January was a good month for me - for reading and blogging. I got through everything on my TBR, plus a bit more, and I had some great opportunites offered to me.
It by Stephen King
I can't actually believe I finished this beast. Not only is it the longest Stephen King book I've read, it's the longest book I've ever read, period. It was - of course - fantastic and completely worth the commitment it took to get it finished. Although that being said, I finished this much faster than I expected. I have a full review coming at some point in the year, but it's on Goodreads if you can't wait for it on the blog.
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
This collection of short stories was the best addition to The Lunar Chronicles. Some were better than others so it didn't quite get five stars, but I still really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves The Lunar Chronicles. Again, I have a review on Goodreads and it breaks down each of the stories so you can see which ones I liked best.
Jason and Medea by Apollonius of Rhodes
This was the first little black classic of 2017 and it will hopefully kick off finishing off the rest of the ones I own. There's not much I can say about this other than I liked it, but I would recommend it to you if you're a fan of Ancient Greece and want to get into the literature from that time.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
This was the first disappointment of the year, which is such a shame as I did really want to like this. It was just far too cliche for my taste, and it's cemented the fact that I really do not get on with young adult contemporary fiction. Think I'll be giving it a break, if not giving up with it entirely.
Poisoned Iris by Cindy Mezni
The author of this kindly got in touch and asked if I'd be interested in reading this in exchange for a review (which can be found here). I accepted, and I have to say I'm glad that I did. While I did have some issues with this, it was a promising start to the series and I'd be interested in seeing where things go, as it was an interesting dystopian world that incorporated elements of Greek myths.
Caligula by Suetonius
The second little black classic of the year and a rather confusing one at that. Good, but hard to get into. Mostly because everyone mentioned in it had the same name and I couldn't keep track of who was who. If you're a fan of Horrible Histories and like the Roman emperor sketches, give this a go if you want something more serious than fun.
This was a confusing one. For the sake of using the star graphics I already have, this was a three star read. But if we're being honest, it's 2.5 at best. I feel like if things had been better explained and fit together better I would have rated it higher, but as I was reading I just could not wrap my head around anything. Perhaps because I was a little under the weather when I read it or perhaps just because it wasn't executed properly.
Looking at my TBR for February I think it may be a bit ambitious. I'm not sure if I'll get to it all, but so long as I get to The Cubit Quest this month it'll be okay, as I need to review it for a blog tour (my first ever!) in March. Dead Over Heels is another review book I've kindly been sent. I'd also really like to prioritise Blaze, as I've decided to take part in a Stephen King read-a-thon that's being held on Instagram. It lasts until December 31st and I'd like to read as much King as possible in that time, and I'd already said to myself I was going to aim for one King book a month in 2017. I also said the same about the remaining little black classics I have, so The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue is also a high priority, but it shouldn't take me long at all to read. I'd also really like to review The Young Elites as a series, which will require me to actually read the series. The first book will be a re-read for me but I'm excited to visit it again.
What did you read in January?
What do you want to read in February?
Good for you for finishing It! I watched the movie which was long in itself, and that was pretty much enough for me lol. I hope you love The Young Elites! I've only read the first book, but I really liked the plot.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emily! I'm a bit too much of a coward to watch the film haha :P I LOVED the first Young Elites book and couldn't wait for the second, so I hope it's just as good!
DeleteStephen King keeps popping up all over the place, I can't help but feel out of the loop! Once I get through the books already on my TBR, I'll definitely be picking one of his books up. In February I would love to read The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Tidal Zone because it's the second time I've had them out from the library and it's about time I finally read them!
ReplyDeleteHe's such a good author I'd really recommend him! The Shining, Misery, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Cujo are all good places to start if you're curious. But any of his short stories would work too :) My mum started reading The Woman in Cabin 10 a few days ago and when she picked it up I mentioned you, as I was sure I'd seen you talking about it! Hope you enjoy both though!
DeleteCount me totally impressed haha, not only by your considerably large amount of books read in January, but also by the fact that you read the Stephen King book. I've heard so many times how Greta they are, and yet, I am still too intimidated to pick one up...maybe one day I'll be brave enough.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read "Everything,Everything" but I had a hunch from the very first read of the synopsis that it was going to run into a cliche, and the one thing that I absolutely cannot deal with is cliche in YA.
I've also been meaning to read the Young Elites series for about 263635 years...goodness...Will I ever get to it? Haha.
Keep up the good work! -Sam. X
Thank you! I'm still not over how good my reading was either haha. Some of his books aren't too scary at all - Misery isn't too bad, Blaze (haven't finished it yet) has been more of a thriller than horror, and the Bill Hodges trilogy is an amazing thriller series.
DeleteI'd heard so much good about Everything, Everything so I went with such high hopes :( It was just bad overall and it's such a shame as it could have been so much better. But you'd think author's would be a bit more creative rather than sticking to stuff we've seen before...
You definitely need to read The Young Elites! I loved the first book when I first read it so I'm hoping I love it just as much the second time around, and that the series is just as good :)