Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Goodreads: My top 10 books of 2017

Saturday, 23 December 2017

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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: November Wrap Up

Goodreads: November Wrap Up

Saturday, 3 December 2016

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November has flown by (is it just me, or do the months go quicker as we get older?!) and I’m back again with another round up of all the things I’ve read this month. I’ve done pretty well again, all things considered and got myself through a grand total of 5 books over the course of this month.

The first book I read in November was Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Tulley. I’ve actually already reviewed that book here, if you want to check it out. If you haven’t already got on the hype and bought yourself a copy of this book, then please for the love of all things holy, go and do it right now. It’s absolutely fantastic and worth every single penny. It lives up to all expectations and is a really compelling tale.

The Stranger in My Home by Adele Parks is another book that I’ve been eyeing up for quite a while now, so I was chuffed to finally get to it on my ever growing pile of books to be read. This book was probably one of the best I’ve read this year and it really satisfied my craving for a good old fashioned thriller. I didn’t expect the book to end the way it did, it was definitely unexpected and incredibly enjoyable. I’ll likely post up a full review of this at some point this month so keep checking back if you want to hear more of my thoughts.

I received a copy of Witness by Caroline Mitchell for review in the month of November. I’ve read one of Caroline’s books before now and really enjoyed it so I was chuffed to get the opportunity to have early access to her most recent contribution to the word of psychological fiction. Again, this is one that I’ll be writing a full review for so I don’t want to say too much. I will say, however, that it was a bloody good read and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!

Arguably the best book I’ve read this month, and perhaps one of the best I’ve read this year, was one that came to me as a bit of a surprise. The lovely Jess Duffy at Pan Macmillan posted me out a couple of books she thought I’d enjoy, last month, and I picked up Before You Go by Clare Swatman this week. I probably chose the wrong time to start reading it, considering the theme of the book and recent events in my life, but my oh my, what an absolutely breath-taking and thoughtful tale. Contemporary fiction is a genre I tend to overlook when I’m picking books out, mostly because I’m instantaneously drawn to thrillers and YA but I think I’ll have to delve into the genre a little more if works like this are hiding on in there. Clare Swatman has an absolutely amazing way with words and the story flowed in a such a way it was pretty difficult to put it down. Again, I’ll be reviewing this one in full so check back for more information soon!

The final book on my November wrap up list is Be My Baby by A. L. Michael. The review for the blog tour for this one is going live tomorrow so I’ll leave my thoughts on it for that review, but rest assured that this was another book that I really enjoyed reading. I don’t know if it’s me, getting soft in my old age, or whether I am just genuinely enjoying everything I read at the moment but I really do hope that this positive stretch of reading continues on into 2017!

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Goodreads: August Wrap Up!

Goodreads: August Wrap Up!

Wednesday, 31 August 2016

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I swear to God; I only wrote one of these posts about a week ago! How time flies when you’re having fun! Once again the end of the month is upon us and it’s time to take a look back over the books that I’ve managed to read this month. I’d say that August has been a pretty decent month, reading-wise, all things considered and I got through a lot more than I thought I would.

Like the vast majority of the general public, in the month of August I picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, another (much needed) contribution to the much beloved Harry Potter series. I’m still unsure as to whether or not I’ll be reviewing this one, as I have a fair few opinions that I’d like to share with everyone but it’s still pretty new so I don’t want to spoil anything for unsuspecting readers. Spoiler free is an option, of course, but that obviously limits the detail I can go into and stops me from referencing particular scenes. All in all, I enjoyed the story but it didn’t give me the same thrilling feeling that the novels did. A shame, but not entirely unexpected.

A book I have already reviewed on the blog is Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. My full review will obviously be a lot more informative but to summarise, I enjoyed the story but didn’t get the wow factor that I was expecting from Moriarty’s work. I’ve read books by her before and been absolutely blown away by them, but unfortunately with this one that wasn’t the case.

One of my work colleagues is a bit of a book lover just like me, which makes for interesting discussions when we’re on shift together. She recommended the book To Kill For by A.J. Carella to me- it was a free book on the kindle store so I downloaded it quickly and finally got around to reading it this month. I definitely enjoyed the read although the style of writing was a little outside what I normally enjoy. Regardless, it was a short and easy read and I loved talking about it afterwards with my colleague.

Sticking to my psychological thriller/ARC trend, the next book I got stuck into was Saving Sophie by Sam Carrington. I reviewed it here if you want to have a looksee, but long story short- this book was absolutely bloody amazing and I would recommend everyone have a go at it. After reading the A.J. Carella novel, I reciprocated and recommended this one to my colleague, as I mentioned in my review. She finished it and also loved it, passing the recommendation on to some of her friends as well! An absolute belter from start to finish.

My final completed book in August was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – trust me to end things on a heartbreaker! I have SO many things to say about this book so I’d suggest you read my review here. This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, in all the right ways but I think you need to read it yourself to truly appreciate it.

I’m also currently a couple of hundred pages of the way through Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a book which is quickly becoming my favourite classic! I can’t wait to see where things go with it and how it ends!

In the month of August, I read a grand total of 1459 pages, again, a feat I’m pretty impressed with considering how I’ve been working full-time and managing a household alongside everything! I’m excited to see what September has to bring, book-wise now!

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Goodreads: April Wrap Up

Goodreads: April Wrap Up

Sunday, 1 May 2016

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April’s been a ridiculously busy month for me, with my university course coming to an end, final essay deadlines looming and exams to revise for. I’m really chuffed to say that I managed to make time for my reading in the evenings and I managed to get through 4 books during the month of May, including one university text (but I’m definitely counting it!) My exams finish on the last week of May and it’s a fair few days before I have to get back into the swing of things and start doing work for my masters! I plan on reading loads and loads and have a ridiculously high to be read pile so it’s going to be a book filled few months on my blog!

The first book I got through in April was one for my French Literature class at university, Ourika by Claire de Duras. It’s obviously written in French, as all my set texts are at university, but if you’re a French speaker I definitely recommend this one. It’s incredibly interesting and I absolutely loved the story, plus, it’s a ridiculously short one so I got through it in absolutely no time whatsoever!

My second book of the month was You Know Me Well by the infinitely popular David Levithan, accompanied by Nina LaCour. I’ve reviewed this one in a little bit more detail here so you can check that out if you wish to do so. I absolutely loved this book, surprise, surprise! I’m actually looking into reading more by Nina as I’ve never actually read anything written by her before but I absolutely loved the character whose chapters she contributed towards. Definitely recommend if you’re a fan of YA fiction. I received an ebook copy of this from the team at St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent a paperback copy of Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by the team at Headline books this month and I was absolutely thrilled because I’d heard nothing but good things about this book. Again, you can check out a detailed review here if you want to know more but rest assured I loved this one as well. I’ve had a pretty decent month for books as I actually loved everything that I read, which is quite rare for me!

My final book came from the guys at Bookouture and was The Sister by Louise Jensen. This is a debut novel and absolutely fantastic, as far as I’m concerned. I haven’t gotten around to uploading my review of this one yet as I literally just finished it yesterday, but it was everything I love about psychological thrillers encapsulated into one creepy, mysterious novel. I’m looking forward to seeing what Louise has to offer in the coming years!

What have you been reading this month? Let me know in the comments, I’m all about recommendations!