Book Haul – July 2017

I had promised myself not to buy any more books until I found a place to properly store my unread ones (right now they are perilously piled up on top of each other and the risk of them falling down is too real to be overlooked). However, it was my birthday this month and I needed to give myself a present. I could have bought only one, but that wouldn’t be a proper gift. Five seemed like a good number!

 

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

After loving Rebecca, I was eager to read all the books by Daphne du Maurier. To read one every year seemed like a good goal. But when I realised that an adaptation of My Cousin Rachel had just been released, I decided to buy the book and read it this year before seeing the film.

From the blurb, this seems like quite a mysterious story, which involves a widow and her dead husband’s cousin.

Book Haul – May 2017

Last month I said that I usually try to keep the number of unread books on my shelves to a minimum. But… I ended up buying a few more books this month and am still wondering where I’m going to put them, as my shelves are full. Apparently, I’m struggling to keep my book buying urges under control!

I bought seven books this month, including fiction, non-fiction, classics and a graphic novel.

 

The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria by Janine di Giovanni

Typically, I don’t tend to read non-fiction books, but I decided to do so this year. I bought The Morning They Came for Us because it focuses on an issue I’m quite interested in, the war in Syria, but that I don’t feel I know enough about in order to fully understand what is happening.

Book Haul – April 2017

I always try not to have too many unread books on my shelves. But, although my pile of to be read books is only slowly decreasing, I bought more books this month. Just four though! There was a sale on an online Portuguese shop and I wasn’t able to resist the temptation of some bargains.

So, I acquired the following books:

 

Jerusalém by Gonçalo M. Tavares

I have to confess that I know nothing about the plot of this book by Gonçalo M. Tavares. But this is one of the most renowned books by a contemporary Portuguese author. It was praised by many other famous writers, including José Saramago. I’ve also just realised that this is the third book in a series, but I believe they may also be read as standalones. I bought the original in Portuguese, but there is an available translation in English by Anna Kushner, published by Dalkey Archive Press and titled Jerusalem.

Book Haul – January 2017

New year, new books. Well, at least they are new to my shelves. At the beginning of this month I bought a few books that I have either been wanting to read for a while or that I have discovered more recently. During this year, I will try to read both the books that I just bought and the ones that I already owned before buying new ones. However, I have a feeling that won’t happen and that I will fall to the temptation of buying more books.

These are the book I bought this month:

The Muse by Jessie Burton

I loved Jessie Burton’s debut novel, The Miniaturist, and ever since The Muse was released I have been wanting to read it. However, as I much prefer paperbacks, I patiently waited until now. I plan to read it pretty soon to know everything about a lost masterpiece and the connection between the characters from two time periods – 1967 and 1936.

 

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This book has been on my wish list for years. As an adaptation for TV will be broadcasted pretty soon, I thought this was the perfect time to finally buy it and read it.

Book Haul – October / November 2016

Before I started this blog, back in June, I decided not to buy any more books until I finally read the ones I already got on my shelves. I managed to stick to that intention until last month, when I couldn’t resist to the temptation any longer. Then I changed the goal to not buying any more books until January and… I failed again and bought more books last week. So, the time is right to do a book haul!

These are the books I recently bought:

Contos Escolhidos by Fernando Pessoa

This is a collection of short stories by the famous Portuguese author who is, however, better-known as a poet. I have never read any of his short stories, so I am really curious to do so. Fernando Pessoa also wrote in English and, in fact, the first short story featured in this collection is called A Very Original Dinner and is accompanied by a Portuguese translation. All the other stories featured in this collection are in Portuguese, though.

Homens Imprudentemente Poéticos by Valter Hugo Mãe

This is the latest book by a Portuguese author I have never read but have only heard good things about. It is set in Japan and focus on the hostility between two neighbours, a craftsman and a potter maker. As it is a recent release, there isn’t an English translation yet.