Time for another of these, I think. This past week has seen me receive more books than any other so no guesses as to what I’m planning to do with my weekend but it’s going to be fun, that’s for sure.

Christina James: The Crossing – From the publisher; the second in a thriller series.

Diney Costeloe: The Throwaway Children – Having watched series four of Call The Midwife recently, I recognised what the photograph was about and having that new interest in the subject thought it might be an idea to learn about it whilst in mind.

Elizabeth Baines: Used To Be – I’m incredibly excited about this one, a collection of short stories by an author I met at the Georges Simenon event.

Lisa Hilton: Elizabeth: Renaissance Prince – Someone I love to read about plus non-fiction equals yes please.

Matthew Pritchard: Broken Arrow – Crime. I don’t know all that much about it at this point (you know how I like to avoid blurbs when possible) but it’s published by Salt and that’s really all that needs to be said.

Nicola Cornick: House Of Shadows – A triple plot line by an author I met at the RNA conference. I’m set to review this soon and I’m looking forward to it.

Su Dharmapala: Saree – The cover got me. This is quite a lengthy book, at least 500 pages, so I’m not sure when I’ll be reading it but it’s on my ‘soonish’ list.

There are three books from Salt Publishing on this list and I love that; they publish some excellent stuff. I’m thinking of making myself a to-be-reviewed shelf in my study, possibly using the window sill for the time being, because whilst I have most of the list in mind I see potential value in having everything in one place. (At the moment review copies are mixed in with my own books.)

What have you borrowed/acquired/bought recently? And have you a place for books you want to read soon?

Events cause books. This should really be called the Better Get Cracking edition of Latest Acquisitions.

Annie O’Neil: Doctor… To Duchess? – O’Neil was one of the authors I met at the conference and she sent me her newest to review. It’s one of my current reads and I’m loving the inner dialogue. E L James could learn a lot.

Christina Courtenay: New England Rocks – Another of the authors I met and met again at an event I’ll be covering later this week. This is Courtenay’s first young adult book, the first in a series.

Claire Watts: How Do You Say Gooseberry In French? – Watts I met last week; I like the title of this too much.

Dinah Jefferies: The Separation – How does it go? This. Cover.

Erwin Mortier: While The Gods Were Sleeping – From Pushkin Press, an interesting tale against a backdrop of war.

Lucy King: Say It With Diamonds – I haven’t looked through this enough to get much of a picture, but it looks like good holiday reading.

Rowan Coleman: The Memory Book – Ditto above; it’s not listed on GoodReads that I could find.

Sarah Govett: The Territory – The author sold this to me; it sounds excellent, very up-to-date issues mixed with dystopia.

So, yes – lots to read. Understatement.

What have you borrowed/acquired/bought recently?

Several today; I’m not sure where I’ll find the time, but it’ll happen.

Amita Trasi: The Color Of Our Sky – I admit this was a bit of an impulse decision; nice cover, Indian setting, front page of NetGalley. I’ve started it and it’s okay but there’s a fair amount of effort being expended to remind you that it’s set in India.

Angela Thirkell: The Brandons – I’ve read about this series, it sounds good, and I want to read more fiction from this period. I’m aware this is halfway through the series but from what I can ascertain, this shouldn’t matter. (Please correct me if that’s wrong!)

F Scott Fitzgerald: Tender Is The Night – It’s been too long since I read The Great Gatsby and watching Midnight In Paris recently I felt I had to read it soon.

Georges Simenon: The Late Monsieur Gallet – This one’s rather obvious. Looking forward to it.

Julia Stoneham: Evie – One of those random choices. I’ve since found out it’s the last book in a series…

Julie Kagawa: Talon – The Iron Fey may have its issues but I find Kagawa’s style easy to read and compelling.

What have you acquired/bought/borrowed recently?

I’ve acquired several books since my last post on the subject; many arrived a few days after it published, which is just the way it goes! You’ve seen many of them (I won’t name them here but they’ve formed most of the most recent content here) but here are the rest:

Dahlia Adler: Under The Lights – If I recall correctly it was by following Roselle Kaes on Twitter that I was introduced to this author and so on seeing she had a book on the way I thought I’d give it a look. I liked what I saw (it’s a theatre-based LGBT novel).

Eloisa James: When The Duke Returns – The plan was to read it this month but I’ve moved on, mood-wise, to classics for now. I’ll likely read it later this year.

Helen Simonson: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – This was an instant ‘yes’ at first physical sight; everyone seems to rate it very highly. And I’m assuming once I’ve read it and can join title with content I’ll stop confusing it with Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day…

Judy Chicurel: If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go – I was drawn to the cover first, but the title is the mainstay here. I don’t think I’ve come across one quite so long. I foresee many broken image links in my future as I use book titles in the filename.

Juliet Madison: Sight – A fair premise here, five sisters who share the five human senses to a supernatural degree.

Kate Chopin: The Awakening – This book only came to my attention a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve only known of it for about a year. It was mentioned on a couple of blogs recently and I left a note to myself to download a copy. It’s a lot shorter than I’d expected – length being one of the reasons I’d not yet opted to read it – so I’m hoping to read it soon. By all accounts it sounds fantastic.

Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina – Yes, you’ve seen this before. It was time I found another translation because I know it was Vintage’s Louise and Aylmer Maude translation that was the problem. This is Penguin’s Pevear and Volokhonsky version and it’s a good fit. I’ve read a number of books this month already; the plan is to give Tolstoy my full attention until this book is finished. I’ve restarted it and already have an idea for a post one a theme. (I’ll be changing the cover I have on this site when I come to review it – so far my posts have been about the Vintage.)

Raymond Jean: Reader For Hire – Peirene Press, translated by Adriana Hunter, about a reader. Enough said!

What books have you acquired recently? And if you’ve read the Tolstoy, which translation(s) did you read and how did you like it/which did you prefer?

As I said last week, one of the things about keeping track of my reading, my new method of working, is that I’ve a better idea of how much I can take on each month. I’m happy to say this set of acquisitions reaches as far as June. (Why it’s taken me so long to realise what so many others do in such shorter time is something I’m trying not to think about…)

Emma Healey: Elizabeth Is Missing – I’d passed this over before as the cover didn’t catch my eye; then I learned what it was about.

Jessie Burton: The Miniaturist – Judith’s review stayed in my mind, and when I saw the UK cover I knew it was time.

Laura Barnett: The Versions Of Us – Any book that is compared to Sliding Doors is going to appeal to me.

Mikhail Elizarov: The Librarian – A book about books was always going to catch my attention, and when I discovered it wasn’t your usual description of ‘librarian’ I was more intrigued.

Nancy Bilyeau: The Tapestry – The third book in Bilyeau’s excellent Tudor reformation series; I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.

Stefan Mohamed: Bitter Sixteen – A fantasy book with an awesome title (though do be prepared for spelling errors as I’m likely to call it Bitter Greens); the original draft was written when the author was sixteen; looks pretty good.

Have you read/do you plan to read any of the above? Which books have you acquired recently?