It is just over a month since my last blog post and in that time the world seems to have turned on its head! In the UK we are about two weeks in to the main outbreak of COVID-19. It is an odd time and I’m not going to dwell on it too much, there is already plenty to read on social media and I doubt I have anything unique to say on the subject, but so far, all is well here and I hope all is well with anyone reading this. I’m sending warm thoughts of hope and good health to all.
To a certain extent my day-to-day life has largely remained the same, I am still spending most days sitting at my desk drawing. I’ve continued to work on Little Mouse illustrations for Inktober52 and I’m also planning on joining in with another week–long drawing challenge in April, so I’ve been making plans for that, (there will be a catch-up on those here at the end of April). For now, I wanted to share the books that I bought in January and February, I may have gone a little book crazy at the time, but who knew a mere four or five weeks later that buying books would be the last thing on my mind. I’m now feeling very lucky that I have a reading pile to turn to when I want a break from drawing, when I’m avoiding taking in too much news and I’m bored of Netflix (never!).
How to Hide a Lion at Christmas by Helen Stephens
Technically I bought this for myself just before Christmas, directly from Helen’s online shop. The book already came with the print of Lion lying down, but Helen was also offering a free print (the polar bear) with purchases made by Christmas Eve. I think I ordered it on the 23rd but added a message saying not to worry about sending it until after the New Year. I also bought a little original illustration, and a pack of illustrated postcards by Gerry Turley (Helen’s husband). It was such a wonderful parcel to receive, all the artwork is gorgeous, and I absolutely love the book. I’ve been meaning to collect the How to Hide a Lion books for a while, and this is my first one, I could have chosen one of the others but this one was a shiny hardback so I couldn’t resist! It is a really cute story about how Lion doesn’t want the little girl in his family to be sad, when he is left behind when the family go away for Christmas, (they can’t take him because he is too scary).
The Ocean At The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman – illustrated edition with illustrations by Elise Hurst
I already have a hardback copy of The Ocean at the End of the Lane but when I caught site of this illustrated version on Forbidden Planet, I threw all my Christmas money at it. It is utterly beautiful and came with a limited edition print. I haven’t read this since it was published in 2013, and I raced through it at the time, so I’m looking forward to pacing myself and really appreciating it the second time around. (There is also an alternative, more affordable illustrated edition without the print).
Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianne Wynn Jones
Like a lot of people, I’m a big fan of Studio Ghibli, so while I’m familiar with this story through the film, I’ve never actually read the book. I saw this version on Folio Society and just knew it was time I added it to my to-be-read pile.
The Night Circus and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
You know when people say “don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well that is absolute tosh, it may have been true once upon a time, but these days I nearly always judge a book by its cover. Publishers know what they are doing, they know what kind of visual language to use to find the right audience, and they aren’t going to waste time and money designing something interesting if they don’t need to. So with these books I decided I liked the covers, plus one is about a circus and the other seems to be about a mysterious book, and both these things appeal to me. I usually post books I’ve read on my instagram, so keep an eye out in the future if you would like to see how I get on with them.
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab
I read the first book in this trilogy “A Darker Shade of Magic” at the start of the year (I still need to post that on instagram –whoops!), and while I wouldn’t say I loved it, I did enjoy it and I was left intrigued. I think the only reason I didn’t love it more was because, being the beginning of a longer story, a lot of explanation and back story needed to be included. I also found that although I liked the characters I didn’t feel like I connected with them enough. Having said that, I had a quick glance at the first paragraph of A Gathering of Shadows and felt drawn in immediately, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
I bought this book because I thought it sounded interesting after it was mentioned by Miranda Mills on her YouTube channel (when I looked it up, it also happened to be half price at the time, so that was a bonus). It is a gothic tale about a girl living in a big house in Edwardian Norfolk, with her peculiar father. It is the story of secrets, witchcraft and folklore, and it is dark and creepy yet still enticing. Although I did guess the ending a little sooner than I was probably supposed to, I still found it really enjoyable and easy to get lost in.
The Unforgetting by Rose Black.
I spotted this book on Forbidden Planet too, and I was drawn in by the idea of someone disappearing, becoming a ghost and being trapped. You can probably tell that I’m drawn towards creepy, historical books with female characters – I think because female characters from these eras evoke interesting stories because they were usually treated so badly.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Another story about witchcraft and women! I just can’t help myself. This time based on a remote Norwegian island – I also love nordic countries, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this.
I’m hoping to carve a little more scheduled time for reading while we are stuck at home at the weekends, it is such a great way to forget about what is going on in the world for a short period of time, which I think is something everyone should do to prevent the news from becoming all consuming. As I mentioned above, I try to post mini reviews of books I’ve read on Instagram so keep an eye out at @dawnbevinsillustration.
Who knows what April has in store for us, but hopefully I’ll post again around the end of the month.
NB This post in not an ad and none of the books were gifted. I’m not affiliated with any online book sellers, but have simply linked to the seller with the cheapest stock of a particular title at the time of writing (you can see from the images that many of the titles were purchased from Forbidden Planet, but they no longer have them in stock).