The Terror of Knowing

Fellow readers, I have a problem. A problem which I feel a lot of you will empathise with – I buy too many books. And, as you might have guessed from the title of this blog post, this is a book haul displaying how many are “too many” books. So, whilst I wouldn’t say this post is to shame myself per say, I have realised whilst taking photos for this post that Jesus I’ve bought a lot of books considering it’s not even mid-February yet. Maybe I should stop buying books? Let’s be real, that’s not going to happen, but I am going to try to be more discerning with what I do buy. You heard it here first, folks.
(Mind you, I have titled this post #1 book haul of 2017 so the fact I’m expecting more numbers to follow it says it all really…)

Now I’ve addressed all that self-hating guilt for buying too many books, let’s move on to the actual gloriously shiny and lovely books themselves…

 Hamilton: The Revolution
It will come as a surprise to precisely no one that I’ve coveted Hamilton: The Revolution for months. Once we’d secured tickets to see it on the West End this year (!!!), I had to buy it and I have no regrets. I love books that give you a peek behind-the-scenes of productions (I have a Les Misérables one and a Crimson Peak art one) and this is no exception.
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The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
A Case for Books/Anna James’s twitter thread totally persuaded me that The Bear and the Nightingale was a thing I needed in my life, and I still stand by that decision even though I haven’t got round to it yet. I mean, just look at it, who doesn’t need that in their lives?
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The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman
The Dark Days Pact was probably the book I was most anticipating this year. I adored The Dark Days Club (obligatory review plugging) and Alison Goodman is beyond lovely on Twitter so, of course, I downright needed to get this book. And then I won it in a Goodreads giveaway which makes me so happy, double win!

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
I feel like every book blogger who even vaguely reads YA has bought this book recently. It was on my Most Anticipated Releases list and I still stand by that. This rather beautiful hardback promises something about an immersive performance that seems like magic but remember it’s only a game?? Or something of the sort. Mostly I am a sucker for marketing that includes the phrase “for fans of The Night Circus” – yeah, I’m easy like that. Sorry/not sorry, at all.
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Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
It’s Neil Gaiman writing stories from Norse mythology, why would I not want that in my life? Again, this was one of my most anticipated releases for 2017 and when I peeled back the cardboard box around it to reveal that stunning cover featuring Mjolnir, I felt sure it was a wise decision to buy this asap. Considering how inspired Gaiman’s work is by Norse mythology, it seems about time that he retold some of the myths himself and I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome when I finally read this.
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Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
I guess The Guardian bookclub was reading this, I read an article about that whilst I was bored on my lunch break, and that quickly spiralled into me buying the book on Amazon. (You will quickly come to see that is a theme with my book buying habits!) However, there is some further justification in that I remember reading Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber for a university class and I did quite enjoy it and make a mental note to try some more of her stuff in the future. Well, now is the future, and I will try Nights at the Circus next.
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The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
This is my newest acquisition, purchased this morning from the Oxfam shop by The Tavern. I have not seen the film, nor have I read any Patricia Highsmith before, but I remember mildly spoiling the plot of this book for myself because I’d read a Top However Many Books About X (I won’t say what the X is because shh spoilers) but suffice to say it’s been vaguely on my radar since then. And then I happened across this rather lovely looking paperback and I couldn’t help myself.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Why did I need these? Short answer: I didn’t strictly need them. Long answer: I own them on ebook, and I have read them in paperback form before from the library, so it’s not like I’ve never read them. But I am quickly coming to adore Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse after reading Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom so I felt the need to brashly display my love of her books by buying copies of the Grisha trilogy to put proudly on my bookshelf. I imagine I’ll do a re-read of these now I have physical copies as well as ebooks.
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Maresi (x2!) by Maria Turtschaninoff
Funny story – I randomly bought the hardback of this for £1 (yes you read that right, £1) in Waterstones because I guess it was considered a Used copy or it had the tiniest dent in it or something? Either way, it was hugely on sale. And then I won a giveaway on Twitter and ended up with a paperback copy from the lovely people at Maximum Pop. It’s a good thing the plot synopsis of this sounded interesting, isn’t it?
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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Whilst browsing a Goodreads list of books featuring assassins (because why wouldn’t that be something you would immediately look for in a book?) I came across this book. Then I realise it was set in medieval times so that moved it up my list of consideration to buy. And then the hilarious Kirsti from Melbourne On My Mind recently re-read this first book in the series so it was in my mind vaguely when I went on Amazon looking for something to buy. Then I realised this seemed to be about an order of assassin nuns… so I mean… duh, of course I bought it.

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
I saw Beatrice talking about this book on YouTube and it was something that intrigued me. I don’t read much non-fiction but the non-fiction I do read tends to be memoir, especially if, like this book, it is about the entertainment or publishing industry in some way, shape, or form. This seems to be about literary New York in the 1990s so, hey, that’s something I’ve never read about, sounds intriguing!
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The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
I’ve read this book before and loved it, really loved it, but I never owned a copy. So when I found a hardback copy in pretty good condition on Amazon for cheap, I had to, I couldn’t leave it behind. For anyone who has graduated (or is about to graduate) from university/college, I would definitely recommend this. It was a case of right place right time for me and I really adored this book, whilst also feeling enormously sad that Marina Keegan’s death means she will never write anything else because she has a wonderful way with words, as this book proves.

Phew, that’s it for now, I think I have plenty of books to be getting on with for the time being. I’m looking forward to a few more books (namely A Conjuring of Light and The Song Rising) but other than that I shall be cosying up with a few of these books and getting to some damn good reading.

What books have you acquired recently that you’re excited to read?
Are there any I’ve hauled which you also have your eye on?
Comment below and let’s talk books.

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