Books to Read February ǀ 2017

I always write on my blog about things that I myself would like to be seeing on other peoples blogs. Every time someone suggests a good book to me I always write it down because I feel like you can never really can discover everything all by yourself. There is also a theory that we are living in our own little echo chamber where we read only what we choose and we follow who we choose on social media so that all we hear is what we want to hear. Therefore I feel like taking book suggestions or a reading list from someone else could really broaden our mindsets, being well-read never hurt anyone. Here I have listed a few books that I myself have enjoyed and I will try to upload more suggestions fairly frequently. If you have a book you think I'd enjoy then feel free to let me know in the comments.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

In my opinion this is the most flawless book in the world. Even though it is written in a language that essentially seems to have come from a different era, the story line is so perfect and pieces together so well that none of that matters at all. No knots are really left untied and the book ends on such a positive note. It is satisfying to feel like all the times the protagonist so openly expresses such deep emotions, it has not been in vain. It is such an emotionally stirring thing to read, cleverly introducing so many extra themes and ideas. It really is a work of art. My favourite film version of this is the series from 2011. This would be my first recommendation but I feel the character of Joe is better portrayed in the 1946 film.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

This is definitely something to read if you have felt yourself getting gradually less and less interested in books. After not reading a decent book for a while, I often find myself less motivated to try again to find one. Blue Monday is something I am so glad I stumbled across. There are several books in the series (this being the first) so there is even more to keep you entertained after this book is finished. I think it is written so effectively in order to keep you interested and then to dramatically build tension towards the end. If you haven't found a book that you couldn't put down in a long while then this is for you. It refreshes your love of reading fiction. Nicci French is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife tema Nicci Gerrad and Sean French. The combination of two people who write psychological thrillers could definitely contribute to just how great this story is.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

This book is written from the perspective of someone who has been greatly affected by something that has happened in his childhood. It is so cleverly written and I feel you experience the same emotions that the main character feels, you get excited about the things he gets excited by, even though as the reader you know that most of it is motivated by the emotional corruption from his childhood experience. Because of this, I believe Nathan Filer shows how easily influenced you can be by your infant years. This is very reminiscent of a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. They are both written from the perspectives of people who do not think like your average person, yet are so cleverly constructed that you remain drawn to the character and their actions anyway. I read and reread this book and even bought two copies of it in the end.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Robert Galbraith is pseudonym for J.K Rowling. She chose to write under this name in order to receive unvarnished feedback on her work and in order to work without hype or expectation. She has said, even now her cover has been blown, that she writes under this name so it can be distinguished from her other works. Unsurprisingly I found this book to be a very good read. It wasn't particularly any more difficult than reading Harry Potter, like you'd perhaps expect a book aimed adults to be, rather it was fairly simplistic on the scale of things in my opinion. It did include immaculate descriptions, I love the way you can visualise things so easily with her writing. In this way I believe the writing style to be recognisable from the Harry Potter books. Even though I personally didn't find the ending The Cuckoo's Calling to be giant shock, the rest of it and the build up is amazing.