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.

On my Bookshelf: December '14

For my birthday last year I was given the book of Our Zoo by June Mottershead (after I had enjoyed the BBC Drama version). I hadn't read a book for (embarrassingly) a couple of years before that, but once I got started I read the whole book in two afternoons.  After that I was hooked on reading again, and went online to order myself three more books.

Here's a little summary of what I read in December '14:

1. Our Zoo - June Mottershead

As I already mentioned, this was the first book I read for a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its a sweet story and its filled with one of my favourite things: animals! This is definitely not a very dramatic story, but its beautiful written and has lots of wonderful descriptions of the animals and the zoo.

2. Before We Met- Lucie Whitehouse

In contrast to the previous book, Before We Met is much more dramatic. I bought this one as I'd just been to see Gone Girl at the cinema (I haven't read it yet but its next on my list!) and loved it, and the description for this one said it was prefect for Gone Girl fans. Personally I didn't find that much similarity between the two story-lines, however it is certainly very gripping, and kept me intrigued all the way through. The story has a few interesting twists and turns, and the ending was pleasantly unexpected. 

3. The Fault in our Stars - John Green

This has been by far my favourite read so far, I barely put it down and had finished it in one long afternoon! This is one of those stories that makes you laugh and cry at the same time, and the characters pull you in al the way through. 

On a side note, I mentioned to Jamie several times about how much I enjoyed this story (he arrived home just as I finished it and I rambled on for quite a while!) and so he bought me the DVD of the film for Christmas. As well all know film adaptions of books aren't always the best, but this one was very pleasing. The characters and scenery are exactly as I pictured them, and it too managed to make me cry and laugh at the same time! I definitely recommend both the film and the book.

4. The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

This one was very different from anything I've read before (admittedly I haven't read much for a long time). Its written from the perspective of a character slipping into mental illness, so the style of writing is very unique. The fonts change throughout out the book, as Matthew moves between his own home, where he uses a typewriter, and the hospital, where he uses a computer. There are letters and drawings dotted amongst the pages and the story is written in an unconventional order. A book about mental illness may not sound too appealing but this is a lovely, creatively written story about a very intriguing character, I definitely recommend it.

I also read An abundance of Katherines by John Green, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. As you can probably guess, I purchased these two after reading The Fault in Our Stars. These two are both enjoyable and have some great strong characters, but not quite as interesting or emotional as The Fault in Our Stars.

I have several books on my shelves waiting for me to read them this month, including Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and Wonder by R J Palacio. At the moment I'm reading Grow Your Handmade Business by Kari Chapin (and very much enjoying it), but as soon as thats finished I'll be making a start on Gone Girl.

What books have you enjoyed recently?

Any suggestions for me?