Goldsboro Books Subscriptions – January 2021

So I am more than a little obsessed with Goldsboro Books. I love and adore and cherish a special edition so add signed, numbered and first edition to the equation and well, you have me spending a lot of money every month.

I say it’s a lot, and for anyone who doesn’t like to collect books I guess it is, but they really are an investment. I have some books that are already worth eight times the price I paid for them. I have one book that I won from a giveaway with Goldsboro, worth almost £300. Books really are an investment.

Will I ever sell them? That’s where it gets tricky! 😀

Moving on. I’m going to post my beauties every month this year. I’m a member of their Prem1er subscription and their GSFF subscription. Prem1er is general fiction they think will make it big (therefore increasing in value) and GSFF is the same but for Science-Fiction and Fantasy.

Both are currently full I think but if you are at all interested I suggest joining the waitlist. The only downside to them is their shipping takes forever and a day but the flipside is their shipping rate is ridiculously cheap and they pack the books so well that no matter how far afield they go or how long they take to get to you, they will arrive in pristine condition.

January GSFF – Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

Two hundred years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, in the era of the glorious High Republic, the noble and wise Jedi Knights must face a frightening threat to themselves, the galaxy, and the Force itself….

It is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the farthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm. But even the brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.

When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives.

Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbors a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi’s heart.

Light of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic) by Charles Soule

I’m not 100 percent about this. I love the Star Wars movies but I’ve never read any of the books and I hate reading things out of sequence. This was released as part of a series all released in January 2021 though so I might just need to read those books? I don’t know, this could be a book that I hold onto and sell down the line. I mean it does sound great so I’m not ruling out ever reading it but given the size of the TBR I’m not counting on it.

This edition also came with luscious dark teal sprayed edges.

January Prem1er – The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. (no link as it’s currently sold out)

A novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.

Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony.

With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr. fiercely summons the voices of slaver and the enslaved alike to tell the story of these two men; from Amos the preacher to the calculating slave-master himself to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries—of ancestors and future generations to come—culminate in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets masterfully reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

I’m really excited about The Prophets. It sounds like it will be an emotional read but it also sounds like it’s beautifully written and the reviews are so favourable. I was hoping to read this in January as that’s when I was in the mood to read it but as I mentioned, the shipping isn’t great and with COVID and Brexit books are taking even longer to arrive so it didn’t arrive until the first week of February while I was on the cusp of a reading slump. I know this book is going to destroy me so I think it best I keep it for a time when I’m mentally able.

This edition came with a special hard slip cover and it’s really very beautiful.