radiosarahc posted: " The first month of 2023 is complete! As per, January did feel like it was actually two months long, but we've made it and here I am again, attempting to make my monthly bookish recaps/mini reviews a regular thing. I've managed to make a decen" Sarah Collins Bookworm
As per, January did feel like it was actually two months long, but we've made it and here I am again, attempting to make my monthly bookish recaps/mini reviews a regular thing.
I've managed to make a decent start to my reading goals for the year. I got through six books this month, two were on my anticipated reads list and one from my beat the backlist challenge. I've also managed to stay up to date (ish) with my posts – gold stars all round I reckon.
So here's what I've been reading….
A theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson
A Greek island in the 60s filled with bohemian, creative types, and a cameo by Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne.
Enjoyable, loved the setting, loved Samson's descriptions. I wanted to be on a hot sunny island rather than in cold, damp Rossendale while reading BUT this book missed the mark for me.
I did get a bored in places, the characters started to irritate me and there was a limit about how gossip and bitchiness I could read about, I reached my limit on unnecessary drama.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
A book that caught my attention last year, around the time everyone else was reading it, I put it off for months.
Don't be put off by the gaming element of it, I understood it and followed it and I am not a gamer, nor do I have any interest in it.
I'd say it's more a story of friendship and the challenges that can face when, you work together and become successful, throw on top of that general life experiences too.
It's filled with great characters and spans decades, it is a great read, I get the hype surrounding this one.
The first of my anticipated reads and my first Rachel Hawkins book.
A mystery/thriller set in an Italian villa in the summer (I must be craving the sun), a dual timeline in the present day and 70s, a nod to Mary Shelley and intriguing characters.
I think The Villa is a marmite book, mainly down to the fact that the characters aren't exactly likeable. I loved it, I liked the twists and turns, I was fully invested in solving the mystery of 1974.
Read it for the context, none of the passages that have been poured over in the media are as they've been made to appear – CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING!
I finished this thinking, "yeah, Hazzer, I get why you've done this. Fair play, be happy". I also thought thank fuck I'm not a royal, it sounds bloody awful.
I do wish I'd had the audiobook instead; I've been made aware of him putting on accents and now I feel as though I've missed out.
On my beat the backlist challenge and oh my god, I don't know why I waited so long to read it.
Pembe and Adem Toprak leave Turkey for London. There they make new lives for their family. Yet the traditions and beliefs of their home come with them - carried in the blood of their children, Iskender and Esma. Trapped by past mistakes, the Toprak children find their lives torn apart and transformed by a brutal and chilling crime.
Again, a story that spans decades, it is stunning, thought provoking and tackles some really big themes, I can't wait to share my review of this one with you it is one of those books that leaves a lasting impact on it's reader and will leave you thinking about after you've finished it.
And a TV show I became obsessed with in the space of an hour…..Happy Valley.
Ten years after it started, I decided to watch Happy Valley on the BBC, mainly because the third series started on New Year's Day and for the first time, the adverts caught my eye.
A bonus to starting a TV show as the final series begins is that you don't wait years, seven in the case of Happy Valley, in between series. It's a genius move in my opinion.
Its ironically named, this is not a happy TV show, in fact it's bit bloody grim in places, but it is superb!
I have now caught up to the TV and am essentially counting down the hours until Sunday's final, ever episode.
If you like gritty British crime dramas, Yorkshire, complex characters and magnificent performances, then watch Happy Valley but be warned there are some disturbing scenes throughout.
So, that was my January, I hope yours has been good to you too.
If you read any of the above books or are also hooked on Happy Valley, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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