Monday 15 January 2018

November and December Wrap Up| CarenzaOnBooks

As I've already said on here, I am very behind on my blogging schedule with life being its crazy self and it dawned on me that I never posted my wrap up for November or December, so I thought why not post it now? In November I read 7 books and in December I read 7 books, so I thought I'd share with you what I read in the last two months of 2017.

November

I started off the month by finishing Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. This is the second book in the Grisha trilogy, which I still need to finish. I had really enjoyed Shadow and Bone, but Siege and Storm had the second book slump. I didn't enjoy it as much and found it a bit dull in places. I am going to finish this series as I really want to read the Six of Crows duology and the upcoming Nikoli book. I gave it 3/5 stars.

I then read a collection of poetry for my Creative Writing class called Into the Woods by Anna Robinson. As someone who isn't a fan of poetry, I really enjoyed this collection. It was very fictitious and had a story like element to it that I had never read in poetry before. I gave it 4/5 stars.

I then read another collection of poetry for my Creative Writing class called Grief Is A Thing With Feathers by Max Porter. This was something I didn't particularly enjoy as it just wasn't for me. I gave it 2/5 stars.

I read a script by the playwright Dario Fo called We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay! It's something I would enjoy seeing performed, but on the page wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be. I gave it 3/5 stars.

I have to read a LOT of books for my Creative Writing class, so it will come as no surprise that I had to read another book for it in November. I read Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. I didn't enjoy this very much as it's really not my thing if I'm being honest. I gave it 2/5 stars.

My final read of November was Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This was one of my favourite reads of 2017. I adored it. I'm definitely going to read more of his books as I adored his writing style. I gave it 5/5 stars.

December

The first book I read in December was The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry. I really like Grayson Perry as an artist and he is also a really good writer. If you are looking for a non-fiction book about feminism from a male perspective, then check it out. I gave it 4/5 stars.

I then read The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. I picked this up in London in December and I'll be honest I bought it because it has a cat on it. It was an okay read, but I don't think it was the book for me. I have a similar book by a different Japanese author that's about cats that I think I'll read in the upcoming months. I gave it 3/5 stars.

I finished reading The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster. This is a script that I have to read for my English Literature class. I actually really enjoyed it and hopefully, I'll get to see it at some point in my life. I gave it 3/5 stars.

I then finally read The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien. I adore the movies, so I figured it was time to read the books. The books are so beautifully written and are super detailed. I am going to be continuing reading this series, I just need a bit of a break from it. I gave it 4/5 stars.

As I had met her in Edinburgh in August, I thought I should probably read the book I bought at the event and that was The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. I wasn't overwhelmed by it and having read it, I'm not sure what my feelings will be on The Cruel Prince which is her latest release. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Having received it as a Christmas present in 2016, I finally read Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki. I love Studio Ghibli so much and I think Hayao Miyazaki has lived a really interesting life. This book was mis-sold to me as a biography when really it is a collection of essays and interviews with Miyazaki. I gave it 3/5 stars.

The final book I read in 2017 was Sleeping Giants by Slyvian Neuvel. I am not the biggest fan of sci-fi books normally, but I really enjoyed this and I will be picking up the sequels to it. It's told in a really interesting style. I gave it 4/5 stars.

And that concludes my wrap up for the final months of 2017. I have come to the conclusion that I am going to be moving my wrap-ups to my other main social media platform, YouTube. I just don't feel as though they sit here well anymore and I want to free this space up for other content.
Carenza x