Hello my lovelies! This is my Book Haul for the month of July. I didn't do one at all last month because my Canadian Spotlight Month ran all 31 days of July so I didn't have time to post one. I was incredibly lucky in July - I won quite a few books, and I also received a few books as gifts.
I made a video but after having some issues, I decided to scrap it and just post pictures!
My two best blog friends both sent me something last month. How lucky am I? I love these girls to pieces, and I hope you'll take a minute to drop by their amazing blogs and check them out!
Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty, plus stickers and a signed Wanderlove bookmark from Jessica at Thoughts at One in the Morning. When Jess found out I wanted to read these books, she sent them to me as a gift. I was also super excited to get the signed Wanderlove bookmark, because that's one of my favourite books of 2012 so far.
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock from Molli at Once Upon a Prologue. Molli asked me one day if I was planning on reading Hemlock for the Canadian Reading Challenge, but I said no because I'd just found out Kathleen was Canadian, and the library didn't have the book and I couldn't afford to buy it. Then one day I got a package in the mail, assuming it was something else, so imagine my surprise when I open it up and the beautiful cover of Hemlock is looking up at me -such an amazing surprise! This is one of Molli's favourite books, and since we like pretty much all the same books, I'm sure I'll love it too.
U22: A 22-track live collection from U2360 - a 2-disc CD set plus a beautiful book of photographs from the U2360 tour. Every year if you subscribe to U2.com they send you a subscriber gift that you can't buy in stores. Last year when it came time to renew my subscription I couldn't afford it, so my friend Laura (who I met last year at a U2 concert) renewed my subscription for me as a birthday/Christmas gift, and the CD set and book was this year's subscriber gift.
Do I have the best friends or what? Thank you so much Jessica, Molli, and Laura - I love you girls to bits!
Signed copy of Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston. I won this from Lesley herself - she was celebrating the paperback release of Tempestuous on her blog, and I won a copy. I have very few signed books and only a couple of them are signed and personalized, so I was extra excited for this one! Tempestuous is the third in the Wondrous Strange trilogy, which is one of my favourite trilogies, and I had literally just finished reading Darklight when I won this book - talk about timing! I can't wait to finish this series and find out what happens, although I'll be sad to let these characters go!
Signed copy of My Boyfriend Merlin by Priya Ardis. I also won a $25 Amazon gift card from Priya. I can't wait to read this book - I love anything to do with Arthurian legend.
In the Canada Day Blog Hop at the beginning of July, I won This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel from Rhiannon Paille, and Arranged by Catherine McKenzie from Anna at Dolce Pazzia. I'm really looking forward to reading both of these - This Dark Endeavor isn't my usual genre, but I love branching out, and I got to choose any book by a Canadian author, so this was the one I chose.
Thank you Lesley, Priya, Rhi, and Anna!
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (already read, review to come this week - let me just say this is one of my favourite books of 2012!)
Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti (already read this one, too - review to come this week or next)
Tiger Lily by Jody Lynn Anderson (it took everything in me not to sit right down in the library and start reading this one. I was first on the waiting list and was so happy they got it quickly. I'm reading Peter Pan right now, and then I'll read Tiger Lily)
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkess (currently reading. I read A Discovery of Witches last year, and although I enjoy this trilogy, it's so long and gets so bogged down in details that it takes me forever to get through them. I'm a slow reader, and I can usually read about a page a minute, but it's taking me 2 minutes per page with this book - I've had it four days and I'm less than 40% of the way through - gah!)
So, that's what I got in July. I think it's a pretty amazing haul since a lot of times I go weeks on end with nothing in the mail but my credit card bill! Thank you again to everyone who sent me books in July - I'm so incredibly grateful!
What books did you get this week? You can tell me in the comments below or leave a link to whatever book haul type post you do (In My Mailbox, Showcase Sunday, Stacking the Shelves, etc), and I'll be sure to visit you!
