January 2017: Favourite Books

Although I've read a lot in January I haven't actually finished many books, and the ones that I have finished have been a bit...blah. So, this month's favourite books post is a little light. Luckily the ones that I have enjoyed this month have really stood out, so there's not too many of them but they're all little gems.

Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón

Book Review

"You ever hear that saying about Tokyo being a million cities all at once? You wonder if maybe some of them are good and some of them are bad?"

Blue Light Yokohama will be released on February 2nd. It is written by Nicolás Obregón and published by Penguin.

Back to the new releases after last week's classic. Out next month, Blue Light Yokohama is a crime thriller set in Tokyo that is both tense and well-written.

Classic Literature: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Book Review

"And at home by the fire, whenever you look up there shall I be - and whenever I look up, there will be you."

I thought I'd break up the new release reviews with a classic; Thomas Hardy's tale of beautiful and willful Bathsheba Everdene, Far from the Madding Crowd.

Firstly, I must apologise for the edition I have, which features a very sixties Julie Christie on the cover. If you follow me on Instagram you'll have probably seen this book before as I was reading it last summer. I admitted then that I generally hate books with film adaptation covers, but I kind of like this one, I just love her totally un-authentic hair!

I'll stop rambling about Julie Christie and her fringe and focus on the story.
Far from the Madding Crowd is one of those classic books that, even though I'd never read it before, I knew the plot. Somehow it had got lodged in my head, through general common-knowledge osmosis.

The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney

Book Review

"Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life."

The Girl Before will be released on 26th January. It is written by J. P. Delaney and published by Quercus.

Yet another thriller with the word Girl in the title. But while some of the other 'girls club' titles haven't lived up to the original Gone Girl, The Girl Before does a good try and very almost gets there.
With its original setting and concept I'm sure this is a book that is going to be popular.

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Book Review

"He hoped that by choosing her to finish his task, it might set Laura free."

The Keeper of Lost Things will be published on January 26th. It is written by Ruth Hogan and published by Two Roads.

This book is a bit out of my comfort zone, my normal reads having at least one grisly murder in them, but that was exactly the reason I chose to request The Keeper of Lost Things from NetGalley; I do love my murder mysteries but every now and again I get a bit overwhelmed and I want something warm and fuzzy to take the edge off. The Keeper of Lost Things is definitely that, but in places it was a bit too sugary sweet for me.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Book Review

"Fiction is about readers. Without readers there is no point in books, and therefore they are as important as the author, perhaps more important."

Swimming Lessons will be released on January 26th. It is written by Claire Fuller and published by Fig Tree.

Claire Fuller's first book, Our Endless Numbered Days won various awards and garnered rave reviews. However, I can't compare it to Swimming Lessons as I haven't actually read it yet. Having jumped in with her second book though, I now want to go back and read her first, as Swimming Lessons is beautiful; slow and quiet yet dense with frustrated emotions.

Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson

Book Review

"I haven't met a woman or man in my life - not even the wisest soul - who wasn't an idiot in some way or another."

Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars will be released on January 12th. It is written by Miranda Emmerson and published by HarperCollins.

I mentioned this book in my December Favourite Reads as it was one that really stood out for me. It was not what I was expecting at all. It starts as a sort of Agatha Christie, or Ngaio Marsh mystery, but goes in a completely different direction.

December 2016 Link Love

December has mainly been a month of slobbing for me, a lot of sitting on my butt and reading crap on the internet so there are quite a few links in my link love post for December. I think most of them will interest you though (hopefully), there are lots of book bloggers and posts, some writing tips and then just a whole load of random crap. Enjoy!

December 2016: Favourite Reads

Happy January! If there is such a thing. I hope everyone had a lovely New Year and are now not too depressed about going back to work tomorrow.

I read a lot of books in December; with work winding down, the holidays and the generally rubbish weather, I've had a lot of time to hibernate under a duvet with a book. This is my list of favourite reads from December. It's quite a mixed bag this month; the usual crime fiction, but also quite a few new releases and a classic thrown in.