Half Price Books and $2 Journal Finds

I was out in Brookfield the other day for one reason or another so I took a moment to visit the new Half Price Books location (I'm a sucker for used book stores) and look for a few things.  I found a couple of books that I've been looking for but I decided against picking them up until I've finished a few of the books on my shelves that I have yet to read.  Of course I couldn't leave empty handed so I was wandering around the clearance section to see what I could find and a stumbled across a couple of red Picadilly journals for $1 each.  

I didn't necessarily need TWO journals, but I've been looking for a new sketchbook as my previous one has been very full for sometime now, so for just two dollars I figured it was worth trying them out.  I'm already enjoying them and even have a project for my Tumblr Buddy gift sketched out.  It's a little strange to be drawing things over the lined pages, but it certainly makes my handwriting a tiny bit tidier.  All in all, I say I've made a sound $2 investment, and I may even swing by the Half Price Books near us to see if they don't have a few in clearance as well.

A little aside: I have always had this strange habit of not writing in the first few pages of a journal or sketchbook.  I'm not exactly sure why this is, especially since it's not a conscious decision and I usually don't notice until later, but I realized this time I've left five entire pages blank.

New Books: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I finally ordered my copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins! I'm so excited I could burst! I didn't pre-order the book because I'm trying to be a good little budgeter and have only been buying things from amazon when I have enough gift cards from Swagbucks to cover the cost. My goal after this purchase is to save up enough of the gift cards to buy that cute little Fujifilm Instax Mini. Goodness knows I don't need another camera, but I've been without an instant camera for so long that I just can't stand it anymore!

But speaking of books: as with most of my literature choices lately Anna had a direct role in getting me into The Hunger Games. It was one of the books she read while working for Scholastic, and she couldn't stop talking about it. Since I'm a frugal little penny pincher I had been lurking in the local used bookstore hoping the first novel would show up so I didn't pick it up until this past June and I'm actually really glad I didn't get into the series sooner because I would have been so heartbroken to wait so long for the conclusion. And no matter how the book concludes the story this is sure to be a bittersweet ending, because I just don't want to leave these characters yet!

So if you haven't read The Hunger Games yet - you really should.