This month I started my degree and for three days read nothing for pleasure, concentrating on studying. Initially this was liberating, not being “tied” to a book, but I soon started feeling strangely empty. I’ve got so used to a reading routine, to knowing, if I sit down with nothing to do, that I can continue reading a book. The feeling left me bored with studying and I realised I must stop and find a novel. It worked.

I chose short books that I would get through quickly so I wouldn’t feel bogged down, while at the same time feel I’d made progress and was getting some reading done. Later however, in choosing to start The Fellowship Of The Ring under the weight of some less-than-interesting study subjects, I started to feel unhappy. It took me over two weeks to finish my burden.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

C S Lewis: The Great Divorce – A man travels with others to Heaven to see if they like the idea of staying there. The idea is interesting but Lewis is far too harsh on things that are part of the human condition and should be worked on with care rather than be damned. This is a problem I also found with The Last Battle.

C S Lewis: The Last Battle (The Chronicles Of Narnia) – A quick ending to the series. I didn’t enjoy the ending at all, which you can read about here (not a review and so contains spoilers).

J R R Tolkien: The Fellowship Of The Ring – An unlikely bunch of people travel with an evil ring to get it away from the dark lord. I won’t be reading the rest of the series, at least not for a very long time.

Maile Meloy: Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It – A short story collection about desire and sex. Brilliant writing, some stories the same, but one is very funny.

Maria McCann: The Wilding – On the death of his uncle, a young man goes to find the secret hidden from him, not knowing that there’s more to it than he thought. A very good story told in a unique way.

In compiling this list I realise just how little I’ve enjoyed the books I read this month, apart from The Wilding which I finished yesterday and loved. I need to remedy this in November.

Quotation Report

In The Wilding, though it may be a factual reference to plant life, it’s still rather funny to read that Jon walks out into the ha-ha.

For November I’m going to forget shorter books and choose ones that I’ve heard a lot of good about, namely One Day by David Nicholls – though I may be reading Beside The Sea which while popular is a short book. My course is only going to get more difficult and I need to be reading good books to keep me positive. October was incredibly long and I’ve had a lot to learn, in more ways than one.

Towards the end of September I started rushing, I wanted both to get through more books and to be free and ready to study. This month saw my first two “proper” review requests upheld – as in ones I was approached to write – as well as the beginning of my conscious decision to get back to reading more of my own choice of books rather than those I’d read about. It was a good decision, one which I am going to keep working at, because it renewed my enjoyment of reading, which had become somewhat lost under the idea of what I ought to be reading. I’ve realised that while it’s nice to be able to fully participate in a discussion there is no reason why I cannot create my own discussions.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Alison Weir: Innocent Traitor – Weir uses the material she wrote for her non-fiction to invent a fictional account of Lady Jane Grey’s life. A brilliant slice of history where any gaps are filled by the suppositions of a well-versed author.

Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre – Neglected during childhood, Jane takes up a position as governess for a girl who’s guardian is peculiar but captivating. But there’s something going on at Thornfield Hall and it seems no one knows what it is. Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read, I’d say this has something for everyone.

Julie Buxbaum: After You – An American travels to Britain to look after the family of her murdered best friend, but may aid herself in living more than them. Spoiled by an extremely prejudiced author.

L J Smith: The Forbidden Game – A group of teenagers find themselves in a game of life or death in order to save their friend from an eternity in the shadows. Old school paranormal writing that puts modern releases to shame.

Molly Roe: Call Me Kate – Living with other immigrants, Kate learns about the injustice done to those who wish to be accepted in Civil War era America. Head-strong, she’s not likely to let it go on and do nothing. Great history and an alright debut, Roe shows promise.

Rosy Thornton: The Tapestry Of Love – Divorced for several years, Catherine decides to move to France for a different way of life. She finds it but there may be problems with her location. Not bad but a little too descriptive sometimes.

If you’ve read the above you hardly need ask, Jane Eyre was my favourite this month and it joins Alex Bell’s The Ninth Circle and Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice in the list of books read this year that have joined the ranks of my all time favorites. Jane Eyre was everything I never expected but definitely craved, and I can’t wait to become acquainted with the other Brontë sisters and be able to compare styles. Aside from this success (I suppose it can be called such because it adds a book onto my year-long quest to read classics) I got through my first ebook, Call Me Kate. I read it on two devices, depending on whether I was at home or on the move and while I can’t say I prefer reading that way, I was at least able to get used to it. Reading on my computer screen was better because I couldn’t get to grips with the mobile device’s small screen and fewer words on the page. But yes, I did it, so any moaning I may do about ebooks in future will at least be from the mouth of someone who has experienced it. Incidentally, I will be reviewing Call Me Kate on 14th October. Lastly, as discussed in my review of The Forbidden Game, if you’re sick of Twilight fever and want a bit more sass, check out the work of L J Smith.

Quotation Report

In After You an expectant mother gets teary over a nappy commercial, and in Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester suggests that his dog is more like him than the girl he is guardian of. But perhaps Rochester has better manners than said dog, who waits for no one – when it’s his dinner time he’ll gladly leave his human love birds to their conversation in the middle of a meadow, and trot off back home.

Another of Rochester’s beliefs is that you may never think of hating someone whom you already despise. And just to let you know that if you ever venture to Thornfield Hall you may find his cook in the kitchen looking like she’s about to spontaneously combust from the work given her.

I have one more book lined up for leisurely reading and then I’ll hit the books (as in studying). Farewell pleasant world, you may become cruel yet!

This month saw the arrival of The Little Guy to our family. In addition to The Little Guy I did a crazy work week that left me rather exhausted in the evenings and had a cold which took a few days out of me too; so I’m rather surprised at the amount of reading I managed to do, I reckon my reading speed is increasing.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Catherine Ryan Hyde: Second Hand Heart – A girl has a heart transplant and falls in love at first sight with the husband of her donor. This husband knew it was probably a bad idea to meet the recipient but felt the need to regardless. The ways in which both must learn to live are different yet strangely strung together. A fantastic story told in great bite-sized chapters.

Gayle Forman: If I Stay – An accident leaves every family member but Mia dead; Mia herself finds herself in hospital, but where her body is lying on the bed her spirit drifts. She must decide whether she lives and stays with her boyfriend or dies and joins her parents. Could’ve done with being longer but is good overall.

Jane Austen: Sanditon And Other Stories – A compilation of unfinished stories, childhood novels, and bits and pieces of work. Most of the work is too juvenile and therefore both adult and teenage work bundled together becomes a drag. Sanditon is good however, as is The Watsons and the history of England.

Katherine Webb: The Legacy – Erica and Beth move into their family’s manor house upon the death of their grandmother. Beth is haunted by the disappearance and possible death of their cousin, but it seems Henry isn’t the only one to disappear from Storton Manor. An average book but works well for all seasons.

Sasha Blake: The Wish – Money can’t buy happiness and this a family finds when they are torn apart by a dreadful secret which surrounds and event created by the need for more riches. A good moral but a little predictable.

My favourite this month was Second Hand Heart. At first I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it, I thought it would be hospital-based like If I Stay, but the themes and lessons woven into it were quite something. While my cold wasn’t too bad I read If I Stay and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I’m wondering if this was in part due to my being ill. Certainly the reviews I wrote then (of The Wish and If I Stay) I am not proud of. Sanditon was ok, though I preferred The Watsons, but there were just too many stories in this book. Generally many stories wouldn’t be a problem but where Austen wrote about the same basic subjects they all started to merge into one another. I cannot believe Austen was a Yorkist! But I laughed when it finally hit me that “Anna Bullen” was her spelling of “Anne Boleyn” and respect her greatly for saying that Anne Boleyn wasn’t so guilty as charged.

Quotation Report

A young Jane Austen, on writing Memoirs Of Mr Clifford, believed that a man wanting a big meal to be shared with his servants would be satisfied with an egg. And Austen’s character in the short story Love And Freindship believed that because a girl was plain and called Bridget there was nothing worth talking to her for. While Vida of Second Hand Heart makes the poignant point that love isn’t like Valentines, it’s often ugly like a real heart.

Next month I’m going to be reading in a different manner. For the last two months I’ve been almost completely reading recommendations, which while fine means that I’m not choosing books that appeal to me in the way that I used to, before blogging. So although I’ve a few books here that are fairly new releases and everywhere in the shops I’m going to go back a few years and read books I’ve chosen at random when browsing.

September is going to be busy, I’ll probably be starting a degree so will be preparing for that, and I’ve some work experience I want to apply for, but I’m looking forward to it and hoping the differences will bring me more inspiration.

July was a slow month for me. The book I was sent for review, Prep, was quite long and although I enjoyed it immensely it took me some time to finish it. When I realised it was already mid-July I decided that to make myself feel better I should go back to Narnia for a couple of outings, the short books making it look as though I’d read more than I had.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

C S Lewis: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (The Chronicles Of Narnia) – Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace are pulled into Narnia by a picture and sail with Caspian, now an adult, across seas rarely ventured to search for the seven lords exiled by his treacherous uncle. Featuring a variety of places, this book is a nice easy read.

C S Lewis: The Silver Chair (The Chronicles Of Narnia) – Eustace and his classmate Jill walk into Narnia while trying to escape bullies at school. Caspian is now an old man and his son, the heir, has been missing for years. The children must find him, following the scant information provided by Aslan, a journey that will lead to the lands beyond Narnia. Rather boring for all the time spend underground.

Curtis Sittenfeld: Prep – Having gained a place at a prestigious school on scholarship, Lee discovers, apart from the various usual coming-of-age discoveries, that someone’s class can be difficult to shift – but only because she makes little effort to fit in. This is a good book filled with issues many experience, if a little long and frustrating when the character doesn’t help herself.

Janice Y K Lee: The Piano Teacher – Split between now and then, this is the story of a number of people in Hong Kong at the time of World War 2. The present day being the second setting allows for issues from the past to come to light. A baffling title and not much to recommend the characters to memory, but good historical information.

Lauren Kate: Fallen – A girl sent to a rehabilitation school for supposedly killing her boyfriend falls in love with an angel. At the same time there’s another, bad, angel after her life. In one word: Twilight. It might have been good had it not been a complete rip off.

I mentioned a few months ago that I had had trouble finishing The Chronicles Of Narnia as a child and in reading The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader this was brought back home to me. I did enjoy the voyage but found The Silver Chair rather monotonous. I positively lapped up The Piano Teacher even though I didn’t enjoy it all that much; it had been two months since I’d read anything set in that era (I’m counting Lisa See’s On Gold Mountain here) and I’ve missed historical fiction immensely.

Quotation Report

I’m afraid I have no witty quotations to make use of this time round.

I’m not hoping for much next month. August sees the arrival of a new family member as well as a lot of work for myself. And I’ve still the tome I mentioned in the last post to finish. One thing I do have, however, is the beginnings of the author promotion I’m planning. Watch this space…

June’s been a rather good month for me, I only read one short book and managed seven overall which is a new record for me as although I read six in April there were a couple of Narnia tales in there. I went on holiday which afforded me extra time too. This month I finally found an Alex Bell in the bookshop, and sought out the others straight away. I’m hoping to do some promoting of her work soon so I’ll be posting my reviews at that time, probably with a give away.

All books listed are works of fiction and listed in my usual order.

The Books

Alex Bell: Jasmyn – There was more to Jasmyn’s late husband than it seemed, even though she’d known him since the first day of school. A man comes looking for him, Jasmyn’s wedding photographs alter mystically, and Jasmyn’s seeing roaming horses, black roses, and bedrooms full of skulls. A fantastic read.

Alex Bell: Lex Trent Versus The Gods – Lex is a horrible, selfish little thief when he stumbles into the church of Lady Luck. From now on he’ll be a horrible, selfish little thief as well as a contestant in the game of the Gods where losing generally equates to death. He’ll need a companion, and there’s his much-hated old employer, who’s chasing after him over his most recent crime, to deal with. Different to Bell’s other books but well worth the time.

Alex Bell: The Ninth Circle – When Gabriel wakes up on the kitchen floor all he knows is that he’s been bleeding and there’s money on the table. Who is this man who befriends him and what is the deal with Gabriel’s shelves of books on Hell? Incredible.

Julith Jedamus: The Book Of Loss – After a man is exiled following his seduction of the high princess his ex-lover wallows in her pity before finding someone else. Poetic. That’s about it.

Lauren Oliver: Before I Fall – Sam died in a car crash but then wakes up the morning before it happened, forced to live that same day over and over, coming to love life and see others in a new light when it’s already too late. Rather like the film Ground Hog Day, this debut may repeat itself, but it’s for a great cause.

Philip Pullman: The Tiger In The Well (Sally Lockhart Quartet) – Sally could lose everything if the man claiming to be her estranged husband gets his way, but it’s not just her he’s persecuting and it’s not just him who’s out to get her. Remarkably different to the first two in the series and much, much better.

Stephenie Meyer: The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner – Stephenie Meyer introduces us to a character we didn’t need to read about all in the name of money.

I’ve been absolutely blown away by Alex Bell’s work. All three of her books are good, but The Ninth Circle and Jasmyn are sublime. Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall didn’t let me down, even if I had visions of a summer-time novel, and I’m glad to have read The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner even if it was rubbish.

Quotation Report

In accordance with the thoughts of Lex of Lex Trent Versus The Gods, one of the biggest reasons for being a king is to be able to annoy school children down the ages who will have to copy out your name in the list of kings when they’re learning about dynasties. While Lady Luck, of the same book, knew all too well that if she let a witch in the forest the kings would would go on the hunt straight away because kings love hunting just as much as they love taking royal mistresses. And if you want to be really romantic, do as Lex’s grandfather did and name a huge hulking beast, preferably a griffin, after the person you love.

Next month should be interesting, but will I read as many books as I did this time? In the words of 2 year old Harriet of The Tiger In The Well: “not bloody likely!”