What I Read in January 2019

Last year I made a small, achievable promise to myself to slow down my pace of reading. To sit quietly and take in more of the words over each page that I was turning. And I followed through on this promise. Going from reading a huge 154 books in a year to a tiny 67 books. That might still seem a vast amount to some but for me, that was a meer fraction of the books that I could have been reading.

This year I've turned my back on that resolution. We have only just come to the end of the long, slow month that is January and I have already managed to make my way through 25 books in 2019. I've caught that addictive reading bug again and I get myself into an almost hypnotic state where I just can't put a novel down until I reach the end, I find myself with a desperate need to find out what happens next.

So I thought I'd go back and do something which I have done in previous years on my blog, and that is to post about which books I have read. Not reviews as this post would be far too long, just the stories and a few of their blurbs (which some of them I hope you'll already have heard of) to see if they might be worth adding to your own to be read lists for the year ahead.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

What I Read November

The first of December, I'm actually gutted that I haven't managed to put together a book advent for the girls this year but I'll be honest it isn't like they've got a lack of books at home! November was another slow month of reading for me but you can still what I read....

The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor

Looking back, it all started on the day of the fair and the terrible accident. When twelve-year-old Eddie first met the Chalk Man.

It was the Chalk Man who gave Eddie the idea for the drawings: a way to leave secret messages between his group of friends.

And it was fun, to start with, until the figures led them to the body of a young girl.

That was thirty years ago and Ed thought the past was behind him. Then he receives a letter containing just two things: a piece of chalk, and a drawing of a stick figure. As history begins to repeat itself, Ed realises the game was never over . . .

This book was so good!! I managed to get an advanced copy on Netgalley after reading the blurb and I was not disappointed. A who done it with a really good twist, well worth checking out if you get the chance.

Songs About us by Chris Russell

What I Read In October

November is here already, the second half of the year always seems to go by so much quicker than the first. I think this shows with how many books I manage to read each month as the number significantly reduce. Here's what I managed to read in October.

Songs About a Girl by Chris Russell

Charlie Bloom never wanted to be 'with the band'. She's happiest out of the spotlight, behind her camera, unseen and unnoticed. But when she's asked to take backstage photos for hot new boy band Fire&Lights, she can't pass up the chance. 

Catapulted into a world of paparazzi and backstage bickering, Charlie soon becomes caught between gorgeous but damaged frontman, Gabriel West, and his boy-next-door bandmate Olly Samson. Then, as the boys' rivalry threatens to tear the band apart, Charlie stumbles upon a mind-blowing secret, hidden in the lyrics of their songs... 

What I Read September

A new month, October already! And that can only mean one thing, time to tell you about the books that I managed to read in September. My pace slowed down a little bit again last month, I was trying to get back to doing coursework although I struggled a bit on that front too, but that's another story for another day.

I Know Where She Is by S B Caves

On the tenth anniversary of her daughter Autumn's abduction, Francine receives an anonymous note containing just five words: I KNOW WHERE SHE IS

When a young woman approaches her the next day claiming to have sent the letter Francine wants to dismiss it as a cruel, twisted joke.

But the stranger knows things that only Autumn would know.

It soon becomes clear that Francine must go to dark places in order to learn the truth about her child’s kidnapping.

She will discover that danger comes from unexpected sources. She will do things she never imagined herself capable of.

But will Francine get her daughter back – or is it too late?

This was a debut book for the author and I have to say I was quite good although I'll admit the first half was more entertaining than the second half.

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

What I read in April

It's time to tell you all about what I read last month. April I have to say was a disappointing month of reading, my own fault. With the Easter holidays to contend with and my sudden addiction to watching Pretty Little Liars, reading books sort of went on the back burner but I do have a few books to share with you.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.

Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret.

He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try and tame the past that is fast catching up with him.

The only thing Tom mustn't do is fall in love.

I was gifted this book via Netgalley and chose it as my book of the month in March, you can read my full review here but in short an absolute must read.

The Second Sister by Claire Kendal