On my Bookshelf: January '15

I've been putting a lot of time into designing the cards this month, so I've haven't read as much as I'd like, but I've definitely enjoyed everything I did read!

Here's my recap from January:

1. Grow Your Handmade Business - Kari Chapin

I started the month with something a little different in the form of a non-fiction creative business book. This book was full of some great information and got me very inspired to get to work on improving my little business. And my book-keeping is now all in order thanks to the advice in here! I definitely recommend this to anyone running a small business.

2. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

As with The Fault in Our Stars, I was a little late to the party with this one as I know everyone was loving it last year. Just before I started reading again, I went to see this at the cinema and loved it. And of course I enjoyed the book even more! This kept me gripped all the way through (despite knowing the ending!) and I read it in a few short sittings. Needless to say I definitely recommend it, whether you've seen the film or not.

3. The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh

This one was leant to me by my cousins at Christmas. I read this straight after Gone Girl so i was a little worried I might find it boring in comparison, and the beginning did feel a little slow. But once I got in to it I really enjoyed it, and finished it in a day. When my cousins leant it to me they said it would make me want to be a florist, and I couldn't agree more! Its full of some beautiful descriptions of flowers, their meanings (there's even a dictionary of them at the back) and the work of a florist (the images of the flowers markets in my head are just lovely!). The story itself is very emotional and the characters are very strong. The words on the front of the book sum up the story beautifully: "Anyone can grow into something beautiful".

4. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn

After reading Gone Girl I had to give another of Gillian Flynn's books a go. I finished this one last night and have to say I'm impressed. The way it's written is very clever, and small things at the beginning of the book that seem irrelevant at the time all come together at the end to tell the story. Some chapters are written in first person in the current day, and others are written in third person about other characters at the time of 'the incident,  which really adds to the drama and pace of the story. I definitely recommend this. I also just found out this one is being made in to a film as well! I have a few more books waiting on my bookshelf, but once I've got through those I'll be buying Gillian Flynn's other book, Sharp Objects.