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December Round Up #RoundUp

I know! There are so many round ups of 2018 going on at the minute that one just about December seems a little bit piddly in comparison BUT I'm ploughing on regardless if only for my records when looking back over the year.

My first read this month was I'm Travelling Alone by Simon Bjork. It was a solid Scandi Noir that required epic timeline skills from Bjork to connect all the dots (which he did) but for me it lacked a certain something compared to other brilliant Scandi books I have read recently.

Up next was my first Blog Tour for the month - Odette by Jessica Duchen. A modern take on Swan Lake, it was the perfect start to my festive reading. As it doesn't OD on the tinsel or the sweetness it can easily be consumed in January and beyond.

Village Christmas: And Other Notes on the English Year by Laurie Lee was the book club's Book Of The Month. I loved the evocative descriptive writing harking back to a time gone by. The group awarded this collection of memories, ramblings and opinions a 7.1.

I was determined to squeeze in The Girl Who Saved Christmas the follow on by Matt Haig to A Boy Called Christmas. I'm so pleased I did as it delivered Christmas by the bucket load, was perfectly illustrated by Chris Mould and is now being read by my nine year old.

Lastly Attend by West Camel was my final Blog Tour of 2018. Blending magical realism with the harshness of London, drug addicts and gay mobsters, it was a strong debut from the best named author of the year.

Books Received or Bought

A weekend to York and many book shop visits later lead to me adding Wonder (at long last!) to my shelf, Huxley's Brave New World and a book that will hopefully explain the bible a little bit more to me. If you know of similar books explaining other religions let me know. 2018 was a year of learning about Greek heroes, 2019 might become the year I swat up on religion!






Book Club wise I purchased The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield for January's book of the month and 11 copies of Fish Boy by Chloe Daykin for my first ever Children's Book Club. Exciting!!!!!



For upcoming Blog Tours I received book three in the Six Stories series, Changeling by Matt Wesolowski and book three by Jane Harper, The Lost Man. Cull by Tanvir Bush made a hat trick of Blog Tour deliveries. Keep your eyes peeled throughout January and February for my reviews.




My Christmas haul included the long wanted Forever Words by Johnny Cash, a book based in Orkney (already added to my summer hol. reading pile) and my very own copy of All Quiet On The Western Front. See why it was a book that needed to be on my bookshelf here. Thank you Santa!



What deliveries via the man in red, or the more usual erm,,,, (wo)man in red (thanks Royal Mail for the identical colour scheme to Santa!) have you received this month?

Oops wait for it, I almost forgot to name my #ReadOfTheMonth! I think this month it has to go to The Girl Who Saved Christmas for its all round family enjoyment and festive vibes. 

Happy New Year!

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