Wow is Toronto a haven for book lovers! England can be a bit of a Waterstones stronghold, and whilst I love a good Waterstones, they generally have much of the same stock in every store. So travel is the perfect excuse to find a new bookstore, and some new book friends to bring home!
Usually my rule when shopping for books on holiday is I only buy titles I either haven’t seen at home, or ones where the cover is different but…it doesn’t always work out that way. I’m only human and self control isn’t my strongest suit!
Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw.
Starting with the books you can DEFINITELY buy in the UK, I popped into the giant Indigo store in Toronto and got very excited by their 30% off January sale. I used it as an excuse to pick up Winterwood, which I’ve been eyeballing since it’s release. I love a YA fantasy and this was everything I love about the genre, the prose was fast paced and flowed well, I found myself wanting to highlight sections of it, it was such a beautifully written book! If you liked Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic you’ll like this, it has the same breath of magical realism. In fact, I loved the writing in this book I moved straight on to…
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw.
How gorgeous are these covers? The Wicked Deep is a delightfully spooky ghost story, but not as you’ve read before. With witches, romance and a quest for revenge, it’s easy to lose an afternoon in this book. It’s super atmospheric and eerie, Ernshaw’s prose is almost poetic.
Permission by Saskia Vogel.
I spotted this in a beautiful independent book store on Queen Street West, and it’s a book that’s been on my radar a while. Permission was recommended to me as an intimate exploration of femininity, sexuality and intimacy. I’ve only read the first few pages but so far it’s super mysterious and compelling, I’m excited to read more.
I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson.
In the same bookshop, this was on the ‘bookseller recommended’ table. I thought it would be a good handbag read to dip in and out of, as it’s a collection of short essays. I Might Regret This is heralded as a brutally honest, wickedly funny and poignant memoir and I’m really excited to dig into this one.
How Your Story Sets You Free by Heather Box and Julien Mocine-McQueen.
This was an impulse purchase at the till, what can I say, I’m a sucker for a tiny book. I’ve been reading a lot about writing recently, something about working on my book and uni application has had me hunting out help. I’ll be picking this one up soon on a quiet afternoon!
The Mindful Writer by Dinty W Moore.
In the same vein, I picked this up in Ben McNally books, and I read it cover to cover on the plane home. Then I got home, grabbed a pen, highlighter and notebook, and read it again, making notes and highlighting quotes. I’ve never thought of writing from the perspective of mindfulness, but I found this really interesting. If you’re thinking about writing, trying to write, or even writing successfully, I’d highly recommend picking this up!
Have you bought any books recently?