I didn’t post a book haul last month. I was in a reading and blogging slump and just couldn’t be bothered. But I am slowly getting back into things.
I’m just going to just right in. The first book I received last month was from Hachette New Zealand. Ringer is the sequel and conclusion to Replica. I haven’t read it yet but I can’t wait to pick it up. I loved Replica so I am looking forward to finding out how this story ends. I just need to figure out which chapter I read first…
When I read Replica I read a chapter of Gemma and then flipped the book to read a chapter of Lyra. I think I’m going to do that again this time I just don’t know which one to read first, Gemma or Lyra? I guess I’ll figure it out soon. If you want to read my review on Replica you can click the link here.
The second book was sent to me from a friend. There was a huge-ish book sale here for imported US editions of books and I managed to get a few. My local store didn’t have The
Passion of Dolssa so Chelsea offered to get me a copy. I have heard good things about this so hopefully I’ll like it whenever I actually pick it up.
I can’t remember what this is about but I figured for $7 if I don’t like it I can just pass it on. The sale had a lot of hardbacks which are usually really expensive in New Zealand so there was no way I was going to miss a chance of getting cheap hardback books. I think I got seven? I can’t remember. But the one I was really excited about was the hardback edition of Illuminae. I loved both Illiminae and Gemina and really wanted the hardback editions. Now I just need to get Gemina in hardback.
The next book was sent to me from Penguin Random House New Zealand. I loved The Martian by Andy Weir so when I heard Artemis was coming out I knew I had to read it. I haven’t picked it up yet but I’m hoping to get to it soon.
This is another sci-fi book. I can’t remember which planet it takes place on but I think it has something to do with a heist? But I’m not really sure. I just saw an Andy Weir book and wanted to read it. I didn’t really care what it was about. But I have heard that it’s good.
The next three books were sent to me from Walker Books Australia to review. The first one, The Other Way Around, I can’t really remember what it’s about. I remember now why I do book hauls throughout the month, so I know what the book is about… The cover makes me think road trip but I could be completely wrong.
So I just looked the book up on Goodreads. This is the synopsis on there – “Andrew has seen a flash of his future from his unfulfilled parents. Based on what he’s seen, he’s uninspired. After a particularly disastrous Thanksgiving, Andrew accidentally runs away and joins the circus. Kind of.” So not exactly what I was thinking but whatever.
The second book is Of Jenny and the Aliens. I think this one has an alien invasion and a guy crushing on a girl. And for some reason he asks this alien for advice with Jenny… I guess there’s more going on but that’s all I remember from when I read the synopsis when the book arrived.
I love the cover of this book. Especially the alien – he’s cute! Well I don’t even know if the alien is a he or not but whatever it is it’s cute.
I don’t know when I’ll be picking this up. I’m really behind with my review books so I have a few others I need to read before I can pick this up but I’m hoping to get to it soon. And I’m hoping that my reading slump just buggers off already!
The third book I received from Walker Books Australia was On the Free. This one takes place at a camp (I think) and something happens, people die I think? I’m assuming there’s some kind of animal attack because under the dust jacket there’s claw marks. Like from a bear or a huge cat.
I also love this cover! I don’t really know why but I think it’s so pretty. I’m also really looking forward to reading this one. I think out of these three I might pick this one up first. It just keeps standing out to me.
So the next five books were sent to me from Penguin Random House New Zealand for me to review. The first one was a graphic novel of Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Northern Lights is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I’ve actually read Northern Lights but not the next two books. So I thought this was a great way to get a fast re-fresher on the first book so that I can finally pick up The Subtle Knife.
Plus, I haven’t read a graphic novel in ages and I enjoyed Northern Lights so I wanted to see what the graphic novel is like. I’m actually planning to read this next.
The illustrations look really good too. I can’t wait to pick this one up. It will also help with my Goodreads challenge too.
The next book I received was Things a Bright Girl Can Do. I didn’t request this one but it does sound good. I think it takes place before or during the suffragette movement. I don’t know if the characters are based on real people or they’re just fiction. I haven’t looked into it at all.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set during this time so it will mostly likely be a first for me. I also have no idea when I’ll pick this one up but I will one day soon-ish. Hopefully.
If you’ve read this book let me know what you thought of it? Because I don’t really know a lot about it or anyone that’s read it… That I know of anyway.
The next book I received was Expelled by James Patterson and Emily Raymond. This is about someone that’s expelled from school (I can’t remember why) but something happens and it might actually be the best thing that happened to him. If I’m remembering the synopsis right anyway. So, there’s like a 90% chance I’m completely wrong…
I thought this sounded kind of good when I first read the synopsis so I’m hoping I’ll like it. I don’t think I’ve ever read a James Patterson book before. This one is for YA, which I read more of than anything else but I don’t just read YA. I know people judge others for reading YA and I really don’t get it. There are some amazing books that are YA!
Anyway, the next book I received was This Mortal Coil and no, I can’t remember what this is about. I think it might be dystopian but I’m not 100%. I haven’t read a dystopian book in so long so if it is I cannot wait to read it. I do remember hearing good things about this ages ago though.
You can’t see in this photo but the edges of the book have the DNA (I’m not really into science so I’m just guessing) thing down it. It looks really cool though. I’ll try to get a photo of it for my review. Whenever I post that because I haven’t even read the book yet. I’m hoping to get to it this month but who knows if that will happen. I only read three books last month and I haven’t touched my current read in days… Seriously guys, how do I get out of a reading slump??
Okay, so the last book I received from Penguin Random House New Zealand was Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. It also came with some kind of bracelet and a notebook.
I’ve only read three of John’s books – The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. I loved TFIOS but the other two were just meh. I have three more of his books but haven’t picked them up. I hope I like TATWD more than I liked Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. I didn’t hate them but they weren’t the best books I’ve ever read. TFIOS though was so good. I think I’ve read it three times? Anyway, I’m also hoping to read TATWD this month too.
I got the October Owlcrate which was “Find me in the Forest.” I have shared my unboxing on my Instagram. If you want to see it you can click the link. I loved this box and I especially love the Harry Potter mug!
I don’t know how many Owlcrate boxes I’ll be getting because it’s not exactly cheap for me with the exchange rate and international shipping but I am so glad I got this box just for the mug. I haven’t read the book yet. I don’t know when I’ll get to it. Maybe over the Christmas break? Who knows. November’s Owlcrate sounds good too. Somethings about castles and kingdoms.
The next two books were sent to me from Hachette New Zealand to review. The first one, Mirror, Mirror, sounds really good. Something about friends, lovers and betrayals.
I read the synopsis for this one months ago, way before the book was released so there’s no way I remember what the book is actually about. I haven’t made a TBR for November because I just don’t see a point with this stupid slump but if I can get to Mirror, Mirror this month then I definitely will.
I also received a copy of Stalking Jack the Ripper to review. I got a copy of Hunting Prince Dracula last month and cannot wait to read Stalking Jack the Ripper. I didn’t know until last night that it was about someone being in love with Jack the Ripper but okay. Sounds interesting…
I have heard really good things about this book though so I can’t wait to read it. I was planning on joining a read-along for it but then our stray cat had kittens and I just didn’t get a chance to pick it up. But I’m hoping to get to this one soon.
This is also another beautiful cover! I love the colours and the buildings at the bottom. Anyway, if this reading slump would just f off already I could actually finish Godsgrave and pick up another book.
I won a giveaway on Twitter for an ARC of The Last Namsara from Date a Book Australia. I also haven’t read this but it’s another book I can’t wait to read. I think this one is about hunting down and killing dragons (why????) and something to do with stories. I guess I’ll find out when I read the book but I’m not really in a rush because it’s not a review book.
I love dragons so I’m not sure I’ll enjoy the hunting them down and killing them part but whatever. It has dragons in it and I am looking forward to reading it.
I received a copy of Nexus from Allen and Unwin New Zealand to review. This is the last book in the Zeroes trilogy. I’ve read the first two books and I’ve actually enjoyed them more than I thought I would. You can click the links for my reviews of Zeroes and Swarm.
I am really looking forward to seeing how this trilogy ends. Some of the characters in the first two books really annoyed me. Well one that I can remember off the top of my head. But there was a great cliffhanger at the end of Swarm and I actually remember it for a change! If I had a TBR for November this would definitely be on it.
The next two books were sent to me from Bloomsbury Australia. These were both surprise book mail. I had no idea they were being sent. But I love surprise book mail. Anyway, the first book I have already read and reviewed. Not this edition. I got a different edition from Allen and Unwin New Zealand I can’t even remember when. But if you want to read my review of The Song from Somewhere Else you can click the link here.
I’m not sure what I’ll do with this copy but I love the cover of the paperback edition.
The other book Bloomsbury Australia sent me was The Start of Me and You. I have read two other books by Emery Lord and I think my favourite was The Names They Gave Us. I had heard of this one before but hadn’t gotten around to picking up a copy. But I’m glad I didn’t.
This book sounds kind of sad. Or like it could be sad. But it takes a lot to actually make me cry so we’ll see. I don’t know when I’ll be picking this one up. Probably when I’m in the mood for a contemporary so it might be a while. I so want to get over this slump soon. If you have advice please leave me a comment!
The last two books I received in October were from Allen and Unwin New Zealand. The Nearest Far Away Place sounds like it could also be a sad read. It follows two brothers after the loss of their parents in a car crash. They go to live with relatives and that’s all I can remember. It says on the back it’s about brothers, loss and something else.
I can’t remember why I wanted to read this but I did because I remember requesting it. This isn’t a very long book so I’m hoping to pick this up soon too.
The last book I received was The Red Ribbon. Again, I can’t remember why I wanted to read this but I know I requested it the same time as The Nearest Far Away Place so I must have thought it would be something I’d like.
Well it says on the cover something about a dress being the difference between life and death so that seems different. Guess I’ll find out when I pick the book up though.
Anyway, that’s my October book haul. What books did you get last month??
– Aimee.