End of Year Book Haul…

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At the beginning of every new year I treat myself to a big book haul. The tradition started when a book warehouse would have their $1 book sale on New Years Day. My father and I would jump on the bus, in what was usually the stifling heat and head to the even hotter warehouse. I would often come home with more books than I could carry.

Sadly the warehouse has now gone out of business, which is sad however I am glad I didn’t get the job I applied for there, so I can’t do my usual $1 book haul, but that hasn’t stopped me.

Now I allow myself to buy a heap of books on my favorite second-hand/charity bookshop and then go into my local bookshop and spend another $20 on new books (which given it is a $5 bookshop is still quite good).

This year I couldn’t wait until the New Year to shop online, so I spent Saturday night, curled up in bed trolling through the Brotherhood of St Laurence book site. Spending $79.50 may have been a little more than I had planned but for 14 books I would say that is a bargain!

All but one of the books, being Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s which I bought a second copy in bad shape so I could DIY with it, and seriously, if you don’t know about Harry Potter by now than where have you been; I will now share with you.

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A Guide to Frown-Ups by Antoine de Saint-Exupery – $5

As the cover says, this is a book of quotes collected from the works of the author of The Little Prince. I read The Little Prince earlier this year and fell in love, so when I came upon this little hardcover in near-perfect condition on the BSL site I knew I had to have it!

The quotes are organised by category from Happiness to Responsibility to What Is Essential. I look forward to looking through this and hopefully finding some other Antoine de Saint-Exupery works that get my interest. Also look at how gorgeous the book is under the dust jacket!

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The Little Book of Hugs by Kathleen Keating – $4.50

There are two things that I believe in more than anything else, the healing power of a good hug and bears. So this book is definitely perfect for me! This is not just a book of cute bears hugging, it also discusses the ‘science’ behind hugs and different types of hugs.

3.1The thing I love most about second-hand books is finding the messages left inside. This is a sweet but simple note I fond inside the Little Book of Hugs.

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The Second Little Book of Hugs by Kathleen Keating – $5

Of course since I got the first book I couldn’t possibly leave the second on there! The image on the right makes me giggle.

5Twentysomething by Margaret Feinberg – $5

What else are you meant to by when you are having a quarter-life crisis? According to the back of the book it offers “Scriptural encouragement, humor, and practical wisdom, Twentysomething confront this ‘crisis’ and shows you how to survive without losing your patience – or your passion for life.”. I am not sure how relevant or helpful it will be for me but I think this is definitely going into the pile for my 2014 reading challenge. If you are interested keep an eye out because I may have a review of it sometime in the future.

6The Miracle of Grace by Kate Kerrigan – $6.50

The thin I love most about shopping on the BSL book site is that, while the books are all second-hand, they list the shape that the book is in. The site listed this book as in ‘great shape’ and they weren’t wrong! The book looks like it has never been touched! In fact I have picked up brand new books from stores in worse shape than this. Only once have I ever gotten a terrible book from this site, it was a copy of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and while the site did list it as poor, it arrived looking like it had been chewed upon by a mouse.

At first I was drawn to this book by the photo of Grace Kelly on the front, however the summary sucked me in well and good: “Grace’s mother, Eileen, is a list-maker. But when Grace saw ‘Tell G I have ovarian cancer, probably terminal’ low down on the list on the kitchen table, she was understandably devastated. Is their relationship really so bad?” I can see that this book is going to have a LOT of feels.

7Look at Me by Jennifer Egan – $6.50

I own Jennifer Egan’s book ‘The Invisible Circus’, which I am yet to read but LOVE the movie starring Jordana Brewster, Cameron Diaz and Christopher Eccelston (I loved it even before I was a whovian), I thought I would by this anyway. It is about a model whose life changes after reconstructive facial surgery following a car accident. I know it sounds a bit cliché and at first I was turned off, however something inside me told me I would not regret it if I bought it.

8The Girl Most Likely by Rebecca Sparrow – $5

Another quarter-life crisis book, this time a novel written by an Australian. The tagline of the book is “When you were 17, what did you think your life would be like when you hit 27?” as someone who is turning 27 in August I have a feeling I am going to really relate to this book, especially since my life is nothing what I imagined back when I was 17, does this look like New York City? I think not!

9Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington – $6

This is the book I have picked for the ‘Read a book based on its cover’ part of my 2014 Reading Challenge so I don’t know anything about it. I will let you all know how it goes when I am finished it. I know you should never judge a book by its cover but seriously! look at how gorgeous it is!

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10Friends Like Us by Lauren Fox – $5.50

Another one that sounds cliché: Girl’s (Willa Jacobs) best friend (Jane) and oldest friend (Ben) fall in love, how does she deal? I am hoping it is better than it sounds, Marie Claire magazine said it was “A hilarious, heartbreaking novel.” so fingers crossed.

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Book Lover by Jennifer Kaufman & Karen Mack – $6

To me this sounds like stereotypical chick-lit, which I’ll be honest, I am not usually a fan of. It is about a woman, who is obviously obsessed with books, going through a difficult time who falls in love with a man who works at her local bookstore. I am going to give it a chance though, if only to see what literary references pop up. Also another book with gorgeous art, the pictures below are of the outside and inside of the cover.

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Advice for Strays by Justine Kilkerr – $6.50

“It’s five days since Marnie’s father disappeared. This is worrying, but not unlikely. A famous writer, he is also Schizophrenic. Marnie remembers his mania, his affection; and how quickly it could turn to anger. She can’t sleep, and has taken time off work, ostensibly to search for him. But she is struggling.” There is more to the plot then just her father’s disappearance, looking at the blurb the neighbourhood cats are starting to disappear and she has started to glimpse something out of the corner of her eye. From what the summary is giving off it is not just Marnie’s father that is schizophrenic. That is just my feeling though, I have yet to read it so we will see.

13The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown – $7

“The Andreas family is an eccentric one. Books are their passion, TV is something other families watch. Unlucky in work, love and life, the three Andreas sisters return to their childhood home, each with a secret she’s unwilling to share, and each dismayed to find the others there.” I can tell already this book will be dripping in Shakespeare references, which I love.

There is the title – a reference to Macbeth, and, since their father is a professor of Shakespeare’s work, all three sisters are named after Shakespeare characters: Cordelia – King Lear, Rosalind – As You Like It and Bianca – The Taming of the Shrew. I think I may really enjoy this one.

14Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor – $6.50

I need to admit something, I have a weak spot for true stories about people who have loved and lost, yet find the will to go on. This is one of those books.

It is about Natalie Taylor, who was in her early twenties when her husband was killed in an accident, while she was pregnant with their first child. It is apparently heartbreaking, funny and hopeful all at the same time.

Recently I have been listening to the audio-book of The Happiness Project and was happily surprised to find one of the quotes on the back was from Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin who says “Profound yet funny, painful yet hopeful. I couldn’t put it down.” which makes me want to read it even more.

I guess that is all for now. Since it is 8.36pm on New Year’s Eve here in Australia I want to wish you all a safe and happy New Year just in case I don’t get back on until 2014.

Peace Out.

Bec.