Welcome back to Book Break! It is the most exciting video of the month, it is time for
our March book haul! So this box of books which I'm trying not to peek in right now
is packed full of the most exciting books we publish over the last month. So let's see
what's inside!
This one right on top is the paperback cover of The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal.
So this was a book that came out in hardback last year and I absolutely loved it, it's
a Victorian thriller, set in the build up to the Great Exhibition, and it's this really
wonderful book because it's a combination of so many different genres. Part of it is
just this exploration of the artists at the time, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and
this woman called Iris who's an aspiring painter and becomes a model for them in exchange for
learning how to paint. So you're really kind of diving into that whole world. But at the
same time, it's a thriller, because a collector called Silas sees Iris once on the street
and becomes completely obsessed with her, and so we watch as their storylines get closer
and closer. It is very creepy and sinister but a lot of fun, I loved this one. Ooh, so
this next one is Supernova by Marissa Meyer. I haven't yet read any of the series, but
this is the final book in the Renegades trilogy. And this has been so popular so it's finally
time for me to catch up. So this series had Renegades and then Archenemies and now Supernova.
And what I know about this one is it's set in a universe where different people have
different sets of special abilities, and they're enemies. And so this is a kind of star-crossed
lovers story, between two people from the different groups. And it's a kind of subversion
of superhero tropes, so this one sounds great, it's definitely time for me to catch up.
Aha, now this is the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio scripts. I have
never read any of the Hitchhikers books, but I am so intrigued and I feel like it is definitely
time for me to read this whole series. There are fab new editions of all of the books now
because it's coming up to the 42nd anniversary, and 42 is a very important number in the series.
People who've read it will know why, I don't yet know why but I really want to find out.
Before the books, it actually started as a radio show and so these are the original scripts.
So I think I might start with these before I read the book series. I'm also very excited
to find out the significance of this towel, because I hear people talking about towel
day a lot.
OK next we have Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen. So I don't actually
know very much about this series, other than that I know it's been this really popular
TV show. So Amanda Owen is basically this woman who left her town life behind and went
to the countryside and became a shepherdess. So she's got nine human children, as well
as a flock of sheep, and she and her family were the star of a channel 5 show called Our
Yorkshire Farm. They've also appeared all over TV really, and she was voted Yorkshire
Woman of the Year. So this is her next book. So this one's got all sorts of exciting and
funny stories in it, everything from her family's race to save a missing calf which sounds very
stressful, to finding that her bra has been repurposed as a house martin's nest, which
sounds brilliant.
OK now this is The Mobster's Lament, this is the paperback version, and doesn't it look
so cool? This is set in New York in 1947. So it says on the back here that this is a
gripping book, it captures the fizzing energy of New York, at one of the most exciting points
in its history. That makes me want to pick it up just for the descriptions of New York
at that time alone, but it also sounds like this really exciting story that's got mob
bosses and serial killers and musicians, all woven in together.
And then of course, we all know what this is, Children of Virtual and Vengeance. This
is the paperback, so this is the second book in the Children of Blood and Bone series by
Tomi Adeyemi, which has been this absolutely massive fantasy story, based on West African
mythology, it's been turned into a movie, and it has just been so so popular. So if
you haven't yet read either of those, definitely dive into this whole world and I will also
put a link below to find out more about the clans, you can get sorted into your magi clan.
Now this one is beautiful, this is the paperback of The Braid by Laetitia Colombani. I read
this one when it came out in hardback, and this cover though is just so beautiful, look
at that. This was a really lovely story in a very short book as well, about three different
women and their intertwining lives, so their lives are kind of braided together, and the
story is literally about hair moving between these three women. So one of them is in India
and she's a really low caste and doesn't see a good future for her daughter, so knows she
will do anything to get her daughter a better life, and then in the middle in Sicily we
have a girl called Giulia who works in her father's wig factory. And then the third woman
Sarah is a lawyer in Canada who is diagnosed with breast cancer. And so the theme of hair
links all of these women together.
And then we have a Moomin book. So this is Welcome to Moominvalley the Handbook. So this
is filled with fun facts and fascinating stories about beloved Moomintroll, his family, and
his friends. I think I need this because I actually missed out on all of the like Moomin
madness when I was younger, so this will help me catch up. And it looks gorgeous, it's got
such lovely illustrations throughout it. These Moomin books are always beautiful, so yeah
I'm going to start with this one and then catch up with all the rest.
Now this is Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund, I remember when the hardback of this one came
in. So this is about a dragon slayer called Bershad who was actually sentenced to be a
dragon slayer because he was supposed to be sentenced to death. And as a dragon slayer
his death might serve his kingdom. But, since then, he has never lost a fight. So he's still
this doomed man who's like exiled from society, but he's also the most successful dragon slayer
in history. But it says here on the back, 'but can Bershad's luck hold?'
Now this beautiful book I have shown off in a few Book Break videos lately, this is The
Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey. But just in case you haven't seen it yet,
how gorgeous is this cover? So much lovely foil. So this one I have read and loved it,
this is set in World War 2, this is about a woman called Hetty who is tasked with overseeing
the evacuation of the mammal collection from the Natural History Museum to this isolated
manor house in the country, so she's in charge of looking after them while they're there,
but the lord of the manor and his daughter still live there and the lord of the manor
is this very unpleasant, dismissive man. This story is also quite ghostly, so there's lots
of mysterious things happening, the animals seemingly moving in the night, and rumours
surround the house of a ghostly presence that used to be there, so you're wondering the
whole time, is it supernatural, or what else could be going on?
Oh and while we're on beautiful books, look at this one. This is The Wild Journal by Willow
Crossley, so Willow Crossley is a florist and nature writer, and this is a journal basically
of nature's potential to transform our mood. And I know a lot of us are stuck inside at
the moment, but this book has loads of really wonderful tips about bringing nature inside
your house, from planting herbs in a window box, to making a homemade wreath.
Now this is a big one, this is The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Penman. I somehow don't
know anything about this, how exciting. So this is a historical fiction book set in 1172
in Jerusalem. We've got rival factions, fierce political deception, and war is coming. This
looks like a great book to get stuck into right now, long books are in demand at the
moment, this looks fantastic.
For children, we have Busy Scotland. These books are a lot of fun because they're so
hands on. Aah so we made the dog appear. So this book is for teaching children all about
Scotland and it's really really interactive. You can put haggis on all the plates!
And another fun children's book, My Magical Easter Bunny, this is another one that's really
hands on, I love playing with these, I mean they're technically for children but I always
have a lot of fun with them.
Then we've got The Map of Knowledge by Violet Moller, I actually talked about this one recently
in a Book Break video which I will link to below about weird and wonderful nonfiction
books. So this one is fascinating, it's all about the literal journey of knowledge through
time. So it traces the ideas of these three scientists from antiquity, Galen, Euclid and
Ptolemy, and traces the journey of their ideas through the cities that they travelled through
and through the years. It's something that today with the internet we don't really think
about in the same way but it's so interesting.
This month's new MCL is The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, now this is one I have
not read, but this is great, it kind of sounds like The Parent Trap but set in Tudor London,
so it's about a prince and a pauper who swap places because they want to see how the other
one lives. And the quote on the back is 'Doth thy rags and don these splendours, lad!'
The next one, a very important book, this is Losing Earth by Nathaniel Rich: the decade
we could have stopped climate change. So this is all about how by 1979 we already knew everything
we know now about climate change. We knew what was happening and we knew how to stop
it. The scientists knew that and yet the politicians didn't let them make those changes. So this
is a really relevant and frustrating book to read about this very real chance we had
to stop climate change, and obviously failed. But I think it's still really relevant and
important to read now, partly as an understanding of how we got to where we are, and also as
a last-minute call to save what can still be saved.
OK, then there's The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong. So Graeme Armstrong actually came
into our office and recorded a little video talking about his story of writing this book,
so I will link to that, do go and watch it because he can describe it obviously much
better than me, but this is all about young teams in Scotland which are essentially gangs.
So this is partly based on the experiences of Graeme Armstrong, this is a book about
a teenage boy called Azzy who joins this gang, and how things spiral from there.
Now another book I've been showing off a lot recently, this is Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi,
this is the paperback cover, it's totally different and it's so beautiful. And I actually
showed this one off recently in a video, again I will link below, the Put a Spring in your
Step Book Tag, one of the questions in there was about showing off the most beautiful books
on your shelf, and I had to show off this because I just love it so much. And the story
itself is great, so this is classic Helen Oyeyemi, very surreal, loose fairytale retelling,
this is kind of a Hansel and Gretel retelling, but it's just this magical and mysterious
story that really you just have to read to understand.
And another beautiful new paperback, this is Salt Slow by Julia Armfield, this is a
collection of short stories that I absolutely loved, they're all about women and women's
bodies, and they're quite gothic and quite dark, but really really mesmerising. I'm planning
to do a whole video on short stories, so little spoiler, this one will definitely be in there,
so if you're looking for some short stories to read, start with these, they are all absolutely
brilliant.
And then the last book in the box is You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen,
so this was a very highly anticipated book, so this is the third thriller by these two
authors. They wrote The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, and now You Are Not Alone.
So this is about a woman who stumbles into a new friendship group and her life just seems
to get better and better, but eventually she discovers that her new friends might not be
quite who they seem and might have other sinister plans for her. I read this one really really
quickly, it was such a page turner.
We have loads of book haul videos so do click on this playlist to browse through and see
all the other books that have come into the office recently. And do let me know in the
comments which books you've hauled recently that you're most excited about, which ones
you think I should go out and buy as well. And of course let me know which of these you're
definitely going to get your hands on! And don't forget to hit that subscribe button,
we will see you next time on Book Break.