July Book Haul: First Month Back in the UK

Although I’m very much pro-mindful consumption, I’m also as much a book dragon (i.e. hoarder) as I am a bookworm, so I do like to buy and display my books as trophies. I currently don’t have bookshelves, so I can only do the first part of that… (I am trying my best not to compensate for the lack of displaying with more buying as I have the past couple years.)

In total, I bought 9 books this month. This is a few more than I probably should have bought (I might do a post on how I manage my book buying-related goals soon), although far fewer than you might expect since this was my first month back in an English-speaking country since November last year.

I bought five English books and then another four books in German when I went to Switzerland, so I’ll split up this haul accordingly.

I bought five English-language books this month, which is a bit more than I should have according to my rules for myself (I’m supposed to read 3 books for every 1 I buy, with a couple of exceptions). Two of these books fall under such exceptions: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie is the sequel to Ancillary Justice, which I read and loved last year, and I do give myself one free pass a season for a sequel. Hiding in Caverns Formed from Old Roots is a collection of translated poetry by Yu Xuanji, who is often called the greatest female poet of Tang China. This is tangentially related to my master’s degree, so I am bending the rules slightly to make it also an exception to my book buying restriction.

Apart from that, I also bought three other books in English. Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent was my most anticipated release of spring (it came out in May), so I had to buy it after moving back to the UK. Finally, Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan and Lights, Planets, People! by Molly Naylor and Lizzy Stewart are both graphic novels.

I also went to Switzerland this month to visit my dad, so I bought a few books in German whilst I was there as well (although not necessarily German/Swiss books). I allow myself four freebie books in a different language if I buy them in/from that country per season, so I now need to be good on this until the end of September!

Das verbogene Leben der Farben (The Twisted Life of Colours) by Laura Imai Messina is a German translation of an Italian book set in Japan and written by an Italian woman who lives in Japan. There is not yet an English translation. Wenn die Welse kommen (When the Catfish Come) is written by Swiss writing collective Elen Fern, originally in French but translated into German. The Legend of Lady Byeoksa: Die Perlen des Todes (The Pearls of Death) by Esther Park is a Korean fantasy romance. The only one originally written in German is Der Tee Palast by Elisabeth Herrmann, a historical fiction about a woman who travels to China to start a tea importing business (or something along those lines).