January Book Haul

I've seen in the new year by prioritising my favourite past time. I was lucky enough to get lots of new books for Christmas as well as having a stack left that I collected over last year. This included some must reads for my A Levels as well as books that had caught my eye on Instagram over the fleeting months. I still have so much to read, I am so looking forward to hopefully getting through everything and much more over the remainder of 2017. For this weeks post, I wanted to share with you what I have read throughout January. I love reading these kind of posts on either blogs or Instagram because it gives me so many ideas regarding what to read next. If you're not a book person, this probably isn't the post for you!

 I saw in the new year reading When The Floods Came by Clare Morrall. This is an absolutely stunning book. The cover is beautiful. The idea is so original. I have never read anything like it. It was so brutally honest yet it had an air of magic about it. It really gets you thinking about the world we live in and how we treat others and our vulnerability as humans. The narrative is captivating. I have already added Morrall's book Swimming Lessons to my 'To Be Read' list because her writing is just so wonderful. I must have finished this in under a week. If you're interested in post-apocalyptic stories, you'd love this. It's so good! 

 After finishing that, I had to give in to my huge pile of Non-Fiction books that were insisting to be read for college. I do find non-fiction books interesting; however, I prefer to get a sense of magic from what I read. I love the feeling you get from reading a good fictional story. I have to commend this writer, though; this book was an absolute life saver in terms of getting to grips with my A Level history subject matter. Tales from the Long Twelfth Century brings to life the events that catalysed the downfall of the Angevin Empire. If you love books and have a passion for History, I would recommend you try this one out. It was testing. I have a habit of not being able to leave a book in the middle of a chapter; so, the long sections of this book left me finding it hard to read if I didn't have much time. It took me a couple of weeks to read this whereas a book of this size would usually take me under a week. It was really useful though and I will definitely try to re-read it before my A2 exams. 

 To reward myself for going the extra history mile, I read the jaw-dropping Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant. This was actually my first Michael Grant book. It's made me really want to read the Gone series if only I could find the time! This is a wonderful book to advocate the idea of social responsibility. I guessed the twist before I got to the end but it was still just as powerful. I read this in a couple of days. I just couldn't put it down! If you're looking for a really gripping read for a weekend or whatever, definitely give this a try. It's dark, haunting and so well done. 

 I've recently been rediscovering my love for fantasy novels after falling head over heels for The Night Circus. I was advised to read Stardust by my Creative Writing lecturer and so I added it to my Christmas Book List. I decided to read it sooner rather than later because the magical theme could help me with my coursework piece for this term. It's such a quirky little book. Again, I was able to read it in a few days. It's really easy to read and just a lot of fun! It's so much better than the film that was made a few years ago. I have watched the film but I couldn't remember it very well so the book brought to life a forgotten story for me and I loved every page. I have added some more Neil Gaiman to my list so I'm excited to get around to those. 

 My final book for my January Book Haul is unfinished but I wanted to include it because I started it just at the end of January. A colleague of mine lent me this book after we bonded over The Night Circus and I absolutely love it. A Discovery of Witches is obviously similar to the Twilight Saga in terms of basic plot line. However, in my opinion, Deborah Harkness does it so much better! It's laced with culture and magic and history; it's as if it was written with me in mind. I haven't finished yet, so I can't say much, but I'm so excited to get to the end and read the rest of the books in the series! 

 I hope you've enjoyed this weeks post and have perhaps been inspired to pick up a book this month! Let me know in the comments if you know of any books I might enjoy. 

 See you next Sunday.