By now, almost everyone in the book community has heard of Book Outlet and their amazing bargain prices on brand new books that are readily available over on their website at BookOutlet.ca or BookOutlet.com. On top of their great website, Book Outlet also has a retail location in St. Catharines, Ontario which is about a 1 1/2 – 2 hour drive from Toronto, Ontario and the GTA. My mother and I had this week off so naturally we decided to pay our first ever visit to the Book Outlet Store! Here you will find some photos and some details about my experience there as well as a detailed book haul!

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WELCOME TO BOOK OUTLET!

The front entrance to this HUGE building is an awesome monochromatic black that really lets the Book Outlet logo pop! We got there really early in the morning on a weekday which explains the lack of cars in the parking lot.

#BOOKPORTAL

The first thing you see when you walk into the front door is the amazing #bookportal that guides you right into the building!

BOOKS AND BOOKS AND BOOKS, OH MY!

This is just a small fraction of the endless variety of books within the store.

SCRATCH & DENT

A lot of the online Book Outlet shoppers already know about the Scratch & Dent section, but basically these are books that are slightly damaged that are marked at an even deeper discount! What was great about exploring this section in person was that I could actually physically see what the damage was rather than being surprised when ordering online.

SO MUCH SELECTION!

Honestly, you have to see it to believe it!

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MY BOOK OUTLET STORE HAUL!

I obviously managed to find quite a large amount of books and I can honestly say that I would have loved to purchase many many more, but I really need to start taking it easy in the book buying department so I figured I’ll just have to keep coming back! Below you will find an in-depth and detailed haul! Enjoy!

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THE VOICE IS ALL: The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac

 

Author: Joyce Johnson || Publisher: Penguin || Genre: Biography, Non-Fiction, History, Literature || Release Date: 2012 || Page Count: 489 || Format: Hardcover ||
Book Outlet Store Price: $7.99 || ISBN: 9780670025107

Goodreads Synopsis: A groundbreaking portrait of Kerouac as a young artist—from the award-winning author of Minor Characters. In The Voice is All, Joyce Johnson, author of her classic memoir, Door Wide Open, about her relationship with Jack Kerouac, brilliantly peels away layers of the Kerouac legend to show how, caught between two cultures and two languages, he forged a voice to contain his dualities.  Looking more deeply than previous biographers into how Kerouac’s French Canadian background enriched his prose and gave him a unique outsider’s vision of America, she  tracks his development from boyhood through the phenomenal breakthroughs of 1951 that resulted in the composition of On the Road, followed by Visions of Cody. By illuminating Kerouac’s early choice to sacrifice everything to his work, The Voice Is All deals with him on his own terms and puts the tragic contradictions of his nature and his complex relationships into perspective.

Reason for Purchasing: As I stated in my Top 10 Favourite Authors blog post, I have an obsession with the Beat Generation. As soon as I saw this beautiful hardcover biography of Jack Kerouac, I was sold. I can’t wait to learn more about him!

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JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Author: Roald Dahl || Publisher: Puffin Books || Genre: Children’s, Middle Grade, Adventure || Release Date: February 1st 2013 (first published 1961) || Page Count: 160 || Format: Paperback || Book Outlet Store Price: $3.49 || ISBN: 9780141346311

Goodreads Synopsis: Roald Dahl’s children’s classic will be rediscovered with wonder and delight in this handsome gift edition with all-new black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Honor Book artist Lane Smith (who also designed the characters for the Disney animated film).  How James escapes from his miserable life with two nasty aunts and becomes a hero to his new insect family, including Miss Spider, the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the Centipede (with his 21 pairs of gorgeous boots), is Dahl-icious fantasy at its best.

Reason for Purchasing: I was actually on the hunt for George’s Marvelous Medicine which was a childhood favourite of mine. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it, but I did stumble across the last lonely copy of James and the Giant Peach. I loved the film that was produced by Tim Burton and I would love to finally have the chance to read it!

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John dies at the end

 

Author: David Wong || Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books || Genre: Fiction, Horror, Humour, Fantasy || Release Date: September 29th 2009 (first published 2007) ||
Page Count: 378 || Format: Hardcover || Book Outlet Store Price: $5.99 || ISBN: 9780312555139

Goodreads Synopsis: STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don’t put it down. It’s too late. They’re watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you’ll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it’s too late. You touched the book. You’re in the game. You’re under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me. The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.

Reason for Purchasing: One of my best friends speaks very highly of this book and it has been on my TBR list ever since!

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FanGirl (SCRATCH & DENT)

    

Author: Rainbow Rowell || Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin || Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary || Release Date: September 10th 2013 || Page Count: 433 || Format: Hardcover || Book Outlet Store Price: $3.00 (Scratch & Dent) || ISBN: 9781250030955

Goodreads Synopsis: CATH IS A SIMON SNOW FAN. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan… But for Cath, being a fan is her life–and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath that she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words…and she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Reason for Purchasing: I mean, isn’t this on everyone’s TBR? I’ve only read Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would love to read some more of her writing! As you can see from the photos above, this book was a part of the Scratch & Dent section, but honestly, that’s nothing a little tape can’t fix.

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the treatment (THE PROGRAM #2)

 

Author: Suzanne Young || Publisher: Simon Pulse || Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian || Release Date: April 29th 2014 || Page Count: 344 ||
Format: Hardcover || Book Outlet Store Price: $6.99 || ISBN: 9781442445833

Goodreads Synopsis: Can Sloane and James survive the lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end? Find out in this sequel to The Program, which Publishers Weekly called “chilling and suspenseful.” How do you stop an epidemic? Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go. Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they’ve come, there’s still a lot Sloane and James can’t remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment—a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there’s only one dose. Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?

Reason for Purchasing: I read the first book a little while back and although I wasn’t completely in love with it, I did want to eventually continue on with the series if I could find it for the right price!

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  Kindness for weakness

Author: Shawn Goodman || Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers ||
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Sociology || Release Date: 2012 ||
Page Count: 272 || Format: Hardcover || Book Outlet Store Price: $5.99 ||
ISBN: 9780385743242

Goodreads Synopsis: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Catcher in the Rye. A fifteen-year-old boy from an abusive home desperately seeking his older brother’s love and approval starts pushing drugs for him and suffers the consequences.

Reason for Purchasing: This has been on my TBR list for a while now. I am also in love with the cover.

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Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury || Publisher: Simon & Schuster || Genre: Fiction, Literature, Science Fiction || Release Date: June 2013 (first published 1953) || Page Count: 249 || Format: 60th Anniversary Edition Paperback || Book Outlet Store Price: $4.99 ||
ISBN: 9781451673319

Goodreads Synopsis: Sixty years after it’s publication, Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today it’s message has grown more relevant than ever before. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family”. But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. The sixtieth-anniversary edition commemorates Ray Bradbury’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Neil Gaiman; personal essays on the genesis of the novel by the author; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Nelson Algren, Harold Bloom, Margaret Atwood, and others; rare manuscript pages and sketches from Ray Bradbury’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.

Reason for Purchasing: It’s a classic that I’ve been meaning to add to my collection for a while now and I never had the chance to read this in school.

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  The Letters of vincent van gogh

Author: Vincent van Gogh || Edited By: Mark Roskill || Publisher: Touchstone ||
Genre: Non Fiction, Art, Biography, History || Release Date: November 18th 2008 (first published 1963) || Page Count: 352 || Format: Paperback Reprint Edition ||
Book Outlet Store Price: $6.99 || ISBN: 9781416580867

Goodreads Synopsis: A literary classic, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh captures the voice of one of the most beloved and important artists of all time. Though Vincent van Gogh is often thought of as a mad genius, in The Letters of Vincent van Gogh the thoughtful, effervescent, and sensitive man is revealed to readers through his own voice. This collection of letters, arranged in chronological order and written to Vincent’s closest confidant, his brother and art dealer, Theo, provide a riveting narrative of van Gogh’s life. The letters expose Vincent’s creative process; his joy and inspiration derived from literature, Japanese art, and nature; as well as his many romantic disappointments and constant poverty. Also documented are Vincent’s close relationships with fellow artists, especially Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh’s tender and often ebullient letters provide a sharp contrast to the devastating and frequently violent mental breakdowns that plagued and eventually destroyed him. Collected and edited by art historian Mark Roskill, this volume also includes a chronology, a short memoir by van Gogh’s sister-in-law that fills in many of the blanks of Vincent’s early years, and reproductions of selected artwork discussed in van Gogh’s letters. An epistolary classic, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh is not just an important historical collection but also a captivating treasure.

Reason for Purchasing: My all time favourite artist + his letters to his brother/art dealer/the only person to ever purchase one of his magnificent paintings while he was alive = SOLD.

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 graffiti moon

Author: Cath Crowley || Publisher: Ember || Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance || Release Date: December 26th 2012 (first published August 1st 2010) || Page Count: 272 || Format: Paperback  || Book Outlet Store Price: $2.99 || ISBN: 9780375871955

Goodreads Synopsis: Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she’s going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He’s out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy’s stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she’s managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they’re suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

Reason for Purchasing: I’ve had this on my TBR list for quite a while as well and I almost forgot about it until I saw it today!

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the other normals

Author: Ned Vizzini || Publisher: Balzer + Bray || Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure || Release Date: September 25th 2012 || Page Count: 387 ||
Format: Hardcover || Book Outlet Store Price: $3.99 || ISBN: 9780062079909

Goodreads Synopsis: Given the chance, fifteen-year-old Peregrine “Perry” Eckert would dedicate every waking moment to Creatures & Caverns, an epic role-playing game rich with magical creatures, spell casting, and deadly weapons. The world of C&C is where he feels most comfortable in his own skin. But that isn’t happening–not if his parents have anything to do with it. Concerned their son lacks social skills, they ship him off to summer camp to become a man. They want him to be outdoors playing with kids his own age and meeting girls–rather than indoors alone, with only his gaming alter ego for company. Perry knows he’s in for the worst summer of his life. Everything changes, however, when Perry gets to camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals. There he meets Mortin Enaw, one of the creators of C&C, and other mythical creatures from the game, including the alluring Ada Ember, whom Perry finds more beautiful than any human girl he’s ever met. Perry’s new otherworldly friends need his help to save their princess and prevent mass violence. As they embark on their quest, Perry realizes that his nerdy childhood has uniquely prepared him to be a great warrior in this world, and maybe even a hero. But to save the princess, Perry will have to learn how to make real connections in the human world as well.

Reason for Purchasing: Honestly, I just liked the film It’s Kind of a Funny Story and I really want to read all of Ned Vizzini’s writing.

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TEEN ANGST? NAAAH…

Author: Ned Vizzini || Publisher: Ember || Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mental Health || Release Date: September 14th 2010 (first published August 24th 2000) || Page Count: 258 || Format: Paperback || Book Outlet Store Price: $2.99 || ISBN: 9780385739450

Goodreads Synopsis: “The events in these stories are real. Some names have been changed so I don’t get yelled at.” Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny, and sometimes mortifying moments that made up his teen years. With wit, irony, and honesty, “Teen Angst? Naaah . . .” invites you into his world of school, parents, street people, rock bands, friends, fame, camp, sex (sort of), Cancun (almost), prom, beer, Nintendo, the cool (and almost cool), and more. A Holden Caulfield for Generation Y, Ned Vizzini is an original voice to be reckoned with, read, and enjoyed.

Reason for Purchasing: Same reason as above, I’m collecting all of Ned Vizzini’s work!

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And there you have it! Honestly, the Book Outlet store is amazing and if anyone finds themselves in the Niagara Falls/St. Catharine’s, Ontario area, I highly suggest taking some time to browse though the endless selection of quality brand new books for fantastic bargain prices!