February Round Up

 

I’m not one of these readers who set themselves reading goals. I read what I read when I read it. Some choices are dictated by proofs, arcs and blog tours but they’re fewer now than ever so I can indulge in my own selections. 

 

Speaking in Tongues – Jeffery Deaver 

I was sent this book as part of a book bundle at Christmas from my sister. I’d read a couple of Jeffery's novels before so thought I knew what to expect but whilst I found this gripping it wasn’t a pleasant read. 

 

The Fox Wife – Yangsze Choo

I was so thrilled to receive an advance copy of this book from a publisher who I thought had dropped me off their lists years ago. I read The Night Tiger as part of a buddy read initiated on social media and it was a lot of fun. The book will stay with me forever particularly the character of Ren. This latest offering from this author is a shapeshifting homage to the fox, full of intrigue and mystery and no less haunting than The Night Tiger.

 

Poor Things – Alasdair Gray

I borrowed this from the library as I was intrigued by the film buzz. I haven’t seen the film yet, but Emma Stone is one of my favourite actresses and I see that she won a BAFTA for her performance.  I expect I’ll wait for it to be shown on TV. I thought the book was a vehicle for the author’s political and sociological opinions, but it was certainly a phantasmagoria of a book!

 

The Dark Within Them – Isabelle Kenyon

Isabelle Kenyon is an independent publisher at Fly on the Wall Press. She often invites me to participate in blog tours and is understanding of my need for physical books. As a blog tour organiser, she is one of the most supportive and encouraging I’ve worked with. So, I preordered a copy of her book because I was interested, and I wanted to support her back. I didn’t know what to expect with this book, but I could never have imagined this. – a thriller set in a Mormon community in Utah! It’s quite a dark tale with plenty of twists and turns, plenty to keep me guessing.

 

The Sanatorium – Sarah Pearse

I had seen this book on social media, and I chose it as a prize from a publisher following my participation in a bookish community. I found it to be gripping and tense and heading towards the ‘unputdownable’ genre although I felt it fell away a little towards the end. That didn’t stop me borrowing the next in the series The Retreat, which I’m reading currently. 

 

Umbilical – Teika Marija Smits

This was a collection of short stories sent by the author herself after soliciting for my attention on social media. Always a gamble when a writer does this, but I go with my instincts and my gut told me this was sound. I wasn’t wrong. It’s a highly readable collection of sci fi, fantasy type stories with many allusions from mythology and folk lore.

 

3 Shades of Blue – James Kaplan

This was brilliant. I was offered a copy form the publisher on the strength of a previous request I made for a music genre book. The book looks at the development of jazz from the bebop era using the lives and careers of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans as the focus of the book. It is a feast for jazz fans and ever since reading I’ve been playing nothing but the music of these giants of the genre.