YA and Beyond discussion

Suprisingly, I haven't bought any books in April! Haha that's not saying a lot since it's only been a week. But I did buy a lot of books in March so I need to slow down a bit.

Wow, 70 books! That's a lot! I think I've bought around 50 in 2010 and 30 of that were bought in March. I keep saying that I should make a dent on my TBR pile before buying more books but it's not happening.

I went a bit crazy when I was at Canada earlier this month and got a few...tehe! Other than that I'm trying to regulate myself to only the new releases every month...which is still a lot -___-

Tehe, yes it is! Same as the post from the other thread! Chapters...man, I'm gonna move to Canada when I'm older JUST for the Chapters (well and a few more reasons but MAINLY for Chapters) :D

I love your name Deliciously! Anyway I get all my books from the library, but buy ones I love. Recently I bought The Book Thief and both Hunger Games books.

I have a Kindle so I'm always buying books. My biggest splurge recently was a new cover for my Kindle and a Coach purse that my Kindle would fit into. Does that count?

I'm the same way as Heidi. I get almost everything from the library. Exceptions include series book I can't wait to get my hands on.

Example: I will most definitely be purchasing Mockingjay pretty much the day it's out.

As to my latest splurge, it involves my favorite band!! The band is called Something Corporate and they are putting together a greatest hits album b/c they haven't toured or anything for the past 5 years. They have recently been playing a few festivals, but of course no where near me. So I pre-ordered the new album along with autographed lithography. I love this band so much I'm actually considering a trip to Chicago just to see them live, because I never have and I'm afraid they won't do it again. So yeah, that's my splurge... nothing to do with books though. Just can't decide if I can afford the Chicago trip, but I have a feeling it would most definitely be worth it!

Shannen wrote: "I have a Kindle so I'm always buying books. My biggest splurge recently was a new cover for my Kindle and a Coach purse that my Kindle would fit into. Does that count?"

A coach purse for your Kindle? Shannen!!!

I haven't borrowed from the library in years, partly due to the fact that my local library has a meager selection of YA, and because I'm wary of books that have been circulated through different hands. (I'm a crazy bit germaphobic) So I buy everything; I tell myself I'm helping out the author when I buy his or her book, as to justify my spendings :)

The Coach wasn't exactly for my Kindle. Been wanting one for years and bought two within a one week span. And my Kindle just happens to fit wonderfully inside both of them. :) I'm also a Vera Bradley freak but they're all put away and the new Coaches have taken their place.

If you guys ever decide to go to the Philippines, check out my favorite bookstore as well - Fully Booked! :) Haha just kidding, I know how unlikely it is that you guys will end up here.

Shannen, I'm jealous of your Kindle! I want to buy an e-reader someday but I don't know how I'll save for one when I buy so many books.

Really? That's great! You should definitely check it out. I brought my cousin from the States there. She loves to read and she picked up a couple of books. The rest she just wrote down because she ordered those on her Kindle.

Wow, you can read at work! I'm jealous. I forgot to mention in this thread that my latest splurge was Lament and Ballad. I finished reading Lament and I'm reading Ballad now. I'm thinking of getting Shiver.

Chachic! How did you like LAMENT? :D
Btw, Shiver was very very different from Lament! It wasn't different in a good way though, in my humble opinion! :( But that's just me! I would suggest buying it when it comes out in paperback on June 1 (in the US) or borrowing it from a library :D


And as for myself I just got Rise of the Evening Star and Ender's Game, so I'm quite excited for both!

Amy, I really liked it! I posted a review here in case you wanted to check it out.

Aww sadly we don't have libraries over here. It's coming out in paperback in June? Hmm that's not that far into the future. Heidi said that she liked Shiver better than Lament so I'm getting confused. Haha.

Ender's Game is really good! I don't usually read sci fi but it's one of my favorites. I know it's part of a series but I pretty much liked where it ended so I haven't read the sequels.

Bluemoon, yay at least you were able to read for a bit.

I have another splurge! I just bought books from https://www.betterworldbooks.com/ because of their 20% off Earth Day sale. It's the first time that I bought from there but other friends from here have gotten books there. I got:



I spent $47.09 and half of that was for shipping! Pretty expensive for used books but I haven't been able to find these here and they're all either in hardcover or trade paperback. Yay I'm excited to get them. I'll worry about my credit card bill when it gets here.

Chachic - I just thought Shiver was better, but they are totally different. Shiver is mostly a love story, which I tend not to like, but for some reason I liked this one. I already told you the reason I did not like Lament as much was because it felt like the story was not fully developed. Like I was just plopped into the middle of a book. But I liked the middle and the end. I just think it could have been even better. Shiver has a beginning, middle, and an end.

I liked Shiver better than Lament, Ballad and Hush Hush. I liked all of them but loved Shiver. But that's just me. :)

Thanks for the input, Heidi and Shannen! I'll probably wait after I finish Ballad before I decide if I'm going to get Shiver. I'm not that into Ballad, I'm just in the first half but there's much more angst in it than Lament.

@Chachic... did I read that right? You don't have libraries?!

@Bluemoon, I liked Wake and Fade, and she also has a third one out called Gone (released I think in Feb. here in the states). Don't know if it's out where you're at (Phillipines, right?). The third one is more ... internalized I guess is the word I'm looking for. It deals more with Janie's past (with information coming to light) and future (with her having to make some tough decisions).

Read my review of Wake and Fade at http://challengingthebookworm.wordpre...
I'll hopefully be posting Gone sometime soon. I loved all three, and the author is extremely nice in person.

Chachic - Of the three books, Ballad is my least favorite.

A.M.Y . - they don't have libraries in the Philippians (right Chachic??) p.s. - I heard a lot of people were really unhappy with Gone, the third book that series???

Of Hush Hush ahd Shiver, I liked Hush Hush better because it had action and a mystery of sorts, and I tend to like those things better than just a 100% love story type novel, which is what Shiver is :)

A.M.Y., we don't have librabries here in the Philippines. Sad but true. :( I buy most of the books that I read and I borrow books from time to time but that's rare because I don't have a lot of friends who read the same kinds of books that I do.

Bluemoon is a Filipino who lives in Canada. :)

Shannen, I'm starting to feel like I might not like Ballad that much too.

Aww too bad! We've been urging you to read Catching Fire and they don't have copies? Boo them. I hope they replenish their stocks soon. I'm going to grab Unwind when we wrap up the poll for our May book tomorrow.

No, it's not! It's a sign that you should bug them to get more stocks of the book!

Ooh no that sucks! Good decision to not buy a tattered copy, plus I'm sure they will replenish stock very soon, seeing as how Catching Fire is so popular :D

Oh and a just a word of caution, Bluemoon- the "mystery" in Hush Hush takes a backseat to the paranormal romance aspect, and it wasn't too hard to guess. Personally I didn't guess the "culprit" until the end but it's because I'm a bad guesser (cough Agatha Christie cough!), but just keep in mind that the both books are in general paranormal romances :D It's just that Hush Hush had more different elements (including that little bit of mystery) incorporated into it than Shiver :-)

Bluemoon, there you go, you have another bookstore to check out! I'm sure they have copies there. :)

From what I have seen, people either love or hate Hush Hush. In those cases, I am almost always one of the people that hates it too, so I am skipping it. If you read it and like it Blue Moon, I would like to know.

From what I have seen, people either love or hate Hush Hush. In those cases, I am almost always one of the people that hates it too, so I am skipping it. If you read it and like it Blue Moon, I would like to know.

I don't remember it having much romance. I think it's more of a high school thriller type book.

Crossposted from another group- got these at Borders today :-)

Oooh Amy, hope you'll like Goose Girl! It's one of my favorites.

I have to add another purchase in this thread. I just bought Unwind yesterday!

Hehe yeup! I was nearing the bottom of my stack so I needed a new one. I finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles recently. Loved it- so many twists! :D

Chachic, I hope I will! I've heard so many good things about it though as of yet I haven't read any Shannon Hale. I get the feeling that her works are similar to that of Megan Whalen Turner's... maybe? :D

Hmm I don't know about the similarity with MWT's works because Shannon Hale's voice is different. Her books are often described as lyrical and I would have to agree even though I don't exactly know what that means.

Let me clarify about Hush, Hush...there is infatuation and that type of thing but not lots of kisses, sex or anything like that.

@Chachic:
Haha I think it means that her writing expresses deep emotion or something, like it's heartfelt and not just light, chick-flicky words. Plus the way she writes, when you read it in your head, it kinda sounds really smooth and eloquent. I'm not too sure but I would place Juliet Marillier under the same category. Have you read Daughter of the Forest? Super lyrical, whatever it means. LOL :-)

Amy, that's a pretty apt description actually! I've only read one Marillier - Wildwood Dancing - and yeah it is kind of lyrical. I also think Robin McKinley's work can be classified under that.

I haven't read Daughter of the Forest but I just ordered it from Better World Books so I'll get it in 2-3 weeks. I'm real excited to read it!

That sucks! Oh well, at least it means that by the time you read Catching Fire, Mockingjay will be closer to its release date :) I got these two days ago:



Super excited for Mistwood, bought A Game of Thrones on a whim, and A Long Way Gone for school.

Bluemoon, it sucks that they still don't have Catching Fire! They should get copies of it soon.

Amy, I'm so jealous! You have Mistwood over there. It's still not available here. :(

The other day I bought two books from Sharon Shinn's Samaria series because I loved Archangel. I'm just waiting to get the second book in the series and I'm going to read them one right after the other.

Bluemoon, Mistwood is a debut fantasy novel by author Leah Cypess and it's about a shapeshifter bound to guard the rulers of a kingdom. Unfortunately, the Shifter doesn't remember who she is. It's highly recommended for fans of Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore and Megan Whalen Turner so it's right up my alley.

Bluemoon, I like the cover of The Fallen! Let us know if it's any good.

So I told myself I should impose a self-ban on book buying this May because I have to save money! So much for that. It's the first day of the month and I just bought Eyes Like Stars. I was so excited to see the paperback in the bookstore because I've been waiting for that book since it came out. I don't think the hardcover was ever available here.

Yup, I will!

Ooh cool! Yeah Bluemoon let me know how you liked it b/c I really did but some people think it's weird haha :)

Today I got:


Fablehaven is so incredibly GOOD...I'm gonna be done with this series before I know it T__T Princess of the Midnight Ball seems interesting; I like retellings so I shall see.. and I'm super excited for SHADE because I have this feeling that it's sort of similar to Kelley Armstrong's The Summoning (Darkest Powers trilogy). Plus the author writes urban fantasy alongside YA, like Armstrong does :-)

@Amy,
You'll have to tell me what you think of Princess of the Midnight Ball. Yes, it is a retelling, and I think the cover is absolutely B-E-A-UTIFUL. It reminds me of Taylor Swift's song Love Story for some reason. I read it last summer, and liked it.

@A.m.y
Ok will do! Hopefully I'll get around to reading it soon. Ooh now that you mentioned it I think so too. It's probably because she wears a dress like that in the music video for Love Story.

I went to the bookstore yesterday and stumbled upon a signed first edition copy of by Christopher Moore. My plan was to wait for the paperback and get it discount from Amazon since that's what I own for parts 1 & 2 of his San Franciscian vampire trilogy, but I just couldn't resist a find like that. I love CM!! It must have something to do with his sarcasm.

Well, ah, since it is a book purchase, nevermind the horrible contents, I got this today in preparation for two weeks of hell:



Joy joy joy joy joy T__T haha

Congrats to everyone for their book purchases! Amy, I read Princess of the Midnight Ball and I really liked it. I'm also a fan of fairy tale retellings. I'm curious about Jessica Day George's other retelling book but I haven't been able to find it here.

Oh and by the way, I got these books today from Celina (she's also a member of this group):

@Chachic (and everybody else) OH! Just gave a little jump for joy. You didn't know? There's a Companion! to Princess of the Midnight Ball. Coming out this month!

*wipes a little drool*