Top Ten Books That’ve Recently Hit My Shelves

My book blogging skillz have been slacking lately – I had some time off work last week and was planning on scheduling lots for the blog, but my get up and go? It got up and went. I accidentally ended up posting next week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic yesterday, #fail, so have decided to quickly throw this one together and get it up today! And breathe. On the plus-side, next week’s TTT is done 🙂

1. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm – A lot of the Booktubers I love talk about Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends (Jean’s Bookish Thoughts is a prime example!), and a lot of the stories I love are derived from them (ACOTAR, Disney movies etc.). So, I thought it was about time I got my hands on a beautiful bind-up edition. I was tempted with the Barnes and Noble leather bind-up, but eventually went with the Wordsworth Library Edition. I think I’m OK with my choice… I’m always going to lust after gorgeous editions, le sigh. For eBook lovers, you can get your hands on the collection for just 99p!

Full disclosure – I was browsing in my local Waterstones and picked this up for £11.99. It is currently on Amazon for £7.79 and I’m facing a moral dilemma. I like that I supported a physical book store, but there’s a massive part of me (the bargain hunter) that seriously struggles with paying full price, when I could be getting the exact same book for £4.20 cheaper… Thoughts?

2. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende – I will admit, I had absolutely never heard of this book before – but I’ve recently taken to scouting out charity shops in the hopes of stumbling upon a great find (and to fuel my dad’s reading habits – more on that soon). So, when I found a brand new copy of this book, I snapped it up. I read a lot of book blogs, and I watch a lot of BookTube, and lately I’ve been gravitating towards channels that talk about adult, literary and classical fiction. Don’t worry, my YA/NA tastes aren’t going anywhere just yet! But, I am finding lately that while I may not be drawn to reading these types of books just yet, I certainly love watching videos about them. This one seemed pretty accessible (and it’s published by Penguin, good sign, right?), so I thought I’d give it a go.

3. Wool by Hugh Howey – I haven’t read a gripping dystopian in what feels like forever, and I seem to remember Stef raving about this series. I spotted this massive book in my local charity shop for 75p and instantly claimed it as mine. Now I just have to collect the rest of the series before starting it…

4. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey – This book seemed to be everywhere at one point – getting great reviews and being talked about constantly. I’d just finished Still Alice (which I need to review yet… and I need to watch the movie), and as I knew this book was centred on similar themes, I thought I might like it.

5. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt – Another fan-tab-ulous charity shop find! Some time ago I decided I should read more literature by Irish authors (Cathy and Trish have inspired me), though of course, I haven’t quite managed to read them yet, I am building up a nice collection, and this is one of them. I have a vague memory of reading parts of this when I was far too young to appreciate it. I’m really looking forward to reading this as an adult.

6. If You Go Away by Adele Parks – I’d just read The Nightingale last month and absolutely adored it (5* review to follow), and was looking to sink my teeth into some more great historical fiction, when I spotted If You Go Away. I’d previously contacted a book seller because the review section of their website had a glitch, and as a thank you for notifying them, they sent me a beautiful hard cover copy of this new release for free. Excited to read it!

7. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kid – Another book I read and loved recently was To Kill A Mockingbird (does anyone have any favourite editions? I really want to invest in an attractive one!). The Invention of Wings seemed similar due to the Deep South element, the racial discrimination, and the time period, so I’m giving this one a go.

8. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters – This is one of those books that for some inexplicable reason kept calling to me from the shelves. Maybe it was the purple cover? Maybe it was the praise I’d heard heaped on the book. Who knows? But I desired it (not even “wanted” it, I “desired” it) and so I gave in.

9. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris – This was a charity shop find I’d never heard of before. The cover art drew me in, and then the blurb sealed the deal. “For anyone who has ever worked in an office, hating everything and everyone in it, yet fell apart when it was time to leave — this book is for you. Heartbreaking, yet hysterically funny, Then We Came to the End is the definitive novel about the contemporary American workplace.

10. Life Story – I was obsessed with this BBC documentary narrated by David Attenborough and binge-watched the entire thing in a day or two. When I spotted this coffee-table book for just £3 (RRP £25) I had to own it, if even to browse through the fantastic photography. Highly recommend this series and the book.

What books have you acquired recently? Let me know in the comments, and link me up to your TTT post if you’ve done one! Have you read any of my picks? What did you think of them?