Sunday 15 September 2013

 

Sunday post#10



Sunday is when I sit back with a lovely cup of tea and write about all the wonderful new books I've received and purchased in the past week. This post participates in fab memes Showcase Sunday and Stacking the Shelves.


Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (gift)
A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks (gift)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (bought)
Filth by Irvine Welsh (gift)
Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano (competition win/review copy)
Stoner by John Edward Williams (gift)
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (gift)
The Confusion of Karen Carpenter by Jonathan Harvey (bought)
The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp by Eva Rice (bought)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (gift)
The Proposal by Tasmina Perry (gift)
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (gift)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (bought)


 
I had a really exciting literary week! Firstly on Monday I attended a Red magazine event titled "How to write a bestselling beach read", which had a panel of fantastic authors (Flic Everett, Lisa Jewell and Tasmina Perry) talking about their experiences. You can find my write-up of the event on Womans-World.co.uk. It was a really insightful evening, providing very useful information for the aspiring authors in attendance. Everyone received a goodie bag as well, which included a proof copy of Tasmina's new novel, The Proposal (out November 7), and I can't wait to read it.

On Tuesday I ventured over to the Random House offices in Pimlico for a focus group on the Vintage Books imprint. It was an absolutely brilliant night and answering the questions from the Vintage Books team didn't feel like work at all - it was just so much fun getting the chance to discuss all things books with likeminded people! I even ended up exchanging contact details with a few fellow attendees, which was a lovely bonus to the night. And at the end, as a thank you, everyone there got a whole bag of super awesome vintage novels in a branded tote, how cool is that?

Then on Thursday I won a proof copy of Lauren DeStefano's Perfect Ruin from the HarperCollins fiction team on Twitter! I loved Wither so am very interested in this new series, but even more exciting is the way it looks. I've received bound manuscripts in the past but they were always A4 size, this one however is the size of a regular paperback and just looks so cool :D

Finally, on Saturday it was of course the launch for the fantastic new campaign Books Are My Bag, which aims to reverse the rapid decline in high street bookshops by raising awareness about their importance. For the occasion I decided to go to an independent book store I'd never been before, Newham Bookshop in (you can guess it!) Newham, which is about an hour from where I live. It's a brilliantly stocked store with stacks and stacks of books not only on the shelves, but also on the floors and basically everywhere you look. You can easily spend an hour browsing and then when you turn around suddenly spot some more exciting titles you missed before. I ended up buying four new books and got the Books Are My Bags tote to carry them home in - it was a very successful trip!

24 comments:

  1. Anonymous15/9/13 09:50

    WOW what a week! Sounds like you had so much fun at the events! :D They sound so interesting too!

    I absolutely love your haul! Lots of beautiful books to read!

    Hope you have a lovely week hun :)

    Megan xxxx

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    1. I did, I couldn't believe it when I realised all these fab bookish events were falling in the same week - it was brilliant! xxx

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  2. Lovely haul! I was thinking I should get Wonder as well, I am very curious about that book.

    Happy reading!

    My haul

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    1. Wonder sounds similar to Curious Incident, which is a book I really like so I'm keen to read it soon :)

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  3. Some really beautiful books this week Zarina, especially The Proposal! I also got a review copy of The Perfect Ruin and I loved Wither!

    Have a good sunday :)

    Laura xx

    My Showcase Sunday: http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/showcase-sunday-5.html

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    1. The Proposal and Perfect Ruin are the next books on my to-read list, can't wait :) Thanks for stopping by! x

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  4. What a lovely pile of books. A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of my all time favourites.

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    1. I loved The Kite Runner by the same author, which is such a poignant and beautiful novel and I imagine this one is very similar in feel. I look forward to reading it, but will need to get some tissues first, I think!

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  5. Sounds like a busy week! I like the sound of Night Circus - it sounds great!

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    1. Thanks! I've heard people rave about The Night Circus for a while now, so I have high expectations ;)

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  6. I've not seen that cover of Perfect Ruin (only had seen US cover). I hope you enjoy it! I have yet to read Night Circus--I started it years ago from the library and didn't have time to finish it before I returned it. I should probably give it another go. Great haul!
    My Friends Are Fiction's Showcase Sunday

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    1. I'm not sure if this is the finished cover as it's a proof of the novel, but I hope it is because it's gorgeous! :)

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  7. Sounds like a great week, and your haul of books looks great. I hope you like A Thousand Splendid Suns - I loved it, but I should warn you that you may need tissues when you read it.

    Here's my round-up of the week.

    Sarah

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    1. I figured I may need tissues, because it sounds like it's going to be a similar book to The Kite Runner in feel. Will need to stock up :)

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  8. Wonder sounds great! I've heard lots of good things about that one. :D

    Here's Mine @ Pinkindle Reads & Reviews

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    1. Me too, I can't wait to start reading it! :D

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  9. Ahh you've been to so many events! I live in London too so I must look out for these! I LOVED The Night Circus - it is such a beautiful book, I hope you enjoy it!

    Here's my SS :)

    Laura @ What's Hot?

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    1. Oh hello, *waves* It's always nice to 'meet' fellow Londoners. Often when I come across book events they're outside of the city so I was very happy I was able to attend some in London for once. It's definitely worth looking out fot :)

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  10. Wonder is an amazing book! I hope you enjoy it. :)

    I have The Night Circus on my tbr.. I want to pick pick it up soon :)

    great haul..

    new follower :)

    http://alsthoughtson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/showcase-sunday-1.html

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    1. Thanks, I heard it's similar to Currous Incident (which I loved) so I can't wait to read it!

      And thanks so much for the follow :)

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  11. Wow, you had a busy week indeed! I didn't have time to go book shopping on Saturday (and the weather was miserable) so I decided to wait until yesterday. I did manage to buy a new book and get a Books Are My Bag tote in the end, though. :)

    Hope you enjoy your new books! I'm not a big fan of Jeanette Winterson's and Sebastian Faulks' writing but Wonder is on my wishlist too. :)

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    1. The weather was indeed miserable when I left home, but it was surprisingly nice in Newham :D

      I've been meaning to get Wonder for ages, and Books Are My Bag seemed the perfect opportunity to finally pick it up. I hope it lives up to my expectations!

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