Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Saturday, 23 December 2017

Read post

I honestly cannot believe that we are at this point of the year already! Wrapping up my books of the year is always my favourite thing to do, and this year has been a bit of a cracker for books. Having started my new job in September, the amount of books read this year started to trail off towards the end of the year but I still managed (as of the 23^rd December) to read 47 books this year. Narrowing the list town to a ‘best of’ was tricky, but I’m really happy with the ones I’ve chosen for my Top 10! These books are by no means ranked from best to worst, just a collection of books that I would recommend to anyone looking for a decent read. 

One of the first books I read this year was a translation from the German, The Trap (Die Falle) by Malanie Raabe. It was a book that had been recommended to me by a work colleague and I felt very lucky to have read it. The story follows a German author who witnessed the escape of her sister’s murderer, seeing the perpetrator’s face as a result. When she sees the man presenting on the news, she finds herself eager to arrange an interview with him to finally avenge her sister’s death. 

The Reader on the 6.27 follows a Frenchman, Guylain Vignolles, who catches the same train to work every day. Every day, he reads aloud to his fellow commuters. When he finds a pendrive, full to the brim with romantic musings, he makes it his task to find their writer.  A joyful, happy story full of beautiful language. 

Arguably my favourite read of 2017, and definitely the one that evoked the most emotion-wise, was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Written autobiographically in the last days of his life, the story follows Paul, a surgeon, as he suffers from lung cancer. There are no words to describe the book other than devastating and if you do anything in 2018, I would recommend getting a copy of this book. 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been a popular choice for a lot of people and I really enjoyed reading the book. It is particularly relevant nowadays, with all the trouble worldwide involving police brutality and maltreatment towards people of colour. It was a poignant read and one that I’d happily read over and over. Angie Thomas’ debut has impressed beyond words, to the extent that filming has already commenced for the film adaptation. 

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I love a good old fashioned contemporary romance as much (possibly more) than the next person and Miss You by Kate Eberlen satisfied all of my sop cravings. It reminded me a little of One Day, following two characters around as they ‘missed’ one another, over and over, until one day, they don’t. It’s beautifully romantic and was quite rightly included on the Richard and Judy booklist for Summer 2017. A must read. Another beautiful contemporary that I read in 2017 was The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. 

When I was sunning it up in Barcelona, the only book on my reading list was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include it on this list. There’s something about Matt’s writing style that pulls me in from the word go and How to Stop Time did exactly the same that. It follows a man who has lived through centuries worth of adventures and experiences, aging at a minute scale. The story is heart warming and exciting and one for readers of all genres. 

A bit of a strange inclusion on the list is Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay. Not my usual type of book, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was probably one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It’s a really easy read and perfect for the YA lover. 

Another book I read whilst traveling was the much acclaimed We Have Always Lived in The Castle by Shirley Jackson. I think this book is a bit like marmite- either you love it or you hate it- and I definitely loved it. It was creepy and mysterious and kept me guessing right until the very end. A fantastic read that really ought to get more recognition.

One of my more recent (and loved) reads is of course, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. The mystery kept me guessing right until the very end and I was really disappointed in myself for not having read it before! 

Which books have you read this year? What do I need to be adding to my TBR pile for 2018? Let me know!  

Goodreads: April Recently Read

Goodreads: April Recently Read

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Read post

I can honestly say that I am actually SO impressed with myself and how much I managed to read over the course of the month of April. I am amazed that I managed to find the time to read SEVEN WHOLE BOOKS. And to be honest with you, there were some blooming good ones.

I started off April finishing up with a book that I started at the end of March and it got April off to a pretty good start, as far as I’m concerned. Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner. I’ve already reviewed the book on the blog (you can have a little look at it here, if you so wish!) I loved this book A LOT and it really did get me out of what could have turned into a pretty remarkable reading slump. It was a really interesting, intriguing and thought-provoking book, full of twists and turns. A fantastic read.

As well as having a VERY well-known love of psychological thrillers and crime fiction, one of the genres that I’ve been leaning towards a lot more over the last few years is war fiction. Whilst this one isn’t actually fiction- in fact it’s a letter directed at a concentration camp survivor’s father- But You Did Not Come Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivans was a beautiful and heartwrenching piece of writing, one that I enjoyed enormously. It was devastatingly sad, and addressed the feelings that she, Marceline, had after she returned from Auschwitz concentration camp to discover that her father had not survived the tragic events. It was a very poignant story and of course, I had a little sob (surprise, surprise, Hollie…).

When I was in my second year of uni, I was introduced to The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I enjoyed the story but I don’t think I quite appreciated it the way that I should have done. Whilst I was at the cinema a few months back, one of the trailers shown was actually the trailer for this book and I was made up that they were making it into a film. One of the things that I did remember, having read the book, was that I enjoyed the plot, even if I didn’t fully acknowledge the importance of it. I chose to re-read the book this month and I am honestly so glad that I did. I found the writing style absolutely beautiful and I devoured absolutely every word. I definitely recommend giving this one a whirl if you haven’t already.

About a year ago (almost to the day, actually), I reviewed Lisa Williamson’s debut novel The Art of Being Normal. I absolutely LOVED this book, so when I found out that Lisa had written another YA novel, All About Mia, I couldn’t help myself. I quickly bought a copy on Amazon and vowed to get stuck straight in. I went back to Lancashire for a long weekend and chose to take this book along with me. I read it over the course of a few evenings and it was an absolute delight. It really approached the teenage years in a relatable way- it’s been a long while since I was a teenager but it was really nice to read a book written by someone who really seems to understand all about the complexities of growing up. I’ll likely review this one in more detail at some point, but I will say that it was a charming read.  

C. L. Taylor is probably one of my most-read authors over the last few years, so buying her new book was inevitable. As I’d finished reading All About Mia when I was visiting my parents, I nipped over to the local Tesco to get another book for the train ride home and the book I chose was Taylor’s The Escape. My expectations, of course, were very high and I am so over the moon to reveal that I wasn’t disappointed. I was very keen to review this one, so I’ve already done my full review here. It’s probably one of the best psychological thrillers that I’ve read over the last few years and definitely my favourite of C.L. Taylor’s.

My favourite book of April came courtesy of the lovely PR team at Penguin books. Around the end of March, I was surprised with a little parcel from them; a copy of Jane Corry’s Blood Sisters and a little bottle of the good stuff- white wine! I was a kind daughter and donated the wine to my mother but the book was mine and mine to keep. I loved this book. There are no two ways about it. Every single aspect of the book was exactly what I was looking for in a book- it epitomised the genre and left me satisfied. Twist after twist after twist – it was absolutely impossible to guess the ending. I’ll be writing a full review up this week but I couldn’t resist throwing a little something into my wrap up.

The final book that I read in April, I finished this morning. It was a book that I bought after hearing nothing but amazing things about it, for weeks and weeks and weeks. I even bought an additional copy and included it in a book giveaway that I’m holding. I had a lot of faith in its quality and once again, I wasn’t disappointed. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a book unlike anything that I’ve ever read before. I’m sure that you, like most people, have seen and been affected in some way or another by events involving gun crime and police targeting people from minorities in the states. This book approaches issues like these in the only way possible: by telling it exactly like it is, no censorship, the full reality of the situation. This book is a must read; so, so, so very important. One of the best books I’ve read this year, by far.

What have you been reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

Goodreads: A Birthday Book Haul

Goodreads: A Birthday Book Haul

Friday, 7 October 2016

Read post

Last week, I was 23. Woohoo! I’ve made it through another year and of course, a birthday came with a big book haul. I was quite good this year and stuck to just spending the vouchers I’d received as gifts but I got myself quite a few little treats. I also received a few books as gifts off friends and work colleagues – they all know me so well. There’s honestly nothing better, as far as I’m concerned, than a good book haul so I was thrilled to be treated to so many new books to add to my collection!

My boyfriend’s mum was very kind and gifted me some Waterstones vouchers as my present. My boyfriend then added to the kindness and said that anything I spent over the amount of the vouchers, he’d pay the difference, so I got three amazing books that I’d been wanting for quite a while but couldn’t commit to ‘cause they were so darn expensive on amazon! (I’m a cheapskate. I stick to the £3.85/3 for £10 books normally!)

I’ve been watching a lot of Books and Quills youtube recently, and I’ve grabbed a few recommendations from the books she’s been reading. The first book I chose was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. This is one that I’d never heard of before, but I had a quick google and found that it was a book that would definitely be right up my street. I believe it focuses on Nazism, which is something that I’m really interested in so it’ll be one of the ones I pick up first when choosing a new book to read. At this point, Paul was getting very stroppy (lesson learned: don't take your boyfriend shopping!) so my “one recommended book and the rest whatever I fancy on the day” plan went out the window pretty quickly. I added Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to my pile quickly after that. I know that this one’s quite an old one, and I believe that there’s a film adaptation of it, but I’ve neither read nor watched it. The story is set in Nigeria and is described as a heartbreaking, literary masterpiece- I actively search for “heartbreaking”, so this one sounds absolutely perfect to me!

The final book I chose was The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney. I’ve actually already started this one: it’s set in Ireland and follows different characters. One of the characters is a drug dealer, another a prostitute, a third covers the tracks for his mother’s accidental killing of a burglar. It’s incredibly well written and I’m definitely enjoying the plot so far. It won the Bailey’s Women’s prize for literature this year so that definitely influenced my choice but I’m not disappointed as of yet.

I was surprised at work with a little goodie bag of treats and they had put a book in there, as well! They chose The Forgotten Time by Sharon Guskin which I’d never heard of before! It’s a psychological thriller, I believe; my colleague Denise knows how much I love a good psychological thriller so this was definitely her doing! It sounds like it’d be right up my street so I’m excited to give it a go soon.

Because I’d filled up a Waterstones voucher with those purchases, I then received a further £10 to spend in the store. I also had £5 worth of points on my card, meaning that I could sneakily choose a few more books and not actually spend any money. I was planning on treating myself to a beautiful hard backed edition of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories but I didn’t even get as far as that in the shop as I found myself distracted by a signed copy of Alan Johnson’s latest contribution to his autobiography. I’ve read his two other books, Our Boy and Please, Mister Postman and absolutely love his voice and the tale he tells so this was a must-buy as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be getting stuck into that one as soon as my ARC pile is shortened! 

What books have you bought recently? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Follow