February 2024 in Books

creaturesFebruary was a lot more successful than January at chipping away at my 100 books in 2024. I have to admit that I did read some rubbish in my attempt to cram more in – namely ‘Help: My Cat’s a Vlogging Superstar’ – left over from when I was getting the Feline and Fiction boxes (expect a few of these to pop up), and ‘Same Time Next Year’ – maybe a good choice for some, but it wasn’t for me.

The Book Club read for this month was ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’, which I put my hand up and admit I was not expecting to like when I was told it was a book about an octopus, but I ended up loving it and couldn’t put it down.

I finally got round to reading the other books in the ‘PS. I Love You’ series – I love the films, so the books were a must – yes I love chick clicks as much as I love chick lit. I finally made my way through ‘Little Women’ – I think it’s actually the longest it’s taken me to read a book.

A couple of my favourite authors also popped up this month – Sheila O’Flannagan and Taylor Jenkins Reid – again both books I really enjoyed. If you’re looking for a bit of a quirky read, then I recommend checking out ‘Cat Lady’, I always enjoy Dawn O’Porter’s writing.

– Louisa May Alcott – Little Women

–  Tessa Bailey – Same Time Next Year

– Taylor Jenkins Reid – Maybe in Another Life

– Jenny Han – PS. I Still Love You

– Jenny Han – Always and Forever

– Sheila O’Flannagan – What Eden Did Next

– Rae Earl – Help: My Cat’s a Vlogging Superstar!

– Shelby Van Pelt – Remarkably Bright Creatures

– Dawn O’Porter – Cat Lady

January 2024 in Books

The Last Devil To DieJanuary 2024 has seen me starting my challenge of trying to read 100 books in a year. I didn’t manage to get through as many as I would have liked in the month (only six read) as it took me ages to read ‘Little Women’ – another item on my 40 Before 40 List. I actually didn’t end up finishing the book in January, so it will fit into February’s list. I started the year reading the latest Thursday Murder Club book, knowing that I would churn through it, which of course I did. You’ll also spot a couple of familiar authors there in the form of Roald Dahl and Dick King-Smith – two of my favourite authors from when I was younger. I’ve been wanting to re-read ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ since we saw it at the theatre last year (worth seeing if you get chance). And ‘The Queen’s Nose’ was sat in my bookcase, so it would have been rude to not re-read it.

The Book Club Read for the month was ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides, which we all agreed we enjoyed – although some people got the twist quicker than others – I was one of the last ones to twig as ever!

I definitely need to pick up on my reading throughout February to stay on track with a 100 books this year! Any tips for shorter reads will really be appreciated to help me reach this target!

– Richard Osman – The Last Devil To Die

– Roald Dahl – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

– Roald Dahl – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

– Dick King-Smith – The Queen’s Nose

– Lisa Jewell – The Truth About Melody Browne

– Alex Michaelides – The Silent Patient

December 2023 in Books

Christmas Book ClubAnd here we have December’s books. I managed to churn through them a bit quicker this month, and even got through the final book of the year, ‘Invisible Girl’, in about two days as I couldn’t put it down – I think I could have read it in one sitting if I had five hours to spare in one go.

I really enjoyed ‘The Christmas Book Club’, a perfect book to curl up with, and of course, a Christmas book is always a must at this time of year.

Now all that is left to go is to count up how many books I managed to read in 2023, and get ready to take on the 2024 challenge of reading 100 books in a year (gulp). I’ve wanted to do it for a while now, but it will mean opting for a lot of short reads and going back to my childhood to read some classics (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator are already lined up after we saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Hippodrome a few months back). If anyone has a short read recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated!

– Portia Macintosh – Long Time No Sea

–  Shari Low – One Moment in Time

– Portia Macintosh – The Faking Game

– Sarah Morgan – The Christmas Book Club

– Lisa Jewell – The House We Grew Up In

– Lisa Jewell – Invisible Girl