Favourite Books I've Read This Year

The weather may be warming up unfortunately, but Christmas is well and truly on it's way.

Today at work we had Christmas Carols over at Southwark Cathedral for an hour at lunch.

I didn't go last year being new to the company and all, but this year I decided to go along.

The service had a good handful of hymns sung by our colleagues, a couple of local primary schools and the whole audience joined in too.

It was beautiful.

There was one girl in particular who I recognised from work who did a solo at the beginning and she was amazing.

There's just something about a choir singing hymns that can always give me goosebumps.

I also baked my first Yule Log to take into work (my colleague baked mince pies) and we've been stuffing our faces for the past two days (picture is at the end!).

As this goes live I should be at our Christmas Party (yes, it's on a Wednesday, one of the reasons I didn't go last year!) and Thursday we'll be having a free Christmas lunch in the canteen.

And then I only have Monday left at work and I'm on my Christmas holidays!

Well, sort of. I'm working from home between Christmas and New Year, but that's fine by me.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS.

Anyway, as I've been reading a lot this year, I thought I'd do a little round up of my favourite first-time reads.

Initially, my goal was 30 books in a year but around August maybe(?) I upped it to 35 and then 40 because I kept getting nearer to my goal and still having a month or two left of the year.

It's now still on 40 and I'm currently 3 books away from completing it (am also currently reading three books so it's just a case of finishing them before December 31st!)

1. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton - February 
Oh. my. God. I just loved this. I'm a hugeeeee fan of the films anyway and I only found out they were books last year so my dad bought me them for last Christmas. I devoured them and loved every minute of them. Although, like the films, the first one was better. If you're into dinosaurs, science-y lingo and action-packed adventure, you'll love this.

2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - March
My friend bought me these for Christmas also I think (or a belated birthday present, I can't quite remember). I don't know if I watched the first one before I read them but I literally read all three in about a week. Twists, easy-to-read YA that you just can't put down. Follow Thomas as he is thrown into a world he doesn't know anything about and has to figure out how to survive the everchanging maze.

3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - May
This was my first audiobook and I adored it way more than I thought I would. My friend (same one as above!) recommended it as an easy fantasy to get stuck into and boy was she right. Full of Gods, Princesses and an almost Greek-like empire, this story takes you on a rollercoaster of events which has you guessing at every turn. Not all the characters are what they seem or who they say they are.

4. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin - July
I sped through the first two in the series sometime last year and eagerly awaited this final instalment's release earlier this year. A fitting ending for an epic trilogy of vampires, love, friendship, loss and power in a dystopian world. I loved every single character, even the antagonists as they provided so much to this story. Cronin nails backstory, timejumps and has an incredible eye for detail I am well and truly inspired by.

5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - July
This one I picked up at work having always been intrigued by war stories (not realising it was true at the time). It was horrific and heartbreaking, but also so honest and heartwarming at the same time. It's such a fantastic story that it's amazing to think it's all true. To think somebody actually lived this life detailed on 500 pages is unbelievable.

6. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - August
This is another audiobook, a long one at that, but one worth every page. Rothfuss is another writer I envy and aspire to be like. His ability to turn the mundane events into interesting encounters blew me away. A world full of magic, aspiration, friendship, growth with an undertone of darkness, The Name of the Wind will take you on an adventure like no other. The characters are phenomenal and so likeable. Kvothe is someone you will want to follow through the university on through his daily dealings in the Inn he now owns.

7. The Infernal Devices: Book 3, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - November
I know I wrote the reviews pretty recently, but I'll say it again - this prequel series is way better than The Mortal Instruments. It was refreshing to see a love triangle that didn't make me want to kill all three of the characters. Tessa was a strong, independent character who happened to fall in love with Jem - a kindhearted, broken boy - and Will - a fiery, sarcastic boy - but refused to hurt either of them intentionally or choose between them. This love story entwined with clockwork creatures, magic, fate and family is one brilliant finale for the series, one that left me for days after feeling lost and wanting to dive back into the Shadowhunter world.

I hope this recap has inspired you to pick up a novel or two! Goodreads has a cute little feature at the moment of a look back on the current year and I have read approximately 16,895 pages - insane!

Let's hope for a bigger and better goal next year.

My to be read pile still isn't getting any smaller...

The City of Mirrors

By Justin Cronin.

My God, I waited 6 months for this.

I pre-ordered it and everything.

And this epic finale has definitely not disappointed.

I even think this trilogy (The Passage and The Twelve also) has just overtaken The Lord of the Rings as my favourite novels.

Really.

[The plague that almost ended humanity
is finally over. For a new generation of
children, the once-feared virals have
begun to seem almost like imaginary
monsters, creatures from a fairy tale they
no longer believe in.

For Alicia, however, the bad dreams can
never be forgotten. And the voice in
those dreams is leading her towards one
of the great cities of The Time Before.
The ruined city of New York.

Ruined but not empty. For this is the
final refuge of Zero, the first and most
terrible product of the viral experiment.
And Alicia knows that the nightmare can
never truly be over until he is destroyed.

But what she finds is not what she's
expecting.

An opponent at once deadlier and
more human than she could ever have
imagined, who takes her on a terrifying
journey into the past to learn how it all
began.

And to find out how it must end.]

Can I just say? Justin Cronin is a God of literature and I am sorely tempted to pick up The Passage once more and start the trilogy all over again.

Seriously, the plot, the characters, the writing style, the imagery, everything = PERFECT.

I loved the backstory of Zero's character. Although the content of his history was almost mundane, boring in a way, the way it's written and just the pure fact you - as a reader - know what's coming is enough to keep you hooked.

The rest of the original characters (that are still alive) are back twenty years or so on. I must admit I was a little disappointed they were all grandparents at this stage. It created a whole new spin on their situation though.

As always, Cronin draws you in, building up for the tension to hit and he sure didn't hold back.

I don't even know what else there is to say that won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read any of them.

It was a novel of heartbreak, beauty, friendship, love, soul-searching and a new beginning.

I can't suggest you read it enough.

---

Rating:
★★★★★★★★★★



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What I'm Loving Right Now

It seems summertime is when all my time is eaten up by countless trips home, social events and actually going out with my boyfriend.

It was only a mere few months ago that I remember complaining to my housemate that I never do anything on weekends. I just sit at home and watch TV.

But, now, I don't honestly remember a weekend that I haven't been busy.

Today is the first day in ages that I feel like I can get back to my usual self and slob out. Except, because I haven't done it in a while, it feels wrong and I have all this pent up energy spent on doing nothing.

Eh, who am I to complain?

Here are the things I've been loving recently:

1. One Tree Hill - yes, I've given in and am re-watching it for the third time. I just can't seem to get enough of all the drama and twists in this ridiculous programme. I had to find something to fill the PLL-shaped hole (although I am watching series 7 of it, but weekly episodes is never as good as a full on binge).

2. Travel confidence/striving to better my anxiety again and again - This goes hand in hand with the following point but it deserves its own mention to be honest. It wasn't all that long ago that I felt jittery and worried about leaving the house, even for work, let alone letting it all go and just going everywhere and anywhere I get the opportunity to. Beckenham, home, Faversham, Oxford. It may not seem a lot to those accustomed to just following their heart, but I'm proud of myself for how far I've come and how much I can truly push myself.

3. Oxford meal with Adeel and his work colleagues - Last Friday I left work at 4 o'clock, headed to Paddington for the first time and caught a train to little ol' Oxford for a three course meal in a boathouse. It was amazing. I'm going to do a full post about it later down the line, but it deserves a quick mention as I just loved it. Take me back.

4. The City of Mirrors - mannnnnn, this is also going to get its own post in review format but this book! Final instalment of Justin Cronin's vampire, end-of-the-world trilogy and it was as good as I could have hoped and better. READ THEM.

5. Runtastic - hey, look who's kept it up and hasn't given in to laziness again?? I'm actually loving it, it's hard work and a killer on those muscles, but the feeling of completing 1-2 miles twice a week is the best feeling ever and this app is a huge motivator.

6. Empire soundtrack - I'm always looking for new music since joining Spotify and the Empire season has not long finished and I found myself craving to hear Jussie Smollett's lovely tones. Powerful and You're So Beautiful seem to be my favourites at the moment.

7. Counting down the days to moving out - okay, so we haven't set a date or anything for actually moving in together, but it is getting nearer and nearer to our presumed month at least. I just cannot wait to leave this shared accommodation and live with my best friend and boyfriend. Sure, he'll probably drive me nuts at some point but, God, give me that any day over sharing with someone I completely loath.



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