Somewhere in the back of my mind is a small part of my brain telling me to stop watching Tea Time because of the amount of books I keep adding every time I watch it. Already I’ve added two more to my list: Defiance by C.J. Redwine and The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Both are series. Damn you, Epic Reads! Damn you! *shakes fist*
(On that note, latest Tea Time can be found here.)
Discussion:
Favorite place to buy books?
I live in Jersey suburbia, and buying books is practically a 15-minute car ride to the nearby Barnes & Noble that is rather large, but not as large as, say, the flagship store at NYC Union Square which is amazing. So while my county celebrates library-ism and has a faaaabulous library system (which I take advantage of when I can), I tend to go to the city to buy books instead.
To answer the question, my favorite place to buy books is Union Square. It is an underrated tourist area, which is splendid because the prices aren’t outrageously touristy (and the only other place that boasts the same appeal is down by Cooper’s Square). Also, The Strand, Barnes & Noble, Forbidden Planet, and Books of Wonder are a walking distance away from each other, and those are the places I frequent, especially now that I will be working at the city again (where work is a walking distance from Union Square yaaaay).
Favorite indie bookstore?
Books of Wonder! Awesome place for children’s books and YA novels. It’s a small, cozy bookstore that I tend to take my bookish friends to when we get the time. While on the pricier side, the store’s winning attributes are the reading spots, author visits, and cute cafe. Oh, and Books of Wonder constantly has a collection of signed books from popular series (my latest purchase was an autographed copy of Cinder!), as well as a rare books collection that I tend to drool over and dream of buying but am never really able to afford. Not to mention the staff there are typically friendly–at least they were when I’ve gone to visit. Sigh. My favorite place ever.
I will also highlight Forbidden Planet, because that is where I go to browse–and sometimes buy–all things geek-related, like comics, scifi/fantasy graphic novels, Doctor Who memorabilia, and DC Comics ice cubes (totally on my to-buy list at some point). The fact that it’s on the same block as The Strand and right across a movie theatre makes this store–and area, actually–the ideal spot for spending ALL MY MONEY. In fact, this might be why I’m going to be broke by the end of the year.
Favorite series?
I consider myself in rare form when I finish a series or am up to date with one. So I’m treating this as a practice in series statistics.
Longest Favorite Series Completed:
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling – I grew up with this series, and I remember the long-ass lines at Union Square that got longer ever since Order of the Phoenix came out.
Longest Favorite Series To Be Completed:
Marcus Didius Falco by Lindsey Davis – I’ve done tremendously well, considering I read up to book 7 of the 20-book series so far.
Longest Favorite Manga Completed:
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori – This is made out of 14 volumes of pure shojo humor and romance goodness.
Longest Favorite Manga To Be Completed:
One Piece by Eiichirou Oda – I swear he’s the mangaka version of G.R.R. Martin…he’s at 75 volumes and counting, and I’ve read up to 66 at this point and I feel no end in sight!
Favorite Children’s Series:
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld – This one was special because I followed this series and read the last two books around the same time they were published–give or take a few months.
Favorite YA Series:
Beka Cooper by Tamora Pierce – This wins out because it’s the most recent of her books, and I loved loved loved Mastiff.
Favorite Adult Fantasy:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Other than my recent fangirling, it really has been one of those series where I’ve read and said “Holy shitcakes” aloud…a lot of times.
Series I’ve Really Wanted To Own AND Read:
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket – Call this a vice, because I’m still waiting to get the entire collection.
Anyway, if you’re around the NYC area and have another indie book store to recommend me, please do!
And if you have a series I should check out, feel free to recommend me that, too…though I’m not sure that’s a good idea with all of the other unfinished series I still have to get to…
Story and Somnomancy 
That looks like such a beautiful bookstore! If I’m ever in that area (though I doubt it) I will make it a point to go there. 😀
I think this must be the first time in all my time on WordPress that I’ve seen someone mention Ouran. It’s such an underrated series and I love it dearly. I’ve been hunting for the box set actually!
I finished reading the Mistborn trilogy yesterday and I know exactly what you mean. By the time I reached the final pages I was stunned. I felt like Sanderson has ripped out my heart, stamped on it then handed its mangled form back to me. I was so shocked!
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I used to read a lot of shojo romance before Ouran, but it’s still hands down one of my favorites to date. I also don’t have the set myself, but I’d stopped buying manga because I get a little crazy collecting them XD
Oh gosh. Yeah. I think I might have felt a bit of heart-ripping sensation in The Hero of Ages especially since my favorite characters happened to be the BEST MISTBORNS EVER. So yeah. I got slightly upset, then I texted my friend, whined, and went back to reading the ending. Then thought about it for a while before picking up the next book on my pile (which was hard to do, because the Mistborn trilogy is kind of a tough act to follow, high fantasy-wise).
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