Indulgence Insider #42 – Book Hauls, Gaming & BTCYA!

November 15, 2015 by Jeann @ Happy Indulgence | Books, Features, Indulgence Insider

indulgenceinsider

Indulgence Insider is our version of Stacking the Shelves, Bought, Borrowed & Bagged and the Sunday Post, bringing you this week’s haul, bookish news and discussion posts from around the blogosphere!

Now that there’s 3 of us posting on this blog, I thought I’d trial having all of us post an update this week! It’s a long read, but I hope you enjoy our book hauls and reading updates! May have to rethink this one next time, lol.

Updates

Jeann

Last week, I went to BTCYA Night by HarperCollins Australia. Had a great time learning about their early 2016 releases, with lots of great YA fantasy books to look forward to and some great contemporary titles as well. The special guest was Gabrielle Tozer, who talked about her books, The Intern and Faking It (which Jenna reviewed here), her writing process, her new book and winning the Gold Inky Award recently. It was awesome meeting some new bookish lovers and the swag was awesome! Jenna is attending the event next week, so we’ll be back next weekend to give you some in-depth coverage on the books to look out for next year.

gabrielletozerjeann

It’s been a massive gaming week for us, with the releases of Fallout 4 and Starcraft Legacy of the Void! I ran out and got my collector’s edition on the first day which is glorious. Fallout 4 is so much fun so far, I’m getting caught up with base building and modding and so many awesome things you can do in the game!

fallout4haul

I’ve been house hunting later and we put in an offer for a house, but apparently it was too low for them to even consider. We don’t want to go out of our budget though, so it was pretty disappointing. Hopefully we’ll find one soon, for the price we want to pay and something that ticks all the boxes. House hunting is stressful.

Aila

While everyone else was doing fun stuff and having the time of their lives, I was pretty much studying and doing school assignments (as per usual). We had a band homecoming/party because we missed the actual homecoming due to a marching band competition; on the other hand, concert band season has started! For those of you who didn’t know, I play clarinet in the school band and piano for free time. Yay for music!

Jenna

I am a total introvert and I do nothing fun at all, ever! But the Japanese Film Festival finally came to Sydney and I went to see BAKUMAN on the opening night, last Thursday. Japanese Film Festival is the largest celebration of Japanese films and culture in the whole world and it’s an event I go to every year. They show lots of recent Japanese film releases and the event typically runs for 2 weeks. I usually see about 7 or 8 of these movies every year, but sadly I’m only seeing 4 this time. As mentioned, I saw BAKUMAN last week and I’m seeing three more today (Princess Jellyfish, No Longer Heroine, Assassination Classroom). BAKUMAN was lots and lots of fun. It’s adapted from a popular manga series that’s about two high school boys who team up to create a manga series! The live action film featured three of my favourite Japanese actors and I had an awesome time!

In other news, I bought myself a new camera! The extremely hyped-up Canon G7X.

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Book Hauls

Jeann

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Review copies – I’m super lucky to have received so many in the past month!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham
Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall
The Geomancer by Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith
Madame Tussaud’s Apprentice by Kathleen Benner DubleA
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Thanks to Allen & Unwin, Hachette, Hot Key Books, Pan Macmillan, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster and Pyr Books for these review copies. 

Bought

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I couldn’t resist the beautiful Harry Potter Illustrated Edition, and I had to use up a TBD 5% voucher so I purchased The Young Elites and The Rose Society. Also my yearly Walking Dead book purchase – this one’s book 12.

Gifted/Traded 

BTCYA Haul

This is my haul at BTCYA – I got a finished copy of Demon Road as my freebie and an ARC of Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club which sounds awesome! Also traded with Meleika for Night Owls and In the Skin of a Monster.

Aila

Other than preordering a bunch of 2016 books (future gifts to my future self), I also got a couple of cute-sounding contemporaries. ALSO WINTER IS (FINALLY) HERE.

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A couple of titles were received from Netgalley and Edelweiss, too – special thanks to Fierce Reads and Simon and Schuster! I can’t WAIT to read The Skylighter by Becky Wallace because the first book was so fun, and I’ve just heard amazing things about the conclusion to this duology.

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Jenna

I am currently on an unofficial book buying ban (I’m just trying to see how long I can go without buying any books since I purchased over 30 books last month. Whoops! Also, a chunk of my money went towards my shiny new camera). But I do have two books that I’ve received since the beginning of this month. I did a trade with Aentee @ Read at Midnight and got Night Owls by Jenn Bennett in return. My highly anticipated pre-order of Winter by Marissa Meyer also came this week *hugs to chest* IT WAS PERFECTION!

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Reading Update 

Jeann

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Their Fractured Light – I officially have a massive book hangover. What a beautiful, gorgeous ending for the series – it’s now my favourite series of all time! I was crying at the end of the book because of how beautiful it was. 5 stars.

November 9 – Cute concept, but it featured too many cheesy lines and romance tropes for me. 3 stars – my review will be up next week.

Aila

Listing all the books got me like “Whoa!” (You won’t see this happening again haha.)

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Wolf by Wolf – Awesome alternate historical that was full of action! 4 stars, with a review coming soon to a blog near you.

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart – Absolutely adorable and a quick, contemporary read. 4 stars.

These Vicious Masks – Another historical but with a dose of supernatural! Lots of espionage going on, and a crackling romance. 4 stars.

Winter – jfld;FJDLAJL;lkjfdlk;ja;l How to explain feels? LoveloveloveloveLOVED this conclusion of the Lunar Chronicles, with all the characters from previous books working together, along with Winter and Jacin. <3 5 epic stars!

Until We Meet Again – A cool, time-travel(ish) romance that has a girl from 2015 falling in love with a boy from 1925. Bittersweet at times and overall very romantic, it had me clutching my heart in the end. 3.5 stars.

These Shallow Graves – Currently reading and enjoying so far! Set in 1890’s New York (why am I reading all these historical books??), the main character is set on figuring out the murder of her father.

Jenna

I had an amazing reading week!! I read four books this week:

carry-on   love-and-other-perishable-items   winter   six-of-crows

Carry On – Perfection in a book! Check out our discussion post! 5 stars.

Love and Other Perishable Items – A wonderful but under-hyped Aussie YA novel! It was delightful, simple and realistic. 4 stars.

Winter – An action-packed and epic finale to The Lunar Chronicles. I read this in just a day and a half and now I want to reread it all over again! The Lunar Chronicles is definitely my favourite series of all time! 5 stars.

Six of Crows – Another amazing book with a great story and a fantastic cast of characters that will melt your heart! 5 stars.

Bookish News

So much amazing YA news this month!

Discussion Posts

How was your bookish week? 

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Jeann is an Aussie YA blogger and mum who loves to read and recommend books! You can usually find me fangirling about books on my various social media channels including Twitter @happyindulgence, Instagram and Youtube.

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51 responses to “Indulgence Insider #42 – Book Hauls, Gaming & BTCYA!

  1. danielleisbusyreading

    So many great books here! Winter, Anatomical/Night Owls, and Play On are all favorites this year for me. I'm currently reading Their Fractured Light (so good!) and plan to read Six of Crows soon.
    Happy reading girls 🙂

  2. I wish I could have come to BTCYA! I swear, once I have my licence, I am 100% driving up to all these things, Jeann <3 I am sick of missing out on things because of the train. WHY do creepy people have to ride the train at night time >.>

    YOU GOT SIX OF CROWS OMGGG. Although IDK why the UK version has the red lettering? It makes it kind of hard to see, which sucks.

    I'm sorry about your house offer 🙁 I really hope you find the perfect house soon, that is also in your budget! <3
    My recent post Book Buying Ban = Failure

    • I can't wait for you to visit more often Chiara! Yeah, I wouldn't want to ride the train by myself at that time too tbh. Yeah, I'm not too sure about the red lettering myself! Thanks hun, I hope so too 🙁

  3. Jade @ Bedtime Bookworm

    Ahh man, I can't wait to read Winter!!!!! I'm waiting on my library to get it in 😀 I'm also on hold for Carry On at the library, they haven't gotten any copies of that in yet either, but once they do I will be one of the first ones to read it! Aila, I was in marching band way back when. So fun memories 🙂
    My recent post The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2) by Patrick Ness

    • Oh man, I'm the same Jade! Here I was waiting for my copy to show up but it never did, so I'm buying it if it's not here by Friday! I can't wait for you to read Carry On, we loved it as you know!

  4. kseniasbookblog

    I haven’t heard about ACOTAR being optioned for film!

    @Jeann I’m looking forward to read Their Fractured Light, glad to hear you loved it, Jeann.

    @ Jenna 30 books is a lot, though I’m personally can’t ban myself from buying books, haha.

    @ Aila I think I see Jenna’s contemporary influence here, which I love (being a contemporary fan).

    My recent post Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

    • Haha, I broke my book buying ban already… but I went 18 days without buying a single one, which I think is pretty good. I probably saved myself from buying 10 books, and my TBR pile shrunk as well!

  5. Faye M.

    @Jeann – I AM SO ENVIOUS OF YOU RIGHT NOW. I would love to go to a gaming convention and just be surrounded with gamers and games and game developers. Oh well, I'll just stick to playing WoW and Diablo for now 😉 ALSO I AM A BIT JEALOUS OF THAT FRACTURED LIGHT but nevertheless, I'm happy to know it was AMAZEBALLS. So many things to look forward to soon!!! (P.S. THESE SHALLOW GRAVES is really, really, really good).

    @Aila – GOOD LUCK WITH SCHOOL DEAREST. I know they suck right now, but Winter break should happen soon right? 😀 Plus, PIANO! Pianos rock. If I didn't have such a terror of a teacher back in my grade school years, I'd probably still be learning today. Haha.

    @Jenna – DO YOU LIKE ANIME AND MANGA TOO BECAUSE I LOVE ANIME AND MANGA TOO. We have Japanese festivals here too (mostly just an exhibit and some movies) but I wish we had something as big as yours! PLus, WHAT 30 BOOKS?!?!?! HOLY CRAP GIRL YOU'RE A BEAST 😀 I'm saving every penny right now though for my wedding so I haven't gotten a chance to buy a single book 🙁
    My recent post The Interactive Blogfic #1 – Shootout

    • It was so much fun Faye, I hope you get to go to one, one day! TFL was freaking amazing, I can't wait for you to read it! Aila said the same about These Shallow Graves, she loved it!

    • I know, Faye T______T It was an accident. I didn't mean to buy 30… I managed to go 18 days without buying a single book, so I'm considering that an achievement… (except I just bought 2 box sets on Book Depository and 5 books today… THEY WERE ON SALE!).

      And I LOVE anime and manga!! I go through phases though, where I read a lot of manga and watch a lot of anime… but I've been reading so much this year that I haven't had time to spend on manga and anime, which I'm so sad about. I'm hoping to get back into it soon! My favourite manga/anime/live action movie is Rurouni Kenshin btw. IT'S AMAZING!

  6. Romi Endelmanis

    There are so many excitin bookish things happening these days. I'm overwhelmed! Movie deals (can't wait to see what ACoTaR turns out like!) and new series (the Michelle Hodkin and Becky Albertalli spin-offs have me exciteddddd) and it's just ALL HAPPENING. Which is awesome.
    Aah Jeann, having the new HP. I'm pretty keen to get a copy, just to look through it and see how incredible and detailed it is. I can't imagine what it'll be like to have all seven books illustrated. Eventually.
    My recent post Pantomime by Laura Lam…

  7. AHHH SO MUCH AWESOME. SO MUCH WINTER. AWEK!! *flails wildly for a long long time* XD I'm going to buy it this week, so it probably won't arrive till the end of the month, but I've waited 2 years so i'm not fretting. haha

  8. paperskiesya

    I can't even…ouch, this entire post has given me an anxiety disorder, lol. SO MANY BOOKS…so little time 🙁 I wish HarperCollins could have similar events in India as well…living here makes me feel so out of touch with everything bookish. Those stacks of books look gorgeous guys, and congrats for accomplishing so much READING 🙂
    My recent post How much does design matter to you?

  9. WOW, ladies, you've been very, very busy!

    Aila, I used to play the trumpet in the school-band! And I loved it. Sadly, I haven't played in a very long time (think decades!) 🙁

    You are all making me green with envy for those books, but I think the one I'd like the most is Their Fractured Light! I just cannot wait to get my hands on it!

    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.
    My recent post 2016 New Release Challenge sign-up

    • I can't wait for the rest of the world to catch up with Their Fractured Light, it was truly amazing Lexxie! Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

    • A reread is a great idea! I wanted to reread the first three books and the prequel before Winter but I never had the time… but I think I managed to get myself back into the world pretty easily. I do want to reread the whole series some time in the next few months (maybe after I hit my reading goal for the year!).

      I hope you get your copy soon Bieke!!! It's soooo good!

    • Oooh hopefully Six of Crows gets better for you! I started really enjoying myself when I got to Part 3? The first 100 pages were great but not mind-blowing! It definitely got better.

      I want to start preordering 2016 books as well.. but I feel terrible about spending a big chunk of money on the camera… so maybe after a few more pay cycles, I'll start my preorders 😀

    • I am soooo happy with the camera! I usually feel a little bit guilty when I get home and unpack my impulse/unnecessary purchases…but I have no regrets about the camera! It has some amazing features and the image quality is really good!

  10. My goodness, you have all had a very busy week! Jeann, sorry about the house 🙁 But, you are doing the right thing even though it seems crappy now- I promise you won't regret it when you are paying the mortgage! Also, your book haul is AMAZING! And that event sounds so, so fun!

    Aila, don't worry, I didn't do anything either 😉 At least you read a ton of amazing books- talk about an epic reading week! And you got a few books that I am so excited for too!

    And Jenna- 30 books!? Wow. And the camera is gorgeous! You also may have had the most epically successful reading week of all time. I mean, THREE 5 star books in one week!? Good for you!!

    And I just watched the Allegiant trailer. Is it nothing like the book, or did I just do a particularly great job of blocking out the book? Either way, it seems like it has cheesy, yet overly expensive effects, but isn't quite as boring as the book? Whatever, I will watch it anyway, for funsies. Hope you all have a great week 😀
    My recent post Earth’s End Cover Reveal and Giveaway

    • I knowwwww! I felt so terrible about all the book buying I did T_T. I wanted to do a monthly haul on my own blog but after I realised how many I bought, I couldn't face it HAHA. But I did buy the whole Harry Potter series in the new UK covers so I don't feel as bad about those 7 XD

      And omg, it was the most fantastic reading week! I'm on a high from reading so many great books. I think all three are in my favourites of the year list! Maybe I should've spread them out a little bit more… 😀

  11. Aentee

    I am glad to see you had so much fun at BTCYA Jeann, I had such a great time as well. Just finished These Broken Stars and oh my goodness I need the rest of the series. Though I am sad I won't see Tarver and Lilac in the sequel?

    Omg Aila you are on FIRE with the reading this week O.O Good luck with the concert season.

    Waaa your camera is so shiny Jenna *yearns for* I would also love to see how long you'll last in your book buying ban 😛 I am on one too but I think I accidentally bought one book on Kindle last week ¬.¬… oops.

    PS this is the third time I'm trying to comment, doing it from another browser… though your site still seems convince I am a bot *CRIES*

    • I have made it through 15 days. I don't have Minnow Bly so I might end up buying it for #bookclubaus and break my ban T_T I just saw your review on Social Potato and it sounds amazing! I've made good progress on my TBR though 😀

  12. Grace @ RebelMommyBB

    Sounds like you all had a bunch of stuff going on!!! Yay for a new camera! Also lots of new books all around. I really liked November 9 but it was definitely heavy on the cheese. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart (Night Owls) was adorable. I need to get Winter ASAP. Hope you guys enjoy them all and have a great week!
    My recent post Review ~ After You

    • Aila and I can both vouch for Six of Crows! It was amazing! If you've read The Grisha trilogy, you will love it. And if you haven't, you'll love it anyway because AMAZING characters and interactions.

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