Visit To Bookbarn: A Mostly Penguins Book Haul

Just when you thought Alice bought too many books from her experiences in Hay the previous week for her 19th birthday, along come six new purchases! *faints* Believe me, book buying bans never work. What appeals to me about Penguins is that a few I found today, I honestly have no idea what the plotline is about or other people’s thoughts on them. So, I’m feeling excited and nervous to read them. So, let’s get started and explain why I picked up these books:

First is Flowers In The Attic by Virginia Andrews. This review (when I’ve read it) most likely will be posted on my other blog (Married To Books Reviews and Blog) because this isn’t a classics or a Penguin book. After no luck finding it in Hay, my Mum found a copy just as I was about to leave Bookbarn and pay for the stack of books I already had on my hand. All I know about the book is that it involves four children who live alone in an attic after their father dies and their mother keeps them in the attic after promising them an inheritance. I’ve heard very mixed reviews on this book so I plan to tread carefully with reading it.

Next is Penguin book number 1344, Where Angels Fear To Tread by E.M Forster. At the time of writing this post, I’m literally about to start reading A Room With A View written by the same author. My Mum said that she studied this book back when she was at sixth form but I have zero idea what it is about.

I also found my first ever Penguin Green! It’s number 2321, The Merry Hippo by Elspeth Huxley. All I know from just flicking through the book is that the location where this is set is in Africa and obviously someone dies. But I don’t know who 😛

(Internal commentary by Alice- Must read more on the book before I blog about it).

Moving on…

I acquired Men At Arms by Evelyn Waugh. This is the first book in a trilogy about a guy called Guy (You read that right) who goes to war under the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. Evelyn also wrote Brideshead Revisited which currently I haven’t read. Let me know if I should read it!

Book five is volume one of short stories by F.Scott Fitzgerald who wrote The Great Gatsby called The Diamond As Big As The Ritz. I don’t know about you readers but I absolutely love reading short stories! I did purchase in Hay some other short story collections but this one caught my we immediately.

The final book in this haul is Around The World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne which I read aged nine. I also have watched the film version with Pierce Brosnan in. Thanks to my Dad who found this lovely edition for me since I used to own a copy of this book but it was not the best condition so decided to donate it, now I have a copy again!

That concludes my book haul! All of these books were purchased at Bookbarn International which is based in SW England and is England’s largest used Book Warehouse. I started buying and reading books there aged five and now at nineteen, I’m still finding a stack of books each time even though I have no shelf space to store them all on. I love the range of Penguins that they have scattered around. Definitely worth a visit!

That’s it for this post, it was a long one but thanks so much for sticking by. Don’t forgot to like, comment and subscribe. See you all soon with a new post!

Alice.

Top 5: Classic Books Purchased In Hay-On-Wye I’m Most Excited For!

Good evening all! I hope the thunderstorms didn’t keep you up all night, I certainly woke up with a start a few times. Today’s post is a quick one and it involves some books that I purchased last week from the land of books that it is Hay-On-Wye in Wales. This is a stack of five out of the forty plus books I purchased over two days that spoke to me the most for lots of reasons. Let’s get started!

First on the stack is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. For me, this has been on my TBR for months and attempts to try and purchase it in the first had failed. When I did find a copy, I was thrilled. This is a Sci-Fi Dystopian read which the back of my copy claims is, “The greatest novel of the future ever written.” Let’s wait and see shall we?

Second is Laurie Lee’s Cider With Rosie. My Dad actually studied this for English at school! I’ve heard lots of good things about the book but recently tried watching an adaption of it which myself and my parents found disappointing. Hoping that the book is a hundred times better.

Third is The Darling Buds of May by HE Bates. I have watched the TV Series on repeat for many years now and honestly, it’s one of the many old shows that I grew up on. Other favourites include: Dad’s Army, Faulty Towers and Porridge. The length of the book is only around 150 pages long which I wasn’t expecting.

Fourth is The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. This book came to my attention after I saw it on multiple lists created by other Goodreads users such as ‘Books you must read before turning 40’ or ‘Books you must read before you die.’ Drastic title I know. But, my copy is in really good condition and the cover design was the one I was looking for.

And finally, Stella Gibbons’ novel Cold Comfort Farm. Years ago, I sat down one Saturday night with my family to watch the film adaption of it but now, I’ve completely forgotten what the novel is about! My parents were pleased with this choice so it gives me confidence that I will enjoy this!

That’s all for my top 5. Any surprise picks there? Have you read any of the books mentioned? Let’s discuss!

Thanks so much for reading, have a great day/night wherever you are in the world!

Alice x