January Bookish Wrap Up
ID: A graphic with a dark grey background and the words January Bookish Wrap Up in the middle surrounded by some stars, a book stack with a cup of tea on it and a single book.
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Hello friends,
Welcome the first of the new format of my Monthly Wrap Up articles! I realised that trying to do a more favourite based wrap up just wasn’t working for me by the end of last year, as most of the things in my life that I love, don’t really change much from month to month. So rather than simply repeat myself each month ~ that’s not fun for you to read or me to write ~ I’m going to make my wrap ups purely about the books I’ve read within each month. So each month, I’ll write little mini reviews, which will hopefully help those of you that are looking for books read.
Reading Overview:
I managed to physically read a total of 4 books, 2 plays and listen to 1 audiobook in January. I’m so proud of my little broken brain for allowing me to get through so much this month! I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read and feel my reading year has gotten off to a really good start!
Here’s some more details on what I’ve read:
I’ve mentioned before that I have been working my through all of Austen’s novels over the last year and this month I listened to Persuasion. I loved this one so much! The narrator was wonderful, which definitely makes all the difference when you’re listening to a book rather than reading it yourself.
ID: The book Persuasion by Jane Austen. The book has a red cover with a lady on the front and it’s sat on a grey tartan chair.
This story is all about a second chance at love, a concept that I do enjoy but don’t often read about. Our main character is Anne Elliott and her lost love is Captain Wentworth and I have to say, while I love Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, I think Anne and Wentworth are my favourite Austen characters! Once these two are back together in society, there’s definitely a will they / won’t feel to each interaction and at times I felt so frustrated, in a good way. I have two more Austen novels to go and Persuasion has definitely overtaken Pride and Prejudice as my favourite.
Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman {The Illuminae Files #1}
I finally decided to make The Iluminae Files series a priority this month and I was so glad I did because wow did I love it! All three books are written in a mixed media form, made up of reports, surveillance footage transcripts, personal messages and emails and it’s these that tell the story.
In this first book, we follow Kady and Ezra who have broken up at the beginning of the book and then their planet is attacked and they then have to work together to figure out how to survive and try to piece together what was going on aboard the ships they’re on. Once in space, they realise they’re being pursued and as you read the book, you’re given a countdown every now and then, which really adds to the fact that all the characters are on a clock.
I really enjoyed the dynamic of the characters, their relationships and interactions felt very realistic, which I feel is something this author duo do well. While Kady and Ezra are trying to figure out how to come up with a plan to save everyone, there’s still that element of them being 17/18 years old and having to deal with all the feelings that go with being in a relationship and going through a very fresh break up and that made these two more believable and made me root for them more as well. Kady herself I felt is just a powerhouse of a character, her will to just keep going was wonderful to read.
I do have one element of this book that I want mention because although I do feel it may be a bit of a spoiler, because we are living in a time of a pandemic, I just want to mention that there is a virus outbreak featured quite heavily in certain parts of this story. Although this outbreak is the result of a bioweapon so obviously very different to the current situation, I know some of you would rather avoid anything that mentions viruses right now, so I wanted to let you know about this.
Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman {The Illuminae Files #2}
This is an usual second book as we have an all new set of characters to get to know. This book is set on the space station that the ships in the first book are heading for. However, within the first book there’s an element of wondering if everything is okay on the station as they haven’t received any answers to their hails and distress calls.
ID: A book stack of Illuminae, Gemina and Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. The spines of books are showing and one is red/orange, one is blue and one is grey/white/black. The stack are sat on a grey tartan chair.
So Gemina is the story of the space station and why they haven’t responded to the hails of the ships in the first book. There’s a mixed bunch of characters within this book, all of varied backgrounds and dynamics but they work really well together and again nothing in their interactions feel forced. Our main characters this time are Hanna and Nick, who have an interesting relationship and are thrown together in a very dangerous situation. I really enjoyed watching their friendship grow through the book and while I love Kady and Ezra from the first book, I felt Hanna and Nick held their own as characters in equal strength, despite being quite different.
Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman {The Illuminae Files #3}
In this final instalment of the The Illuminae Files Series, everything from the first two books comes together. As this is the last book, I’m going to to go into detail about the plot or the characters really I definitely don’t want to spoil anything.
All I will say is that the twists, turns and action keep coming and keep you on your toes for sure. There’s a number of moral issues that come up within this final book so there are moment that really make you stop and think. Overall I thoroughly loved this series, I found the mixed media made all three a really fresh feeling read and I think reading one after the other helped kept the action and momentum of the story going.
At times when I finish a series, I am sometimes left feeling a little flat and while I was sad when I did reach the end, it purely because I had been enjoying it so much. Everything is tied up and while I would love another book purely because I enjoyed the cast of characters so much, I wasn’t left wanting in anyway, if that makes sense. It’ll definitely be a series that I’ll be re-reading in the future.
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury, Translated by Ros Schwartz
Where do I even start with this book?! One of the first things I wrote about this book in my Reading Journal was that this book felt like a hug every time I read some and still thinking about this book, gives me such a feeling of comfort that I can’t quite describe!
It’s a book that is essentially about books, the love of books and how books can impact someone’s life in such a big and meaningful way. The story itself is set around the idea of sending books off into the world for people to benefit from and mentions a site called Book Crossing, which is a site that you can sign up to, register any books you want to send into the world and then you can track them to see where they end up.
ID: The book The Girl Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury. The book has a blue cover with a picture of a Parian street on the front and it’s sat on a grey tartan chair.
So we have a character named Soliman who does just this, but rather than using a website, he has people who come to him, collect a stack of books and then they give them to people who they feel need that book. Our main character, Juilette, becomes one of these people but she also becomes more involved in Soliman’s life and that of his daughter. It’s a just lovely story about people who love books basically, but what makes this book extra special is the writing and the fact that I read a translated copy makes it extra extra special because I don’t feel anything is lost in this book going from French to English at all. Both author and translator have done an amazing job!
The descriptive language used in this book to refer to the books makes them feel alive and that they’re actually characters themselves. The way the author describes how they feel when being carried and that they have a wanting to be read is beautifully done. There’s even one moment when Soliman talks about how hard it is to let go of a book and that he has to say goodbye, almost like the book is person and he has to embrace it and have a moment with it before it goes on its way.
This is definitely a book for book lovers. I told my book club co-host about it when I was about 40 pages in to it because I knew she had to read this book and we ended up gushing over it to everyone at our latest meet up!
The Tempest / The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
As I had a few days before the start of February, but not enough days to pick up another novel, I decided to make a start of my Shakespeare reading. I started with The Tempest, which I enjoyed and remember most of from studying it in Sixth Form. Prospero and Miranda are interesting characters and even though its not the longest of Shakespeare’s plays, you get a good sense of who they are, along with the other characters. Overall, I enjoyed re-reading it after many years.
ID: The book William Shakespeare Complete Works. The book has a beige cover with flowers down the spine and it’s sat on a grey tartan chair.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona was quite enjoyable, with enough drama, comedy and intrigue to keep your attention and in some parts had elements of Romeo and Juliet, with Valentine being banishèd and Silvia’s father trying to make her marry someone else and she has no say in the matter! Again, it’s not a long one and has a good mix of characters that you’ll either love or hate because of how Shakespeare wrote them. There are something lines that wouldn’t be acceptable for today but at the time it was written, they were sadly deemed okay. So just something to be aware of if you fancy reading this one.
So those are all the books I’ve managed to read in January. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my mini reviews of them and enjoyed the first of this new Wrap Up format ~ I’ve enjoyed writing it.
I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought of them, so feel free to leave me a comment.
I have an interesting mixed of books I’m hoping to reading this month and I’m looking forward to sharing my thought on the ones I’ve managed to read at the beginning of March!
Stay Safe. Read More!
L x
