February Books

I read quite a bit more this month and I also have a couple of unfinished books that will roll over into march or beyond as I have a lot of books to read in part or whole for uni right now. But here are all the books I read this month!

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

Freud is a must-read for any student of English lit, so naturally, I gravitated towards this collection of essays to accompany my unit on modern lit. I have been fascinated by psychology for many years and even considered studying it instead of Eng Lit. This was an interesting read but some points regarding women vexed me slightly but that’s to be expected from a 20th-century text.

The Radleys by Matt Haig

A light-hearted, fun and quick read. The story was a little predictable but I don’t really care about that as it was rather funny and a nice way to pass an evening or two.

Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast by Oscar Wilde

I thought this was going to be a short story but it was actually just a collection of Wilde’s witticisms, Funny as they are I was a little disappointed.

Colour and Light & Concord 34 by Sally Rooney

I read a couple of Sally Rooney’s short stories to try and get on backtrack with my (totally impossible) 75 books in a year challenge, which I didn’t but I like reading a good short story nonetheless. I like Rooney’s writing and I like how she navigates heavy topics in a sensitive but real way.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I like the David Fincher movie so I thought I would check out the source material. I think its a case of the film is better than the book, in the respect of dealing with the whole Tyler Durden revelation and the iconic ending scene has much more power than the cop-out ending of the book.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

I cried. And I can’t believe I only have 2 more books to go before I’ve finished Harry Potter, I only started listening to the audiobooks last year and I’m already nearly finished! Once again I have to commend Stephen Fry on bringing these stories to life with his exceptional narration and I feel like he adds a lot of magic to the stories.

December Books

In a desperate bid to finish my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 50 books, I managed to finish 5 books in December.

Act 1, Scene 1 by Lee Mu-young

Another of LTI Korea’s free short stories that are available on Buk. I decided to read this short story as it is of the pastoral genre and I myself had in the middle of November moved with my family to the countryside so it just felt fitting to read something of this ilk. The story followed a man named Sutaek who gave up his job as a writer in the city to relocate to the countryside of his youth to become a farmer. In the process, he reconnects with his father and becomes inspired by his new way of life.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

I’m still working my way through the series on audiobook read by the wonderful Stephen Fry. I am rather excited by the conclusion of this book as it is a turning point in the series, Voldermort has returned!!! So it’s probably going to be a crazy ride from here on out! Love the writing, as usual, it’s just a fun and easy listen that makes my day a little nicer

Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki

The irony of buying a physical book on minimalism is not lost on me. I really enjoyed this little read which I read on Christmas day and boxing day (it was a present). And it has reaffirmed my desire to declutter and minimalise my life.

Love for Imperfect Things by Haemin Sunim

Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim’s follow up to his bestselling book The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down is another essential read if you are looking to become a little wiser and kinder to yourself and those around you this new year. This book is like a little ray of sunshine and so unbelievably soothing to read.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This little novel was the perfect conclusion to the year (and the decade) as it deals with the past, and how our actions shape our future. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Timetravel is possible. But there are rules and regulations that deter most people from partaking, one major rule is that you can’t change the present by going back. But four different characters still go back and by joining them on this journey you are forced to consider your own life and decisions and how you could be at any moment making decisions that affect your future. It’s a heartwarming and emotional read which I didn’t expect when I picked it up at my local Waterstones.

May and June Books

Silly me, I haven’t got a photo of for this post as I have passed on most of the books that I read to a charity shop before I finished writing this post!

Questions of Travel - Elizabeth Bishop

This May I had to hand in my last essay of the year (excluding that juicy 3hr exam in June) and after deliberating between writing about a play I thought was lacklustre but probably quite easy to write about and a collection of Bishop’s complex poetry that I rather enjoyed, I chose Bishop. It worked out I got a good grade and I rediscovered my love for reading and analysing modern poetry. This collection is thought provoking and lays Bishop’s soul bare. I really enjoyed it so it’s more than likely that I’ll be delving into more of her work in the future, or at the very least revisiting this collection. The book is not pictured as I was fortunate enough to have the collection provided by my university in an anthology.

Another Man’s City - Choi In-ho

Orwellian? Kafkaesque? Perhaps a dash of both but there is also a little The Matrix added in for good measure. Another Man’s City follows K (oh look a casual Kafka reference) as he tries to find out why his world suddenly feels like its populated with fake versions of the people around him, including his Wife and Daughter. Personally, I felt like the premise was interesting, but the execution felt a little underwhelming, and I found myself stopping and starting the book rather than getting hooked and devouring a short 190 page novel in one sitting.

The Duchess of Malfi - John Webster

A Renaissance Play that isn’t Shakespeare! Yes they do exist, and The Duchess of Malfi is a rather good one. As I had to read this play for uni I have of course analysed the play to the moon and back so I’ll keep it brief as I could quite easily write a rather long essay on it! The play is set in Italy and follows a Duchess who breaks societal expectations and decides to re-marry for love not status…of course being a tragedy expect death…lots of death.

When Adam Opens His Eyes - Jang Jung-il

This Korean novel was rather controversial on its publication back in the 90’s, but from a modern western perspective it’s not really that shocking which makes for an interesting read. Adam is on the cusp of adulthood and while he waits a year to retake a university entrance exam so that he can get into a top university he uses this time to find freedom and to learn about the world around him. When Adam Opens His Eyes is quite clearly a bildungsroman but it is also a story about a country on the edge. In the late 80’s Korea hosted the olympics and found itself struggling to uphold democracy while still reeling from the horrors of the Gwangju Massacre of 1980. In short it was a testing time and this is reflected in Adam’s navigation of his life and the encounters he finds himself in.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - J.K. Rowling

Not going to lie I didn’t read this book…Stephen Fry read it to me. Yes I have finally jumped on the Audible hype train. Previously I have always felt like I just didn’t have time to add audio books into my life but my morning makeup routine has become the perfect moment to delve into audiobooks as its a relaxing and therapeutic process that is also a productive use of time. Perfection! And I have already started listening to Chamber of Secrets!

Books I Haven't Finished (Yet!)

I love reading, it is one of my favourite things to do, but sometimes life gets in the way. So here is a collection of books that I have started reading but am yet to finish.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I started reading this book years ago, and I mean years. There is photographic evidence of me reading the book on one of our family holidays to Greece, when I was 10! So that was way back in 2003! I think I got up to something like chapter 11 or 12 and then I just stopped, I lost where I was in the book and the next time I picked it up I just couldn’t remember what had happened in the story. 15 years later I still haven’t read the book. Will I read it someday? No, I’ll just get Stephen Fry to read it to me on audible.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Quite often I have a love hate relationship with classics, their language is beautiful but archaic, they are problematic in their depictions of Women, other ethnicities and social issues when read from a modern point of view. And so on. But Dorian Gray, I really wanted to love it, and maybe I just attempted to read it at the wrong time, but I found it, dare I say…boring.

1Q84 part 1&2

I love Murakami, I love what I’ve read of 1Q84 so far, but I started reading the book at a really stupid time, just before I started my French module in Uni. That year came and went so quickly and I then had to start reading what has felt like 1 million books for this years studies and as such 1Q84 has sat patiently on the shelf, same for Killing Commendatore too. I promise I’ll get to you two this summer!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I received a ebook copy of this book before it was published, I read some of it, but for a reason I can’t remember I stopped reading it. This book has since been so hyped that I’m kind of curious to get back into it and finish the story as I did get quite a way into the narrative.

A Discovery of Witches

Having watched the Sky TV Series based on this book I naturally bought it immediately and started reading it, however it is a rather large book and there have been several novels that I have had to prioritise reading as they are in my course and most likely in my exam in June. So I will have to rediscover A Discovery of Witches this summer.

Le Petit Prince

I set myself the goal of reading a French book in its entirety last year, I failed but I did get quite a ways into Le Petit Prince which is probably the most famous French book from the 20th century. I will dive back into it as I still want to achieve this goal, and hopefully it will also help improve my french so that I can start reading more complex french novels!

So that’s all the books that I started reading and haven’t quite got round to finishing. I wonder how many of these I can get finished this year, shall I aim to get them all read in 2019? Let me know in the comments section what you think!