Collective Book Haul - Winter 2018

I know this isn't going to be a very festive post, but I have been buying a lot of books over the past few months and I really wanted to share them in a haul. This year for me has allowed me to really discover my passion for reading on a whole other level. I never use to read a lot as a child and so I feel like, right now, I am making up for lost time. A lot of the boots in this haul are quite old and favourites to a lot of people, but I am still yet to read any of them so I definitely hope to read a lot of these in the new year.

The first two books I got were from Amazon and I bought these at a time when I felt really inspired to branch out of my little YA contemporary bubble.

Firstly, I got Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo which is a high fantasy novel. I have never read fantasy properly before and I know that it is such a huge genre as well as being one that I really want to immerse myself in. Back when I first bought this book, I did try to read it but because I was so busy at the time, I just had to put it down and save it for a time when I could really give it all of my attention. This book is part of a duology and I do plan on getting round to it but I think I might need to ease myself into the fantasy genre first before I jump straight into this book.

As for my second book, I bought Eleanor Oliphant if Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and this was all down to Nicole's recommendation from A Beautiful Chaos Of Books on Youtube. I love Nicole's youtube and I always trust her recommendations so hopefully, I am going to like this one. From reading the synopsis, I think that it is right up my street. It is definitely much bigger than what I thought it would be but I hope that it will keep my attention. 

These next two books I bought very spontaneously because I was in Sainsburys and I wasn't planning on buying anything but the two books were so affordable that I just couldn't leave them, so I bought them.

The first one was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton which is his debut novel. I really love the summary of this book and I am definitely intrigued to see how the plot plays out. From what I've read it seems like a mystery thriller but also with a bit of romance. Also, for this brand new book, I paid £4 which is just so crazily affordable to me. 

Next from Sainsburys, I bought The One that got Away by Helen Warner which I paid a grand total of £2.99 for. I love a good romantic comedy and this seemed like the perfect one to add to my collection. From what I've read, it is based all around this one wedding but it affects four women in different ways. I will definitely be picking this up when I am in need of a quick light-hearted read.

This next book was a gift from one of my really good friends Sophie and you might think it is really weird, but back when I was doing my GCSEs earlier this year, I learned that I really loved studying Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Everyone thought I was crazy because I liked it so much but I said that I wanted to read more of Shakespeare's plays and so for Christmas, Sophie bought me The Complete Works of William Shakespeare which I am honestly so excited about. This contains literally all of his plays and I just cannot wait to start reading them. I am so grateful to have received this from Sophie and I will definitely be working my way through this in the new year. 

The final place where I bought books from is Music Magpie. I too was one of those people that watched their weird adverts and had never thought of looking into it, but during summer I actually used their website to make some money by getting rid of some old DVDs and books. This website also offers the chance for you buy some second-hand items, one of which, being books. I love the idea of second-hand books because it is not only good for the environment but they are also super affordable and they give you the opportunity to grow your collection in a much easier way. 

The first book I got was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling. Believe me or not but I have never read or watched any of the Harry Potter books or films so I am making it my aim of 2019 to read all of the books. Obviously, this is the first one and so my collection is only going to grow from here but I am actually so excited to start reading this serious. I know that it is insanely well loved so I can only hope that I am going to love it too. 

Next is another book I feel as though everyone has read and it is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. This is a children's book but I have never read it but I also know that there is a film based off of this book so I really want to give it a try. From what I know, this is about two young boys from opposite lives during the Holocaust and that's about it. I always find books/films about the Second World War to be very interesting but also very emotional and I feel like this book is going to be no different. This is also much shorter than what I had expected so I can see myself reading this in the very near future.

I have never read any proper classics myself, just the ones we were forced to read in school and so I really want to try and read some more for myself. Therefore, I picked up two new classics for my collection, the first one being A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseine. In my sixth form, the English lit class is actually studying this book and once I heard what it was about, I was interested to read it myself and so I bought it. 

As for my second classic, it is definitely a very popular one and it is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I feel like this is such an essential in any book collection so I cannot wait to read this for myself and maybe buy some more Bronte books as I know that they are well loved within literature.

Next up is a book that I was not expecting to find on Music Magpie, so once I found it, I put it straight in my basket and checked out. This is Ink by Alice Broadway which is a dystopian based around people's lives being displayed by tattoos across their bodies. I am so intrigued by this plot and it is also quite a recent release so the fact that I got this for such an affordable price is just amazing. This will also be my first dystopian and I feel like I am really going to love it so I can't wait to explore the genre some more once I have read this. Also, can we just appreciate this cover for a second, the copper foiling is so beautiful. 

I feel like this is another classic fantasy series and the first book in the series is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Shadowhunters is one of my favourite tv shows on Netflix and I have also seen the film adaptation so I am really excited to see how the book differs. Hopefully, I haven't ruined it for myself by watching the TV show but I guess we will have to wait and see. 

As for my final book, it is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book is loved by so many people and I am so excited to read it for myself. I know that Markus Zusak has just released a second book this year but I really wanted to read this one first because it is a favourite. Once again, this is also based around the Second World War so I can see it being quite a heart-wrenching read but I am definitely will to give it a go. 

Let me know what you think of the books that I have picked up, especially if you have already read them. I am also thinking of writing a blog post about Music Magpie as I think a lot of people don't know enough about the brand and I would love to share more about it, so do let me know if you think you would be interested in reading that. 

Grace xx