July book haul

We all know I love love LOVE a good book haul. I genuinely feel so blessed by the fact that there's an amazing British Heart Foundation charity book shop in my town, and it sells some absolute gems for a fraction of their OG price. 

This little shop is my saviour on bad mental health days. In July I had a massive hiccup, breakdown and just really intense week of feeling the lowest I've done in so long. There were SO MANY tears at work; I honestly sobbed my heart out one day, came home and did the same at home the next day.

When my mental health gets bad, the first thing that I really start to struggle with is leaving the house. Which isn't ideal. I want to stay firmly in my comfort zone, in my favourite snuggly clothes and just not interact with anyone. My home is my safe space. 

I'm firmly believe in the 'treat yo self' vibe. If I'm having a bad MH day and make it out to work I always reward myself for getting through the shift. My favourite way to do it is to promise myself that I can buy a book on the way home to help cheer myself up. It sounds silly and petty, but it makes a world of difference to me, and is the reason why I've got so many books in this month's haul.

So, let's get cracking.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I read Fangirl recently and LOVED it (I've reviewed it on my book blog here), so it made complete sense to me to grab another by Rainbow Rowell. Eleanor and Park is set in 1986 and follows the journey of two teens falling in love for the first time. It tackles issues surrounding that all-consuming love you feel when you're young and hormonal.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I may have gotten a little carried away with this author, but when the books have matching covers and you already know you enjoy their work, there's no looking back. This is a YA love story all about a guy who goes snooping and ends up in way too deep. Lincoln comes across emails between two best friends, Beth and Jennifer. Before he knows it, he's hooked, and he starts to fall for Beth. But how does he tell her how he feels without letting her know he's been reading everything she types?

All Fall Down by Ally Carter. This is another young adult fiction pick. And another book I may have picked up because of the cover. I thought it looked like a quick, fun chick lit read, but it's actually a thriller. Ally's mother has been murdered, and despite what everyone else wants (I.e. for Ally to be a normal, pretty teenage girl), all Ally wants to do is find out exactly what happened to her mum.

According to Yes by Dawn French. I LOVE Dawn French's humour, and I actually didn't know that she'd released any fiction books until I picked this up. It's all about a bubbly English teacher, Rosie Kitto, who heads into Manhattan's Upper East Side's stiffest-upper-lip family. Fun, spontaneity and emotions are banned. But, Rosie didn't quite get the memo ...

Trouble by Non Pratt. It's another YA novel! I'm a little obsessed at the moment. Despite the simple and somewhat childish cover (IMO), the novel discusses the taboo topic of teenage pregnancy. Hannah is a soon-to-be 15 year old mum. Aaron the new boy at school offers to pretend to be the father. The story unravels to show why Aaron is so willing to do this, and how a young mum copes with the pressures of being pregnant and underage.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I feel like the only person that hasn't read or seen the film version of this. I bagged my self a brand new, spine-undamaged version in my charity shop so I'm pretty pleased. It's a YA dystopian novel all about a place called the Glade in which a group of boys live, surrounded by concrete walls and a maze filled with monsters. Everything is in a set routine, until a girl gets delivered to the glade.

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham. I've been eyeing this up in WH Smiths for MONTHS. I've not read an autobiography for as long as I can remember, and I love Gilmore Girls, so I'm excited to sit down to this. Graham talks about all the nitty gritty details of her life behind the camera, and I've never read anything like this.

The Missing by C. L. Taylor. C. L. Taylor has been hyped up so much this year as an amazing thriller author. Clare Wilkinson's 15-year-old son Billy goes missing in the middle of the night. She's fraught with concern, but convinced he's alive and that it wasn't an inside job within the confines of a family. But, what if a mother's instinct isn't always right? I haven't read a thriller in a couple of months now, so I really hope this lives up to Taylor's reputation!

N-W by Zadie Smith. This is an author that I've been wanting to read for years, but I somehow just haven't gotten round to her. N-W is set in (surprise, surprise) North West London, and follows the progress of four characters. Each of them grew up just outside a council estate in London, and the novel tracks their economic and social progress after they finish school. I haven't read a modern novel set in London recently, and the cover is so beautiful; I couldn't leave the shop without it.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This is (I'm pretty sure) on the list of 1001 books to read before you die. And yes, I do plan on completing that list FYI. Love in the Time of Cholera is all about a failed love. Florentino and Fermina love each other deeply in their youth, but after her father condemns their affair, she marries another man. Florentino is determined to stay faithful to the woman he loves, and fifty years on, is able to prove that he still adores her. This sounds incredible, and will, I believe, be the first novel I've ever read by a Cuban author.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This is on the same list of books, and it's something that I've heard a LOT about over the past few years. The novel is set in a dystopian future. The protagonist, Bernard Marx, feels disillusioned with what's going on, and starts to consider joining a group called the Savages, who live in the same way as people used to live before everything got out of hand. This is meant to be fab for anyone who enjoyed 1984.
The Long Valley by John Steinbeck. I LOVE Steinbeck, but unfortunately was someone who never got to study him at school. A couple of his works were in my personal statement for uni, which kinda shows how much I love them. The Long Valley is a collection of short stories based in Steinbeck's hometown. 

I've got a whole video on this too if you don't fancy reading through everything! 

Have you picked up any books this month?
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