Book Haul and Sunday FUN!!

Weekly Book Haul!!


I'm still confused as to where to link up my new books, which is handy for summer because I am working rather hard on NOT accumulating so many new ones. I am figuring out the library. I am reading every moment I get the chance to. It's wonderful. And I don't have to post - or feel badly about not having new books - every week.

I'm curious... which link up are you finding the most interesting for sharing your books? Or do you link up anywhere?

My favorite new book is an ARC of Grave Mercy sent to me by Valeria, which I've already RE-read and RE-reviewed. *sigh* Absolute deliciousness!!  As you can see, she also sent me swag and a hand-written note, which I'll be saving with my swag treasure box. Hand written letters are rare, you know, and worth treasuring.

Want to see my treasure box?  It's real!!  :-D

I like my little swag collection, over which the signed bikini coconuts rule. Before blogging, I didn't know I needed a treasure box of swag. *sigh* Life is so much better now!!



I snuck my library book in the picture, too, since I read Every Other Day in record time despite being too busy to read. I'll post my review SOON. I've already shared two fun quotes. This is the best book I've read by Jennifer Lynn Barnes so far and she's joined my short list of Must Read All By This Author.

Speaking of "my library", how many people get two?! I live in one of those odd zones where I can get two library cards. Clackamas County AND Multnomah County, both of which are great libraries with great programs and extensive networks so that I can reserve anything online for easy pick-up.  Just writing that makes me drool in jealousy.

Technically, the kids' school district is in Multnomah County, which is how we get that wonderful library system. This is "the library that feels like my own, familiar shelves", which was so near my husband's work, I visited weekly.  About which I blogged about on Book Love Tier, or how to effectively love books.

5 - More Beneficial Than we Realize - Borrowing books from the local libraryLibraries are major purchasing powers. They make decisions based on what people want to read. They buy more copies of books that are checked out repeatedly. The author I learned these tips from  figures out which books she wants to read from the library, then returns the books and buys them at the local bookstore. (How nice!!) She also encouraged her readers to check out books of their favorite authors whether they intend to read them or not. :-) This is a very fun practice. I just set my book-lovin' self free... I check out 10, 20, 30 books at a time. It doesn't hurt the library or the author or the book-lover. Well... maybe it does hurt my arms if I didn't bring in a tote to carry out the haul. And sometimes I suffer embarrassment over my enthusiasm.

 Recently, however, Clackamas County went out of their way to build a library within a mile of me. Could they be more considerate?! I may carry two library cards, but I was 10 miles from either of 'em until this new development.

When I say "build", I mean "new". It's so new that I don't know where my favorite authors are located, yet. I've only barely explored the layout. I feel like listing off all the people I'm grateful to for receiving such a great reward, except  I'm the only one in the audience. Instead I keep looking over my shoulder to see if this is a trick. Maybe they'll relocate the library once they realize how close it is to me. I'm not going to tell them, just in case.

In other book news... Trisha Leigh generously shared her book with me. Did you see my Interview with her? Make sure to enter to win a copy of Whispers in Autumn as well as The Fairytale Keeper by Andrea Cefalo.

Saturday I was more busy than usual, packing my day full of fun. Happily for me this included a trip to our lil' Day in Damascus where there was a book sale. Hehehehe

Earlier this week, Alyce blogged about the Best & Worst of Anne McCaffrey. We're both wild, raving fans (or maybe I'm the wild one and she's simply raving?) She described Crystal Singer as one of her fav books and I commented on The Ship Who Sang (which we also agree is comparably also the best) and wouldn't ya know I found 'em both at the sale?! I was so absorbed in looking over my books that I lost my tickets to buy them... but I wouldn't leave my stack in the book seller's care, oh, no. I tried to tell her I'd come back to pay, which she wasn't goin' for. Lol. So, I compromised and looked the sale over again and found my tickets.  I purchased all of these for $4!! 

Kali, I might not have looked hard enough to find all these books except there was #4 in The Dark Tower series that you recommended I had better read or else... so I kept looking 'til I found #1, too. Oh yea!!  I have my own copy of The Gunslinger, now!!  And I'm blaming it on you!  (Um, that's a really good thing.)

As well as Island of the Blue Dolphins & A Midsummer Night's Dream. Does anyone else collect Shakespeare?  I do.

Have a cup of tea...

Welcome! Make yourself comfy! It's time for a little venting.

Today's tea is a delicious Assam, since Alexia brought it up in Soulless in my reading. A strange American scientist brewed some delicious tea on his chase while taking Alexia for a ride on a lovely afternoon, but I shall quote a more awkward tea moment in the vampire estate:

"Countess Nadasdy served the tea. Mess Tarabotti took hers with milk, Miss Dair took hers with lemon, and the vampires took theirs with a dollop of blood, still warm and poured out of a crystal pitcher. Alexia tried not to think too hard about its origin. Then the scientific part of her wondered what would happen if that jug contained preternatural blood. Would it be toxic or just convert them to human state for a certain lenghth of time?" Pg 88  Soulless

I am having my tea with cream & sugar. Usually I have it black, but sometimes a little sweet is nice.

First up for discussion is Reading Books.

Apparently my eyes are bigger than my stomach is when it comes to books.  I have accumulated a shocking amount of books in a short amount of time. I've been blogging for almost six months and I have more books to read than I can manage in the next six, and that's not counting all the ones I really want to read. Either I bury myself under my TBR pile, or I compromise my Reading Wants.

This issue came up this past week (for me) because I was attempting to finish a book that wasn't holding my attention. It's not that it wasn't good - it was well written and complicated and anything I might ask for, but I kept wandering off doing anything-but-reading.  (This is not managing my reading time well.)

In my defense, it is Spring... and the sun came out and illuminated my obsession with piles. Oh, how I love piles. I have piles of every sort imaginable covering almost every available surface... all awaiting my decision of what I want to do with 'em.

Like these Lima bean seeds in a plastic baggie with a wet towel attempting to germinate so they can be planted by some little person. I ask you... what do I do with the wet Lima beans?!  If I throw them away, someone will ask where they are. I could chuck 'em out the window and say I planted them... it'd get the same results as if I actually planted 'em.  Hm... that might be a possibility...

As for my TBR pile... I am going to communicate with those authors and publishers with delicious reads and ask if they wouldn't mind an Interview instead of a Review. Because, as in Monday's post on Candlewax, I love getting author insight on their book. It makes me want to read it more... and that ache of want is delicious. And who knows?  I'll be able to review it some day, right?

What about you? Are you keeping up with your TBR pile?  Are you accumulating more than you're reading?!  Do you have a plan on dealing with that?  Or are you building a library?!

Wow! Book Love!!

I got this scoop from an author... which I accepted as a great idea because LOGICALLY I want authors I enjoy to continue to write books!

I give you... The Book Love Tier  (I made that up. Like it?)


1 - Preferred - New from the Book Store
You support the author the most possible, you support the local bookstore, you're out of money faster.  Buy close to release date and promote your favorite book to Bestseller!!  If you can do it, BEST CHOICE!!!  :-D


2 - Great - Buy NEW from the Author, Publisher, Website
You save a little more money, author might make a little less off the sale, you are able to make more purchases. Purchase recorded towards book statistics.  This is the level I aim at as much as possible, not being able to pay top dollar, usually.

3 - Alrighty - Buy NEW at a sale or discounted price. 
Hey... enthusiastic book buyer splurges on more books, spreading the love around, author still makes a little (hopefully), SALE is statistically recorded which benefits the author.  I can't help loving this level and publicists know it... hence the sale!!  I'm a happy sucker. *sigh*




4 - Promotionally Acceptable - Free books for review
Authors and publishers need people to read their books, but advertising is nasty-expensive. Getting reviewers to read and promote their books is both better and more effective advertising.  Hey, somebody's gotta do it!! Why not me?!

5 - More Beneficial Than we Realize - Borrowing books from the local library
Libraries are major purchasing powers. They make decisions based on what people want to read. They buy more copies of books that are checked out repeatedly. The author I learned these tips from  figures out which books she wants to read from the library, then returns the books and buys them at the local bookstore. (How nice!!) She also encouraged her readers to check out books of their favorite authors whether they intend to read them or not. :-) This is a very fun practice. I just set my book-lovin' self free... I check out 10, 20, 30 books at a time. It doesn't hurt the library or the author or the book-lover. Well... maybe it does hurt my arms if I didn't bring in a tote to carry out the haul. And sometimes I suffer embarrassment over my enthusiasm.



6 - Unresistable - Used books sales
Buying a used book typically does not benefit the author directly. (Someone is thinking of whose books they want to buy used right now!!  Hahahaha)  The statistics are not recorded, the author does not get royalties, NADA. The used book seller benefits some and maybe they'll use the money to buy new books, or something. Books donated to a book sale might find their way to a reluctant reader who grows up to be a writer or a famous book blogger. I can't help getting books when I can, any way I can. And obviously money is a big factor. Better have the book for $4 than not have the book for $12. Duh.



I keep my Book Love Tier in mind all the time. When I can, I choose to benefit the author as much as possible, 'cause most of 'em don't live in Castle, like awesome JK Rowling. It's true. And I know who I want to be writing as many books as possible!!  If my favorite author has to get a job doing people's taxes, they can't write as much as I'd like them to, you know?

Being a part of the Book World is like a dream come true... the funnest "business" that exists. I want books to succeed and I want authors to succeed. 

Uh... Yea - WOOP!!  (That grand finale sentence felt like it needed a tribal yell afterwards, but I was comin' up empty.)

Ok... Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine...

This was BREAKING NEWS last Saturday, but I got pretty excited. I like themed covers especially when they're beautiful and use color well!!  :-)   

I grabbed an interesting link... here's an Interview on the third book on Entertainment Weekly.




I also found this sneak peak of the Fall Line-Up on Publisher's Weekly.... yikes!  :-D  Fun stuff!!  It's kind of a long list without cover pictures, which means reading, which I typically reserve for delicious books, but if I post this link than I can find it when curiosity keeps me up late at night.

What are you waiting on?!  

How do you show books your love?!