Was January 2021 not the longest month ever? At last count, I think it was approximately 400 days long. But no matter, we’ve done it now! And hopefully, it was a good month for you, reading or otherwise. I hadn’t realised until I started writing this post how much I had neglected my monthly wrap-ups (the last one was in October, oops) so we’re starting the year on a positive note. Here’s my January wrap up covering the books I read over this long, cold and dry month…
January Wrap Up Reads
Hamnet
by Maggie O’Farrell
There’s a full review up for this book, so I won’t go on too much but let me just say this book is amazing. The story of Agnes – Hamnet’s mother and Shakespeare’s wife, amongst other things – brought me to tears. It’s beautifully written and deserving of all its accolades. Plus, I have the gorgeous Waterstones edition which I love!
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
by Charlie Mackesy
I had this as a Christmas gift (thanks Mum!) and it was the perfect antidote to the January blues. This book is full of kindness, warmth and wisdom. You can read it cover to cover or pick a page at random and you’re guaranteed to smile. Just what we all need at the moment.
Ghosts
by Dolly Alderton
I’d just like to point out it’s been a while since I mentioned Dolly or Pandora on this blog, which is a shocker. Mind you, I am still in mourning over the end of The High Low but let’s not dwell on that. Ghosts was as perfect as I thought it would be. Dolly’s writing is, as always, smart, funny and on the button. I nodded along vigorously at so many moments and that text exchange – if you’ve read it you know what I mean – made me feel sick. The tribulations of dating in the modern world!
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
I re-read Jane Eyre for uni and loved it just as much as the first time. I’m studying Classics at the moment so you’ll notice a slight theme! Although, it has to be said studying something isn’t quite the same and it does drum a bit of the fun out of it! Also, this time around I got more and more wound up with St.John (mate, she doesn’t want to marry you, move on).
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Well, now I’m just showing off. Another uni read, and it has been many years since I read some Shakespeare! Once I got back into the swing of things I enjoyed it. Things that helped: 1) listening to a BBC Radio 3 adaptation which really brought it to life and 2) watching Shakespeare In Love. The latter doesn’t really add anything except I love that film so I watched it under the guise of ‘research’.
Thank you for reading my January Wrap Up post and I hope you had a safe month.
Speak soon,
Pin this January wrap up post and add these books to your tbr
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