Year Five: A Reading Renaissance

I've heard it said that birthdays become less important when you get older and it looks like it was true of my blog's birthday this year - I totally forgot about it!  Nevermind, less than a month late, so the cake won't be too stale nor the champers too flat.

To be fair, the reason I lost track was because I was doing what I was supposed to be doing (reading, just in case you were wondering!).  After a very quiet patch at the start of this year (four books in four months - rubbish!), I've suddenly read four books in a month.  Amazing what some nice weather and longer days can do for finding time to read.

But there is more to it than that.  Despite my best intentions, I've always found it hard to buy fewer books and concentrate on just reading the ones I've already got.  And, to be honest, the self-inflicted pressure and guilt was getting me down.  On the one hand, I wanted to read what I'm lucky enough to already have, but, equally, brilliant things are being published all the time.  My love of reading comes from curiosity and I simply couldn't help being interested in what various new publications had to say.

So I've come to a decision... to go a bit easier on myself.  Rather than worrying about what I'm reading, my new focus is on just... reading.  It's better for me to be spending time reading something that I really, really want to read than struggling distractedly through something just because I've had it for a while.  As I'm sure you've found, every book has it's day and while you may not be in the mood for something one week, you may be the next.  I picked up 'The King's General' by Daphne du Maurier three times before I read it all the way through and then I absolutely loved it.  But I wasn't in the right frame of mind during attempts one and two.

I have read 26 books over the past 12 months, 24 of which I've posted about.  About 12 of these titles were published since I started this blog, but I will always find it hard to resist a new Bernard Cornwell ('Warriors of the Storm'), Caitlin Moran ('Moranifesto'), Neil Gaiman or Philippa Gregory.

Hopefully you've found something interesting among what I've been reading lately.  I'm nothing if not varied!  Sixteen titles were non-fiction, including Antonia Fraser's biography of Marie Antoinette (only took me seven years to finish, partly because it's such a heartbreaking story, partly because it's flamin' massive.), 'It's All in Your Head' (Fascinating book about psychosomatic illnesses which has started off an interest in science that has lain dormant since school) and 'My Grandfather would have Shot Me' (Thought-provoking story of a black woman who discovered her ancestor was a notorious Nazi concentration camp commandant).  The ten fiction books I've read included favourites such as short stories and historical fiction, but I'm glad to say I finally got around to 'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' (recommended to me by so many people I've lost count) and 'Pet Semetary' (incredibly waiting to be read for nearly 15 years).

Unusually, I had three absolute favourite books this year.  As well as 'It's All in Your Head' and 'My Grandfather would have Shot Me', I absolutely loved 'Animal QC' by the most unlikely barrister around, Gary Bell.  His story is, without a doubt, completely nuts, but is also one that shows what you can do with drive, focus and hard work.  Call me old fashioned, but I like stories which remind us success is not just about getting the girl/boy, passing that exam or winning a competition.

I also dipped my toe once more into a bit of travel writing in 2015 and the resulting post, 'In Search of Wuthering Heights', is far and away the most popular piece I've ever posted.  I'm really glad you enjoyed it, it was hard work walking up that hill!  It really was a fantastic day out and I'd thoroughly recommend it to Bronte fans and people who like getting some fresh air once in a while.  I've got a couple more pieces about book-related places in the pipeline, so watch this space.

Well, it looks like I'm going to have plenty to read and tell you about for a long time yet!  Thank you so much for joining me in this project and I hope you keep enjoying the blog for a long time to come.

Now, back to Poldark 5!

The 500 Books Blog: Selections from 2015/16

May
'Marie Antoinette' by Antonia Fraser

June 
'In Town' by Mark Steel

July
'It's All in your Head' by Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan
'My Grandfather would have Shot Me' by Jennifer Teege
'Diamonds are Forever' by Ian Fleming

August
'The Spy who Loved Me' by Ian Fleming
'In Search of Wuthering Heights'

September
'The Kingmaker's Daughter' by Philippa Gregory

October
'The Library of Unrequited Love' by Sophie Divry
'Just a Phrase I'm Going Through' by David Crystal
'Sandwich Man' by John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich

November
'A Book for Her' by Bridget Christie
'Jeremy and Amy' by Jeremy Keeling
'Warriors of the Storm' by Bernard Cornwell

December
'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King
'Animal QC' by Gary Bell

January
'Little Tales of Misogyny' by Patricia Highsmith

February
'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' by Daphne du Maurier
'Wishful Drinking' by Carrie Fisher
'To Kill a Mocking-Bird' by Harper Lee

April
'Moranifesto' by Caitlin Moran

Previous Birthday Posts

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011

Review of the Year 2015

Early happy New Year everyone!  How has 2015 been for you?  Bit too exciting if you ask me - marauding vikings on and off the page, Poldark showing off his pecs in the Cornish countryside (don't remember THAT in the books!), Bond getting up to his old tricks and tonnes of fab new fiction and non-fiction to get me all distracted.

I did manage to read the minimum target 24 books (yay!), but 11 of those were either freshly published or new acquisitions (boo!). Such a shame when I got the balance right in 2014, reading an extra 10 or so books, but still finishing 24 from the list.  Definitely want to try and do better in the coming months.

Hopefully you've found something interesting among what I've read in 2015.  I'm quite pleased that there's a good variety in what I've covered, but classics are still rare.  After my fascinating trip to Haworth, the Bronte Parsonage Museum and the surrounding moors ('In Search of Wuthering Heights'), I'm hoping to get in some novels by the famous sisters in 2016.  And visit some more literary locations!

James Bond and historical fiction are still making regular appearances and I'm close to finishing both Ian Fleming's books and Philippa Gregory's Cousins War series.  Hopefully I can do this next year too and move on to another great series.

A few favourite genres and writers have disappeared completely recently, though, including Science Fiction and Daphne Du Maurier.  Perhaps in getting distracted by some great new publications I've missed the brilliant books already on my shelves.  Something to be careful of in 2016!

Almost unbelievably, next year will mark the fifth anniversary of this blog and my project.  A big thank you to all the friends, readers, writers and publishers who have given such great feedback and support here and on Twitter (@500_Books) over the years.  A special mention has to go to the lovely and glittery Lucy Porter, who thoroughly embarrassed me by looking at my Twitter feed while I was stood in front of her at a literary festival event.  Nearly as embarrassing as when I met Nigella Lawson at a book signing and couldn't think of anything to say... but that's another story.

Anyway, big love, bookworms!  Wishing you all a fabulous new year and I look forward to seeing you again in 2016!

Reviews of the Year

2012
2013
2014

2015: A Year in Books

January
'The Empty Throne' by Bernard Cornwell

February
'So, Anyway...' by John Cleese
'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming (Audiobook)
'The Victorian Chaise-Longue' by Marghanita Laski

March
'Goldfinger' by Ian Fleming
'Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism' by Natasha Walter

April 
'When I Met You' by Jemma Forte
'So, You've Been Publicly Shamed' by Jon Ronson

May
'Marie Antoinette: The Journey' by Antonia Fraser

June
'In Town' by Mark Steel
'Be Brilliant Every Day' by Andy Cope and Andy Whitaker

July
'It's All in Your Head' by Suzanne O'Sullivan
'My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me' by Jennifer Teege
'Diamonds are Forever' by Ian Fleming (Audiobook)
'The Spy who Loved Me' by Ian Fleming (Audiobook)

August
'A Book for Her' by Bridget Christie
'The Kingmaker's Daughter' by Philippa Gregory

September
'The Library of Unrequited Love' by Sophie Divry

October
'Just a Phrase I'm Going Through' by David Crystal
'Jeremy and Amy' by Jeremy Keeling

November
'Warriors of the Storm' by Bernard Cornwell
'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King

December
'Animal QC: My Preposterous Life' by Gary Bell
'Little Tales of Misogyny' by Patricia Highsmith - Coming Soon!

Three is a Magic Number...

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday The Girl Who Loves Books blog... Happy birthday to you!

So here we are, three years old, toddling about, asking annoying questions, learning how to tell the time and throwing tantrums (mainly because I can count and I'm starting to grasp the task ahead of me).

But it's not all doom and gloom!  In fact, 2013/14 has actually been pretty good.  Even during the lulls I've managed to read at least one book a month and, appropriately for the third year, I read three or more books in December, February and March.  In total, I've hit my two a month target and read 24 books. Yippee!

I've also read two book series (the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell and the Oryx and Crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood) and am two titles off finishing the Cousin's War series by Philippa Gregory.  I've also made a start on the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming.  I've managed to get my sticky fingers on some of the excellent 007 Reloaded audio books by AudioGo, which is getting me going on these books and really helping me make progress.  I don't want to make a habit of it, but everyone likes having a story read to them from time to time and it means I can keep working on the list even when I don't have time to sit down with an actual book.

As mentioned in my 2013 review post, however, there is a slight snag.  I've read a lot of books that weren't on my list and/or are new.  Certainly something to work on this year.  Especially as I've had a count up and realised that I've got a few more books than I thought.  Ooh err.

So, in the next year I want to stay focussed on the list, keep reading at least two books a month (or ideally more) and work on series of books as this is clearly helping and I do have several sets on my shelves.  I also want to get better at a) blogging more regularly and b) blogging more quickly after finishing a book as I think I've got a bit rubbish at doing this again.  After all, I should've written this post on 5th May 2014...

Last but far from least, a big thank you to you for reading my blog.  I hope you're still enjoying it and appreciate your support and encouragement.  If you have any feedback, you can find me on Twitter as @Girl_LovesBooks.

Now, where's that birthday cake...

Previously from the Girl Who Loves Books...

June

'The Unknown Ajax' by Georgette Heyer

July

'The Lady of the Rivers' by Philippa Gregory

'The White Queen' by Philippa Gregory

August

'Will Storr vs The Supernatural' by Will Storr

'The Red Queen' by Philippa Gregory

September

'The Year of the Flood' by Margaret Atwood

'Maddaddam' by Margaret Atwood

October

'The Burning Land' by Bernard Cornwell

'Death of Kings' by Bernard Cornwell

December

'Dracula' by Bram Stoker

'You Made me Late Again!" by Pam Ayres

'The House We Grew up In' by Lisa Jewell

'Him and Me' by Michael and Jack Whitehall

January
'Alex and Me' by Irene M. Pepperberg

February
'Romps, Tots and Boffins' by Robert Hutton
'The Pagan Lord' by Bernard Cornwell
'For Your Eyes Only' by Ian Fleming

March
'The Devil in the Marshalsea' by Antonia Hodgson
'Gin O' Clock' by HM The Queen of Twitter
'The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate' by Neil Davey

April
'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming
'Bird Box' by Josh Malerman

May
'Mr Briggs' Hat' by Kate Colquhoun
'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming

Birthday Blogs
2013
2012
The First Post

Happy Birthday!

It is a year to the day I started this blog!  Whoop, whoop!  Let the party poppers pop, the songs be sung and the cake be eaten!!

OK, maybe I should tone down the celebrations just a little.  To be honest, I've not really done as well as I'd have hoped, but, let's face it, this bookworm was never going to change her spots (or whatever worms have!) overnight!

I have made some progress though and I'm pleased with that.  I've not bought anything like as many books as I did before starting this project, so my list of things to read hasn't grown that much really.  Honest!

I've also have read some amazing books since May 2011, some of which had been sat on my shelves for years literally gathering dust.  'Brave New World', 'The Help' and 'Jilted Generation' immediately spring to mind.  I really can't believe I let these gems just sit there for so long.  It does give me hope, however, that there are probably a lot more goodies just waiting there to be picked up and read.  If that doesn't give me the energy to keep going, I don't know what will.

So, time for a bit of maths.  In the last 12 months, I've ready 23 books.  Not quite two a month then.  If I carry on at that rate, that means it's going to take me nearly 20 years to read everything.  Just as well I can self-censor, I wouldn't want anyone knowing what words spin through my head at the thought of that.  Picking up the pace would seem like a good idea!

One thing I have learned in the last year, though, is that my greatest enemy is my own curiosity.  I love to read because I want to know about things, which is a nice thing to want, but an impossible thing to achieve.  Also, being nosy means that I am quite easily distracted.  Y'know, by the usual sorts of things, but mainly what I could read next and things on the web.  Don't get me wrong, the internet is an amazing thing that I'm very grateful for, but it can be rather distracting!  Equally, if I don't understand something I read, it can be a useful tool.  So, swings and roundabouts.

Every new year should begin with a resolution, so here's mine.  I'm going to be a lot more focussed in the next 12 months.  And I'm going to aim for at least two books a month (I think that's the least I should do).  But, to  be fair to myself, I think I also need to be more ruthless.  If I'm not getting on with a book, I need to know when I'm beaten.  I really think that every book has its time.  Sometimes you're just not at the right place in your life to fully understand and get the most out of something.  So I need to learn to recognise that too.  Then perhaps I won't take two months to read a book of short stories.

Very importantly, thank you very much to everyone, friends and strangers, who has encouraged me in my project so far.  I hope you're enjoying the blog and the tweets (@Girl_LovesBooks) and you'll stick with me for just a bit longer!