Category: Book Haul

London Bookshop Vlog and Book Haul

On By Beth JonesIn Book HaulLeave a comment

Hi everyone! I recently visited London so I thought I’d include my London Bookshop Vlog here where I visited Daunt Books for the first time, which was so cool. Daunt Books has a ‘travel bias’, meaning a good portion of the shop is organised by place – for example, countries have separate shelves and these sections include travel books, non-fiction and fiction.

You can find my bookshop vlog below, and my haul further down the post.

These are the books I got in London and a few others!

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

Two friends meet across three dinners.
In the back room of a pet shop, they snack on dried shrimps and discuss fish-breeding. In a remote new home in the mountains, they look for a solution to a weasel infestation. During a dinner party in a blizzard, a mounting claustrophobia makes way for uneasy dreams. Their conversations often take them in surprising directions, but when one of the men becomes a father, more and more is left unsaid. 
With emotional acuity and a wry humour, Weasels In The Attic is an uncanny and striking reflection on fertility, masculinity, and marriage in contemporary Japan.

I asked my boyfriend Mark to choose a book from Daunt for me to help me decide what to buy, as I like having a book as a souvenir when I visit a new shop or place. I knew I wanted one from the Japan section, so I gave him a few options, but just before we headed out he spotted the above book. It’s a short, 70ish page novella and I’m excited to check it out.

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

Take a story and shrink it. Make it tiny, so small it can fit in the palm of your hand. Carry the story with you everywhere, let it sit with you while you eat, let it watch you while you sleep. Keep it safe, you never know when you might need it. In Kawakami’s super short ‘palm of the hand’ stories the world is never quite as it should be: a small child lives under a sheet near his neighbour’s house for thirty years; an apartment block leaves its visitors with strange afflictions, from fast-growing beards to an ability to channel the voices of the dead; an old man has two shadows, one docile, the other rebellious; two girls named Yoko are locked in a bitter rivalry to the death. Small but great, you’ll find great delight spending time with the people in this neighbourhood.

This is one of the books I asked Mark to pick from, and I’ve wanted to read it ever since I saw it in Foyles Charing Cross Road a few years ago! Mark actually bought me both of these, thank you 🙂

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember.
 The deafening boom as the house exploded.
 The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife.
 The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out. 
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife. 
Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team. 
It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering. The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life. 
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me. 
As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again. 
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.

The day after we got home from London, I visited the bookshop I used to work in to pick up a few things, including From the Embers by Aly Martinez, which was sent to me from the publisher. Thank you, Hachette!

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

I also decided to buy a standard hardback of Chain of Thorns to round off my Last Hours trilogy! I now have the hardback rune editions and standard editions. I’m sure it’ll be a while still before I pick these up, but I’m glad to have them.

What have you purchased or received recently?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Book Haul #1 | Recent books I’ve received from publishers

On By Beth JonesIn Book HaulLeave a comment

Hi all and welcome to a new segment of the blog! I used to take part in Stacking the Shelves, wrapping up the books I received and bought during the week on the weekends, but I’ve decided to start a new series where I share book hauls whenever I choose to.

For the first issue of this series, I’m thanking a few publishers that have provided me with some wonderful advanced copies of books I’m super excited for in the next few months!

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

On the outskirts of Tokyo, in a neighbourhood crossed by a commuter railway, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times.
A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship; a gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss’s enthusiasm for her paintings; a manga fan shuts herself away after the traumatic death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside; a woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat.
Against the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, SHE AND HER CAT explores the gentle magic of the everyday. Populated by both the friendly and the feral, it reveals – with heartstopping clarity and warmth – how even in our darkest moments, community and connection may lead us to a happier place.

Firstly, Penguin sent me a copy of Makoto Shinkai’s newest release, She and Her Cat, which is based on Shinkai’s first animated work from 1999. I’m a big fan of Shinkai’s more recent work (especially Your Name), so you can only imagine how excited I was to receive this!

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but she’s sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin’s body know more than they’re telling, especially her ex-best friend Tripp Talbot. He’s definitely hiding something.
When Brynn gets an internship working on a popular true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she finds.
Four years ago someone got away with murder. Now it’s time to uncover the truth . . .

Also from Penguin, I received a copy of Nothing More to Tell, which is Karen M McManus’s latest release! She’s definitely the queen of YA thrillers and this is the only book by her I haven’t read yet.

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Three months after Fang Fest, Mina’s settling into her new life.
Despite the teething problems in her relationship with Jared, she has her sister back, new friends and a part-time job to die for.
Over Halloween, Mina and the gang have planned a spooky week of Gothic restaurants, horror movies, ghostly tours, creepy carnivals and a costume ball.
But the fun doesn’t last. Mina is on work experience with Detective Cafferty while the police are investigating a savage masked killer and a rise in suspicious ‘animal attacks’.
During her own investigations, Mina discovers a mysterious group of slayers, who are battling to control the rogue vampires.
The threats circle closer as Mina spends her days with the police and nights with the slayers.
Will she and her friends survive Halloween without being staked, stabbed or bitten?

The lovely people at Uclan publishing sent me a copy of Mina and the Slayers, the sequel to Mina and the Undead, which I read recently and really enjoyed! I’m hoping to dive into this one soon and continue the series.

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close.
Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another?

The lovely El at Harper Insider (a section of Harper Collins for Waterstones booksellers), sent me a parcel of proofs, including this one. I’m a keen baker and this one sounds so good – I always love books that focus on food!

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student among China’s most rich and influential teens. But then she starts uncontrollably turning invisible—actually invisible.
When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.
But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

I’ve been seeing this one around a lot so I was super excited to receive my own copy – how beautiful is that cover as well?!

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Kelly Quindlen meets Casey McQuiston in this sapphic Jewish twist on the classic Christmas enemies-to-lovers rom-com, as college freshman Shani’s internship is interrupted by a whirlwind winter fling.
It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.
Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.
It could be going better.
But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup.
Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?

I love a cozy Christmas romance, and I always like having one on hand for winter. This one looks so cute, and I love the cover!

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Falling for a superhero is dangerous. You have to trust that they’ll catch you.
Astrid isn’t a superhero, not like the ones she sees on the news, but she has something she thinks of as a small superpower: she has a perfect sense of time. And she’s not going to waste a single second.
Her plan for college is clear—friends, classes, and extracurriculars all carefully selected to get her into medical school.
Until Max Martin, a nerdy boy from her high school, crashes back into her life. Things with Max were never simple, and he doesn’t keep to her schedule. He disappears in the middle of dates and cancels at the last minute with stupid excuses.
When a supervillain breaks into her bedroom one night, Astrid has to face the facts: her boyfriend, Max Martin, is a superhero. Double-majoring as a premed was hard, but now Astrid will have to balance a double life. This wasn’t part of her plan.

Lastly from Harper, I’ve also been seeing this one all over social media and it looks so cool! I love the cover, the title, and the concept sounds pretty cool too.

Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Not every love is meant to be.
After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she’ll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.
But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.
Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can. . . .

I forgot to take a picture of this final book in the stack, but it definitely deserves a mention because I was so, so excited to receive a proof copy and I never expected to get one! You can see in the picture below how excited I was.

I love Stephanie Garber’s writing and Caraval is one of my favourite books. I really loved the first in this spin-off series when it came out last year, and I can’t wait to continue!

That’s all the books I’ve received from publishers in the past few weeks – thank you so much everyone! What did you buy or receive recently?

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Book Haul: #BlackPublishingPower

On By Beth JonesIn Book Haul4 Comments

Hi everyone! Today I’m here with a really important haul – I wanted to share with you the books I bought to join in with the movement to try and blackout the bestseller list with Black authors. To find out more, search for the #BlackPublishingPower or #BlackoutBestsellerList on social media! The idea is to purchase 2 books by Black authors by Saturday, but I decided to go for 4 in the end.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.

I’ve been seeing this everywhere and have heard so much about this book and author! I can’t wait to read it.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?
Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

This book has been on my TBR for a longgg time, so I thought I may as well buy it now!

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Goodreads | Waterstones

Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer battles a real-life troll intent on ruining the Black Panther-inspired video game she created and the safe community it represents for black gamers.
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY.
No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm.But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals.
Driven to save the only world in which she can truly be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

I’ve had this on my TBR for a while too, and it sounds super interesting.

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Goodreads | Waterstones

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren’t affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ that led to this book.
Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

But fiction doesn’t feel like enough, because what we need to do right now as White people is educate ourselves and others as much as possible. So I picked up this book too, which both me and my boyfriend wanted to read.

Want to watch this as a video? You can below!

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Book Haul. #37

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Haul, PeteLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

I’m back after a busy few weeks!

Today’s blog post is about some books I have managed to pick up over the course of the past fortnight that I feel were a little different from the usual kind of stuff that I would go for.

The three books that I’m going to talk about are not apart of the YA genre or even remotely related. Even though I will always be a big fan of young adult it’s important, in order to grow as a reader, to branch out from the writing styles that you are most comfortable with!

Book 1- The Greeks by H.D.F Kitto

When I saw this book on a very pretty shelf in a fairly ugly charity shop in London I was instantly interested. Ancient Greece has always been a topic that intrigued me but due to sheer size of the area of study I always found it really difficult to access. ‘The Greeks’ is a light non fiction book that is both extensive and accessible. I’ve read a chapter on the tube so far and it is genuinely enjoyable. If any of you are interested in the Ancient Greeks, their way of life and the Gods they believed in I would definitely recommend this book.

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Book Two: La Chamade by Françoise Sagan

Admittedly this was a chance buy from a cool book shop I went to in Notting Hill (not the one from the film sadly).

The back of the book says:

‘Four people. A woman who has not known the passionate turmoil of love for ten years; and suddenly encounters the need for just such a love. A man with devotion enough to let her go. A younger man with desire enough to keep her too close. A woman who watches, tautly aware that impossible indifference must hide the hurt within her.’

Aside from this mysterious blurb I was also convinced by the fact that La Chamade is set in 60s Paris – a time I find to be massively interesting and massively romantic.

I haven’t read a word yet but it has done well on Goodreads which is always a good sign. If you are into French literature definitely give it a go!

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Book Three: The Outsider by Albert Camus

For all of you who know your classics, The Outsider is a literary essential.

This book was lent to me by a kind and very fancy friend who book-pushed it excitedly.

Also a French book, this short novel tells the story of a young bachelor living in Algeria. It is an exploration of man’s place in the universe and how it feels to be detached from society, how it feels to truly be an outsider in your own world.

I’ve only heard good things about this book and so on that basis, I would certainly recommend it to all of you.

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Thanks for reading this blog post. I hope, wherever you are, that you have a wonderful day.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.

Book Haul #19

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Haul, Pete1 Comment

Hey everyone!

I hope you’ve all been reading well and feeling well.

This week is a Book haul- something I haven’t done in a while.

Now that its summer, I have much more time to read so I recently picked up these three books and I thought that I’d share them with you all in case you think they sound any good and want them for yourself.

1Q84 By Haruki Murakami

1q84

1Q84 by the critically acclaimed Japanese author, Haruki Murakami, is a romance dystopian novel set in Tokyo in the eighties. The three book story follows two main characters, a man and a woman who live separate yet parallel lives. The fates become more intertwined then ever when they begin to realise that the world around them is not as it should be, that there are gaps in the fabric of their own reality. The book follows them trying to answer the question of, What is 1Q84?

Sophie’s World By Jostein Gaarder

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Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder has become a worldwide cult classic. The story surrounds Sophie Amundsen, a 14 year old girl living in Norway who begins to ask the big questions about life, love and human existence when she starts receiving mysterious letters in the post. This book is loved by millions and is often considered a must for all beginning philosophers.

Snow Like Ashes By Sara Raasch

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The Snow Like Ashes trilogy is a YA High fantasy novel that imagines a world that is split into nations by the four seasons. In this fast paced political romance there is action around every corner and a race for justice as the Winterians try to escape the grip of the other seasons and be free.

I hope this post has potentially piqued your interest about any of these books!

Keep on reading !

And thanks again Beth.

Book Haul No.1 #4

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Haul, Pete1 Comment

Hi guys and girls!

Is anyone else genuinely feeling just very tired?

You know, that kind of soul crushing tiredness you get when you’ve just had two weeks off school for winter break and now there is a LOT of work to do and a LOT of things that need to be done NOW.

Yeah me too.

Over the festive season I did, like every other season/month/week/sometimes day(worryingly) buy some books!

And because this is a book blog and we talk about books here I going to share the books I bought.

Broken Sky by L.A. Weatherly

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The blurb of this book is beautifully ambiguous-

Welcome to a ‘perfect’ world.

Where war is illegal, where harmony rules.

And where your date of birth marks your destiny.

But nothing is perfect.

And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

It sounds like my perfect book honestly and although there are mixed reviews I cannot wait to get round to this one. It was only £3 too in the Waterstones sale?!?

We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

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From the sound of the blurb it feels like this book was actually written for me. Sci-fi, coming of age, LGBTQ? Sign me up!

There are a few things Henry Denton knows, and a few things he doesn’t.

Henry knows that his mom is struggling to keep the family together, and coping by chain-smoking cigarettes. He knows that his older brother is a college dropout with a pregnant girlfriend. He knows that he is slowly losing his grandmother to Alzheimer’s. And he knows that his boyfriend committed suicide last year.

What Henry doesn’t know is why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the aliens have offered him the opportunity to avert the impending disaster by pressing a big red button.

But they have. And they’ve only given him 144 days to make up his mind.

The question is whether Henry thinks the world is worth saving. That is, until he meets Diego Vega, an artist with a secret past who forces Henry to question his beliefs, his place in the universe, and whether any of it really matters. But before Henry can save the world, he’s got to figure out how to save himself, and the aliens haven’t given him a button for that.

The Future For Curious People by Gregory Sherl

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This was a very random and out of the blue choice. This book is actually apart of the new adult genre which I don’t read so much of so i’m excited to try it out. Plus, it was also only £1?!?!

Meet Evelyn and Godfrey. Evelyn is breaking up with her boyfriend, who’s passing out advertisements for his band on a snowy street corner in Baltimore. She’s seen their dismal future together at Dr. Chin’s office: she and her boyfriend, both many years older, singing Happy Birthday to a Chihuahua and arguing about cheese. She hopes for more. Meanwhile, Godfrey is proposing to his girlfriend, Madge, who’s not quite willing to take that leap; she wants to see their future together first–just to be sure they re meant for each other. The Future for Curious People follows Evelyn and Godfrey’s soon-to-be-entwined lives, set in motion by the fabulist premise of a world with envisionists like Dr. Chin. As the characters struggle with their pasts and possible futures, they wrestle with sorrow, love, death, and fate. This novel will capture you with its brightness, its hopefulness, its anxious twists and turns; it is a love story that is ultimately a statement about happiness and how to accept our fleeting existence.

The School For Good And Evil by Soman Chainani

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I’ve heard bundles about this on BookTube and its mostly all been good. The premise sounds, quite frankly, incredibly interesting. Yay for reading middle grade?!

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

Thanks for checking this Book Haul out let me know in the comments if any of you have read any of these books.

I’m currently reading Gemina, the 2nd book in the Iluminae series and OMG yes! Book review to come soon.

Here is a random drawing I did yesterday. Enjoy!

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Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.