Bookish Diary ~ October Book Haul

Once upon a time, there was a girl torn between two books. . .

. . .but eventually said, "Screw it, I'll buy them both." And she lived happily ever after.

Meh. Actually, she didn't. Live happily ever after, I mean. Come on, we all know two books are not quite the source of happily ever after. It's more like two million. *wink*

Anyway, on to my book haul. When I buy books, I usually do it in one go because traffic is a real bitch here in my part of the country, and even going to the book store that is only about two miles away can take ten years and three weeks. So when I say book haul, I do mean a book haul.

I have been coveting pretty much everything in this picture. I'm so happy I finally have them.

My to-read list just keeps on piling up. I don't even want to look at my unread kindle ebooks. I am officially a book hoarder. Still, I'm a happy girl. I still have no idea how I'm going to fit them in my shelf (which is about two books away from bursting). Wish me luck, or better yet, if you have an organization technique hidden in the pockets of your mind, please throw them my way.

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)
Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)
Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I'm not very patient when it comes to books that interest me, but--zeus--this series really tried my patience. I've been wanting to read this since more than a year ago, but the second book hasn't came out then, and when it finally did I learned that there's a love triangle (I'm sorry if that's a spoiler) and I just had to wait a year for the last book to come out. I suck at love triangles, guys. I hate it, and it leaves my heart broken when I have no idea if the guy I'm rooting for will be the one. Now I'm finally going to find out--and I really, really hope that I won't get my heart broken. Again.

Bad Girls Don't Die (Bad Girls Don't Die #1)
From Bad To Cursed (Bad Girls Don't Die #2)
As Dead As It Gets (Bad Girls Don't Die #3)
by Katie Alender

This one is a kind of a funny story. I bought the third book first--for my sister. She saw it in the bookstore and walked up to me saying, "I want this." Then when I checked it out in Goodreads when we got home, I saw that it was the last book in a trilogy. Imagine how loud my groan was and how my sister and I stared at each other before laughing. I've had As Dead As It Gets for a year now, and I was only able to buy the first book last month (I forgot about the series until I saw it in Manila International Book Fair). Still, my sister and I refused to read it because of possible cliffhangers. Today, though, I finally completed the series. Proceed to my book appointments then, books.

The Rose Society (The Young Elites #2)
by Marie Lu

The much-anticipated sequel of The Young Elites. If you know what happened in its ending, you'll understand my pain and the torture I went through while waiting for this sequel. It will be another round of torture waiting for the third book, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it--in about eight hours. Huh.

Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #2)
by Sara Raasch

*fangirl dance* I only read this book a couple of weeks ago because I didn't want to feel the torture of waiting too long for this sequel. Seriously, I've had enough of waiting a year for sequels--not. Anyway, I really loved Snow Like Ashes. You can see how much I loved it here. Unfortunately, all book stores in my country don't have the hardcover edition yet--they all ordered the International edition, which is a paperback. I wanted it too much to wait for the hardcover edition, so I just bought this paperback. I guess I'll just get the hardcover when it's available just so I can be consistent in my collection. I smell a possible giveaway in the future for this exact book.

Side Effects May Vary
by Julie Murphy

There's this girl I found in Goodreads whose opinion I trust when it comes to great books. It takes a lot to impress her--and I mean a lot. So far, her reviews hasn't lead me astray when it comes to good books. She was impressed with this one, so I decided to give it a try.

The Last Time We Said Goodbye
by Cynthia Hand

I loved her Unearthly series, and it's usually a good sign for me when an author has written good fantasy/paranormal/dystopian/sci-fi books and then published a contemporary one. I'm pretty excited in reading this one.

 When You Give a Duke a Diamond
by Shana Galen

My Wicked Marquess

by Gaelen Foley

If you're reading this post and you've read a book or five mentioned above, feel free to let me know how much you liked/hated it. Toodles!

~Zee

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Fangirl Diary ~ This Week's Book Haul

This post is a little lengthy, but it's all about books, I promise. *wink*

All of the books I have acquired in the span of one week. Don't judge.

My local book store held a warehouse sale where the books were up to 90% off. Being the bookworm (and book hoarder) that I am, of course I didn't let the opportunity pass. I mean, dude, that's 90% off! Who wouldn't take that bait? So I went with my friends and cobloggers, A and Djan. Unfortunately, what seemed like every reader in the country decided that they'd go check out the sale, too.

The place was very crowded. There was a long line in the entrance, and it was even worse inside. I couldn't go anywhere without rubbing or bumping against other people. Sometimes we had to push past people just so we wouldn't get stuck in one place or be squeezed into a corner. I didn't dare take a picture of the place because I was afraid I'd bump someone and drop it and lose it altogether in a sea of people. I think a club's dance floor is more roomy than that warehouse at the time.

It was hard to get good books because of the number of people looking for the same good titles, and the copies of recent releases and bestsellers were limited so we had to grab it fast when we see a book we wanted. Fortunately, I was able to find some really good titles, even though I only got five.

Into The Still Blue (Under The Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi - I've already read this in ebook, but I loved it so much so I want to collect the whole trilogy in paperback edition. The first two books weren't on the sale, or at least I didn't see them so I still have yet to acquire those. I got it for P50, which is just a little more than $1.

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter - I've already read this one in ebook, too. I wasn't thinking of collecting the series, but then it was only $75 or less than $2. I couldn't let it pass. *wink*)

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore - I've been wanting to read this one. I am so glad I found it on sale because buying it in its original price is too expensive considering it's an ongoing series. I'll just have to get the sequels in book sales, too. LOL

The Care and Taming of a Rogue (Adventurer's Club #1) by Suzanne Enoch - I became a bookworm because of historical romances. Until now I am still addicted to those rogues-in-the-clothes-of-a-gentleman heroes. *hands in the air*

A Lady Never Surrenders (Hellions of Halstead Hall #5) by Sabrina Jeffries - That title. I like my heroines with a steel backbone, and I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this one. *grin*



I'd like to say I have full control over myself when it comes to buying books even when they are on sale, but that's not the case. I am totally not myself the moment I enter a book store. It's like a bibliophile spirit is possessing me and I'm having this urge to buy lots of books so I'll never run out of reading materials. So the next day, I went to one of my local book stores called Chapters and Pages. They sell used books for cheap prices. I bought four books: one for my mother, one for my sister, and two for myself. *sheepish grin*

Secret Song (Medieval Song #4) by Catherine Coulter
The Wedding Night of an English Rogue by Jillian Hunter
Holding the Dream (Dream Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts
Castles (Crown's Spies #4) by Julie Garwood


I'd like to say my book hoarding adventures ended there, but no. Not even close. I also bought four books with their original price.

A few days later, the mailman came knocking at my door with two packages for me. I love it when I get something in the mail, be it a letter or a parcel. My favorite thing to receive in the mail is swag packs, because that means signed items. I love signed bookmarks because it's the most affordable thing I can have with an autograph, since the shipping cost for a book is expensive. We don't get many authors here (certainly not self-published ones) so it's the most affordable way I can have their autographs.

Anyway, let's go back to the mailman carrying two packages package for me. The first one is a book I won from a giveaway in Facebook. I'm also a sucker for giveaways because they're fun to participate in. Not many are open internationally, and that sucks for me especially when I really want the item being given away.

Shattered Dreams (Freedom Trilogy #1) by Brenda Kennedy - I haven't read any of her books, but I hope I'd like this one.


The other package is amazon, containing my happiness. It had only two books, but I decided to put all four in one picture since I bought them all without discount.

What I bought from Amazon:

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland - This is one of the books I bought from Amazon. It's not available in my local bookstores so I decided to take the plunge and pay for shipping just so I can get this book.

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone - This is one of the books in my must-have-physically list, no matter how expensive. There aren't many books in that list, and I think that's saying something. :)


What I bought in my local book store:

Time Between Us (Time Between Us #1) by Tamara Ireland Stone

Time After Time (Time Between Us #2) by Tamara Ireland Stone


Guys, if you only know how much I wanted Tamara Ireland Stone's books. I have lost track of how many months I've been wishing to have Time Between Us and its sequel, and now that I finally have them, I feel like doing cartwheels. As it is, I'm already doing my routine: fangirl butt shake. Just look at all three of them together:

Beautiful, aren't they? ;)


That's not the end of my book hoarding adventures, though. I know, I know. I myself can't believe that I bought quite a number of books in just one week's time.

So another local bookstore held a sale in their main branch, but they didn't announce it in their social media pages so only a few readers were there when we went. Thankfully, I've controlled myself and only bought one book. I just couldn't resist it.

Embers and Echoes (Wildefire #2) by Karsten Knight - I'll have to hunt for the first and last book, but that's okay. I don't have a problem buying more books. LOL

Finally, we're getting to the end of my post. If you  this far, thank you for reading this lengthy post of my book hoarding adventures. Who knows, maybe you buy more books in one week. Maybe not. Tell me in the comments if you do, and mention the most number of books you have acquired in just one week. Tell me I'm not the only one. Tell me it's okay. Tell me there is nothing wrong with me. LOL!

That's it. For now. It's the 36th Manila International Book Fair next month, so I'll be posting more. *wink*

~ Zee

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Bookish Diary ~ Why Books Seem Better Than The Movies (In My Opinion)

Who is not excited when one’s favorite book will be shown on the big screen? It’s like seeing the pages come to reality, with faces to be associated with the faceless fictional characters and seeing the imaginary world right before one’s eyes.

These days many books, mostly from the Young-Adult genre, have been turning into movies. If a book is a best-seller, it is optioned for a film. Sometimes, the movie rights are sold even before the book become published. If the film developed and made it to the big screen, the audience will get bigger. It used to be, “Let’s watch the movie and see if it is as good as the book.” Now, it seems to be, “Let’s buy the book so we can compare it with the movie and see which is better.”

Making it to the big screen is a big deal for a book, because it gathers a larger audience with curious minds. Some books make it to the best-selling lists because of the movie, and some becomes a movie because it is a best-seller.

Now, when a book finally made it to the big screen and enthusiastic readers went to see it, most times they go out of the theater complaining, “The book was so much better! They didn’t even get it right!” followed by a long list of things they were disappointed about. The hero was supposed to be doing this, the heroine was supposed to be doing that, the place was all wrong, and all that.

Some has been wondering why the screenwriters can’t seem to get it right, and some wonders why there is almost no movie better than, or even just as good as, the book was. Some things just have to be considered when doing a film.

Usually a film has a standard length of ninety (90) to one-twenty (120) minutes. One cannot fit all the happenings of the book in that short time. Remember, a book is only dealing with words so it has to be descriptive and full of creative words of dialogues and monologues to keep the imagination going. Screenwriters have to cut a big chunk of scenes to fit the storyline in the limited time of the movie. They do the best they could to deliver a similar quality a book has.

Basically, though, it all just comes down to one’s imagination. The human mind is an amazing thing. It is infinite. The book seems always better than movie because nothing can beat the beauty of one’s imagination. When one wills it, the brain can come up with the best things—the perfect setting, the perfect characters, the perfect delivery.

It is doubtless that one’s disappointments are the product of expectations. Since the mind has come up with the perfect thing, one will obviously get disappointed if something does not measure up to it. Personal biases also come in play. When one does not like the actor/actress that will play the fictional character, there is an almost instant conviction that the actor/actress won’t be able to pull it off.

When you ask someone who has read the book beforehand about the movie adaptation, the answer will almost automatically be “No, I wasn’t satisfied with it” or something of the like. But when you ask someone who hasn’t read the book the same question, most answers are, “It was okay. I think it was amazing” and when they have finally read the book, the tendency is their answer will change to, “You were right, the book is better than the movie” followed by a list of the scenes that were not included in the film and all that.

It always depends on the question, but in this case, nothing will beat one’s imagination. Hence the book is always better than the movie.

~ Zee

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