August Book Haul

To say I enjoy books would be an understatement, surely if you are a reader, follow me on social media accounts or are simply my friend, you will understand my love for the English language, fiction and writing, oh and pretty much everything bookish. 

This month I have exceeded myself and bought 9 books in one week.

One week.

Crazy. Mental. Losing the plot.

Here's a lil summary of a few of them!

They have been piled next to my bookcase ready to be organised and slotted into my shelves by the colour of their spines. Oh boy.

That's the most exciting part about getting a new book - first, what colour is its spine?

Yellow? Okay, lets find the yellow section.

What shade of yellow? This means comparing the already existing yellow books and finding its place on the colour scale.

A process I take very seriously.

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson.

Published in 2010 this is Nelson's debut novel. A story of American young girl Lennie experiencing high school whilst struggling to cope with the sudden death of her older sister. A piece of fiction looking at grief, loss and romance. I am looking forward to read this young adult novel after reading I'll Give You The Sun also written by Nelson. 

The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness.

Ness in my opinion has a growing reputation in the young adult community, yet this is my first book ever purchased by him. If I am honest I've read synopsis' of the novel and I'm not entirely sure of its plot or themes so the plan is to jump in the deep end, read it and be pleasantly surprised.

Purity - Jonathan Franzen.

Discovered this beauty through a Booktuber, fell in love with the colours on the cover and added it to my reading list. Described as a novel intersecting several stories of different characters from varying ages and backgrounds, this seems a book that is right up my street, despite its thickness (I find thick novels quite scary so stepping out of my comfort zone) it's a mix of different stories and lives.

Dear Amy - Helen Callaghan

One of my favourite genres is psychological thrillers, novels that keep me gripped and unable to put it down until it's finished. An agony aunt called Margot Lewis receives a letter for her advice column, the letter is not your usual agony aunt criteria, instead, it's chilling, scary and urges you to keep reading and discover what might have happened to this pleading young woman. The sticker on the cover "If you liked The Girl on The Train you will love this!" had me put it in my basket, I enjoyed the suspense and shocking plot twist of The Girl on The Train so, I guess now, I have high expectations.

A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara 

This has been on my reading list since it came out, previously avoiding it because of its length, ugh what is that all about?? Need to get over my fear of lengthy novels, however on a FOOD shopping trip I happened to disappear into the book aisle of Tesco' and found A Little Life. After hunting down my family again I was greeted with "Bet you were in the book section!" Oops. It follows the lives of four friends in New York City after graduating. A spectacular tale of friendship, career building, sexuality, love and addiction.

Francis Plug: How To Be A Public Author by Paul Ewen

A novel exploring what it is to be an author in 21st century, documenting a series of events at real author events that the author has fictionalised. Never before have I heard of this until I came across a box of books reduced to sale prices in Waterstones, if I'm honest, I was drawn by it's black cover and its focus on writing and being an author (My ultimate ambition and goal for life).

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Shakespeare: Staging The World by Jonathan Bate and Dora Thornton 

An absolute prize possession I also found in the box of books reduced to sale in Waterstones. From studying English Literature at A-Level like most literature students I have developed a taste for Shakespeare. He's fantastic, a legend among writers, an inventor of language and all those wonderful insults "Thou art as loathsome as a toad".  This beauty is an illustrated collection of objects showing how Shakespeare developed the stage for art, performance and literature among creatives and writers. I am sure I squealed at the till and cashier when she placed it delicately in a bag for me.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Parts One and Two - A script written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by J.K Rowling

Last but not least. *SCREAMS* This is maybe every child of my generations dream, new Harry Potter material, however it has gathered mixed reviews. Spoken about as the 8th instalment to the Harry Potter series, 19 years after the battle of Hogwarts. You remember where the last book left off right? 19 years later, the trio with their families sending their own children off on The Hogwarts Express just like they had so many years ago. The Cursed Child is Draco Malfoy and the trio's children experiencing Hogwarts and magic. OBVIOUSLY. I have already read this before this haul goes live, being the potterhead I am I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It's a script, not a fully planned novel so yes, it's different and intended to be seen as a performance rather than read as a play, it's like reading a Shakespeare play, it's a little confusing until you see the real life production on stage with real actors and emotions.

What books have you been loving this month? Any recommendations? 

Would you like a longer review of any of these books mentioned? Let me know!!!

I hope now after reading this you treat yourself to a few books, you know? You deserve it.