It's been a fair wee while since I last blogged. Unfortunately work and home life has taken over and, along with the holiday season I have felt a bit overwhelmed with it all. I am back and hoping to make 2018 the year of the blog.
I have read quite a few books since I last blogged so I am not going to go through all of them as that would make this a verrrrry long blog post! I will summarise my favourites and how my overall Goodreads reading challenge went last year.
In November last year I was struggling to decide what to spend my monthly Audible credit on. It was one of those days that I needed to start a new audiobook but also didn't really have anything on my radar. At work someone was talking about non-fiction books they had enjoyed and mentioned the book "My Sister Milly" by Gemma Dowler. It documented the family experience of Milly's murder investigation and the trial of Levi Bellfield. The book was brutally honest and a very emotional experience. I gave 5 stars. The quality of the story came from the raw emotion of the writing. I would recommend this to anyone but I would also trigger warn of some mental health issues, murder, missing people and violence (including sexual). It is a heartbreaking read and there were several moments within the narration where I felt that I was intruding on a family's suffering.
Another audiobook I delved into was The Dry by Jane Harper. A lot of what I read is inspired by fellow book bloggers or Booktubers and the recommendations they put out. Along with the mass rave reviews of this book I had also passed by this book in the windows and on the tables of several book stores. I am so glad that I picked it up. It followed the journey of Aaron, a Federal Agent who is called back to his home town in Australia following the death of his best friend, Luke, and his family. I love a crime story every so often. It's not a genre I read a lot of but whenever I get a chance to pick up a good crime story I remember why I love them. This was one of those stories that was so well written that I just could not guess what was going on at any given time. When I realised this was the start of a series I was so, so happy! I can't wait to read the next book!
Finally, and I have to say I have saved the best until last, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. I struggle to think about this book without feeling emotional. This was another non-fiction read which was a memoir of a brain surgeon who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. I found this read so inspirational. The way Paul looked at life and death and the bravery he demonstrated in his honest take on all of the emotions he felt was something everyone should learn from. If I could have given this 10 stars I would have. I broke my heart reading this. Properly ugly crying in parts. Trigger warning for those affected by cancer, death or terminal illnesses.I did complete my Goodreads challenge of 50 books which I am pleased with considering I only properly started it in May last year. This year I have tentatively set my goal at 52 books to read but I definitely need to aim higher than that. I think that it will be no problem to read that many books this year but it depends on how the year plays out.
Coming up: January Wrap Up.
