I was lucky enough to receive several book tokens for Christmas, and, mindful that I still had tokens from last Christmas and birthday to spend (I was going to spend them in the summer, then I found out The Heath Bookshop was coming, then I managed to only spend one of them there even though I’ve bought lots of books from the shop), I trotted down there on Sunday afternoon, had a lovely chat and picked up these super reads.

I did also buy Lenny Henry’s “Who Am I, Again?”, the first volume of his autobiography, in the week – they have a special table where you can pick up a book then draw out a mystery discount – I got 10% off it but the discounts go up to 100% and, for locals, it’s still going!

Anyway, today I picked up … “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, about two sisters with different fates (one a slave-trader’s wife, one sold into slavery) and the effects of those paths on the succeeding generations; James Baldwin’s “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, the novel drawing on his own upbringing in 1930s Harlem; Kerri Andrews’ “Wanderers: A History of Women Walking”, which I spotted in the shop the other week and does what it says on the tin; Helena Lee’s “East Side Voices” which is essays celebrating East and Southeast Asian Identity in Britain (not something you get many books about here); Kalen Callender’s “Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution”, which is a YA novel about queer kids and life online; and Charles Montgomery’s “Happy City” which looks at how city lives can be transformed through urban design. Thank you to Meg, Gill, Laura and Jen (so far) for enabling these lovely purchases (and The Heath Bookshop for stocking them and being able to order other stuff!).

Have you read any of these? Which should I spring on first? I was going to buy “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” but it’s not in paperback yet and I’m controlling my hardback purchases where I can …