Tag: gibsons

Adventures in Book Hunting: Volume 7

Adventures in Book Hunting: Volume 7

by maddison37055 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In Which We Have a Panic Attack in Gibson’s and Buy Books to Make Us Feel Better

I had a doctors appointment last week. Two, actually. Doctors appointments not only make me notoriously anxious, but it was raining. Heavy rain and/or thunderstorms make me very anxious. So. Thus the panic attack.

I had been waiting literally weeks to go to Gibson’s; I had a whole list of things coming out basically every week in July, as well as a full stamp card (good for 20% off your whole purchase when you use it!) so I was trying to wait until most everything was released, and I could go all at once to spend said stamp card. However, after falling ill *again*, *just continuously sick for like six weeks if we’re being honest*… *but I really hate going to the doctor*…I ended up at the doctor’s office several times in one week, in order to have a bunch of useless tests run on me. So naturally, I had to reward myself for a job well done by going to Gibson’s (and the following day, Target!).

I came armed with the list, as per the usual. On it this week were:

  • The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay
  • Dream On by Angie Hockman
  • Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
  • The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  • Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee

It should be noted that like three of these were not even out yet at the time that I made it to Gibson’s. 😦 I was off by a day for Just Like Home and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, and Booked on a Feeling didn’t come out for yet another week.

So my only hope was to get the first two on my list, and luckily, they were both in stock, because Gibson’s is the absolute best.

The worst part about this trip was that it was absolutely POURING outside and as previously mentioned, I *cannot* with the heavy rain. I had to drive around the block twice just to get a spot, and I was lucky enough to get one right in front of the building…but the parking meter was therefore very far away from my car, in the rain…and I had to make the very difficult decision to not pay for my parking (sorry, city of Concord) and just pray that no cop wanted to be out in this weather, either. The whole time I was inside, I was stressing about this, as I should be – so I didn’t spend nearly as much time browsing as I typically would!

Fortunately enough, in the romance section and right in my line of sight was From Bad to Cursed, by Lana Harper: the sequel to Payback’s a Witch that I absolutely adored earlier this year! I had no idea it was already out, so that was my bonus book for this trip. I was honestly even more excited for that one than I was the other two.

Here’s my whole haul, sans rain:

I already digested The Pallbearers Club, and yes, it is just as weird as you think it is. I was left unsure how to feel about it, because I think the writing was top notch, but I still dragged through it. I liked it, but also I didn’t. I’m sure that helps inform your reading choices, hahaha.

Dream On looks so stinkin’ cute; I wasn’t going to read it but that cover has me.

We’ll see how that one goes!

So after a ~complete panic attack~, I left with three books, no parking ticket (!!), and some peace of mind. Thanks Gibson’s ❤

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

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Adventures in Book Hunting: Volume 4

Adventures in Book Hunting: Volume 4

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In which we go to Gibson’s for Independent Bookstore Day!

Indie Bookstore Day!!! One of the best days of the year, in my opinion. I think I’ve been going since roundabout 2018, where I must have heard about it from some family or friend or another and convinced my mom to drive me to Concord (I didn’t have a license then so, like, this was a huge feat). I won a raffle that year and earned myself a most fabulous Out of Print pouch of cats from bookstores across the country. Still have it!

But even more so than the merch, I go to support my very favorite bookstores on what we hope will be one of their most successful days each year. It’s a way to show some love to the spot you love to haunt most and keeps you supplied with reading material. I come ready to SPEND.

Going into it this year I had a relatively small list, only because so many of the books I want right now are still a few weeks out from publication! I don’t know why I’m so ahead of the game right now. But there are a couple books I’d like including:

  • Devil House by John Darnielle
  • Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto
  • Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
  • Secret Identity by Alex Saguro

And of course, the merch. Can’t do IBD without some merch.

But this year I had to work during the day and couldn’t get there until this evening…so my lovely auntie snatched me one of those tote bags!!

Just look how fabulous. I’m a sucker for a tote bag. In fact, I think all the ones I still have in my possession are from bookstores or IBD (I have some merch from 2018, 2019, 2021, and now, 2022! We don’t talk about 2020…).

So my boyfriend, Nate, and I set out in the evening for Gibson’s and made a night out of it.

I got EVERYTHING on my list, which ROCKS. I found the vast majority of it in the mystery section (excluding Devil House which is currently a staff pick, one of the best endorsements a book can get), which surprised me, as I don’t think I typically pick up books that are exclusively “mystery”. I think usually my mysteries have some horror or thriller aspects to them.

And much to my delight, Finlay Donovan and Dial A both sound absolutely hysterical. I honestly picked them based on their covers and that I had heard of them before, but I found them on a random list of “books like Only Murders in the Building“. I think they’re both going to fit the unlikely detective prompt of the 52 Book Club 2022 challenge quite well, if anyone still needs a read for that! I think I filled mine with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Even Nate got a book! He doesn’t typically splurge on reading material, but every once in a great while I can drag him to the bookstore and he finds something he wants. This time it was The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Babish of the Binging with Babish fame recommended the book in a recent video he watched (along with The Wok, which we desperately want…I can’t even imagine how many foods regularly eaten in our houaehold would be easier with a wok). He likes to cook and does most of the cooking in our house, so he splurged the $50 price tag and went for it. We were perusing it when we got home, and it definitely seems to have been a worthy investment.

Please ignore my bad grammar above…text speak and all that. XD

In the end, I got a full stamp card (good for 20% off your whole purchase, which I promptly gave to Nate behind me even though it hurt my heart) and an *almost* full additional one. We got five raffle tickets between us for some seriously awesome merch, gift cards, and gift baskets and even a personalized shopping experience at the bookstore during closed hours! Which, of course, would make any little introverted bookworm’s heart go wheeeee! There were five different raffle options, so we just stuck one ticket in each. Cross your fingers for me.

Here’s my whole haul! Not too much as to break the bank, but enough to keep me well read for the next few weeks or so. 😉

If you haven’t gone before, keep your eyes peeled for IBD festivities at your local bookstore next April! And if you did attend, where did you go? What did you get??

Have the very best weekend, friends!

Adventures in Book Hunting, Volume 2

Adventures in Book Hunting, Volume 2

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In Which We Order Way Too Many Books Online During Gibson’s February Sale

AAAAH! The February Sale!! It was a sound-the-alarm moment earlier last week when I saw that it was time for Gibson’s Bookstore’s incredible 25% off sale – I haven’t book shopped in quite a while, and honestly, my reading really slowed through February as I picked up some crafts and binge watched all of Disenchantment with my boyfriend. Which, if you haven’t watched it, is a must-see. But a 25% off sale when it comes to books is ALWAYS a good excuse to stock up!

Here in New Hampshire, the February sale fell on the same weekend as a pretty big snow storm. Where I was, we saw about 12 inches of powdery fluff on Friday…so I opted to shop online this time! Less people-y, and equally good for browsing with Gibson’s newer website. I really love the setup, perfect for browsing…almost as good as being there! And I say almost because I can’t actually smell them through the screen, so.

Having just written my book list on spring books I can’t wait to read, I opted to mostly stock up on those this time around. I thought Gwendy’s Final Task was pushed back to a March release, but it was on Gibson’s shelves, so obviously I had to grab that! That’ll be my weekend book while my boyfriend is gone to visit his family. I’ve always found that series to be a quick but thought-provoking read…it may only take me an hour or two get through, but the concept sits with me for a long time after. I’m really excited to see Chizmar and King come back together on this final installment of the series, though Gwendy’s Magic Feather made me a fan of Chizmar all on his own.

I also pre-ordered The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James. I loved Broken Girls but skipped The Sun-Down Motel… but I might go back and pick that one up if this turns out to be just as good. The concept for this one just sounded so good and right up my alley. It sounds like a movie I’d like to watch, so hopefully it makes a dang good book, too.

Now, I also grabbed The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley…which wasn’t actually on my pre-order list, but it just came out, and I’ve been loving the cover. It kind of reminds me of Riley Sager (and we all know how much I love his writing, so). They got me with the Front Tables display on their main page.

JUST LOOK HOW CREEPY.

Anyways, I thought I had previously read the description and skipped it for a reason, but when I reread the synopsis, I was all over it. I’m actually super excited for this one, my first Lucy Foley book! I’ll keep you posted. 😉

And yeah, I have no shelf control, so I went and browsed the romance section of their site, too. I LOVE that everything is split up into different tropes and scenarios for easy browsing: if you’re actually a romance lover, chances are you become pretty particular about what you enjoy at some point. I read a lot of different tropes, but there’s others I’m just not interested in (ie. historical romance…no thanks). I went straight for the romcom section to see what I could find. I had to get like five pages in just to find something I hadn’t already read or voted off the island like Bridgerton (XD), but eventually I came upon How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan. I knew the name sounded familiar but couldn’t really place it; turns out I’ve had her debut, Ten Rules for Faking It, on my NetGalley shelf since like, 2020. I know, but I’ve told you it’s bad! I’m so behind. Anyways, How to Love Your Neighbor sounds like HGTV meets the Hallmark channel, and gives off major Tools of Engagement vibes, so you’re damn right I bought it. Looks like I’ll be reading her second book before her sequel, hahaha.

And thus concludes the exorbitant amount of books I purchased during the February sale!! I selected that they should send me just one package, meaning I would have to wait for Simone St. James’ newest to release, but because Gibson’s is awesome, three of my books are already in the mail. 🙂 I literally can’t speak highly enough of the staff at Gibson’s. Book people just get it, and the booksellers there are the best book people. Even if you missed it last weekend, give gibsonsbookstore.com some love! I’m willing to be you’ll love the setup of their online shopping, if it’s just too people-y out to get there yourself.

Have an awesome weekend, and thanks for enjoying this book hunting adventure with me. 🙂