things with wings {book haul}

It may seem a little late for one final Christmas post, but Paul and I only finished Christmassing last week, and I couldn't possibly share my holiday book haul before the lovely stack was complete! Not to mention, we finally un-decorated yesterday. Hence the tree in the photos. While I received most of these books (and all of the bookish accessories) as gifts, several were purchased and one was won, but all were acquired in December and early January, and as I'll explain below, they connect to Christmas in other ways, so, behold my Christmas book haul!

I'll begin with those received as gifts:

Dragon Haven (Rain Wilds Chronicles #2)
by Robin Hobb
I flailed over volume one, The Dragon Keeper, in my last post, and also before that on Goodreads when I discovered that Robin Hobb wrote 16 books in the same world. My brother bought me volumes two and three  of The Rain Wilds Chronicles to complete my trilogy. GUYS. THERE IS ONE MORE BOOK. Now I have to go hunt it down in a bookstore... darn.

City of Dragons (Rain Wilds Chronicles #3)
by Robin Hobb
Until about 30 seconds ago, I had believed this to be the final book in the Rain Wilds Chronicles. Besides the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed book one, I want to collect all four volumes because they have lovely, simple covers.

Airs Beneath the Moon (Horsemistress Saga #1)
by Toby Bishop
Remember that book that I read out of order? This is book one, which is going to feel like a prequel since I read book two first (whoops), and then book three will be confusing because by the time I get to it, I'll have forgotten what all happened in book two, but that's okay, because flying horses. Paul (my husband) bought me this one because he knows how much I enjoyed Airs and Graces.

The Small Backs of Children
by Lidia Yuknavitch
And finally, a standalone novel. I'd never heard of this one before, possibly because it was published only last July. Something about a photo, Eastern Europe, and a writer... I received The Small Backs of Children from my brother-in-law.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is my (and Paul's) third set of LoTR, but my first copy of The Hobbit. I also have the trilogy in one paperback volume and as three separate paperbacks -- I promise, we did not intentionally collect multiple copies! But I was nonetheless very happy to unwrap this beautiful leather-bound (at least, it looks like leather) boxed set from my parents.

Recharge LED Book Light
by Mighty Bright
Even Paul's friends have figured out how much I enjoy reading (it may or may not have something to do with the hours I spend in Powell's City of Books...). This lovely little silicone book light they gave us recharges via a micro-USB charging cable. I have one word for you, folks: camping.

Bookmarks
Paul's parents gave us the adorable little polymer clay owls, made by a family friend. I received the beautiful tree of life ribbon bookmark (with a dove in the tree and a hawk, I think, on the other end) from my mom.

The Dragon Quartet Omnibus, Volume 2 (Dragon Quartet #3-4)
by Marjorie B. Kellogg
Although I haven't yet read volume one, I do own it, and I couldn't help but complete my collection. The whole quartet includes The Book of Earth, The Book of Water, The Book of Fire, and The Book of Air. I bought this omnibus and three other books in the above stack at Powell's City of Books using a gift card I received from my in-laws for Christmas (plus the remaining balance on a card left over from my birthday), so technically, I suppose you could say they were a Christmas gift...

Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo
I've been wanting to read this for years -- ever since my high school performed the musical -- and, realizing that it will probably take several weeks (if not months...) to complete, I decided to snatch up my own copy rather than borrow it from the library. As of the writing of this post, I'm 114 pages in and loving it. This was one of the four Powell's buys.

Dragonsong (Pern: Harper Hall #1)
by Anne McCaffrey
I've been told that Anne McCaffrey is the "queen of dragons." Need I say more?

The Art of Losing Yourself
by Katie Ganshert
This book was a pleasant surprise, arriving on my doorstep unannounced, apparently the result of a giveaway I had entered and forgotten about. I call it an early Christmas gift from the publisher. I'm not really sure what The Art of Losing Yourself is about, but I do know that it is Christian contemporary fiction, and I have the feeling that it might be a good summer-y read. Perhaps I'll take it camping with my fancy new book light...

The Unexpected Dragon
by Mary Brown
I happily discovered this trilogy-in-one-volume at Powell's, and was immediately intrigued by the artwork on the tattered dust jacket. Again, not entirely sure what it's about, but it involves an orphaned 17-year-old girl who encounters a "raggle-tail assortment of creatures," including a flying pig and, if the cover is any indication, a dragon. According to Goodreads, this series is actually a quartet, and book one isn't included in the volume I bought. Good grief.

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Did you get any books or bookish things for Christmas? Any new discoveries? And tell me, am I the only one who is continually deceived by quartets posing as trilogies?