January 2015 Wrap Up

This month began with an explosion of reading!

Thanks to the Bout of Books Readathon and my summer holiday, January was a pretty good success. Why only 'pretty good', you might ask? Well, that is because I only read for 2 weeks. Then work, ever so inconveniently, began again, and I have been running circles like a hamster in a wheel ever since - lots of energy, no mileage made. But that is not the point of this blog at all. So let me go through what I have read!

The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rich Riordan

It seems ages since I read these now. It is hard to believe that it was only last month.
This is an awesome series for young teens. I love the description of 'accidental education', and this really nails that bracket. No Eng Lit degree explained the Greek and Roman gods as well as this series, nor solidified their relationship between each other so well. I highly recommend this series for youngsters


I then went on an English crime novel spree with The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a JK Rowling - just in case you have not been on Earth for the past few years) and Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz. While the Silkworm was a good read with some interesting twists, Moriarty took the prize. I still stand by what I said in my review: Never have I been so beaten by a book. At least I am in good company there. A word of advice: Do not hear anything about Moriarty going in. Go in blind.

Then there was a YA Sci Fi book, the latest in Kathy Reichs's Virals series. I really enjoy this series and this book did not disappoint. I think this series is aimed at a more academically inclined YA audience. There is a lot of science and characters that are not the typical action heroes. I like the message behind this series.

And then, for the last of my completed books, we get to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I really enjoyed this one too. I was craving something more adult, especially after marathoning the Heroes of Olympus. This hit the spot. I would only recommend this book to readers who are not impatient and who do not mind long plots


My incomplete books for January:

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson (oh oh oh, how I wish I didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn, because this book and I are really enjoying our nocturnal meet) and The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton which is fun while I am reading it, but is a lot harder to pick up again. This is going to be a tough one to finish, especially considering what it is competing against.






Total for January: 9 books completed, and 2 books past the halfway mark!
I cleared 2 and two half books off my TBR pile! (It is actually more, but I joined the 2015 TBR Reading Pile Challenge after I had already cleared 7 from it! Oh well, who cares so long as I keep the pile moving, right?!)

My plans for February:
I would like to finish the two books above (obviously) and complete The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest also by Stieg Larsson. Other than that, I hope to not burn myself out early as far as work goes. It is particularly stressful this year as I have students in their final year and I basically have 4 months with them before their first exams begin. I am likely to be a bit MIA for a while. I am sure my non-existent audience will be completely understanding though!

Toodles for now!
Happy Reading!

Pan