New Year, Lovely New Books..

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to recommend any products, just wanted to share the latest additions to our home library x

Hi honeys
Happy New Year! I hope you've had a great time over the holidays and that 2016 will be the best year for you, chock full of smiles, hugs, laughter and all good things.

2015 already ended on a high note for me because I recently discovered that one of my favourite bookstores has opened a new branch nearby! Yaaaaay!

 I spotted the new branch in passing and while I didn't really have time to pop in I couldn't not... :)  Honestly honeys, I can't help it. I am defenceless when it comes to book stores :)

Even though I only popped in for a few minutes, believe me, if I hadn't been so busy I'd probably still be there now, sitting in a corner surrounded by books :) So, even though I only popped in :) I picked up a few lovely books and I thought I'd share.


Do you remember I'd previously bought a few titles from a series of books which began with "I used to know that - stuff you forgot from school" by Caroline Taggart. You can see that post here honeys. The first two books in today's post are also from this wonderful series.

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud        

The first volume I spotted was this wonderful book of poetry and I just had to have it :)  I absolutely adore this book honeys! So many half remembered poems, learnt and loved as a child all contained in this pretty little paperback. From Chaucer and Shakespeare (whose gorgeous sonnets 18 and 116 are included) to the present poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, by way of Kipling, Milton, Byron, Keats and Shelley.

Such joy honeys and I'm so glad I picked it up :)  I actually read through this book in one sitting!  I sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea meaning to flip through and finished reading it only to discover I'd forgotten about my cup of tea and let it go cold. I so recommend this book, I have a feeling it won't spend much time on our bookshelf living instead in my handbag :)

Remember, Remember The Fifth Of November 

"Remember, Remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot..." So begins a very famous rhyme intended to remind us of the fatal consequences of treason.  It refers to the infamous plot led by Guy Fawkes who had, aided by his fellow conspirators, on the fifth of November 1605 planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster using dozens of barrels of gunpowder hidden in the cellars. 

This is such a beautifully presented book.  It's a paperback sized hardback, so it's perfect to pop into my handbag to read while sitting in waiting rooms at the hospital or at the Drs office.  Whilst it does mention the events of the rhyme it borrows it's name from, the book is actually a little compendium of the history of Britain told in "bite sized chunks."

Beginning in Roman Britain and travelling through to the end of the second world war this is such a fabulous little treasury of facts and figures that anyone with an interest in British history would love to have I'm sure. It's written by Judy Parkinson who also wrote another excellent volume in this series of books called "i before e."

Then And Now

This is such a marvelous book honeys.  It's a large format, hardback book which makes it more suitable to be a coffee table book, it is in fact listed as a "family reference" book.  What drew me to it was it's simply stunning illustrations, graphics and cut-aways throughout.

 It's far more than a reference book, it is a feast for the eyes. A Thoroughly beautiful book.

Diet Doodle Diary 

I had seen this book once before on the stores website and I remember thinking the cover had made me smile. The pretty pastel pink made it stand out in their sale page (I'm a pastel kinda girl :) so when I saw it again in their store I picked it up.

I flipped through and it actually made me smile in store too. It's essentially a notebook chock full of funny cartoons, graphics and advice with lots of space to write, draw, scribble and doodle on :)

Am I on a diet? Well honeys, while writing this Hubby has brought me a lovely cup of tea and a doughnut with chocolate frosting (thank you sweetheart xx) so.... no then :) Should I be on a diet? Absolutely.  I'm middle aged, have high blood pressure, asthma and live in constant pain from fibromyalgia and arthritis.  Osteo arthritis in my lower spine means I need a cane to get around and while I'm not actually dieting I have for some time now been trying to adjust our family meals to far more healthy options.

Maybe there's something going on in my subconscious honeys? Is it possible there is a dialogue going on that I'm not entirely privy to between my brain and my body?  Whatever it is, I was drawn to this pretty pastel book that invites me to scribble happily inside and offers lots of motivational quotes and graphics.

Oddly enough it was only when I got home and settled down to flip through my latest book purchases that I first noticed this pretty softback book's cover is actually a slip cover as you can see...

The "other cover" underneath is adorable! It's like a very pretty notebook :) The kind of notebook I'd probably bring home if I spotted it while shopping (I also adore notebooks :)

When putting the slip cover back onto the book again I noticed something on the back page that made my eyebrows try to meet at the top of my nose in genuine confusion....

What on earth is a "modesty cover" honeys? Have I missed something?  Plain reason tells me that it's something to do with hiding from the world what your book is about?  That just seems so odd to me. Does anyone have any ideas why the publisher would do this?

Well honeys, those were my latest purchases on a (very) quick first (and I'm certain not the last) visit to our new local bookstore.  Any thoughts on any of them?   What are you reading now? Any recommendations?   Lovely Heidi at Heid'n'Speak wrote a wonderful post recently recommending her favourite books of last year, if you haven't read it yet you can see it here. Heidi recommends some great books, if you visit do say hello.

Till next time then dear ones, stay warm, smile lots and hug even more :) Here's to a fabulous 2016, lets fill our days with happy memories :) Huggles always xxx