As I was sat in my bedroom looking around at the heaps of books that haphazardly (but lovingly) covered my desk, drawers and bedside table, I realised that although we’re only halfway through July, I’ve already accumulated quite a few books. With me attending YALC at the end of the month, and planning on buying aaallllll of the books, I thought I should probably write a mid month haul. One haul might be a little too much! So I’ve bought an eclectic mix of books in July, from non fiction to YA to adult fantasy, from book stores and through taking advantage of the Amazon Prime deals earlier this month!
YA
Last Saturday, Becky of Two Book Thieves, Lauren of Northern Plunder, Beth of I Am Book Mad and I met to discuss our YALC prep: who we wanted to meet, what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. Of course, we couldn’t discuss books without visiting a book shop and buying some, could we? I picked up Show Stopper by Hayley Barker, a circus themed fantasy story which I’ve heard great things about, and One Of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, a mystery thriller which I’ve already reviewed here. I’m hoping to meet both authors at YALC, so hopefully these will be signed copies in just a few weeks!
On the Sunday, and after some encouragement from the girls in our aptly named “BOOKS” group chat, I went hunting for Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. A kick ass story about a high school feminist revolution? Erm, yes please. Luckily, I found it in a nearby WHSmith (even though technically it’s not out until September, thank you Zoella’s book club)!
Earlier this month, I received a copy of Dare to Fall by Estelle Maskame from Ink Road Books and Black and White Publishing – thank you! A YA contemporary novel about love and loss, I finished Dare to Fall earlier this week after devouring it in just a couple of days. I’ll be posting a full review soon!
I also picked up the The Infernal Devices trilogy box set for less than £9 (!!!) in the Amazon Prime Deals which I am so happy about… now I just need to finish The Mortal Instruments series. After hearing so much excitement around the release of Because You Love to Hate Me, an anthology of re-imagined fairytales from the villain’s point of view, created by thirteen awesome authors who have teamed up with thirteen booktubers, all edited by Ameriie. I’m so excited to read this!
Fantasy
I only bought one adult fantasy novel this month, which was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. I haven’t read any of Matt’s books before, but I’ve heard such great reviews and couldn’t resist when I saw his latest release on offer for under a fiver.
Non Fiction
Most of you probably have no idea as I haven’t really posted about it in a long time, but a couple of years ago I suffered quite badly with anxiety. Over time, I’ve learnt how to cope with and control it better, and things that used to be a struggle I don’t even think twice about now. I’m not saying that I’m “cured”, but I’m definitely in a better place. Part of my coping strategy includes reading lots of books around anxiety, mental health and mindfulness; I really do believe in personal growth and feel that gaining knowledge helps me greatly. In July I got my hands on quite a few: Mindset by Dr Carol S. Dweck, How to be Mindful by Anna Barnes, Pause by Danielle Marchant, Making Friends with Anxiety by Sarah Rayner and Anxiety: Panicking about Panic by Joshua Fletcher. I also bought
Open by Gemma Cairney which covers similar kinds of themes. I hadn’t realised I’d bought this many books on the topic, but even if you don’t suffer with anxiety, nerves or mental health, I believe they definitely still hold a lot of value.
Like I said, personal growth and development is important to me and I like learning new things, so I also bought Get Coding by Young Rewired State this month. Yes, it is a children’s book, but we all have to start somewhere right? I was recently recommended Everybody Writes by Ann Handley to help focus and improve my writing, so I’m really excited to delve into it.
I did warn you that it would be a long post! That’s all the books that I’ve bought (so far) in July and I’m really excited to get stuck in *sneaks a look at growing TBR from every other month*.
*Book depository affiliate links used. I get a small commission if you purchase through them, and you get free delivery!
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