 27th in its series, from the Krewe of Hunters. Set in Savannah, this book follows a woman living in a haunted bed-and-breakfast, who routinely holds seances as entertainment for guests, and really, shouldn't she know better, then? It was published only last year, and is rated as a 4.08 with around 1,700 reviews. 

My Fair Succubi, Jill Myles 

The third in its series with a 4.1 out of 1.4K rating, this was published in 2010, and while other books on this list feature love triangles, this one is a doozy: a succubus has to chose between a fallen angel named Noah, and her old vampire master, named Zane. We'll see how this one plays, though word-correct would have me mention here that "succubus" is the appropriate solitary form for the being, while "succubi" would suggest a plurality. 

Midnight Lover, Rosemary Laurey

Number five in a series, with a 3.9 rating out of only 298 reviews, published in 2007. Not a lot that's promising from those stats alone... until you read a little of the material. "Dark Falls, Oregon"? Getting better. A heroine who's "a reporter out for a hot story" while working in a paranormal organization, and a vampire CEO who doesn't trust her? We're almost there. Just straight up putting the words "vampire corporate espionage" on the back cover might have been a better selling point. 

The Portal, Sharon Pope 

The 33rd installment in the Silhouette Shadows line, but not a part of any series, this book has a 3 rating, right on the target, out of only 10 reviews... which should be expected, being that it was published in 1994. While the date excuses the nearly-awesome cover, it definitely doesn't the subject matter, as an archaeologist excavating a "Navaho" site lets loose a "shadow man" spirit from the other side, named Zakoura Kree. It's not worth it getting into everything wrong with that description, when it's only what we know from the outside cover... though I'm willing to guess that what's inside is probably worse. 

How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days, Susan Grant

This installment is the third in its series, with a 3.99 rating out of only 514 reviews, and was published in 2007, which explains every artistic choice represented on the cover. These choices appear to have gotten much better over time, in what I can judge from a quick Google Image search... which is also how I learned that this book was repackaged for Amazon just this past year as Cyborg and the Single Mom. (You go get that ebook money, Susan Grant!) This book follows an ex-evil fugitive cyborg hiding out on earth, and the single suburban mother who keeps his presence a secret. In the words of my brother, "It sounds like she really knows her audience."

Minion, L. A. Banks

The first in its series, with a 3.45 out of 6,000 review, this book was published in 2004. If I could give you a truly insane five-word summary of one of the books on this list, it would be this one, and the response I'd give you is "spoken word artist vampire hunter," as that is the occupation of our heroine. Whether or not she's any good at either career path is something we'll have to find out. 

Hostage to Pleasure, Nalini Singh

There were two names on this list that made me do a double take, because they're easily recognizable for fans of Romance, and this was one of them... which makes sense, because despite the fact that this book was published in 2008, it was already the fifth in its series, and when you search her name on Goodreads, there are seven full pages of results. It has a 4.19 out of 5 stars, with 28K reviews under its belt, making this one of the more popular titles on this list, and follows two rival alien species from different planets: one, a psychic being who's been enslaved with a neural implant, and the other, a leopard shifter. There is only so much more I can say about the cover materials about this book before someone's brain is going to explode. 

The Darkest Lie, Gena Showalter 

The other name on this list that seriously set off my "I know you" radar, this is the sixth in its series, published in 2010, with a 4.29 rating out of 5 stars, with over 33.9K ratings to back those numbers up. Far and away, this is the closest on this list I'm going to get to a "guaranteed enjoyable" read... which is weird, when you consider how out-of-the-box this concept is: a keeper of the demon of lies, Gideon, is "forced to his knees in agony" whenever he speaks the truth, but can tell when other people are acting false, which makes it pretty weird when a woman he's never met, claiming to be a demon-possessed immortal and his long-lost wife, turns up. (And in case you're wondering about Showalter's current title numbers, her Goodreads page claims she's written over 70 books, and I'm inclined to believe her.) 

At his insistence, I then proceeded to rank-order the entire lot. 

Here's how they ended up stacking up, just after a first-glance-peek and a little Internet recon. Top line is "Excited," middle is "Ambivalent," and bottom level is "Less than Stoked." (I would make it "Less than Stoker-ed," but again, rather a dearth of vampire books in this set.) 

Any chance you've read any of the titles from within this collection? Which do you think I should pick up first? Let me know, in the comments below!