Hoi, this is my February book haul.
I've got a nice pile of books for you here, but I also have something else to unpack which I will save for the end.
Okay, so first of all I have some Penguin stuff.
There is a book that I'm reading at the moment and it is Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
who you might be familiar with for... What was his Netflix show called? Master of None, Masters of None?
And this is a non-fiction title about modern love as the title suggests.
He basically did a bunch of research about how people date these days.
I've only read a couple chapters so far but it starts off with him going to a retirement home
and interviewing people about how dating used to work and how you would find your potential partner.
He finds out that like 20% of people married someone that lived in the same street.
I feel like I'll probably fly through this and I really love the cover as well.
Then, as my Valentine's Day present, I got this book which is called Soviet Space Dogs.
It's very shiny.
I would see the cosmonauts exhibit at the science museum and it was absolutely fantastic.
And there was a lot about space dogs there.
And then I saw this book in a bookshop. It has the most beautiful end papers and it's just filled with fantastic illustrations.
So, I look forward to reading this.
And this is also definitely one that will be faced out on my shelves.
The I sort of have a set of these three books from Vintage.
These are some of the Hogarth Shakespeare titles.
So, this is the first one or the first one of the three that I have. And it is The Gap of Time.
And these are basically retellings of Shakespeare plays by really well-known and respected authors.
This is by Jeanette Winterson and this is the retelling of the Winter's Tale.
And then, the latest one that's out is Shylock is my Name, by Howard Jacobson, who's also winner of the Man Booker Prize.
And this is a retelling of The Merchant of Venice.
Now, most of these are plays that I actually haven't read yet,
but you might be aware that I'm doing a series where I read a Shakespeare play and then go see it performed or watch some adaptations.
and sort of read some of the stuff around it.
So these will definitely come in handy.
And finally, I also got my hands on a proof copy of Vinegar Girl, by Anne Tyler.
And this is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.
If you wanna see what people are saying about these, the hashtag is #HogarthShakespeare.
I'm really excited to dive into these and if you like Shakespeare retellings, give these a go.
Then I got a lovely birthday gift from Jen Campbell, who has her own Youtube channel, the link will be in the description.
And it is Some Planet, poems by John Mortara. It looks pretty cool.
I have to admit I don't have a lot of poetry bundles, but I do want to read more poetry
and Jen is a great advocate for poetry, so I'm gonna check this out.
And then, finally, I have a proof copy from HarperCollins and it is The Mandibles, by Lionel Shriver.
It's such a great cover. It has a hundred-dollar bill framed and it says "In God we trusted".
It is set in 2029, the dollar is in melt down.
It says: "This is not science-fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon"
And I have to say that after just having seen The Big Short last night, which I really enjoyed,
I'm very much in the mood for this.
And then finally I was kindly sent the Illumicrate,
which is a UK based book subscription box.
And it's run by Daphne, who is also a bookvlogger who I've met a couple of times.
I'm gonna open it now. I haven't looked inside it yet.
It comes with a note.
First of all, there's a candle from Simple Candl Co., based on the "A Darker Scent of Magic" series and this is Black London.
It smells like beautiful men, my favourite candles.
Very nice and bright yellow.
It's got some bookmarks. This one says "I ship it"
Then a lovely pouch with a book theme by Elena O'Neil.
It has her adorable business card inside, which has whales on it.
Okay, and here is the book at the bottom.
So you sort of take out the extra layer.
And it is Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, which I have to admit I haven't heard of before.
But, recommended by Robin Hobb.
Oh, I really like this aswell!
There's lovely pencils in here. It says "Read, write, repeat",
"A good book has no ending" and "I'd rather be reading".
Alright! That's the end. I hope you enjoyed this February book haul.
If you want to know more about any of the books I mentioned or about Illumicrate, check out the description.
And I'll talk to you guys later.
Deoi!