Showing posts with label Traci Harding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traci Harding. Show all posts

Friday, 13 May 2016

Mel's April 2016 Book Haul

I'm trying something new with my haul photos. I'm loving them so far! I might just stick to doing them this way for a while!



Special by Georgia Blain - I picked this one up after seeing it in the store and reading the description. I've already read and reviewed this one, so if you'd like to check that out, you can find it on Goodreads.




Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - I watched the trailer for the movie and oh my god I want to see it! But I definitely want to read the book first, so when the store restocked it, I grabbed it before it sold out again.




Dreaming of Zhou Gong by Traci Harding - One of my favourite books ever was written by Traci and I've been wanting this for a while, especially since it has a Chinese theme going on. Also, I bought it for $10 from a sales rack!




An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - Okay, okay, I bought the other edition a few months ago. As much as I love both covers, this edition is a lot more reader friendly, according to my standard. This edition is smaller than the other one, so if I were to travel with it, it'll take up less space in my bag. I gave the larger edition to mum to read because the print is much bigger and that's what she prefers (plus, she's already started reading The Hunger Games trilogy and the Divergent series, so she might like this one too).




Head Over Heels by Holly Smale - the latest book in the Geek Girl series. I love how light and fluffy these books are, plus they're full of obscure facts and pop culture references!




Flawed by Cecelia Ahern - I read Where Rainbows End/Love, Rosie last year and while I liked the story, it did end a bit abruptly. But I like Cecelia's writing style and her ability to draw me into the story, so when I found out she was releasing a YA novel, I knew I had to have it!



A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray - I've never read any of Claudia Gray's books, but I love the covers for this series, and the story sounds interesting, so I picked it up when I saw it for a decent price.



Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray - As with the first book, I saw this going at a decent price, so I picked it up.


Half Lost by Sally Green - I already have the first two books in the series, so when I saw this, I grabbed it.


Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - I got this book for free! Kelloggs had a promotion going, so I checked the selection and decided a classic would be a good choice (everything else was middle grade or younger). The book wasn't packaged well, and so arrived with a crease in the cover, but who can complain when I got it for free!


The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling - I've been looking for this cover for a while. Each time I came across it in the past, it was either damaged or too expensive (here's looking at you, Valley Books), so when I found it at a decent price and in perfect condition at Big W, I had to have it!


Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I read Cinder not that long ago and loved it, so I want to continue the series! I decided to order this and Cress through one of the bookstores that I like to shop at instead of ordering it online (I don't want any bookstores near me closing because they're not being utilised), but when Cress came in, it was damaged. So they're ordering Cress again and I have this one to keep me busy in the meantime.


Dream House by Marzia Bisognin - I picked this up, read the back and liked the sound of it. Then I realised who it was written by, because I have watched Marzia on YouTube! Bonus.


Doctor Who Travels in Time Colouring Book - Because Doctor Who and colouring!


The Gunslinger by Stephen King - This is another to add to my Stephen King collection, but the bonus was that I got it for $0.50 at a local op shop! Aside from that, I've heard that this is an excellent book (1st in the Dark Tower series, which is highly praised).


Grumpy Cat: No-It-All - Because Grumpy Cat!


The Siren by Kiera Cass - I've already heard some good things about this book, so I finally picked it up.


That Sugar Book by Damon Gameau - The reason I bought this book is because last year I tried a no sugar diet to see if it was effective, after doing some research on the internet. Even without exercise, I have lost 8+kgs (works out to be only 1kg a month, but that's better than gaining!). Most of the information in this book backs up the information I found online, so considering that the diet this book talks about is proven to work for me, it's a great reference for me if I need reminding of any of it.


That Sugar Guide by Damon and Zoe Gameau - This is a companion book for the previous one, but has more recipes and goes into more depth about the different types and amounts of sugar that go into food, and especially focuses on the amount of sugar that is in supposedly "healthy" foods, like cereal, yoghurt and juices.

Both of these books are quite cheap, ranging at about $20-$22, depending where you buy it (as opposed to other nutritional/cookbooks out there). I bought one from Big W and the other from Kmart (I haven't looked for them elsewhere, but Target may also have them for around the same price), but considering the information in these books can help improve your health (especially stop diabetes), it's worth the money.



A Stolen Life: a Memoir by Jaycee Dugard (photo from Goodreads, I forgot to photograph it!) - I have no idea why stores in Australia have stocked this all of a sudden, but I don't recall seeing it before now. This is a powerful story of Jaycee's experience with sexual imprisonment. I remember when the story broke over the news, and I've wanted to read this since I heard about it.

PHEW! 20 books!

Wednesday, 13 April 2016

Mel's March 2016 Book Haul

 Finally got around to doing this!


The Colour of Magic and Mort by Terry Pratchett - I've been recommended several times to read some of the Discworld series, so I decided to pick up the very first book in the series and Mort, which is the book everyone recommends when they suggest this series.


Bleach Omnibus #2 Volumes 4-6 by Tite Kubo and Death Note Black Edition Volume 2 by Tsugumi Ohba - Continuing on my manga kick, I picked these up in case they weren't there the next time I visited the store. Good call, because Death Note had sold out!


Being of the Field by Traci Harding - I found this book for $3 at a pop-up stall at one of the shopping centres I go to regularly. I previously bought this book for mum, but when she was done with it, she gave it to my sister before I had a chance to read it, so that copy now lives in Tasmania and I have my own copy.


Harry Potter Magical Creatures Colouring Book - Because Harry Potter!


Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - A highly anticipated book! I love Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter world, so this book was a must! I do want to wait to read it though. I want the bind up of the Shadowhunter Academy novellas first because I'm not paying for them twice and ebooks kill my eyes. Plus, less wait between this and the next in The Dark Artifaces series.


Winter by Marissa Meyer - I finally got around to reading Cinder, so now I want to continue the series. I picked this up when I found the cheapest price, even though I don't have Scarlet or Cress yet!


Inside Out by Maria V Snyder - I picked up Outside In in February, so when my usual store finally stocked this, I picked it up.


The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis - This was the book that came in March's YA Chronicles subscription box (unboxing post coming soon).

Friday, 1 January 2016

December 2015 Wrap Up

Jen
This month started off so slowly for me in terms of my reading. An unexpected change in my work situation meant I was suddenly working a lot more hours. It felt like that I was getting nowhere with my reading so I decided to read a graphic novel series that I had been curious about in addition to some quick shorter books in amongst the other books I had planned to read. And then the Christmas holidays came around and I was able to get a whole lot more reading done than I thought. 

Rapture by Lauren Kate → 3.5/5 
The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen edited by Maria Tatar → 4/5
Aesop’s Fables by Aesop → 5/5
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder → 4/5
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder → 5/5
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder → 5/5
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder → 4/5
Alex + Ada graphic novel series by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn
- Volume 1 → 5/5
- Volume 2 → 5/5
- Volume 3 → 5/5
The World of Peter Rabbit Collection by Beatrix Potter
#1 The Tale of Peter Rabbit → 5/5
#2 The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin → 5/5
#3 The Tailor of Gloucester → 4.5/5
#4 The Tale of Benjamin Bunny → 5/5  
#5 The Tale of Two Bad Mice → 5/5
#6 The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle → 4.5/5
#7 The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher → 4.5/5
#8 The Tale of Tom Kitten → 5/5
#9 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck → 5/5  
#10 The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies → 5/5  
#11 The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse → 5/5  
#12 The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes → 4/5
#13 The Tale of Johnny Town Mouse → 5/5  
#14 The Tale of Mr Tod → 4/5
#15 The Tale of Pigling Bland → 4/5
#16 The Tale of Samuel Whiskers → 4.5/5
#17 The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan → 5/5
#18 The Tale of Ginger and Pickles → 5/5  
#19 The Tale of Little Pig Robinson → 3/5
#20 The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit → 5/5
#21 The Story of Miss Moppet → 5/5  
#22 Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes → 5/5  
#23 Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes → 5/5  
My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Winter Romances edited by Stephanie Perkins → 3/5
Armada by Ernest Cline (audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton) → 3/5
True by Hilary Duff → 4/5
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin → 4/5
Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer → 4/5 



Mel
I actually read a lot in December! I even bumped up my Goodreads challenge from 50 books to 70! I was reading right up until 2.5 hours away from midnight on the 31st, but I completed all 70!

Soundless by Richelle Mead → 5/5
The World of Peter Rabbit Collection by Beatrix Potter
#3 The Tailor of Gloucester → 5/5
#4 The Tale of Benjamin Bunny → 5/5
#6 The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle → 4/5
#7 The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher → 4/5
#8 The Tale of Tom Kitten → 5/5
#9 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck → 5/5  
#10 The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies → 5/5   
#12 The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes → 5/5
#13 The Tale of Johnny Town Mouse → 5/5  
#14 The Tale of Mr Tod → 5/5
#15 The Tale of Pigling Bland → 4/5
#16 The Tale of Samuel Whiskers → 5/5
#17 The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan → 5/5
#18 The Tale of Ginger and Pickles → 4/5  
#19 The Tale of Little Pig Robinson → 3/5
#20 The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit → 5/5
#21 The Story of Miss Moppet → 5/5  
#22 Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes → 5/5  
#23 Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes → 5/5
Twilight Graphic Novel Vol 1 by Stephenie Meyer → 4/5
Twilight Graphic Novel Vol 2 by Stephenie Meyer → 4/5
Doctor Who: After Life by Al Ewing → 4/5
The Alchemist's Key by Traci Harding → 5/5
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa → 5/5