INSANE JULY BOOK HAUL

This post won't be like other haul posts you see on my blog for one reason; I bought 47 books this month. I don't have the time to talk about 47 books. 

Before anyone thinks I've lost my mind (well, I kind of have but shh) and spent like a thousand pounds on brand new books, almost all of these books were purchased from charity shops, and where I live a lot of them do books for £1/£2 each or have 3 or 4 books for 99p or £1! The worst part of that deal though is most of the shops still charge £1 if you only get one book so if there's one you want you may as well grab another 3 since it's the same price - this does mean that out of the 47-ish books I bought, only about 15/20 are ones I really am interested in. Regardless, I picked up some books I'm very excited about and I can't wait to share them with you!

Grab yourself a cuppa and get comfy because this is gonna be a looooooong one!

The easiest way to do this will probably be alphabetically. I won't talk much about most of these books so apologies for lack of detail or synopsis but you could probably read all these books quicker than it would take to read my unknowledgeable descriptions!

All My Friend’s Are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman
I picked this up as it's such a short book and I've heard loads of amazing things about it. Reading the synopsis made it sound like a funny book which is exactly what I need!

All That She Can See by Carrie Hope Fletcher
This was one of the only new books I bought and I just had to have this as I adored Carrie's other book - On the Other Side - and I'm hoping that this one can live up to it!

Another Me by Cathy MacPhail
This was one of the books I picked up in a charity shop that had a 4 for £1 deal. This was actually a proof copy which is partly why I picked it up (I collect books so naturally I would want proofs and if I didn't buy it, someone would - sorry!) but also because I LOVED Cathy MacPhail when I was younger. I actually got to meet her once as she came to my primary school and I got to go along to the library to see her as I was one of the biggest bookworms in the school! I binge read a bunch of her books that year but I can't remember if I ever read this one. Regardless, a lot of her books were for teens and I was only about 8 or so, so I'd love to revisit those books now, as a 20 year old.

Arise by Tara Hudson
This, again, was a 4 for £1 book deal purchase and is actually the second book in a series which I own no other books from but it was there and looked good so I bought it and now I need to buy the first book. I'd say whoops but this is a recurring theme with me... This was also a US Hardback if I remember correctly. I'd double check but it's tucked at the back of my book overspill cupboard since I can't read it until I buy book one and I refuse to acknowledge my book buying has gotten so bad I need an overspill cupboard so we'll just not go there... *insert that emoji with no mouth because oh my god emma why have you bought so many books*

Catcall by Linda Newbury
I can't remember where I bought this or what this book even is, all I know is that it has the word "Cat" in the title with a cat's eye on the cover and I mean, come on. It's me. I named my book blog "booklycat" because I like books and cats but bookishcat didn't roll-off the tongue or look as nice written down so I went with the weirdest name ever just to get my two loves in one - ok I'll stop rambling with no punctuation sorry bye.

City of Thieves by David Benioff
You guessed it - 4 for £1! I heard Kayla from Booksandlala talk about this and couldn't believe the exact same US/Canada edition she had was in front of me so being a sucker for finding a book I'd heard of AND a foreign edition meant I had to buy it.

Dead Gorgeous by Malorie Blackman
This was probably a multi-buy deal but I picked it up as I'm familiar with Malorie Blackman and want to read more of her books.

Flutter by Amanda Hocking
I wonder why Emma bought this... This is another mid-series book that I own none of the other books from but it was the createspace edition which is a slightly larger paperback that I couldn't resist. To be fair, I did read the synopsis for book one to make sure it's a series I would actually read so it's not so bad... right....

Girl Missing by Sophie Mckenzie
This was a case of seeing a book I'd heard of in an edition I hadn't seen and was still in fairly decent nick for a second hand book so of course, of course, I bought it. I definitely hope to read this one soon and it's right at the front of my double stacked 'first in a series' shelf so - yay?

Girl With All the Gifts by M R Carey
Trade paperback edition. I can't say no to Trade PBs of books I've sort of wanted to read and I'd just been recommended this by a trusted bookseller so I finally have it!

Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge
This was another proof that's an unconventional book shape/size so duh it's now mine. I've read The Lie Tree by this author and quite liked it so I'm curious to see how her other books fair as I've actually never heard of this one!

Holes by Louis Sachar
I needed a fourth book and it was the only YA there I had heard of and was actually somewhat interested in (the others were like Alex Rider and the Cherub Series etc which I don't care for). This is short so I possibly will get to this!

Infinite Days by Rebecca Mariel
Another example of needing a fourth book for the multi-buy and me grabbing the last YA book that looked alright. This is the first in a vampire series and I've been feeling that sort of trashy paranormal stuff you get so I'm hoping this can be a guilty pleasure series for me!

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
I was drawn to this series loads when I was a bookseller shelving middle grade but just never bothered to pick it up so when I saw it - albeit a less nice looking cover - I figured 'why no?' and grabbed it. Who knows when I'll finally pick it up...

These next four books were some of my best finds! I picked up
Le Doigt Magique by Roald Dahl,
Le Petit Nicolas; Les Petit Nicolas et Les Copains; Petit Nicolas et des Ennuis by Rene Goscinny
I'm trying to learn french so finding four kids books en Francais was amazing! Especially when I flicked through it and understood a good chunk of it! I also managed to get a parallel text short stories book.

(It's at this point I take a break and get exhausted realising I still have loads of books to go through so apologies that I get more brief here but I need to get this scheduled to post at 1pm and I'm going out today before then so I'm in a rush. Yay for last minute deciding to not skip this blog post...)

Lullaby by Amanda Hocking
Another mid-series book and US edition (I think). I'm also keen to get the first in this series and start reading!

The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen
I got all 4 of the books in this series for £1 each which I'm super excited about as it means I can just marathon them!

The Medusa Project books 2 and 3 by Sophie Mckenzie
I picked up one of these in a charity shop to look at but put it down when I saw it wasn't the first book but then further along the shelves I discovered another one in the series so although I didn't have the first one I saw it as a sign that I had to get them. 

(I am the best and finding excuses to buy books. Don't challenge me. I can tell you exactly why it's fine for me to buy another book when I have over 300 at home still to read.)

Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
I already owned the last two books in this series - no idea how. I think they're my step-dad's. - so I figured there was no time like the present to finally grab the first one!

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I was such an advanced reader in primary school that I was often given books way above my age range to try and challenge me... and this was one of them. I was probably about 7 years old and I was given a book that I never finished because I was disgusted that two people would run their tongue down each others. That's all I recall of that book. That and being very confused about the noughts and crosses and why these people weren't to interact or something like that.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill
I own Asking For It and have still to read it but I have this weird thing of wanting to read authors books in publication order - more so when they only have two or three books out. I don't know why but I do. So I grabbed this and hope to read it soon!

I then found a local charity shop with books for 50p so I grabbed the first, second and fourth Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. I've been interested to read these for a while so got them while they were cheap.

Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson
This is a proof copy that was in the same store for a few weeks so I decided to just get it. No idea if i'll read it because I can't think of the author without imagining the Grufallo so..

Shadowsmith by Ross Mackenzie
I love love loved Ross' first book The Nowhere Emporium so I found this on eBay for super cheap and grabbed it. It's actually a proof which I feel awful for buying (I don't mind so much when it's in a charity shop but this went to someone specifically aiming to get money from it) as I didn't notice at first :( regardless, I'm buzzed to pick this up!!

Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume
Judy Blume is my favvveeeeee childhood author so I had to get this one. No clue what it's about but it's got the name Judy Blume on the cover which is all I need.

That Summer by Sarah Dessen
I've read one Sarah Dessen book (Along For the Ride) and although I didn't hate it, I was in a bit of a slump at the time so it took me forever to get through and made me wary of her books. But I still want to give her a go and this is nice and short so fingers crossed!

The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson by Paige Toon
There was a charity shop that had 3 for 2 on some books so I ended up with this one. They had a copy of Wicked by Gregory Maguire but I already own that edition so I went for something I haven't read and this was one of the few YA they had and thus I chose it!

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Again this was picked up as I needed another book for a multi-buy offer and I knew the name. Not sure if I'll read it but it's not a loss if I don't.

The Dead House by Anne Cassidy
I've really been feeling mystery/thrillers recently (obviously just trying to rush into autumn!) and I read a couple Anne Cassidy in high school so when it's such a cheap book I couldn't resist!

The Diabolic by S J Kincaid
Another I picked up brand new. Heard so many good things and for only £4 in ASDA I couldn't say no!

The Divide by Elizabeth Kay
This was a super cheap 50p or £1 and although I know I'll most likely never read it, I bought it because it is the coolest looking book. It's hardcover but it opens from the middle? if that makes sense. So it's like a doorway. I can't describe it but it was so fascinating to me and I got so excited like a little kid and I had to have it. 

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
This book is freaking me out. I was on the hunt for books for a multi-buy offer (shocker) and this caught my eye as it has such an aesthetically pleasing colour palette and the synopsis sounded quite good. All fine and dandy, right? Well I'd never heard of this book before. Added it to goodreads and it's one that Carrie Hope Fletcher loves and I've read a few books she's recommended before on her youtube channel and adored them. So I was like "Oh good! I'll love this". Still not spooky. The spooky thing is that I had never, ever heard of the book and then a week later I saw a copy in another shop... and then further along the shelf in the same shop I saw another copy. And then a week after that I was in my local thrift store that's tucked away in a little village and they ALSO had this book. Three copies after I buy it. It's just weird hahah.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
I decided it's time I start reading those modern classic/super popular books that everyone has read but I haven't even though I want to so I bought myself a copy of this. Finally.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
I love Ancient Egypt and their mythology so when this finally appeared in a charity shop instead of Riordan's more popular series it made sense to pick it up. I've heard this isn't as good as the others but since I've not read any of his books yet I guess if I start with this one they'll only get better!

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Another Sarah Dessen book. It was a multi-buy thing and I'm adamant I'll love her books now I'm out of that slump I was in at the start of the year.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
I got so excited when I saw this. Not only is it a Trade size book but I've heard someone (not sure if it was Booksandlala or someone else!) talk about it so of course that meant I needed to bring it home.

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Another book I've heard loads about. It looks short and quick to get through and, yup, I needed it for an offer!

Timeriders by Alex Scarrow
Another case of needing a book to get a deal so I went with one of the few I'd heard of and felt remotely interested in. I'll definitely pick this up at some point, I'm just not sure if it's a series I'll read entirely.


And finally, we make it to the last book!! If you're still here then wow. I love you, thanks mum. Hahaha that's a lie. My mum doesn't read my blog - she just wants to get my ARCs of Estelle Maskame's books. She doesn't care how successful my blog is hahah.

Anyway,
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is a book I've seen raved about online and in real life so I bit the bullet and got myself a copy. As it's adult fiction, I'm a tad scared to read it as I find they often lack room to use your imagination - they give every single tiny detail which makes for a lot of unnecessary words/pages and makes reading slow and boring so it's a lot of energy to read adult fiction for me but if I'm so inclined to pick up a "proper", "grown-up" book one day, I'll have this!

And we made it. All done. Oh dear lord I am never buying that many books in one month ever again. I mean I already bought like 11 this month but still... I've most likely forgotten a book or two but I guess that's what happens when you buy so many bloody books... whoops!!

So, I have a lot of reading to be getting on with. Luckily I have a blog tour coming up next week which means I don't have to choose a book out of hundreds and can just get settled reading! See you guys next week!