So, my read five, buy one thing was kinda blown out of the water (shocker – have you ever seen anyone maintain this thing for more than a few months?!). I found myself getting anxious when I couldn’t buy a book I know I would love to have and would likely read right away because I hadn’t read five books yet. So I did two things:
- I got rid of about 30 books that I knew I would never read or that I had read and didn’t like. They were given to friends or traded in at half price books. This itself was a nice feeling. A lot of the books were ones I bought due to booktube and book blogs that after two years, I still hadn’t touched.
- I changed the way I’m buying books. Instead of a strict 5-1 ratio that I wasn’t enjoying, I started asking myself “If I buy this book right now, will I read it within the next year?”
It was surprising how many times I realized the answer was ‘No’. If that was the case, I didn’t buy the book. If the answer was yes though, I allowed myself to get it. So I bought a lot of books in the past couple months, and they’re all ones I’m very excited to read as opposed to books I picked up from hype (The ‘hype’ books usually ended up with a ‘No’ answer when asking myself if I’d read it soon). There was also a bookoutlet sale this past month, so about 6 of the following books are from that.
So judge away, I’m happy with my decisions and I’m finding I’m better able to focus on books that I want as opposed to ones I feel I should read because they’re hyped up. Sue me. 😛
Anyway.
How many of these did I pay full price for? Zero, baby.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, illustrated edition by J. K. Rowling and Jim Kay. This came out October 6th and I ordered it that day. The last time one of these came out, I pre-ordered it and was disappointed with the experience. So I just ordered it on release day this time. It’s. SO. PRETTY.
Dragon Wing, Fire Sea, Serpent Mage and The Hand of Chaos by Margaret Weis. These are books 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the Deathgate Cycle. I found them for 50 cents each at my campus library and picked them up because thanks to Robin Hobb, I’m in a 90s fantasy kick. They didn’t have book 2 or I would have bought that too. I figure if I end up liking Dragon Wing, I’ll get a used copy of the second book off amazon. If not, I’ll give the series away. Cost me all of $2 so I’m not too worried about the loss there. The synopsis of the first book even screams 90s fantasy:
An assassin and the royal child he has been hired to kill form an unlikely and unstable alliance as the plots of human sorcerers, elven pirates, and dwarf revolutionaries threaten to overwhelm the airborne kingdoms of Arianus.
It’s so generic sounding, I love it. :”D I was taught a good lesson about disregarding generic sounding synopsis, so I’m going to jump into this one with enthusiasm.
Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb. This is the finale to the Farseer trilogy and I’ve already read it since buying it. It was a really solid ending to the series and I can see myself rereading the thing in the future. (Note, spine is super cracked. That was all me, bought the book new).
Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. I’ve wanted this book for about two years now and every time I went to buy it, they didn’t have it in the store or it was the one kicked off my amazon cart when I realized I had too much in there. But it was on bookoutlet during the sale, so I snatched that baby up and made sure it made the final cut.
Armada by Ernest Cline. I love Barnes and Noble clearance shelves. I enjoyed Ready Player One and wanted to try this one as well. I’ve heard mixed things, so hopefully I’ll fall on the ‘It was good’ side of the fence.
The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson. Bookoutlet! I’m also in a sci-fi kick.
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson. I read this one earlier this year and found it on bookoutlet for cheapy. Bought it quickly.
Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. Bookoutlet again! This is a horror and I had planned to read it for Halloween but didn’t find the time. I’m thinking I’ll pick it up next after I finish Ship of Magic and Weaveworld.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Book 5 out of the 6 I got from bookoutlet. Loves me some magical realism, yo.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. This is the one book I was able to half-way pay for with the credit I got from turning in those 30+ books at half price books. Next time, I’m just going to donate, man. Very excited for this one though. :”D Sci fi sci fi sci fi!
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. Sci-fi again! Barnes and Noble bargain shelf again.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. Found in used bookstore for a dollar or two. I’m excite. :”D
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins. And the final book from the bookoutlet purchase. I was so happy to see this one there. It’s been on my list for a while. I’m thinking I’ll probably buzz through this one this weekend or next weekend.
The Oz Principle by Roger Conners. This is the only book I didn’t buy myself and I don’t honestly have much interest in. It was given to me by one of my jobs to read. So I suppose I should read it. Eventually.
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. This the first book I bought after changing my book buying methods. I’m very excited for this one, but need to reread the last couple chapters of Heir of Fire before starting this one. It’s been too long, I don’t remember anything!
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I really want to watch the movie, but I have that ‘don’t watch the movie first’ rule for myself. so that brought this thingy into my life. I’m thinking a bit after Christmas for this one.
Locke & Key volume 2 by Joe Hill. Already read this one. This is definitely one of the more bizarre series I’ve read. I’m enjoying it though!
Not pictured (because it’s lent out): Monstress volume 1 by Marjorie M. Liu. I really like this one and am excited for the next trade to come out. :”D
And that’s it for these past two months. And starting now through Christmas, I’m limiting my booking purely because I don’t want to buy something a friend or family planned on gifting me for Christmas because they love me and I’m so lucky ;~;. There might be a book or two I’ll get on my own between now and then, but any book I list on my wishlist I will not be purchasing for myself (obviously)
Also, please let me know your thoughts on my completely floating away from the read five buy one. Do you think I have no self-discipline? (If so, we agree). Do you think the new method is a better idea? A worse one? What do you think. :”D Also, if you’ve read any of these, let me know your thoughts!
Happy reading!
Embuhleeliest 
You made the right call with Me Before You. The book is so much better and they took out a really important line in the end that made me really disappointed at the end
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Ah, sorry to hear that! I’ll look forward to the book then. 😀
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