5 Books I've Loved in 2017 (so far!)
We're already halfway into the year, 6 months in and I've managed to read nearly 20 books already. I wrote a post at the beginning of the year entitled 30 Books To Read Before June 2017 where I went through the bookshelf in my office and chose the books I had on there for a while and wanted to get stuck into, or just that I had seen numerous reviews for but hadn't read it for myself yet. I'm quite happy with how it's gone, I've even rekindled my love with my kindle device which I hadn't for a few years now.
I hadn't read much during May so I decided to use that to write about the 5 books I've loved already this year and I'll catch you up on my quick reviews on the latest books I've at the end of June. For this post I've decided to draw on their reviews from the monthly reads instalment so you have my initial impressions of the books and why I chose them to be part of this post.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngzoi Adichie ★★★★★ [Read in March]
During March I was drawn to this book whilst at work, instructed to read it and see what I thought. I managed to read the short book in just over an hour. If your interested in understanding Feminism and developing your own understanding and opinions on the subject then this book is for you. It's quite good for young people to watch too. This book for me nailed it on the head with the idea of what does Feminist mean today?
This book is a personal, well argued essay - adapted from the author's much-viewed TEDx talk entitled with the same name. It's definitely a book you need to have a read of and then pass it onto others.
All The Good Things by Clare Fisher ★★★★★ [Read in March]
This book has now been released and is honestly one that you should definitely give a read of when it's released. The story focuses on twenty-one year old Beth who is in prison. The crime she has committed is so serious that you'll think she doesn't deserve to leave the prison walls. Her councillor Erika just won't give up on her. In the chapters we experience all the good things in her life. But in the end Beth must confront what she did wrong. When we read and experience the events unravel amongst the pages it's hard not to feel emotionally involved in Beth's story, as well as being gripped by Clare's writing style.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngzoi Adichie ★★★★★ [Read in March]
During March I was drawn to this book whilst at work, instructed to read it and see what I thought. I managed to read the short book in just over an hour. If your interested in understanding Feminism and developing your own understanding and opinions on the subject then this book is for you. It's quite good for young people to watch too. This book for me nailed it on the head with the idea of what does Feminist mean today?
This book is a personal, well argued essay - adapted from the author's much-viewed TEDx talk entitled with the same name. It's definitely a book you need to have a read of and then pass it onto others.
All The Good Things by Clare Fisher ★★★★★ [Read in March]
This book has now been released and is honestly one that you should definitely give a read of when it's released. The story focuses on twenty-one year old Beth who is in prison. The crime she has committed is so serious that you'll think she doesn't deserve to leave the prison walls. Her councillor Erika just won't give up on her. In the chapters we experience all the good things in her life. But in the end Beth must confront what she did wrong. When we read and experience the events unravel amongst the pages it's hard not to feel emotionally involved in Beth's story, as well as being gripped by Clare's writing style.
I enjoyed the change between different points in Beth's life from the past to the present, it wasn't distracting from the initial plot line and worked so well.
The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins ★★★★★ [Read in January]
After months of hearing amazing things about this book I finally caved into the hype and read this over the New Year, I could not put it down. Why didn't I pick it up sooner? Having read Gone Girl back in 2016 I found myself drawn to the thriller element of books more regularly. If you haven't read this book it follows Rachel Watson as she catches a daily glimpse into the lives of 'perfect' couple, Scott and Megan from the window of her daily commute. One day, Megan goes missing and is feared dead. Rachel who is a troubled woman begins her own investigation into what happened with Megan, but it comes to close to home.
Whilst it's conclusion was slightly predictable (I did work it out quite quickly), I loved how Paula captured this troubled young woman and her relationships with other individuals during her investigation. If you haven't read it already, what are you waiting for?
Ctrl, Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon ★★★★★ [Read in February]
I'm a mahoosive fan of Emma, across all social media platforms as well as her incredible podcast that I always want to listen more of so her book was definitely something I have been excited to read since it's release in 2016. Emma writes a book containing so much of my history with the internet too, I can relate so well to it's content. It talks about MSN which I personally wish was still around to around to laugh at these days as well as the rise in online dating apps.
I think Emma has an incredible way of writing and being able to grab the attention of our generation. I couldn't put it down and have been telling all of my favourite bloggers to make sure they read it sometime this year. I can't wait to keep hold of this book and share it with my children when they're growing up. The internet has influenced so much of my life growing up and Emma has managed to capture all the good things in this book. Would love for her to write more books in the upcoming future definitely.
Ctrl, Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon ★★★★★ [Read in February]
I'm a mahoosive fan of Emma, across all social media platforms as well as her incredible podcast that I always want to listen more of so her book was definitely something I have been excited to read since it's release in 2016. Emma writes a book containing so much of my history with the internet too, I can relate so well to it's content. It talks about MSN which I personally wish was still around to around to laugh at these days as well as the rise in online dating apps.
I think Emma has an incredible way of writing and being able to grab the attention of our generation. I couldn't put it down and have been telling all of my favourite bloggers to make sure they read it sometime this year. I can't wait to keep hold of this book and share it with my children when they're growing up. The internet has influenced so much of my life growing up and Emma has managed to capture all the good things in this book. Would love for her to write more books in the upcoming future definitely.
Ice Cream for Breakfast by Laura Jane Williams ★★★★★ [Read in May]
I haven't actually reviewed this book for the blog yet, it'll be coming at the end of June but I'll leave my initial thoughts here. Not only does it come with the most pretty front cover and best title but it's a book that really embraces the child like behaviour that definitely gets lost along the way as we grow up. I couldn't put it down and was really engaged in Laura's writing style and relation back to when she worked as a nanny. The short snippets on quotes or words of advice were really comforting and I took a lot of positivity away from this book. I've encouraged so many people to get their hands on it since, it's so good!
I haven't actually reviewed this book for the blog yet, it'll be coming at the end of June but I'll leave my initial thoughts here. Not only does it come with the most pretty front cover and best title but it's a book that really embraces the child like behaviour that definitely gets lost along the way as we grow up. I couldn't put it down and was really engaged in Laura's writing style and relation back to when she worked as a nanny. The short snippets on quotes or words of advice were really comforting and I took a lot of positivity away from this book. I've encouraged so many people to get their hands on it since, it's so good!
Do you have any favourite reads of this year so far?