Beautiful Jane Eyre

A trip to Borders last night found me purchasing this gorgoues new Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition of Jane Eyre. It is true that I do have several copies of Jane Eyre on my shelves already - but really, how could I resist??

Friends, Shoes and Books

I'm writing this post on my brand new computer (with thanks to my IT savvy partner for setting it up for me so beautifully!). I feel some sense of loss having to say goodbye to my old computer, it had been my faithful sidekick for 5 years now but unfortunately it had no more capacity for growth so it had to be replaced. So far so good with my new piece of technology - I'm settling into its style - I just need a name for it - any suggestions??

I've had a lovely weekend - although the weather hasn't always been so lovely. A gorgeous spring day on Saturday - the perfect day to catch up for brunch with one of my best friends and go shoe and book shopping!

I headed to one of my favourite shoe shops, Nine West and bought some gorgeous summer sandals (I was supposed to be looking for new work shoes but these were much more fun!).I also treated myself to two new books, Shall We Dance by Maggie Alderson and A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French.

Splurge!

It's been quite a while since I have taken a trip around The Book Depository website and had a little splurge so today I did just that! Here is what I will be keeping an eye out for at my front door:


Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (translation by Lydia Davis) - this book looks just divine and I will hopefully have it in time to read along with Frances and others.

Coco Chanel - Justine Picardie - I have been waiting for the release of this one for what feels like the longest time!

The Fashion File - Janie Bryant - One of my most beloved obsessions at the moment (apart from reading) is the TV show Mad Men and everything associated with it - especially the fashion.

Paris In July Purchases

I certainly don't need an excuse to purchase new books but our Paris In July experience has led me to find some new items for the bookshelf with a French flavour...


A Studio In Montparnasse by Penelope Little wasn't a book I was looking out for (or even one I had heard of) but when I was in Borders yesterday I saw it on their bargain table for only $5!!! It is such a gorgeous hardcover book that I probably would have bought it even if we hadn't been in the midst of Paris In July. The book is the story of the life of Australian artist Bessie Davidson (1879-1965) who moved to Paris in 1910 to live and work.

Thérése Raquin by Émile Zola is a book I have heard a lot of people mention over the past couple of weeks and another one I spotted in on my recent Borders trip.

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris by Paul Gallico is a book I ordered from The Book Depository when I knew Paris In July was happening - too hard to resist all that beautiful pink!

New Arrivals

I had a little fling on The Book Depository a few weeks ago and the results of my behaviour have arrived:

The Book of Fires - Jane Borodale - I have heard and read some mixed things about this one but it sounds like such an intriguing story with a gorgeous cover and design that I thought I would give it a go.

The Opposite of Falling - Jennie Rooney - I read Rooney's first book, Inside The Whale earlier this year and just loved it so when I saw she had a new book just released I added it to my pile. Another gorgeous cover too.

Nomad - Ayaan Hirsi Ali - I read Ali's first memoir book, Infidel and was then fortunate enough to be able to hear her speak when she attended the Sydney Writers' Festival a couple of years ago - an amazing woman and writer.

Writers' Festival Loot

I promised I would share with you the books I came home with after my trip to the Sydney Writers' Festival a couple of weeks ago so here they are:

From top to bottom the books are:

Things We Didn't See Coming - Steven Amsterdam - This was one of the books I bought after not only loving the sound of the book but being charmed by the author after I listened to him talk about his process of writing and producing the book. It comes with a lot of praise and (I think) a great title!

Outside Of The Dog - Rick Gekoski - I didn't actually get the chance to hear this author speak but I read his bio in the festival program along with the description of the book where it is described as a "bibliomemoir" - one of my favourite genres of books.

The Vagrants - Yiyun Li - My favourite session from the festival was listening to Li talk about her latest book and if she writes as engagingly as she reads and speaks I am sure I am going to love this one.

More New Books

I have begun to have a regular work appointment every month quite close by one of my favourite bookshops - how convenient!

So, of course I headed there a little early this afternoon and came home with these (from top to bottom);

The Past And Other Lies - Maggie Joel - I read Joel's latest book, The Second-Last Woman in England earlier this year and I quite enjoyed it so I thought I would give her first book a go.

Dark Roots - Cate Kennedy - Another author I have read and loved this year.

The Lessons - Naomi Alderman - I can't remember where I read a review/synopsis of this one but it sounded great - and another beautiful cover too hard to resist!

Lovely New Things

It has been a while since I have posted about new books and lovely things coming into the BookBath world - but that doesn't mean that they haven't been coming in. My book buying has been pretty constant over the past few weeks - I just keep hearing about wonderful books! So, this might be the first post of quite a few...

The photo above shows three books that have come home with me recently, From top to bottom:

Beautiful Malice - Rebecca James; This book has been getting quite a bit of publicity in Australia recently - mainly due to the large amount that the author received for this, her first book, to be published. The book itself has also been getting some great reviews and not only does the author currently live in my town of origin but I am hoping to hear her speak at the upcoming Sydney Writer's Festival.

Living Oprah - Robyn Okrant; I read about this one in a local newspaper article and thought it sounded really interesting (if a little crazy!). The author spends a year following every piece of advice and using every product advocated by Oprah Winfrey.

Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad - Bee Rowlatt & May Witwit; The words "Jane Austen" in the title were what first caught my attention but then the description of the book made me actually buy it. It is the story - through letters and emails of May, an Iraqui lecturer living in Baghdad and Bee a journalist and a mum living in London and the relationship they develop while sharing with each other the stories of their lives.

The photos above also show my passion for all things Paris continuing. My partner brought me the perfume when he came back from his recent trip to Noumea and I found the gorgeous book, Paris Secrets - Janelle McCulloch - in one of our local independent bookstores.

The book is currently sitting on our coffee table and I am loving browsing through it's beautiful photos...

The Easter Bunny Was Kind!

It has been a busy week - travelling home from visiting relatives at easter and then starting a new job and all the associated busyness that comes with that transition. I haven't got through a lot of reading - just some snippets before collapsing into bed at the end of the day. I did however add some new books to the TBR pile courtesy of my dad.

My father is a journalist and receives a lot of review copies of books - he does read most of them but he had huge numbers he wasn't really all that interested in waiting for my partner and I when we arrived to visit my parents over the easter weekend. I gratefully pulled out some selections for myself and these are what I ended up coming home with:

Good To A Fault - Marina Endicott

Forbidden Fruit - Kerry Greenwood

What Angels Fear - C.S Harris

When Gods Die - C.S Harris

The Beach House - Jane Green

Thank you easter bunny! Has anyone read any of these?

A Last Book Splurge...

Unlike the Northern Hemisphere we are experiencing summer in all its glory this weekend. I'm not complaining - this is the first fully sunny weekend we have had since before Christmas and it does mean I finally get to wear my new swimmers seen below (trust me, this photo from the catalogue is much better to view than me actually in the swimmers but I still love them!).

But until our air conditioning is installed it does make being at home during the day light hours a little uncomfortable so my partner and I hit the bookshop for some browsing today and I came home with a little bundle. As I have mentioned before my partner and I have made a decision to cut back on our book spending this year - not cut out altogether but definitely reduce our spending. We have some rough guidelines for this plan - basically unless a new book is released from our favourite authors or we can't find a book that we really want to read at our local library we can consider buying a copy - first seeking out where we can find a copy of the book the cheapest. We are trying to stop that impulse book spending habit that we have developed so well! We are also planning to go through our bookshelves - sell or give away those that we no longer want to keep and arrange the others in some kind of logical order - more about that in the future...

So today's purchases from top to bottom are:

The Art of Travel - Alain De Botton - Since reading A Week At The Airport I have wanted to read more of De Botton's work - particularly his writing and reflections on travel so this was the perfect choice.

Consolation - Anna Gavalda - Apart from this being an absolutely stunning book to look at I did enjoy the author's last book Hunting and Gathering.

Seasons - Donna Hay - The latest cook book by an Australian chef whose books I adore - they look gorgeous and I can actually cook the recipes in them!

How Much Do I Love The Book Depository??

The answer to that question would be - A LOT!

Buying books in Australia can be quite expensive - I try hard to support some of the smaller, independently owned bookshops but it is often a struggle to find the book I am looking for (in my town at least) and if they do have it in stock it is ridiculously expensive and if it is not in stock it takes weeks to come in - and it is still ridiculously expensive!

So my partner and I have been doing a lot of our book buying through The Book Depository lately and on the weekend I made a last flurry of purchasing before we restrict our book buying as part of our 2010 budgetary measures! The books I am now looking out for in our mail box are:

In Praise of Slow - Carl Honre - This is a book I have been meaning to read for a while now and it will hopefully encourage and support one of my reading goals for this coming year which is to read my books more slowly and deliberately.

How To Be A Domestic Goddess - Nigella Lawson - Another book I have been coveting for the longest time (but it costs over $60 in Australian bookshops so it has stayed on the shelves!). It is also supporting one of my reading /lifestyle goals for this year.

The White Garden - Stephanie Barron - I first saw this book over at Frances's blog and it sounds really interesting - and it fits in well as an accompaniment to the Woolf Read Along I am participating in at the moment.

Me and Miss M - Jemma Forte - I read about this in a local magazine and it just sounded like a nice light, fun read - for times when I need one of those.

I Couldn't Help Myself...

Ok - I admit that I have bought another two new books - but I needed them, truly! Today was my first day back at work after my Christmas break and it was pretty rough - the only thing getting me through the day was the thought of a trip to my favourite independent bookshop in a local suburb at the end of the day - and it worked - it cheered me up! I think one of my resolutions for the new year should be working out strategies for coping with bad days at work that don't involve buying new books - my bank balance will thank me!

So, the books I did come home with were;

Changing My Mind - Zadie Smith - This is an absolutely stunning book to look at - hard cover with a gorgeous and yet simple cover design. I think a book of essays by a smart, female writer who I admire is just what I will be needing over the next few weeks as I settle back into the working world.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Reasons We Can't Stop Reading Jane Austen - Susannah Carson (Ed) - I have been admiring this book for quite a while now and it was a big reason why I went to the particular bookshop I did this afternoon - I was pretty sure they would have a copy waiting for me. I now have to decide whether I jump into it straight away or save it for the possible sequel to the Everything Austen Challenge in 2010??

Holiday Books - Belated!

I have been very slack in sharing with you the books I picked up while we were travelling in September. So, not including Her Fearful Symmetry and Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day which I have already blogged about, from the bottom of the pile to the top these are the books I bought while away:

The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte - Syrie James, I really enjoyed her first book - The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen so I thought I would give this one a go (I have to admit that I have started it already but just couldn't get into it at this stage unfortunately).

Good Evening Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes - my other Persephone selection - I could have come home with so many more of these!

The Brontes Went To Woolworths - Rachel Ferguson, I just love this title and I have heard so many of you say great things about this one.

Dubliners - James Joyce, I have not read any of Joyce before but I heard a lot about him when we were in Ireland so I really wanted to give one of his books a go.

Chic Shopping Paris - Rebecca Perry Magniant, Just too cute to leave on the shelf really!

New Books

Even though I am being quite disciplined (for me!) and borrowing most of my books at the moment I have had a few lapses where I have just had to lash out and buy new books. Three of my new purchases have been:

1. The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey - I have heard nothing but fantastic things about this book (shortlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize) in the blogging world so I had been searching for it in local bookshops after finding that it wasn't in my local library. I finally discovered it but it was a hardcover copy for $52 AUS!!! Crazy prices!! So, thanks to The Book Depository I now have my own copy for less than half that price.

2. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor - I must admit that the gorgeous cover of this one did draw me in - but I had heard lots about this author as well and the storyline sounds like my kind of thing.

3. Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith - I discovered McCall Smith's books at the beginning of the year and just fell in love with his writing and his characters so I was very excited to see his brand new book in stores this week - of course a copy came home with me!

Library Sale Purchases!

We were meant to travel to Sydney yesterday for the Writer's Festival but I have been feeling a little under the weather all week and just didn't feel up to making the trip in the continuing yucky weather yesterday. If anyone did happen to make it there I would love to hear about what I missed.

So, I was feeling a little disappointed but a trip into town in the afternoon cured that a little when my partner and I stumbled upon the annual library sale!

I managed to pick up 4 hardcover books for $4 each - you've got to be happy with that!

My collection included:

The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris - I have just started re-reading Chocolat in preparation to read this one which I had just borrowed from my local library but it was due to be returned soon so it's good that I now have my own copy!

Chart Throb by Ben Elton - I did read this one when it first came out and it is absolutely hilarious - I laugh just thinking about this book!

Windfall by Penny Vincenzi - After reading a review about this one by Tara it sounds like the perfect book for the upcoming winter months over here.

Elizabeth Costello by J. M. Coetzee - I have not read any books by this South African author before but I would like to give them a try. Has anybody got any feedback on this one?

Weekend Book Buying

While many of you have been caught up in the world of the read-a-thon this weekend I have been spending time catching up on housework (not fun EVER!) and spending a day in Sydney with my boy visiting all of our favourite bookish haunts. I was surprisingly restrained in the book buying department but I did come home with a couple of new purchases:

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham - thanks to Claire I was hunting out these gorgeous Vintage editions of Maugham's work. I have actually never read any of his books before so I thought it was appropriate to start with one with an absolutely divine cover like this.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - this is my first adventure into graphic novel reading and I have heard this is a great book to start with.

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas everyone!

We had a lovely Christmas day and everyone was extremely spoilt! I actually didn't receive all that many bookish presents apart from the new Anita Shreve book, Testimony, from my parents.

My favourite present came from my boy - a gorgeous Royal Albert collectable tea cup and saucer set (I collect tea cups and love having tea parties and pretending I live in the early 1900's!).

Hope everyone's day was peaceful and happy.

Weekend Book Buying

To celebrate my Birthday my partner took me away for a beautiful weekend in Sydney - staying in gorgeous accommodation in the city, partaking in High Tea and a fancy dinner, a trip to the art gallery and of course - book shopping!

I actually didn't spend up too big but did come away with some purchases;

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - ever since I knew this book was available I having been looking forward to reading it. Pride and Prejudice isn't even my favourite Jane Austen but I think it will be interesting to read this version.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake By Sloane Crosley - this is a book I've heard about in the blogging world a bit and it sounds like my type of humour so thought I might appreciate it.

How To Live Like An Italian by Annalisa Coppolaro - in keeping with my love of all things Italian I had to pick this book up. A bit of a cheesy cover but I'm hoping the content will be better!

Spring is Here!

At last! I am so over our winter. The first two days of spring have been glorious - we are now meant to have a week or so of not so nice weather so I am hoping these two gorgeous days will keep me going past that.

So, even though I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with work and life in general at the moment the weather is (at least temporarily) on my side.

Another bonus today was the delivery of my latest order from Amazon - always exciting!

I purchased Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers which I first read about over at Stephanie's Written Word. This book sounds just the thing for holiday reading so I am going to try and resist temptation (I think the cover is so gorgeous and girly!) and not read this one until my weeks holiday in October (only 5 weeks to go!!).

My other purchase was a CD - the soundtrack to the movie Becoming Jane. I am under no illusion that this movie actually accurately represents the life of Jane Austen but I love the movie anyway and I always try to buy the soundtracks to movies I love - to try and re-capture the magic at home!

New Finds

A horrible Saturday weather wise but a gorgeous Saturday free time and book wise!

Nothing planned so spent the day with my wonderful boy - breakfast in town, secondhand book shopping and browsing.

I picked up the second book in The Spoils of Time Trilogy by Penny Vincenzi, Something Dangerous for $3 at a second hand bookshop in town - bargain! The first book pulled me in and I just have to keep reading now. I'm finding these books a nice distraction from Wuthering Heights which I am still reading but it is starting to drag me down a little at the moment.

I've also noticed during my blog browsing that a new Wally Lamb book is due out later this year - very exciting. The Hour I First Believed has been mentioned at The Savvy Reader and it sounds fantastic. I Know This Much Is True is one of my all time favourites - infact, I think it is due for a re-read. Books often take me back to the time in my life when I first read them and I Know This Much Is True does that in that it reminds me of the time I got to spend with my grandfather when he was dying of cancer almost 8 years ago - sad but special in that I was able to be with him during this time. So, this book is special in that I think it is a wonderful book but also for the fact that I was first reading it at this time.