We’ve had a dusting of snow here in Prague, which makes everything look very pretty. But it’s a reminder that winter is here to stay, at least for a while. Christmas is over, it’s cold outside and there’s a general feeling of deflation. The long wait for springtime starts now and it can be the most miserable time of year. However, there are some advantages, such as grabbing a blanket and a hot drink and curling up with a good book for hours on end (preferably by a crackling fire). So put on your woolly socks and take a look at some of my favourite winter reads…
books
All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
There is so much I loved about All the Light We Cannot See. I was captivated by the poetic writing, I cared about the characters and I really, really wanted to know what would happen. At times my eyes were glued to the page for hours, and it’s been a while since I’ve felt that way towards a book. However, there were a few negative points, which I will get to in a few moments. First of all, I will set the scene…
My Top 5 Books Read in 2016
Wow! 2016 has gone by in a flash. It’s been a turbulent year politically and there are many reasons to want it over and done with. However, I’ve personally made some happy memories and will be thinking about the positive bits of 2016 as we welcome in the new year.
Some of my good memories include my two month trip to Asia, where I read a lot and visited some great bookshops, moving to Prague in July and getting engaged last month. It was all very exciting stuff! I haven’t read and blogged as much as I would have liked though, so hopefully I’ll pick up the habit again in 2017.
But for now I’ll end 2016 you with my five favourite books (in no particular order) that I read this year…
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Gut – Giulia Enders
Now that Christmas is over for another year, it seems like an appropriate time to write about Gut by Giulia Enders. January is typically when people try to balance out the gluttony of December by eating more healthily and there’s so much conflicting advice about how to do that. Gut goes back to the basics and explains how the digestive system works.
Enders gives a simple and often humorous account of the journey food takes through your system. Her chatty manner immediately puts even the most easily embarrassed reader at ease, even when reading the section titled “a few facts about faeces – components, colour, consistency“. And if her charming enthusiasm doesn’t pull you in, the illustrations by Jill Enders (Giulia’s sister) will be sure to put a smile on your face.
Necessary Errors – Caleb Crain
I had no idea Necessary Errors was set in Prague until it serendipitously turned up on my doorstep a week before my move here. It was a very appropriate book to read while settling into my new city.
Necessary Errors is about recent Harvard graduate Jacob who has escaped the monotony of an office job in the States to follow an urgent desire to immerse himself in the transition of Czechoslovakia to a democratic country. However Jacob can’t shake the feeling that he has arrived too late. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Velvet Revolution having happened a year earlier, he feels as though a slice of history has slipped through his fingers. Continue reading
White – Rosie Thomas
At 464 pages White seemed like a good choice for my 24 hour journey home after my travels in Asia. And with the promise of Mount Everest as a backdrop, I thought it would hold my attention.
However White was not the nail-biting adventure that I had been hoping for. It is first and foremost a romance novel with a rather dull and predictable plot. The most thrilling chapters were rushed and overshadowed by a tedious love triangle.
Rosie Thomas is a climber herself and clearly understands the hardships and dangers an Everest expedition would entail. She also writes about the ego-driven climbers, with their obsessions of finally scaling the mountain. Continue reading
Top 5 Bookish Instagram Profiles
Instagram is fast becoming my favourite form of social media. In a world that has felt increasingly dark and uncertain in recent weeks, it’s been the perfect place to turn when news broadcasts get me down. I particularly like following fellow #bookstagrammers. They are a lovely bunch from all over the world, sharing their current reads and having civilised bookish chats. Here are a few of my favourites.
Packing My Bags Again
I’ve been back from my travels for almost three months and already life has thrown another adventure my way. I’m very happy to announce that I am moving to Prague in July! It’s been one of my favourite cities since living there for nine months back in 2008 and I can’t wait to get back.
I’ll miss London, especially my local area and, of course, my local bookshop, but I am looking forward to spending lazy days in beer gardens and getting to know new people and places. I also can’t wait to have some more space. The new flat will have a sofa, bedside tables and a dining table – items of furniture my boyfriend and I have missed a lot. We’ll also have room for some bookshelves so I don’t have to squash my reading pile on to half broken shelves like this… Continue reading
The Lie – Helen Dunmore
I received The Lie from a book swap with a couple of friends in Indonesia. Although not a light holiday read (as you can probably tell from the cover), The Lie had an absorbing storyline and structure. I wouldn’t describe it as a memorable book, but I do have fond memories of reading it while sipping on a refreshing papaya juice on Gili Trawangan (ah, those were the days!).
However The Lie is as far from sunshine and fruit juices as you could imagine. Set just after the First World War, it follows Daniel, a returned soldier struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and trying to come to terms with life back in his home town.
From the very first page Dunmore sets the bleak tone which never ceases. Whether it’s the harsh reality of the small patch of land Daniel lives on in Cornwall, or the overpowering stink of thick mud from his flashbacks, the horror of war is never far away. Continue reading
Paper Towns – John Green
John Green has been on my radar for a while, and not just because of the popularity of The Fault in Our Stars. It was through Twitter that I discovered the CrashCourse YouTube channel where Green and his friends upload informative bite-sized videos about subjects such as literature, history, science and philosophy. They are definitely worth checking out.
I picked up Paper Towns at a guest house on the Thai island of Koh Lanta and then, because it was such a page-turner, read it in only two wonderful sittings on the beach.
Quentin, known to his friends as ‘Q’, is the likeable protagonist. One night his old childhood friend Margo shows up at his window to drag him out of bed and on a crazy quest of vengeance. When she doesn’t turn up at school the next day, and Quentin discovers a cryptic clue, he becomes determined to unravel the mystery of Margo and find out where she has run off to. Continue reading
Bundle of Books 