Welcome to the latest volume of Stacking the Shelves! This meme is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may those books be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and e-books.

Volume 2 of Stacking The Shelves includes one gift (yay!) and three book purchases since Volume 1. Here they are!

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (Fantasy): Widely regarded as the “Bible” of Tolkien’s beloved Middle-Earth, The Silmarillion is a tome of short stories that collectively span over centuries, beginning long before The Hobbit and ending sometime after The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Other Middle-Earth fans have suggested that I read The Silmarillion slowly to absorb each chapter and not be overwhelmed by the book’s massive scope. I’ll definitely follow their advice – but, oh, I can’t express what a happy birthday girl I was when I unwrapped this gift! Tolkien’s work is what drew me to fantasy in the first place, so I’m thrilled to learn more about Middle-Earth when the time comes.

Magic Study and Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder (YA Fantasy): Earlier this year I devoured Poison Study, the first book in Maria V. Snyder’s Study series. Yelena Zaltana has quickly become one of my favorite fantasy heroines, so I can’t wait to see what trials and tribulations she’ll face as she learns more about her magic in these second and third books. That excitement isn’t the only reason why I bought Magic Study and Fire Study, however. A few months ago, Snyder announced she’s starting a new trilogy about Yelena – with the next installment, Shadow Study, arriving in February 2015! That means I need to catch up… well, now! *lol* I’m going to read Books 2 and 3 back-to-back this fall, as soon as I finish…

Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith (Urban Fantasy): Karina Sumner-Smith’s debut novel doesn’t come out until September 30^th, but Amazon is already shipping pre-orders. How can I complain about that? 🙂 And even though I don’t usually read urban fantasy, Radiant features a fascinating blend of magic and ghosts, a gritty and futuristic dystopian setting, and an unlikely friendship between two young women – one of whom is dead. A unique story and universe with familiar elements, in other words. No wonder I was intrigued. I’m already 100+ pages into Radiant, so expect a Recent Reads review on it in the next couple weeks.

How about you? What books are you looking forward to reading? Have you read any of the above?