Book Haul Spotlight | Plucking out my priorities from one heck of a haul

A few days ago I uploaded a huge collective book haul to my channel – and while it’s just so much easier to fawn over all the books in actual speech form over there, I also figured...hey, why not spotlight some of the ones I’m really looking forward to reading on my blog? There’s so many books listed in that video (it’s linked at the end if you’d like to see them all!), but some really stand out to me as top priorities for the upcoming months and I basically just want another reason to chat about them all the more.

This list is…a varied one. Honestly I should probably stop giving that warning before any form of book list I provide, because it’s starting to get repetitive 😆 BUT if you want to see everything from the myth retellings and freak cosmic events I’m eager to pluck from my shelves – well, here they are spotlighted

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

1st book in the Daevabad trilogy 

Goodreads | Book Depository

Set in 18th century Cairo, this is a fantasy following Nahri, a conwoman who doesn’t believe in magic – that is, until she accidentally summons a djinn warrior. You know, standard day. I must admit, I was sold the second I read “18th century Cairo”. It’s so common for urban fantasies to be set in America or England, so the setting of Cairo just instantly peaked my interest in terms of diversity. And it’s certainly no secret that I adore fantasy and historical fiction combinations. Being published earlier in America than it was here in the UK, I’ve seen so many people fawning over the pages of this book already, so I’m expecting this to be a beautifully written story that will catch me up immediately!

*This one was very kindly sent to me by the publisher, HarperCollins, after I requested a copy!

The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes

Standalone

Goodreads | Book Depository

A retelling of the Oedipus and Antigone stories from Greek Mythology, this book gives a perspective to the women that are often overlooked in ancient tales. I’ve been eyeing up this book for the longest time, but for so long held off by telling myself I’d wait for the paperback. But I broke. I fell in love with the hardback cover, and the paperback one – while pretty – just didn’t compare. And why wait longer for a book I’d wanted for months, only to get a cover I preferred less?

I’ve only ever seen one person mention this book before, so I’d be really intrigued to hear your thoughts if you’ve read this one! Mythological retellings usually end up highly rated from me, and while I haven’t a massive working knowledge of the Oedipus and Antigone myths (I’m going to reread them before this), I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the ancient stories are reworked into this book!

Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales from Burns to Buchan

Collection of short stories

Goodreads | Book Depository

This is exactly what the title says. A collection of folktales all written by Scottish authors, we cover traditional territory through Robert Burns, John Buchan, Elizabeth Grier and so many more. As someone who loves reading about myths, folklore and fairytales but has actually done very little reading into such topics yet, this just sounds like the perfect book for me. Scotland is such a wonderful place, and I really think this will just make me love it all the more (and long for a return trip).

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Standalone (kind of? there’s a sequel but it’s written by someone else?)

Goodreads | Book Depository

So this one basically covers Earth as everything goes to hell – a cosmic event causes the majority of the population to go blind, rendering them all helpless as the world isn’t accomodating to such a society. And in case that wasn’t enough, mobile carnivorous plants with lethal stingers are crawling about trying to wipe everyone out. Sounds weird, I know. And you know that’s exactly why I picked this one up. I’m always drawn to strange stories, and every single time I heard of this book before it instantly peaked my interest, sticking in my mind for awhile. I honestly don’t know why it’s taken me so long to purchase it, but I made it here at last. Let’s hope it doesn’t take me as long to read it!

Don’t Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier

Collection of short stories

Goodreads | Book Depository

I’ve wanted to read a Daphne Du Maurier book for years now, my main aim being Rebecca. But after seeing this one in store, my love for short stories made me choose this one as my first instead. In what sounds like a dark and mysterious collection, these stories seem to cover everything from science to psychics, experiments and murders. I’d love to gradually get through all of Du Maurier’s books (depending on how much I enjoy this one, of course), and I’m so excited to see how her writing style translates across a variety of stories. Just can’t help having a morbid love for darker tales. I know I’m not the only one.

So there we are, an eclectic list of strange tales plucked from my most recent haul! I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these books and your thoughts on them if you’ve read them!

The full haul:

 

Until next time…