Hello everyone!
Merry Christmas to all of those who celebrate and happy holidays! I hope you have all eaten lots of delicious food and are now in a food-coma debating whether one more mince pie will actually kill you. Whenever I reach that food coma stage I like to distract myself with a good book. This year, what with all the different family gatherings, I haven't been able to get stuck into my Christmas books yet!
I'm sure I will be back in the reading swing soon, especially as I only have one last book to finish and then I will have reached my reading goal of 120 books. That's right y'all I'm on the final book :-) *Applause* *Bows* *Gets back to typing*.
As you have all probably received lots of lovely books for Christmas and I am a nosy parker and like to know what books people have got, I thought I would create a post for the other people like me! So without further ado let's get into my Christmas book haul and let me tell you I am one lucky girl :-)
The wonderful Mr. GingerSnap spoiled me with three books this year. He picked up The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, which shockingly I have never read or watched. This is a funny, deep space chunky novel which I cannot wait to get into!
He stumbled on volume 1 of Archie Comics when searching for Neil Gaiman and as I am a huge Riverdale fan he couldn't resist picking it up. I have been known to read the odd graphic novel and will definitely enjoy this classic all american comic. It'll be so fun to compare Archie, Jughead, Veronica and Betty in their original form to their on-screen counterparts.
The final book is one I almost picked up for myself and am now so glad I didn't! We spotted Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero whilst browsing the fantasy section of our local Waterstones and the blurb sounded so fun. It's an adult, semi-scary spoof of Scooby Doo, which for any 90's kid sounds like a dream come true.
My lovely sister in law is one of my favourite people to talk books with and she has very similar tastes to me, so she got it spot-on with her gift. Many years ago I read The Mortal Engines series by Philip Reeve as they were released and fell in love with the world he created. The hype around those books has been huge this year as Peter Jackson turned his hand to the first book and created an amazing movie. Seriously guys, read the books and then go see the movie, you will not be disappointed! She very kindly gifted me The Illustrated World Of Mortal Engines, which is a stunning companion book to the series.
The final book I was gifted is Becoming by Michelle Obama, a book by an amazing woman. My mother in law saw this and knew I would love to read it. Michelle Obama has had an incredible career and always looks so elegant, both in manner and dress. I can't wait to learn more about her life.
What books did you guys get for Christmas? Let me know in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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Hello everyone!
Time for another monthly book haul, yes I know it is just before Christmas, but I'll probably check in with another haul then. Unfortunately I have been unwell for most of this month so far and have been off work recuperating. This has meant that I have had a lot of reading time as with doctors ordering me on strict rest I haven't been allowed to do much else. Anyone who knows me will understand how frustrating this is as I am usually a very active person! However, I have been able to live vicariously through my favourite book protagonists!
I have picked up quite a few books this month so far, which is a tad naughty, but hey ho it's the time of year for indulgence!
The first book I picked up was Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman. This book is a short story taking place after the events of His Dark Materials and follows Lyra on an adventure through Oxford after a mysterious witch's familiar appears in her room. I love this world and have been catching up on the short stories in preparation for reading The Book of Dust next year.
The next two books come as a pair, as I picked up the first and second books in The No1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. I loved the TV series of these books when I was younger and always wanted to pick up these books. They are a wonderful series following Precious Ramotswe after she sets up her detective agency in Botswana. They are filled with intrigue, laughter and heart warming events. I love how easy to digest these books are and they have a real feel good vibe.
This year I have fallen in love with Sebastien de Castell's writing style, having dived into Spellslinger after Mr. Gingersnap surprised me with it for my birthday. I have been working my way through his books and picked up the third in the series - Charmcaster. This author is one of the funniest writers I have read for a while and he genuinely makes me laugh out loud. This series follows Kellen, a sub-par spell-caster and his adventures with his squirrel cat companion. They are both sarcastic and deeply flawed characters, but it makes them feel so real! Pick up this series if you love the wild west, magic and rude jokes!
Next I picked up A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir. I devoured An Ember In The Ashes last week and felt an overwhelming need to continue the series as soon as possible. As usual I am late to the party with these books, but at least I can binge the first 3 books without the agonising wait for the next instalments. These books follow Laia and Elias as they navigate the dangerous world of the Martial Empire and the down-trodden scholar race. This book has magic, brutality, political intrigue and jaw dropping plot twists. If you haven't read these yet, join me in my late reading!
In honour of me going back to work this week I have downloaded my next audiobook Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I always listen to audiobooks on my drive to and from work as I spend about 10-12 hours each week driving and I don't want to waste this precious reading time! Six Of Crows follows the dregs, a group of criminal misfits as they take on an impossible heist. Six Of Crows was a gripping new take on the GrishaVerse and I absolutely loved it, so I cannot wait to dive into the next one. These audiobooks have multiple narrators so each character has a unique voice, I especially enjoy this aspect of the books as it makes the listening experience so much more enjoyable.
The final book I picked up was Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. I have never heard of this book and know next to nothing about it. A bookseller in Waterstones recommended it to me as a new sci-fi series to read. She described it as "time travellers who make hilarious mistakes" and as "one for the Doctor Who lovers". That had me sold!
Have you read any of these? What have you picked up this month? Let me know in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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Hello everyone!
It has been a very long time since I last did a book haul, which is such a shame because they are some of my favourite posts to read and write. Now, I was on a more or less successful book ban for quite some time so I ended up trickling books onto my shelves instead of actually going out and buying a whole bunch. Technically I am still on a book ban (my tbr is so beyond out of control that it is threatening to overtake me in height), but I was left unattended in the book shop on Saturday. Big mistake Mr. Gingersnap!! Of course this led to a bit of a splurge, but as far as hauls go this is a modest one :-)
The first book I picked up was The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. I have been excited to read this one for ages as Magnus Bane is one of my all time favourite characters. As a bit of back-ground, for those who live under a rock, The Bane Chronicles is a series of 11 short stories following the warlock, Magnus Bane, throughout various anecdotes of his life. He has been alive for hundreds of years (I forget exactly how long) and so has had a wide range of wacky adventures. Magnus is a key character in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters series, following a group of warriors fighting demons to protect both the mundane and Downworld. Sounds pretty cool right? Magnus is one of the most flamboyant, extravagant and witty characters I have read and I can't wait to learn more about his past!
The second book is actually an exception to the book ban rules. Three authors are exempt from the ban, they are Terry Pratchett, Tolkien and Neil Gaiman. I have been super into Neil Gaiman recently and absolutely love his short fiction so I picked up Smoke And Mirrors. Seriously, this cover is so gorgeous! I love the tree design on most of his books, and I actually found out the other day that if you put them all together they make a picture. Go on, try it! You know you want to! *Pictures readers frantically pulling Gaiman off their shelves*. Anyway, this set of short fiction sounds amazing. Neil's selections are always dark, gothic, sarky and eccentric so are perfect to be read as 1 story each day to add a little colour! This set varies between an old woman finding the Holy Grail under an old coat in a thrift shop, a boy under a bridge arguing with a troll and a stray cat locked in a fierce battle to protect his adoptive family. So excited to get into these!
The third, and final book, is Hollow City by Ransom Riggs. I know, I know, why haven't I read this series yet? Well, I'm sorry, but I missed all the hype! I am planning to hop onto this bandwagon as soon as possible as I have heard rumour of a fourth book hitting shelves later in the year. Hollow City follows Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children after they have fled their safe haven to hopefully save themselves and others like them. Equipped with their unique powers and as much information as they can gather they must set out on a life or death quest. This book has magic, monsters and of course a cracking romance so it really is a must-read!
What have you guys been picking up this month? Let me know in the comments below and I will be sure to update y'all soon on what I thought of these books!
xoxo
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Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and festive period if you don't celebrate Christmas itself! I had a wonderfully relaxing time, just spending quality time with my family and pets and, of course, eating all the food :-)
It wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't receive at least one book, my friends and family know they are one of my major passions and tend to taylor their gifts around that. So here are the books I was lucky enough to get!
Four of these books were from the wonderful Mr.GingerSnap. He is responsible for my acquiring the whole Discworld Collectors Library. For those of you who don't know, Terry Pratchett is my favourite author of all time and I was so excited to see they had started bringing out the Discworld series in these beautiful editions. When they stopped at Jingo I was so frustrated at potentially only ever having half of the collection! Luckily the second publishing house got on board and they have been bringing out four more every year. This years round are Going Postal, Thief Of Time, Monstrous Regiment and Night Watch.
Going Postal follows Moist Von Lipwig as he is faced with the choice of being executed as a criminal or attempting the impossible task of reviving the Ankh-Morpork post office. Needless to say he chooses the option he is most likely to survive. The story shows all his hilarious ups and downs as he brings back good old snail mail and thrives on a new and honest business.
Nightwatch is the next book in the City Watch collection, following Sam Vimes and his never ending fight against crime in the city. Sam Vimes is the ultimate under-dog, he tries so hard and has all sorts thrown at him, from dragons, crazy wizards and talking dogs to being knighted and sent to parlay with vampires!
Thief Of Time is the next one in the Death collection. The anthropomorphism of Death is my favourite character choice of all time, he is so sassy and such a bad-ass really. In this book Death uncovers plans to create a clock destroying time and human mortality, unable to intervene himself he sends his grand-daughter Susan to the rescue...
Monstrous Regiment is all about women's rights and how having a war in your country changes the rules and freedom of women. There is a war on in the Discworld and it's about time women stepped up to fill the gaps men usually fill, with hilarious and heart-rending results.
H. G. Wells is one of my favourite authors and the fact that he has been included so many times in the Penguin English Library makes me very happy. I have read all of his other works so I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Invisible Man. The tale follows Griffin, a man who is searching for the antidote to invisibility and he is willing to go to ANY length to achieve this.
Finally we have Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, well done if you made it this far through the post! I don't really know a lot about this book, but it's a Penguin Classic so it must be good! Naturally it follows Ethan Frome, a farmer struggling to make ends meet and reach the unreasonable standards set by his wife. His life changes suddenly when his wife's cousin comes to help them, obsessed with her, Ethan tries to picture a way to be happy.
Wow, that was a longer post than I was expecting to write. I hope some of these books have piqued your interest. I certainly can't wait to dive into them! What did you guys get for Christmas? Any good books? Let me know in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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Hello everyone!
How is everyone doing? Not getting too frozen in the cold weather I hope :-) I'm back today with a little, okay maybe fairly big, book haul. I love going book shopping, to be honest even if I'm just browsing I love it! For me books are the ideal winter hobby, you can curl up with a blanket, a hot drink and enjoy a good story. It's complete heaven!
At the moment I have been really into classics, something about winter and the back to school vibe always makes me want to read them. Also the Penguin Clothbound Classics are simply divine! They are seriously not helping my bank account or my rapidly diminishing shelf space. As you will no doubt have seen from the photo, I treated myself to a trio of these...
I just love the covers of these books, Coralie Bickford-Smith designs the most beautiful artwork. I think this collection is a triumph, and I am now the proud owner of four of them. Hopefully with more appearing on my shelves in the future! Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert is decorated in pink and purple pomegranate patterns, these colours and the fruit of passion perfectly portray the very passionate nature of the heroine of the story. I'm hoping the red and orange fiery colours of Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence mean the story will also be fiery. In its day it was considered quite the scandalous tale, so I'm quite looking forward to comparing it to modern times. Now when it comes to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the cover speaks volumes (anyone like the bookish pun? No? Okay...). The anatomically correct hearts on the front give it such a dark edge and lead perfectly into the dark sciences the story is based on.
The next book was a second hand bookstore find, which I'm actually really pleased about. This is one of the original hardback designs of the Discworld stories by Terry Pratchett. The Last Continent is one of the editions missing from my best friend's collection so I'm super excited to give it to her for Christmas :-)
Finally, leaving the best to last really, is The Original Screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by J. K. Rowling! I have been beyond excited about reading this since it was first announced. So yes I bought it yesterday and have already read it, I make no apologies for this! The design of this book is gorgeous, so I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak before I write a proper review later this week!
Have you read any of these? Let me know what you've been hauling in the comments below :-)
xoxo
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