Getting the gift of reading 2018 edition #Blogmas

Just a quick post tonight because it's been a whirlwind marathon two days for me of Christmas socialising with family. I am exhausted, compounded by the fact that I slept horribly last night. Since I talked about the books I gave yesterday I thought I could do a quick post today on the books I received!

There aren't actually very many, but what I did get, was a lot of potential books. Meaning that I got quite a few gift cards for stores that sell books. I got three Amazon gift cards, at least one of which I've already earmarked for a video game. One Kobo gift card to get some ebooks. And three chapters gift cards. For once I am not going to do what I usually do, which is on boxing day immediately log into the websites and buy all sorts of books. You see, I have 398 unread books that I own, you can see them all in my catalogued Library Thing collection which tracks every book I own. Because that's such a high number, and because for the last two years running I've managed to buy over 100 books in each year without really ever stopping to notice, I decided that in 2019 the only books I will buy are those that come from my Audible subscription, new books from my favourite authors, and books that are a part of ongoing series that I am reading. This should cut back on my book buying significantly until I have made a massive dent in my TBR pile. So I should be able to use the gift cards throughout the year to get all of the books that I want/need.

So all that being said, what actual books did I get for Christmas this year?

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee (who I didn't realise until I was cataloguing the book is the same author who wrote another book I loved, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue.) "Based on Mackenzi Lee’s popular weekly Twitter series of the same name, Bygone Badass Broads features 52 remarkable and forgotten trailblazing women from all over the world. With tales of heroism and cunning, in-depth bios and witty storytelling, Bygone Badass Broads gives new life to these historic female pioneers. Starting in the fifth century BC and continuing to the present, the book takes a closer look at bold and inspiring women who dared to step outside the traditional gender roles of their time. Coupled with riveting illustrations and Lee’s humorous and conversational storytelling style, this book is an outright celebration of the badass women who paved the way for the rest of us." (via Goodreads) I'm really excited to read this along with my cope of Rejected Princesses which I got in 2017. I love reading about the interesting women in history who paved the way so that I can have the rights I have today.

The other book that I received is something that I know right now Angie will want to read when she comes over in May. Published by the British Library I have Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic which is based on the special exhibition that they did of the same name. "An irresistible romp through the history of magic, from alchemy to unicorns, ancient witchcraft to Harry's Hogwarts – packed with unseen sketches and manuscript pages from J.K. Rowling, magical illustrations from Jim Kay and weird, wonderful and inspiring artefacts that have been magically released from the archives at the British Library.

This spellbinding book takes readers on a journey through the Hogwarts curriculum, including Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Divination and more. Discover the truth behind making the Philosopher's Stone, create your very own potion and uncover the secret of invisible ink. Learn all about the history of mandrake roots and dragons, discover what witches really used their brooms for, pore over incredible images of actual mermaids and read about real-life potions, astronomers and alchemists.

The perfect gift for aspiring witches and wizards and any Harry Potter fan. Celebrating twenty years of Harry Potter magic, and produced in association with the British Library to support their major exhibition, Harry Potter: A History of Magic." (via Goodreads) I was so disappointed that Angie and I never actually got to see the exhibition, but at least I can read about it now that I have this book. This book is a companion to the Harry Potter: A History of Magic book, also published by the British Library that I recieved for Christmas last year. You guys should know by now that I love all things Harry Potter, so I am really excited to read both of these books. I wanted to wait until I had both to read them because they really do go together. Also, because I am a sucker for both Harry Potter and Natalie Dormer this year I also got myself Harry Potter: A History of Magic
An Audio Documentary which Natalie Dormer narrates. I'm just going to be all up in the history of magic with these three haha.