Ah, the ever increasing "to read" list. It's never ending I swear, but secretly that's one of the things I love about it. Everytime I think I've made a small dent in it, I come home with a small pile of books to add to it. And I'm a book hoarder too, so finding space for these extra books is a struggle. I think I'm going to have to buy another Billy bookcase...
At the moment I'm reading The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan. One is my "work book" and the other is my "home book". I'm not really very far through either yet, so I'm still getting to grips with the stories, but so far so good I think. I might post a little review once I'm done with them :)
This is just a very small selection of the unread books I own. I have a habit of just buying books that spark my interest when I see them instead of being good and reading the ones I already have. This is probably a problem for every self-confessed bookworm though so I'm definitely not alone. To top it all off, I'm a slow reader, a slow reader by choice, mind. If I'm enjoying a book then I'll drag out the reading process for as long as I can. I'm not a person who'll devour it as quickly as possible.
My goal for this year is to delve into as many different genres as possible. While I was at university I fell in love with poetry, both reading it and writing it, but I'll admit that I haven't read a poetry collection since graduating (yes I am deeply ashamed of that). I got Rupi Kaur's Millk and Honey for my birthday last year, and I've already flicked through and found my favourite poem. I've yet to sit down and devour the whole book, but I'm really excited to read it. Seeing it on my shelf always reminds me that I need to buy more poetry collections. If anyone has any recommendations then please comment and let me know! :)
Non-Fiction is a genre I'm relatively unfamiliar with, besides the odd autobiography of course. When I read I usually prefer fictional worlds and stories so I can really lose myself in them, but my mum bought me a couple of non-fiction books for Christmas which really grabbed my attention. One I've read, Beautiful Forever by Helen Rappaport, about a notorious Victorian criminal Madame Rachel of Bond Street. Caught in the Revolution is obviously massively different in terms of subject matter, but if the narrative is anything like Beautiful Forever then I'm sure I'll love it!
My shelves are littered with books by fantastic female authors - some classic and some new. The Color Purple is a book I've wanted to read for a very long time. A colleague at work recommended the film to me, but being a book nerd I want to finish the novel before I even think about watching the film. Novels that tackle subject matter from a female perspective so far away from my own are always the most eye-opening and educational, which is why I'm probably going to push The Color Purple to the top of my list.
I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't even aware that Carrie Fisher was an author as well as an actress. The Princess Diarist is one of the newer additions to my shelf, along with Difficult Women. I read a review in Glamour about Roxane Gay's latest book and, being a feminist, I feel like her work is essential reading. I bought Bad Feminist at the same time, so who knows which one I'll read first.
Pure Juliet was a book I judged by its cover. I know the age-old saying tells us not to do that, but I just can't help it. If I see an aesthetically pleasing book then I'll instantly be drawn to it. And, in my defence, I've discovered some of the most wonderful books this way, books that I never ever thought I would be interested in. I'll skim read the blurb and just go for it. Why not? It's fun :)
The same colleague at work recommended Sue Perkins' book to me. Like every other single person in the UK, I loved Mel and Sue on Bake Off (it breaks my heart to write about Bake Off in the past tense, don't touch me...) and my colleague also went to a reading she did of said book. He told me how hilarious she was - so down to earth and genuinely funny - and the next time I was in Waterstones I picked up her book.
Thrillers aren't usually my bag. I don't really know why, but I like a book with a more positive outlook (most of the time anyway). Maybe it's the fantasist in me wanting to be whisked off to someone else's life where I can gasp in shock at the silly things they do, or swoon over the love interest with them... or taken to a fantasy world where nothing is real and vampires sparkle and still go to school even though they've been living for hundreds of years and could literally do anything else with their lives... (I'm kidding about that - life with the Cullens is not my happy place. Give me Hogwarts any day though). This was going somewhere, I promise. What I'm trying to say but have ended up babbling wonderfully, is that the thrillers I have read I've thoroughly enjoyed, so I'm very selective about the ones I read.
I loved Gone Girl. Loved, loved, loved it! So much so that I wrote a review right here on this blog! When I bought Gone Girl, I purchased it in one of those lovely little book bundles, and got two other books by Gillian Flynn. One of my friends has read Sharp Objects, and she had mostly good things to say about it, although she warned me that it's a lot darker than Gone Girl in terms of content. I might leave this book for a time when I'm feeling super duper peppy and happy so it doesn't kill my buzz! xD
Once again, with The Muse and Love From Paris, I fell victim to the "ooooh this book has a pretty cover, therefore I shall buy it" bug. Saying that, I did see Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist in the shops countless times and resisted the urge to buy it, mostly because I read the blurb and wasn't 100% sure if it really was a book I'd enjoy. Maybe after I've read The Muse I might change my mind? Who knows.
I can safely say I've rambled on for long enough now. And it's getting late, so I'm going to head off to sleep!
Please do leave a comment if you've read any of these books. I'd love to know your thoughts (spoiler free of course c:), and if you have any recommendations then I'd love to hear those too!
~ C xxx
