(This photo is dedicated to my mum who on a day out to Kirkcudbright (‘kirk-coo-bree’) asked me why I had a big camera instead of just using my phone and then ten minutes later told me to take-a-photo-of-this-butterfly-quickly. Mum, this is why.)

It’s high time I accounted for all the books I have acquired since I made my initial journey to Scotland because it’s been a relatively long while and there are lots of books. I’m making this a trilogy because while I expect readers to scroll by many or all of the blurbs (I’m going to include them from now on just in case anyone wants details), it’s a lot of text for one post.

It turns out that giving away about 20 books (this is the first time I’ve ever given away books that aren’t duplicates) on account of downsizing works very well until you find out that the new person in your life seems to like going to charity shops and the charity shops in your vicinity offer their second-hand books not only often in very good condition but also for a very cheap price… and that the new person in your life is supportive of your interests, and you yourself knowing already as you did that he didn’t blink at the number you gave him in the beginning that constituted your book collection… and suddenly you’ve the same number of books you had before you downsized.

(I do want to note that I actually gave away many more books, probably about 150, but, beyond the 20 mentioned above, they were all books from my childhood. I am incredibly proud of myself for having given away books and also other possessions I had had since I was a baby as it was a very difficult thing to do. Also, I’ll call my boyfriend Lewis from now on partly because that’s his name and partly because I should probably provide a differentiator from the boyfriend mentioned in times past.)

Publisher blurbs are taken from GoodReads and Amazon and I have edited some of them for length. And the nice thing about all these books being physical copies is that I can photograph them.

Beth O’Leary: The Flatshare (2019)

A pretty battered copy from a charity shop, I had no qualms taking it about with me and for once put a book in my handbag. I kind of regret that because it’s a bit of a symbol of me moving to Scotland, the first book I finished here, and now it’s even more battered, but I’ll be keeping it nonetheless.

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…’

Curtis Sittenfeld: Romantic Comedy (2023)

I wanted to buy this when it was first released and never got round to it; I had rather enjoyed Sittenfeld’s debut, Prep, and for whatever reason this latest book caught my eye where her previous novels hadn’t. I found a good hardback copy in a charity shop. It’s one of my current reads and I’m loving it – I didn’t know exactly what it was about besides what the title infers but it’s fun and a bit different.

After a series of heartbreaks, Sally Milz – successful script writer for a legendary late-night TV comedy show – has long abandoned the search for love. But when her friend and fellow writer begins to date a glamorous actress, he joins the growing club of interesting but average-looking men who get romantically involved with accomplished, beautiful women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch, poking fun at this ‘social rule’. The reverse never happens for a woman.

Then Sally meets Noah, a pop idol with a reputation for dating models. But this isn’t a romantic comedy – it’s real life. Would someone like him ever date someone like her?

Erin Green: Retreat To The Lakeside Cottage (2024)

Charity shop find on a stopover back home. I was drawn in by the cover and the fact it was obviously about an author retreat. (We went to Germany for two nights by train, a two-day trip each way from Scotland. I do not recommend doing anything like this – it took us both a week to properly recover.)

Five authors have gathered at the idyllic Lakeside Cottage for a retreat, with the promise of peace and dedicated writing time.

• Retreat organiser Rula is there to edit. An interloper, especially one with whom she has a past, was certainly not part of her plan.
• Eve has a bad case of writer’s block. Can she find new inspiration? Or will she get drawn into the dramas that unfold around her?
• Alice has a deadline looming but is seemingly more interested in anything but writing. And where does she keep disappearing to?
• Daphne is an experienced self-published author, but might she be more unconventional in other ways too?
• And then there’s Brontë, the complete novice. She’s a mere scribbler, not a ‘proper writer’ like these other women, and she feels totally out of her depth.

As the collective word count grows, and their personal stories interweave, each woman finds herself drawn in unexpected and life-changing directions.

Evie Woods: The Lost Bookshop (2023)

Passed on from my mum who has been going through Woods’ backlist (and I think it was in turn passed to her by my sister).

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

Hannah Bonam-Young: Out On A Limb (2023)

Charity shop find. I’ve never been into the style of cover these Booktok books are using but I’ll give one a go. If it bears any disability-related resemblance to Linda Corbett’s wonderfully representative Love You From A To Z which I waxed lyrical about in this video, I’ll be very happy.

Independent, confident, and not held back by her disability, Winnifred McNulty has been determined to prove to herself and others that she can do anything without needing anyone.

That all changes when Win meets Bo at a Halloween party, a charming boy in a pirate costume who has more in common with her than she realises. Bonding over the fact that they both have a visible disability, Win and Bo develop an electrifying connection with each other that they just can’t ignore.

After a one-night stand leaves Win with the biggest decision of her life, Bo is more than happy to join her in sharing this new experience – on the condition that they remain strictly friends. Win and Bo embark on a journey together, discovering more about themselves than they thought they knew. But the chemistry between them is unavoidable, and the plan they put in place soon gets thrown into question as feelings begin to surface.

Hilary Mantel: Bring Up The Bodies (2012)

I bought a secondhand hardback of Wolf Hall years ago at Hay. Finding a secondhand hardback of book two was fab. No, I still haven’t read the first and I know I need to.

By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith’s son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife. But Anne has failed to bear a son to secure the Tudor line. At Wolf Hall, Cromwell watches Henry fall in love with plain Jane Seymour. The minister sees what is at stake: not just the king’s pleasure, but the safety of the nation. As he eases a way through the sexual politics of the court, he must negotiate a ‘truth’ that will satisfy Henry and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge undamaged from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

Holly Bourne: Pretending (2020)

I first heard of Holly Bourne in 2016 so it’s taken me a while to get one of her books; I think I was so used to her being a YA author at a time I wasn’t reading YA that I passed over her for a while. This was a charity shop hardback find and it sounds great.

April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal – yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry.

If only April could be more like Gretel. Gretel is exactly what men want – she’s a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems. The problem is, Gretel isn’t real. And April is now claiming to be her.

As soon as April starts ‘being’ Gretel, dating becomes much more fun – especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua. Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?

I’ll leave concluding all this for the last post. What I will say now is that I’m enjoying making these new posts despite how long they take.