The January Bookshelf

*Decides to actually start posting*

I've always loved reading, and this month I've done a lot of just that. At the beginning of 2015, I set a goal to read 25 books during this year (which doesn't sound all that impressive, but trust me it's hard). Having travelled quite a bit during January, I managed to bite off of a sizeable chunk of that goal. I thought I'd do a little mini review of each of the books I've read this month. This might end up being a recurring post, or it might not. We will see:o

1. The Great Gatsby

I was really excited about this book. Obviously it's a classic, and some people have gone so far as to say it's the 'greatest American novel'. Personally, I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped to, but I can certainly see the appeal. There are parts where the grandeur and mystery of Gatsby's lifestyle can leave you in awe, but for the most part I was pretty bored. Don't leave it off your 'to read' list though, I think I might be the outlier in terms of opinion here.

2. it

This book isn't a novel; it's a coffee table book. It's a style guide, written by Alexa Chung, filled with anecdotes, tips and intriguing photography. I quite enjoyed flipping through the pages and dog-earing the ones I thought I'd come back to.

3. Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and park is the second novel I've read by Rainbow Rowell and I absolutely adored it. I'm a huge sucker for teenage romance and this is one of those slightly unconventional, but completely adorable parings. I loved this novel, and I think Rainbow Rowell is slowly becoming one of my favourite authors.

4. The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks

Great. Book. I though this one was a huge eyeopener to the ways in which girls, particularly teenagers, are seen by others and themselves in a relationship. True, there are times where Frankie, the main character, can be a little annoying to the reader, but I think that this book is something which every teenage girl NEEDS to read. 

5. Confessions of a Sociopath

Not gonna lie, the cover drew me in on this one. I didn't realise that this book was more or less the memoirs of the author; I kind of assumed it would have a plot. It didn't. I started it, and at first It was really quite interesting; a fascinating glimpse into an alternatively wired brain, but the book got really repetitive, really fast. And I got bored just as fast. It didn't help that the underlying message of the entire thing was essentially that sociopath's are far superior to normal people (or as we are named in the book, 'empaths'). I'm still plonking my way through the last chapter, but really, you could read the first two and get the point.

And those are all the books I read in January! As I said, this was quite a heavy month and hopefully these 'bookshelf' posts won't be as long as this one on a regular basis. Let me know what you've read this month as I'd love to add more books to my 'to read' list. Also, let me know what you think if you've read any of these. I really like to discuss books:o

Risa xx