My Christmas Book Haul!

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Hello Hello! How are you all?

Happy Sunday! I have been working all week and I am really exhausted, but I’ll soon have all my assignments for university handed in, and will finally have time to read, which brings me to today’s post! It’s also soon my birthday, so I’m really excited about that, although not for getting a year older, yikes!

I was utterly spoiled for Christmas, I was so lucky to get a load of books from family and friends and I am so grateful, they put a massive smile on my face! Thank you so much to everyone who sent me something for Christmas, you know who you are, I’m so grateful for you and it means so much to me that you went to the bother of sending a present my way, love you all!

Now, let’s talk about the books I got for Christmas!

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela (Picture Book)

I have wanted this book for years, ever since I saw the movie, I have wanted to know everything about Nelson Mandela and I’m so glad that I finally got this book. I had both the picture book and the long version on my list, and I’m glad I got the picture book this time because I can read it fairly quickly, which will leave me time in the future to read the full book, which I’m sure is going to be amazing. I also had this book on my list because the drawings were so lovely and I can’t say no to gold, sparkly, foil on the cover aha!

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

I actually wasn’t expecting this book and had completely forgotten it was on my list. It’s a horror book which is kind of scary but when I read the blurb a while ago, I knew that I really needed to read it because it sounded like something I would love. One thing I love about Christmas and Birthdays and when people buy books for me is that I never expect what I’m going to get, and it’s such a great surprise!

The Body in the Marsh (#1) by Nick Louth

This was another book I wasn’t expecting, but I have really been in the mood for detective and murder mysteries lately, and I’m really glad I got this book! I’ve been looking for more murder mysteries with a focus on the detective side of things and when I saw that this book was about a criminologist – yes, you read that correctly and yes, I am morbid – this book sounds really good and I’m looking forward to starting this new mystery series!

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

I have had this book on my wishlist ever since I first saw it on BookTube and despite not being much of a contemporary reader, ever since it has been raved about, I have wanted to read it, so I’m beyond happy that I was gifted this book by a dear friend – thank you so much! I think this one is going to make me cry if I’m honest, so I will pick this up when I am in the proper mood because I think it needs to be given the right atmosphere, I’m very much looking forward to it!

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry

I might have cried out and done a happy dance when I opened this book from yet another lovely blogger friend – thank you so much! This book was a favourite for a lot of people in 2020 and I immediately added it to my list after reading the first review for it. I think this is a book for book lovers, it sounds amazing and every time I hear someone speak about it, I am sold, so this one will hopefully get all the love from me very soon!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Woodsworth Classics)

Again, another book I really was not expecting to see on Christmas day, but I’m really glad I finally have myself an ENGLISH copy of this book! I have had this one in French for years and every time I have tried to read it, I have failed. There is just something about books translated into French which do not go down well with me, so I’m really happy I got this in English. I’ve also been collecting the Wordsworth Classics for a while, okay, I only have 5 so far, but for some reason, I love them and I’m excited to see my collection grow! I also really liked the movie I saw a few years ago so I’m hoping the book will be just as good, or even better as is often the case!

The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toto and Daniel Kraus

The only reason this book was on my wishlist is because the film is directed by Guillermo Del Toro and I really liked Pan’s Labyrinth that he also directed. I only saw that film in Spanish so missed about 90% of the meaning but I am hoping to either watch it again in English or read the book. But anyway, when I saw the trailer for this film I thought it looked sooooo weird, but then I saw the director and I was sold, and I really like very strange films/books, I’m that strange person ahaha, so I have high hopes for this story!

Skidamarink by Guillaume Musso

The only French book I got this year was one from my favourite French author and this was actually part of a tradition. When I first discovered this author at school when I was about 13, I went home and told my dad all about the books and he made it his mission to find me every single one of Musso’s books, IN ORDER (cause he knew how bizarre and annoying I am). Unfortunately, we lost my dad a few years ago and I haven’t felt like picking up the books since, but my mum got me this one “from Dad” and I had a little tear because I’ve been missing this author, and it means a lot to me that she went to so much trouble and knew how important this tradition is to me. This is actually the first-ever book he wrote, but it was nearly impossible to find until it was republished this year!

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne (Classic Collection)

My fiancé knows me so well and knows that I am still a child at heart who is obsessed with the Winnie-the-Pooh stories – this post is definitely telling you how strange I am… I already have about three copies of various editions of these stories, but he got me a beautiful collection of all the books and they are lovely. They have the original illustrations which I adore and I’m going to enjoy going back into this world when I need a pick me up.

The Name of the Wind (#1) by Patrick Rothfuss

I actually did scream when I saw this book in my pile from friends because OH MY GOSH!!! I am so thankful to the amazing friend who sent this book my way, thank you, thank you, thank you. They got me the 10th-anniversary deluxe edition which has red sprayed edges, a gorgeous jacket, and stunning illustrations inside. I have wanted to read this book for years, and funnily enough, it is on my 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge for the prompt “something broken on the cover” (yes, I was going to buy it myself but now I don’t have to ahah!) and I’m very much looking forward to finally reading it. Roll on the end of my assignments!

Gemina (#2) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Again, this was another book I received by a friend, thank you so much, you all spoiled me rotten! I have had the first book in this series on my shelves ever since it was released, I started it one night and then realised how amazing it was, and put it down so I could buy the other 2 and binge the series, and years later, here I am, still haven’t read it. So I am very, very grateful to the friend that sent this my way. I have heard so many people say this series is great and I know it’s going to be a really quick and fun read, so I’ll have to get to this series soon, and not push it back once again!

The Last Smile on Sunder City (#1) by Luke Arnold

Another friend’s gift to me and this is another favourite for 2020. I think this was released at the start of the year and I can’t tell you how many times this was recommended to me. this sounds totally like my kind of book, and I know that I am going to adore it. I’m even more excited by the fact that it’s a series and I *think* that book 2 is already out, so I’m praying my TBR game chooses this book soon so I can delve into this amazing-sounding world!

The Penguin History of the World by J.M. Roberts and Odd Arne Westad

When I was given this parcel to open on Christmas day, I was honestly expecting a 2 or 3-book series to pop out of the paper because it was a very big parcel and very heavy, so I was really surprised when this massive nearly 1300-page book was uncovered. I actually only stumbled upon this book at the start of the month when I was looking for more books on history as that is one of my goals in 2021, and when I saw this one, I knew I needed it. This one has also been pushed up the list for this year because it is now the longest book I own, coming in at 1280 pages, it is the longest book on my physical TBR and therefore now part of my Popsugar TBR!

The Strange Worlds Travel Agency (#1) by L.P. Lapinski

This is the first book in a middle grade series that I had never heard of but was so very kindly gifted for Christmas and now I’m kind of obsessed with this cover, isn’t it gorgeous? The blurb and the cover remind me a little bit of the Tilly and the Bookwanders series by Anna James and I adored that one (I still must get book 3) and if this book is anything like that, I’m sure I’m going to love it, so thank you so much for sending it to me (you know who you are and I love you!!).

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Wordsworth Collector’s Edition)

And finally – wow, so many books!! – I was sent this beautiful edition of this book that I have been wanting to read for years, and guess what? It’s on my 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge TBR! Noly loves this book, it is her favourite, and ever since I found that out, I have wanted to read it. I’ve seen numerous films and I don’t know why, but I have never picked up the book. There are also beautiful illustrations in this edition and I know it’s going to be such a wonderful reading experience, so I’m very much looking forward to it!

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Well, I think it’s fair to say that I was a very lucky bookworm this Christmas and I am so grateful to everyone who sent me a book, so that you all so much, it was so sweet of you and means the world to me! I’m so excited to get to all these books because people are obviously so great at picking ones that I’m going to want to read, so kudos for that!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed my haul post. Tell me what books you got for Christmas! See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx