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.

Literature: October 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 September, I managed to read 115 books.  And in October I managed to read 8, which now brings me up to 123 which means I have hit my target of 120! Which is fantastic – wonder how many more I will read in the last two months of the year.

In July I listed the books my genre as I had read so man books, and have decided to do the same again.

Autobiography

Open Door by Maud Kells

Science Fiction

Emergency Skin by N.K Jemison

Crime / Thriller

Penshaw by L.J Ross

The Devil’s Work by Mark Edwards

Borderlands by L.J Ross

A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh

Children

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robyn Talley

Fiction

At the Wedding by Matt Dunn

My favourite book this month was Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robyn Talley – this is a book about racism in The 1950s which focuses on two girls –the first one is a black girl who is part of a group of 8 who start to attend an all-white school and the second girl is one of those pupils in the all-white school who opposes the ‘negroes’ coming into their space. This book talks of hardship, friendship and the crossing of lines. It is a very well written brave book and one which I would recommend to others to read – both adults and children.

Literature: September 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 August, I managed to read 108 books.  And in September I managed to read 7, which now brings me up to 115 which means I have only 5 more to read till I hit my target!

In July I listed the books my genre as I had read so man books, and have decided to do the same again.

Christian

7 Myths of Singleness by Sam Allberry

Science Fiction

Ark by Veronica Roth

Summer Frost by Black Crouch

Crime / Thriller

Beware of the Past by Joy Ellis

Five Bloody Hearts by Joy Ellis

Children

The Inca Trail by Vivien Whitfield

The Color of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J Harris

There is a new genre which has popped up this month – Science Fiction. I don’t normally read this genre as I don’t really like, but I came across a series called Forward Collection which has been described on Goodreads with the following:

“For some, it's the end of the world. For others, it's just the beginning. With brilliant imagination, today's most visionary writers point to where the future is headed-whether plotting a high-tech casino heist, exploring the boundaries of a video game, or debating the very definition of identity. From the darkly comic to the chilling, they share common DNA. They all look forward”

Ark & Summer Frost are the first two books in the series with the former focusing on the destruction of the Earth and the latter focuses on a game developer who gets obsessed with one of his characters who he brings to life.

They were both interesting reads and an introduction to the genre of Science Fiction. There are 7 more books in the collection, so will continue to read them to see what happens.

Literature: August 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 July, I managed to read 96 books.  And in August I managed to read 12, which now brings me up to 108  - so only another 12 til I reach my target!

In July I listed the books my genre as I had read so man books, and have decided to do the same again for August, so here goes:

Christian

A Reasonable Faith by Tony Campolo

The Everyday Gospel by Tim Chester

Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler

Decisions Made Simple by Tim Chester

One Hour Bible by Philip Law

Fiction

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

The Spinster Wife by Christina McKenna

Crime / Thriller

The Lucky Ones by Mark Edwards

The Stolen Boys by Joy Ellis

The Fields of Grief: Giles Blunt

Children

Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadir

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

The weirdest book I read in August was Matt Haig’s “How to Stop Time”, I very nearly gave up on it, but hate not finishing books so I persevered. It was really weird I still don’t really know what to make of it, but I won’t be recommending it to others or reading it again.

My favourite book was Sarah Crossan’s “The Weight of Water” – this is a children’s book written in the voice of a girl who has come to England with her mother from Poland to seek a better life. However it wasn’t written in prose, it was written in verse and the story flowed so well through the different pages which made it feel like one big poem instead of stilted verses. I will definitely recommend this to others – children and adults alike.