Best Birthday Present Ever

My birthday was a few months ago and every year I have the same problem. People always ask me what I want and I never know. I end up asking for items I need around the house, but never anything I want. 

BF had been bugging me for a few weeks to make a decision on my birthday gift, but I couldn't think of anything. Finally in a huff I thought "All I really want are books."

I knew what I wanted! Here is how that conversation went...

Me: I know exactly what I want for my birthday.
BF: What?
Me: A trip to the used bookstore with your debit card.
BF: Do I look like an idiot?

We finally agreed on a set amount of money that I could spend in the store. This might seem like a silly birthday present, but books are a security blanket to me. Also, I had bought myself a wicked new bookcase for my birthday (after days of scouring Craigslist) so I needed more books.

First off, I do not buy books that I have not read and loved. You might be thinking "well, what about your Read All The Books Project?" Those books are from swag, free bins at the bookstore, gifts, etc. Very very very few have been bought by me.

Even though I am strict on what I buy for my personal collection, I still have several bookcases filled with books. But there is always room for more.

The day of my birthday I called the used bookstore probably about 15 times. We only had an hour and this store is huge! For us to make it on time for dinner I had to know exactly what was in stock. I cross referenced my Goodreads  with books I loved vs. books I already owned vs what the bookstore had.

And here is what I got!

1. Dream Fever by Karen Marie Moning
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot
6. Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
7. Size 14 is not Fat Either by Meg Caobt
8. She's so Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
9. Be with Me by Maya Banks
10. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
11. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
12. A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House
13. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
14. The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James
15. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
16. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (autographed)
17. Tiger Eyes movie

Now here is where I made my mistake. Remember I told you I only had a hour? Because we had dinner reservations and since I had to work that day I was pressed to get home, change, and get on the way. Which means I left out an important step. Cross reference my bookstore list with some questionable books that I thought I might already own. This resulted in me buying 4 books I already owned. For the life of me I couldn't remember which Harry Potter books I owned. Well I bought the 3 books I already owned. Also, I got confused with the Karen Marie Moning books. When I got home I discovered that I already owned Dream Fever. Silly me! Luckily the bookstore let me return them.

Over all it was a great birthday and I'm very happy with all my wonderful books.