Hello everyone! Back at home, and I have plenty of books to show for my journey! It was lovely to have a break and get away from the usual routine, but it’s also nice to be home.
Books acquired this week
Now the birthday book haul really begins, ahaha. Here are the books my parents got me for my birthday, both non-fiction books I’ve been very interested in reading:
In the case of Beyond Belief, I’d been intrigued since I read New Scientist‘s review, while I’ve generally loved Sue Black’s other books. I’ve finished Beyond Belief already!
As for the book spree, I’m going to break that up into a couple of different posts, mostly by bookshop, because I visited several indies and that gives me a good chance to talk about them. First up, though, the books I got in Forbidden Planet on our first day in Bristol. It’s not as big a shop as in London and there definitely wasn’t as much danmei as I’d hoped, but I still got some new treasures! This spree was a gift from my wife for my birthday, and I took full advantage of the offer, ahaha.
Tammy and Mogsy made me curious about Teddy Bears Never Die, while The Feywild Job has been on my list for a while since it’s by C.L. Polk, so I was glad to pick that up. The Library of Amorlin was a random choice: I’ve heard nothing about it, but it had lovely sprayed edges and the word “library” in the title, so it caught my eye. One of the joys of bookshopping in person is getting to pick up random books you’ve never heard of and just give them a shot.
As for the danmei, I’ve been meaning to try all three of these for a while, and of course I had to pick up the next volume of the Heaven Official’s Blessing manhua.
Not bad for a first day, right? But the next day of the holiday was intended as the real spree over in Bath, and we started at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights. The staff are always good for a chat about books, though I would warn that the shop is definitely not accessible for anyone in a wheelchair (very narrow with steps), and the neurospicy might not enjoy the fact that all fiction novels are shelved together regardless of genre.
Anyway, I found myself a few new friends in Mr B’s, as expected! My wife covered these as well, because I’m super spoiled.
The first three are non-fiction; I’d wanted The English House and This Golden Fleece for a while… while of course Everybody’s Perfect is Jo’s latest, and there’s no way I could resist.
I’ll call a halt there, and tell you next week about Topping & Company (also in Bath) and the new-to-me Love Stories (in Cardiff).
Posts from this week
Despite being away all week, I had plenty of posts queued up ready for me to just hit “post”, so there’s lots to round up as usual! Starting with reviews:
- Poetry: Obit, by Victoria Chang (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Non-fiction: A History of Booksellers and the Bookshop, by Jean-Yves Mollier (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Fantasy romance: Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Sci-fi mystery: The Album of Dr. Moreau, by Daryl Gregory (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
- Non-fiction: How Queer Bookshops Changed the World, by A.J. West (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
- Poetry: Eleanor Among the Saints, by Rachel Mann (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
- Fantasy/romance manga: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, vol 6, by Kazuki Irodori (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
And of course, the discussion posts/linkups/etc:
- Fantasy with Friends: Dark Academia
- Top Ten Tuesday: Best Bookshops
- WWW Wednesday
- Book Blogger Hop: The Hook
Oof, that was a lot!
What I’m reading
Despite the travel, I have managed to fit in some reading time, because we planned our days with lots of downtime for reading. I did struggle to settle down to the book choices I’d brought with me, and ended up abandoning both my BookSpinBingo list and my 20 Books of Summer, and just letting myself read whatever, which helped me get unstuck.
Here’s a quick peek at the books I finished this week:
You can click the thumbnails to get a view of the full covers!
As for this weekend ahead, I’m a bit tired from the travel and because I wasn’t well on Thursday night (just a flare-up of complications from my long-ago gallbladder removal, I’m okay now!), but we’ll see… I’m in the mood for more classic crime, and have added a couple more by authors I haven’t tried yet on Kobo Plus. And then, of course, there’s all the new books!
Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at The Book Date.
Lovely book haul! And more to come I’m so curious to see what you make of Teddy Bears Never Die. 31 Inventions looks like fun too.
I’m very curious about Teddy Bears Never Die — IIRC I wondered if having got a bit familiar with Korean culture through other books would help. We’ll see!
Now that’s a birthday bookshop adventure that I would love…and still more to come. I think my spouse needs to up his game. I have a Jo Walton book on my list to read—I’ve seen so many people recommend it, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted…The Sunday Salon: Shorty September Starts Soon! (I Know, I Know, It’s Short Notice)
Ahaha,
There are several of Jo’s books that were just formative for me, especially Among Others. I think Lifelode might be my favourite now as an adult, though Farthing might have more general appeal (alternate history, very good, feels very apt for our times).
I hope that you had a lovely birthday. A lovely birthday gift from your wife (and brave!). I do like a sprayed edge. I struggle to find any nice ones/any at all!
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/08/29/stacking-the-shelves-165/
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog recently posted…Stacking The Shelves
I did, thank you! And heh, my wife knows what they’re signing up for when it comes to a book spree for me.
What a great birthday shopping trip and haul!
Jinjer recently posted…The ‘Ber Months Are Almost Here!
Yeees, I’m very spoilt and happy, ahaha.
Those are the best trips: good to get away, good to get home 🙂
calypte recently posted…The Wednesday Witches Book Club – Sarah Beth Durst
Yup! I’m glad we organised things so I have a quiet weekend before getting back to work, too.
What a great haul! Happy Birthday!
I like the look of The English House. I’ve seen a couple of Cruickshank’s documentaries but haven’t read any books.
It’s chunkier than I’d expected for focusing on… I think it’s eight houses? I’m very curious.
Wow. You really managed to get a lot of books on your holiday. The Feywild Job caught my eye immediately. I can’t wait to see what you think of it.
Kristin recently posted…Mission Accomplished: Finishing My Summer Reading Challenge
That’s what a birthday spree is for, right? Heh. I’ve been curious about The Feywild Job for a while from the description and because it’s C.L. Polk.
An Expert Witness sounds so interesting. When I read books like that I always have ah-ha moments. Have a great week!
Anne@HeadFullofBooks recently posted…Sunday Salon — Remembering Dolly!
Sue Black’s books are really good, too, so I have high expectations!
Whoa what a haul! I hope you have a lovely birthday and that you can find the time to enjoy all of these 🙂
The Teddy Bear one looks extra entertaining lol!
Thank you for visiting my post!
Ashley Kittrell recently posted…•First Year Blogging Anniversary•
My birthday was great, thanks!
I’m not sure what I’m gonna think of Teddy Bears Never Die, since it’s supposed to be a horror/romance mash-up, but I’m definitely very curious.
What a wonderful birthday book haul! I especially love that you gave yourself permission to abandon the reading lists and just read whatever caught your interest—it sounds like exactly what you needed to get unstuck. Happy Reading!
Kat @ Forever Book Lover recently posted…Sunday Recap #9: Celebrations, Meal Prep & Looking Ahead
Definitely, I reaaaally needed to just abandon the list and chill, though it took me some time to convince myself, heh.
Yay for birthday book shopping and hauls 🙂 hope you had a lovely birthday.
Steph recently posted…Building the Book Pile #527
Thank you, I did! 🙂
Great haul! The Feywild Job definitely caught my eye. Let me know your thoughts once you read it!
I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, since I like C.L. Polk’s work! Though… who knows when I’ll get round to it with my TBR stacked this high, ahaha.
The new Jo Walton is on my list too! I’d also never heard of Little Mushroom, but it looks delightful.
Cosmic recently posted…For Real – An Antitrope Romance
I still need to read her previous one, somehow I missed it when it came out and never caught back up with myself… But I hope to fit this one in soon.
I desperately want to re-read Heaven’s Official Blessing and actually buy the books (I borrowed them at the library!) Also Teddy Bears Never Die sounds fun! I hope you enjoy your new books and I can’t wait to see all the treasures you got on your indie bookshop run!
I love them! Though this one’s the manhua, which is a liiiittle bit different (still pretty much the same) — did you read the light novel version?
What wonderful additions to your shelves. I need your wife to have a talk with my husband before my next birthday!
Thanks for sharing your week, happy reading!
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out recently posted…It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon
Hahaha, yep, I’m very spoiled!
Glad to hear you had a nice time. I’m also a fan of CL Polk and Stephanie Burgis.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Their books are a lot of fun!
A great birthday book haul! Enjoy all your books. Have a great week!
Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews recently posted…The Weekend Review – August 29th-31st
Thank you!
Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a birthday! A book shop crawl! I love visiting book stores whenever I go on vacation, too. I hope you enjoy all your new additions!
Rachel @Waves of Fiction recently posted…Sunday Post #351
We visited the Bath bookshops on a previous holiday and they were so good we knew we’d have to return, haha.
Wow! Great haul. You certainly won’t be lacking in reading material. Hope you enjoy them!
Cheryl Malandrinos recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Places I’ve Visited
Haha, yep, I’m well fuelled up now!
Looks like a great haul and sounds like a fun trip. I hope you enjoy all of your new books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Thank you! It was a lovely trip.
What a wonderful haul of books! I hope you enjoy The Feywild Job as much as I did – and thank you for mentioning Jo Walton’s latest offering. For some reason, that one slid past me, so I’ve just nicked across and got hold of the audiobook – it looks intriguing! Have a great week.
I’ve been looking forward to The Feywild Job! Fingers crossed…
Happy birthday! I hope you enjoy all your new books.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…What Is True Crime Literature?
Thank you!