My Birthday Book Haul!

 

It was my birthday this week and I was very spoilt with lots of lovely new books so I thought I’d write a little blog post about them. It’s unusual for me to get so many books for my birthday so I was very excited to get so many this year!

My wonderful husband gave me a parcel before he went to work and in it were seven books! I’d actually been looking at some of these books on a very rare trip out of the house the other week but I didn’t buy them, so he went back and got them for me! 

IMG_4092

The books are:

A Proper Family Adventure by Chrissie Manby (I love this series so much and am pleased to have the next one to start very soon!)

The Hidden Girl by Louise Millar

More Than Just Coincidence by Julie Wassmer

Two Fridays in April by Roisin Meaney

Love in the Afternoon by Penny Vincenzi (I’ve loved all of her novels but have never read any of her short stories so I’m really looking forward to reading this one)

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

The Restoration of Otto Laird by Nigel Packer


 

 

He saved the best presents until last though as when he got home from work he helped me downstairs and gave me another stack of gifts which included these gorgeous books…

IMG_4100

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

I’ve been wanting to read this novel ever since I first heard about it so I was beyond excited to open this parcel last night! I’ve already started reading it and it’s everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s a beautiful looking book too – I’m so pleased to own it in hardback rather than ebook (which is what I more often than not buy these days).

 

IMG_4101

Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse by Ursula Moray Williams

This is one of my childhood favourites, I have such fond memories of learning to read it by myself. I first saw this edition online a while ago and showed it to my husband as it’s so lovely but I never got around to buying it. I was so pleased to received it yesterday – it’s such a pretty hardback book and even has a yellow ribbon bookmark in it, just like my childhood books used to. I’m not reading much at the moment with feeling so unwell, and I reckon that delving into this old favourite might be just what I need! 🙂

 

IMG_4102

So This Is Permanence: Ian Curtis, Joy Division – Lyrics and Notebooks edited by Deborah Curtis and Jon Savage

I’m a massive Joy Division fan, and have been for years and years, and have read so many biographies of them over the years but somehow this book has passed me by. I was so thrilled when I opened it though as it’s one of the most stunning books I’ve ever owned – it doesn’t show up too well on this photo but it’s clothbound and really lovely. This is definitely a book I will treasure forever.

 

He also got me some gorgeous Michael Kors perfume in a lovely set, and next time I’m able to leave the house we’re going shopping for a new picture for the living room, which will be part of my birthday present too.

 


 

My lovely mum-in-law also spoilt me and her present included two fab souvenir books about David Bowie, they’re also books that I will treasure.

 


 

I was also given some money and a gift card, some of which I’m saving, but I couldn’t resist treating myself to some of the books that were released yesterday. These are the books I chose for myself…

How Not To Disappear by Clare Furniss

The Woman Who Ran by Sam Baker

While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green


 

So all-in-all it was a really lovely birthday and I’m hoping that all of my fabulous new books will help me get my reading mojo back!


 

I’m still not up to blogging regularly but I will blog as and when I can, and I will make sure to honour all my commitments to blog tours etc though. I hope to be back blogging at full speed soon but I need to get my health back on track first. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me, it really does mean a lot to me.

Weekly Wrap up and Stacking the Shelves (9th January)

I can’t believe it’s Saturday again already!

This week I’ve posted about the books published in 2015 or before that I most want to read this year. You can read that post here if you’d like to. I’d previously posted my most anticipated new releases of 2016 (which can be read here), and I realised that there were so many books that were on my list to read last year that I’d not time to get to so I wanted to even things up.

Also this week I posted an interview that I did with the author of Search for the Truth, Kathryn Freeman.

I did my usual book memes – WWW Wednesday and Book Beginnings.

I’m struggling with reading at the moment. I’m still not 100% health-wise and my physio schedule is really taking it out of me. I’m trying to find to find balance in my life so that I can keep on blogging regularly but at the moment I’m coming unstuck because I don’t have the energy and concentration to read as much as I’d like to. Anyway,  I’ll figure it out eventually!


 

I only managed to read one book this week but I did get a review of it posted (please click on the link below the image to read my review).

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood

 

stacking-the-shelves

I’m also joining in with Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga’s Reviews), which is all about sharing the books that you’ve acquired in the past week – ebooks or physical books, and books you’ve bought or borrowed or received an ARC of.

This week I’ve treated myself to a few new Kindle books with my Christmas money.

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight 

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait

The Gilded Life of Matilda Duplaine by Alex Brunkhorst

The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson

An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

 

I received some fab ARCS this week too:

The Poison Artist by Jonathan Moore

The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells by Virginia MacGregor

If I forget You by Thomas Christopher Greene

I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Roisin Meaney

The Birthday that Changed Everything by Debbie Johnson

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters

The Missing Hours by Emma Kavanagh

 


What have you been reading this week? Have you bought any new books? Please feel free to link to your wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! 🙂