Another month, a new wrap-up! I am very proud of how many books I’ve read this month, I’ve made a big dent in my 2017 popsugar reading challenge and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the books I’ve read. Here’s a quick run-through of what they were. There’s links to all my reviews on tumblr too, as that’s where I’ve started posting them.
★★★★★
Holly’s New Year’s Eve story started me off, and perfectly ended the Spinster Club series. I still have one book in the series to read, but I didn’t mind skipping ahead so that I could read this book at the time of year it was intended. I love Holly’s books and this was even better, I love a short and sweet read. This was my a book set around a holiday other than Christmas.
I love John Cleese, especially Fawlty Towers and Monty Python. I got this as an audiobook because I wanted to hear this voice rather than trying to conjure it up in my head. And that made it so much better. There’s really no other way to read an autobiography than by having the audiobook. I really enjoyed this book, and learning about John’s life. This was my an audiobook.
★★★★★
I bought this on sale in Waterstones just after Christmas, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Because it’s mostly short quotes, I devoured this in a day and it had me laughing out loud with how accurate it was of Brits Abroad. I can’t wait for my next holiday just to do all these things. This was my a book about travel.
★★★★★
After reading Me Before You last year, I have become a massive Jojo Moyes fan. This book was set in both 1916 and 2006, through the eyes of Sophie and Liv. Their lives become intertwined through a war painting that Liv may have taken from her and given to Sophie’s descendants. I loved this book, the contrast in the two stories was beautifully moving, and once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. This was my a book set in two different time periods.
★★★★★
Joe Lycett is one of my favourite comedians, and not just because he comes from Birmingham, though I do love a comedian whose jokes are from places I know. This book complies many of his stand up email routines, from reversing a parking fine to pretending to be Angela Merkel. I really enjoyed this book as it reads just like his jokes. This was my a book of letters, as there are letters, emails and tweets.
★★★★★
This is my mom’s book, and since I read a Jenny Colgan book around Christmastime I’ve decided I want to read more of her books. This is about a girl called Polly who files for bankruptcy and moves to a small seaside town to start afresh, and ends up opening a very successful bakery. I took this to Torquay with me, and even though it was the off-season I could still picture the scenes of the book using this seaside landscape. I really enjoyed it, my favourite part being Neil the Puffin, of course, and I’m definitely going to read more of her books this year. This was my a book about food.
★★★★★
This was the first book I’ve borrowed from a library since my university days! I love libraries so I finally joined Solihull library to get more books and hopefully save a little money from buying so many all the time. Animal Farm is a classic story of animals overthrowing humans, the pigs telling all the farm animals that all animals are equal but then slowly taking charge over the new farm. I can see why so many people have read this. It was short, but really thought-provoking at the same time. This was my a book from a genre/subgenre you’ve never heard of (paranoid fiction) which is in the advanced section of the challenge.
★★★★★
This is the second book in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. In this story, the Baudelaire orphans are sent to like with their Uncle Monty, a scientist who studies snakes and has a large collection of them. Everything is going well until he hires an assistant who looks exactly like Count Olaf, the horrible man trying to steal their fortune. I read this as my book by an author who uses a pseudonym (Lemony Snicket is actually a man called Daniel Handler). I’m currently reading these to refresh my memory for the Netflix series starring Neil Patrick Harris.
This is the second book in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. In this story, the Baudelaire orphans are sent to like with their Uncle Monty, a scientist who studies snakes and has a large collection of them. Everything is going well until he hires an assistant who looks exactly like Count Olaf, the horrible man trying to steal their fortune. I read this as my book by an author who uses a pseudonym (Lemony Snicket is actually a man called Daniel Handler). I’m currently reading these to refresh my memory for the Netflix series starring Neil Patrick Harris.
★★★★★
Wing is a half-Ghanian, half-Chinese girl who lives in America. Her family are funny, loving and cramped in their small flat. When her brother ends up in the hospital, the family struggles to pay the medical bills, and Wing wants to find a way to chip in. It turns out that she is an incredible runner and could make a living from this. I read this as my book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you. Such a stunning debut.
Wing is a half-Ghanian, half-Chinese girl who lives in America. Her family are funny, loving and cramped in their small flat. When her brother ends up in the hospital, the family struggles to pay the medical bills, and Wing wants to find a way to chip in. It turns out that she is an incredible runner and could make a living from this. I read this as my book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you. Such a stunning debut.
★★★★
If you loved Wonder, the story of Auggie Pullman starting a new school where he looks vastly different from all the other kids, then you will love this. Three novellas from the perspectives of three different children in Auggie’s life. The bully, the best friend, and the welcome buddy. They all offer different perspectives of how they see Auggie, and what Auggie’s relationship with them is. A very beautiful book, and even better as an audiobook. This was my a bookby or about a person who has a disability.
If you loved Wonder, the story of Auggie Pullman starting a new school where he looks vastly different from all the other kids, then you will love this. Three novellas from the perspectives of three different children in Auggie’s life. The bully, the best friend, and the welcome buddy. They all offer different perspectives of how they see Auggie, and what Auggie’s relationship with them is. A very beautiful book, and even better as an audiobook. This was my a book
The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
★★★★★
This is the third book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and this time the orphans are going to stay with their Aunt Josephine. This woman is afraid of many things, but apparently not afraid of falling in love with strange men who resemble Count Olaf. This was my book you loved as a child.
★★★★★
This is the third book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and this time the orphans are going to stay with their Aunt Josephine. This woman is afraid of many things, but apparently not afraid of falling in love with strange men who resemble Count Olaf. This was my book you loved as a child.
Fluke by James Herbert
★★★★
I have always loved the film Fluke, and this month I finally decided to read the book as my book from a nonhuman perspective. The book follows a dog who is desperate to find out what happened to him before he become a dog, as he has some memories of his life as a human.
★★★★
I have always loved the film Fluke, and this month I finally decided to read the book as my book from a nonhuman perspective. The book follows a dog who is desperate to find out what happened to him before he become a dog, as he has some memories of his life as a human.
I really enjoyed all of the books that I read this month, I ticked 12 prompts off my reading challenge, including one advanced prompt. In figures, I read 3,488 pages in 31 days, which averages to 112 pages a day. It was a great start to the year and I hope I can continue this pace.
