I have really enjoyed participating during January in the Year In Books hosted by Laura at Circle of Pine Trees and am looking forward to continuing throughout the year. The aim is to read at least one book a month.
Unlike most book clubs we usually select the books we wish to read rather than all reading the same, however for February the plan is for as many people as possible to read The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. I was lucky enough to be selected by Laura to receive a free copy of this book from Harper Collins.
My choices for February are:-
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I initially only selected one book to read in January but I did add more books to my January reads as I went through the month.
The first book I read was In Falling Snow. This was a very interesting read. The main character was Iris, an Australian, who travelled to France in WW1 to find her brother who had signed up to fight during WW1 despite not being of age. She intended to find Tom and bring him home. However before she found Tom she discovered an old abbey at Royaumont where a group of women were working to set up a field hospital. Iris decided to stay and help. The story goes back and forth from WW1 to the days back in Australia when Iris was an old woman who had just received an invitation to travel to France once again to attend a reunion at Royaumont. Her granddaughter, a doctor, tried to persuade her that she was too old and frail to make the journey. But does she decide to go?
My second read was Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling. This is a continuation of his book Notes From A Small Island twenty years on. I had heard reports that this was not as good as the first one but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Lots of laugh out loud moments, I found this book hard to put down. Yes, he is more cranky than he used to be but I guess as we get older we all suffer the same fate and I have to say that in many cases I agreed totally with what he was saying. Part of the book was about some areas I know well and he was absolutely spot on with his descriptions.
My third read was The Turning Point by Freya North. I still have about 20% of the book to read so I will review this at the end of February along with my February reads. I have never read one of Freya's books before and am really enjoying it and wondering why I haven't picked one up before.
I think to get through all my February reads I will need to not spend so much time on my iPad during the evenings and crack on with reading earlier than I currently do, when I am usually so tired that I find myself drifting off to sleep before I have read very much.
I was also one of the lucky ones to receive a free copy of Goats and Sheep, I'm looking forward to reading it, but still have about a third of war and peace to go before then!
ReplyDeleteI've loved Freya North since her 3rd book was released. I picked them up from a school book club, three for £5, and have read everything since - and re-read them all a few times too. She is one of my top authors. I highly recommend starting with Polly and then reading chronologically as past characters appear in later books (I love it when authors do that!). I haven't yet read the Turning Point (I'm eagerly awaiting the paperback!).
I read Amy Snow last year and enjoyed it, though the events were quite predictable!
I like to get off the computer early and spend a couple of hours reading before bed. Sometimes I read for an hour or two as soon as I get home, then go back to it later and read a little before bed! It's so satisfying to get in a good evenings reading!
Sorry for the long comment by the way - I seem to have a lot to say about the subject, hehe!
I've just realised I typed Polly above, I meant Sally. Sally is the first Freya North, then it's Chloe, then Polly!
Deletehttp://freyanorth.com/books/
Thank you Louise, I have added them to my list of books that I NEED, the trouble is this list is growing by the day! Must take your advice and put this iPad down and start reading. xx
DeleteI like the look of Amy Snow, unfortunately I never seem to have the time to read much but I do enjoy reading your reviews. :)
ReplyDeleteI have just started The trouble with goats and sheep and loving it so far. Will have to check out your other reads, they look good. Barbara x
ReplyDeleteI like reading books with others as you often read something that you wouldn't normally chose. You have some interesting reading ahead this month.
ReplyDeleteMust make a note of these, not managing to read much at the moment. x
ReplyDeleteA great selection of books. I've enjoyed reading one or two of Freya North's novels and Bill Bryson's too, Notes from a small Island was the first BB I read and I like the look of the new one:)
ReplyDeleteGlad that January was a good months reading for you! I hope that you enjoy Februarys too. I have the BB book, I love his books! xx
ReplyDeleteI adore Bill. I quite liked that he was even crankier. Have you read A Short History Of Nearly Everything? It's his best work. I read it every year. I've bookmarked the goats and sheep book; it looks like my kind of read.
ReplyDeleteLeanne xx
I've never read any Bill Bryson but will definitely add him to my list next time I pop to the library - crankiness comes to us all! Have a happy week. xx
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