Sorry everybody for the lack of content. The truth is I just haven’t wanted to read. This month, as you can probably tell, I don’t have a reading wrap up or any book reviews to share with you because I didn’t read a single book! Let’s just say it’s been a bad start to the year.
It’s a new month and I really really want to get back into reading, the only thing is I don’t know what to read. So today I’m combing through my shelves today to find a few books I’m excited to read in the month of February.
My goal for today is to find at least one or two books that I absolutely want to read so before we get cracking here are the guidelines:
Read summary
Read the first few pages or first chapter
If all else fails choose a book to reread
Combing my shelves:
I own a lot of books, which may come as a surprise because I almost exclusively used my public library in 2018. This year, I want to continue using my public library but I also need to knock off some books from my TBR shelf at home. I have a lot of unread books on my shelves, that have been there unread since I first bought them. Some in particular have been staring me down:
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Time for a moment of truth: I bought this at the beginning of 2018 while I was still working at B&N and all I remember about this book when I bought it was that everyone was raving about it. So naturally I bought it, took it home, read the summary and just wasn’t in the mood for it. Recently in December I tried to listen to Perry’s latest release on audiobook and just couldn’t do it. I loved her writing and how atmospheric it was that instead of listen to an audiobook I could not gel with for the life of me, I thought maybe I should pick up The Essex Serpent.
I’ve read the summary and I’m intrigued, I just don’t know. This book is essentially about a widow who moves to Essex with her son. Some weird things have been happening in the town - people have been disappearing - and there’s talk of a giant mythical beast that lives in the river. Skeptical, the widow decides to go and investigate. Already off the bat, I love it. There’s just one problem: it’s so long.
If it weren’t for Perry’s lyrical prose maybe I’d give this one a go. Seeing as I’m trying to get back into the swing of things I’d like to read something on the lighter side.
Cellophane by Marie Arana
Is it the cover that roped me in? Yes and no. Let’s be real, this is a great cover but also I have no idea what a naked woman and a tarot card reading monkey have to do with this book. It’s one of those books that you are invested in reading just to find out what the hell is going on here. Seriously, what the hell is this book about? My copy’s summary is pretty vague: Don Victor Sobrevilla dreams of owning a paper company, his dream comes true and then he discovers the recipe for cellophane. To be honest, the Goodreads summary is much more compelling:
Don Victor Sobrevilla, a lovable, eccentric engineer, always dreamed of founding a paper factory in the heart of the Peruvian rain forest, and at the opening of this miraculous novel his dream has come true—until he discovers the recipe for cellophane. In a life already filled with signs and portents, the family dog suddenly begins to cough strangely. A wild little boy turns azurite blue. All at once Don Victor is overwhelmed by memories of his erotic past; his prim wife, Doña Mariana, reveals the shocking truth about her origins; the three Sobrevilla children turn their love lives upside down; the family priest blurts out a long-held secret....
A hilarious plague of truth has descended on the once well-behaved Sobrevillas, only the beginning of this brilliantly realized, generous-hearted novel. Marie Arana’s style, originality, and trenchant wit will establish her as one of the most audacious talents in fiction today and Cellophane as one of the most evocative and spirited novels of the year.
And had I not read it, I’d probably chuck this one back in the TBR for another day. Now I can’t possibly do that, this sounds like such a charming book that I can’t not read it.
The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
A few years back I finished 1Q84 by Murakami and since then it has been the one and only book of his I’ve ever read. You can probably guess that I bought this book after finishing 1Q84 nearly three years ago. I always come back to this book when I’m looking for something to read and I always say I should probably read that at some point, but not today. Really what it is, is I know full well how readers have felt about his books, after a few they’re all the same book. And to be honest I’m a little worried to be let down by a book when all I really need is a book I’ll love. I’m not saying I won’t love this book, I’m just scared that I may not.
To be fair, The Wind Up Bird Chronicles sounds absolutely nothing like 1Q84 which was straight up a bizarre time turning journey with a lot of facets and maybe too many. The Wind Up Bird Chronicles is sure to have an element of magical realism but its plot sounds more simplistic. Essentially it is about a man looking for his lost cat and his missing wife.
If I had to choose any book to read this month it might just be this one. It’s been staring me down and frankly I miss the atmosphere of Murakami’s books.
Chroma by Derek Jarman
I’ve mentioned this book a lot on here recently. I don’t want to spend too much time talking about it here, because it’s pretty clear that of the books on this list, Chroma will be the first one I read. I’ve been so excited to read this book for months and months that there’s no doubt in my mind I won’t love it.
I've still got books from my library I've been meaning to check out and read but we'll save that one for another day, until then happy reading!
