January 6, 2013

In My Mailbox #10

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It's a great way for book bloggers to showcase books and other literary things they've received over the past week (or month, in my case).



Given:
I love learning more about original fairy tales and their histories. And I love Philip Pullman's writings. When I saw the two of them combined, I was so excited. Even more so to learn that Pullman hand-picked the tales he used and wrote his own annotations for each.
I cook! Sometimes. I like cooking (though not as much as baking) and do want to learn more. I have two of the Barefoot Contessa books already and can't wait to start cooking some of these new recipes!  
A map of Middle-earth from The Hobbit
I fully embrace my LotR obsession. I already own my own copy of the One Ring, as well as a Leaf of Lorien elvish brooch. I told my parents I wanted The Hobbit-inspired map of Middle-earth for my eventual library and they were willing to help feed my obsession.
$25 Amazon gift card
Yay for more and more Kindle books!
Bound journal
Help me write more, journal. And not just reviews (though I do love writing those), but writing for me, my own stories and thoughts.
 



Bought:
Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle, #1) by Diana Wynne Jones
I love the Miyazaki film based on this book (recently introduced my sister to this film and she loved it as well), so when I saw the ebook on sale, I knew that I had to give the book a try. Plus, I have yet to read anything by Diana Wynne Jones and am looking forward to rectifying that problem!

Borrowed:
Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) & Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2) by Cassandra Clare
How can I consider myself a legitimate YA book blogger without reading some works of Cassandra Clare? Clockwork Princess is being released in March, so now I'm all prepared and anxiously awaiting its release!
If I Stay (If I Stay, #1) by Gayle Forman
All the hype for Forman's upcoming novel, Just One Day, has made me really want to read some of her works. Basically everyone seems to think highly of If I Stay, so I decided to try it out. It wasn't the story I was expecting at all, unfortunately, which made it a difficult read.
Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling, #1) by Megan McCafferty
Courtney and I are both relatively new to blogging and have heard great things about the Jessica Darling series, so we decided to do a readalong and experience this popular YA contemporary novel together. Here's my review and here's Courtney's review (Spoiler: We both loved it!).

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season! Please let me know what you've recently received in your mailboxes!
author image

Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

14 comments:

  1. I'm also going to buy a copy from Philip Pullman, since I love fairytales and retellings :) + I really like the edition, the cover is pretty.

    Happy reading! :D

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. Fairy tale retellings are the best! I can't wait to have time to read Pullman's book (hopefully sooner rather than later). Thank you!

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  2. Fairy Tales from the Brother Grimm: A New English Version by Philip Pullman sounds like a great read! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

    Enjoy your loot!

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    1. No problem! I hope you're able to read it. And thanks! I plan on it. :)

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  3. Ohh everyone is getting that Philip Pullman Brothers Grimm and it makes me jealous! I also recently got a copy of Howls Moving Castle because it finallly became Kindle-compatible and I really wanted it on my Kindle! Great haul x

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    1. You should get it yourself too! And same! Well, getting Howl's for my Kindle. I was deliberating and then worried it might not be on sale and I wanted to read something by Diana Wynne Jones anyway, so I decided that this should be my first. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on it! And thank you! :)

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  4. MIDDLE EARTH MAP? WHAT? WHERE CAN I GET ONE? *dies* It looks AMAZING, Amanda! Gaah, I need oneee! ;) Howl's Moving Castle is on my TBR-Shelf, so I need to get to that soon, and I hope you enjoy Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince! I loved them as well as If I Stay which is AMAZING! :D Happy Reading!

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    1. Enjoy! http://www.noblecollection.com/index.cfm?fa=products.catagory&catid=91 (There's also a LotR section...Don't blame me for hours of wasted time though haha.)
      I have read all the library books already and enjoyed most of them. Thanks, Keertana!

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  5. lovve sloppy firsts and LOVE If I Stay, but you definitely after read Where She Went next. Makes If I Stay better.

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    1. I hope so. I'm one of the rare people who actually didn't love If I Stay and it kind of saddens me so I need to make that better by reading and hopefully loving Where She Went.

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  6. I LOVE that map! Someday I'll have one in my eventual library...
    I got Howl's Moving Castle not so long ago cheap for kindle. I like most of Cassie Clares books, sometimes there's one I don't LOVE, but I tend to at least like them all. I love Jessica Darling!

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    1. Who doesn't want an eventual library? :) I feel like if I try to start planning it now, it'll be more of a possibility in the future.

      And yeah, I hear you on Clare's books. They're entertaining while reading, but I'm not sure I LOVE them. Haven't read them all though. Jessica Darling is definitely worthy of love though!

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  7. That maps ROCKS! Oh, if only every fantasy writer would take a page from Tolkien and produce a well thought out map!

    I have Howl's Moving Castle too and I've not read it yet. I hear SUCH good things about it.

    And I LOVE Ina! I have 5 of her cookbooks, but not that latest one! I love her recipes, I was sort of obsessed w/ her for a while:) She makes even complicated stuff easy!

    Yeay! what a great take. enjoy all those books, Amanda!

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    1. I know! Nothing excites me more than opening a fantasy book and seeing an intricate map.

      And yay I'm not the only one on here who reads Ina's cookbooks. I have two of her other books and like the recipes I've made thus far (mostly desserts, and I absolutely LOVE her guacamole). I can't wait to try out things in her new book! And speaking of her making complicated stuff easy, I think she goes even further with that concept in this one. So hoping it'll be good.

      Thank you, Heather!

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