2019 Book Haul

The last time I did one of these book haul posts, I listed the books I had purchased in the order in I would be reading them. If on the off chance you have been closely following the books I've been reading as of late, you would know that the compilation was all for naught as I have scarcely, until very recently that is, touched the books I'd acquired in my previous haul.

In fact, as I am composing this post, I'm trying -in vain- to remember all of the books of the aforementioned haul. But, I am starting anew with this year's first book haul! That's not to say that I'll be abandoning the books I'd chosen with such thought and consideration last time around: so far I've read The Hobbit, Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, and Lord of the Rings. And I intend to read the others before year's end. For time being, however, I will commit to finishing the Summer Reading List challenge I created this year (I'm nearly half-way done). This book haul will be quite a long-winded one, so I suggest you ready yourself for an ample amount of reading.

*indicates the book has been on my to-read list for quite some time

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss*

Synopsis:

MY NAME IS KVOTHE

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. 

You may have heard of me. 

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature--the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.

Reason for purchase: As was denoted by the asterisk, I've been wanting to read this baby for a long time. I'd first heard of The Name of the Wind from the mouth of booktuber Regan of PeruseProject. She had listed it a favorite and I thought it was right up my alley- which it, decidedly, is. I read approximately half of the book thus far and am enjoying it immensely!

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R Tolkien

Synopsis:

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar: he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared a

bove all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvelously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs.

Reason for purchase: This one was made on a whim. I love all things Tolkien and jumped at the opportunity to own this book when it was on sale at my school bookstore! Of course, as there are a few books that serve as preludes to The Fall of Gondolin, I figured it would be best if I read The Silmarillion, Beren and Luthien, and The Children of Hurin before I ventured to read it. 

White Fur by Jardine Libaire

Synopsis:

When Elise Perez meets Jamey Hyde on a desolate winter afternoon, fate implodes, and neither of their lives will ever be the same. Although they are next-door neighbors in New Haven, they come from different worlds. Elise grew up in a housing project without a father and didn't graduate from high school. Jamey is a junior at Yale, heir to a private investment bank fortune and beholden to high family expectations. The attraction is instant, and what starts out as sexual obsession turns into something greater, stranger, and impossible to ignore.

The unlikely couple moves to Manhattan in hopes of forging an adult life together, but Jamey's family intervenes in desperation, and the consequences of staying together are suddenly severe. And when a night out with old friends takes a shocking turn, Jamey and Elise find themselves fighting not just for their love but also for their lives.

Reason for purchase: I received White Fur in the mail, courtesy of Penguin Random House. 

The Darth Bane Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn

Synopsis:

Once the Sith order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one Dark Lord, at last, united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy—and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

Reason for purchase: Ever since I became an ardent fan of all things Star Wars, I'd wanted to invest the literature and comics, so when I saw the Darth Bane trilogy on sale for a dollar each at the bookstore, I couldn't resist! I'm interested to read the perspective of a Sith Lord.

Fire and Blood (A Targaryen History #1) by George R.R Martin

Synopsis:

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Reason for purchase: NRN (no reason needed)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt*

Synopsis:

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.

Reason for purchase: I've always heard great things about Donna Tartt's work and with the large screen adaptation of Goldfinch coming out soon, I thought I'd start my venture into Tartt's worlds with The Secret History.

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows*

Synopsis:

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads? 

Reason for purchase: Admittedly, I don't remember when or why I added this book to my to-read list, but for as long as I can remember, My Lady Jane has been on my Goodreads tbr, so when I saw it the last time I visited B&N, I bought it (it was on sale)

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin*

Synopsis:

In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria – sheltered, small in stature, and female – became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Many thought it was preposterous: Alexandrina — Drina to her family — had always been tightly controlled by her mother and her household, and was surely too unprepossessing to hold the throne. Yet from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favor of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone.

One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria’s private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband….

Drawing on Victoria’s diaries as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin, author of the bestselling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter as well as creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria, brings the young queen even more richly to life in this magnificent novel. 

Reason for purchase: Late last year, I was browsing YouTube looking for something interesting watch as I completed school work when I stumbled upon the magnificent Lucy Worsley, a BBC affiliated British historian who delves into Medieval as well as 16th and 17th-century anglo-saxon life. She covers the likes of the reign of the Hanoverians, the functional evolution of the British home, and romance in the literature of the Middle Ages.