October Book Haul!

I really should make this a more regular post, I know I always enjoy seeing other bloggers book hauls as it gives me ideas (ideas I clearly do not need) about books I want to read and if nothing else, I really just enjoy being nosey and seeing what books people are reading. 

Oh and I have tsundoku. It's a real thing, promise.***

Anyway, here's what I've bought, been given, downloaded on my kindle and on audible in the last couple of months. 

Real Life Purdy Books:

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby 

I haven't read this one, which I know, is surprising considering I've read quite a lot of Hornby's other works and High Fidelity is possibly his most well known (it's also his first). I loved the film with John Cusack so I'm not really sure reading this is even necessary- I've already started it and it's fairly similar to the big screen adaptation, minus a move of location from Britain to America. The main character is Rob; a music shop owner, detailing his romantic history, while unable to get over one woman in particular; Laura.

Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

This was a Boston purchase. I've wanted to read this for a while and I really liked the cover (anyone who tells you that they don't judge a book by its cover is a dirty liar). This is a comic but scathing essay about what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women; where some men wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume the women they're talking to don't. Basically, it's about mansplaining. It's only 154 pages long so it'll be a quick and hopefully interesting read!

Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Again, another book I've wanted to read for a long time after loving the film. I specifically wanted to read this while I was in New York, as it's based there and happily, I found this beautiful edition on sale in the New York Public Library book shop. The book is quite different to the film so I'd say it's well worth a read. There's also three brilliant short stories in here too. I'll have a full review up at the end of the month!

Woman In The Making by Rory O' Neill

My sister dropped this over last week. Like most of the country (more than 60% of us! Woop!), I greatly appreciated Panti's involvement in the Yes Equality campaign and as a result I've been keen to learn more about Rory O' Neill's journey from small town Ireland to glamorous PantiBliss and becoming one of the more prominent voices of acceptance and diversity in Ireland.

Keeping Up With The Kalashnikovs by Ross O' Carroll-Kelly

This was another one from my sister. She's now added to the list of countless numbers of people who have recommended Ross O' Carroll Kelly's books to me so it's about time I read them I guess!

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide To Finding Peace In A Frantic World by Mark Williams & Danny Penman

My father-in-law lent this to me a while ago actually but I'm only looking at it now as I've recently been trying to get into mindfulness as a way to deal with everyday stress and anxiety. Here's a little about the book: 

"Mindfulness reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to help break the cycle of anxiety, stress, unhappiness and exhaustion"

You're recommended to invest a few minutes of each day in mindful meditation with the aim of quickly feeling more in control and able to enjoy life agin…sounds good, right?! There's a CD included as well as sometimes audio is particularly useful for meditative purposes. I'll let ye know how I get on with it!

Kindle:

I'm signed up to Amazon Kindle daily deals so I get an email every day with super cheap offers. I know this is detrimental to the small business owner, which is why I balance it out by also spending a stupid amount in store on actual, tangible books too. I'm a real philanthropist like that..ahem.

The Book Of You by Claire Kendal

I've seen lots of good reviews of this stalker-thriller on other blogs so I jumped at the chance to read it for 99p!

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

As it's set in Maine, I had big plans to read this whilst in Maine but sure we were too busy scampering about the place, eating lobster and drinking gin cocktails to do any reading. Then I thought I might read this before Halloween but again, I'm struggling to read at all at the minute. Being a kind of animal zombie story and one of King's most popular horrors, I'm looking forward to this one, just need to find the time!  

The Thrill Of It All by Joseph O' Connor

This one is for a new book club that I've joined. It's surprisingly long so is taking me a while but I'm enjoying it. It's a faux autobiography of an ageing rock star with a decidedly Irish leaning. It's entertaining and nostalgic for a time I wasn't even alive- so far so good!

Audible:

I always have an audio book on the go, it's great for doing the housework and going for walks.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Having read and enjoying Mindy's first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, I was eager to read her follow-on book that details her life as a celebrity and the changes that brings. I enjoy Audible for these types of books because t they're often read by the author and that adds a little something extra to the story, I feel. Full review coming soon!

After You by JoJo Moyes

I loved Me Before You, the book that lead to After You. I was really looking forward to this and I quite like the narrator- it can make or break it when it comes to an audio book. I'm still listening to it but I'll have a review up soon to let you know whether it's worth your time and money!

Have you read any of these? Bought any good reads lately?

XX

***Tsundoku!!