Birthday Book Haul

I had a birthday a few weeks ago, and as per usual, I got a bunch of books! I know I'm late, but I wanted to wait until all the books were in one place. Here they are!

Pretty good haul, right?

I'm going to start at the bottom.

I took myself and my $800 of credit to the used book store and picked these up.

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - A friend of mine has raved about this series for years. It was basically free. Why not?

Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman - This is book 4 in the Justin DeQuincy series. I heard about this series on a podcast.

The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri - This is number 6 in the Inspector Montalbano series. I pick these up as I find them for cheap.

The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman - This is the first book in the Justin DeQuincy series. The queen in question is Eleanor of Aquitane. When I heard about this series on the podcast, they said the first book is out of print, so when I found it on the shelf at the used bookstore, I snatched it up.

Blind Owl by Sadeo Hedayat - My kid got me this. The Goodreads summary says, "Considered the most important work of modern Iranian literature...". Say less. It is also compared to the writing of Edgar Allan Poe.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang - I think my kid was trying to share their love of horror with me without actually giving me Japanese horror books. This one is Korean and I have actually read it. It gets pretty gory, for sure.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble that I promptly went off and spent. This is one that I got on that trip. A woman who pretends to be a witch on the internet is actually a witch. She gets a call to come mentor three young witches who need some help. Also it's a romance.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett - Look what came out in paperback!!!! While I was waiting around for my library copy to come back around, I found this!

The Benevolent Socity of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman - Isn't that a great title? And it's set in Regency England. AND it's by Alison Goodman. I've enjoyed several of her books.

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen - It's 1600s Germany and the plague is making it's way across Europe. The titular mother is Katharina Kepler, mother of Johannes Kepler, the Imperial Mathematician.

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson - I enjoyed Henderson's witch book a couple of years ago. I anticipate liking this vampire book even more.

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre - I picked this up at the Teen Book Con I was at just before Halloween. It's the first in the Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes.

Lena and the Burning of Greenwood by Nikki Shannon Smith - I also got this at the book con. I had read it before the event and felt I needed to add it to my shelves.

A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel - My sister sent this one to me. I read it earlier this year in the form of a library copy and wanted one of my own to annotate. It was published over 10 years ago and I'm not sure it's actually still in print. Nevertheless, I have my edition to annotate.

This brings me to realize there are 3 books not pictured that should have been. Of course.

Between the Lines: Stories From the Underground by Uli Beutter Cohen - Once again I heard about this on a podcast. The author has a website where she photographs people reading on the subway in NYC and interviews them about what they are reading. My sister gave me this one.

Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt - What we have here is a courtroom mystery with a lawyer who would rather be with his dog. His dad dies dramatically at a baseball game and leaves Andy with a huge fortune and a murder case. Tara is a golden retriever. That's really why I wanted this book. Not gonna lie. My sister gave me this one, too.

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas - I went back to Barnes and Noble and spent some more of my gift card on this last book. I really liked the first book in the series, but I didn't want to fight with the hardcover. These are long books! Hidden in the back of the store there was a table of paperback copies of this. I snatched it up with a quickness.

Nope. That's still not all. I forgot the ones my husband gave me. Damn!

Emma by Jane Austen - Last year, my husband gave me the Pride and Prejudice edition done by this company. This year, he gave me Emma. They are illustrated in the same manner throughout.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Hubby also gave me this copy of Pride and Prejudice that comes in a gorgeous slipcover.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - This one also came from my husband. It also has a slipcover. Just beautiful. He said there was a third book in the collection, but he didn't think I really care for Wuthering Heights. He is correct.

Now! That's finally all the books. I think.