Goodreads: My February/March reading list

Goodreads: My February/March reading list

Sunday, 25 February 2018

Read post

Reading is the one thing that allows me the opportunity to breathe. It doesn’t matter how stressed I am, it doesn’t matter how many other things I have on my mind, reading is the only thing I can do without thinking, without feeling distracted and without it being a drain on my happiness.

As is the case every month, I have handpicked a few of the books from my TBR pile to read over the coming weeks. This month’s collection of books is a mix of psychological thrillers, young adult texts and contemporary fiction – a little bit of everything to spice things up! This to be read list is quite book tour heavy, with books involved that haven’t quite hit their publication date yet!

A book that I’ve just finished, and was part of the tour for this last week, was the psychological thriller Force of Nature by Jane Harper. As was the case with The Dry, Jane’s debut novel that I read this time last year, I found myself instantly hooked on the plot line and couldn’t put the book down.

At the end of February, I’ve also been invited to be a part of the Macmillan books Only Child tour, a book written by debut author Rhiannon Navin. I’m very excited to get stuck into this book as it sounds like exactly the kind of book that I’m going to love. From the perspective of Zach Taylor, a young boy, the story deals with the aftermath of a school shooting and the pain that inevitably follows. I don’t know much more about the book other than this, and I don’t want to look too closely into it before I’ve read it for fear of spoiling it. I’m really excited to read it as I’ve heard that it pulls incredibly hard at the heartstrings.

A few years ago, I read The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan and absolutely loved it. When Jenny at Penguin Random House got in touch to invite me to join the tour for her newest book, The Stranger, published March 22^nd, I jumped at the opportunity once again! Set in 1940 in Cornwall, a woman disappears into the mysterious ocean and is never seen again. The inhabitants of the small town in Cornwall where this all goes down have to then consider what happened to the woman and whether they ought to have been more trusting about who they allowed to live amongst them.

Ann Kidd Taylor is a name that was vaguely familiar to me and her newest book The Shark Club is definitely something that jumps out at me as being exactly my cup of tea. I’ve actually already read a good chunk of this and I’m really enjoying the language style so far. I love the characters Taylor has introduced, particularly Maeve’s hunky sounding colleague, Nick. The book will be published on 22^nd February and available to buy in all the usual places.

The final book I’m planning on reading over the next four weeks is Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. I received this book before Christmas as a gift and haven’t had the chance to read it as of yet. I wanted to finish off the month with something a little less ‘intense’ than the other books on my list and I’ve always enjoyed reading John Green’s books. I’ve never actually read one of his books in English, having read The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherine’s in French, whilst I was living out in France. I’m not sure whether the difference in language will change my opinion on Green’s writing, but I’m sure I’ll find it easier to get through than reading it in a second language!

I’m really excited to read these books this month! What are you reading at the moment? Have you read any books that you think I MUST read? Let me know!

Goodreads: My February Reads

Goodreads: My February Reads

Friday, 3 March 2017

Read post

February was a VERY good book month for me for lots of different reasons. Firstly, I left my job (!!!!) and found myself 40 hours a week better off: all the more time for reading and relaxation! Secondly, I bought a lot of absolutely blooming fantastic books which made for easy reading. Thirdly, I spent 2 out of the 4 weeks of February in France, travelling around and of course, I made good use of my commute to devour as many pages as I possibly could. The result? 6 books completed. Result!

The first book was one that I read over the course of a weekend in Paris and is probably one of the best books I’ve read so far in 2017. Matt Haig is an author that I’ve already read a few books by, but Reasons to Stay Alive isn’t one of those. It was recommended to me by a good friend of mine and I asked my cousin to buy me a copy for one of my Christmas presents. She delivered and I devoured the entire thing over the course of a plane journey and a train from CDG to central Paris. Reasons To Stay Alive is a book that has so much hidden within its pages and brings so much to the table. It’s enlightening, brave and full of joy: it really does put life into perspective and make you consider all the good things in life, in spite of all the bad. It’s one of those books that I’ll probably always remember reading and I’ll be eternally encouraging people to pick it up and delve deep to fully appreciate the utility of Haig’s story.

Because I finished Reasons to Stay Alive so quickly, I found myself bookless on my return journey from Paris back the UK. I received a copy of Jodi Picoult’s short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories from Penguin books last month and I happened to have downloaded it onto my Kindle just before getting on the plane in Liverpool. I raced through this one as well, taking full advantage of every minute on board my flight. I loved the different combination of stories- they were compelling in all kinds of different ways. I particularly enjoyed the introductory tale and the tale involving a very pretty pair of high heeled shoes. I won’t say much more than that, as I’ve seen quite a few people I know with this one on their reading list and I hate to be the bearer of spoilers. It was a lovely, cutesy book to read on a short flight, especially with the format being short stories as I could pick it up and put it back down as and when. Definitely one for lovers of Jodi Picoult.

The next book that I read in February is actually one that’s part of a blog tour that I’m taking part in next week. The Method by Shannon Kirk was absolutely phenomenal. I love books concerning crime, psychological fiction, thrillers – we’re all so consciously aware of my love for all things sinister but I’m pleased to say that this book surpassed even my expectations. It was absolutely everything that I needed and everything that I wanted in a piece of fiction, gripping, enthralling and full of mystery. It kept me hooked right until the very last page. I’ll be writing a full review as part of the book tour so check back if you want to hear a little bit more about this one.

The next book that I read in February is actually one I’ve read before, granted I read it in the original language, French, under its published title Le liseur du 6h27. Translated into English recently, The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent is an absolutely beautiful read. It’s become quite a hit in the UK and I’ve seen SO many people getting stuck into this. I loved the French language version of it but I wanted to know the translation would fare against the original text and I’m so pleased to say that it was translated absolutely beautifully. The story itself is lovely: a Frenchman, Guylain Vignolles, catches the same train to work every day. Guylain has the unfortunate job of working in a factory which generates machinery to destroy and recycle books- as a book lover, he has difficulty in accepting this and each day removes undestroyed pages from the inside of the machinery, machinery that he refers to only as “the thing.” He dries out the pages, packs them in his briefcase and reads them aloud to his fellow commuters on the 6:27 train every morning. When he discovers the writings of a bathroom attendant, he sets himself the task of finding her and, naturally, falls in love with her and her musings as he does so. It’s a book about books and the joys of reading and it’s definitely one that I am very glad to have read.

I treated myself to a few Valentines gifts from me to me in February, and obviously, books constituted the vast majority of my treats. One of the books that I got, I chose on a whim: I liked the look of the cover. I didn’t even bother to read the synopsis, which is usually a major faux pas but on this occasion, it actually turned out to be a bit of a godsend. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is considered to be her masterpiece, although I can’t say I’ve read any of her other tales to speak contrary to this. We Have Always Lived in the Castle follows a pair of sisters, Mary Catherine “Merricat” and Constance Blackwood in the years following the murder of their parents, aunt and brother. Constance Blackwood, the elder of the two sisters, was accused of the crime, eventually acquitted and has lived in isolation ever since. This book is mysterious and somewhat disturbing (in the best kind of way!) and one that I probably wouldn’t have normally picked up. I’m looking forward to exploring Jackson’s writings a little further as this was most definitely one of my favourite of the Penguin Modern Classics.  

My final book of February 2017 was one I read on the train from Montpellier to Avignon and then Avignon to Paris. It was apt, considering the setting, although the subject matter wasn’t as chipper as I probably should have been reading. As discussed in my post here, I have a love for War Fiction and I’ve tried over the last few years to read as much of it as I possibly can. Whilst not entirely based on the war, my final choice Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay addresses a number of issues relating to the Second World War, principally the Vel’ d’Hiv round-up of July 1942. This book is devastatingly beautiful. It’s one of those books that you MUST read to truly appreciate: I believe that there’s a film adaptation of it, although I haven’t seen it as of yet. I found myself connecting with all of the characters in a way that I’ve not felt in quite a while: the writing is beautifully intricate and carries all of the techniques necessary to truly evoke emotion. It made me conscious of things that have happened in the past that I might otherwise not have known about and for this, I am very thankful.

What books did you manage to read in February? Any that you’d like to recommend? Let me know in the comments, if so!

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