I am yet again a bit behind on writing reviews, sorry if that’s what you come here for. What I do have is photos of the many new books I have acquired lately. I never had an official book-buying ban but I have been genuinely trying to limit my book acquisition this year. Clearly it’s not going that well. Or it is, if I allow in the secretly-happy-about-all-the-new-books voice!

First up, Tim and I stopped by Book Worm in Bridgwater, which is a secondhand bookshop that runs a read-and-return scheme. Great idea and a shame they don’t have a website I can link to. I treated myself to The Passion of Eve by Angela Carter because I’ve loved the three Carter books I’ve read so far. She might be the most cited influence on current authors I like. Almost certainly. The other book I grabbed is Awakening by S J Bolton, which is more of a risk because this is from very early in Bolton’s career and I’ve already discovered I like her more recent work better, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be a good read.

I still subscribe to both Peirene Press and And Other Stories, and today received a parcel from the latter. I sometimes think maybe I should unsubscribe, what with the TBR being as large as it is, but I feel quite strongly that small publishers like these, which have far more diverse representation than the big players, deserve my support. And their books are such high quality. The new titles are I’ll Sell You a Dog by Juan Pablo Villalobos and The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera.

I’ve started requesting the occasional advance review copy again. What prompted this was spotting at the end of last year that a novel was being published about Nadia Comăneci. I have had a small obsession with the Romanian gymnast since childhood so I have been eagerly looking forward to The Little Communist Who Never Smiled by Lola Lafon, which Profile Books kindly sent me a copy of. It’s my next read. I’ve since requested The Monster’s Daughter by Michelle Pretorius from Melville House (publication is July so it’ll be a little while before I read and review that one). And Tuskar Rock Press sent me three books that they are publishing today by László Krasznahorkai, winner of the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. I particularly like the sound of The Melancholy of Resistance, about a chain of mysterious events in a small Hungarian town, beginning with the arrival of a circus and a stuffed whale.

Finally, I am super behind in my comic reading and Tim has been buying me my favourite titles regularly for a couple of years now. In theory they’re all joint reads but in practice I’m mostly reading Silk, Spider-Gwen and Ms Marvel. I am looking forward though to catching up on John Allison’s Giant Days.

I might go read some comics now. Although I am also excited about the Lola Lafon novel. Argh, too many awesome things!

What new books have you got lately?