Six months of books 2015

I've taken part in this in previous years and it's great to see it back again. A chance to look back at the books we've read in the first 6 months of 2015, 6 books in each of 6 different categories.

Visit the home of this meme, The Book Jotter, here to find out more...

Six books I have enjoyed the most...

1. The Golem and the Djinni - Helene Wecker
2. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
3. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel
4. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
5. Hausfrau - Jill Alexander Essbaum
6. The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty

Six authors new to me...

1. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
2. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café - Fannie Flagg
3. How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
4. Sleepyhead - Mark Billingham
5. Big Ray - Michael Kimball
6. City of Thieves - David Benioff

Six books that took me on extraordinary journeys...

1. Inflicted - Ria Frances
2. The Leipzig Affair - Fiona Rintoul
3. The Golem and the Djinni - Helene Wecker
4. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel
5. Dissolution - CJ Sansom
6. The Auschwitz Violin - Maria Àngles Anglada

Six books by favourite authors...

1. The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton
2. A History of Loneliness - John Boyne
3. The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty
4. Chess - Stefan Zweig
5. Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
6. The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry

Six graphic novels/comic book collections I enjoyed...

1. Plumdog - Emma Chichester Clark
2. Marbles - Ellen Forney
3. This One Summer - Mariko & Jillian Tamaki
4. The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman
5. Sex Criminals - Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky
6. Anya's Ghost - Vera Brosgol

Six bookshops I have visited...

1. The new Foyles, London
2. St. David's Bookshop, Pembrokeshire
3. Heffers, Cambridge
4. Aldeburgh Bookshop, Suffolk
5. Any Amount of Books, London
6. St Ives Bookseller, Cornwall

My (late) April 2015 reading round-up & May reading

I'm here with a very late April wrap-up, oops!
As well as struggling to post this month, I haven't been getting around the blogs I love to read much yet this month either, so apologies for that and I am looking forward to catching up on reading lots of reviews and other posts asap.  

I read these books in April:

The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

The Worrier's Guide to Life - Gemma Correll

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fanny Flagg

Hausfrau - Jill Alexander Essbaum

A History of Loneliness - John Boyne

Books reviewed in April on the blog: 

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Book(s) of the month for April...

Hausfrau, just brilliant!

Amazing book, I was addicted to it, the location, the language, Anna's life, so desperate and painful, but superbly and poetically written. Definite shades of Emma Bovary.

 

(and a mention for A History of Loneliness, a very good read.)

May reading

In May so far I've read Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans, The Humans by Matt Haig, Amulet Volume 1: The Storekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi, Paris for One by Jojo Moyes, and I'm currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and City of Thieves by David Benioff. 

I've almost finished listening to the audio book of Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry. 

And I've been dipping into an interesting non-fiction book, All Day Long - A Portrait of Britain at Work, by Joanna Biggs.

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What was your favourite read in April 2015?

Wishing you a great month (for the rest) of May!

~~~~~

My March 2015 reading round-up

I took part in the Take Control of your TBR Pile challenge in March, hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

I managed to read these books from my TBR pile in March:

Disgrace - Jussi Adler-Olsen

Anya's Ghost - Vera Brosgol

How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn

The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty

The Auschwitz Violin - Maria Angels Anglada

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

I started these TBR pile books in March too, but am still reading them so will hopefully finish them in April:

The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith

Poirot Investigates - Agatha Christie

Forbidden - Tabitha Suzuma

I also read two non-fiction books in March, Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig and Making Friends with Anxiety by Sarah Rayner.

I read two graphic novels from the library, The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman and Marbles by Ellen Forney. 

And I listened to an unabridged audio book, also from my tbr, The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry, which was brilliant.

I plan to carry on reading mainly from my tbr pile this year, it wasn't just a goal for March. I want to read more of those lovely books that have been waiting too long. 

Books reviewed in March on the blog: 


The Leipzig Affair by Fiona Rintoul

Disclaimer by Renée Knight

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Also featured:

My blog article in Newbooks Magazine

My fourth blogiversary post and giveaway

An author guest post by Rachel Abbott 

Book(s) of the month for March...

I loved several this month, and I will have to pick two again...

Station Eleven, and Reasons to Stay Alive

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What was your favourite read in March 2015?

I hope you had a good March, and that April brings lots of good books for us all too!

~~~~~

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Whatever You Love

Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where we share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon.

I'm reading Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty.

These are the opening lines...


'Muscle has memory; the body knows things the mind will not admit. Two police officers were at my door - uniformed, arranged - yet even as the door swung open upon them, which was surely the moment that I knew, even then, my conscious self was seeking other explanations, turning round and round, like a rat in a cage. Muscle memory - not the same thing as instinct of course, but related: pianists know about this, and tap dancers, and anyone who has ever given birth. Even those who have done nothing more than tie their shoelaces know it. The body is quicker than the mind. The body can be trusted.'

~~~~~

What do you think, would you keep reading?


Synopsis

Two police officers knock on Laura's door and her life changes forever. They tell her that her nine-year old daughter Betty has been hit by a car and killed. When justice is slow to arrive, Laura decides to take her own revenge and begins to track down the man responsible.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

This week I finished reading - Inflicted by Ria Frances - a very moving read, two people, one old, one young, both troubled, finding friendship and kindness. Hope to review it soon. 

I also finished reading Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - I enjoyed it a lot and will carry on reading the Poirot series.

This week I am currently reading -

Disclaimer by Renee Knight - About a quarter of the way through and the story and tension are building up nicely at the moment.

Here's the synopsis:
Finding a mysterious novel at her bedside plunges documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft into a living nightmare. Though ostensibly fiction, The Perfect Stranger recreates in vivid, unmistakable detail the terrible day she became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew—and that person is dead.
Now that the past is catching up with her, Catherine’s world is falling apart. Her only hope is to confront what really happened on that awful day . . . even if the shocking truth might destroy her.

Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty - This is one that has been on my tbr ages and it's an interesting read so far, very sad subject matter, about a third of the way through this one. 

Here's the synopsis:

Two police officers knock on Laura's door and her life changes forever. They tell her that her nine-year old daughter Betty has been hit by a car and killed. When justice is slow to arrive, Laura decides to take her own revenge and begins to track down the man responsible.

Next up to read - 

Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen

and

The Leipzig Affair by Fiona Rintoul

Here's the synopsis:

The year is 1985. East Germany is in the grip of communism. Magda, a brilliant but disillusioned young linguist, is desperate to flee to the West. When a black market deal brings her into contact with Robert, a young Scot studying at Leipzig University, she sees a way to realise her escape plans. But as Robert falls in love with her, he stumbles into a complex world of shifting half-truths – one that will undo them both.
Many years later, long after the Berlin Wall has been torn down, Robert returns to Leipzig in search of answers. Can he track down the elusive Magda? And will the past give up its secrets?

~~~~~

What are you reading? 

I hope you have a great week of wonderful reading, and thank you for visiting.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

This week I finished reading - Precious Thing by Colette McBeth - I really enjoyed this debut novel.

This week I am currently reading -

Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - halfway through the second of the Poirot mysteries, this time we are in France. 

Inflicted by Ria Frances - this is very moving so far, two people, one old, one young, both troubled, finding friendship and kindness.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling - reading this one on and off over the weeks.

Next I think I might read - 

Disclaimer by Renee Knight

Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen

~~~~~

What are you reading? 

I hope you have a great week of wonderful reading, and thank you for visiting.

My January 2015 reading round-up

What I read in January...

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Chess by Stefan Zweig

Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

Nearly all of these were from my to be read pile and some I had been excited about reading for ages so it was brilliant to actually read them at last.

I enjoyed all of these reads, and there was a really nice variety to my month, with a couple of crime novels, some excellent historical and magical fiction, a couple of young adult books and a gorgeous graphic novel. 

I hope (so much) that I can continue at this sort of level in 2015, it's been a lovely month as far as reading was concerned. I hope to find time and energy to write reviews of at least some of the above soon. 

Book of the month...

I have to pick two...

The Golem and the Djinni & The Miniaturist  

What was your favourite read in January 2015?

Thanks for visiting!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Finished reading...

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This novel has been on my to be read pile for quite a bit and is one of the books that I set myself the challenge of finally reading this year. I have to say I thought it was a very good read, and there was a lot about it that I loved. I found myself marking up quite a few sentences/passages to return to and spend longer thinking about. It's nice and timely that the film adaptation happens to be on tv here in the next couple of days and I haven't seen it before so I think I'll watch that and see how it compares. 

Currently reading... 

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

I mentioned this one last week, and I have almost finished reading it, I hope to finish it tonight, I have about 50 or 60 pages left, and it has been a brilliant read, I am so involved with the characters and am both eagerly anticipating the ending and yet somewhat dreading it too - that feeling of not wanting a great book to end! As I mentioned last week, this book was a lovely gift to me from a very kind and thoughtful book loving friend last year.

Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

I've only just started this one, looking forward to getting stuck into it more tomorrow once I've finished The Golem and the Djinni.

What I'm going to read next...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

I am reading through the HP series, I read the first three at the end of last year and so next  up is book four.

What are you reading? 

I hope you have a great week of wonderful reading, and thank you for visiting.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

I haven't taken part so far this year, so I've included in my 'recently read' books the ones I've read over the past couple of weeks. I'll try and write up some longer reviews or thoughts on some of these if I can soon.

Recently read:

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

I found this a quite magical, wonderful read. I felt immersed in the world created in the novel and the characters were really memorable. One to treasure, it took me away from my troubles and I really enjoyed reading it. I'd heard so much about this novel and I think maybe I worried if I'd love it or not myself, and I'm so glad I've read it now. The cover has to be one of the most beautiful around, too. 

 

Chess by Stefan Zweig (translated by Anthea Bell)

This was a superb little read, another that I ought to have read ages ago that has been languishing on my tbr pile, it's only a short work of about eighty pages, and I thought it was a fascinating tale, brilliantly told. I loved The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig - link to my review, as well as a couple of other works by him (Journey into the Past and Fear - reviews linked); this one is equally impressive. It was also great to read something in translation after not having done so for a while. 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie 

I've been aiming to try and read some Agatha Christie novels for a while, at least the idea has been in my mind to get round to it, and I've finally made a start, with this, the first of her Poirot novels. It was a really good read and I look forward to reading more soon.

Reading now:

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

This was a lovely gift to me from a very kind and thoughtful book loving friend last year (who also gave me Chess, above) and I am so glad to be reading it now, I am about a quarter of the way through so far, it's quite a long one, and it is captivating and magical, I will savour reading more of it this coming week. 

Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark

This is a graphic novel I bought at the weekend, it is beautifully illustrated and is an absolutely wonderful thing for dog lovers, just a delight to read and to look at!

Reading next:

I'm not certain what I will read next, I want to try and read this one very soon though as it has been on my tbr pile too long, so it may well be my next book.

Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

Did you read any of these/do they grab your interest?

What are you reading? 

I hope you have a great week of wonderful reading!