So, I was hoping for great bloggy things in May – it was a slight improvement on April, but I’m still not blogging how I want to, as often as I want to. It seems at the minute, life is determined to get in the way! I’m going to roll with it, fighting it or getting worked up about it seems futile. Let’s see how I got on this month.
The Books:
As predicted there were some Bank Holiday sales last month, and I finished my dissertation and got it handed in, which equalled celebratory book-buying. Obviously.
My celebratory book haul included:
- The Curvy Girls Club by Michele Gorman
- The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey
- The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
- The Malory Towers Collection by Enid Blyton
- The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
- Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach
- The Two of Us by Andy Jones
- The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
- Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult
- The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
- The Psychology Book (not pictured)
- Talon by Julie Kagawa
- The Good Father and Summers Child by Diane Chamberlain
I picked all of these up for just £25 including delivery. My conscience is clear!
I called into my local Cancer Research UK charity shop to pick up a t-shirt for the Pretty Muddy 5K run, and ended up leaving with some great books. I should really call into charity shops more often, there were brand new books in there, and it’s basically guilt-free book shopping because the money is going to a good cause. This could be bad for my TBR… I picked up The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The Amber Spyglass and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (I did own these, but I’m pretty sure I culled them a long time ago), Look Who It Is!: My Story by Alan Carr, The Beach by Alex Garland, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris. All for just £8!
Finally this month I did a #booksfortradeUK deal with Becky from A Fool’s Ingenuity, I traded my Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series for The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, Started Early, Took My Dog and When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.
Movies and TV Shows:
Netflix has been a saviour this month – I watched all of the Netflix original series Grace and Frankie, after seeing Jean @ Jean’s Bookish Thoughts recommending it – I totally adored it. Then I moved on to Once Upon A Time, and I’m hooked. Though I looked it up and I can’t believe it’s 5 seasons long already. It’s going to kill me. Really looking forward to season 3 of Orange is the New Black in June. I think I’m on a TV Show kick.
Wrappin’ It Up!
- Tara @ The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh! got critical about theme
- Hannah @ So Obsessed With shares her reading binges and reading blahs
- Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook explains how her reading tastes have changed
- Ana @ Read Me Away does the romance take-over
- Nova @ Out Of Time posted about Blogger/Reader Fails
- Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf wrote about Carrie Hope Fletcher’s book signing
- Stormy @ Book. Blog. Bake shared her changing views on love triangles
- Cait @ Paper Fury shares ten problems of being an adult who reads YA, and asks should we read outside of our comfort zone?
- Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense gives her opinion on negative reviews
- Lauren @ Lauren Reads YA shared the new Mortal Instruments covers without text, and they’re lush!
- Amanda @ Beautiful Bookish Butterflies shared popular and underrated contemporary recommendations as well as 4 ways your blog helps your resume
As always, I’m linking to the latest Oh, The Books! weekly recap post so you can find more amazing things to read!
In Case You Missed It:
My reading has kind of picked up a little this month, but blogging and reviewing is still behind where I’d like it to be. I’m getting there… Check out my review for The Good Psychopath’s Guide To Success (4/5), To Kill A Mockingbird (5/5) and A Girl Undone (4/5).
Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Books I’ll Never Read – Top Ten Authors I Want To Meet – Top Ten Books I’d Rather Be Reading Right Now – Top Ten Books For My Beach Bag
This month I also shared links for all of the titles in the SYNC Free Audiobooks for Summer promotion, was featured on Inside Out over on Bookmark Lit, and shared a new release by Mila Gray/Sarah Alderson! I took a burst of inspiration to take part in Armchair BEA (Armchair BEA Post 2) and also posted about the #booksfortrade phenomenon sweeping Twitter. Look out for lots of exciting things on the blog in June, not only do I plan on putting up lots of reviews, but there should be some exciting news *cough* new feature *cough*!
My most popular posts in May (except for TTT posts) were my review for All The Light We Cannot See and Bloomsbury New Harry Potter Covers and Artist Interview!
Here is to a very productive June, Book Geeks! Wish me luck!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
I love Weisberger’s books! You made out on the book haul this month!!
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Yay! I’ve heard great things about the books, and I LOVED the first movie. Meryl Streep was QUEEN. I did – God only knows when I’ll actually get to any of them, but looking at my bargainlicious babies makes me happy… R x
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I love Once Upon a Time, too! ❤
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Ohh new feature, I’m curious! And lovely haul! I loved The Secret Dream World of a Shopaholic but it’s years since I read it. And I need more Diane Chamberlain books, I’ve read 3 now and loved them all.
I’ve cancelled my Netflix for the summer as I wasn’t watching it but when I get it back later in the year, I’ll look up Once Upon a Time as I think I’d like that one.
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I can’t wait to FINALLY talk about it. SO EXCITED! I have such a weakness for Chamberlain books – you can usually pick some up in The Works for a great price. I love her stories. And it’s been years since I’ve read a Shopaholic book too, but I always loved them so thought I’d try and collect the series… I might sneak into a charity shop this weekend and try to find a few gems…
Some months I barely look at Netflix and some months I’m never off it. It’s great value when you think about it, especially now you can add additional users to the one account. I’m HOOKED on TV shows – Grace and Frankie was understated but FABULOUS! R x
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Wow you’ve had a busy month, look at all those books! I can’t believe you got them so cheap. And I would agree and say going in charity shops for books is a great idea but I’ve had to stop myself going to them because that’s how my bookshelves start overflowing. I always feel a bit like I’m missing out on a good deal, but I know how stupid I can get with my book buying so I try and visit them once a month if that. If only I could do the same with supermarkets and my bookish impulse buys there.
I haven’t seen Grace and Frankie, yet, it has some of my favourite actors in and looks like it should be really good. I’m thinking about binging on it one weekend, but we shall see.
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SO MANY BOOKS. I’m always torn between book buying guilt, and book buying achievement because of my bargain skillz. What did you pick up from The Works with the discount? There’s 25% off on Wednesday with a code if you’re interested? Plus your 18% cashback on top of that… I’m such an enabler 😉 I want to cut back on supermarket pick-me-ups. I thought about this the other day, and it’s the worst. I’d rather get a ton of books from a charity shop for 75p each because the Tesco 2 for £7 isn’t actually that good. It’s good for a new release you’re dying to get your hands on, but really I impulse buy them, and that doesn’t work out cheap over the course of the year. I’d say Tesco is where most of my book money goes to be honest! Need to curb that one. Have you tried Grace and Frankie yet??? R x
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[…] purchases this month (that I can remember). Yus! After last month’s haul, I really didn’t need anything else to add to my shelves. Which likely means there will be […]
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