Category Archives: Unboxing

Book Haul #2 (Barnes and Noble Edition)

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Bookhaul #2

Hey everyone! I finally got the chance to go to a Barnes and Noble while my family visited for Thanksgiving. I was so pumped to set foot in a nice, huge bookstore for the first time in months. I have been careful about money recently, but treated myself to 3 new, HARDCOVER books. I absolutely love the feel of new books; used books just aren’t the same (especially because I’ve been buying a lot of ex-library books for super cheap). I got 1 adult book and 2 young adult books. I used to read almost all adult books, but I’ve been venturing out into a younger age range just to see if I like it. Here’s a quick breakdown of my haul:

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– Future Home of The Living God by Louise Erdich

Evolution is going backwards in this sci-fi/dystopian novel. All pregnant women are sentenced to live in jail like conditions to monitor their babies and check for evolutionary reverses. Cedar Songmaker, the protagonist, is pregnant and hiding from authorities, a crime with a terrible punishment. She and the father of her baby live in the confinement of their home, forcing themselves to refrain from all human contact. While the world is going to pieces, Cedar is left in the darkness and has no idea what is going on in the world around her. Hopefully, she can carry the child to term without authorities finding her. That is, if society doesn’t fall to madness before then.

– Like Water by Rebecca Podos

Savannah Espinoza has a big plan to leave her small town in New Mexico. She wants to be one of the only people to successfully go off to college and not get stuck in the confinement of her hometown. This plan is going well until her father is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. Suddenly, her future does not include moving far away and college is not an option. Savannah completely isolates herself from her high school friends to keep herself from getting hurt. That is, until she meets Leigh. Leigh changes Savannah’s world and makes her question her identity in very deep ways. She definitely is something extremely special and Savannah wants nothing but to become closer to the girl who makes her feel at home.

I actually have already finished this book and surprisingly did not like it very much. I want to get a review of this title out as quickly as possible to explain the issues I encountered while reading it. I ended up giving it a 2/5 stars on GoodReads, which is something unusual for me!

– I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin

Ava and Gen are best friends who go their separate ways for their freshman year of college. They still communicate constantly via text and email, and the book is written in these electronic formats. The 2 girls couldn’t be anymore different and sometimes these differences cause small fights. Long distance friendship is hard, but Ava and Gen have a chance to make it work. As Gen experiments with drugs and girls, Ava battles social anxiety and her first college parties. Maybe, their differences can actually make their unique friendship thrive.

I’m halfway through this book and having many problems with the way the characters develop. I’ll do a review shortly after I finish it, which should be later this week, as I’m on holiday break from college right now.

Overall, I’m slightly disappointed with my choices. I’m glad I gave them a shot, because these books fit my blog focus well, but I’m not enjoying most of them. I hope to do reviews of all three within the next few weeks during my school break. Be on the lookout for some critical reviews of titles that had a lot of potential to be outstanding! Thanks for reading about my book haul and I’ll see you in a few days with my review of Like Water!

Bookmail Unboxing and Book Haul #1

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Bookmail Unboxing and Book Haul #1!

Hey everyone! I’m so excited to start a new category on my blog: bookmail and bookhauls. I won’t have a set day to get these done; I’ll just publish them as I receive things in the mail. These posts will be broken into two sections (pretty self-explanatory). Maybe someday I’ll even film a video of me unboxing something? We’ll see! If this is the kind of thing you want to see more of, just let me know!

BOOKMAIL UNBOXING!

Since my review of Guapa a few months ago, I’ve been in contact with Other Press. On their website, Other Press says, “We publish novels, short stories, poetry, and essays from America and around the world that represent literature at its best”. I was super excited that they responded to my review and liked what I had to say! They generously offered to send me two more titles for review, so that’s all I expected. Today, I was surprised to hear the doorbell ring our weird Christmas jingle (don’t ask me why we have it set to this) and the mailman handed me this huge envelope! It was way heavier and bigger than just the two books I was supposed to get. You can imagine the excitement I had while taking this photo seconds before opening the package!

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So, it’s nothing special. It’s just a large envelope with my name and address on it. But, still, I was wondering what could be inside this mystery package that was much bigger than 2 books. Here’s what I got:

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7 books! I was (and still am) so astounded at the generosity of Other Press. I am very thankful for publishers who believe in me and my website. Here are some quick notes on the books I got:

–Incarceration Nations by Baz Dreisinger—this is a nonfiction book about the author, who travels around the world to examine the prison systems in several countries. I have a feeling this title will reveal a lot about the history and future of justice, which is something that I believe needs to be talked about more.

– Quicksand by Malin Persson Giollito – this book focuses on an 18-year-old girl who is charged for the involvement of a shooting at her school. She is a popular student and the public is waiting to hear how she became a “cold-blooded killer”. I can tell this is going to be an ‘at the edge of your seat’ kind of book!

–The Faithful Scribe by Shahan Mufti – This is a nonfiction title about the first Islamic democracy. The author uses stories from his relatives about Islamic civilization in Pakistan. I haven’t read a book like this before, so I’m very eager to start this!

–The Diamond Setter by Moshe Sakal – This book is about an Israeli man who gets swept up in the gay scene and protest movement. It features a love triangle between three men. Reading queer stories that take place in countries other than the US is a goal for me, so this is my perfect book.

–For Two Thousand Years by Mihail Sebastian – This story, originally published in 1934, is about a Jewish student living in Romania during the years before World War II. It explores anti-Semitism and Zionism. I have yet to review a book that touches on anti-Semitism and I’m very excited to start this one.

–Where Women Are Kings by Christie Watson – Seven-year-old Elijah has a history of disruptive behavior, but his adoptive parents believe they can help him succeed. The book talks about racism, as Elijah is black and his adoptive mother is not. This really sounds like my kind of book that I tend to gravitate towards.

–The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist – This is a dystopian novel about a world in which men and women over the age of sixty, who are not married and do not have children, are sent to a retirement home. There, they are forced to donate their organs until their final donation. This book sounds so COOL and almost scary!

So, those are the 7 titles I got from Other Press. I can’t even say which one I’m the most excited for! THANK YOU SO MUCH, OTHER PRESS!

MINI BOOKHAUL

I’ve been on a book-buying ban for a while. I haven’t spent money on books in two months! I decided it was time to break this ban and splurged on two titles. I got them used (which saved me some money) and only one has arrived so far. Here it is:

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This is Skim by Mariko Tamaki. It’s a graphic novel about a girl nicknamed Skim, who’s in high school, and it explores topics of suicide, depression, and LGBT themes. Skim is a witch, which is super cool, and I related to her character. Yes, I already finished it! Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a review posted for this title soon. I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

 

Thanks for tuning in! I want to post more unboxings and bookhauls on here. I had a lot of fun writing this one! I’m supposed to get more bookmail later this week, so maybe I’ll write another one soon? The mailman must hate me at this point. Let me know if you enjoyed this or if it bored you!

Unboxing: Paper Street Books April/May 2017 Box

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Paper Street Books April/May 2017 Box

I’m so excited to feature my first review of Paper Street Books’ subscription box on my blog. They’re a bimonthly book and graphic novel subscription box with a focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I’ve been receiving their boxes for a while now, and this is my 4th box. There are 3 options: Book Addict (you receive a book and bookish goodies), Comic Addict (you receive a graphic novel and bookish goodies), and Book Warrior (you receive a science fiction book, graphic novel, and bookish goodies). I have the Book Warrior option selected and every box has had an amazing theme with books and graphic novels that are the perfect fit for me. This month’s theme was “Terra and Luna”. Here’s the unboxing:

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The books!

– Avengers of the Moon, by Allen Steele, was the book for this month! This book is homage to the Caption Future stories from the 40’s. One thing that I love about Paper Street Books is that they pick publications from lesser-known authors. This means that I receive books that I don’t already own and that indie authors are put into the spotlight. I can already tell that this is a retro science fiction novel that I’m going to LOVE. I’m so glad that something fresh and new was added to my shelves!

– Wires and Nerve, by Marissa Meyer, was the graphic novel for this month! This was the first YA graphic novel and the first work from a well-known author that I’ve received in their boxes. Marissa Meyer is the best selling author of the Lunar Chronicles, a YA fantasy series. I’ve never heard of Wires and Nerve and I’m so excited to read it! It’s about the android from the Lunar Chronicles, but knowledge about the series is not mandatory. I love robot adventures with a little bit of romance, so I know I’ll really like this.

The goodies!

– This box included a single issue of American Gods, which I have yet to read. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite fantasy writers and I’ve been meaning to get my hands on some of his graphic novels. I know American Gods is a very popular book, so I’m sure the comics are just as great. Also, I love single issues because almost no one sells them anymore! Bookstores (mostly) only carry the large, paperback book editions of comics now. This was a really nice surprise.

– I also received a crystal growing cherry tree by Copernicus Toys. This is a paper tree cut out that grows crystals, which “bloom” to make it look like a cherry tree. This is a perfect little toy that fits the theme. I’m excited to try this out, but I’ll have to store it somewhere where my cat can’t knock it down, haha!

– A ‘Moon Prism Power!’ scented candle, from Paper Street themselves, was another one of the goodies in this box. This is the second candle I’ve received from them, and they both smell so good! This one is orange blossom, grapefruit, mangosteen, Egyptian amber, and peach. I thought the science fiction reference was really clever and I’m excited to get it burning soon!

– A Sailor Moon magnet was next in this box! Although I don’t know much about Sailor Moon, this magnet includes two things that I love: outer space and cats. It’s perfect for me! I have this stuck on my refrigerator right now and I’m so, so happy with it.

– A galaxy sucker (or lollipop, depending on where you’re from), from Sparko Sweets, was the candy portion of the box. I know they don’t technically have an edible part every month, but the last few boxes have included sweets. I have a lot of food allergies, so many candies are a no for me, but I can have this sucker! Sidenote: I always try to get my cat to pose with the box, but this month he wouldn’t stop chewing on the sucker. Photo for proof—

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– Lastly, the box contained a teaser for Beautiful Nightmare, by AM Nestler. This book has no reviews on Goodreads yet, so I’m intrigued to give it my opinion. It’s dystopian novel about a girl with narcolepsy. It sounds really interesting and I think I’m going to read more into it and maybe purchase it!

That’s all for the “Terra and Luna” box of April/May. This was one of my favorite boxes (behind the “Ladies of Sci-Fi” box). I want to thank Jennifer and Marty for working so hard and always putting together amazing boxes. Your subscribers really appreciate it and CONGRATULATIONS on selling out of this box. I can’t wait to see what the summer holds for Paper Street Books!