July-August Book Haul: “Booked At The Beach” Edition
Wow! I can’t believe we’re already in Autumn! A new season means it’s time for a brand new book haul! I’ve been busy working to complete my Goodreads goal for 2022 and I’m so close to the finish line. I think I may even read more than my intended goal number. I’ve been cutting way on buying books until I went to the annual Detroit Book Festival which meant I stocked up on a lot of new and even some vintage books all at good prices.
I’ve also been playing a lot of catch-up with ARCs and trying to read more of my own graphic novels. It’s so hard though because I keep getting distracted by brand new series! We’ve only got three months left of the year so it’s crunch time now.
Now onto the book haul!
Bought
Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Vol. 6 by Fujita- The last volume of the omnibus collection of this Josei series. It’s a story about love, romance, and nerd life. It’s very comedic and I love the couples featured in the story.
Living Room Mastunaga-San Vol. 11 by Keiko Iwashita –Also the final volume of this series! Now I can binge-read the whole series. I love this cohabitation romance series and the character development over the course of the story.
Spy x Family Vol. 3-4, 6-7 by Tatsuya Endo – This story follows a spy who has to “build a family” to execute a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as a daughter and the woman he agrees to be in a marriage with are a mind reader and an assassin.
Flying Witch Vol. 3 & 4 by Chihiro Ishizuka – This story follows Makoto, a witch in training, and her daily adventures of trying to hone her skills. It’s a simple slice-of-life manga where fantasy and magic meet a mundane routine.
Vampire Breath & the Haunted School by R.L. Stine – Nothing screams spooky than the classic children’s horror series Goosebumps! I saw these at the festival and picked them up immediately. It’s so hard to find the novels with the original covers.
All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani – A novel about two Black teenagers that explores love, family, heartbreak, betrayal, and the power of healing, in prose.
Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh – A story of family, hope, and survival, inspired by the author’s mother’s real-life experiences during the Korean War.
The Freedom Race by Lucinda Roy – A speculative fiction set novel in a future U.S. that has regressed back to a new slavery system after facing a second Civil War and climate change. I heard this is a pretty powerful read.
The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown – A graphic novel about a young woman who is haunted by the ghost of her conjoined twin set during the turn of the century.
Light It Up by Kekla Magoon – Told in a series of vignettes from multiple viewpoints, this is a layered story about injustice and strength.
Home Home by Lisa Allen-Agostini – An award-winning novel about a girl on the verge of losing herself and her unlikely journey to recovery after she is removed from anything and everyone she knows to be home.
The Backstagers Vol. 3 by James Tynion IV and Walter Baiamonte – The Backstagers is a series about a teen named Jory who joins the stage crew at school at his new school and discovers the magic of the theatre backstage.
A vintage manga magazine from the 90s with one of my favorite series Kare Kano on the cover!
ARCs/Review Copies
Behind Her Lives by Briana Cole – I love a good mystery that feels like a puzzle and Behind really delivers on that aspect. Reading through this book had me struggle to put the puzzle pieces together as I worked along with the main protagonist to solve the mystery. (Review)
Drawing Outside The Lines by Susan J. Austin – Drawing Outside The Lines is a historical fiction novel about the reimagined childhood of Julia Morgan. Julia is an American architect and engineer who designed more than 700 buildings in California during her long and prolific career. (Review)
Fibbed by Elizabeth Agyemang – Nana, the main character, is sent to spend a summer in Ghana at her grandmother’s because of her tendency to tell “elaborate stories”. Once there she finds herself getting into even more trouble and then comes face-to-face with the legendary trickster and storyteller master himself, Ananse. (Review)
Love in the Age of Dragons by Fatima R. Henson – In this post-apocalyptic world the people of Terra live underground and try to survive with very limited resources. Ayana is a powerful heroine who struggles to do her best with all the knowledge she’s learned from her mentor. But can she save the day when imminent danger is around the corner? (Review)
Kinetics by Multimind – Kinetics is a short but fast-paced novella with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme with some surprising twists. (Review)
That concludes my July-August 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.
Wowee! Good haul and I’m going to recommend that backstage one to my friend whose 11yo is getting into graphic novels (do you think it’s suitable?). I have been going a bit over the top in our new local indie bookshop – I featured my buys so far mid-month on my blog but have been in again since – oops!
Backstagers I think it’s aimed at more of a YA audience, but I think middle-grade readers may be able to handle it too. I gotta cut back on book spending, but I couldn’t resist the deals at the book festival.