Goodness, I have been neglecting this little corner of books. I may not have done much writing in here, but I have done much reading.
2017 was a fabulous reading year. There were not many duds, though if I was reading something I really wasn’t enjoying, I put it down and started something else. There are way too many good books in the world, to spend time on books I am not enjoying. I give them an honest try but if they don’t tickle my tootsies, then I abandon them…
No 10
The Boundless Sublime – Lili Wilkinson
This was a great a novel about a cult and how easy it is to fall into the trap of words. A superb YA novel.
No 9
Caraval – Stephanie Garber
Thoroughly enjoyed the magical YA novel. It was a unique story and very well written
NO 8
More than this – Patrick Ness
Another YA, what makes you think I am a fan? But this was different and engaging and asked the questions, are we real? Do our thoughts define us? I loved it.
No 7
The Lone City Series started with The Jewel
I thoroughly enjoyed this series. Granted it was a little wishy-washy in places, but I thought the storyline was original and fun. It was also super easy to read and kept me entertained through all three of the books. ( I went through a spate of reading books that my daughter can eventually read, this set has been saved for future reading)
No 6
Beautiful broken things – Sara Barnard
Once again, this was not your straightforward YA novel, this one had some meaty bits and showed the power of friendship. Especially when we are young and feel things more intensely. A good read. And save for future reading.
No 5
Deon Meyer – Fever
A South African author mainly known for his thrillers, brought this dystopian novel into the world of books, and thank goodness he did. It was great, and he hit the notes just right. Set in SA, with a wonderful twist in the end. If you are into Dystopian, then this should not be missed
No 4
Ms Conception – Pamela Power
Another great SA author, new to me, but on my list of faves. This was hilarious and managed to tear me out of my reading slump that hit me this year. Her writing is funny, true and loved that I could relate to the book. Read it, its good.
No 3
Beartown – Fredrik Backman
Wow, just wow. This one had me through the ringer. I cried big ploppy tears onto the screen of my kindle in this one. A story about family, life, and gender roles. This book Needs to be read.
N0 2
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeyman
Another Wow. This book was an extremely well-written debut novel. I loved it, I loved the characters and I think Honeyman pulled it off with aplomb.
No 1
The Music Shop – Rachel Joyce
One of my all-time favourite authors, Joyce got the balance in this book just right. It was perfect, I loved it and you should read it. A book about life, and how we Don’t live and what happens when we don’t and how the small things are the big things and music plays an important part.
If you would like to see the rest of my book, you can find them on Goodreads. I struggled a little to decide which books to add to this list becuase out of the 50 books I read, at least 30 of them were great.
And now onto 2018. Where, while I am reading (Currently on The Boy with No Shoes, William Horwood’s memoir) I will also be writing the first draft of my book. I have joined a writing course with the author Joanne Fedler and I aim to have the #tragicfirstdraft completed by November. So keep an eye on this page….
Happy Reading!
This is one of my favourite strips by Bill Waterson. And if we can imagine dancing to classical music at 78rpm at 1 in the morning, then that should be sure enough to bring a smile to our faces!