Stacking the Shelves: The Birthday Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

Last weekend was my birthday, and while I didn't get a whole lot for myself, some pre-orders did come in. I didn't do anything special for my big day, mostly just relaxed and ate pizza. The day before, my parents visited and we got cupcakes and shopped a little, but it was a pretty tame birthday for the most part.

I, naturally, went to Barnes & Noble to celebrate. Unfortunately, they didn't have two of the books I was looking for. They were out of stock, which was really sucky. It was the first time I'd been to Barnes & Noble since January/February and I wanted to treat myself to two specific titles. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Not a great way to spend one's birthday. But I did get a finished copy of The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes, my favorite book of 2021. I had an ARC, but I wanted a finished version. Then, my sister sent me Have You Seen Me? by Kate White. Pretty sure it was just something she had on her shelves and didn't want anymore and she passed it off as a gift. She's a dork.

My parents brought the mail to me that I'd had delivered to their house, including July's FairyLoot. The box for July was a mixed bag. The book, Six Crimson Cranes, is beautiful, though it isn't a story I'm super excited for, and a few of the items are useful, like the umbrella and socks. Everything else I could live without.

My parents also delivered my From Blood & Ash Dreamybox pre-order. Sadly, I was disappointed in this one. I'm getting rid of everything except the Poppy art print and the Kieran bookmark/print. I'm just not a big fan of floral designs like the ones on the pillowcase, woodmarks, etc. Oh, and the pin is an overly used quote.

Unlike Dreamybox, I LOVED the Chest of Fandoms German From Blood & Ash box I got. It came with some great character prints of Poppy and Cas. There's also an awesome secret box. The woodmark is pretty, and the character artwork on the candle is cute enough to keep. Oh, and the pin is shaped like Poppy's dagger, which is really cool. The only item I'm meh about is the playing card set. It's the same character art on each one. I'd have liked different art.

But the major feature of this box is the book. It's a German edition, so I'll never be able to read it. However, look at those edges! There's a dagger on the long edge and arrows on the short edges. It's amazing! I won't be able to afford the sequels in the series from CoF due to international shipping costs, but I can display this one nicely once I get my FBAA shelves set up.

Well, that's the last of my haul. I have some pre-orders coming in hopefully next week, including the August FairyLoot and Bookish Box's FBAA editions. I'm crossing my fingers they get here before I go visit my parents over Labor Day weekend. We shall see...

What books have you bought/received lately?