More books? Can't resist.

I said that I wasn't going to buy anymore books. Why:

• I have a massive TBR list that isn't getting any smaller
• I have two books to read and review and reading two others, one of which will also be reviewed.

But classics don't count do they? 

I've been meaning to visit this charity shop for a while and finally went after plans went awry twice. It's in Porthcawl, which isn't too far from where I live, it's a charity shop called Paws and upstairs it has a massive selection of books. Including: OLD CLASSICS! I'm talking lovely old hardbacks and battered old paperbacks. Yes, I'm one of those bookworms who love old (VINTAGE) books. 

So I found these three... 

These will be added to my small collection of pretty hardbacks(more on my others in another post) I can't wait to read more Dickens. I've already read Great Expectations and I have David Copperfield in paperback, I couldn't remember at the time. But they are lovely books.

I should've stopped looking but:

 I have this problem: when I'm shopping for books my brain switches off, it does, I can't even remember what books I own or need, I don't have the willpower to say: no you don't need anymore books. I can't leave them behind! So I also picked up these...

...battered old paperbacks.Nothing like having classics in hardback but I also like the old paperbacks.

 I've read The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from a Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy but I didn't own copies. I keep meaning to try reading Chaucer, so here's an incentive it's now on my shelf. And The Professor by Charlotte Bronte, I've heard about it and since Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books I keep meaning to read more of Charlotte Bronte's books.

I did not intend to buy this many books, 

I really didn't ! My boyfriend by this time had found a seat waiting patiently for me to finish looking, he's not a reader. I turned to him and said 'maybe I should put some back'. I couldn't. 

In my defence:

I knew I wouldn't be going to this shop again for a while and how can I resist buying more classics? It's a charity shop and all this came to under £5 so they were all so cheap and money going to a good cause.

Classics are not the same as regular books. 

They're just not. They are books you collect (and read! you have to read them!) it's not as if I bought contemporary books to add to my TBR, it's not the same I tell you. I'm adding to a collection not just a TBR (oh dear, that's a justification I could make to any book, wish I hadn't thought of that).

I broke my rule again! I can't help it, I need to go to some sort of book addicts support group, however:

I did resist buying two signed books on pre-order recently and another book which looked interesting, all three advertised on twitter. 

I really don't need anymore books now. I have plenty on my shelf and ARCs to look forward to. October reading is sorted. 

Maybe I should either stick to buying classics in hardback or paperback and not both, this is why I need rules. Or professional help like an addict. What do you think?

Do you collect classics or gorgeous hardbacks? Make me jealous! Have you told yourself you're not going to buy more but did? Are you just as addicted as me? Or maybe you were good and had willpower, how? 😟

The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements

Release Date: 8th February 2018

Genre: HorrorType of books: ebook, from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Description from Netgalley:

The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements is an eerie and compelling seventeenth-century ghost story set on the dark wilds of the Yorkshire moors. For fans of Michelle Paver, Helen Dunmore and Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel, this gothic tale will weave its way into your imagination and chill you to the bone.

My Review

Sometimes you get a good feeling when you start reading a book, like a gut instinct, that it's going to be good. 'The Coffin Path' is set on the moors and this atmosphere is the perfect place for a gothic story. The first scene dives straight into action with Mercy helping a ewe who is struggling to give birth. It's the beginning of a chilling story. When she's going home after helping the ewe Mercy feels like she is being followed, later on there is a hint that there has always been a curse at Scarcross Hall.

The beginning drew me in and I was hooked until the viewpoint change to a new character which also changed the tone of the story from the gothic but not for good. The mystery surrounding the new character soon kept me riveted allowing me to put my doubts aside and not stop reading until the surprising conclusion. I really enjoyed this book. It's a gothic ghost story with mystery and drama. The atmosphere and setting is amazing and the characters are people you will care about. It's one of those books where words fail me, how can I capture it in one sentence or paragraph? The one thing that stays with me besides the character of Mercy, is the imagery of the moors.

Mystery Package Arrives

The mystery still isn't solved. Can't remember if I entered a competition and ARC copies usually come from publishers. I definitely didn't order it my proof is the invoice it says " please accept with our compliments". I must have a terrible memory 😞 Maybe I'll figure it out eventually.
I remember seeing this book online somewhere and was interested in it. But heard nothing about recieving it. Oh, dear. Did I enter a competition? I must have. I remember something.....

An email search later. I forgot it's an ARC I requested weeks ago. Oh dear what a terrible memory. I forgot about the website and had no notifications it was coming recently. Completely forgot. Should I be worried about my memory? The email was dated July 23rd though

Mystery parcel!

So I've just come home from work to find a note from dpd saying they missed me! I haven't ordered anything. It's from Book Point, a shop in Scotland I've don't know anything about.
Weird. I don't remember entering any competitions recently.
My boyfriend says that it must be one of those books I keep getting... I used to get advanced reader copies from lovereading but tend to use netgalley these days and get ebooks. So it's not that.
What is it?
It's being redelivered on Friday so I'll have to wait until I finish work Friday and get home (8:40!pm) to see what it is.
What a mystery!

Special Books, Favourite Books

There's something special about books, you start reading them and you're transported into a different world. But do you ever get that one book which is more special than the others? A book that means something to you?
I have a lot of favourite books that I reread when I can (Jane Eyre, The Lord of the Rings). But one in particular stands out for me.

I bought The Historian years and years ago when I was visiting one of my favourite places Tenby (in Wales).

 I started reading it straight away, we were sitting on a bench and I started reading it, I don't usually do this. And I couldn't stop reading.
Now every time I read The Historian I remember where I was when I first started reading it. And when I visit Tenby I might think about The Historian, it's a riveting read.
Does anyone else have that sort of connection with a book? That you can remember the very first time you read it? Where you were? I don't often get that. I do remember reading books in my teens and how much I loved them, in fact I read The Historian in my teens.

Off on a tangent for a moment: I knew about The Historian a while before I decided to read it, I was put off by the idea that it was a story featuring Dracula (I hate it when they pinch other people's characters) but I loved it! I was put off reading A Discovery of Witches because of negative reviews, but I loved it. I'm rereading it this year and I'm a member of the facebook fan group.
I also this year read books I would never read as I thought that I'd hate them. There's a lesson here somewhere, maybe I'll learn it one day.

Happy Reading!

Are you ever too tired to read? This week I was, I couldn't concentrate on the words on the page. I'm still reading: A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy, A Dance of Dragons by George. R. R. Martin and an ARC of The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements. I tried to post an update yesterday but the blogger app kept crashing :(

I've just signed up to do the Ninja Book Swap after much thinking. I have way too many books and have had to stop buying but I couldn't resist. I've signed up for the 'trick or treat' so you have one book you'll love and one you won't, which is another way for to me read out of my comfort zone. I'm so excited about it. I love the idea of buying a book for someone that might make them rethink a genre they don't love!


Another thing I've been getting excited about and looking forward to this year is The All Souls Trilogy real-time read! Every year in September fans of the books start reading when the scenes in the books unfold. We chat about it in the facebook fan group and there's even a real-time reading companion guide and the author Deborah Harkness posts on social media. Us All Souls fans are really excited this year with the news of the tv series in production and the convention in New Orleans. If you haven't read the books join us, more info here or follow #discoveryofwitches on twitter. Can't wait to start reading these books again! I've been getting ready by buying some new notebooks as most people take notes as they're reading. I didn't last time but I'm prepared:



Just which one?

I'm also looking forward to the special birthday Ninja Book Box  I ordered the May box review here but this next one is extra special and I may have to treat myself again. Single box purchases haven't opened yet but I'm tempted to subscribe.

I'm always saying to myself: you have too many books, you shouldn't buy this or that! But now I'm thinking, well why not join the Ninja book swap and get to know other book lovers, I've already signed up for that and bought this jewellery I've been thinking about getting for ages. I worry too much.

Happy reading!

Pocketful Of Crows by Joanne M. Harris

Title: A Pocketful of Crows
Author: Joanne M.Harris
Type of book: Ebook, free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description from Netgalley:

 "am as brown as brown can be,
And my eyes as black as sloe;
I am as brisk as brisk can be,
And wild as forest doe.
(The Child Ballads, 295)

So begins a beautiful tale of love, loss and revenge. Following the seasons, A Pocketful of Crows balances youth and age, wisdom and passion and draws on nature and folklore to weave a stunning modern mythology around a nameless wild girl.

Only love could draw her into the world of named, tamed things. And it seems only revenge will be powerful enough to let her escape.

Beautifully illustrated by (TBC), this is a stunning and original modern fairytale."

My thoughts

This story has me lost of words, so the review is short. I enjoyed it and it's stayed with me. I think it's one of those stories I'll have to read again to discover more about it. 

My Review

This story is like a rhyme or a ballad, a folk tale and mythology. It’s a pagan story of magic, the seasons and nature and love. It’s starts telling us about this woman and her people, it’s rhythm like a rhyme or poem with it’s own beat, until it turns into a tale of a girl falling in love. But it’s not a love story, it feels like an old story, like a story of the seasons. A witch story. It’s an imaginative tale with vivid descriptions, it has a sense of a folk tale or a fearie tale. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like this. 

 You can't really pin this story down with words, it has to be experienced for yourself, to understand the magickal quality that it has. This will be one of those stories that stays with me and that I’ll have to read again to take in.