May 2016 – Books and Events

May was another bumper month for book arrivals.  I also went to some really lovely events including Orenda Books & Maggie O’Farrell – more about those below.

I love receiving bookpost – the excitement of seeing a padded envelope through the letter box can’t be beaten.  I received some wonderful ARCs and review books this month

Paper books received for review:

• Give it Back – Danielle Esplin (received from the author in the USA)
• Acts of Love – Talulah Riley (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Butterfly Summer – Harriet Evans (Headline)
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest – J Ryan Stradal (received from Real Readers)
• Death in Profile – Guy Fraser Sampson (received from the author)
• The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena (Transworld)
• Lie with Me – Sabine Durrant (Mulholland Books)
• The Comfort of Others – Kay Langdale (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Beauty of the End – Debbie Howells (Pan)
• The Fire Child – S K Tremayne (Harper Collins for Lovereading Reviewer Panel)
• Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage – Milly Johnson (Simon & Schuster)

Kindle review books:

• Forgotten – Heleyne Hammersley (from the author)
• Cold Calling – Russell Mardell (from the author)
• Falling Suns – J A Corrigan (from the author)
• Whyte Lies – K C Acton (from the author)

Netgalley’s approved:

• How to Find Love in a Bookshop – Veronica Henry (Orion)
• I See You – Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown)
• My Husband’s Son – Deborah O’Connor (Bonnier/Twenty7)

Paper Books Purchased:

• This Must Be The Place – Maggie O’Farrell
• Death Do Us Part – Steven Dunne
• In Too Deep – Samantha Hayes
• Kate McCabe – The Music of Love
• The Amber Shadows – Lucy Ribchester

Whilst on various trips to London over the month, I also made a couple of visits to my favourite second hand bookshop. I happily spend time there browsing – old books, new books and they also have a proof section – I never come away empty handed and I was thrilled to pick these up:

• The Invitation – Lucy Foley (pub. 14 July)
• I Found You – Lisa Jewell (pub. 14 July)
• Claire Douglas – Local Girl Missing (pub. 11 August)
• Katie Marsh – A Life Without You (pub. 14 July)
• Daisy in Chains – Sharon Bolton (pub. 2 June)

It looks like 14 July is shaping up to be a bumper day for new releases.

Books Won/Gifted:

• Devotion – Louisa Young
• The Killing of Polly Carter – Robert Thorogood
• Nina is Not OK – Shappi Khorsandi (a Goodreads First Reads win)

Kindle Books purchased:

• Where They Found Her – Kimberley McCreight
• What Doesn’t Kill You – Laura E James
• A Girl Like You – Maureen Lindley
• Deliver Her – Patricia Perry Donovan
• My Husband’s Wives – Faith Hogan
• The Day I Lost You – Fionnuala Kearney
• The Truth About Julia – Anna Schaffner
• Where The River Parts – Radhika Swarup
• The Dolls House – Louise Phillips
• The Barn on Half Moon Hill – Milly Johnson
• The Little French Guest House – Helen Pollard
• Perfect Weddings – Lynda Renham
• The Trysting Tree – Linda Gillard
• The Daughters of Red Hill Hall – Kathleen McGurl
• Twisted River – Siobhan MacDonald
• The Sister – Louise Jensen
• The Cold Cold Sea – Linda Huber
• The Agatha Christie Book Club – C A Larmer
• My Mother’s Secret – Sheila O’Flanagan
• Find Her – Lisa Gardner

Events:

The first event I went to in May was the launch of ‘The Evolution of Fear‘ by Paul Hardisty, held at Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court, London.  If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it – I’ve reviewed it here on the blog (along with the previous book The Abrupt Physics of Dying).  The book is published by Orenda Books and the powerhouse that is Karen Sullivan!  This was a really enjoyable evening and it was lovely to meet for the first time, Bettina from Tripfiction and author Jeanette Hewitt.

Karen Sullivan of Orenda with Paul Hardisty (right)

Karen’s famous cupcakes!

Photo courtesy of Jeanette Hewitt (L-R, Me, Tina from Trip Fiction & Jeanette Hewitt)

Then the following week, it was another Orenda event, this time the Orenda Roadshow at Waterstones, Piccadilly.  Karen had many of her authors there (Kati Hiekkapelto, Louise Beech, Amanda Jennings, Michael J Malone, Yusuf Toropov, Paul Hardisty, David F Ross, Matt Johnson, Michael Grothaus, Michael Stanley, Su Bristow and Steph Broadribb), with each explaining about their book and then doing a reading.  There were cupcakes and wine and all heads swivelled around when the whisper went round that Yoko Ono had appeared behind us!

Michael Stanley (comprising authors Michael Sears & Stanley Trollip)

Amanda Jennings (left) next to Steph Broadribb

L-R Kati Hiekkapelto, Michael Stanley, Matt Johnson, Amanda Jennings

Su Bristow and Karen Sullivan

The following week, and it was back to Waterstones Piccadilly again! This time to see Maggie O’Farrell talk about her latest book ‘This Must Be The Place‘ when she read an extract from her book and was then interviewed by author Sam Baker. Maggie O’Farrell has a definite presence, she speaks confidently, is witty and interesting and I could have listened to her all evening. I had already been sent a proof copy but I had to buy the beautiful hardback too and I was able to get them both signed.  I also took with me my copy of Sam Baker’s book ‘The Woman Who Ran’ and Sam very kindly signed this for me. The event was being filmed for The Pool and there is a link here for a video extract.

And finally, to round off the month, I attended the Blogger/Author meet in London, arranged by Bookoutre’s publicity manager, Kim Nash (Kim the Bookworm). This was an informal gathering held in a bar in Kings Cross; unfortunately I didn’t take any photos but it was lovely to meet fellow bloggers, some I knew already and others I was meeting for the first time and authors that I only knew from Twitter and Facebook.