Saturday, July 4, 2015

The Book Haul To End All Book Hauls (Part 1)


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve acquired recently.

I got so many books that my order had to be shipped in 7 separate boxes. They’re going to be arriving over the next few weeks. I’ve got box #1 already. Here’s what was in it:



The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks – E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club. Her father's "bunny rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Landau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society. Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew's lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done. 
Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.



The Silver Linings Playbook – Matthew Quick

An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G.

The Silver Linings Playbook is the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife’s betrayal.

During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy.

When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year’s Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their “contract.” All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining.

In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat’s mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.



Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.



Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.



Magonia – Maria Dahvana Headley

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. 
Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. 
So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name. 
Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia. 
Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

26 comments:

  1. I keep meaning to read "The Silver Linings Playbook" but I haven't found the time yet. Happy reading!

    Tsuki’s STS

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    1. I’m hoping to read it this month. It’s been on my TBR list forever.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. Some of these are on my TBR list too :) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl looks like a good book.

    Serena / www.ramblingsofanotherunistudent.blogspot.com

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    1. It looks like a good movie, too. I’m hoping to read the book before seeing the movie.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. I loved the Silver Linings Playbook movie and should read the book! Me and Earl and the Dying Girl I also want to read since it's becoming a movie! Enjoy!

    My Stack

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    1. I heard that The Silver Linings Playbook movie is really good. I should probably see it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. Great haul! I really loved Silver Linings Playbook. And I've got Me and Earl and The Dying Girl and Magonia on my TBR list! Hope you enjoy them all :)

    My STS: https://thebookbrief.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/stacking-the-shelves-the-sunday-post-3/

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    1. Everybody seems to love The Silver Linings Playbook. I have high expectations.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. The cover to Magonia is soooo pretty! I can't wait to see what else arrives! Have a great weekend!
    http://andreaheltsley.blogspot.com

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  6. So many books! I've had Silver Linings Playbook forever and still need to read it. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda are two I really want to read. Great haul - Enjoy!

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    1. I’ve never ordered this many books at once. All but one of the boxes are here now, and it was very impressive to see leaning towers of books stacked all over the floor.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  7. I REALLY want to read Silver Linings Playbook. The movie was so good! Happy reading!

    Cheryl @ I ♥ Fictional People

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  8. Dude- did you win the lottery!?! SEVEN boxes!? That is epic! These are all on my TBR, and I even own a few (Simon Vs, Me and Earl), but I sadly haven't gotten to them yet. I have read Magonia, it has quite a pretty cover! Now I can't wait to see boxes 2-7 ;) Hope you enjoy these!!

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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  9. Great haul! I loved Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It's so funny! I really want to check out Silver Linings Playbook because I loved the movie. Have a great week!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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    1. I’m looking forward to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. I’ve heard so many great things about it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. OOh very nice! These are all new to me reads! Hope you enjoy each and every one of them!

    Here's my STS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  11. Great haul! 7 boxes??? Lucky you!!!
    I cannot wait to read Simon VS and Magonia. I've had those on my TBR for a while now and I hope to get to them soon.
    Happy reading!

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  12. How'd you get so many boxes?? I really want to read me and Earl and the Dying girl because i've heard so much about it. Can't wait to see the rest of the boxes!

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    1. I comparison shopped to find the cheapest books. The books came from 4 different websites, and somehow that added up to 7 boxes.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. Great haul! I can't wait to read Magonia! Seven boxes isn't too much! Ha ha! A couple weeks ago I ordered books from four different places, but they each came in at different times. I think I ordered like 18 books, so I can't judge. Have a great week!

    My StS

    Lizzie @ Lizzie the Sarcastic Blonde

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    1. I hope you enjoy Magonia. My books also came from 4 different places. I’m not sure why that added up to 7 boxes.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete