December 2019 | Last Haul of the Year

Hey friends! I am back just in time for the end of 2019 and the end of the decade after several very impromptu absences from blogging. I don’t normally post haul posts apart from on special occasions so as it’s just after Christmas and I need an easy-ish post to ease me back into blogging again I thought I’d share my Christmas gifts with you all.

Christmas is often a difficult time of the year for me for money reasons, primarily family and financial, and although I love Christmas it is also a pretty stressful time of the year. Thankfully, I am incredibly lucky to have a supportive partner and loving friends who help to make Christmas an enjoyable time of the year . I’m also super grateful for any and all of the presents I get, and I got some really nice ones this year ❤ A huge, huge thank you to anyone who sent a present, messaged me or who are just around in general being lovely friends.

Books

I got some beautiful books for Christmas this year which I am over the moon about and cannot wait to get stuck into them.

I got these three beautiful illustrated/graphic novel hardbacks which are very exciting as I still don’t own many hardback editions of books. The Electric State is one that I am particularly looking forward to reading after coveting it for almost a year since I saw it in a bookshop and it looks incredible. It’s a science fiction story about a runaway teenager and her toy robot as they travel across the USA encountering broken down battle drones and discarded technology, and the story is set alongside stunning artwork. I also got Notes on a Thesis which is a cute graphic novel about doing a PhD which I have been eyeing up for a while and which feels particularly timely to read now!

I also got gifted the illustrated edition of The Goblet of Fire by my mum which seems horrifically poor timing and makes me very sad. I had loved hearing the illustrator, Jim Kay, speak at YALC about his work and considered purchasing the illustrated editions of HP for his illustrations. I especially loved his darker interpretations of the world and was excited to see what he would bring to The Goblet of Fire as the universe starts to get darker. Given everything that’s happened with Rowling, I feel very complicated now about getting this book for Xmas but am trying to focus instead on supporting Jim Kay and his illustrations.

The two paperbacks I got was a super cute MG book called Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers, which my friend picked up at YALC as an ARC and has very kindly bestowed it upon me as I LOVE the idea of it, and my long-awaited copy of The Ascent to Godhood which I can’t wait to blaze through. The last book I received is one that I discovered completely by chance on Edelweiss many months ago which I couldn’t request but which I haven’t been able to stop thinking about – American Cosmic – an ethnography about American’s who believe in extraterrestrial life and the culture which has sprung up around this. I cannot tell you how stoked I am to read it!

Games

It isn’t Christmas without throwing some games into the mix as well and I got a few games that I’ve been eagerly anticipating. I’ve been playing the hell out of The Sims 4 since we got the Get Famous and Discover University packs both of which are excellent and perfect for my trend-setting fashionista, Dahlia, and her family. My best friends also got me Pokemon Shield, which they actually ordered for me for release day and I have been patiently ignoring until I could unwrap it at Christmas! And my partner got me a copy of AC: Odyssey for the PS4 which I am very curious about playing after seeing such shining reviews from friends.

Misc

Other than books and videogames I got some really nice other presents which I have been having fun playing with/wearing! I managed to convince my partner to get me this 1000 piece Beauty and the Beast puzzle which I have been having a blast doing – I haven’t done any puzzles for years and this one is particularly beautiful. He also got me the special edition burgandy coloured vinyl of Lungs, cute animal socks, plant stickers for my notebooks and D&D character notebook, cat washi tape, and some Christmassy pyjamas (not pictured).

I was also so surprised and thankful to get some nice presents from some of my conventions friends: a record cleaning kit which came in a nice tin and some excellent metallic pens ❤

Non-Gift Haul

As it’s the last haul of the year there are a few other non-gift things to sneak into this post. Since starting my PhD, we’ve had to be a lot more strict with spending, but as it’s been the Christmas month I’ve been able to get a few extra bits!

I got these 4 academic books in the recent Palgrave Macmillan sale:

• Personhood in Science Fiction: Religious and Philosophical Considerations by Juli L. Gittinger
• Desire in the Age of Robots and AI: An Investigation in Science Fiction and Science Fact by Rebecca Gibson
• The Japanese Culture of Mourning Whales by Mayumi Itoh
• Video Games and Storytelling: Reading Games and Playing Books by Souvik Mukherjee

 

And a few games in the recent Steam sales!:

• Heaven’s Vault
• She and the Light Bearer
• Tales of Ancient Nights

It’s been nice catching up with everyone’s December posts and checking out your hauls. I’m hoping that I’ll have some time over the next few weeks to post a bit more frequently during my time off from uni as I’m excited to share all of my 2019 thoughts and 2020 choices with you.

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