Big Book Bonanza 2018

Last week, I was fortunate enough to go to the Big Book Bonanza, which is an event hosted by HarperCollins and Van Ditmar Boekenimport where they showcase upcoming releases.

The Big Book Bonanza is mostly an event for booksellers, and for some reason I was the only blogger there. Nevertheless, I’m honored to have been invited and hope to be invited again next year!

Now, what you have all been waiting for, the book haul!

To be released:

• The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll (23/10/2018)
• What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera (09/10/2018)
• A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (16/10/2018)

Out now:

• Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter (21/08/2018)
• Broken Things by Lauren Oliver (02/10/2018)
• Vox by Christina Dalcher (21/08/2018)
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Movie Tie-In, 04/09/2018)
• When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica (04/09/2018)
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (13/09/2016)

Goodie bag:

• The Binding by Bridget Collins (01/10/2019)
• Find Me Gone by Sarah Meuleman (English Translation, 23/10/2018)
• The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith (24/04/2018)
• Future Popes of Ireland by Darragh Martin (23/08/2018)

I have featured the five books that I’m most interested in. Reviews for each of these will be up as soon as I read them!

The Bullet Journal Method

by Ryder Carroll, 23/10/2018

Like many of us, Ryder Carroll tried everything to get organised — countless apps, systems, planners, you name it. Nothing really worked. Then he invented his own simple system that required only pen and paper, which he found both effective and calming. He shared his method with a few friends, and before long he had a worldwide viral movement. Hundreds of thousands of Bullet Journal fans now spread the word and read Ryder’s blog and newsletter.

The system combines elements of a wishlist, a to-do list, and a diary. It makes it easy to get thoughts out of your head (an unreliable witness) and onto paper, to see them clearly and decide what to do about them. It helps you identify what matters, and set goals accordingly. By breaking long-term goals into small actionable steps, users map out an approachable path towards continual improvement, allowing them to stay focused despite the crush of incoming demands.

But this is much more than a time management book. It’s also a manifesto for what Ryder calls “intentional living:” making sure that your beliefs and actions align. Even if you already use a Bullet Journal®, this book gives you new exercises to become more calm and focused, new insights on how to prioritise well, and a new awareness of the power of analogue tools in a digital world.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

by Tahereh Mafi, 16/10/2018

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

What If It’s Us

by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera, 09/10/2018

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated. Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date… or a second first date… or a third? What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work… and Ben doesn’t try hard enough? What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play? But what if it is?

Broken Things

by Lauren Oliver, 02/10/2018

It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.

Vox

by Christina Dalcher, 21/o8/2018

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, Vox is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial—this can’t happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.