New Books, New Books, New Books!!!

Can you sense the palpable excitement in that title?! Oh, how I do love new books. 

Some of these are books I bought for myself, there's a few advanced reader copies, an audiobook and some actual real life books to stroke and gasp over..that sentence took an unexpectedly racy turn, eh?

Real Life Fancy Books:

The New York Times 36 Hours; 125 Weekends in Europe edited by Barbara Ireland

This one's a cheat because a) this isn't actually my book, it's my husbands and b) it's not new, my sister bought it for him for Christmas. 

I'm gonna include it in here anyway because we've started using it to plan our travels lately. Not only is it a physically beautiful book but it's also very easy to navigate, as it's divided into North Atlantic, Southwest, Central, Southeast and Northern Europe. We're going to Iceland in April *does happy dance* and found the section on Reykjavik very helpful as we will only be there for two nights (the rest of our time will be road-tripping) so a concentrated guide is ideal. Can't wait to work our way through the other cities we haven't been to yet!

The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby

I spotted this in a shop in Maine when we were there last year and I didn't buy it because I had no room left in my suitcase (thanks, Sephora) but it stuck with me as one I wanted to read and so I bought it for myself as a Valentine's Day present, along with the next book in the list! This is a fictional take on the Irish immigrant who created Jackie Kennedy's now infamous pink suit and has received lots of good reviews.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
This is the true story of a neurosurgeon diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and how he both coped with the transformation from doctor to patient and how he re-evaluated the meaning of life in the face of death. This has been described as profoundly moving and life affirming and I will no doubt be a teary mess reading it.

My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry
This is an advanced reader copy (ARC) sent to me by the lovely folks at Penguin to read and review on this here blog. I love an ARC because it means I get to read books before they're even available so it makes me feel like some sort of book wizard. Anyway, this isn't available until this coming May (ebook) and August (paperback) so I'll definitely have time to read it and share my opinion on it with you all before then but all I know so far is that the story features two strong female characters and enough twists and turns to make a tangle twister melt due to an inferiority complex.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Alright, I got swept up in the hype. I bought this in January in a fit of "I'm streamlining everything, my home will be zen, I will be at one with my aura" and other such random words that make no sense. So far, I've read the chapter on discarding books. The author herself had what she describes as a "library" of her own until that is she went through them and divided them into; books to keep (these are your all time favourites that you can't part with), books you've started but haven't finished, and books you bought but have never actually read. I can certainly see where this book will be helpful to me, in that my spare room alone is in the absolute horrors but I think perhaps starting with my clearing my beloved books may well have been a schoolboy error*

*all books still on shelves*

Kindle:

Maestra by L.S. Hilton
Hailed as both the most shocking thriller of the year and as being a much better version of 50 Shades of Grey, it was inevitable that my curiosity would get the better of me and that I'd buy this. I need to know if this is awful and exactly how awful it is so that I'm fully informed in discussions where someone is wrongfully defending it (see again, 50 Shades).

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katerina Bivald
This was another ARC but was actually released in January (I got to reading this one later than I should have). The main character, Sara is from Sweden, visiting her pen-pal and fellow book lover, Amy in the back arse of nowhere in America. She finds there's a surprise waiting for her on arrival and sets about using her love of books for the good of the small town she's staying in. I found this really quite slow to begin with but I'm halfway through it now and I'm really enjoying it- it's a heartwarming read and I absolutely adore books about books. Full review coming soon!

Rebel Sisters by Marita Conlon McKenna
This was our book club read for this month and was chosen to coincide with the Easter Rising commemorations as the rebel sisters in question are the Gifford sisters (Grace being perhaps the most well-known for marrying Joseph Plunkett). I read a lot of McKenna as a child and so far this is reading quite like Under The Hawthorn Tree et al. I'll finish it and let you know if that changes!

Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent
I haven't read Unravelling Oliver, a bestseller for Nugent last year but wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for an ARC of her latest book, Lying in Wait. This looks like an unusual thriller and I have high hopes, having already seen some very positive early reviews!

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
I'm already a bit unsure about this one, having somehow read more than my fair share of disturbing psychological thrillers about abusive husbands lately but sure look, it's a big kindle seller so let's find out what all the fuss is about, eh?!

The Bones of You by Debbie Howells
This is on the Richard & Judy book club list for the year so I jumped at the chance to pick it up for super cheap recently. The story centres around a small town reeling from the disappearance of a well-liked teenage girl. A local woman, Kate feels the police are missing something and sets about solving the mystery for herself.

The Life and Death of Sophie Stark by Anna North
Described as a "unique page turner", the Sophie Stark in question is an enigmatic film director. The people who knew her best describe her but does anyone know the real Sophie?
Intriguing..

A Book For Her by Bridget Christie
Just look at that cover!
"A Book For Her *And for him, if he can read."
Amazing.
Amazon recommended this one to me based on my previous purchases and then I read the opening line of the description, laughed and loud, read it to my husband, we both laughed out loud and I knew this was the book for me.
It was also on sale for a couple of pounds.
First line of the description:
"Bridget Christie is a stand-up comedian, idiot and feminist".
SOLD.

Audio:

Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran

Apart from my disastrous attempts to listen to the audio version of A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing (I've read 50%, I'm not giving up yet), this past month I've been listening to Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran. I'm a big fan of hers, having previously read How To Be A Woman, How To Build A Girl and I've also been to see her speak and make us all laugh (while we were standing on wobbly stools, shouting I AM A FEMINIST) at Vicar St. a couple of years ago.
She's a bit of a legend.
I'm absolutely loving her latest book, Moranifesto, which is a glorious mix of new essays, previously published articles and her views on everything from David Bowie (she's more obsessed than I am, which is a mean feat in itself), the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, political parties and just how very addictive Daft Punk's Get Lucky was a few summers back. I'll have a full review up when I'm finished but so far I'm definitely recommending this! It's not narrated by her for the audio version, which is the only issue here for me but I'm really enjoying having her thoughts in my head as I walk to and from work.


And those are all of my newest books.
Have you bought or read any of these? Any going on your to-be-read list?
To the comments!
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