Saturday, September 30, 2017

*Stacking the Shelves* 30 September 2017


(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm going to try to start posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too (even if none of the Platypires will be joining me), which will cover the books I receive through Netgalley. But I also go to my thrift store at least once a week, and often leave with a bag full of books. It's such a common occurrence that I'm known as The Book Lady to the frequent volunteers (and I suspect that they've started scheduling their $1 bag of books sales for Thursdays simply because that is the day I usually visit.) So my Stacking the Shelves posts are going to focus on my thrift store hauls, because this is my blog and I do what I want. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk - I've mentioned before that I collect everything by Chuck Palahniuk and at some point I'm even going to read his books. I happened to "steal" this book from another thrift shopper, but I don't really feel too bad about that, because I waited outside the thrift store for over an hour for it to open, whereas he'd seen it on his lunch break and had just come back to buy it. I also got them impression that he only bought books to resell at higher prices, whereas the book will have a home on my shelves forever. 
Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Mother and Daughter in the Gilded Age by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart - I recognize the Vanderbilt name, but I don't really know much about them aside from the fact that their ridiculously wealthy. This biography should help me learn some more. 
The Vanderbilt Women: Dynasty of Wealth, Glamour, and Tragedy by Clarice Stasz - Clearly someone who was interested in the Vanderbilts is clearing off their shelves. 
Killing the Rising Sun by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard - I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this book, but I sort of suspect Dugard did most of the writing while O'Reilly just added his name to it for publicity purposes to sell more books. 
Sylvester and Tweety: The Treasure Map by Sid Jacobson - My son asked for this book, because the copy we bought is dual language, English and Spanish, and he thinks it might help him learn some Spanish. I'm not sure exactly how successful that will be, but it certainly won't impede his learning. 
Pokemon Black and White: Vol. 14 by Hidenori Kusaka - This is another book purchased for my son. He loves Pokemon, and while I'm personally not fond of comic books, if they get my son loving to read, I'll buy them. 
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway - Compared to some of the other Hemingway novels I own, this one is kind of a beast (most of his novels are on the short side). 
The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith - This should be educational. 
The Wings of Merlin by T.A. Barron - I've always been a fan of stories involving magic, even before Harry Potter was a thing, and I love the idea of Merlin in general. 
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky - This book is set during WWII...and I didn't read enough of the back matter to discover this when I picked up the book, but the author was arrested and sent to Auschwitz before she completed the series this was supposed to be part of. 
Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner - YA historical fiction about Nefertiti. This was a must buy for me. 
Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman - I'm not sure I'm really interested in reading this book...but I always buy the ARCs when I see them on the shelves at the thrift store. And I'm always a bit curious as to where they're coming from. 
Star Wars Origami by Chris Alexander - My parents got me interested in origami...I've only ever been able to make flying cranes (and I used to make those by the dozen while sitting in class bored during lectures), but maybe I have a little bit more patience now to tackle this. ($2.50)
Louisiana Legacy by Thibodaux Service League - I proofread for two authors who are from Louisiana, and their books always talk about these amazing sounding foods that I've never had before. Hopefully this book can help me out with that. ($1.50)
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary - My son wanted this. He seemed to be quite impressed that over 40 million copies have sold. I explained to him what a dictionary is used for and he still said he wanted it so he can look up words. Hard to argue with that even if we do already own a dictionary or two. 
I Spy A Scary Monster by Jean Marzollo - My daughter asked for this book. She's apparently into the I Spy thing right now. 
West of Kabul, East of New York an Afghan American Story by Tamil Ansary - This should be an interesting read I think. 
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan - This is a diversity read. 
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain - I building a collection of Anthony Bourdain's books, I think...At least I'm pretty sure I already own Kitchen Confidential, and I think I own A Cook's Tour as well. 
Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920s by Otto Friedrich - Like I've mentioned many times, I'm fascinated by WWII. That fascination includes the events leading up to it, so this book should be fascinating. 
Penmarric by Susan Howatch - I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up, because it's a naked hardback book. No dust jacket means no book blurb. But I had room in my second bag of books so I decided to grab it anyway. The name sounded somewhat familiar. 

So that's all the books I picked up this week. This haul cost me a whopping $5 (in large part because of the origami book and the cookbook). I'm not sure what's going on at my thrift store right now, but the books are consistently 50 cents a bag when I go in and the shelves are always super stocked, so I take full advantage. 

What books did you add to your shelves this week? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to leave a link to your post so I can be sure to see what you got this week.*

Have you joined the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge yet? You can find out more details about it and sign up here. 

22 comments:

  1. The cover for Haunted always creeps me out. I'm glad you had a cheap book haul, though. I hope you enjoy your new lovelies!

    Thanks for visiting Shell's Stories!

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    1. This was the first time I'd seen it, but it was too good not to include as one of the few photos I used in the post.

      Thanks for stopping by. - Katie

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  2. Nice haul! I don't think I've heard about any of these books! I hope you'll enjoy all of them!

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    1. Honestly, aside from The Dictionary, neither had I. But I'm easily swayed by book covers. Thanks for stopping by. - Katie

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  3. Wow, that's a lot of books! I am interested in The 12 Days Of Christmas challenge. I will look at the details and maybe sign up for it. Have a wonderful week.

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    1. I'd love to have you join the Christmas challenge. The more the merrier (and it's a great excuse to spend loads of time reading cheesy Christmas books, because the best Christmas books are cheesy!) - Katie

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  4. I love seeing all the deals you manage to get. I seriously need to read Haunted. I've not read that author before but that book is one I simply must try!

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    1. I'm kind of thinking that I might need to add Haunted to my October TBR list...I imagine it would be a perfect read for this month. - Katie

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  5. OMG, I giggled at your son wanting the dictionary...that's kind of adorable.

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    1. Right! Like how could I say no when my 8 year old was telling me he wanted a dictionary of his own to look up words. - Katie

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  6. I love the cover to Haunted! I hope you enjoy it!

    Here’s my Stacking the Shelves!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Recommend Me This! Saturdays!

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    1. Thanks. I hope I enjoy it too. I might even be reading it sooner rather than later, because it's October and all :) Thanks for stopping by. - Katie

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  7. Wow, I’m impressed you got all those for $5. I hope you enjoy them all.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. My thrift store is a wee bit amazing. It's one of the best things about having a military affiliation living overseas :) - Katie

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    1. It's freaky, right! It will be a perfect book for October though. - Katie

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  9. Oh my gosh! That's a lot of books! I usually add a lot to my shelves each week, too, but I've been better these past two weeks... Which is a good thing.
    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.
    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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    1. I have a bit of an addiction to buying books (clearly). Once we move back stateside my book hauls are going to get way smaller though, I'm sure. - Katie

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  10. That cover of Haunted :0 wow, I feel like the artist really did get the idea of the name! The Fate of Africa looks interesting as well. But that's so many books! When do you read them all :D
    You can visit me here: http://avalinahsbooks.space/september-stats-fever-2017/

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    1. Um, I don't. I have really diverse taste in books (obviously) and I'm very much a mood reader, so I read whatever book strikes my fancy at any given time (and I have no problem putting books down and picking them up later if they're just not catching my attention), so I strive to have books to fit any mood. Also, I'm soon going to be moving and losing access to the amazing thrift store with it's awesome bargains here, so I'm kind of preparing for greatly reduced book buying in the near future. But I'll still have loads to read. - Katie

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  11. All of these are new to me except Sphinx's Princess! I remember seeing that book in the library years ago and being curious about it. I hope you enjoy all of your new books!

    Have a wonderful week. =)

    Alyssa @ Check out my STS post!

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  12. That is quite the haul! I love that your son wanted the dictionary. You can argue with his reasoning.

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