Literature: February Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In January I set myself the target of reading 60 books which I said I would review within the first couple of months with the view of raising the target depending on how I was getting on with reading, as sometimes I can go through phases where I just can’t concentrate on reading.

In January I managed to read 12 books and now at the end of February I managed 12 books, bringing the total to 24. This means if I stick with 60 books then I need to read 36 more – and if I keep reading 12 books a month then I will have read 60 by the end of May. And then what do I do?  Stop reading? Heck no!

I am going to review my target in the middle of March depending on how I get on book-wise.

So what have I read in February?  Here goes:

Romance

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Short Story

Exquisite Corpse by Stella Duffy

Thriller

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Children’s

Boom by Mark Haddon

The Dare by John Boyne

Christian

In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado

Fiction

Roar by Cecilia Ahern

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Crime

Tonight you’re dead by Viveca Sten

The Patient Man by Joy Ellis

Young Adult

The Watchers of Eden by T.C Edge      

                        

Non-Fiction

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

The book that really stood out to me this month is “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides – wow at the end of this I was like wow, I never saw that coming – what a ride that book was, really kept you thinking and wondering if the killer really was the killer. I would recommend everyone read it, it is a great read.

I read Margaret Attwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” because I had watched the series on Channel 4, but I was really disappointed in the book and preferred the TV series – which is not normal as it is usually the book is better than the film/tv adaptation, but this was not the case of this book. It may be because the series is quite different from the book and has actually gone far beyond the book in the storyline and it keeps you on the edge of your seat more with the action than the novel does.

Literature: January Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

In 2019 I managed to read 138 books and was struggling to decide what my target should be for the Goodreads 2020 challenge so I went with 60, but I may review this in the first couple of months.

In January I managed to read 12 books, so if I stick with 60 books that means I need to read 48 more, but that may change if I up my target.

I love reading across genres and am going to list the books by genre:

Crime

Controlled Explosions by Claire McGovern

Hidden River by Adrian McKinty

Psychological Fiction

The Friend: Dorothy Koomson

Graphic Novel

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charles Mackesy

Autobiography

May I have your Attention Please? by James Corden

This is going to hurt by Adam Kay

Christian

Integral Mission by Melba

Release from Despair by James McClelland

Disability and the Gospel by Michael S Beates

Fiction

A Perfect Cornish Christmas by Philippa Ashley

Grief comes with Feathers by Max Porter

Young Adult

The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders                          

The best book I read in January has to be “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse” by Charles Mackesy. Wow, what a book – the pictures are amazing and the story tore at my heartstrings. The book follows the adventure of the boy who is lonely, the mole who just wants to eat cake, the fox who is silent and wary because he has been hurt by life and the horse who is gentle and wise. They are four different characters, like us who all have their own weaknesses but together they take the adventure together. It is an excellent story of friendship. The next day I was raving about it and told everyone I met about it – still do.  I think every household should have this book and should be read by people of all ages.

Literature: December Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

At the beginning of 2019, I set myself the task on Goodreads to read 120 books this year, which means I need to read about 2 a week. Between January and October, I managed to read 123 books which meant that I reached my target of reading 120 books in the year! And in November I managed to read 5, which brought me up to 128. So what is my total book count at the end of the year?

Well in December I managed to read 10 books so at the end of 2019, I have read 138 books. Good going I reckon. The most books I have ever read in a year.

So here are the December books listed in genre order.

Young Adults

Looking for Alaska by John Green

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Children’s

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child by J.K Rowling

Crime / Thriller

Death is a Welcome Guest by Louise Welsh

Verona by Jeffrey Deaver

Imposter by L.J Ross

Ryan’s Christmas by L.J Ross

Fiction

The Library of Lost & Found by Phaedra Patrick

Science Fiction

You have arrived at your Destination by Amor Towles

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

One Sunday morning I was feeling lazy and stayed in bed and started to read Harry Potter & the Cursed Child and two hours later I had it finished.  This is the transcript of the play that is in London’s West End. It was a lovely story that focused on the children of Harry, Ron, and Hermione – the main protagonists of the original Harry Potter series.

After watching Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why television series, I decided that I would read the novel it was based on, which I had found in a local charity shop.  However, it was such a frustrating book to read but that was mainly because whoever put it in the charity shop had torn out pages of the book, which meant that if I had not had already watched the TV series, it would have been a difficult story to follow. Like who would do that to a book – and then have the audacity to take it to a charity shop to be sold on!! After I read it, I put it into the recycling bin.

Literature: November Books

Instead of writing individual reviews for all the books I have read, I am just going to condense them into what I have read each month.

At the beginning of 2019, I set myself the task on Goodreads to read 120 books this year, which means I need to read about 2 a week. Between January and October, I managed to read 123 books which meant that I reached my target of reading 120 books in the year! And in November I managed to read 5, which now brings me up to 128 - 8 more than my target.

I am listing the books by genre.

Autobiography

Peggy & Me by Miranda Hart

Science Fiction

Randomize by Andy Weir

Crime / Thriller

Crime Machine by Giles Blunt

Fiction

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

Some of you may be saying, but didn’t Jane Austen write it? Well yes she did, but Joanna Trollope has written a more modernised version with the characters bringing the book into the 20^th Century. It was a good read but still prefer the original classic Austen version.