March / April Book Haul
{This article contains affiliate links for Bookshop.org and Waterstones.}
Hello Readers,
I realised I haven’t written a book haul since February and well…
I’ve added a few books to my TBR cart / shelf since then, some of which I have already read ~ the ones I’ve read, I won’t be sharing too much detail on as they’ll be in my wrap up next week. But, I thought I’d share what I’ve picked up in case you’re looking for a new read.
If you’ve read my March Wrap Up, then you’ll know that I’ve already read and loved this book. For anyone who missed that post, you can read it here.
But anyways, this book is the finalé to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer Series and it’s just a wonderful way to end to the series. If you’re looking for a quiet, cosy feeling Sci-Fi or you’re wanting to start reading Sci-Fi, then I’d really recommend this series. It’s not as intense or complicated as some Science Fiction can be.
Leaves of Grass was Walt Whitman’s first poetry collection that was published. I’m currently reading this and I’m around the 100 page mark. I plan to finish this in the next few days and so it’ll be included in my April Wrap Up.
But so far, I’m really enjoying Whitman’s writing style and his observations on life.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
This one is a little different as it’s a non-fiction. But I came across this book a while ago and it peaked my interest. It’s also my pick for my Book Club to read during May.
The Library Book mainly focuses on a fire that took place in the 1980’s at the Los Angeles Public Library. But from that stems the topic of Libraries in general and the important role they play in today’s world and the communities they are a part of.
It just sounded like an interesting read and as someone who was taken to a library and encouraged to read from a very early age, I really wanted to pick this one up.
This is a short story collection that ties into the Skyward Series. Now when I say, short story, I really mean Sanderson’s version of a short story ~ the collection is over 600 pages and the last story is between 250 - 300 pages. So not so short but I’m definitely not complaining.
I’ve read this collection already, so it'll be a part of my April Wrap Up but I absolutely loved all three stories in this collection. They follow characters featured in the main books but they fill in details and events that are going on while the main books follow Spensa and what she’s doing.
I won’t say anymore as I’ll go into detail in my Wrap Up.
This is the collection of poems that the musical Cats is based on. I read these poems many years ago and decided I wanted my own copy of them. This collection is all about cats, is around 30 pages long and so I actually read them within an hour when I just needed a quiet morning.
So as I’ve already read this, I’ll share my thoughts in my Wrap Up.
Being someone who enjoys science, this book really caught my attention as the main character, Elizabeth, is a scientist in the 1960’s. The book follows her as she navigates her life and job dealing with inequality at her place of work. As life goes on, Elizabeth then finds herself trying to juggle being a single parent and the star of a popular cooking show, where she doesn’t just teach women to cook but dares them to change the status quo.
Elizabeth just sounds like a really interesting character and I’m realising that I enjoy stories that bring up topics of woman doing jobs that were / still are dominated by men and how they succeed at them despite being looked down on.
I’ve also chosen this book as my Book Club’s Buddy Read during June.
I’ve had this book on my Wishlist for a while and I finally decided to add it to my TBR. I always hesitate when it comes to picking up fantasy as I’m very very particular as there’s many elements of the genre that I don’t like.
But this story sounded like I might enjoy it as it’s based around cities and their souls ~ some are ancient, others are new and destructive. But every city has a dark side and New City’s five souls are under threat of being destroyed unless they can work together to save themselves.
This is actually the first book in a series, so I’m hoping if I enjoy this, I’ll continue with the rest of the series.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
It was actually publishing day for this book yesterday and this is another one that caught my attention when I saw it in Waterstones’ “Coming Soon” section a little while ago.
This book explores parallel worlds and possibilities as it follows multiple characters living in different times and all dealing with different situations but may all be connected. The synopsis does has some more details on the story so if you want to know, you can simply click the link. But for me, when it comes to books like this when I know there’s going to be things revealed, I don’t like to know too much about them before I pick them up.
I will just mention that there is a pandemic featured within this book, so that’s just something to be aware of.
Crier’s War and Iron Heart by Nina Varela
This is another series that I’ve been hesitant to pick up as it lies on the border between fantasy and sci-fi but I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.
This story is set in the kingdom of Rabu, the Automaes, who were created by humans, specifically the royals to be their playthings, have usurped their rulers and are now in control. Ayla, a human servant in the Sovereign’s house, dreams of avenging her family by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier ~ who begins to discover that her father isn’t all she thought he was.
I’m hoping I will enjoy this as the synopsis sounds interesting and like there’s going to be some twists and turns along the way.
So there we have it, those are the books that I have recently purchased and added to my ever growing TBR.
Have you read any of these? I’d love to know your thoughts on them if you have ~ no spoilers though please.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
