#instead i bought books on bookdepository | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

orlissa · 3 years ago

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1, 5, 8, 16, 18, 19, 24

1, How many books did you read this year? Finished 25, and I have 5 that I have yet to finish

5, What genre did you read the most of? Maybe YA, if we are being very broad about the meaning of "genre." Also, I read 7 books (okay, 5, and two unfinished) based on Marvel characters.

8, Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones? Okay, sooo... I had this new year's resolution last year to read at least a chapter a day. And I kept it up until the end of April (I finished 20 books during those 4 months), but then Shadow and Bone came out and down I went the fandom rabbit hole... Switching to reading fanfic instead of traditionally published stuff.

16, What is the most over-hyped book you read this year? No disrespect to the fans, but the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The first one I found lacking and... not really on theme? (Honestly, I feel like it was a bad idea to be so stubborn about the Beauty and the Beast-framework) The second and the third I enjoyed very much, the fourth one was harmless fun, the fifth one an absolute trainwreck.

18, How many books did you buy? Um... I don't know, lot? XD Okay, so I ordered 6 books from Bookdepository, there was one I ordered to you, and I was to two book sales--the first one I bought 5 or 6 books, the second only one for myself (I guess books I bought for other people don't count?). Oh, and I bought a hardcover collected edition of the House of X/Powers of X series. So I'd say around 15?

19, Did you use your library? Yeah... I borrowed a book I ended up not even reading XD

24, Did you DNF anything? Why? There was one book I gave up after about two chapters, because it was basically "this main character is fat, and her whole personality is being fat, and I will not let you forget that she is fat." I started a Catwoman book which I *technically* didn't abandon yet, but... emphasis on yet. Oh, yeah, and there was that book I borrowed from the library--then it was mostly logistics. It's was a huge book, like 800 pages, and paperback, and it was just a nighmare to hold. I tried to read it on the bus, but I just couldn't hold it, because the spine was so weak.

#ask #books

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yourghastlycloseness · 4 years ago

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two boys, standing just opposite me, have a conversation at the bookstore. ‘the last book haul i had was three months ago,’ says the skinnier one. ‘i bought twenty-eight books and took a grab home. it’s the only time my dad doesn’t nag at me — he always says: go go go, read more. he doesn’t say that about me buying bubble tea.’

it is a truth universally acknowledged that reading is g00d 4 u.

why does this go unchallenged? whenever someone — especially an older male who doesn’t enjoy reading as much — learns that i love going to the bookstore (and i’m not a big reader, tbvh), i am somehow made out to be less materialistic than a girl who goes shopping for new clothes and shoes every weekend. i am suddenly elevated to sainthood than this retail monster who is crucified for making significant contributions to the circular flow of income — me with my $30 paperbacks of the newest literary kid on the block versus her $30 crop tops; i am somehow the superior human being, wiser than folks my age who do the basic bitch routine of partying and instagramming. me, killing trees so i can curl up with my paperbacks and her, killing...plants? sweatshop workers? so that she can look cute. we’re both cruel — that’s where we overlap on the venn diagram.

i read because it’s not like i have a choice. i want to talk to people but that tires me the fuck out, so i pick up a book instead and content myself with the unidirectional conversation. i want to jet set around the world but i’m neither rich nor am i pretty enough to be an air stewardess, so i opt for books instead to visit minds, bodies, worlds that are not my own. i love reading, but if the devil were to ask me to trade lives with an illiterate globetrotting blonde supermodel who actually has more fun, i’m not sure i’d mind.

i have picked out four titles.

1. a little life, yanagihara

2. less than zero, ellis

3. american psycho, ellis

4. mcglue, moshfegh

number 4 is the reason i stopped by the bookstore in the first place.

i’m thinking of letting myself go like the boy earlier with his 28 strong book haul. but i hate having an excess of things.

i eliminate 1 because everyone loves it and i’m suspicious of contemporary bestsellers that find a generally positive reception. the book is pretty long too so definitely a good choice for a physical copy. i’ll never be able to read an e-copy of this.

2 is a strong contender because it’s ellis’ first book, i think, and yes, i want to know what debut works read like. if the professor is a precursor to jane eyre, then would this be the precursor to american psycho?

i decided against 3 because all i wanted to read were the shocking torture porn bits, but i felt nothing while going through the descriptions. spread her cunt. cut her into two. blood blood blood vaginas and dead eyes. the book’s also available as an e-copy and it isn’t ridiculously long, so i could read this digitally.

4 started strong but i don’t care much for historical settings. prose-wise, it is the temptress of the four. i may come back to this one day. maybe get a cheaper copy from bookdepository if i don’t need to read it urgently.

ended up picking up 2 because what i’ve read of it so far is enticing. it isn’t available at libraries. there’s also a foreword by moshfegh so yay, best of both worlds.

i pay $21 for it, fully aware that i might enjoy reading what moshfegh says about the book than the book itself.

thinking about why i feel left out with one of my groups of my friends. i guess it’s because it’s made up of A, B, and C.

A is a good person; B is a good person; i am C, of course. A is neutral; B fangirls over A and thinks she’s beautiful and cute and fantastic; A in return, thinks kind thoughts about B; i think kind thoughts about all but feel left out anyway. plus our lives are headed in such different directions. there’s more convergence with what lies ahead for A and B. they’re more pragmatic too.

i’m at starbucks again, sipping a hot earl grey tea and waiting for it to be 7pm (it’s 6.01pm). i’m meeting a carousell buyer of my copy of berserk vol 1. which i bought from kino at $27 but am selling at $10. the book’s in excellent condition.

i’m not getting good vibes from the buyer though. sellers have left reviews on his profile. but the fishy stuff: he says he doesn’t have a mobile plan so he has no internet connection to contact me through the app; i’m thinking if this is an excuse to exchange phone numbers. call me paranoid — i am just that.

says he’s a fat guy with a grey army backpack, so i shouldn’t miss him. when i don’t respond for thirty seconds (i’m not exaggerating), he types ‘hello? u there?’ the grammatical errors — ‘i am interested in this books. is it $10?’

i take it that he thinks i’m selling all volumes. ‘yes, it’s $10 for one book. take note that i’m only selling volume one!’ i type. ‘no vol 2, 3,??’

‘nope, just vol 1,’ i clarify.

my past few buyers have been sweet bookworm-ish girls who respond quickly. we keep each other updated on where and when to meet. they say women are fussier, but i’ve had interested buyers of both sexes request additional pictures of the books to confirm the condition of the item. one thing i can confirm: female buyers ask about price negotiation more than male buyers.

are these differences socialized, biological, environmental???

i like to imagine what my buyers will look like before i meet them in person. i’m betting my money that the buyer later will be an ‘eccentric’ middle-aged man/boomer who will either show up slightly late or not at all. he’ll be fat, like he said, and he will wear either a graphic t-shirt that’s just right in size or a polo shirt one size too small for him, so the fabric clings to the rolls of fat around his waist and belly. the grey army backpack makes him look like a chunky flounder and adds to the stockiness of his form. he won’t be a tall man, so the backpack will be the length of his torso. as he walks, the bag will bounce against his back because the curve of its design doesn’t fit his physique and posture.

he’ll have chunky arms and legs, like those of baby. they’ll be slightly red from god knows what — friction against his clothes, perhaps. he’ll otherwise have decent skin all over. he’ll be balding with a few wisps of black hair combed to the sides. he’ll wear black-framed spectacles; without which, his single-lidded eyes would appear even smaller than they already are.

i’ll leave by 7.15pm if i don’t spot anyone in the crowd who fits this profile.

edit: he was early. arrived at 6.55pm. saw him craning his neck to look out for me in the crowd, except i wasn’t coming from that direction. there’s a kind of power in that: watching someone before they realize you’re there.

mid-fifties, maybe. full head of grey hair. the buyer’s body was exactly as i imagined. i asked him to check the item; he asked if i was a student. i said yes, oh wait, no; he asked when i had bought the book. i couldn’t remember but said about two months ago, since the book looked about that old. he went on for a bit, explaining that because some of his friends buy old moudly books and develop skin problems from touching them; i just wanted him to hand me the money so i could be off on my way. not because i was patient, but because i didn’t know what to say.

i was used to such quick, wordless transactions with the carousell buyers my age. it was refreshing to have a real conversation with someone older — to have no promise of them showing up at the arranged meeting time and place because they don’t have a mobile plan like every millennial/gen Z out there.

he was not creepy at all. friendly. smiley. a decent guy. i’d say even a a good man. probably has a kid or two my age.

i felt bad about how i had deliberately chosen a pretty gay plastic bag to put the book in, just because i wanted to see the contrast of a fat man with a sparkly sparkly tokyo disneyland shopping bag with mickey and minnie mouse printed on it — but it actually suited him really well.

one time, i put a book into a sephora bag because the buyer gave me these rough manly man vibes over our text negotiation. i fail to remember that i am sometimes the biggest creep out there.

i’m now reading an interview with bret easton ellis. he thinks millennials are shit. this man is actually from my parents’ generation: https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/28/bret-easton-ellis-millennials-white-interview

i was reading this one with ottessa moshfegh: https://www.documentjournal.com/2018/07/ottessa-moshfegh-gives-sleeping-it-off-a-try-for-once/

i am still reading tono and sakurai’s interview

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sdqhtxt · 7 years ago

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update

it’s a day to the end of november, and soon it’ll be the last month of the year? which honestly feels so crazy, time has passed so quickly once again. i wanna reflect on what has been happening this past year, but i feel like there’s probably more to come by december so maybe then i will reflect and think about my goals in life more properly as well. but anyway, this post will concentrate on the present instead.

the latest updates would probably be me, ending my internship at dis knee :’>) a chapter of my life is gone and over just like that and it terrifies me to bits. and now i’m back in school and still as rabak as ever. i feel like i need to keep myself in check so i don’t go too far to the edge and do something i regret all over again. it’s hard, to keep on going when you feel like everything is a lost cause. (when you feel like you’re a lost cause) but i need to get through this, and get this over with and to just keep going. i need to just keep doing.

apart from that, i’ve recently received all my bookdepository buys!! which is fairly exciting! i bought:

1. oyasumi punpun vol 1 2. it’s a wonderful world vol 1 3. fragments of horror 4. sad girls 5. kafka on the shore 6. ready player one (which is going to be a gift)

i’m actually super happy!! over having the physical copy of asano inio’s work, especially because it’s such a nice publication with a nice cover to boot! LIKE i adore it so much I’m so glad for its existence. But now that I have started this I feel like I need to get every single volume, so wish me good luck on that tbvh :’>) rip me LOL

I feel like with these purchases that my list of I want to get for books and shit should be getting smaller but I feel like I am a book fiend who will probably never have enough of books. but I guess,,, it’s better than buying drugs am i right HAHAH

honestly I don’t know what to feel about the coming year, which will be full of changes and things and oh my god the big 2. it’s wild and scary and I don’t know what i’m feeling but i hope it’ll be okay. I hope I’ll be okay. I genuinely hope that I will also be working hard to be a better person and not be so amazingly shit at everything. I should probably be starting from today already but, well, here I am right.

#personal #rambles

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rawchefyin · 6 years ago

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Mixed Blessings Onigiri Bento - tried out the recipe by @shisodelicious from her #BentoPowerBook!! Made this for Chap Goh Meh as the rice balls looked super pretty in the book. I used: ✔️Beras dagang - as I wanted to use local rice instead of Japanese rice although I have a feeling I might go out and get some very soon ;) ✔️Brazilian spinach from my aunt's garden - instead of watercress in the original recipe ✔️Pink peppercorns coz I can't remember where I put my sichuan peppercorns, haha ✔️Purple carrots instead of orange, just because that's what I had with me Also made Green Gomashio from the book. For the nuts and seeds recipes, I use my raw vegan food prep techniques so they are all soaked, rinsed, drained and dehydrated instead of toasted. Mr Jazz Guitarist has fallen in love with the Green Gomashio and it's his next best fav topping/flavouring after my Shichimi Togarashi. Funnily enough I was never really into making all these Japanese salts but now I totally get it. Thanks for opening my eyes to this, Sara!😍😘 - For the seasoned nuts and seeds, the book suggested to also add in dried fruits or raisins to it so I had: ☑️Coconut Fakeon ☑️Goji berries ☑️Cranberries ☑️Unhulled hemp seeds Oooooh, the cranberries went SO WELL with the coconut fakeon! 😋😋😋 - Best cookbook I've bought in 2019, and no, I'm not being paid to say this. I bought the book with my own credit card via @bookdepository😎😀 @bentoparty https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJNkPDH0BL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ge1tt36bhjpo

#bentopowerbook

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lunarlucibooks · 6 years ago

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Hi all! Today’s Friday and we’re actually already a week into February, but I haven’t really had time to post yet. So, here it is, my wrap-up and all the other things I’ve done in January! This post is a bit late since I usually post in the morning (this timezone at least), but it’s been a hell of a day and I’ll be happy if I can go to bed tonight.

I got ill

Well, let’s start with the best, shall we? On New Year’s Eve (at 3am, after the celebrations), I got sick and I’ve been sick for the whole month. I stayed in bed for two weeks, feeling miserable, and then I had a week of exams. Since I couldn’t really study when I was sick, I didn’t expect to pass any of them, but surprisingly enough I passed all but two! Now, at my college, you have a second chance for every exam you take, so after that week, I passed all of them. I also lost my voice for an entire week, and at the moment, it’s gone again and I just keep wondering why it’s coming back, I’m sleeping, I’m eating fruits and vegetables, and I don’t do anything extremely unhealthy, as far as I know. But I’ll see.

But I read books!

And I actually read 4 books, which might not seem like a lot but it’s quite the bit considering my illness and studying xD

The first two were books that I chose myself and the last two are chosen by my boyfriend, which I’ll tell you later about. Alice In Wonderland is this beautiful edition that I got for my birthday!

I turned 21!

Yes. I feel very adult (haha absolutely not). For my birthday, I got a lot of presents, mostly including things for books or baking, my family knows me well xD From my boyfriend, I got this super awesome book box. Best thing about it: it’s handmade! He said he wanted to order me one, because he heard me talking about them, but he wasn’t sure if I already had the book inside, and besides, shipping costs to the Netherlands are A LOT. So, instead, he made me my own, and I love it so much!

Isn’t it the most awesome thing you’ve seen? it’s got cute jewelry, and temporary tattoos, and a teaholder in the shape of a book and it’s all so awesome! ❤ On the right, there’s my birthday presents that I got from everyone.

I bought books?

As far as I remember (I’m terrible at this), these are the only ones I actually bought! Now, being sick doesn’t help, I know, but I’m quite disappointed in this haha.

I moved in with my boyfriend!!

On January 5th, I officially moved in with my boyfriend. After almost a year of being in one house on the weekends and in my apartment during the week (because of school), and being not sure which books to take where to, and sometimes it was easier to be in the other place, and mostly it was a lot of extra travel and worries that I didn’t need. So, I moved in with my boyfriend, and it has been a stressful day, but in the end, everything got here okay 🙂 All my books are in one place, I have my desk in the office that we specifically made to study, and all is going well 🙂

Two Be Reading

A new thing I want to show you guys is the new thing on my blog: Two Be Reading. A while ago, I saw a post over at A Book, A Thought (link here!), and I loved the idea! So now that we’re living together, it definitely made it easier. To no surprise, both of us had written notes about the books we chose for the other, and here are our choices!

My pile is on the right, my boyfriend’s on the left. We both chose Tess Of The Road for each other 🙂 I can’t tell you a lot about the books that I chose because I don’t wanna spoil things for my boyfriend, so that’s what the series will be for! I asked him to maybe write down his thoughts down, so I could post about it and he loved the idea 😀 So hopefully, you’ll see those posts soon enough!

TV, movies, games

I also rewatched all the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes (for the 3rd time maybe?) and started my Lucifer rewatch. I mostly watch it when I need some background noise or something, since I’ve seen both series already.

I also downloaded Divinity: Original Sin II since my boyfriend downloaded it and it looked so awesome, I wanted to give it a try too! I really like the game, and it’s very beautifully made. The story is awesome so far, and I hope I can play it a lot, but I’m not sure since school is damn difficult at the moment.

And that’s actually all!

It’s quite a bit, but I hope you all enjoyed my January wrap-up 🙂 Let me know what you did in January?

Check out all my reviews here!

-Luci

Find me on:

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January wrap-up & Beyond The Books Hi all! Today's Friday and we're actually already a week into February, but I haven't really had time to post yet.

#birthday #bookish talk #books #january wrap-up #wrap-up

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emmasurveys · 7 years ago

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bookish asks

1: What book did you last finish? When was that?

i think the last book i read was Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasglow

2: What are you currently reading?

Snowflakes on Silver Cove by Holly Martin

3: What book are you planning to read next?

The Girl Who Saved Christmas

4: What was the last book you added to your tbr?

Some Kind of Wonderful by Givonna Fletcher

5: Which book did you last re-read?

Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

6: Which book was the last one you really, really loved?

The Christmasauras was really really good, and More Happy Than Not is really good.

7: What was/were the last book/books you bought?

Wildwood by Colin Merlot

8: Paperback or hardcover? Why?

Paperback, easier to read

9: YA, NA or Adult? Why?

YA. Easier to read, my mind just drifts to quickly. But also, it’s always very hopeful. But I’ll read it all.

10: Sci-Fi or fantasy? Why?

Fantasy. I haven’t really taken much to Sci-Fi for some reason.

11: Classic or modern? Why?

Either.

12: Political memoirs or comedic memoirs?

Comedic

13: Name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaption

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I’ll be forever bitter.

14: Name a book where the movie/tv adaption actually was better than the original

My first thought is fairy tales, because to be honest I’d rather see a Disney fairy tale than a Grim’s fairy tale where they’re cutting off their feet. But to be honest, I’m sure there are movies that are better than the books, but I can’t currently think of any proper examples; I googled some but all the examples were for books I have yet to read.

So instead I shall offer you something better: a book and a movie that perfectly compliment each other. Perks of Being a Wallflower. Neither is better than the other, and both work together like best friends.

15: What book changed your life?

Harry Potter, for sure. But also a YA novel called “Ready or Not” by Meg Cabot. Before reading that book I didn’t like reading on my own (my mother read all of us Harry Potter so we could read it together).

16: If you could bring three books to a deserted island which would you bring and why?

Prisoner of Azkaban, Identical, and something I haven’t read yet. Maybe IT or something really long, to pass the time. My favourite book of my favourite series, the first book that ever properly surprised me, and a book that I can read when I’m bored of the other two.

17: If you owned a bookshop what would you call it?

A Novel Conundrum...

18: Which character from a book is the most like you?

Sam Madision, and Charlie Kelmeckis.

19: Which character from a book is the least like you?

Margo Roth Spiegelman.

20: Best summer read?

Harry Potter. Or re-reading your favourite books.

21: Best winter read?

Cheesy Holly Martin reads. “Let it Snow”, perhaps.

22: Pro or anti e-readers? Why?

anti as a general rule. Though not overly opposed.

23: Bookdepository or Amazon?

Amazon.

24: Do you prefer to buy books online or in a bookshop?

Bookshop. Though it’s cheaper online.

25: If you could be a character from a book for just one day who would you be and why? (Bonus: any specific day in the story?)

Hmm, probably Wendy. Flying to Neverland would be really fun.

26: If you could be a character from a book for their entire life who would you be and why?

That’s a hard question. There’s so many books I’ve never read and probably never will, who knows who I’d really want to be. Perhaps Elizabeth Bennet, or Tris, or Luna Lovegood, or Jill Pole. They go on great adventures, they’re really strong. They’re quite different from myself.

27: If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? (i.e. more diversity, better writing, better plot etc.)

More diversity, probably that would be my biggest thing. I don’t really care about better writing, if you try and you have a good idea I might read it. It’s all about the characters and whether they’re believe-able and likeable. You could re-write the same story over and over and it would still be different every time, so I don’t know.

28: How many books have you read so far this year?

Hmm, like four or five?

29: How do you sort your shelves? (i.e. by color, author, title etc.)

I just group together authors and by size of the shelf.

30: Who’s your favourite author?

I don’t have a favourite author. I kind of just read what looks good. I have a lot of the same books by the same authors, but I haven’t read them all. Even J.K. Rowling I’ve only ever read Harry Potter.

31: Who’s your favourite contemporary author?

I’m going to say John Green solely because The Fault in Our Stars was amazing, but I also would like to say Adam Silvera because his debut novel quite surprised me, and despite the fact I haven’t read his other novels, I really want to.

32: Who’s your favourite fantasy author?

This may surprise you... but J.K. Rowling. But also C.S. Lewis

33: Who’s your favorite Sci-Fi author?

I don’t have one.

34: List five OTPs

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Ron and Hermione, Sam and David, Peter and Wendy, and either Sam and Charlie or Katniss and Peeta.

35: Name a book you consider to be terribly underrated

I don’t even know. I keep reading books that are fairly popular.

To be honest, I suppose Dawn Treader. It’s everyone’s least favourite book in the Narnia series, and I think that’s complete bollocks.

36: Name a book you consider to be terribly overrated

Simon vs The Homosapions. I need to re-read it, but when I read it it was fairly average, and everyone keeps going on about it.

37: How many books are actually in your bookshelf/shelves right now?

Too many to count.

38: What language do you (most often) read in?

English.

39: Name one of your favourite childhood books

Miss. Pigglewiggle. And the Magic Treehouse books

40: Name one of your favourite books from your teenage years

Harry Potter

41: Do you own a library card? How often do you use it?

I do not.

42: Which was the best book you had to read in school?

Fried Green Tomatoes.

43: Are you the kind of person who reads several books at once or the kind of person who can only read one book at a time?

Hmm, multiple at a time. I get bored of some books so I take a break and read another one.

44: Do you like to listen to music when you read?

Hmm sometimes. But I prefer complete silence. Which is why I don’t read very often, I don’t like complete silence.

45: What is your favourite thing to eat when you read?

Nothing?

46: What is your favourite thing to drink when you read?

Water.

47: What do you do to get out of a reading slump?

Find a terrible, easy read.

48: Where is your favourite place to read?

Couch.

49: When is your favourite time to read?

Middle of the day, or right before bed.

50: Why do you love to read?

why does anyone

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