One thing I have been finding the time for is reading. I always tend to slow down towards the end of the year as time slips away from me, but I am making a very conscious effort to read as much as I possibly can at the moment and so naturally - I have some thoughts to share!
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to rank my favourite books this year, and I have settled on a ‘top 3’ reveal for each quarter, and then at the end of the year I’ll look back through them all and decide on my top 3 overall favourites from the year as a whole.
Before I dive into it - some bookish housekeeping:
Bookstagram - if photographs of books I’ve read with short caption reviews are your thing, then please follow me here!
Goodreads - this is where I log each book I read and include a star rating. If you are on Goodreads, then please follow me here!
My books - and this one is just a shameless plug. I have two poetry books available to buy on Amazon, if this is of interest to you I would very much appreciate you checking them out here!
Right, now that’s over - here are my top 3 books from the first quarter of the year!
#3 - Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
“Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.” (Pg. 228)
I was looking forward to this book from the second that it got announced. I pre-ordered it as soon as I could and I was so excited when I finally sat down to read it. If you have read Clarke’s other novel ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’ then you know that her writing is full of mystery and twists and turns. Piranesi was no exception. Overall - I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting the storyline to be, it was in fact better. I really had to pay attention at all times when reading this one, and even then there were a good few times that I had the rug pulled from beneath me and I found myself back at square one trying to figure out what was going on.
I will say that the first part of the book is extremely confusing, but I beg you to keep going because this book is a puzzle and once you figure it out, everything falls into place and you can’t help but be so overwhelmingly impressed that the earlier confusion and furrowed brow is a distant, irrelevant memory.
I am reluctant to write anymore about this because I do not want to spoil anything at all. Overall, it was a delightfully fun book that kept my guessing throughout - very enjoyable!
4/5 stars.
#2 - The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
“I was raised among books, making invisible friends in page that seemed cast from dust and whose smell I carry on my hands to this day.” (Pg. 14)
When I read the first chapter I knew immediately that I was going to fall in love with it. It is an exciting story about love, loss and most importantly, the magic of stories and books. It skips between tender moments of friendship, terrifying characters skulking in the dark and plot twists that keep you guessing the entire way through.
Ten year old Daniel Sempere is taken by his father to ‘The Cemetery of Forgotten Books’, a secret library in which he is asked to pick whichever of the books calls to him. His choice, The Shadow of the Wind, was written by a curious writer who’s entire life seems to be one big mystery and Daniel is determined to figure it out.
This book is wonderful, and is a must read that I would recommend to any book lover. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
5/5 stars.
#1 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
“People are messy, and love can be ugly. I’m inclined to always err on the side of compassion.” (Pg. 254)
Where do I even begin with this book? I bought it when I saw it blowing up across so many bookstagram accounts, and if I’m completely honest - I didn’t think it was going to be my thing. A story about a Hollywood celebrity who decides to ‘tell all’ about her glamorous showbiz life? Not something I would usually gravitate towards, but I decided to give it a go, and my god am I glad I did. It’s without a doubt my favourite book of the year so far!
Again, I am reluctant to say too much in regards to the storyline as I would have hated for any page of this remarkable book to have been spoiled for me, but believe me when I say - it deserves the hype! A story of love, loss, friendship and ambition. All of the characters are distantly complex and more importantly, extremely human. Full of the highs and lows you would expect from a story about a Hollywood lifestyle, Reid has managed to ensure that we feel every single emotion throughout - at one point I gasped out loud so drastically that I choked. I laughed, I cried…I cried a lot actually.
If you haven’t read this book yet, and it isn’t on your shelf, do yourself a favour and grab a copy - you won’t regret it!
5/5 stars.
So there we have it, my first top 3 of the year. I can’t wait to see which other books join the 2022 hall of fame throughout the year!
If you’ve read any of these books, have any bookish questions, or just want to talk about anything book related, I’d love to hear from you through one of the social links below.
Until next time,