BOOKS READ:
- My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- Heartstopper Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman
- Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman
BOOKS BOUGHT:
- Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman
- Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1) by Tamsyn Muir
- The Stone Sky (Broken Earth, #3) by N.K. Jemisin
- The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer, #2) by Brent Weeks
- Frankly In Love by David Yoon
- The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre
- Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Hi, everyone! It’s that time of the month again where I share a wrap-up of all the books I’ve read and purchased over the month. Compared to the previous months, January felt longer, ain’t it? It felt like it’s been a long time since I last wrote an entry for Stuff I’ve Been Reading Lately.
At the start of January, I didn’t feel like reading at all. I think I’ve been putting a lot of thought and energy into which books to read and how many books I should read per month that I kind of lost the feeling of actually enjoying them. So I took a step back and stopped reading for a while — I spent a couple of weekends catching up with my favorite TV shows and journaling. I’ve had anxiety attacks for days on end, so journaling helped me ease up a little.
In mid-January, I started reading again. I picked up the book that I was currently reading at the time which is My True Love Gave To Me by a couple of authors which was edited and collated by Stephanie Perkins. I gave it a solid three stars on Goodreads; it was okay, I totally enjoyed the short stories, but there were some that just didn’t click with me. I still recommend it to everyone looking for a quick read that’s perfect for the winter season.
I also started reading The Woman in Cabin 10 which was such a page-turner! It’s my first Ruth Ware novel and I’m really looking forward to reading her other works. I gave it a four out of five stars. The reason why I didn’t give it a five was that mid-way it was revealed and something happened to the main character and that’s where it kind of got a little dragging, but only a little (if you’ve read it, you’ll know what I meant)! I still really enjoyed it.
Next, I finally finished the audiobook of A Promised Land by Barack Obama. It was really lovely! I really enjoyed learning more about his experiences and the challenges the faced him during his term. Like Michelle’s memoir, Barack’s was also inspiring in so many ways. I honestly could believe that someone as well-known as Barack Obama can be so down-to-Earth. Listening to him narrate the audiobook made me feel that love and compassion he has for his country and the world. It’s crazy how he is so jarringly different from all the other presidents that America had — he made you hope for a better world. I rated it four our of five stars! Definitely going in the list of my favorites of the year.
The last two books that I’ve read are part of a series and are graphic novels. It’s already in my favorites list of the year because the art style is very beautiful and the story is light and perfect for everyone looking for a quick read. It’s fluffy, adorable, and very lovely. I just love the story of Nick and Charlie’s story just brings me back to the good old high school days. I gave each of the a five stars.
I bought a total of 7 books in January. Four of which are part of a series and were bought during the Fully Booked sale, the three others are secondhand books from some friends who were selling copies of some of their books. I particularly am excited for Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1) by Tamsyn Muir and Frankly In Love by David Yoon because I’ve heard so many good things about.
What about you? How many books have you read in January? Any favorites?
It’s interesting to see what different readers see as a “quiet” reading month – seven seems like a lot to me, but we’re all working at our own pace. That being said, I haven’t got into audiobooks, which seem to be one way of getting through more books.
I only finished the one new book in January: “How to be Right” by James O’Brien. Unusually for me, it’s nonfiction, a series of relatively short chapters on some of the social and political issues which some people hold very firm views on, often without really understanding why they’re so angry about it all. O’Brien’s argument (which I agree with) is that an individual’s defensive stance (eg an anti-Islam attitude) is often the product of media rhetoric, and that when asked to really explain their position, the argument tends to fall apart. It got a little repetitive, but was concise and interesting enough to keep my attention.
I did reread some poetry though – Suzannah Evans’ collection “Near Future” is about end-of-the-world scenarios and dystopian futures. It’s funny and poignant, and I’d definitely recommend it.
This month I’m back to fiction, with Chigozie Obioma’s “An Orchestra of Minorities”.
All the best for February. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, I haven’t heard of the books you’ve mentioned, but I will definitely check them out. If you would like to explore non-fiction more, you can try out Michelle and Barack’s memoirs. I’m currently listening to another memoir called In The Dream House and I’m almost done with it, it’s really interesting and funny and informative. I hope you have a meaningful reading month in February as well! 🙂 I really appreciate your long response to my post. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person