The Alibi Book Club #33 | Books For January

Fran the bookworm is back kids. And I've got some sparkly new books to sink my eyes into this month. (get it? mouth? eyes? No? I'm sorry...)

ANYWAYS.

These books were purchased on two separate occasions - (one) when I needed some fresh books to grace my shelves and (two) with some Christmas money I received. And I'm so excited to get stuck into these and wanted to kick of this year's series of book posts by sharing them with you all!!

We have a beautiful mix of non-fiction, literary classics and romance... So, shall we get into it??

001: a.s. byatt - possession:
I picked up one of Byatt's other books The Children's Book - which I talked about in this post here. But I didn't enjoy it. Sure, there were good bits, but I felt like 80% of it was just a long history lesson about the era it was set in.

Buuut, I've heard a lot of people say Possession is WAY BETTER. So I was willing to give this author another go. I'll let you guys know what I think in my next book post!

"Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once a literary detective novel and a triumphant love story. It's the tale of a pair of young scholars investigating the lives of two Victorian poets. Following a trail of letters, journals and poems they uncover a web of passion, deceit and tragedy, and their quest becomes a battle against time."

002: scarlet curtis - feminists don't wear pink and other lies:
If there was ever a time where everyone and their dog raved about this book on social media, and it convinced me to buy it. This was one of those times.

Especially after seeing the Topshop pop up. I've been after something super different and real, and this seemed right up my street. (Plus the cover is cute!)

"You need this book. Funny, powerful and personal writing by women, for women, about what the F word means to them. Every woman has a different story to tell. Reading them all in one book might just change your life.

Published in partnership with Girl Up, the UN women's foundation. 10% of the RRP for each copy sold will be donated by the publisher to the Girl Up charity."

003: jane austin - emma:
After I saw that there was a range of classics in Waterstones that were dressed in cute snazzy illustrative covers - with the coolest old style paper there ever was - I knew this was the time to expand my reading material. And Emma was a good place to start.

"This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition celebrates 200 years of Austen's beloved novel. With a beautiful cover designed by illustrator Dadu Shin and comprehensive notes sourced from the Jane Austen Collection, this is an edition to be treasured by students and collectors alike. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

Beautiful, clever, rich-and single-Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected."

004: edward carey - little:
After picking up two classics, I wandered over to the new fiction table and this book caught my eye. It's set in a period time and has the most interesting plot I've read in a long time. I'm so stoked to pick this up soon...

"Born in Alsace in 1761, the unsightly, diminutive Marie Grosholtz is quickly nicknamed "Little." Orphaned at the age of six, she finds employment in the household of reclusive anatomist, Dr Curtius. Her role soon surpasses that of mere servant as the eccentric doctor takes an interest in his newfound companion, and begins to instruct her in the fine art of wax modelling.

From the gutters of pre-revolutionary France to the luxury of the Palace of Versailles, from clutching the still-warm heads of Robespierre's Terror to finding something very like love, Little traces the improbable fortunes of a bloodstained crumb of a thing who went on to shape the word..."

005: emily bronte - wuthering heights:
Another classic designed beautifully. And I was entranced by the gothic looking illustrations. It took me back to my English Lit A Level days of studying gothic lit. I'm also wondering why I have never read Wuthering Heights either...

"Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: of the intense passion between the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and her betrayal of him. 

As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past."