Bonne Annee!

So Christmas is over, it's a new year and I have a few cheeky purchases to share with you. I have just come back from my new year break in Paris which was absolutely brilliant. I have eaten an unbelievable amount of food (moules and crepes) and walked an unbelievable amount of miles to counteract said excessive eating. In between meals I have been exploring, reading and buying books.

I devoted an entire morning, as any bibliophile would, to the Shakespeare and Company bookshop near the Notre Dame. There are no words to describe how phenomenally amazing this bookshop is. I mean it's pricey and annoyingly cult which means it's very busy but, seriously, I adore crammed bookshelves and books piled on every surface. I wasn't going to leave without buying something and getting it stamped with their legendary mark.

I treated myself to a second hand Contemporary Poems (yellow cover) which has got all my faves in and a lovely cover design (winner all around). Next up is the Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason. I adore Greek myth and the whole Odyssey/Illiad genre and according to the blurb this is a series of re-tellings of sections of the Odyssey. I am intrigued! Moving into non-fiction I picked up Charles Dickens Pictures from Italy which, as far as I can tell, is a piece of travel writing. Italy is my favourite country in the world and I can imagine Dickens would uncover some interesting sights so I think this may make for some interesting reading. Plus it has some beautiful illustrations. Finally, I picked up the shops own literary magazine, The Paris Magazine.

I have made a couple of purchases from Foyles and the Book Depository (my new favourite website). Foyles had a bit of a sale and Oliver Sack's Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain caught my eye with 50% off.

On boxing day I sat down with my laptop and browsed the sales. I didn't really find anything I liked and was in the mood for spending money so swiftly clicked on to the book depository. I was, however, very well behaved. I knew what books I wanted and without stalling I added them to my basket. It's fair to say, I was very proud of myself.

I don't know why I have held off for so long with buying The Light Between Oceans. I have been drawn to it since it came out but never actually found the impetus to buy it. I opted for the US version with the lighthouse  on the cover because I pretty much have a thing for lighthouses (personal fact: I have a small lighthouse tattooed on my back). I used to really dislike hardbacks because I carry my books around but I have recently got into the habit of having more than one book on the go: one for portable reading and one by my bed. I have seen so many good reviews of this novel and it has cropped up in a few end of year favourites lists so I just could not refuse.

Another obsession of mine which has popped up in a few of my posts is war writing. The Yellow Birds is war writing from a modern war whereas I have tended to stick with the First and occasionally Second World Wars. It has been compared to All Quiet on the Western Front and I am very interested to see how they do compare. Very excited to read this one.

Well, that's that. A few not so guilty purchases. A Christmas treat, if you will. I would love to know what any of you made of the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop or if you have any thoughts on the books I've bought recently.

Happy New Year!