The Books I Read in January

I read six books last month, and they couldn’t be anymore different from each other. Through doing my one book a week challenge, I have learned that I either like reading short books within a day. With longer books I like to take my time. A lot of people struggle to read just one book a year nowadays. For someone, like me that reads a lot, I find it hard to fathom how people get by without reading books. I sometimes think it’s because school forces you to read books, but they don’t teach you the joy of reading. Some people may connect better with short stories, flash fiction, poetry or fan fiction instead.

I estimate that I own over 1000 books across my bookshelves and e-readers. I spent a lot of my wages on books. I think I started all the books I bought, but never finished them. I am aiming to try and get though the many books on my to be read list, as well as reading books I bought and then never read or finished. This may be a controversial comment, but I don’t review books unless I have finished them. I would feel unqualified to write a scathing review on a book I only read 50 pages. I persevere right through to the very end and hope for a reward even if there is none.

The more I read goods, the harder I find to rank them. The reading and writing community can also be cut throat and overly dramatic, but you get that in Al oat every dark corner in fandoms. Sometimes reading can be just as exhausting to the mind as writing.

There is mental benefits of reading a book a week. My mind feels clearer and it makes me feel smarter. It’s like a work out for my brain. I like being connected to the people that I am reading about. I like to imagine that I am either in the room watching what’s going on or I’m sat having a chat with them.

My Life: An Alphabet From A-Z by Nick Hewer

This was a book I picked up on sale from Amazon. It was one I wanted to get for a while, so I redeemed an Amazon voucher for it. As much as I want to avoid Amazon, sometimes they really do offer the best prices online. I knew Nick Hewer as Lord Sugar’s aide from The Apprentice and being a host on countdown. I liked how each chapter represented a letter of the alphabet and what the word meant to him. It’s a cosy biography.

Breasts & Eggs by Meiko Kawakami

This was one I had bought last year, but I never read until this year. By sheer chance I saw the Dutch translation of the book whilst in the Netherlands which reminded me to read it. It was one of those books that I knew I would love. I devoured it. It’s about a woman who lives with her sister and neice and now they overcome the issues that women typically face in Japan. Those expecting erotica and porn shall be gravely disapointed. I noticed many of the rave reviews are from women, whilst the one stars are from men.

The Trial by Franz Kafka

I went to a party in Oxford and we did a book swap. This was the book I ended up receiving and it was a very heavy and fascinating book. I started reading it in December and I never ended up finishing it until January. It gave me Ace Attorney and 1984 vibes like a dog.

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

This is one I found through Goodreads and YouTube and I was very curious about it. I thought the title was brilliant, a lovely bit of imagery and I also thought the cover was fantastic because it told me it had a strong female protagonist. I tried reading it several times but didn’t get very far, but at the airport I was able to get through it as well as finish it on the plane. I’m not sure if I will get round to reading the rest of the series but I did like the gloomy world building. It reminded me of a crossover between Milan and Game of Thrones due to the Chinese history influence.

Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996-2005 by Mape Ollila

Nightwish are one of the greatest bands in my opinion. Some of their greatest songs were recorded during their first nine years when they had Tarja as the original vocalist. It goes into great detail about the formation of the band, who else was involded and also strange incidents involving porn mags and shoving strawberries in one’s penis.

The book also includes several points of views. Tarja for example paints her husband, Marcelo as a gentle loving man. The incident where she was assaulted by a fan, it goes to say that Marcelo was the only one who had her back. The rest of the band however paint the image of Marcelo as a crook. It’s honest about the various issues and creative differences the band had and how close the band were to breaking up.

The open letter that was published after they fired Tarja in 2005 is also published in the book. In that letter it’s implied that Tarja didn’t spend a lot of time with them in the end, but I can also understand why; she was tired, stressed and overwhelmed. The band are still going strong, and Tarja still has a pretty good solo career so it worked out for all parties in the end. I did want the paperback, but it was far too expensive so I went for the kindle edition.

Pass Thru the Fire: The Collected Lyrics by Lou Reed

This was a book I borrowed from the Oxford Poetry Library by the train station. It’s a collection of lyrics by Lou Reed as both a solo artist and with his band, The Velvet Underground. What I find really fascinating about this book is how the book is formatted. Some lyrics are upside down and have different fonts. It was nice to read through some of it whilst kistening to their songs.