Happy 2018, readers! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are all set for a new year filled with lots of new books and reading sessions cosied up in your favourite spots. In 2017 I converted an old shed in my garden into a reading snug and it might just be my new favourite place! I also surpassed my reading challenge of 70 books by reading a grand total of 85 which I was really pleased with. So without further ado, here are my ten favourite reads from the past year.
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. This is often claimed to be Christie’s most daring crime novel and has a legendary twist, which can sometimes be a bit off-putting for me, as knowing about the existence of a twist in advance can sometimes dampen the reading experience. This book did not disappoint. It kept me guessing until the very last page and I found Poirot as endearing as ever. I sped through this book and am definitely making it my goal to read more Agatha Christie in 2018.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. When I finished reading this book I was kicking myself for how long I had left it on my shelf, unread. It became a talking point with the release of the TV adaptation (which I have still not seen!) and many work friends urged me to read it. It’s wonderfully written, and the subject matter is as relevant today as it was when it was first written in the 80’s. It’s definitely a novel I will revisit many times.
- The Lemon Tree Café by Cathy Bramley. If you’ve read any of my other blog posts you will know how much I love Cathy’s novels. Her latest book set in one of my favourite English counties and full to the brim with lovable characters and delicious descriptions of food completely captured my heart and you can read my full review of it here: The Lemon Tree Café.
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This is another book that I had sitting on my shelf for years and upon finishing it wondered why I had left it so long to read. Naturally, I read this during the lead up to Christmas and it was wonderfully surprising. I’m afraid to admit that I’ve had reservations about reading Dickens for a long time, due to his propensity to be quite verbose and I know so many people who have horror stories about reading his work for school. But I was so delighted with what I read. It was warming and everything I wanted from a Christmas book. As with Agatha Christie, I will be reading more Dickens this year too.
- Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever had to deal with “Everyday Sexism”. I genuinely wish this book had been around when I was a teen and I loved the ‘Riot grrrl’ and zine elements as the 90’s is a very nostalgic decade for me. The novel definitely fanned my feminist flames and reminded me that ‘moxie’ is a word people don’t use enough.
- Wing Jones by Katherine Webber. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but when I first saw people talking about this book online I was blown away by how beautiful it was and the image of the running shoe on the front stuck in my mind for a long time. Fortunately, the contents of the book did not disappoint and I fell completely in love with the eponymous character. It definitely felt like nothing I had ever read before and the elements of magical realism were a welcome surprise to me as it’s not something I’m usually overly fond of but it worked fantastically in this story. I can’t wait to read more from Katherine Webber.
- The Snow Rose by Lulu Taylor. It’s become a bit of a tradition of mine to read Lulu Taylor’s books during winter as her novels since The Winter Folly which was released in 2013 have a wonderfully wintertide theme and are always full of interestingly flawed characters with plenty of secrets. And there’s usually an old house or two thrown in for good measure which is something that will always attract me to a book. The Snow Rose, I think, is Lulu’s best and definitely creepiest book by far. There were times I genuinely had goosebumps reading it and the twists and turns it took were unexpected and original. I don’t think I can wait until this December to read her latest release, Her Frozen Heart which I was kindly gifted for Christmas so I may have to sneak it in to my reading schedule before winter is over!
- The Riviera Set by Mary S. Lovell. I have read plenty of non-fiction/biographies that are stuffy and reminiscent of reading material from my school days but the biographies that Mary S. Lovell writes are so readable and fascinating you almost feel like you are reading a page-turner of a novel. The Riviera Set is a group biography about the people who frequented an infamous villa near Cannes and I particularly loved learning about Maxine Elliot who built the villa and hosted many illustrious guests. Like all the other biographies by Lovell I have read, I whizzed through it and was genuinely bereft when there were no pages left.
- Take Courage: Anne Brontë and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis. This book came into my life at just the perfect moment. I’ve been a Brontë-ite for many years and Jane Eyre by Charlotte is my favourite novel in the entire world. I was making my third pilgrimage to Haworth in October ’17 and wanted some new reading material to take away with me and discovered this gem. I hate to admit it but I was guilty of sidelining Anne a bit as many others do but after reading this book I am so baffled as to why. I fell in love with her. I immediately rushed out and bought The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey and I am determined to read them this year to right a tremendous wrong. Samantha Ellis is a wonderful voice and advocate for Anne and reading this book in the beauty of Brontë country was a pure joy.
- The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley. Following on with the Haworth theme, this lovely book is set in one of my favourite places in Yorkshire and was the main reason I was initially attracted to it, having never read any of Trisha Ashley’s previous work. I feel like there are a lot of novels around at the moment set in teashops or cafés and I was worried that this would feel very samey but I was so very wrong. The characters have so much warmth and depth and immediately worm their way into your heart. Their were darker elements to the story that I was simply not expecting and I think that is what sets it apart from some of the other novels with similar themes. It was simply unputdownable and I have been craving a visit to The Fat Rascal since I read it.
