Having failed to find a charity shop copy of A Christmas Carol, I turned my attentions to other books on the list, getting through three in December and seven in January, including the second and third Harry Potter novels, which aren’t on the list but which I had to read as my OCD can’t cope with reading just 1 and 4!
I tried to vary the tone and theme of the novels I was reading, particularly as some of these books are somewhat melancholic, so it was nice to alternate between children’s books and stories of loss and tragedy.
I’ve been travelling by train a lot recently (for interviews) and reveled in the chance to get some quality reading time in. I also deliberately took Waiting For Godot on a train as I don’t like it, but knew I would read it once I’d finished my other book, in this case Harry Potter.
It would take far too long to review each novel in turn, so once again I’m resorting to three (ish) word reviews:
December:
High Fidelity – Nick Hornby – real, funny, bad ending
My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult – touching, shocking, heartbreaking
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee – rich, human, layered
January:
The Wizard of Oz – Frank L Baum – imaginative, symbolic, simplistic
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – JK Rowling – better than book 1
The Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank – honest, inspiring, beautiful
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – JK Rowling – easy entertaining read
Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett – pointless, rambling, overrated
The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides – dark, fetishised, romanticised,
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde – brilliant, satirical, uncanny
Currently I’m reading Don Quixote, a chunky volume which I expect to take me all of February if not into March, but I’ll post a review as soon as I’m done.
In the meantime, keep reading!
30 down 308 to go!
