Oh for the Love of Books {30}

I took a break over the holidays and wasn't posting much to the blog since my mom was visiting he here in Ireland and most of our days were taken up with touring and various Irish adventures. 

I did happen to find the time to peruse a few bookstores and make so purchases. 

So, now that Christmas and New Years have passed, I'm back to posting and ready to update on the great books I received over the holidays. 

First, I ordered several books from amazon.co.uk

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My mom and I saw the movie while she was here and I loved it. I was the main reason that finally pushed me to start reading what I've heard is an amazing series. 

then,

 A few romances to keep it light

 Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory

How the Marquess was Won by Julie Anne Long

Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare

Then, on a rainy day I took my mom book store browsing and we both came away with purchases. So much for the browsing part - the deals were great so we each picked a few goodies. 

 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

By two Irish authors -

Colm Toibin is one of my favourites and one of my main subjects of study for my minor in Irish Studies was the period of Northern Irish Troubles. I was so interested to see what Toibin had experienced and record in his book and when I saw that it was severely reduced in price I picked it up. 

The second book by Hugo Hamilton is an acclaimed memoir here in Ireland and has recently been adapted for the stage. It tells the story of a young Hugo living in 1950's Dublin, the son of an Irish father and German mother and raised in a home where Irish and German were both spoken but English was forbidden.

 The Speckled People by Hugo Hamilton

Bad Blood by Colm Toibin

Finally, on one of my mom's last days here in Dublin we went to an antiquarian book shop. They have so many hidden treasures and so many we could never hope to afford, like first edition copies of Jane Eyre and James Joyce classics. It was unbelievable to be able to walk along the bookshelves discovering rare and prized books. 

I found a first edition copy of one of my favourite memoirs Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. 

The second book is one my mom bought me as a gift. 

I have a great love of Irish literature and the plays especially hit home for me. One of my favourite playwrights is John Millington Synge who wrote several beautiful plays during the literary revival and was a co-founder of the Abbey Theater along with Yeats. His play Riders to the Sea is one of my all time favourites and when I found a copy of the the play along with two others bound in old leather and printed here in Dublin in 1911 I had to have it.