It's early January which can only mean... No, not a New Years' blog post (although that's in production, my excuse is a single word: essays), instead it's a Christmas haul. The usual disclaimers apply: I'm not trying to boast or show off; this is something I do every year; this isn't intended to be a comprehensive haul but more of a feature of some of my favourite things I received this Christmas which I'd like to share with you.

Probably my favourite thing I got for Christmas is this book, The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst. I started reading it a few days after Christmas and I'm about halfway through so far and I absolutely LOVE it! It's set in the late 1600s and it's totally bringing back my love of historical fiction which I'd lost over the last couple of years. The story itself is about a girl called Ursula growing up in a noble family in the countryside, and how she develops a passion for plays and acting despite being (at the point I've read up to) forced to marry a man her father's age when she's 15. It's narrated in such an interesting way with a lot of authentic language and words like 'yonder', 'ye', 'withal', 'for shame' and 'prate' but it's still easy to follow and work out what it means in context. Besides the story I'm obsessed with the cover, which is just stunning.

The X-Files Event Series DVDs

It's no secret how much I love The X-Files so I was so pleased to receive season 10 on DVD! I'm currently just about to start season 8 so I still have a while longer before I get round to watching it but I am ridiculously excited already.

I don't especially collect Funko Pops (I only have Audrey Horne, Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks) but I do think they're a nice thing to have for your favourite TV shows or films, which is why I really wanted a Mulder and Scully. Unfortunately they are no longer in stores but I believe my uncle (who is an eBay whizz) eventually managed to find them on there, which I am so happy about! I'm going to take them back to Brighton with me so they can sit alongside my Twin Peaks figures.

This one was from my best friend in Brighton who knows me oh so well and decided to go for a Brexit theme for my Christmas presents. I've worn this jumper a lot this Christmas and I can confirm it's not only hilarious and politically current, it's mega comfy and warm.

I've had my eye on this book by Yanko Tsvetkov for ages, having come across a few of his maps on various social medias and also perused the website intermittently. Basically he creates maps which depict various regional and global stereotypes, as well as a lot of '________ according to ________' type maps (e.g. Europe according to Donald Trump). As someone who loves maps, satire, humour and has a keen interest in politics this was practically made for me. There's also a decent amount of text preceding the different sections which aims to contextualise the maps somewhat, which is useful to help you follow the more obscure cartographical depictions.