Tag: Round Up

What I Read In January 2019!

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It’s time for the first reading wrap up of 2019, yippie! January is not a great month so I try to read as much as possible to escape the horrible outside, boo.

This month I managed to read 9 books; 4 physical books, 2 graphic novels, 2 audiobooks and 1 kindle read. Not bad, not bad at all. So, let’s get into what I thought.

Becoming Michelle Obama

Becoming – Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama just seems like a wonderful human and as soon as I heard this was being released it was on my wishlist.

Originally, I tried the audiobook but just felt it didn’t work for me so I switched to a physical copy. This is a really inspiring story and although the beginning was a little slow I still enjoyed it and gave it 5 stars.

You Are A Badass At Making Money

You Are A Badass At Making Money – Jen Sincero

There are few books you can claim changed the way you think, this is one of them. After a friend sent me this to listen to I was obsessed with it. Sincero talks about money, how we view money as a society and how to get past those mental blocks.

I appreciate it’s not for everyone but I loved this and gave it 4 stars.

Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng

Celeste Ng is one of those authors I kept hearing about, so seeing this for £3 I thought I might as well pick it up.

This is great if you like family based drama and mystery. Lydia, the perfect girl of the family is found dead in a possible suicide. We see how this impacts the family and try and find out what really happened.

This was okay, a decent plot but not something that got me super invested in the characters and I did feel the ending was a little lax. I gave it 3 stars.

Unnatural Vol 1

Unnatural, Vol 1 Awakening – Mirka Andolfo

A new graphic novel with themes of segregation, the idea of the ‘perfect family’, oh and they’re all animals. This also gets pretty steamy, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone! 4 stars.

Saga Vol 8

Saga Volume 8 – Fiona Staples and Brian K Vaughan

It’s number 8 in the series so I can hardly say anything at all but this broke my heart at times, I’ve heard the next in the series will crush me. 5 stars.

Notes to Self Emilie Pine

Notes To Self – Emiline Pine

A full review to come but this is a thought-provoking and altogether wonderful collection of essays. With difficult topics and brutal honesty, I’m a big fan of Emiline Pine now. 5 Stars

Born Lippy How To Do Female

Born Lippy – How To Do Female – Jo Brand

A fun insight into womanhood thanks to none other than Jo Brand. This is dry, witty and at times made me laugh out loud while listening. I would definitely recommend the audiobook for an extra kick. 4 stars.

An Absolute Remarkable Thing

An Absolutely Remarkable Think – Hank Green

I’ve been waiting to read this for so long, so of course, I was super excited to get it for Christmas. Buuuuut, it fell a little short for me, I really struggled with the protagonist for the majority of the book.

Not a bad debut and I probably will pick up the next book in the series just to see where it goes but right now this got a 3.5 from me.

Pop Star Jihadi

Pop Star Jihadi – Nick Tyrone

I received this book from Midas PR after being asked if I would be interested in reading. This is an incredibly well written and intelligent piece of fiction.

How would we react to a teen superstar blowing themselves up at their own concert, killing nearly 100 fans. Who would we believe? Would mob mentality take over? 4.5 stars.

February Book Wrap Up

February Wrap Up!

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Here we are again with another month worth of reading! Just like January, I managed to get a good number of books in…9! So here’s my monthly round up for you all!

Brave – Rose McGowan

Almost everyone has heard the name Rose McGowan in the past few months. This is the story of her life and the ‘cult of Hollywood’ as she describes it. The first woman to speak out against Harvey Weinstein after he raped her and started a movement. I gave this 5 stars, a tough but much-needed read.

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas

Last month I couldn’t help but rave about the amazing A Court of Thorns and Roses last month (review to come) I had to read the next one as soon as possible. This was the biggest one in the trilogy and I loved it, I’m 100% a fan of the series. This one also got 5 stars.

Clean – Juno Dawson

I used to like Juno Dawson’s books but this one just wasn’t good in my opinion. It made me incredibly angry and I don’t want to say anymore because there’s no point in being mean but nope, would not recommend. This got 2 stars.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay looks at the body in this non-fiction book, specifically hers and what our impressions are of ‘fat’ bodies. She talks about how being raped impacted her and how she now feels about her body. I gave it 3 stars.

Time Bomb – Joelle Charbonneau

This was an advance reader copy I received on Netgalley. The story focuses on a range of different characters and their perspectives of being inside their high school when a bomb goes off. They all need to work together while trying to protect themselves. This was an ok book, I read it quite quickly but I didn’t think it was that memorable!  This one got 3 stars.

But You Did Not Come Back – Marceline Loridan-Ivens

This was heartbreaking, really, really heartbreaking. This is a letter from Marceline to her father who was murdered in Auschwitz after they were separated. The things she would have told him in response to a letter he managed to get smuggled to her in the camp. I picked this up in passing and I’m so glad I did, it’s something that needs to be read. I gave this 5 stars.

Why Have Kids? – Jessica Valenti

I’ve read Valenti’s work before in Sex Object but this was different. I don’t have children but found this interesting from both sides. This would be a very controversial read but I still enjoyed it. That could change later on in my life. I gave it 3 stars.

A Court of Wings and Ruin – Sarah J Maas

The final piece of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. This didn’t go exactly how I thought it would but it was still brilliant. I couldn’t wait to get through and see what happened at the end. I’m glad there’s a 4th book coming soon!

This is Really Happening – Erin Chack

Buzzfeed writer Erin Chack wrote a collection of essays about her working life, having Cancer at the age of 19 and meeting her partner whilst still a teenager. I listened to this and I enjoyed it but at times it felt a little all over the place, which is why I gave it 3 stars.

Mysogynation – Laura Bates 

I’m still reading this at the time of writing this post BUT once again Laura Bates has written brilliantly. The book is a collection of pieces she has written and published. So far, so good!

Don’t forget if you want to keep up with what I’m reading we can connect on Goodreads! What are you reading at the moment? Let me know in the comments below!