2016 Books #5

Yes, I bought myself another book. I blame a combination of circumstance and personal weakness.

The Long Version

I signed up to be a regifter in reddit's Color git exchange. I had several things I wanted to order off amazon for my person. Sam (not his real name) offered to place an amazon order for me through his prime account with my credit card. I brought it up to him 3 times via technology but life happened in between face-to-face meetings and neither of us mentioned it, least of all him.

I finally give up on him acknowledging he ever made the damn offer, let alone me taking him up on it, and just order the stuff. This involved a lot of fancy footwork since Amazon raised the free shipping minimum, again (bastards). Hours later I got my match for the sci-fi exchange. Had I waited 4 hours, this might not have happened. Instead, I had to make 2 orders in the same day and do the cart dance of "I'm too stubborn to get prime" to get free shipping. With a $25 order of books to get free shipping, it wasn't that difficult.

The Short Version

I was buying a reddit gift, the price was good, I've been wanting it for a while, I wanted free shipping (which was only $25 for books), and I'm weak.

Either version ends with me getting a feminist speculative fiction anthology.

1. Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
2. This Is Why You're Single by Laura Lane & Angela Spera
3. Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken & Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
4. The Green Man by Ellen Datlow
5. Sisters of the Revolution edited by Ann VanderMeer

Richer Reading Life Book #3

Checking off a book written by a person of color. I finally finished Bad Feminist. It took longer than I thought because of limited time, library books, and a lot of content.

Some of her personal stories made me laugh, like competing in competitive Scrabble tournaments or being Team Peeta. Some of her more analytical pieces struck my feminist chord like when she talks about eating disorders, sexual violence, and rape culture, or the still on-going battle to preserve our reproductive rights. I wanted to nod vigorously and shout "All the yes!" when I read her essays about Chris Brown, Robin Thicke and FSOG.

Gay also opened my eyes to the scarcity of black stories being told by black voices in modern media. It made me truly rethink my feelings about The Help and made me want to revisit with fresh eyes. I need to integrate more literature, both feminist and not, about people of color into my reading. It made me appreciate how insulated I've become since more to a more affluent suburb surrounded by white people and "good" minorities. I'll never be able to understand it but my world will be better for hearing about it. 4 out of 5 stars.

Putting a number on how many challenge books I've is making me appreciate how far little I've done. Several activities require reading books as well so it looks like I've got to step up my game and pick up the pace.

2016 Books #4 and Book Wish List

I was weak and getting a little twitchy. I was altering my Amazon lists after by birthday and saw this one book was out of print. I clicked on it and saw hardbacks were going pretty cheap used. I decided to look at what condition they were in. I now have a like new hardcover copy of The Green Man edited by Ellen Datlow coming my way.

I feel guilty since there were a lot of books I was excited about this year but it's also out of print. There is a finite about of copies in excellent condition floating around. I'm also consoling myself that I get to return a book and swap it for something else on my wish list for the year.

Books Purchased in 2016

1. Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
2. This Is Why You're Single by Lauran Lane & Angela Spera
3. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson & The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
4. The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow

For those of you wondering what's on my 2016 book wish list:

Book Wish List for 2016

1. Archie Vol 1 by Mark Waid (3/29/16)
2. Deadpool Vol 1 by Gerry Duggan (5/3/16)
3. Deadpool & Cable: Split Second (5/3/16)
4. Shrill by Lindy West (5/17/19)
5. Sex Object by Jessica Valenti (6/7/16)
6. Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley (6/14/16)
7. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (7/5/16)
8. Deadpool & the Mercs for Money (8/30/16)
9. Shades of Blue edited by Amy Ferris
10. Something New by Lucy Knisley
11. Here at Hogwarts by Lucy Knisley
12. Fables: Wolf Among Us Vol 2 (6/28/16)
13. Spiderman/Deadpool Vol 0 (5/24/16)
14. Spiderman/Deadpool Vol 1 (8/23/16)
15. Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars
16. Guardians Team Up 1
17. Guardians Team Up 2
18. Octavia's Brood edited by Walidah Imarisha
19. Sisters of the Revolution edited by Ann VanderMeer
20. Deadpool Firsts
21. Deadpool Flashbacks
22. Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon
23. Michael Muller: Sharks, face-to-face
24. Sandman Slipcase

Yes, I am aware I've only got 12 more books before I hit 16 and well above that on my list. Some will likely make it to my Christmas list while others I might just have to sit on until I either get gift cards or it's 2016. I'm going to make an honest effort to stick to 16 books but I'm starting to think I might not be able to pull it off after all.

First Quarterly Cull of 2016

Part of having a Richer Reading Life is doing quarterly culls. If I wasn't excited about it, won't be rereading it, couldn't remember why I bought it, or what it was about it, it was going.

I will absolutely keep things I’ve read and loved. I take a while to reread my favorites because I have a long memory but I’m fierce about the books I love. Armada went to a guy I saw in my building. The Fault in Our Stars, We’re Just Like You Only Prettier, and one other book went to my building’s lounge. Simon’s Cat, The Atrocity Archives, and one other title went to the little free library in the organic market behind our building. Everything else went to the library.

Books that found a new home were…

1. Friendship by Emily Gould
2. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
3. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
4. The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross
5. Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella
6. Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
7. The Body Book by Cameron Diaz
8. Blowback by Valerie Plame
9. Rat Catcher by Andy Diggle
10. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
11. Radical Simplicty by Dan Price
12. Too Many Katherines by John Green
13. I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse and All I Got Was This Podcast by Andrew Magnum
14. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
15. Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
16. Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
17. CelebraTORI by Tori Spelling (it was a phase, don’t judge me)
18. Blood Lite edited by Kevin Anderson
19. Blood Lite 2 edited by Kevin Anderson
20. Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow
21. Agents of Treachery edited by Otto Penzler
22. More by Robert Engelman
23. Napoleon’s Private’s by Tony Perrottet
24. All By My Selves by Jeff Dunham
25. Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks by Ethan Gilsdorf
26. The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines
27. The Rejection Collection edited by Matthew Diffee
28. Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addicet by Avis Cardella
29. Four Kitchens by Lauren Shockey
30. Screaming Science Fiction by Brian Lumley
31. Walking Shadows by Neil Bousfield
32. Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain
33. Plenty by Alisa Smith
34. Simon’s Cat by Simon Tofield
35. The Power of Half by Kevin Salwen
36. The Pirate Handbook by Pat Croce
37. White People by Allen Gurganus
38. Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology edited by Althea Kontis
39. How’d You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley
40. Turning the Tables by Rita Rudner
41. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
42. Looking for Alaska by John Green
43. Going to See the Elephant by Rodes Fishburne
44. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
45. Hot & Steamy edited by Jean Rabe & Martin Greenberg
46. To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn
47. Suddenly Frugal by Leah Ingram
48. People of the Book edited by Rachel Swirsky & Sean Wallace
49. A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting by Guy Delisle
50. Zombie Tales: This Bites by Krizan
51. Zombie Apocalypse by Stephen Jones
52. The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway
53. Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne
54. The Clockwork Man by William Jablonsky
55. Running of the Bride by Rachel Eddey
56. Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists edited by Courtney Martin
57. Howard’s End Is on the Landing by Susan Hill
58. Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson
59. Dark and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod
60. MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
61. Dead Inside: Do Not Enter
62. No Cheating, No Dying by Elizabeth Weil
63. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Zombies by Matt Morg
64. A Guided Tour of the Museum of Communism by Slavenka Drakulić
65. Cowboys and Aliens by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
66. The Unwritten Vol. 1 by Mike Carey
67. Armada by Ernest Cline
68. Marvel 1602: Fantastic Four by Peter David
69. The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City edited by Jason Blum
70. We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier by Celia Rivenbark
71. Bless Your Heart Tramp by Celia Rivenbark
72. Belle Weather by Celia Rivenbark
73. You Can’t Drink All Day if You Don’t Start in the Morning by Celia Rivenbark
74. Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand by Dana Killmann
75. It Sucked and then I Cried by Heather Armstrong

The Bachelor Book Tag

With The Bachelor winding down, I thought I'd borrow a book tag from BookTube

First Impression Rose –A book you bought because of the cover

Charm by Sarah Pinborough. I saw this when I was in B&N and the cover caught my eye. I loved the texture and detail. Then I realized it was a fairy tale retelling and I was all about it.

The 2-on-1 Date – Pick a series and your favorite and least favorite within it

I'm choosing the Fables series by Bill Willingham. My favorite is probably The Good Prince because that tells us so much about Ambrose. It's a really beautiful and powerful story in the series. My least favorite comes from an off-shoot of the original with Jack of Fables with The End. Everyone dies. It felt like a disservice to some of the characters of this universe to be killed off out of convenience.

The Wrong Reasons – The book started off amazing but the ending was terrible

In the Woods by Tana French. This like would have been a 3 star book from me regardless but there was a lot of potential to do interesting things and then SPOILER ALERT the main character never remembers what happens to his friends and completely fucks up his life. I refuse to touch another of her books to this day because I hated the ending so much.

Bachelor in Paradise – You're favorite light, fluffy read

Love and Capes by Thomas Zahler, the entire series. It's only 4 trades long so any and all of them. It's a very sweet series about a normal girl falling in love with a superhero. The focus is on their relationship and life. It's more like a sitcom than heavy comic book series.

The Most Dramatic Season Ever – A book that was a total roller coaster ride

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. A friend of mine recommended it and I feel in love instantly. The first line is "Dear You, The body you're wearing used to be mine," and it doesn't really slow down from there. It was a smart, engaging, thrill ride.

The Fantasy Suite – The most amazing romantic build up and release

I was leaning toward Jane Austen but I'm going to be a little different and say The Parasol Protectorate series. In that world, vampires and werewolves shouldn't be able to reproduce so the fact that Alexia is pregnant causes quite a fuss. While her werewolf husband drinks himself stupid, Alexia must busy herself saving the day until he comes to his senses. It was a very fun watching them come together, break apart, then come back together again.

The Final Rose – Your favorite book from the last 6 months

I've heard a year or a month for this category so I decided to land in the middle. That's a decent average for how long these couples last anyway. My pick is Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. It's illustrated creepy stories that I absolutely adore. My favorite was the short one at the very end because I have a thing for the Little Red Riding Hood tale.

Indie Makeup

It wasn't until recently I considered myself a makeup geek. It started to dawn on me when I ran out of room for lipstick and decided I couldn't buy anymore until I'd used up what I have. Then I realized I know at least one major technique. I can cash in a 500 point reward at Sephora.

I can name more than 3 indie brands. In fact, when a friend asked, I named several. How many?

Shiro

Colourpop

LA Splash

Fyrinnae

Makeup Geek

LimeCrime

Sugar Pill

I had snark for a BuzzFeed article that left off a few of my favorites. I can only testify to the first two. Shiro's shadow is amazing but the lip stuff doesn't have the staying power I'd hoped for. Colourpop's liquid lips live up to the name but so drying. The shadows are good but holy glitter Batman.

LA Splash gained some fame in 2015 with Harry Potter and Disney Princess lipstick lines. I haven't purchased any yet based on my above reason but they look fun. Fyrinnae has some gorgeous stuff. I can't wait to try their shadow and color changing lips. I've heard good things about the final 3 but haven't seen anything I got pumped for. I've heard good things about all of them.

So there you have it. I'm a bit of a makeup geek and here's a few indie brands you can try.

Richer Reading Life Activity #3

I am a huge bookmark user. I used to use the cute, fancy bookmarks from stores and what have you until  I was in a bind and had to use a ticket. A tradition was born. Most of my fancier bookmarks found new homes and tickets from different events I attended became my favored bookmarks.

The card stock they were printed on was durable but fit nicely within the page. I never had to worry about a tassel getting the ticket yanked out. Best of all, I got to remember the event where I got the ticket. I still use them to this day although my primary method has changed. I started getting $2 bills out in the world (as change mostly) and use those. The ink doesn't fade if my hand gets sweaty and each one has a story, much like the tickets.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I haven't dogeared a page since I devoured most of the Fear Street series in the 90s. I can be a bit precious about my books. I put them in B&N bags so they don't get beat up in my backpack. I write or underline in pencil. I want to brandish someone about the head if I see them fold a cover over on a paperback so the back and front meet.

I did dogear pages on The Never Open Desert Diner because my best reading time is my commute. I have no chores, cell service, or other distractions pulling at me. There were several quotes I wanted to remember and put on GoodReads so what did I do?

A really little dog ear on the bottom of quote pages. It doesn't mess up the book and I can still find what I was looking for. I can un-dogear it if I want the book back to normal. Everybody wins. I say this counts so my Richer Reading Life Activity #3 has been accomplished: Dogear a page.

2016 Book #3

In February I posted about partaking in the Reddit books gift exchange. My person got some great stuff and early next week I’ll be matched with someone who got stiffed. Fortunately, my person was very thoughtful.

I was debating on how best to count this for my 16 books for 2016. While it’s technically a gift, it was one I chose to participate in. I also opted to be someone’s backup Santa so I think that buys me karma points. Ergo, I decided to balance the scales with 1-2 books counting as 1 and anything beyond that counting as 2. How did I make out?

It came with my address in lovely script and closed with Hello Kitty duct tape. Each book was wrapped with yellow tissue paper like a present (also with Hello Kitty). I own several hundred books so I linked my GoodReads account to make life easier. My very thoughtful Santa used that to give me 2 books from my TBR list.

The Darkest Minds and Steelheart were books I found out about from BookTube and sounded fun. I’m impressed she got me a signed copy. She also included a bacon bookmark and thoughtful card. I get the sense she’s a bit younger but I’ve very happy with my haul.

My 2016 book acquisition totals are:

1. Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
2. This Is Why You’re Single by Laura Lane and Angela Spera
3. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson & The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken