I’m taking part in A Month of Favorites (hosted by Traveling with T, Estella’s Revenge, and GirlXOXO) this December

Today’s topic is books worth the hype. Now, I don’t usually read a lot of recently published books, so not all of these were published in 2015.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Ok so when I was about a fifth or so into this book I was wondering, really? Why is this book so talked about when Lotto (the husband) is rather annoying? But I decided to persevere and when it came to Mathilde’s turn at the story, I was blown away. So is it worth the hype? I kind of think so (even with an annoying beginning).

Eleanor and Park – Rainbow Rowell

Normally I wouldn’t go for a book like this, the pale peach-coloured cover being a big uh-uh no thanks. But it seemed at that time (in 2013!) that lots of bloggers were gushing about this, and so I took a chance and it was just right, the right amount of sweetness, the right decade even (hello! 80s kid right here!). And the fact that Park is half-Asian, specifically Korean, made me like this book even more.

Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho

I was a bit on the fence about this one, not the “worth” part but more of the “hype” part. I’m guessing if you don’t really follow book bloggers, or at least those I do follow, you may not have come across this book. But I did see this book mentioned more than just a few times, and it was such a fun read. A funny, charming and whimsical read that touches on race and gender in the fantasy genre.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks – E. Lockhart

Well I guess with over 31,000 ratings on Goodreads, this counts as a ‘hyped’ book. The truth is, I didn’t really know much about it, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a strong female character, a boarding school setting, and a fondness for words. I suppose that should be enough to get some of you interested in it. It was, quite simply, a fun read.

H is for Hawk – Helen MacDonald

Now nonfiction isn’t for everyone I know. But this book, which has won all kinds of awards and is on so many ‘best of’ lists, is incredibly moving. I mean, did I ever want to read a book in which a goshawk was the star? I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a goshawk before I picked up this book. But this book isn’t just for nature lovers, H is for Hawk is about grief and bereavement, about coping with the death of a loved one.

What are some hyped books you’ve enjoyed?

Tanya Patrice at Girlxoxo.com,  Traveling with T and Andi at Estella’s Revenge are back with the December blogging event, A Month of Favourites! 

And that is exactly what I need this month, after my three-week absence from this blog – I guess being on vacation, meeting friends I hadn’t seen in two years, dining out, playing tourist and sightseeing, made sitting at a computer typing things seem rather unattractive, who would’ve thought!

 Today’s post is about my reading year.

Well it has been a surprisingly good year for me in terms of books read. I surpassed my Goodreads reading challenge although I have to admit that a lot of these were comics. And goodness, what comics! From Bitch Planet to The Wicked and the Divine to Lumberjanes and Zombillenium. I think 2015 may have been a year of comics, in terms of what I read!

I also read many new-to-me authors, like Lois McMaster Bujold and her amazing Sharing Knife series, Claire Fuller and her moving Our Endless Numbered Days. I dived into Naomi Novik’s Uprooted then got hooked onto her Temeraire series. 

Recently published books are often the highlight of many blogs but I don’t often pick up new books, partly because I get my books largely (I’m guessing it’s 90% or more) from the library. But I did read some much talked about books, like Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff and Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan. I even read and watched The Martian! That’s something very rare for me. And I have to say that the movie was better than the book, which I felt could’ve done with a lot of editing. 

As usual, I could’ve done with more non-fiction reads. And once again, my consumption of ebooks is increasing, thanks to Overdrive and Scribd. Although I should note that I never actually buy ebooks, but still purchase printed books. 

One of the suggested questions for today was favourite book of the year. I wish I could pinpoint one book or even five books but the truth is that I gave my heart to so many books this year. And I think a part of me is also thinking, there’s a whole month of reading left, maybe one of the books read in December will become my top read of 2015! 

So here’s to one last month of reading in 2015!

But I am curious, what was your favourite read(s) of the year?

A Month of Favorites is hosted by Girlxoxo, Traveling with T, and Andi at Estella’s Revenge! 

Today it’s all about favorites from other bloggers’ posts!

Megan at Leafing Through Life brought my attention to some great movies this year in her Five Fave Movies of the Year list. I don’t often go to the cinemas so we tend to rent or e-rent (?) movies to watch at home when the kids go to bed. St Vincent and The Giver are going on my (mental) list of movies to watch next.

And Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves’ timeline post led me to her interesting post about Liane Moriarty, an author I’ve been curious about but have yet to read.

I just made a pot of mushroom soup for lunch, but now I want to try the Slow-Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup from Helen at My Novel Opinion‘s Fave Winter-Warmer Recipes. Slow-Cooker! Tomato! Basil! Parmesan!

And now I am hungry.