April – May Book Haul: More Manga, More Fun!
Welcome to another book haul! I would have waited till June, but there were too many good books I picked up in April and May so I figured let’s roundup the book purchases now. I’m still on the journey of unhauling books and working on collecting some books I actually enjoyed reading in the past. As you can read by the title, this book haul is going to include a lot of manga and graphic novels. I originally started collecting series back in high school and then stopped. Now I have some income to actually start collecting series again. I’ve been mainly focusing most of my efforts on finishing up the series I started long ago.
Ironically, I just did a post about decluttering your book collection. I ended up going to 2nd & Charles to trade in a ton of books and as a result, was able to get store credit so I could pick up books on my TBR. I’ve been all about strategic planning so I focusing on buying when there are good book sales. I still need to get an additional bookshelf, but hopefully, I can make that happen by the end of summer.
Enough chatter, let’s get onto the haul.
Bought
Happy Marriage?! Vol 3,5-6 by Maki Enjoji – This is a josei rom-com I read back in college. Now that the physical copies are at bookstores, I’m trying to collect the whole series.
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori – A shojo manga classic! I own most of the volumes but need the last few books in the series. I really want to do a re-read of these books.
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Retelling of Little Women by Rex Ogle – I love the newer middle-grade graphic novels that are being released. This one was on sale for $4! I like retellings of classics.
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins – I’m a sucker for books about books!
Once Upon a Sunset by Tif Marcelo – This was a bargain book buy at Barnes & Noble. I’m always down to read contemporary romance.
Summer Hours at the Robber’s Library by Sue Halpern – I also like stories set in libraries. This novel seems like it’s a deeply emotional book.
Lore: Wicked Mortals by Aaron Mahnke – I’m a big fan of the podcast and this was a bargain buy.
Orange: The Complete Collection 1 by Ichigo Takano – This is a manga I always recommend for people that like a slice of life manga. It’s pretty pricey at $20, but with store credit, I paid nothing for it.
Book Love by Debbie Tung – This a book I previously read at my library and it was only $3. It’s a gift book filled with comics about the bibliophile lifestyle.
Juana and the Dragonewt’s Seven Kingdoms Vol. 1 by Kiyohisa Tanaka – This was a cover buy and a bargain book. It’s a fantasy series involving dragons. I’ll probably review this one for a future edition of Comic Corner Roundup.
Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter Vol.1-2 by Reia – I don’t know too much about this series but I always hear about it. Plus at $3 dollars a volume, it couldn’t hurt to try these books. This manga follows a woman who gets reincarnated into an otome game she had been playing.
Clip & Camp by Kayla Miller – These graphic novels sounds like a light-hearted and fun summer read. I always hear good things about these books.
Living Room Matsunaga San Vol.5 by Keiko Iwashita – This is an ongoing series and I’ve enjoyed it so much I always anticipate every new installment of the story.
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon – A modern retelling with an enemies-to-lovers plot? Sign me up!
Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga – This is a YA contemporary novel with a heartwarming story of music, family, and friendship. The synopsis had me hooked so I wanted to try it out.
The Girl with the Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson – This book has been on my TBR plus I’ve heard it’s an exciting read. It has a historical setting, nonstop martial arts action, magic, and a mixture of folklore.
Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Anderson – I read this book a long time ago and love the Sarah Scribbles comics. Her one-shot comics are relatable and funny.
The Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse – A cute middle-grade graphic novel that caught my eye while shopping at Target. The main character Effie discovers magic runs in the family and adventures ensue.
Living Room Matsunaga San Vol.4 by Keiko Iwashita
Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku by Fujita Vol.1-3 – Got these on store credit! I loved the anime for series and really wanted to read the manga.
Tales from Harrow County #1-3 by Tyler Crook – Turns out that these are part of a spinoff series from Harrow County. They look like spooky fun!
Abbott 1973 #2 by Saladin Ahmed- I thought I was buying issue one but I ended up with issue two instead. I loved the Abbott comic so much! So hyped for the sequel.
Spector Inspectors #1 by Bowen McCurdy and Kaitlyn Musto- This comic is giving me Scooby-Doo gang vibes and it looked like a lot of fun.
Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett – As I mentioned in the last haul, cozy mysteries have become my jam as of late so when I went to 2nd & Charles I tried to pick up a majority of bookish-themed cozies (which you’ll see in this stack).
A Ghoul’s Guide to Love and Murder by Victoria Laurie
Tails, You Lose (Witch City Mystery #2) by Carol J. Perry
Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras – A Latinx summer love story which I always see recommended I discovered this author a couple of years ago and really want to read more of her books.
*These next batches of purchases came from my trip to Vault of Midnight with some book club members.
Alice In Leatherland #1 by Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli – A cover buy. I’ve read a bit of the synopsis, but want to go into the story blind. I feel like most of my comics as cover buys or ask the store clerks for advice on what’s good.
Witchblood #1 by Matthew Erman & Lisa Sterle – The store clerk told me this was a good buy. The cover art gave me The Lost Boys vibes. She described it as a Wild West story about a witch trying to get away from a band of bloodthirsty biker vampires.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #1 by V. Ram – Another series suggested by another store clerk. This series is set in Mumbai and has some magica realism accorinding to its synopsis.
The Princess and The Frog – I love Little Golden Books so I bought this.
Brave Chef Brianna by Sam Sykes – I really enjoyed the first issue of this so I decided to buy this trade paperback since it’s a standalone work.
Giveaway Wins
Not much to say, but these were highly anticipated reads on my TBR. So happy to get the chance to read them!
ARCs/Review Copies
You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith – I loved reading the first installment in this series Don’t Read The Comments which is centered around the internet and the world of gaming. I am looking forward to it.
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun – I like a good rom-com. Stay tuned for a review of this book.
The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison – This is Grandison’s sophomore novel which I thought was stronger than her debut. Review to come in July!
Quincredible Vol. 2: The Hero Within by Kelly Fitzpatrick, Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu – Quincredible Vol.2 packs a punch like the first installment of the series. Once again, readers follow Quinn on his journey to become a hero and is faced with a new set of obstacles in his journey. (Review)
The Spineless Porcupine: Why Our Difference Are Superpowers by Say Yang – The Spineless Porcupine is a story about Mattie, a spinless porcupine who is ostracized from her community and ends up being banished from her own clan. Mattie has been taught her whole life that her differences make her weak, but she soon learns that it can be her strength and own uniqueness. (Review)
The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim – The book takes readers through New Delhi as Noreen befriends Kabir and he takes her to various sites around the area. I appreciated the heavily descriptive writing at these parts because it paints a vivid portrait of these sites mentioned in the book. (Review)
Quincredible Vol. 1 Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu (Contributor), Kelly Fitzpatrick – For the most part, this story is grounded for a superhero tale. Quinn is a teenager who’s nerdy, trying to fit in, has a good heart, and wants to make a change. He’s tired of seeing the world’s divisiveness around him, and I appreciated the social commentary of real-world issues tied into the story. (Review)
The Sprite and The Gardner by Joe Whitt & Rii Abrego – This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a friendship between Elena, a gardener, and Wisteria, a sprite. In this world, sprites used to be the sole caretaker of gardens, but once things shifted to the modern age, there was less of a use for them. (Review)
Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson – Sir Simon can be equated to the like of Casper, the Friendly Ghost as the main protagonist. He’s lively, cute in appearance, humorous, and takes his business of haunting very seriously. (Review)
That concludes my April-May book haul! What books did you buy these past months? What books have you recently added to your TBR? Tell me in the comment section below.
Wow, wow, wow! Love the look of that omnibus edition of Orange. But its dwarfed with all the other amazing finds you’ve got. And congrats on doing it all with store credit and swaps. Does this bring you a lot closer to finishing collecting on some series, or just move in that direction a little?
The omnibus of Orange actually looks pretty small here, as you said, but it’s actually a bit bigger. I am actually a lot closer to finishing a lot of series from when I started to collect years ago. The only problem is, along with a lot of other stuff these days, that a lot of manga is in high demand so I’m finding a lot of stuff is out of stock and have to wait on reprints. It’s a nice feeling to finally complete a series.
Enjoyed the post. I also have a copy of Josephine Against the Sea, but it was the version published through Blue Banyon Books, so it’s under the title My Fishy Stepmom.
I like that title for the book as well, it’s very fitting for the story.