Happy Friday, everyone!
Since I’m very behind on tags and needed something I could write quickly in the midst of all my frantic studying, I decided to go ahead and do the Anonymous Alcoholics Tag today! I was tagged by Nefeli at BiblioNebula, and if you haven’t already, go check out her amazing blog! She joined the blogging community only recently, but honestly, the way she writes makes it hard to believe that she hasn’t been at this for years – her posts are always so insightful and interesting!
Also, if you tagged me in something, I will get to you, I promise! I have a lot on my plate right now, but I absolutely love doing tags and definitely haven’t forgotten you! I just want to do all of your amazing questions justice 😊
Now, though, let’s get to my not so very anonymous bookish confessions 😁
What do you like about buying new books?
Having new stuff to read!! I usually read my books immediately after I buy them, so I actually rarely have a physical TBR pile. [At the moment, though, I still have about ten unread books lying around 😅 They’ve been piling up because I’ve been so busy with exam preparation, and it’s making me extremely anxious! Seriously, how do you guys deal with these huge TBR piles?]
Usually, though, buying new books means I can immerse myself in a new story and reread it as often as I want to, since there’s no library that wants the book back!
How often do you buy new books?
Not that often. I usually binge-buy them twice a year, once the university semester and exams have ended. That’s when I have the most time to read! If I really want a specific book, though, I will make an exception and buy that whenever I feel like it 😊 And I also get a ton of new books in December – most people know books are my favorite type of present, and my birthday and Christmas are both great opportunities to give them to me!
Bookstore or online book shopping: which do you prefer?
Theoretically, bookstores, but practically, I end up shopping online a lot 😁 There just isn’t a huge selection of English books in bookstores here, and if I want a German book, I usually get it from the library.
Do you have a favorite bookshop?
It closed down about three years ago 😥😥 It was this local indie place that also happened to have an extensive owl collection spread throughout the shop. It was awesome!
But I will also always have fond memories of the Barnes & Noble where I stood in line waiting for the midnight releases of Harry Potter, back when my family lived in Florida. It’s hard to top the nostalgia of that place; I spent so many hours just browsing through the shelves!
Or one of the small indie bookstores I found when I was studying abroad in Virginia – the owner and I hit it off immediately!
Also, there’s this absolutely amazing bookstore in Oxford that I’d love to transfer to my neighborhood 😍 I am obsessed with it, and it easily beats any other bookstore I’ve ever been to!
Do you pre-order books?
Sometimes, but not that often. To give you an idea – so far this year, I have preordered two: Katie Wismer’s The Anti-Virginity Pact (I beta-read this, so obviously I needed a finished copy) and Suzanne Collins’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (I love everything this woman writes, so I needed it ASAP) 😊
Do you have a monthly buying limit?
Nope! Like I said, I usually only buy books when I intend to read them, so I never really go crazy with my book buying 😉
How big is your wishlist?
Again, not too long. I update it quite frequently so that it only encompasses books I immediately want to read and am in the mood for. I just went and checked, and my amazon wishlist currently has 19 books on it. If we’re talking about books I am interested in but that haven’t made it onto the wishlist, though – that’s a very different story 😅 There’s pretty much an infinite number of those!
Which three books from your wishlist do you wish to own right now?
Interference by Sue Burke, Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb, and Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen! I actually have very stupid reasons for not owning them yet: Interference is out of print and pretty expensive, I haven’t been able to find a copy of Royal Assassin that matches my copy of Assassin’s Apprentice, and I’ve been waiting for my family to realize I want Bad Monkey for years, but by now it’s so far down on the list that they apparently never see it… I guess I’ll have to take action once I’ve diminished those other books I’ve still got lying around 😂
Oh, and I also have to give an honorable mention to Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim. It’s not technically on my wishlist, but that’s because I need it so badly that I know I’ll get it even if I don’t consult the list 😉 After all, Althea from Althea Reads told me that it includes one of my favorite tropes of all time (girl disguises herself as boy to gain access to something that is forbidden to her)…
And that’s it for this tag! I hope you enjoyed my answers – I’d love to hear what you thought of them 😉
Also, since I know a lot of people have already done this, I won’t be tagging anyone specifically. But if you haven’t done this tag yet, thought it was interesting, and made it all the way to the end of this post, consider yourself tagged!
And if you decide to do this or have already, leave a link to your post down below! I’d love to see how similar our reading habits are!
A Book Owl's Corner 
I loved reading your answers to these questions, Naemi! I can relate to not usually having a physical TBR. I’ve been focusing on my library loans lately, though, and all of my unread books are slowly stacking up…… 😬😅
I finished Spin the Dawn recently, and loved it! The mythological elements, as well as the aspects that pitched it as similar to Mulan, were all really interesting to read about. Can’t wait to see what you think of it! 😊 Thank you for another great post 💛
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I’m so glad I’m not the only one! When I hear about some people having entire TBR-shelves, I can’t relate at all – that many unread books would make me feel so overwhelmed! 😅 And yay to libraries!! 😊
I’m also really happy to hear you enjoyed Spin the Dawn – it makes me even more excited to pick it up! 🤗
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Ahhhh we have two Blackwell’s stores in Scotland now and they’re two of my favourite bookshops too!! (and yess Spin the Dawn!!! I think the sequel might be out now too or it’s just about to be released)
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I’m so jealous of those bookstores!! 😂 They should really think about branching out internationally, if you ask me 😊
And I am looking forward to Spin the Dawn SO much – you definitely sold it well! 😉 In fact, I might just buy myself a copy as a post-exam reward, even though I do also still have a lot of other stuff to read 😁
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Yessss!!! Do it!!!!
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Thank you for your kind words, Naemi! I loved reading your answers, it seems we have similar book buying habits.
The struggle of finding a copy of a book in a series that matches the ones you already own is real and extremely relatable. I might have to add Spin The Dawn to my tbr, since girl disguises herself as boy to gain access to something that is forbidden to her is one of my favourite tropes, too.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it and could relate! Thanks again for tagging me ❤
The matching copies thing is a real problem. I already have so many series that don’t match at all, yet somehow, I still try to keep it from happening! However, I really think I’ll have to lower my expectations, because at this rate, I’ll never continue with the series 🙄 And I absolutely love Assassin’s Apprentice, so that’s definitely not allowed to happen!!
And that trope is just the best! I can’t get enough of it! I really hope we both end up liking Spin the Dawn if you do decide to pick it up 😊
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I love books so much, I even made a blog about them! I prefer the library though, because I don’t want to have old books I read piled up with nowhere to go. I found your blog, and I like it! Hope you continue with your great work. Oh and you can find me at inandiroblog.wordpress.com 🙂
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I love libraries, too! But I also reread a ton, so I also love having my personal collection so I can just grab a book whenever I want to 😉
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Great blog! I love Suzanne Collins too! Her novels are dark yet fun to read!
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I’m so happy you liked it! 😊 And that you adore Suzanne Collins, too – I love when stories get a little darker!
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Same! You should try the Selection! I have a feeling you will like it
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I have read The Selection! I was obsessed with it when I was in 9th grade 😁 I’m not the biggest fan of The Heir and The Crown, but the original trilogy will always have a special place in my heart 😊
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I totally agree!! I don’t like Eadlyn very much, TBH
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Also, my birthday is in December as well!
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December is definitely the best birthday month 😁😉
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Agreed!!!
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I love your responses to this! I’m the same way with book buying, and I never really go overboard with anything! I’m pretty good with not buying too much haha
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It’s great to hear that I’m not as alone on this as I thought! I guess I’ve watched too many hauls on BookTube that gave me the impression that most bookish people seem to go a lot more crazy with book buying than I do 😂
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Okay WOW! That’s some discipline, Naemi! I almost NEVER read books as soon as I buy them! 🤣 And that’s precisely the reason why there are soo sooo manyyy books on my shelf right now, staring me down – filling me with guilt as I re-read the same few books for the hundredth time! 🤷🏻♀️🤣
HEYY ME TOOOO!! Usually, physical shopping for me is limited to a few bookstores – used and new – whenever I visit the nearby cities. Otherwise, AMAZON ALL THE WAYYY!! 😍😍😍
Awww!! I am so sorry your fav bookshop closed down! But that shop in Oxford looks MAGICAL!! It was my dream once, three years ago, to study English Lit in Oxford. I didn’t make it past the interview round though! 🥺🤷🏻♀️
LOVED READING YOUR ANSWERS, hon!! 😍😍😍😍
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Gosh, I couldn’t deal with that at all – I’m impressed you manage the guilt so well! 😂😂 But I do love re-reading, so I don’t think you should feel too bad about those reading habits, either 😉😁
The Oxford bookshop is sooo cool! Studying at Oxford would have been absolutely amazing – the city is just so inspiring! You could go sit in the same spots as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Lewis Carroll did and write 😍😍 And the buildings have such a Hogwarts-feel to them! 😍 Gosh, I have to stop thinking about it so that we don’t end up too disappointed about what we got instead… I guess I’ll just have to go back and visit someday 😊
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What a fun tag!! I might have to do this one on my blog 🙂
– Emelie’s Books
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Consider yourself tagged! 😉 I would love to see what you come up with, I think it’s so interesting to learn about people’s reading habits!
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Might have to do this on my blog…
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Go ahead and consider yourself tagged! I’d love to see your answers! 🤗
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Wow, such a fun post, I loved your answers 😀
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I’m so happy you liked it! 😊
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😀
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