I grabbed a quick burrito then took my normal route through the bookstore. I didn’t really think about it, just did it as habit, BUT IT WAS OPEN! Books-A-Million is now open  in my mall. YES!

I had no intentions of getting anything. I just purged four books off my TBR list, that had been sitting on my shelves for a year,  I don’t need to replace them. I just thought I’d look. I spent a few minutes perusing the layout of the store and fell in love with the YA section. It seems so big compared to the section Borders offered. Maybe I just forgot how many YA books they had, but BAM seems to have a whole lot more.

I drug myself away, checked out the soon-to-be Nook center and accessories and almost made it out empty handed, until I saw the CLEARANCE rack. I am a sucker for anything clearance..shoes, dresses, books, you name it. I’ve had some pretty good luck on the clearance book racks in my time, finding some of my favorite books there. This trip, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. It appears they were doing a Kate Brian special in the clearance section. I not only got Ominous, the last book in the Private series, but also Privilege, the first in the series for $8.00 total.

I absolutely love the Private series, I am just too cheap to buy books. I always add the ones that had come out in the past year to my Christmas list. But this is the last one, I really needed it and really wanted Privilege, so they are now both on my shelf, filling the void of the ones recently moved.

I didn’t have a lot of time to spend in the store, since I was in a race against the clock to get my dress (I don’t get off until after 6:30, so after a short drive to the mall, and dinner, time is precious, especially when making an important decision like a Christmas dress), but I was impressed by the selection at BAM and can’t wait to go back and spend more time inside, checking out the offerings, adding books to my wish list and hitting up the coffee bar. I am also super excited about the Nook accessories. The first on my list is a Nook light. I have a normal book light, but it doesn’t clasp on to my Nook and case very well.

Now, I have to make the big decision if I want to become a BAM member or not. It’s $20 a year. I know that’s not a lot, but I really don’t buy as many books as I used to. I think I’m going to wait until after the new year (so soon) to make the decision, let the store wear on me a little and see how much I plan to spend and if it’ll be worth it.

I know my friend Meg at WriteMeg! has also been perusing the BAM inventory, anyone else? If your Borders closed, has something replaced it??

For the Holiday Swap this year, I got Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty. So, I decided I needed the rest of the series. I got Sloppy Firsts, Charmed Thirds and Fourth Comings.   I decided not to get Perfect Fifths yet because I always carry a book with me and I like carrying paperbacks better than hardbacks. The paperback for Perfect Fifths comes out in March. That gives me enough time to get through the rest

I also got LA Candy by Lauren Conrad. I feel like I watched Lauren grow up from Laguna Beach to The Hills. I quit watching the show when I got out of college, but I was really excited when this book came out. But, like already mentioned, I wanted to wait until it came out in paperback.

Now I know I said I got 5 books, but only mentioned 4. The other was a gift for someone that they aren’t getting for a couple of weeks, so I’ll wait until I give it to them to post it, just in case they happen to stop by

This week, I got a lot of presents, to me, from me. Borders.com had a special where you could buy 4, get one free. So, of course, since I had tons o’ gift cards, I took advantage. I got 5 books using gift cards and still have a few dollars left.

But my dilemma when it comes to gift cards is spending them. I don’t mind wasting my own money when buying books, but I want to make sure if I am spending someone else’s money, I am spending it wisely.

Because of this, I’ve been thinking hard since I got my first gift card over a month ago on how to spend. As you can tell by my To Read Widget on the right side of the page, I’m not really in need of books. But that doesn’t mean I can let these sit in my pocket.

So what I’ve decided to do is read what I’ve got until the month of December rolls around. I am huge on theme reading. I’ve been reading vampire books in honor of Halloween and plan on reading some holiday themed books once December rolls around. Now I already  have a couple that I got last Christmas and couldn’t bring myself to read yet. Who wants to read about Glen Beck’s Christmas Sweater in the summer? It’s all about timing. 

I will be using my gift cards, or some of the money on them, to buy some holiday themed books to get me through Christmas. And of course this takes some heavy planning, so I thought I’d show you some I’m looking at. If  you’ve read any of these or have heard anything about them, let me know. I want to spend these wisely

Here goes:

 Now yes, I know there are a lot of books here. I also know that Mary Higgins Clark and Debbie Macomber have TONS of holiday books and there’s no way I can get to them all. But an excess is never a bad thing right? What I don’t read this year can wait until next Christmas – or maybe I’ll do a Christmas in July. Or maybe, this will inspire you to get into the holiday spirit. Speaking of which, I definitely got carried away with this post. I had a few already in my phone that I’d stumbled upon, but then I started searching and site jumping and ay yi yi, I’ve got Christmas tunes starting in my head already and Halloween isn’t over yet. I’ll make sure I mute them until after Thanksgiving. Christmas talk before then in our home has been banned because I’m a fanatic

PS: If you click on the book, it will take you to the link at Borders.com.

I always look at Musing Monday and stew on it for a while before I decide to finally write.

This week’s question is:Do you keep a book wish list, either on paper, Amazon/etc, or via a book database site (Shelfari, GoodReads, LibraryThing)? If yes, do you share this list with others (especially coming up to Christmas)?

I started keeping a list on Borders.com when I really got into reading. It started as a couple pages of books, but then it got serious. Now I have HUNDREDS of books on there. I admit I haven’t added books in a while. It’s so overwhelming right now, I get lost in it.

On Goodreads.com, I keep a list of books that are already on my shelf that I need to read. You can also find it on the right side of my blog.

I do have a list of books in my head that I know I want.  A couple new series, a few follow ups to books I have now and just some randoms. Normally on my birthday and for Christmas, I give everyone a list of different books so no one buys the same ones

Do you list????