So, in case you missed it, I had a birthday a couple weeks ago, which means … you guessed it … MORE BOOKS.

Because I obviously didn’t have enough, and if you can’t buy more books for your birthday, when can you?! Also, it’s probably the only time of year my husband actually gives me permission to buy more books without complaining. Okay, with minimal complaining. It was also pretty coincidental that my library had a book sale lined up with my birthday, so … even MORE books! Happy birthday to meeeee.

And because we’re all horribly bookish people that get excited over pretty things … I figured I’d share my haul!

Also, I totally did this in the wrong order because I put my whole haul away and got my bookshelves all organized and set up before I realized I hadn’t taken pictures of them and had to pull them all out again. My bad!

I actually already owned The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue on Kindle, but I found that and Three Dark Crowns in my library’s sale with signed bookplates, and I had to buy them. So now they’ll be permanent facets in my collection, obviously. Cuckoo Song and Son were also library sale finds (though, I still need The Messenger and The Giver to complete my series … because somehow, my copy of The Giver is AWOL?!)

The rest are all books that have basically been recommended that I read. I’ve been wanting to read Nevernight for a while, but now I’m thinking I’ll wait for Darkdawn next year and buy that and Godsgrave at the same time and just binge the whole series. Wolf by Wolf and its sequel sounded great, as did The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, but because I’m silly and don’t pay attention all that well, I bought books 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, so The Evolution of Mara Dyer will be on my next haul list. Also, of course I have to read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.

I’ve had my eyes on this series for, like, a year? The third book, Firestarter, comes out in January and I managed to snag an eARC, so I figured it was time to buy them. Plus, this picture doesn’t really do the covers justice. They’re all shiny and gorgeous and I am obviously 100% buying Firestarter in hardcover to complete the collection, and can you blame me?!

I’ve read exactly zero David Baldacci books, even though everyone in the area seems to really enjoy them. But these are YA and they sounded really good, so they are now mine. Temporarily. There’s a very lovely woman at the library who is a huge fan of David Baldacci and hasn’t read them yet, so these lovelies are actually going to her after I read them, so she can add them to her massive (and rather impressive) collection of David Baldacci books. How could I say no to that?

I have never read Maggie Stiefvater book, but Cait (aka Paper Fury) recommends her at every opportunity, and I happened to find Shiver at my library’s sale and it sounds fabulous, so it’s on! I’m also currently reading The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder, and I’m really a fan of neurodivergent protagonists, so I had to grab The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Ever since I read The Cruel Prince, I’ve also been meaning to take a look at Holly Black’s other work, and I stumbled across White Cat and it sounded so good!

I also really wanted some lighter reads because, wow, I read a lot of dark stuff. So I picked up The Lives of Tao and Bones and Bourbon, which are still both incredibly dark, but also funny. Because life is about balance, obviously.

Never let it be said that people don’t judge books by their covers. Okay, maybe they shouldn’t, but we’re all human(ish), at least, and it happens. Flame in the Mist is GORGEOUS, okay?! The cover makes me ridiculously happy, and I refuse to buy Smoke in the Sun until there’s a matching cover. Also, I’ve heard great things about the book or I wouldn’t have bothered, either, but LOOK AT THAT COVER!

Insanity also looked really interesting, and something about that cover just grabbed my attention. It’s a really long series if I do end up enjoying it, but I figured I’d give it a try.

Also, it’s that time of year! So of course I picked up some appropriate October reads. My daughter and I will be starting City of Ghosts this week as our joint spooky read.

@NightWorms is also hosting a Halloween Read of The Halloween Tree, and I’m so there for that. I love me some Ray Bradbury, and I’ve never read this before.

Also, remember that whole I don’t read romance much thing? Well, I have a guilty pleasure for witch cozy mysteries, and this felt along the same veins. I have so many reservations, okay?! But they were at my library sale, and I figured I’d give it a try because they sounded funny and like they’d make for some fun, light reads. Which I’ll need in-between scaring the crap out of myself with my Halloween reads (which are mostly on my Kindle, ha).

Have you read any of these books yet? What did you think? What are your Halloween reads this year?