Hi, this is Kristine coming to you with my
2015 book haul. These are, I think, all the
physical books I've gotten or bought this
year. They've been paid for by myself, for
the most part, or been given to me by friends
and family. I know that some of them I bought
with gift cards etc. There are not as many
books as you'd think when you hear the words
2015 book haul because I do not buy a lot
of physical books. Mostly I buy digitally.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and it's just
easier to get them so I can listen to them
on my phone. Yeah. That's it. I just wanted
to give you a little bit of information beforehand.
Yeah. Here are the books.
With the first of my Christmas money I got
myself some Virginia Woolf. I got her essay
A Room of One's Own, I've read parts from
it before, but I hadn't read the whole thing.
I still haven't, but I like having it. I like
Virginia Woolf. I have read several of her
novels and essays so I know I will like this
and I appreciate her way of thinking. I also
got her novel Orlando which I for some very
strange reason have not read. I read Mrs.
Dalloway first, when I was 15, and I should
have gone for Orlando. I mean, I know I would
have loved it then. And I know that I will
love it now. I just, It's hard for me to find
time to dedicate to woolf because I feel like
she needs my full attention. I have been having
a hard time giving books my full attention.
I've been reading a lot more lighter, less
dense literature, and not so much Woolf this
year. Which is sad so hopefully in 2016.
Then there are these two books. Odinsbarn
and Evna, book one and three in the ravenring
trilogy by Siri Pettersen. These are my favorite
Norwegian young adult fantasy series at moment,
and I got book one on a sale. I had read it
before, but I got it on sale, I just had to
have it, because I'd borrowed it from the
library. Obviously #3 I had to have as it
was new this year. I love these books they're
really great. [laughs] I don't know what else
to say. If they get translated to English
I will be throwing them at people, or at least
urging them to buy them.
Then I read this book Cursed, which is the
second book in the Alex Verus series by Benedict
Jacka, I read this when I was on holiday.
I read the first one a few years ago and I
thought it was alright so I thought I'd give
the second one a go. It definitely is enjoyable
urban fantasy, set in London, and you know,
around. [laughs] It's quite enjoyable, enjoyable
characters. It's fun. It's not revolutionary
in any way, but I like it. It quite enjoyed
it. Then I have another Norwegian YA fantasy.
It's called Hulder, and it's about a boy whose
mother is accused of murdering a hulder, which
is a sort of Norwegian mythological creature
and he has to prove her innocence. She's committed
to some sort of psychiatric institution, because
she believes she killed this mythological
creature that nobody believes in, which is
what you see on the cover. I've heard it might
be a bit for younger readers, more middle
grade than YA, but I'm interested and intrigued
and I want to have a read. I have someone
to pass it onto if it shouldn't suit my tastes
and yeah... [laughs] Then I have this, The
Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, illustrated
by Chris Riddell. It's absolutely wonderful
re-imagining of sleeping beauty. It's actually
not as dark as I thought it would be, but
it's definitely both funny and sort of interesting
and a little bit dark. I liked it, it has
a twist 
and everything. [laughs] It's just a very,
very beautiful book. [mumbles]. I don't have
anything else to say really.
This is a book of poetry. Called Kelp Song.
By Cecile K. I bought it when I saw the writer
on twitter say that she had published this.
It's a self-pub, and I thought OK I'll go
buy that. It's 35 pages of poetry. Following
a character called Kelp, and it's about love,
loss, and breathing. [laughs] Essentially
it's about life and magic, and just an absolutely
wonderful little book I thought. I'm not a
poetry expert so others will probably be able
to say something more eloquent about it, but
I liked it. I read it twice so yeah.
This book I bought on a whim because ... yeah.
The unapologetic fat girl's guide to exercise
and other incendiary acts by Hanne Blank.
I bought this because I'm fat and I exercise,
but I'm too advanced for this book, and the
things in here were very much not relevant
to me, although you can see that I've marked
some places that were relevant and interesting
and/or inspiring and taught me something so
it's not entirely wasted, it was just a bit
too much for people who weren't were I am
or have different sort of issues than me.
If you're new to exercise and you're fat I
would recommend it. Then I have these two
books, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and
Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris. I got
both of these in Loot Crate. That was an enjoyable
experience, it's funny they don't have ISBNs
since they were loot crate editions. I understand
the hype [of Ready Player One], I am exited
to see this as a movie. It was a pretty great,
fun read for me. I really liked it. Regrattable
Superheroes is more of a coffee table book,
that just sort of shows you a little bit about
superheroes that haven't made it, they sort
of tanked or, I don't know. Some of them probably
never... I don't know. I haven't read everything
in it. Here you have war nurse for instance.
[laughs] I have not read that. I just opened
it randomly, but yeah. It's a sort of funny
book to have on your coffee table I guess.
[mumbles] if you have five minutes. It was
just a little fun thing there. Then I have
this again [The Sleeper and the Spindle] I
just wanted to show you some of the pretty
illsutrations. Like this one. I would love
to have this as a print on my wall. And I
also got these, more Neil Gaiman and Chris
Riddell stuff. [laughs] That box set that
I just showed you by Gaiman/Riddell I have
read most of those books, and I own the Graveyard
book already, but not in the illustrated version,
and I just really wanted those. I've read
Coraline so many times, but I do not actually
have a copy of it in English at least. I have
a Norwegian edition somewhere. So I thought
it was cool to have that, which is why I got
it, not actually intending to read it so much.
I've flipped through them and looked at them
and everything. They're pretty. Then I somehow
lost the footage of Save me the Waltz by Zelda
Fitzgerald, which is sort of semi-autobiographical,
I think, about her life and her marriage to
F.Scott Fitzgerald. I'm curious about those
two, you know, they're a bit. They're infamous
I guess. Anyway I just wanted to read it so
I bought it. I have not yet read it, as so
many of the others in this haul. I've been
having this sort of book fatigue I guess.
I feel like I haven't been able to get properly
into books this year, especially books that
I feel a lot more attention than what I have
been able to give. I've been reading a lot
more lighter, fluffier stuff that doesn't
really require that much of me, or that have
been sort of 200 pages and less. In my head
that's sort of something I can mount, I can
do that. But I've been reading thicker and
longer books by the end of the year and I
think I might have gotten my groove back.
I don't know. So yes, those were the books
that I bought this year and I hope you have
had a good reading year, and that 2016 will
be as good or better. Depending. I will see
you around I guess. So. bye.
