The books I read January – March (2018)

From January to March I’ve managed to read 18 books (out of my 75-year target)! I thought I’d make a list of them and maybe give a little review or comments about them – especially my favourites.

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – Unfortunately, this for me was a real disappointment and not the fantastic book to kick off the year I’d hoped it would be. It was slow paced and boring, for the most part, however, the ending and last chapter or so were slightly better. In reality, the only reason why I even rated this novel a 3 (as opposed to a 1 or 2) was the feature of the cat, Glenn.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J. K. Rowling– I figure I don’t need to say too much about this series – I’m a massive fan, of course, and a Gryffindor, of course. I thoroughly enjoyed indulging again and re-discovering the details I’d forgotten – somehow despite re-reading it 14 times there’s still more I can take from it.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling– Will I ever not cry at Dumbledores death? No.
4. Turtles all the way down by John Green– John Green is one of the greatest YA authors, in my opinion. I’ve read all his novels so naturally, I decided to read Turtles all the way down and it is quite honestly my favourite of his, so far! Definitely a favourite so far and I’m pretty certain it’ll be among my top books of 2018.
5. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig–  This book once again was one that was surrounded by hype but thankfully lived up to expectations! It was somewhat slow to begin but by the middle I was completely riveted and conflicted by whether I wanted to know the answers and finish the novel quickly or wanted to read it slowly so it lasted forever.
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling– Will I cry at the end of deathly hallows? Always
7. Depression & Other Magic Tricks by Sabina Benaim– A beautiful anthology, especially from the perspective of a mental health sufferer. Highly recommend this and it is now one of my all-time favourite poetry collections.
8. Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa by Jenny Nimo – I love re-reading my favourite childhood books! This isn’t one of my favourites from the Charlie Bone series but it means I get to keep reading the series.
9. Free Four by Veronica Wroth–  Divergent is my favourite series, alongside Harry Potter, so it was wonderful to learn some more about the characters. I really must reread the series soon.
10. Aristotle and Dante Disocver the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz– Simplistic. Beautiful. Gay AF. Inspiring. Heartbreaking. One of the best novels I’ve ever read – one of those books I genuinely believe everyone should read. 
11. The Power by Naomi Alderman – I read this as part of the Banging Book Club but honestly, I found it boring and utterly uninspiring. I expected to adore it from the blurb and the reviews I’ve seen. I wonder if it’s a book I should re-read in a year or two and hopefully I’ll be able to draw more from it.
12. Matilda by Roald Dahl– A childhood classic. A forever favourite.
13. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K Rowling– I can’t believe I’m admitting this but I’d never read this before. It was a super cute and quick read before bed and I love having these little books to bring a glimmer of magic into my life when I’m feeling somewhat down and distant from Hogwarts.
14. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson – This was one of the books I had in a pile to donate to charity but upon recommendation from a friend I decided to give it a read and honestly, I adored it. Jandy Nelson was able to write a typical YA book that I love but with an added twist and excitement. I’m definitely keen to read more by Jandy.
15. The girl who could see by Kara Swanson – Audible sometimes have free books from upcoming authors which is how I stumbled across this. It was absolutely fantastic and only a few hours long which I quite enjoyed. I highly recommend this and can’t wait to see what else Swanson releases.
16. My secret unicorn – the magic spell by Linda Chapman  – Does anyone else remember the My Secret Unicorn books? I’m sure this was the first series I properly read and it’ll always remain close to my heart. It’s one of the novels I want to pass along to any future children I may have so it felt sensible to re-read it again for my own pleasure.
17. Third year at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton – As is probably quite obvious my Easter was spent indulging in my childhood favourite novels so I had to continue reading this series from last year.
18. Knocked out by my nunga nungas by Louise Rennison – Although I struggle with some of the ‘inappropriate’ jokes in these novels – they’re certainly books of their time – this is again a series I’m continuing from last year and would love to finish this year.