Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for book buying ban] 

I've said for awhile that I would never put myself on a book buying ban. I didn't think I was buying that many books and after all, if I was having a bad week a new book on the weekend could make me feel a little better. For some reason I've bought a lot of books since I got back from Europe. Maybe because I wasn't buying any while I was there? It just seems like there have been a lot of sales, coupons, and books wanted over the last two months. My TBR pile grew substantially and my reading pace slowed down a bit. I'm realizing I need to stop.

For about a week I've been on an unofficial sort of ban. I'm going to continue this ban until April 1st. It's not so much that I can't buy any books at all, but I really shouldn't. I've just gotten too many lately. However, I'm visiting my parents this weekend and last night I went to the mall with my mom. You know how moms are... Anyway, she gave me a little book money and I went ahead and spent it on a few books. In the spirit of shopping.

And since some of you want to know, I got the following books.
1. Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood because I've only read one book by Margaret Atwood and that needs to change.
2. Delirium

by Lauren Oliver even though I wasn't going to buy if after all the hype. I still think it sounds really good.
3. Flapper by Joshua Zeitz, which is a historical nonfiction book about flappers. I thought this would be fun after Bright Young Things.
4. The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow, finally, after a year I bought this because the hardcover was on sale for six dollars and I've wanted it ever since it came out.

I just don't think I can make myself not buy any books, so the ban is really more of an attempt of awareness. Awareness of how many books are coming in and how recently I've bought a book and how quickly I can read the books I'm bringing in. I got into some bad book buying habits over the summer because I was reading so fast. When you're reading three books a week, buying a couple new ones doesn't grow the pile that much. When you're reading one it makes a pretty big difference.

Have you put yourself on a book buying ban? A bit of a ban? How do you manage your book buying habits?

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

My book buying ban is finally over! I bought quite a few books over the weekend though, so now I'm starting to think I shouldn't buy any more books until school gets out. To be fair I only bought four books though, my mom came to visit and bought me some books while we were shopping. So I really didn't do that bad on my first weekend back to book buying. Here is what I ended up with:

1. An American Childhood

by Annie Dillard. I just finished Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

and was really impressed by Dillard's writing.
2. So when I saw An American Childhood and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard on the buy 2 get 1 free table I couldn't pass it up. My mom got the third book.
3. Missouri

by Christine Wunnicke was on a display for GLBT books. I thought it looked interesting because it was a western about two gay men in Missouri. We'll see how I like it.
4. My friend Katherine told me I might enjoy Essays of E.B. White

, so I decided to get that when I saw it in the essays section.
5. Unfamiliar Fishes

by Sarah Vowell. I've heard so much about Sarah Vowell I thought I might as well give her a shot even though I originally planned on listening to her audio. My copy has two book jackets, I assume by mistake. Anyone else ever get a book with two book jackets on it?
6. After I picked up Unfamiliar Fishes I saw The Wordy Shipmates

as a bargain book, so I got that too.
7. The previous six books I got when I was with my mom. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

by Barbara Demick I got on my own. Kim's review at Sophisticated Dorkiness has had me wanting this book for a long time. In fact, Kim influenced me to want several books during my book buying ban.
8. Annabel has been all over the blogosphere since it came out in January and I think it sounds like a fantastic fiction book.
9. Not pictured, I also got And Hell Followed With It: Life and Death in a Kansas Tornado

, which I also heard of from Kim and The Only Dance in Iowa: A History of Six-Player Girls' Basketball

.

So apparently I pretty much caught up for not getting any books for one month. I think I should probably read ten more books before I can go book shopping again! Did you get any books this week?

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Spring break is almost over and I'm quite sad about the whole thing. I've had a taste of summer and now it's all I can think about. I'm feeling a little sick today, or maybe I'm just embracing my last lazy day. I'm planning on spending time in bed, watching TV, and reading. I haven't finished five books quite yet, but I think I can make it happen by the end of the day. Essex County

is the real stand-out book I finished and I can't wait to review it. I think it might be my favorite graphic novel.

I'm still hard at work on my Day Zero Project. I've come close to completing two more projects on my list and have several of the long term projects going too. The project has really forced me to change my attitude about life. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the things I need to and want to do (and not doing them) I now just see these as things I will finish eventually. Something that will be checked off a list. It's a little freeing, and empowering to realize you can complete your goals with planning and passion.

In other news, my book buying ban has twelve days left. I went to Barnes and Noble this week and even thought I felt like buying a lot of things I resisted. And you know what? I'm still alive. Two things are getting me through this ban. The first is the $40 I taped to my calendar. If I get to April 1st then that money is mine to buy books with. The second is the Goodreads application on my iPod. Now if I see a book I want in the store I just scan it and add it to my wishlist. Once the ban is over I can go through my wishlist and see what what books I'm still pining for and what I can probably forget about.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Enna from Squeaky Books has returned this year to offer up another awesome Fairy Tale Fortnight post! Seriously folks, Enna is one of my favorite blogging people, and her posts always pretty much rock my face!:)

Hello fellow fairy-tale enthusiasts! My name is Enna Isilee from Squeaky Books and I'm SO excited to be back with FTF this year! Last year I posted about how fairy tales changed my life, and my top 14 fairy tale retellings. This year I'm back to talk to you about the 10 fairy tales that I haven't read and I just can't WAIT to get my hands on! Many of these have already been featured in Misty's "From the Vault" and "Coming Attraction" posts, but I'm going to put my spin on them AND give you a chance to win your choice of any of these books!

Let's start with some classics and then move into newer releases, shall we?

East
by Edith Pattou Release Date: 9/1/2003
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:I know, I know! How can I call myself a fairy-tale fan when I haven’t read East ? I ADORE Sarah Beth Durst’s Ice and I guess I have some kind of deep seated fear that one won’t be able to measure up to the other. I do plan to read this sometime soon, though. I need to get my hands on a copy for my library at least.

The Looking Glass Wars
by Frank Beddor Release Date: 9/26/2006
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:So Alice in Wonderland isn’t your typical fairy tale, but I’m still including it because I’ve heard this series is AWESOME (also, Once Upon a Time included Alice in Wonderland, so it totally counts). I got this book for Christmas, and hope to get around to reading it this summer.

A Curse Dark as Gold
by Elizabeth Bunce Release Date: 3/1/2008
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:I started reading this a few years ago, but wasn’t in the right mindset. The world and prose is really deep, and it’s certainly not a book you can read with half a brain. I’m afraid during the school year I have barely a quarter of a brain.

Sisters Red
by Jackson Pearce Release Date: 6/7/2010
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:For some reason I managed to check this out from the library, and forget about it until it was nearly due. I managed to read 20 pages and would have kept it past the due date (naughty me!) but my mother returned it! Since then I have purchased my own copy, but haven’t yet delved into it. I can’t wait! It’s about time that fairy tale heroines started kicking some werewolf.

A Long, Long Sleep
by Anna Sheehan Release Date: 8/9/2011
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:This one hasn’t been getting very positive reviews from what I’ve seen, but I still really want to read it. I mean, fairy tales IN SPACE?! Need I say more?

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer Release Date: 1/3/2012
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:Technically I’ve already read this book. BUT I’m still including it in this list because I LOVED it and I can’t wait for the next three books in the series. Scarlet (2013) features Little Red Riding Hood in France, Cress (2014) features Rapunzel on the Moon, and Winter (2015) features Snow White in the Sahara Desert! Awesome!

Princess of the Wild Swans
by Diane Zahler Release Date: 1/31/2012
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:What is it that makes swans so fitting for Fairy Tales? I just recently got my hands on this guy, and it seems like a short, sweet read. Perfect for a rainy day (I hope!).

Kill Me Softly
by Sarah Cross Release Date: 4/10/2012
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:I have just been LUSTING over this book for MONTHS. I’m on a very strict book-buying-ban right now, or else I would have this guy in my hot little hands instead of waiting for my library to finish “processing” it. We’ve heard of Urban-fantasy and Urban-paranormal books, but this is urban-fairy tales. I’m so there.

Shadows on the Moon
by Zoe Marriott Release Date: 4/24/2012
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:Also another book I’ve “technically” read, but I read the UK version. According to the author, the US version has some new haiku and things changed for authenticity! I have the audiobook for this one and I’m dying to dive in!

Princess of the Silver Woods
by Jessica Day George Release Date: 11/13/2012
Goodreads |Amazon
My Thoughts:Jessica Day George is a standard go-to for fairy tales. I loved the first book in this series (Princess of the Midnight Ball) and I’ve heard the others don’t disappoint! I’ve also heard you can read them out of order, but I could be mistaken. We’ve got a while to wait for this one, hopefully long enough for me to read Princess of Glass.

Giveaway time!
Since this giveaway is hosted by me, it'll be through rafflecopter and not the usual FTF form. Hope y'all don't mind! It just makes my life a little easier! Just follow the instructions below and enter to win! This giveaway is open INTERNATIONAL!

Psst! You have to actually come to the site to enter. You can't see the rafflecopter in a feed reader.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All review content © Enna Isilee, Squeaky Books 2007-2012

Click the button to be taken to the
Fairy Tale Fortnight Main Page & Schedule
(button image via)

So remember how I went on a book buying ban in March and everything went swimmingly? And then I bought quite a few books right after it but felt guilt free about the whole thing? Well in the last week I somehow managed to obtain 18 new books. Which is a lot and now I feel guilty and stressed about it. For awhile I've been trying to read thicker books in order to get another shelf of "read" books on my shelves but the length of most of these books is daunting for me. I've also been in a reading funk, which isn't helping. On Friday I picked up Juliet, Naked

because it was short and I knew I'd be pulled in right away since I love Nick Hornby. I ended up finishing the book yesterday and that is when I realized it. Short books.

After I finished Juliet, Naked I went to my bookshelves and pulled all the books that looked to be about 200 pages or less. I found eighteen books which comes out to about 2500 pages total. My goal is to read about 80 pages a day and finish all of these books in the month of May. 80 pages a day, that is totally doable. And in one month I can clear off a huge chunk of books sitting on my shelves. Another great thing about this is the selection of books. It's pretty evenly spread between books I've just gotten and books I've had for quite awhile. It's also pretty even between fiction and nonfiction, classic versus modern and so on.

Short books are great because they don't seem like a huge commitment. If I get fifty pages into a short book and I don't like it then I can put it down knowing I read at least a quarter of the book. Amazingly, I often put off reading short books because I think they'll be better for a week when I have a lot going on or when I'm doing a readathon. Short books are great for those things--but I never try to read them when I have a lot going on. I also buy short books a lot because I think there is no way I won't read it if it's only 150 pages. Obviously all of these assumptions are a little sketchy since ten percent of the books I own are of the short variety.

Anyone want to join me?

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to give Briana at The Book Pixie a shout-out. She sent me Capote in Kansas during April for Random Acts of Kindness. I'm looking forward to reading it around Halloween as it is a ghost story! If you haven't checked out Random Acts of Kindness you definitely should. I've really enjoyed sending others books and getting books in return.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.