2018 Reads #04
I wrote a post at the beginning of Summer entitled The 10 Books I'll Be Reading This Summer and I have a confession to make.. I didn't read any of the books on the list. oops. In all honesty, I just enjoyed reading physical books (all of the books on the list were on my Kindle) and half of the time I forgot to charge my Kindle in time for a new read. I do plan to read those books by the end of the year though so there will be a review sometime!
I have enjoyed the last 4 books I've read a lot and I can't wait to share them with you. Grab yourself a cuppa and get stuck into my latest roundup of reads this year.
This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay | ☆☆☆☆☆
"Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you."
Easily one of the best books I've read this year. I had seen hype of this book circulating for a while so I finally got my hands on it! The book has a great balance of funny and heartwarming, whilst also being heartbreaking and disillusioned. This is the first book that I get a enjoyment in reading out loud to my boyfriend or family, especially the parts that tickled me. It's a true account of the rollercoaster of emotions and an accurate description of the NHS. The stories come from someone who was amongst the action.
The diary experts are the best way of portraying these experiences and that alone made it quite a simplistic read to get stuck into. It gave me so many thoughts about the NHS and an acknowledgement of appreciation for everything that they do.
The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett | ☆☆☆
I grabbed this book whilst browsing one of our local charity bookshops during the Summer. I have been intrigued by this story since the film adaption in 2015 (I haven't watched it yet) but I thought the short story book would be a great place to start. The book is the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived quite happily in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway between the early 1970s until her death in 1989. This short story was consumed in 24 hours and is a funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship with one another. Her eccentric character jumps off the page for me and I wanted to find out so much more about her, other than from the short stories that come from Alan Bennett.
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig | ☆☆☆☆☆
"The world is messing with our minds."
Matt Haig is hands down one of my favourite authors when it comes to discussing mental health and so it wasn't long before I'd get my hands on the latest release, Notes on a Nervous Planet. This book is a personal and vital discussion into how to feel happy, human and whole in such a busy planet. Everyone needs to read this book.
It's not what I would refer to as a self-help book. It's a book that doesn't instruct you on the ways to live a happier, more fulfilled life but rather it makes you aware of how difficult it is living in the modern world when there's a constant of news, notifications and updates right at our fingertips. Accessing information has never been easier and where media is over sensationalised it isn't hard to believe the world is one big disaster and everything in it is going wrong. It offers some great points of discussion and I've found myself creating conversations with friends and family from just reading this book. I couldn't agree more with Matt's writing on social media and how it impacts our mental health, it gave me so many thinking points.
It's Your Time You're Wasting by Frank Chalk | ☆☆☆☆
It's not what I would refer to as a self-help book. It's a book that doesn't instruct you on the ways to live a happier, more fulfilled life but rather it makes you aware of how difficult it is living in the modern world when there's a constant of news, notifications and updates right at our fingertips. Accessing information has never been easier and where media is over sensationalised it isn't hard to believe the world is one big disaster and everything in it is going wrong. It offers some great points of discussion and I've found myself creating conversations with friends and family from just reading this book. I couldn't agree more with Matt's writing on social media and how it impacts our mental health, it gave me so many thinking points.
It's Your Time You're Wasting by Frank Chalk | ☆☆☆☆
Another book from the local charity bookshop I couldn't resist this account of working in education. I work in education so it was no surprise that this would appeal to me. Frank Chalk is a teacher within a poor inner city school - this is a school where the kids get drunk, take drugs and beat up the teachers, when they can be bothered to turn up. I loved this very insightful read into education around 10 or so years ago! It's both terrifying and hilarious in the way it portrays the educational system of the time and I enjoyed tucking into Chalk's experiences as a supply teacher especially. Whilst it's quite old, it's definitely an enjoyable read!
What have you been reading recently?
If you enjoyed reading this post then you may also enjoy reading my last reading roundup, 2018 Reads #03.
What have you been reading recently?
If you enjoyed reading this post then you may also enjoy reading my last reading roundup, 2018 Reads #03.