Free Books: Round 1

Crazy packaging, right?!

Once upon a time, I discovered booktube. For those that don't know, booktube = book lovers whose YouTube channels are dedicated to books. It's incredible. Before I subscribe to a booktuber, I look through their videos to get a feel for what they post, and I think it was through one of those overviews that I saw this video and hopped onto goodreads.com real quick. I've been an active goodreads user for three and a half years now and never knew they have giveaways.

Oh, do they! There are so many. I keep it pretty simple by only entering giveaways that end the next day. So far, I have won six books! Which, let's be honest, is a fairly small percentage when compared to how many giveaways I've entered, but still! Free books!

"But, Rachel, there are only two books shown??"

Yes, well, the expected arrival date is 4-6 weeks after you win, so these two actually arrived early. When I got home today and saw a little package waiting for me on my bed, I was ecstatic. THEN, I checked the mail and another (the shiny one!) was waiting for me. So, naturally, I had a little photo shoot.

Now, these are not books I ever would have bought. Here's why:
- Portrait of a Girl by Dörthe Binkert (translated by Margot Bettauer Dembo)
a) It's German literature. It's a translation. What?!
b) It's Historical Fiction, and I'm having a hard time thinking of the last time (if ever?!) I read historical fiction.
- The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill
a) It has the word "witch" in the title. I was hesitant to enter this giveaway for that reason, and I'm not sure why I did, but it's really soft...so I really want to read it for that reason now.
b) It's a little low of a reading level...like grades 4+. There are very few books targeted for that age group that I'm interested in reading...but if it's free then why not? Right?

I plan on reading these books this fall. The Witch's Boy will be first, because I actually received an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy), and I want to review it before it's September release date. Mainly because, apparently, leaving reviews for the books you receive in giveaways increases your chances for winning more books. So there is that. Even while I'm at school I will enter giveaways as often as I remember, then I will hopefully have lots of fun packages waiting for me to bust open when I get home. Yay! I don't think I'll dedicate a full blog post to each book I win, but I will at least link to my review on goodreads in my monthly book update.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch more booktube...and sleep...maybe.

- rl