The First Book Haul of the Year! 📖📚☺️

Let's talk about the books I've bought recently, and the books I've been sent for review. Grab a cup of tea, take a seat, and join me. xx

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MY BOOKS:

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Things mentioned:

Friends Don't Lie by Nell Pattison
My Perfect Sister by Penny Batchelor
A Spell of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo*
Shy by Max Porter*
Death of A Bookseller by Alice Slater*
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey*
Elsewhere by Yan Ge*
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Greater Music by Bae Suah
Super Infinite by Katherine Rundell
Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart
Self-Portrait with Ghost by Meng Jin
Mrs S by K Patrick*
Voyager by Nona Fernández*
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
Pierogi by Zuza Zak
Why Women Grow by Alice Vincent*
It's All In Your Head by Marcus Sedgewick

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WHO I AM

Hello, I'm Jen Campbell. I'm an award-winning poet and bestselling author of twelve books, spanning short stories, poetry, picture books, and nonfiction.

My books for adults include The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, The Girl Aquarium, The Bookshop Book, and The Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series. My picture book trilogy Franklin and Luna, and my middle-grade book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers, are published by Thames & Hudson.

I've won both an Eric Gregory Award and the Jane Martin Poetry Prize, my books have been translated into twenty languages, and I have two new titles forthcoming in 2023 — more details on those soon.

I've worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, initially as a bookseller, and now as a freelance editor, content creator and disability advocate. I review books online, in print and on the radio. I run a Youtube channel where I talk about books, the history of fairy tales, and the representation of disability and disfigurement. I also offer online writing workshops and editorial services, give talks at schools, publishing companies, universities and book festivals on a variety of topics, and I run a book club for TOAST clothing.

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Where to find me:

This video contains no sponsored content. Any books marked with * were sent to me for an honest review.

#BookHaul #Booktube #NewBooks

[minaermelyn]

Hi Jen! Just wanted to say thank you for always including the books you talk about in the description because it makes it so. much. easier. to find your review of them later! So this extra work you put in is extremely appreciated. Hope you're having a lovely day x

[LouiseReader]

Oh gosh that Marcus Sedgwick one is right up my alley... will seek it out. And Mrs S sounds interesting too, probably the Australian aspect? Great haul as ever.

[carmenvaldebenito]

Hi Jen. Nona Fernandez is one of the best writers in Chile at the moment. Her writing is strongly related to memory, recent Chilean history, the effects of Pinochet's dictatorship on Chile and the missing detainees (which is in part what you will find in Vogayer). She uses her mom's tests and diagnosis precisely to talk about what we remember and how and what we forget. It's an interesting essay, not fiction. For me her best fiction is the book Mapocho, which I hope is published in English soon. I think Space invaders has been published in English, and that is also a very good book. Enjoy!

[jessicaantash]

Another great book to go with Why Women Grow is If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie. It talks about women's connection to nature through the Celtic tradition.

[nymeria]

I had not heard of the John Donne book before, but I would like to! I also enjoyed his poetry a lot as an undergrad.

[FictionalSarah]

Ordinary Wonder sounds so interesting and has definitely been noted down by me! I also want to read All in Your Head, as I have the same chronic illness that Marcus Sedgwick had. Was so shocked and saddened to hear of his passing last year.

[ameliabarlowbooks]

Ordinary Wonder Tales sounds amazing! 🧚‍♂️

[lorimiller]

I have Pew on order, so was glad to hear your positive comments. Will look forward to hear how you enjoy her new book. You always highlight books I haven't heard of and I appreciate it. ❤

[YourTrueShelf]

The Nona Fernandez book sounds very intriguing, as does why women grow, and it's all in your head. The book of the same name by Suzanne O'Sullivan was very interesting, but the title was a terrible choice for that particular book imho, given its perspective.

[rosarodriguez]

I immediately added All in your head. It hits close to home. Thanks Jen🙏🏻😚❤️

[Hannah]

Hi Jen, I hadn't heard of 'It's All In Your Head' but am definitely keen to read it, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. Thanks, Hannah

[gamewrit]

It'll wreck me, but It's All in Your Head needs to hit the top of my to read list. Love that The Biography of X has the blurb on the front cover (did I see that correctly?). And I don't want to read the story about the person who pretends to be pregnant, but I'd like to hear what you think of it, if you feel up to it. x And let me just say again that I adore your Franklin and Luna books. Got them out of the library and plan to buy myself copies when I can afford to buy books again. 🥰👍

[michelepastele]

hi jen - I'm looking forward to the crime genre books you recommended at the beginning.
Thank you for your video!

[niconico]

On dark academia, I just preordered The Cloisters which is meant to be the next secret history but with tarot cards etc… we will see !

[janethansen]

I have ME/CFS and Its All In Your Head sounds very very relevant. I enjoyed Diary of a Void, it's quite different from No Such Thing as an Easy Job (which I also quite liked) and I'll be interested to see what you think.

[kirstytaylor]

Ah! I hope you enjoy Diary of a Void. I really enjoyed it - quietly brilliant!

[playsintraffic]

I re-read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde over Christmas holidays. I hadn't read it since I was a teen. It read so differently than my teen memory of it. The use of disability is so apparent to me at 60 than at 12 lol. It's part of my re-read of all the classics I read as a teen (you know the angsty girl who read Russian literature and British and Irish classics when no one was making me) to see what's different after decades of adulthood.

[sandeesandwich]

Jen, have you read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer? Why Women Grow made me think of that book. All in Your Head sounds fascinating/heartbreaking -- getting medical professionals to recognize that their patients actually know something about their own bodies is kind of a pet topic for me, so I will put it on my TBR.

[jennajin]

Just wanna say the pronunciation of the "ge" in author Yan Ge's name is with a hard g, like "game", "gorgeous", with the first tone. It means song in Chinese. Hope that helps.

[Diaryofabooklover]

Oh no! I’m so sad to hear about the passing of Marcus Sedgwick. He has written one of my favourite books ever, Snow, which is basically an ode to snow. I will definitely get this book.