The Ten Best Books of Mid-2017

I seriously can't believe that we're nearly at the end of June 2017. An awful, awful lot has changed since January in both positive and negative ways, but we're more interested in books, so let's talk about that!

It was actually sort of a struggle to put this list together. It's not that I haven't read some great books this year, because I have, but several of them have been series and I only really count them as one entity. I couldn't actually come up with ten individual books to make up this list, so I clearly need to up my reading game for the second half of the year! 

Books read: 39

Rereads: 9  

Pre-2017 books: 13  

Non-fiction: 3

  Average date of publication: 1993

I've clearly re-read an awful lot this year! Such is the advantage of reading whatever the hell I want. Not so much non-fiction, but that's fine, and I'm happy with my average publication date as well. I've read more newer releases than I normally would (See What I Have Done, for example) which has dragged my average date forward a bit. Ah well.

Hanna's Best Books of Mid-2017

1) Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

 
'I CRIED. I actually sat there and properly cried. It's an actually perfect ending that suited all the characters. I loved that it wasn't perfect, that not everybody got a happy ending and that it wasn't what I had hoped would happen - it was better than that. It was brave and awful and amazing and... ARGH.'

I wish I could read this fantasy duology for the first time all over again. I couldn't even finish the author's Grisha series as I really wasn't a fan, but it's hard to tell that this series is even by the same author. It's dark  and unique and has so many twists that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. A genuinely perfect fantasy series.
  

2) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematorium by Caitlin Doughty 

'This is not a book for those of a sensitive disposition. We read about decay, leaking and mechanisms for keeping the eyes of the deceased firmly closed (spoiler alert: they use caps with spikes on). I like that about this book though. I like that it goes slightly beyond the realms of propriety to explain the details that I had never considered were an issue.'

Whilst this might seem an odd choice for a Top Ten list, it really blew me away. Not only did it make me laugh out loud with hilarious anecdotes, it also made me really think about the culture of death denial perpetuated in Western civilisation. I couldn't get it out of my head for days afterwards and this book deserves to be on that list for purely that reason.

3) My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

 

Alright, so I haven't actually finish reading this yet, but I know it's going to annoy me when I finish this tomorrow but couldn't add it to my list.

I love it. I've had it for years and it irritates me that I didn't pick it up sooner, because I could have had this creepy, mysterious pleasure years ago.

It's just so du Maurier-y. And yes, that is an excellent quote that I'm sure the publishers will be adding to the cover of the latest edition. There's an aura of sinister innocence, somehow, that just seeps off the pages and I LOVE IT.

4) The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

 

'It's what I'd call 'proper' fantasy. There's a completely developed world with its own class system and politics, and the characters spend a lot of time sitting around discussing the latest plot development to really give you an in-depth understanding of what's going on. There's lots and lots of dialogue and scheming, with no sex and no pointless, graphic violence for shock value.'

Whilst I had some issues with the characterisation in the second and third Mistborn books (and despised the ending), this series remains one of my favourite reads of this year. It was completely engrossing, the magic system was fantastic and the lore of the Kandra was some of the most interesting I've ever seen in a fantasy series. Read my review for more fence-sitting!

5) The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles 

 
'The beauty with this novel, however, isn't the plot, it's the beauty and ingenuity of the prose. It's sort of meta, or it would be if that didn't seem an inappropriate word to use regarding a setting of 1867. The narrator spends a lot of time talking directly to the reader, with phrases such as 'you'll have to excuse Charles, he was merely a product of his time.'' 

The ending was sort of bizarre in this book as well (it's a theme of 2017 apparently) but, like I said above, you don't read this novel for the plot, you read it for the wonderful tone and beautiful prose. It's as if you put Crimson Petal and the White and The Collector in a bag, and then shook them up. Absolutely wonderful, if slightly meta. 

 6) Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
 
'I particularly appreciated that when The Person In Question obtains new magical ability, she is not suddenly an expert, contrary to the Mistborn series and honestly 85% of all fantasy novels I've ever read.'

Another Brandon Sanderson. This is a standalone novel (or so I believe) that I think I sort of liked more than the Mistborn books, but considering that most of my issues with that series were in the latter books, it isn't really fair to judge Warbreaker and that series on the same standard. Anyway, I loved this book and would happily read the remainder of the books if it did turn into a series.

7) The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins  

'I love how the characters all now know who stole the diamond as they're writing their narratives but have been forbidding from setting it out. It results in them sort of bickering amongst themselves as they criticise decisions that have already been made and indignantly rant about accusations levied at the time. It's so petty and clever and perfectly done.' 

This is the first time that I've ever included a re-read on a 'Best Books' list, but I don't care. I just had to talk about The Moonstone some more. I originally read it as part of a read-a-long but reading it in one large chunk just makes it wonderful. It's hilarious, clever and ingenious, so I really, really recommend picking this one up.

__________________________________________________

Well, it makes a pleasant change to have actually already reviewed almost everything on one of these lists! Fingers crossed I'll be back in December with a complete list, actually making it all the way to ten books!

See you n December!  

The Top Ten Books of 2015

I just can't believe how quickly this year has flown by. It's been an odd year for reading, in that I got my scary, grown-up job and therefore have much less time for reading. I also started taking Russian lessons and was 'promoted' to Cub Scout Leader... whilst continuing my previous volunteer work. And attempting to have a personal life. Still, I have managed to fit some reading in.

I read 63 books this year, which is about 45 less than usual, but in my Defence... well, see above. I also spent three months on War & Peace and six weeks on Moby Dick, which didn't exactly help, although I am glad I bothered now that I've finished.

With that in mind, here are Booking in Heels' Top Ten Books of 2015.

1) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This book. This book this book this book.

I read it last January and I've been dying to put it in this list ever since. It's perfect, and geeky, and references Hitchhikers Guide, Pern, Ghostbusters, Middle Earth and a million other old school fandoms that I love. I already want to reread it. Please, please, please pick this up if you have any interest in anything remotely geeky.

'I hate that I never again get to have the experience of reading it for the first and it also bothers me that I have to wait a whole year before I can include it in the Best Books of 2015 list. Which I will be doing. I finished the novel with a tight, happy feeling in my stomach and the knowledge that I will buy everything that Ernest Cline writes.'
 
2) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I actually read The Haunting of Hill House this year as well, although it seemed unfair to add them both to the list. Of the two, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was just... well, better.

It completely blew my mind and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.  

'I was absolutely hooked by the end of the first page. It's narrated by Merricat, or Mary Katherine Blackwood, in a very formal yet oddly chatty tone. She lives with her sister, who was formerly on trial for poisoning the rest of their family, and their Uncle Julian, who somehow managed to survive the whole thing. It's one of those books where the truth is finally unearthed with little hints here and there, dotted in and amongst the narrative of their daily lives.'

3) The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

This was actually a short story in one of those little black Penguin books they released this year, but it fit nicely into my apparent dark, Gothic, mental illness phase of this year.

I'd heard of it before and I read her novel, Herland, when I was a teenager, although it probably went mostly over my head at that time. However, I still wasn't prepared for just how disturbing The Yellow Wallpaper was going to be. I read it when I was alone and promptly had trouble sleeping for a good few nights. Thought-provoking and unnerving.

4) The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
 
This has been on and off my wishlist for quite literally years, but I finally picked it up early this year. Despite it being 600+ pages long, I flew through it in days. It's engrossing, with a twist so amazing that I actually gasped out loud.

It has a very silly-sounding plot, but it's done in such a mature way that you get on board with it after just a few pages. 

'There's just something about the tone of the book that infers a touch of respectability to a plot that could turn very silly very quickly. There's a pervading atmosphere throughout, whether Claire is on an isolated Scottish moor or in a bustling castle kitchen, it always seems so real. If I had to sum this book up in one word, it would be 'immersive.''

5) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

A few years ago, we all read-a-longed Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone and it was great. Changing perspectives, interesting characters, a grand reveal, etc etc. I've been meaning to read The Woman in White ever since, but you know how it is. So many books, so little time.

I eventually picked this up when I was packed off to a wedding in Norfolk on my own and I fell in love with it. It has the same changing perspective device as The Moonstone but it also has a creepy house and murderous plots. Whilst I liked both, I have to say that this book is even better.

6) Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson

This is a lovely little book about village life, but with a twist. It's the kind of book you want to snuggle down in front of the fire with and muse on how nice people are really. It's charming, but with some satirical little comments that renders it still relevant to 2015. I quite desperately want to read Ms Stevenson's other books now.
 
'It's just so nice. Even the characters who are slated in her book aren't really nasty - they just receive a gentle nudge in the right direction. Not that they see it that way, of course. However, it's also quite clever in a subtle, satirical way. Miss Buncle is naive, but Dorothy Stevenson was most certainly not.'

7) Redshirts by John Scalzi

Oh oh, Redshirts! I loved this! I read it in my Ready Player One after-glow, when I was looking for any book that even resembled the amazingness that was this book. Thus, Redshirts.

It's a sort-of Star Trek parody, but not really. It is a novel in its own right, with a plot and fully-developed characters, but one that gently pokes fun at the sci-fi genre in a very meta way. I'd recommend reading it, even if you've never seen a Star Trek episode in your life.

'Redshirts is so much more than a parody. It's funny, clever, occasionally philosophical and really made me care about characters I expected to be two-dimensional and flat.'

8) Austenland by Shannon Hale

Although it kills me to admit it and actually undermines my reading credentials somewhat, I actually did read this book because I'd already seen the Austenland film. Shut up, I know.

It's a great book and a great film, although the two are very similar so it's probably not worth bothering with both. Book. Go with book and be happy.

'I put down the novel smiling like a child (albeit a child who is ill-advisedly allowed to read adult romance and has an obsessive understanding of Jane Austen). It's just such a lovely, uplifting book that restores your faith in happy ever after.'

9) Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolic Illness by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
 
Doesn't everybody have a non-fiction book about rabies on their 'Best Of...' lists!?

As rabies is obviously quite a niche topic, the book branches out into all sorts of topics - vampires, werewolves, hunting dogs, vaccines, Edward Jenner, etc - and it's fascinating.

My favourite part was the chapter dealing with Louis Pasteur who not only vastly developed the field of vaccination and pasteurisation (well, obviously - the clue is in the name, people) but created the first ever effective vaccine against rabies. 
 
10) Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande

Oh, I loved this book. Not only is the content fascinating, but the writing is beautiful. Far more impressive than you'd expect from a professional who has never studied literature.

This is an informal, very accessible collection of several essays about the world of surgery and why things go wrong. 

'Complications is far from merely a collection of anecdotes about 'when things go wrong,' however, and I do think it would interest everybody. Instead, Dr Gawande examines the concepts of surgery itself and discusses the different theories behind why things go wrong and the difficulty of actually implementing improvements. It's absolutely fascinating.'

What were your favourite books of 2015?

Hanna's Summer To Be Read List 2015

Due to the months I spent reading War & Peace and the amount of non-fiction I've been reading lately, I'm clearly going to come out of 2015 having read much fewer books than normal. But that's okay. This year, I seem to have realised that it's way more important to read books that inform or excite you than just coming out with a good total.
On that note, here are the books I'm looking forward to this Summer.

1) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This is probably cheating somewhat, as I'm already halfway through this. In my defence, I started mentally drafting this list before I picked up the book and technically I am looking forward to reading the rest of it, so it still counts. Right?

Anyway, I'm enjoying this way more than I expected to. It's a reasonably generic YA dystopian, but it's written very well and it's really engrossing. Plus I don't hate the protagonist, so points for that.

2) Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon

I'll be reading this just as soon as I get hold of the correct cover, which is proving to be infuriatingly difficult. Apparently you can buy the first book, and the third and fourth books, in the 'proper' style (see left), but not the second. Makes perfect sense. As I refuse to have only the second book in the new, awful minimalist style, I've had to wait and buy this version on eBay.

I can't wait to read this though. I loved Cross Stitch, the first book, when I read it recently and I'm sure Dragonfly in Amber will be just as good.

3) Blood: A Biography of the Stuff of Life by Lawrence Hill

I recently read and really enjoyed Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolic Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, which is infinitely more cheerful than it actually sounds,  and it's put me in the mood for more medical non-fiction.

I bought Blood on Christmas Eve, at the same time that I bought Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found. Clearly I was on an obscure, gruesome non-fiction kick then, as well. Oh well, the heart wants what the heart wants!

I vaguely remember buying this for Ellie at Christmas too...

4) Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

The first Austenland novel made me so girlishly happy that it would just be silly not to read the second book!

I'm not sure how the plot of the sequel can really be any different, but I suppose I'll find out soon enough. The author will have to be quite inventive to come up with something new, but I have faith. Anyone that can come up with Austenland should have a few more tricks up their sleeve.

5) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
 
I've been meaning to read this for a ridiculous length of time, to the point where I can't actually remember where I bought it or what made me want to.

I do know that I read and enoyed The Moonstone when we read-a-longed it a few years so, and apparently The Woman in White is very stylistically similar. It had several different characters all telling us what they knew about the crime, and as they were all present for different parts and had different motives for keeping things secret from the reader, it worked really well.

6) The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

I bought this in Chesterfield last month when I went book shopping with Katie and Ellie. In fact, Katie actually hunted across the store for The Invisible Library for me, and hand-delivered it to my basket!

I have only the vaguest foggiest idea what the plot is but it's a fantasy novel about books... what could possibly go wrong? It looks like it's sort-of a mix between The Rithmatist and Mr Penumbra. I certainly wouldn't complain if that turns out to be the case... 

7) Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh

I only bought Do No Harm because Ellie pointed it out to me on the same shopping trip mentioned above; I'd never heard of it before.

Yes, it's more medical non-fiction, but this one might actually help with my work, as well as generally sounding interesing. I'm quite obviously not a neurosurgeon, but I am a lawyer who defends doctors, nurses, dentists and even neurosurgeons when they're being sued by their ex-patients.

8) Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

 
It wasn't a secret to anybody how much I loved Between the Lines, the YA novel by bestselling author, Jodi Picoult, and her daughter. Nobody was more surprised at my adoration than me, but hey ho. I even went to Manchester to get the damn thing signed. 

Thing is, I had absolutely no idea there was going to be a sequel until I walked past it in ASDA last week. And now I own it, obviously. I'm not sure it warranted or needed a sequel, and I'm a little sure it will ruin the whole thing, but I can't not read it.

Once I've reread Between the Lines, obviously!

Have you read any of these books? Where should I start?

The Top Ten Books of 2014

I can't believe this year has gone so quickly and that we're two days before Christmas already. On the bright side, I've read some amazing books this year so it wasn't hard at all the pick out the ten best ones.

As always, I'm talking about the books I read this year, not necessarily books that were published this year. I doubt I read enough 2014 releases to make up even half a list, so why bother?

The Top Ten Books of 2013

The Top Ten Books of 2012

The Top Ten Books of 2011

1) We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

If I had to choose just one amazing book from this list, it would be this one. Normally that's not a question I could easily answer, but this book is unbelievable.

Every person that reads it seems to have a different interpretation of what happened based on their own experiences and moral viewpoints. Ellie and I still disagree on what caused the incident (as much as a 'cause' is possible), but that's a mark of truly great writing. 

'This book is perfect. Well, no, actually it's horrible. But it's perfectly written. It's not just what Kevin eventually ends up doing, it's the little details that really 'get' you and keep you looking over your shoulder for days to come.'
 

2) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

I ended up going on a bit of a mental health spree this year, completely unintentionally. Three (four, if you count the above) of the books on this list involve some form of illness, but sometimes they make for the most moving books.

Ellie bought me this book and the accompanying DVD for my birthday Christmas Ninja Swap randomly some reason last year, and it's amazing. I didn't feel like I could do it justice in a review, but it's a charming character-driven novel that's remained with me since I finished devouring it in one sitting.

3) The Selection series by Kiera Cass

 

I know, I'm as surprised as you.

This is totally not my usual type of thing and the first book is quite weak, but it ends up being pretty damn good. The pretty-dresses:plot ratio improves with every book and it still keeps popping into my head seven months later. It's obviously quite light, but it's fun and interesting.

'The Selection series has a twee premise but if you can accept that and just roll with it, this is a brilliant series. It steadily picks up power from book to book, resulting in The One which was actually just short of wonderful.'

4) It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini 

 

I bought this totally on a whim while shopping with Ellie and Charlotte, despite being almost put off by the huge font. I'd seen the film but I tend to not enjoy novels about depressed teenagers, so I wasn't all that fussed about the book.

It's actually kind of perfect though. Ned Vizzini spent time in a psychiatric hospital himself before eventually committing suicide, so I guess he knew what he was talking about.

It's good. Read it.

'I spent a lot of this book rather shellshocked. It's astounding how well the author managed the transfer all these thoughts to paper. The funny thing is, it's not even a depressing book... nor is it lecturing. It has quite a light tone, even though it's a first person narrative of a suicidal teenager.'  

5) The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer 
 

Another mental health book. I did warn you.

This one talks about schizophrenia, which is a misunderstood illness and not something usually dealt with in fiction. I cared so deeply about all the characters in this book and needed to know what happened in the past.

'This book really got to me. I sat there with an anxious, tight feeling in my stomach throughout and it persisted long after I'd finished... This is easily, easily going to be one of my best books of 2014.' 

6) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

This list isn't in any particular order, but it it was, The Song of Achilles would be very, very close to the top. Second place, perhaps. I barely knew what this was about, just that Charlotte was about to throttle me if I didn't read it soon, and that worked out well as I don't think I'd have read it at all if I'd have known.

I cried on a train. It's beautiful and moving and sad and lovely and... argh.

'I don't think this review has actually helped much as I'd have achieved much the same thing by posting a picture of myself with a pathetic expression and a wad of tissue. If you take one thing away from this though, let it be that The Song of Achilles is far more than a dusty retelling of the Trojan War - it's a beautiful and realistic story about a demi-god and a human, and their everlasting love.'

7) The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

I'm including this series somewhat grudgingly as I finished the final book, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and was quite disappointed and annoyed. That said, I fell in love with the first two books, so here it stays. I suppose.

I still recommend reading this series though. It's a completely unique concept and Laini Taylor writes with such poetry that I'm glad I picked it up.

'It's obvious to me that what really makes Daughter of Smoke and Bone so great is the world-building. I was hooked before I'd even finished reading two pages just because I was desperate to know what the teeth were used for, how the chimaera came to exist and what those strange handprints were. It's clear than an awful lot of effort and planning went into creating this level of detail, as it was completely engrossing and somehow real.'

8) HHhH by Laurent Bisset

This is a rather odd non-fiction about about the Czech and Slovakian parachutists responsible for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. It has a really casual, chatty tone and the author talks to you about how he's writing the book, as he's telling you about the Nazis. It just... works, somehow. 

'What I liked most about HHhH is that it's a non-fiction book, but told by a person rather than a historian. It really helps you to understand the atrocities committed because you're not being lectured on it by an expert who's taught 57,000 other people and has become inured to it - instead, Laurent Binet is as shocked about it as you are.'

9) Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes

Crappy title, great book. You do need a certain amount of German political knowledge (past and present) to understand every nuance of this book, but it's perfectly put together regardless. It's completely believable and the tone is perfect.

'I was hooked on Look Who's Back by the end of the third page. Adolf Hitler wakes up in modern-day Berlin and is surprised to discover that his last order, to raze the city to the ground, wasn't carried out. By his reckoning, Germany shouldn't exist at all and he's a little annoyed that it does, actually.'

10) Lady Chatterley's Trial by Penguin Books
 
This is an example that didn't make the list because of the words, but because of how it made me feel and what it made me think about.

It's purely just extracts from R v Penguin Books Ltd, the censorship trial in 1960, and it's published by Penguin themselves so it's likely going to be a tad biased. However, it goes into the history of Penguin - how they didn't believe classic novels just be only for the middle classes, so they began publishing cheap copies for the price of a packet of cigarettes.

It's a very tiny book that you can read in a few hours, but it prompted a lot of conversation with different people about how lucky we are to live in an age where censorship isn't really an issue (however you may feel about 50 Shades of Grey) and where we can actually get hundreds of classic books for free. Very thought-provoking.

What were your favourite books of 2014? 

  

Hanna's Winter TBR 2014

Is it really this time of year again already? By which I mean TBR List time, because honestly, you can't even really tell that it's Winter over here. By the end of November in England, we're usually shivering under four blankets and tromping around in huge boots... but not this year. It's pleasantly mild and this makes me happy.

My pre-Christmas reading is going to be mostly finishing off the series I've begun this year. I hate splitting books in a trilogy across a few years as it messes with my cataloging system, so hopefully I can get them ticked off before January.

1) Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters (DoSaB series #2 and #3) by Laini Taylor

This may actually be the next book I read - after I've finished this week's allocated Pickwick reading anyway.

I read the first book in this series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, when I was stranded with nothing else to read and was actually quite shocked at how good it ended up being. I bought the next two books very shortly afterwards and I'm looking forward to finding out how Karou plans to save the chimaera.

And also, pretty cover.

2) Symbiont (Parasite series #2) by Mira Grant

On second thought, this will definitely be the next book I read. I want to read it so desperately that I could cry. I can't even explain how much I've been looking forward to this.

Parasite, the first book, was easily one of the best three books I read in 2013. It's basically about tapeworms trying to take over the world, which sounds ridiculous, but it's so intelligent and well-written and argh.

The second book in Mira Grant's other trilogy, Deadline, wasn't all that great but I really hope Symbiont is even half as good as Parasite was... *swoons with excitement* 

3) The Republic of Thieves (Gentlemen Bastards series #3) by Scott Lynch

Alright, so I technically should have read this last year. In my defence, it's huge and hardbacked and signed... so I don't particularly want to lug it around in my handbag and I'm never at home long enough to just settle down and read it.

This series is unbelievable if you like fantasy. Both the previous books, The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies left me almost shellshocked. A little too much detail perhaps, but absolutely worth it for the wonderful characters and clever plot twists. 

4) Serving the Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Physics Under Hitler by Philip Ball 

This was one of those 'Oh, I just need one thing from Waterstones... oh wait, these other twelve books also look good' picks.

It's non-fiction, quite obviously about the physicists working under the Nazi regime. More specifically, it examines the lives of three particular scientists (one of them Werner Heisenberg) and their different attitudes towards the 'advances' Hitler was asking them to make.

It sounds absolutely fascinating and I can't wait to read it.

5) Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik

 I love writing this list - it reminds me of how many books I own that I desperately want to read!

This is another non-fiction, first reviewed by Ellie Bookworm, and then squabbled over in a bookshop by Ellie Bookshop and myself until she eventually bought me a copy for Christmas last year. How festive.

This does what it says on the tin. A book about the myths, causes and folklore of rabies. Why do I want to read this so much? I don't know, but I really do. 

6) The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

Actually, Ellie bought me this book too, when I think about it.

I've been avoiding it a little while I waited for the hype to die down but I think it may finally be time to crack it open. I'm a little wary of 'girl locked up because of her gifts' books since the fiasco that was Shatter Me, but I've heard great things about this one - hence why I wanted it in the first place.

Ugh, I've just reread my Shatter Me review and I just know that The Girl With All The Gifts will be better. Not like it could be any worse, to be fair.

7) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I've been dying to read this ever since we read-a-longed The Moonstone last year but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I think I keep hoping somebody will read-a-long this as well, but as we're doing Pickwick now and War & Peace in the Spring (join us - there's safety in numbers!) it probably won't happen.

I really should just get my act together and read it. The Moonstone was absolutely brilliant so I don't doubt that this book will be as well. It's just, you know... effort.

8) The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought by David Adam

I'm torn with this one. I simultaneously really want to read it and to stay as far away from it as possible.

I don't know that much about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - not the scientific explanations and backstory, anyway - and I'd like to. There are an awful lot of misconceptions, most of which I'm more than aware of, but I'd like to see what else I'm not aware of. Also, I did pay £16.99 for a new non-fiction hardback, so... yeah.

On the other hand, I'd really rather not have an excuse to drown myself in self-pity, which is often a real possibility with these books. Woe is me! I'm so misunderstood! *dramatic pose*



I actually think that will do for now. There are a multitude of other books that I might read this Winter (and probably will) but these are the books that spring to mind. I can't think of any more without scrabbling through my bookshelves and that probably means they're not present enough in my mind for me to read them yet anyway. So there.

What will you be reading this Winter?