Books, Books, Books

August 5, 2016

Summer Book Haul

For my birthday last month my brother bought me an Amazon voucher, something that quite often gets whittled away on little bits and pieces or goes on books for my kindle or music downloads. This time though I decided to spend it all on books – beautiful, real life books. It’s been a while since I bought a few books for myself – I love my Kindle and it is so handy just to quickly download something you fancy and start reading it straight away. Still, it will never replace real books and buying a few all for myself felt like a real treat. A parcel of books through your door really is something to get excited about. Here is what I went for:

All The Bright Places – Jennifer Niven. This is on my summer reading list and it looks like something I would really get into. I spotted it in a young adult list on goodreads and saw it was likened to Fault In Our Stars – I like reading stories like that so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy this one.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs. I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, a few people had recommended it to me so I thought it was about time I gave it a go. It’s coming out as a movie soon and I always like to read the book before watching the film. It looks really interesting and unusual, I can’t wait to get started on it.

The Lie Tree – Frances Hardinge. Someone I Instagram recommended this one to me and I made a snap decision and just added it to my basket. I’m about half way through it at the moment and I’m finding it really gripping. I wasn’t sure at first but now I am hooked.

A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness. Another one I wanted to read before it is made into a movie and another one from my summer reading list. I’ve actually already read this one as it’s quite short. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I know with Patrick Ness that the story will be quirky and incredible. On the surface it seems quite simple, a teenage boy dealing with his mother having cancer and the fears that it comes with but it all weaves together to tell a really emotive and poignant tale. I loved it.

Cook Happy, Cook Healthy – Fearne Cotton. I was in two minds whether to get this as some of the reviews I saw felt the ingredients were too expensive. However, this summer we are trying to get in the habit of eating tea together, something we haven’t managed yet and I thought this would give me inspiration for some new family meals. I’m glad I decided to take the plunge and buy it as I have already used it five or six times for snacks and family meals. I’ve found the ingredients to be mostly things I have in my cupboards anyway – the things I’d have to splash out for would be for the baking which I am looking forward to trying out. I made the Sri-Lanken Vegetable curry for us all and the twins wolfed it down. They have also been snacking on the roasted chickpeas and I made the Vegetable and Mozzarella bake for me and my husband, it was delicious! A great buy if you are looking to eat a little healthier and cook from scratch more. The photos are gorgeous too.

I also got the most beautiful cloth-bound editions of Wuthering Heights and Pride & Prejudice for my birthday, two of my all time favourite books. I’ve already read Pride & Prejudice again this year but it seems like a good excuse to read Wuthering Heights again, for the umpteenth time. It feels like more of an autumn/winter book so I’ll put it aside ready for a rainy day.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy a book from my link I will receive a small commission but it won’t cost you any extra.

Previous Post Next Post

8 Comments

  • Vicki

    Fearne’s book sounds lovely – its now at the top of my Amazon wishlist. I have heard a few good reviews of it. I do love a new cookbook, especially when its a healthy one.

    August 5, 2016 at 9:10 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It really is good, I think she’s done a great job of making it healthy without being too in your face about it. I’ve loved every recipe I’ve made from it so far!

      August 12, 2016 at 8:01 pm Reply
  • Notmyyearoff

    I’ve heard good things about All the bright things and I saw a trailer for Miss Peregrine and it looked very good!! Pride and prejudice and Wuthering Heights are amazing books. I keep meaning to go to Haworth again to check out the moors 🙂

    August 6, 2016 at 10:26 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Ah yes, it’s lovely up there. I went once to the Bronte museum and was in heaven, would be nice to go and wander out on the moors too!

      August 12, 2016 at 8:01 pm Reply
  • Sian QuiteFranklySheSaid

    I feel the same about real books; I love my kindle but you can’t beat turning actual pages!x

    August 7, 2016 at 8:47 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      The kindle is so handy isn’t it but I don’t think it will ever replace real books fully for me, there is something so nice about having the real thing! xx

      August 12, 2016 at 8:11 pm Reply
  • Laura's Lovely Blog

    Oh I love Wuthering Heights, I did my dissertation on it at uni – I really must asked Father Christmas for a beautiful edition of it. I love my Kindle too – the quick download, but also the space saving – I own so many books. But cookery books I think you should always buy as actual books. You have some great choices there.

    August 7, 2016 at 9:03 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Space saving is a massive plus of the Kindle – there are still some books I feel like I have to have a proper copy of though, Wuthering Heights being one of them 🙂 A nice edition makes all the difference!

      August 12, 2016 at 8:13 pm Reply

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.