Big Bad Wolf Book Haul - Part I

A bookstore is one of the happy places for a bookworm. I remember I used to travel for more than two hours to buy a brand new book from a bookstore. The first book that I bought with my savings (I didn't eat snacks for months!) was The Diary of Anne Frank because I got curious about our English subject reading, which was her diary. If my memory serves me well, it was almost 400 PHP, and I was in 3rd-year high school at that time.

But a bookstore selling a brand new book at a very cheap price is definitely a paradise. So when I heard of Big Bad Wolf, going to their grand book sale became one of my goals. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened, and BBW grand sale was out of the picture.

On the brighter side, even though BBW can't have a physical grand book sale, they decided to make the sale go online, and then four months later, BBW landed on Lazada.

I had self-control during the first online sale - bought only four books. Maybe because the books that I've been waiting to restock weren't restocked. But when BBW opened its Lazada mall, I went overboard in the first two months. I bought a total of 11 books and I haven't read any of them.

So my first purchase was four books, though Antoni was the one who went to the physical store in Cebu City. That was pre-COVID. Then followed by four books, and lastly 11 books. All in all, I bought 19 books in BBW and I still haven't read one.

When this realization struck me, I decided to uninstall Lazada. Else, I'll be wandering in the BBW store for hours. Until now, I haven't checked their books because I want to read at least half of the books that I bought.

Here are the first eight (8) books that I bought:

Magnus Chase Books 1 & 2 by Rick Riordan

The Sword of Summer and The Hammer of Thor

Genre: Fantasy, Mythology

These books are the first two hardcover books that I bought. I am not a fan of hardcovers since I love to bring books when I travel. And hardcover books are big and bulky, not ideal to bring along during a trip. But these were sold for only 230 PHP each. In other bookstores, these are sold for a little over a thousand.

Also, I had a liking for this trilogy because my seatmate in my previous work kept on telling me to buy and read this series. Too bad book 3 was unavailable, and even in the other bookstore, it is hard to find.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy

Queen of Shadows is book 4 of the Throne of Glass series. I really, really love this series. I have been planning to buy a hardcover boxset of this even though I already have its paperback version. But only if I finish reading the series.

As much as I love this series, I am having a hard time finishing book 3 since (spoiler alert) the main characters are drifted apart. But I am aiming to finish it before this month ends, so I can proceed with this book.

City of Bone by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Fantasy

It's very rare to watch the movie or TV series first before reading the books. I was just scrolling to my Netflix account when I bumped into Shadowhunters. I was curious so I gave it a try, and I got hooked up.

I was contemplating if I should buy the book since the female lead annoyed me in every possible way. But I did enjoy the series - it was good enough for me. And so, I decided to read first the ebook of this and of course, it was really good. I stopped before I reached 50% and decided to continue reading it on a book. It didn't happen though. Tehee!

Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan

Genre: Fantasy

At this time, it was the first online grand book sale of BBW. It was really hard to add to cart a book, look and scroll for another one which seems like forever, and then expect that the other books are still available afterward. I was so frustrated, so I gave up and just use keywords.

With this, I used witches, and this book caught my attention. I immediately searched it on Goodreads, and it is a trilogy. I tried looking its books 2 and 3, and unfortunately, they were not available.

Donny's Inferno by P.W. Catanese

Genre: Fantasy

I was trying to look for Dante's Inferno when I saw this book. I immediately checked it to see if there is a similarity with the other Inferno, but it's not. Though the settings are the same since both have a common word in the title.

It picked my interest as I read its synopsis - it sounds like an adventure-packed. Plus, it's a duology. I am not sure, but as far as I can remember, I haven't read a duology. I did try looking for the second book, but there is none, unfortunately.

The Path of Anger by Antoine Rouaud

Genre: Fantasy

Another book caught my attention with its dark cover that speaks of death. It seems like it's the back of the grim reaper, but upon reading its synopsis, it is more like a thriller in a dark fantasy setting. The keywords were assassination and murders, so it made me more curious about this book.

It's not popular and has low ratings on Goodreads, and I haven't seen anyone mention thriller or suspense. Most likely my hunch of a thriller genre in a dark fantasy setting could be wrong, and that makes me more curious tho. Huehue. Also, it's another duology that picked my interest.

High Crime Area: Tales of Darkness and Dread by Joyce Carol Oates

Genre: Mystery, Short Stories

I love crime and mystery books - it's my first choice before fantasy. As I was scrolling under the crime and mystery section, the cover of this book caught my attention. It was giving off a dark and sinister vibe.

I checked it on Goodreads, and unfortunately, it has low ratings. Nonetheless, I gave this book a chance to amuse me with its eight strange and dark short stories. Additionally, this one is a hardcover. I am slowly accepting them.

Though my favorite genre is crime and mystery, the majority of the books I bought are all under fantasy. I haven't read much of fantasy novel, since crime scene really gives me a thrill and satisfaction, especially when I didn't expect who the killer was.

For eight books, given that there are four hardcovers, I only spent 1,596 PHP (approx. $29). I have saved more than 70%. In no time, I can have my own mini library with the help of Big Bad Wolf. But of course, I make sure to read these books and the other set before I wander like a lone wolf again.

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