Waterstones Book Haul

Books I couldn't resist this summer!

Hey, welcome back!

Summer arrived, and is now fading through my fingertips. Every morning this past week, I’ve watched the thermostat drop a degree; the pessimism of the colder months to come slowly creeping inside of me. There’s apparently going to be another heatwave in the UK starting yesterday. (They were right). I am determined to be strong—and to keep reading!

In the spirit of self-care in the form of retail therapy, I bought more books! Who is surprised? Not me! I’ve cradled the desire to explore these works of fiction for quite some time now. I made sure to vary my genres: romantasy, queer literature, and translated literature!

Here’s everything I got in my Waterstones book haul!

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Letters to a Young Poet — Rainer Maria Rilke

This was (surprisingly) the only spontaneous purchase of this haul. (Well done, me!) But how could I not pick this up? It was just there on an oak table surrounded by other poetry books and it was just calling my name.

The blurb sums it best:

“A hugely influential collection for writers and artists of all kinds. Rilke's profound and lyrical letters to a young friend advise on writing, love, sex, suffering and the nature of advice itself.”

Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet changes a writer, I’ve noticed. It’s an introspective dive into the life of a writer and what keeps them creating their art. Reading a writer’s diary, or in this case, their letters, is an intimate journey that should not be taken lightly and I yearn to know what’s so great about this book. And I want to know if somehow I will be changed after reading.

Tenderly I am Devoured — Lyndall Clipstone

Young adult dark cottagecore romantasy? Give me like 20 right now!

I read the author’s Unholy Terrors late last year; I loved the concept, but I couldn’t help but be hungry for more.

“Perfect for fans of Saltburn, A Study in Drowning, and Don't Let the Forest In, Tenderly I Am Devoured is a moody, monstrously Gothic romantic folk horror in which a young woman must bind herself to a dangerous chthonic god with the help of the son of a rival family to save her family's legacy—and herself—from ruin.”

I am currently 50 pages in and I am loving it! So far, Lyndall Clipstone seems to have upped her game and I cannot wait to see how the characters of Tenderly I am Devoured navigate the challenges thrown at them.

Notes of a Crocodile — Qin Miaojin (trans. Bonnie Hue)

I came across this book in

caitlyn

’s list of translated literature! I wanted to pick this up because of that interesting title (wow! I am so intrigued!) as well as queer Taiwanese/Chinese literature making headlines recently.

The BBC reports that these authors are being arrested for breaking China’s pornography law. I think it should also be noted that these works of fiction were “published … on Haitang Literature City, a Taiwan-hosted platform”.

Anyways, I’m excited to read the English translation of Notes of a Crocodile! The blurb sealed the deal for me. It’s my first time reading anything by Qiu Miaojin and translated by Bonnie Hue.

“Set in the post-martial-law era of late 1980s Taipei, Notes of a Crocodile depicts the coming-of-age of a group of queer misfits discovering love, friendship, and artistic affinity while hardly studying at Taiwan's most prestigious university. Told through the eyes of an anonymous lesbian narrator nicknamed Lazi, Qiu Miaojin's cult classic novel is a postmodern pastiche of diaries, vignettes, mash notes, aphorisms, exegesis, and satire by an incisive prose stylist and countercultural icon.”

Notes of a Crocodile was published posthumously.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead — Olga Tokarczuk (trans. Antonia Lloyd-Jones)

This has been recommended to me over and over again, and I finally caved! Translated from Polish, I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.

Here is what the blurb says:

“One of Poland's most imaginative and lyrical writers, Olga Tokarczuk presents us with a detective story with a twist in Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead. After her two dogs go missing and members of the local hunting club are found murdered, teacher and animal rights activist Janina Duszejko becomes involved in the ensuing investigation.

Part magic realism, part detective story, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead is suspenseful and entertaining reimagining of the genre interwoven with poignant and insightful commentaries on our perceptions of madness, marginalised people and animal rights.”

Starving Saints — Caitlin Starling

If you like Kirsty Logan, Ethel Cain and Joan of Arc (wow, what a combo!) then you should read this!

“… A transfixing fever dream of medieval horror following three women in a besieged castle that descends ravenously into madness under the spell of mysterious, godlike visitors.”

I came across Starling through Author Bookstagram and instantly followed when I read the pitch for Starving Saints! It was the book I was waiting for! If you’ve been in online writing communities, you’ve probably been told something along the lines of “Write that gosh darn book! You never know, it might be someone’s favourite book one day!”

Well, that’s Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling for me.

I read a teaser chapter and that sealed the deal for me. Give me more horror fantasy!

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Thanks for reading! I’ve been MIA for three months: busy with job applications, general stress and PC issues (my graphics driver just died one night). But most of things should be sorted and I am relived to return to my corner of the Internet. As always:

Love from,

Hannah

(ig, spotify, goodreads, letterboxd)

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Current favourites:

• Thatcher’s Blood Orange cider! 🤤 Catch me in a beer garden, bev in hand, sunglasses on!

• The BBC News Pidgin Instagram account! It tickles me because out of all the news sources in the world, the BBC News Pidgin account is normally how important news stories are broken to me these days. For those of you who don’t know, Pidgin is a lingua franca primarily spoken in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.

• Wes Anderson films! I’ve only seen The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs and Asteriod City. Budapest Hotel is my favourite so far.

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