Stacking the Shelves: The Pre-Christmas 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.

One week until my Christmas holiday vacation. Thank god. I'm so tired of work right now. It's brutal. Thankfully, I got some fun goodies to make me feel a little better during this rough period. And yes, of course there's some FBAA stuff. Because I'm an addict.

Well, the first thing I got technically isn't FBAA-related. Of Wings and Ruin by Debbie McQueen is a book I've had my eye on for a while, so I got it on Kindle. Finally. I'm hoping I enjoy it. I'm 12% in right now, so I can't really tell. I also received my FairyLoot edition of Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson, but it came damaged. I'll share picks when I have a better copy. Oh, and my second hold of Abaddon's Gate came in, so I can finish reading it before the end of the year.

Prettygal pins had a Black Friday sale. I got a print and bookmark from the Plated Prisoner series, a print of Kingdom of the Wicked characters, and a Kieran pin and bookmark of the FBAA men. And boy oh boy, am I loving that bookmark. That's all I got this week, though. I normally wouldn't share such a small haul, but I didn't want to have these items shoved into the next week's (or the week after's, depending on when I'm able to post) Christmas haul.

What books have you bought/received lately?

The 2021 End of the Year Book Tag

So 2021 is almost over. Wow. A lot has happened. I got a new job, a new place to live, a new couch, an Etsy addiction, and more. Ha ha. It's been an expensive journey. Let's hope I can tame the fan art-obsessed beast that's within me during 2022. I have little hope.

We only have a few weeks left, so I thought I’d do the End of the Year Book Tag. Even though it's pretty late. Okay, very late. I’m not sure who this tag was created by, but I found the questions on Green Tea & Paperbacks blog. So, let’s get this party started!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Kind of. I have one I haven't finished, but I was only a chapter in, and I don't think it's a priority. Now, Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey, the third book in the Expanse series, was a book I checked out via my local library's Libby app. Unfortunately, I only got 56% through before I had to return it. I'm hoping my second hold comes in soon so I can finish it up.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

It's almost winter, but I'll still answer this question. I'm reading These Hollow Vows now, and while it's not a specifically autumnal storyline, the FairyLoot edition does give some fall vibes. Also, I'm going to try to read Caraval as well, and that gives me autumn vibes too, for some reason. As for winter books, I don't have anything to transition to that season. I'll have to search for one.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Nope. I'm doing this tag too late in the year for that. I don't even think I had an anticipated December release overall. However, this month's FairyLoot box hasn't come in yet, and I don't know which book it'll be. So it's going to be a surprise until I spoil myself by looking at Instagram photos.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan (currently reading)
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

Not really. If I get to The Poppy War, I think that one will be a hit. However, I'm probably going to save it for 2022. I want to start that year off right.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2022?

Yep. I have to read A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin in order to continue my goal of reading one A Song of Ice and Fire book each year. I also want to read the last two books in the Serpent & Dove trilogy and For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten.

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Alright, there you have it. My End of the Year Book Tag answers. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!

Stacking the Shelves: The Book Club Christmas 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.

Only two weeks until the holiday break/vacation. I am beyond ready for it. I am so sick of the darkness, and I'd like to get out and run during the daylight instead of the 15 minutes before it gets completely dark after work. But anyway, this week was a decent book haul experience, with some other ordered goodies that just came in.

My book club did a gift exchange for two books on our Amazon wishlists. My friend chose Ex Hex by Rachel Hawkins and For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten for me. Both are books I've been wanting for a few months now, though I think I'm going to hold off on reading Ex Hex until next Halloween season. But we'll see... Oh, and my B&N order of FBAA came in. It actually came in around Thanksgiving, but I wasn't home and my front office had it, which meant I couldn't access it for a couple of days.

More FBAA items! I know. I know. I have a problem. I don't even remember why I got this order. I mean, it was on my to-buy list, but I think I just randomly panicked about it selling out and decided to go for it. The FBAA print in the middle is by Bxromance and it's sold by EnchantedBooksShop, a German fan art store. I'm trying to collect most of Bxromance's FBAA pieces, so I needed it. Now, I only have one more to go from A Court of Candles. I also bought the Poppy and Hawke magnetic bookmarks in their shop. They're very cute. Enchanted gave me a free Feysand print too, which I might re-gift. I haven't decided yet.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Stacking the Shelves: The November FairyLoot 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.

Well, Thanksgiving is over, and now I have to go back to working five days a week until Christmas time when I take a week-long vacation made up of unused personal days. I am so ready for it. Beyond ready. *sigh* Like most weeks this year, I've gone a little overboard in the book and fan art purchasing department. Thankfully, most of these were pre-ordered items that just arrived. Buuuuut I also ordered a few more things that won't arrive until next month. Oops.

I read Gild by Raven Kennedy for this month's book club, and we all decided to go ahead and read the sequels together as well. So I purchased books two and three. Unfortunately, I was stupid and bought the physical copies instead of the ebooks, which meant I spent $$$ on a couple of paperbacks, even using Amazon. While I very much like to support indie authors, I hate the expensive prices. I guess I just need to encourage myself to buy ebooks more often to save some money.

Up next, I have an order I made from A Touch of Magic Designs. They had a "Three's a Party" surprise pack of six prints of various trios. It included Will, Tessa, and Jem from the Infernal Devices trilogy; Silas, Nathaniel, and Elisabeth from Sorcery of Thorns; some Caraval characters I don't know the names of; Mal, Alina, and the Darkling from Shadow & Bone; Poppy, Kieran, and Hawke from FBAA; Chaol, Celaena, and Dorian from Throne of Glass. I also bought another FBAA print from them and received a free print for spending so much. It's of Lorcan and Elide, I believe, from the ToG series. I was a bit disappointed in this pack. I think I'll be getting rid of all of the prints except the FBAA ones, the trio ToG one, and the Sorcery of Thorns one. But even the FBAA print that came in the pack wasn't super great. I had some issues with Kieran's depiction. Namely, his finger is super long.

Next, I have a free ebook I borrowed from my library via Libby. It's Katee Robert's Neon Gods. I'm not sure if I'll get to this one soon, so I may need to renew my hold. I really do want to read it, but it seems like all my library holds come in at the worst time.

Here, we have a pre-order I've been anxiously awaiting. I've been collecting Sallteas's character pins over the past year. She's only released three sets of these so far in this style, but I've been buying each and every one. I pre-ordered Cardan, Jude, Reid, and Lou earlier this year and the pre-orders came with free stickers. To save a little money on shipping, I combined this order with my Kieran order I made in September. I also bought a Roth bookmark too. Additionally, I have the pre-order swag I got from C.S. Pacat for pre-ordering her book, Dark Rise.

And last, I have November's FairyLoot. Am I super impressed with this box? Absolutely not. I reeeeeaaallly need FairyLoot to hurry up with their book-only option. I think it's coming soon. Possibly. Which is great, because I'm tired of receiving a bunch of junk I have to try to sell. The travel mug and towel are just useless for me. Well, the towel isn't useless, but it's not my aesthetic. And, while I love FBAA, the reading journal is something I'm not sure I'll actually use. I also am not a big fan of the color palette of the book, Jade Fire Gold. Dark green and pink? Ugh. It would've been better if it was black and pink. Plus, the stencil design on the edges isn't great quality. However, I am really looking forward to reading this one. If I end up liking it, I may buy the U.S. edition.

What books have you bought/received lately?

November Wrap-Up & December TBR

Winter is coming. Ick. I love autumn, but I do not like that it leads in to my least favorite season. I'd 10x rather be warm than cold. Especially because I like to run outside, and you can't run outside very often when it's freezing. But anyway, books. That's what you're here for, not my weather complaints.

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in November

Heartstopper: Volume One: 3 stars (ebook, not pictured)
A Clash of Kings: 3 stars
Foolish Hearts: 3 stars
Shielded: 3.5 stars 

Gild: 3 stars

Dark Rise: 3.5 stars

Aurora's End: 4 stars

A Marvellous Light: 4 stars

I read eight books in November. Wow. I haven't done that in quite a while. Only one was an ebook, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, and it was actually a library ebook from Libby. The rest were physical books: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills, Shielded by KayLynn Flanders, Gild by Raven Kennedy, Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat, Aurora's End by Kristoff and Kaufman, and A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. I finally finished A Clash of Kings! Sadly, I have to start A Storm of Swords in 2022, but for now, I'm done with my year-long read of one book in the ASOIF series per year. Yay! Other than that, the only other major goal I accomplished was reading both library books I had on hold, Aurora's End and A Marvellous Light, and reading three books I owned prior to 2021: Foolish Hearts, A Clash of Kings, and Shielded.

Books Bought/Received in November

In total, I bought six books this month: FBAA books 1-3, ASITE, and the Plated Prisoner series by Raven Kennedy, which for some reason, I decided not to take a picture of. Lol. I bought the FBAA series and ASITE in hardcover from Barnes & Noble since they were having a 20% off orders of $60+ sale. I basically got one book for free. Yay! And I ordered Gild, Glint, and Gleam from Amazon. I also received two free ebooks that I technically "bought" on Kindle called Nightfall by L.H. Cosway and If the Fates Allow by Rainbow Rowell. And finally, I received my November FairyLoot book, Jade Fire Gold, but I paid for that back in August.

Currently Obsessed With

I actually have an obsession this month. And boy, is it coming on strong. I think I may be feeling a little bit of my Narnia, GoT, Harry Potter obsession level for this show. This is both a good and bad thing.

Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime is sucking me in. It doesn't have the greatest CGI and some scenes are a little clunky, but I'm just having a lot of fun with it. I'm not a book reader for this series, so I don't have to nitpick like some people. Thankfully. But I do know a few things about the book series since I used to work at Tor and worked a little on the series' mass market copies. But yeah. I'm so excited for tonight's episode. As for other shows, I'm watching Hawkeye on Disney+ and re-watching the '90s X-Men cartoon. I also watched Shang-Chi, Eternals, and Red Notice over the holiday with my family.

December TBR

Here you can see at least two of the Plated Prisoner books that I forgot to photograph earlier. Ha! Currently, I'm trying to read Glint and Gleam for next week's book club, and I'd like to get to These Hollow Vows and Caraval before the end of the year. There are a few others I'd like to read, but I'm keeping my TBR pretty loose. I think I may want to mood read soon, and I don't want to force myself into anything.

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Okay, well, that's the month of November, plus some December sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!