you know which posts are exhausting to write/put together? hauls. especially for me since i keep getting more stuff. i drag out these posts until the very last minute โ until itโs not socially acceptable anymore. aka a christmas haul in like, mid-january. but whatever, i got some pretty COOOOOOL stuff this winter. (my puns are freakinโ fantastic.) total tally: 22 books โ excluding the ones tamara got my for the TBTBSANTA. *hides* i didn’t think it was that much until i stack ’em all.
things i won because iโm a lucky ducky
my luck is usually awful, so when i won not one but three (!!) giveaways this past month it felt like christmas came early. (which isn’t true because it came exactly on time. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.) the first giveaway i won was hosted by shannelle from the art of escapism for her bookish mug! i could feel it on a spiritual level because 1/ i have a horrible book buying habit and i love bookstores, 2/ itโs a frozen reference and lately iโve been feeling particularly frozen. (my puns wonโt stop.)
the next thing i won was from josephine of the word revel for A RULE OF THIRDS trilogy! i was eyeing this series after reading her review since the main character follows a girl who loves photography. i havenโt read any fictional books based around photography yet, so iโm so excited to dive into these!
i also won an instagram giveaway from ava (or @bloomsbery) and she sent me three beautiful bookmarks she made! she also sent me a lovely letter and i suppose the two of us are pen pals now. (snail mail is the best and i love it so much. if youโre interested in being pen pals, feel free to hit me up!)
gifts from special snowflakes
(hugs to annie & anneqah)
aside from participating in the TBTBSANTA, aneeqah, annie, and i decided to do a mini gift exchange because gift-giving is the best (and also because anneqah and annie are the bomb dot com). i havenโt received annieโs gift yet (international shipping sighhhhh), but i did get anneqahโs! i heart you two to death <333 anyway, hereโs what she got me:
- A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, by sarah j. maas (itโs been on my wish list for ever)
- a B&BW candle (CANDLES!)
- A TINY PLANT (okay, she got me like this pot and seeds set thing where you can plant your own plant but itโs a PLANT. iโve been wanting a plant like all year.)
- a postcard set!! (itโs the cutest thing ever and will go on my walls)
- MICKEY MOUSE & A SANTA HAT (this is so adorable <333)
- a mini chalkboard thing (perfect as an instagram prop!)
- overall cute notes & sticky marker things
publishers and authors are very nice and i love them.
i got a huuuuuge package from bloomsbury publishing right before i left for christmas vacation and couldnโt properly devour/take pictures until i came back. it was definitely something i was looking forward to when coming back. hereโs what they got me:
- THE BONE SEASON, by samantha shannon
- THE MIME ORDER, by samantha shannon
- THE FIXER, by jennifer lynn barnes
- SILVER IN THE BLOOD, by jessica day george
- BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME, by leah thomas
i was happy and excited when i got this package from st. martinโs press because iโve been eager to read this book since i heard about it. IN REAL LIFE, by jessica love follows a girl whoโs been best friends with someone over the internet for a while and decides to pay a surprise visit. (internet people!) iโve been itching to devour this since i read the summary, so thank you st. martinโs press!
i also recently got an early copy of STARFLIGHT, by melissa landers! the author sent me a signed early copy, which is always a wonderfully pleasant surprise. the book is releasing on february 2nd, 2016! i actually have no idea what this book is about. it’s sci-fi-ish and fantasy and romance so… i’m excited!
bookish boxes are the cutest
i had the honor of receiving two bookish subscription boxes in december, which is exciting since iโve never gotten one before! i already shared my owl crate unboxing. the other one was from lovingly bookish box. it included NEXIS, by a.l. davroe, some tea, gryffindor socks, a happy hello art bookmark, a cute necklace, and a heart. thank you to both companies for sending these to me!! <333
other (and also things i got myself)
i also got a few holiday cards from some beautiful bloggers (and also big honcho media)!! thank you for taking the time to write to meeeee. i love snail mail and these cards made my day! a million bajillion hugs toโฆ brittany at brittanyโs book rambles, summer from butter my books, kaitlin from next page please, and monica from @bookishjourney on instagram!!
on black friday, i bought myself a few books from book outlet (donโt worry; it wasnโt as bad as LAST TIME) and they finally arrived! these are all books iโve been eyeing for a while and iโm so happy i finally made the choice to get them! my lack of bookshelf space is a bit disappointing, though. anyway, hereโs what i got:
- YES PLEASE, by amy poehler
- BOXERS & SAINTS, by gene luen yang
- FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK, by mathew quick
- WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, by maria semple
- ANYA’S GHOST, by vera brosgol
i also got myself an instax wide camera for christmas, as iโve been eyeing it foreverrrrr and finally caved. iโm so happy with how the pictures are coming out and iโm honestly regretful for not getting this earlier (instead of my instax minis).
aaaaaaaaand i also got myself PASSENGER, by alexandra bracken, as well as TRUTHWITCH, by susan dennard, since they were just released. i pre-ordered these and they finally arrived! i havenโt read TRUTHWITCH yet since iโm, unfortunately, not in the mood for it and figured i wouldnโt enjoy it all too much if i forced it upon myself. iโll be rereading PASSENGER with my friends at the bibliophile academy, a new book club iโm an admin of!
โจ
The latest book I bought was Falling Kingdoms! This was such a fun haul post! (and has also reminded me I’m way behind in hauls – opps) I hope you enjoy all the books!
Yes please by Amy Poehler was so good! I was listening to the audiobook which was awesome because it was narrated by her and the jokes were so much better. So hopefully you’ll enjoy that one. ๐
My latest purchase was Snow like Ashes and Ice like Fire. I’ve already read SLA and I loved so much so I’m looking forward to the second book. ๐
By the way your photos are beautiful ๐
This all looks amazing. ๐ I, too, haven’t tried a subscription box until recently and I’m super excited. I’ll have to look at Owl Crate and Lovingly Bookish.
Quick question: is the TBTB Santa a program you can join, or do bloggers just message/email each other and exchange? It’s sounds like an awesome idea and I have tons of book stuff I’d love to share.
This looks awesome! I LOVED Truthwitch – can’t wait to see your thoughts. <3
Wow you got a lot of books! I have always wanted to get an owlcrate box! I really think I might check out the February box, because everything inside of them is BEAUTIFUL!! Also can I just say, YOU ARE AN AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER I love all the pictures in this post. Teach me your waaayss!!
You got a lot of things! I hope you’ll enjoy all of those books!<3 I never had any subscription box because international shipping *cries* But they seem a lot of fun ๐
You put the most effort into your entry, so of course I had to pick you as the winner! I’m so happy you like it, and I’m personally relieved it prints well. And gah, I wish I could live in the US for subscription boxes. If only I could stop seeing pictures of any of them. *shakes fist at bookstagram*
That’s an awesome haul! I’m expecting two books and a bookish throw pillow. ๐ The books are ‘passenger’ and ‘a thousand skies above you.’ Can’t wait!
so even though haul posts are exhausting for you to write, i love love love reading your haul posts and seeing your gorgeous photography! and omg it makes me so sad that i couldn’t get you your gift before this post went up :((( but maybe you’ll do one again in the near future as i can finally say that your package has been mailed! the people at the post office say it’ll take 7 business days so expect it in the next two weeks or so? loved reading this post <33
Wonderful haul and can I just say that your pictures are gorgeous! *_* I also put off my hauls if they’re too big but then they just get bigger (funny how that happens, isn’t it? XD) and I’m like…should’ve done it two weeks ago haha! These all look really good and ooh I really want to read Passenger and Truthwitch, hope you enjoy!
Ahhh this is such a gorgeous haul! Love your pictures and you’ve been so lucky to win so many giveaways! Love this post and how you’ve organised it (and I usually don’t love haul posts bc jealousy feels) ๐
Ugh, your photography skills are so beautiful it’s making my eyes hurt!! I always love how you format your posts; it’s always changing. >< I haven't purchased any books this year, but I have literally a million to read, not including the manga. I want to do TBTBSANTA because gift-giving is just warm and fuzzy.
Sometimes I forget how beautiful your blog is and then I go to it and I’m just WOWED every time. Anyway, besides your aesthetically pleasing blog, yay for giants hauls! Congrats on winning all those things, especially the bookmarks! I got Passenger and Truthwitch, too :).
I’ve got no idea how you managed to win so many giveaways! the luck (or force) was definitely with you this christmas. I actually went to my local bookstore today and I picked up a mini colouring book that has pictures of LOADS of mythical creatures which is SO CUTE and All That Glitters because it’s finally come out in paperback. I LOVE getting handwritten letters, something about it is just so personal and cute and heartwarming. Also, it means I can get my hands on some of the letter writing stationary sets that I’ve been eyeing forever.
This is my first time on your blog, and I have to say, it looks GORGEOUS, I’m in love.
You’re a very lucky girl, wow, I’m almost jealous, ahah! I read Because You’ll Never Meet Me and I LOVED it, I hope you will, too! I’m really excited to read In Real Life, it’s been on my TBR for a while and I’m excited for it!! ๐
The photos from this post are SPECTACULAR. And that amount of BOOKS. SO JEALOUS RIGHT NOW.