Hello my bookish pals! January is over already and we are well in to February. Today I am going to share some brief thoughts on the six books I read in January. I have made a video over on my YouTube channel but since then have actually changed some of the ratings that I gave the books so I shall let you know what those are!
From top to bottom:
1. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom:
I initially gave this book 4/5 stars but I have since moved it down to 3/5 stars. I thought it was a good read but I now feel that I wouldn’t read it again. The story centres around an elderly man who dies at the beginning of the book. The man goes to heaven and there he meets with five different people. These people have different connections to his life, some of them he knows and some of them he has never knowingly met before. Mitch Albom gave an interesting perspective on what may happen to us once we die and the story as a whole made me consider things a little more deeply. Reflecting back on the book know I don’t feel I really connected to the characters but I would still recommend to anyone who may be interested – it was a very quick read! ★ ★ ★
2. Tuesday’s with Morrie by Mitch Albom:
Again I think initially gave this book 4/5 stars and have since moved it down to 3/5 stars. I feel I am very generous when it comes to star ratings especially as I tend to rate the book as soon as I have finished it. This is something that I am working on at the moment – I hope to be a little more critical with my ratings. So this book is actually non-fiction (which I didn’t realise until I started reading it!), Mitch Albom writes of a time when he discovers that one of his University professors is dying of ALS (the same degenerative disease that Steven Hawking has) and that he only has 6 months to live. Mitch starts visit Morrie (the professor) each Tuesday and they discuss many topics such as life, love, family and then ultimately – death. Mitch tells of how his life has been altered by these touching and thought-provoking conversations with Morrie. Interviews were actually broadcast on American TV with Morrie before he passed away and these can be watched on YouTube. Overall I found it to be a really interesting read but I know I won’t be reading it again in the future – I would still recommend to all! ★ ★ ★
3. A Storm of Swords part 2 by George R.R. Martin:
This was one of my favourite books from January. I have slowly been making my way through the Song of Ice and Fire series and this has been my favourite of what I have read so far. In case you are wondering I have watched all of the TV show so I do know what is going to happen in the books before I read them but this doesn’t really bother me. I won’t go into detail about the plot of this book as I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone but I would definitely recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet picked up the series. All of my favourites characters were doing awesome things in this book and I simply loved it! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
4. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins:
I bought The Woman in White on the recommendation of my YouTube viewers, I had read The Moonstone by Collins last year and everyone suggested I pick this one up as it is his most known and praised book. I was not disappointed! The book is told through many different perspectives – we start with Walter Hartwright who at the beginning of the book comes across a woman completely dressed in white, she appears to be lost and a little distressed so Walter helps her on her way. Walter then overhears two men speaking with a police officer asking if he has seen a woman clad in white as she has escaped from an insane asylum. Months down the line Walter is in a different part of the country and comes across this woman in white again. The story flicks between various characters who have been effected by this woman in one way or another. We find out who this woman is and whether she was ever meant to be in an insane asylum to begin with. It was a fantastic read, full of suspense and mystery! I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun classic to read ★ ★ ★ ★
5. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh:
I picked this one up on the recommendation of Jen Campbell and I’m so glad I did. This is a non-fiction memoir from Brosh which consists of funny stories paired with even funnier illustrations. For me the illustrations in this book made it a 4 star read. I think if I had simply read the words and not seen the images I wouldn’t of found it anywhere near as funny as I did. Brosh shares amusing anecdotes from her childhood all the way up to present day. As well as the comical stories Brosh also brings us an interesting perspective on mental health. She suffers with depression and anxiety and illustrates her experience of this within the pages of this book – it was brilliantly done. If you are looking for a laugh I would highly recommend you pick this one up! ★ ★ ★ ★
6. Room by Emma Donoghue:
This is another one I picked up on the recommendation of my booktube pals! I knew the film was coming out soon so wanted to pick up the book before seeing it. This is an extremely heart-wrenching read. It follows the story of a young woman who is captured and held hostage by a much older man. The story is told through the perspective of her 5 year old son whom she gave birth to in the room she is held captive in. The father of the child is her captor and we read how the young boy, Jack, hides in the cupboard whilst the captor repeatedly comes in to rape his mother. This is not a story for the faint hearted, there were definitely times when I struggled to continue on! Reading through the eyes of Jack gives a very unique and innocent view to the scene. His mother has brought him up to believe that there is nothing else in the world apart from the room that they live in. Slowly she starts to inform Jack of the outside world and they begin to hatch a plan to escape – I shall let you read it to see if they manage it! I thought this was an extremely moving novel. I occasionally felt that Jack’s narrative was a little inconsistent, for the most part he was speaking in an incredibly intelligent manner and then he would randomly switch to a very different tone – this however didn’t detract from the novel it was just a small aspect that niggled me! A great read! ★ ★ ★ ★
What books did you read in January? If you would like to see my YouTube video I shall link it down below:
I hope you are all having a lovely day 🙂
Amy
shoutame 