Fewer books – I’m obeying my rule. Interestingly I’ve been reading a bit more this past week or so, so I’m glad of my rule because I’m getting through my pile quicker.

Jane Austen: Mansfield Park – I finally have a copy of this book. I’ve been holding out for two reasons. One – I wanted the Vintage Classics addition that seems hard to find (I’ve actually given in and got the Penguin but as I’m not keen on notes in my classics I’m still going to look for the Vintage). Two – this is the last Austen I have left to read and it saddens me because it’s not as though she is going to write any more. I read the first couple of pages and then stopped because I wanted it to last, so if I end up on holiday at all this summer, I’ll likely be taking this book with me.

J A Redmerski: The Edge Of Never – Likely a lot of you will know where I got this from, it was promoted in a Netgalley Read Now email. I don’t tend to respond to many of those adverts but I liked the cover and that it was New Adult. I want to explore this genre a bit.

Michael Palin: Around The World In 80 Days – Michael Palin has been a small part of my life since I was a teenager. I’d say few Brits are unaware of Monty Python and I’ve seen a few of the films. In addition I have family members who are interested in travel and have seen Palin’s books and TV shows a lot. The story behind my getting this book is a travel company, Titan, that wants to start a book club. It struck me as a fresh idea to get people interested in travel and a company and so I agreed to review the book as a source for discussion. I’m expecting this to kick-start a Palin phase in my reading as it sounds great and I know there’s a big chance of his writing being right up my street.

Michael Pollan: The Omnivore’s Dilemma – With thanks to Kelly for the initial introduction, and Kim for the specific recommendation, one of my current reads is this book. I never thought I’d be so interested in food non-fiction, but since reading Eat The City I’ve been wanting to read more in the same subgenre. Pollan’s book is a perfect fit.

Vincent Lam: The Headmaster’s Wager – Many bloggers loved this and I miss reading about Asia (the continent was a mainstay in my reading prior to blogging). The book itself is very nice.

Five books, one of which is already on the go. Hopefully do-able in a short enough period of time.

What books have you bought/borrowed/been sent recently?

I’m on the ‘look out’ for guest posts again for use within the next couple of weeks. If you’d like to contribute (I’m looking for 3), send me your idea(s). Anything except reviews.

At the start of June I said to myself “less review copies and fewer free ebooks”. As a result I’ve wondered whether posting this short list is worth it, but I suppose it’s testament to the fact I’m obeying my own rule.

Anna Belfrage: The Prodigal Son – Belfrage showed a lot of promise when her previous book was better than the first. I’m pretty excited to see if she’ll progress even further now.

David Cannadine: The Undivided Past – Having studied Cannadine’s work at university and finding it particularly compelling, when I saw this book I was immediately drawn to it. It’s even on a similar subject to that I studied (at face value at least).

Kristina Carlson: Mr Darwin’s Gardener – It’s published by Peirene and they never disappoint. Truly I don’t think anything else needs to be said.

Shannon Stacey: All He Ever Needed – I’ve reviewed the other books in this series and I loved them enough to get the finished copies. I love how this series, if not Stacey’s books in general, are such great candidates as romance books for those who are wary of romance books. And I say that from experience. The family focus of them is amazing.

Shannon Stacey: All He Ever Desired – Ditto the above. I really can’t get enough of these books.

Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In – I know this hasn’t garnered a fantastic response, so I’ll keep my expectations low, but I just really want to read it.

So there you (I? we?) have it. Six books I really really want to read, most the sort that I would create a readathon just to get finished.

What books have you bought/borrowed/been sent recently? And, bonus question, what were your reasons for choosing them?

I think this has to be subtitled ‘the book blog and Christmas gift cards addition’. Let’s forget that last month I said there wouldn’t be as many books this time…

Barbara Kingsolver: Flight Behaviour – I’m not enamoured by the character names, but we’ll see how it goes. This will be my first book by Kingsolver, and has been reviewed by too many people for me to ignore any longer. I know the response has been mixed, but it’s partly that that made me interested – I want to see for myself how Kingsolver handles the different subjects she has included.

Debbie Dee: The Underground Witch – I read The Last Witch last year and although it wasn’t spectacular, it showed a lot of promise for the next book, so I said ‘yes please’ to this next book.

Emma Henderson: Grace Williams Says It Loud – It has been my aim, ever since the 2011 Orange Prize was shortlisted, to read said shortlist. I’m finally getting round to it.

John Green: The Fault In Our Stars – Recommended by too many book bloggers to leave it any longer.

Julie Kagawa: The Iron Queen – I liked The Iron King, wasn’t keen on The Iron Daughter, hoping this one will be more like the first.

Julie Kagawa: The Iron Knight – Ditto the above.

Laini Taylor: Daughter Of Smoke And Bone – I had absolutely no interest in this book for the longest time. Then Jenny wrote a review of it.

Meike Ziervogel: Magda – I wasn’t actually aware that Meike (of Peirene Press) had written a book until Jackie reviewed it. Having read Peirene’s books the last few years and having met Meike, when I saw this on a display in Waterstones there was no question, I was getting a copy.

Nancy Bilyeau: The Crown – Bilyeau had something special going on with The Chalice and I want to read the first part of Joanna’s story.

Paula Lichtarowicz: The First Book Of Calamity Leek – Caused by Judith’s review.

Peggy Riley: Amity & Sorrow – Judith, Jennifer, and Jenn’s, and I know numerous others, got me interested in this one.

Richard C Morais: Buddhaland Brookyn – This is fiction about starting a Buddhist monastery in New York. I have a thing for Buddhism, and also Buddhist monasteries (the culture is fascinating… and they make awesome vegan meals with random mixes of ingredients and not planning time…).

Taylor Stevens: The Doll – I reviewed The Informationist last year, so accepting the pitch for this just made sense. I’ve missed the second book, The Innocent, but considering the sort of series it is I’m hoping I’ll be able to work out what’s happened.

Yep, a lot to get through.

I’m in a bit of a crazy state at the moment, still working out how many books I can accept for review without overturning the balance with my own books and posting on other topics. But I’m getting there. Anyway, here are the books I’ve welcomed to my pile for varying reasons.

Andrew Blackman: A Virtual Love – This is likely to come as no surprise seeing as I photographed my copy for my post on Andrew’s book launch. I ought to say, however, that I haven’t been given this book for review.

Andrew Blackman: On The Holloway Road – Ditto the above.

F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby – I told my mum I’d prefer not to have an Easter egg this year as I’ve cut down on the amount of chocolate I eat. I said I’d love a tin of artichokes instead (tried them for the first time a few months ago and fell in love). She knocked on my door with this book instead. How she knew I wanted a copy I don’t know. I actually tend to buy Vintage Classics, but this version from Alma Books is beautiful.

Jeanne Ray: Calling Invisible Women – I loved the premise of this. In Britain there’s been a few articles recently on how ageist the media is, for example on talent shows expert judges with a few wrinkles get replaced by younger models. The idea of a book that looks at this invisibility that’s been discussed is very appealing.

Jeanne Ray: Julie And Romeo – A retelling, a classic, and one of the most famous romances. Each would be reason enough.

Kate Atkinson: Life After Life – I’m trying very hard not to get my expectations up too high for this one, because whilst I wanted it because people have been saying it’s magnificent, I am aware that I’ve read a couple of books on a similar theme (Before Ever After and to a lesser extent Before I Fall) so it might not seem so new to me. Nevertheless it sounds so good, and I’m yet to read Atkinson’s work, so here I am, as it were.

Kieran Shields: The Truth Of All Things – I was intrigued by the use of religion in this thriller.

Kimberly Derting: Dead Silence – I’ve read and enjoyed the previous three books in this series, which starts with The Body Finder, so you can imagine I’m looking forward to this one a lot.

Maryanne O’Hara: Cascade – It sometimes seems everyone’s read this already; and they’ve reviewed it positively. I had to take up the offer.

Paulo Coelho: Manuscript Found In Accra – I haven’t read nearly enough of this author’s books since an old friend lent me The Alchemist.

Tanya Byrne: Follow Me Down – This arrived unexpected (but to great excitement) in the mail. I’ve been wanting to read this author’s work for ages.

I’m working on a backlog at the moment, so it’s likely next month(s) won’t be as long a list as this one. It must be said that I’m incredibly excited about a lot of these books, and fully intend to take part in the readathon later this month because I’m ever aware of my slowness as a reader. Well, as long as my boyfriend doesn’t mind – the constant issue of Saturdays being our day together.

What books have you bought/received/borrowed recently?

These past couple of months I’ve been unable to accept many of the books offered to me. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, a lot of them needed reviewing by dates that I couldn’t adhere to because the number of days I allocate to ARCs were already booked up (including a good number of older books on this blog is important to me). Secondly, I’m getting to grips with how much it is physically (mentally?) possible for me to read in a week. Whilst I love reading and adding to my yearly count, there comes a point where you have to accept your limits. So here are the books that I’ve acquired since the start of February – both books for review, and older releases I’ve been wanting to read.

Anna Belfrage: A Rip In The Veil – I signed up for the tour of Like Chaff In The Wind and we were offered this book, too. I likely won’t be able to get to it beforehand, but apparently that should not matter too much as it can stand alone.

Anna Belfrage: Like Chaff In The Wind – The 1600s and the formation of the “new world” has always fascinated me, and I developed that interest further last year with my studies.

Eloisa James: Desperate Duchesses – Continuing my wish for general knowledge of the romance genre. (And I must admit I also wanted to see what my family’s reaction would be. I’ll have to write a blog post about that some time.)

Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl – A lot of people have said how awful the characters are, but it’s so popular a book I feel I should read it.

Jessa Russo: Ever – I liked the premise of this one, a girl still in love with her dead boyfriend, which she’s going to find difficult to get over seeing as he haunts her home.

John Elder Robison: Raising Cubby – I’ve grown up being informed about Autism and Asperger’s so this account, a primary source if you will, was particularly appealing.

Kate Forsyth: Bitter Greens – A fairytale retelling. Enough said.

Lindy Woodhead: Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge – I’m loving the TV adaptation, and knowing the facts are quite different I’d like to know the truth. This is the first time I’ve vetoed a book with a tie-in cover, but in this case I know it’ll help me remember how much I loved the show.

Lyn Andrews: The Queen’s Promise – The boyfriend spied a medieval-looking novel (turns out to be about Anne Boleyn). And he says I have enough books…

Sadie Jones: The Uninvited Guests – I loved The Outcast and Small Wars, so this made sense.

I also received the The Girl Below which I haven’t included in the list because I’ve already read and reviewed it. Likewise I’ve also already read Sherry Thomas’s Private Arrangements and His At Night. I’m loving my “work” right now and enjoying the mix of genres I have to write about. Whilst sometimes I wonder if perhaps I am reading a bit too broadly, in terms of blogging, I think I would lose my motivation if I honed in on particular genres or subjects too much.

What books have you bought/received/borrowed recently? Incidentally I’m aware this post format is starting to look bad as screen resolutions become higher (the book covers causing lots of blank space under the text) so I may switch to showing books all in a line – what do you think?