Now that 2014 is officially coming to an end it is time to do some reflecting on the year. I think 2014 has been a great year for personal growth for me as a reader and a blogger. I have pushed myself to improve and read more critically and I believe it is starting to pay off. While I am not fully satisfied yet, blogging and reading are passions of mine and I will continue to work towards improvement. One of the biggest steps I made this year was actually joining BookTube and in the New Year, I am curious to see if that will help me in my reading and blogging.

I have already posted a ‘Best of 2014‘ post a few days earlier but I want to also point out the introduction to ‘What I Think About When I’m Not Blogging‘ on my blog which is where I am trying to push myself and my writing with some bookish personal essays. I love this section and I plan to do it more often in the coming year; hopefully this will allow people to see the natural progression of my writing and watch it improve. Other highlights on my blog include; My Vacation (the Literary Highlights), Plot, Character, Style, and Themes, A Rant about my TBR, and Contemporary Fiction Vs. Literary Fiction. Of course I wouldn’t be that pretentious if I didn’t mention that this year I also wrote My Bookish Manifesto, in which I set out some goals to help me improve as a book blogger and critic. I haven’t been keeping to those goals too well but it is still a very important post and I should reflect on it some more.

As it is also the end of the month so I should also talk about my December reading. This month I have been reading a lot of classics and books in translation; after almost six months I finally finished Middlemarch by George Eliot. I loved this book and taking my time with it allowed me to reflect and absorb everything that was happening. Obviously taking your time with a book isn’t always an option but this is the kind of book you can dip in and out of and still experience everything that is wonderful with this classic. To aid my reading of Middlemarch, I used a reading guide called Eliot’s Middlemarch by Josie Billington and I think this was a huge help and allowed me to get historical and personal context into George Eliot’s writing. I wasn’t ready to leave the world of Middlemarch so after this book I picked up Rebecca Mead’s memoir called My Life in Middlemarch, but sadly it didn’t work for me.

I realised that I hadn’t read much Russian literature this year and after enjoying Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky in November I knew I had to rectify this situation. Most people who read my blog or know me will know that I love Russian history and literature. Thankfully I spent ten days with In The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, which allowed me to learn so much about the Soviet era, since most novels I have read on this subject are not by someone who lived through it. I also read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy because it was a short read and finished off all the Tolstoy I need for the ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die‘ list.

More books in translation included the German novel Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann, the Norwegian book A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgård and a French graphic novel in Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh. I even read a few more classics in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. But it wasn’t all older book, I also read some contemporary novels including The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Authority by Jeff VanderMeer and All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld.

It has been a great year and I hope that 2015 will be just as great. Please let me know what books you read this month.

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Now that September comes to a close, I would like to hear what people thought of Gone Girl. Did you read it? Did you like the ending? Did it keep you up all night? Or any other comments you want to make of this novel. Personally I was gripped and reading this to about 4 am, just to find out what happens. I know the ending is weird but there isn’t a better way to end it, that I’ve found.

Next month’s book we will be reading the some steampunk/fantasy with The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. I ‘m not sure what to expect, I am a little nervous. I don’t have the best track record when it comes to steampunk or fantasy novels. However I am hoping everyone reading this book will generate some interesting discussions. Also, as a reminder, in November we will be reading Tales of Terror and Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle as part of the short stories theme and we will be looking for a book to fit the Christmas/Religious Holidays theme to wrap up the year. If you are not aware, the book discussion and everything else will be happening over on the Goodreads forums, so feel free to join in there.

I have had an amazing reading month, which is a nice change after reading only three books during my vacation. I have read sixteen books this month (which included four comic collections) and some of the highlights included The Odyssey by Homer, A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgård and The Circle by Dave Eggers. But my favourite of the month is a book, that is a top candidate for novel of the year was All That is Solid Melts into Air by Darragh McKeon. For fans of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, I highly recommend picking up All That is Solid Melts into Air. What have you been reading this month and what were the highlights?

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As most people know, I have been on vacation to the United States. While this has a great six weeks off, it did come with some disadvantages. I may talk about all the bookshops I visited while in America in a future post but I am sad to say during this holiday I only managed to finish three books. While away, the book club read the true crime classic In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, a book I read before vacation so I wouldn’t miss out. I wasn’t able to get involved with the discussions but it was good to see it happening while I was enjoying myself.

Looking at the Literary Exploration book club, it is great to see things happening without my involvement. It looks like next month we will be preparing for the movie adaptation of Gone Girl for our Thriller theme. Obviously I’m talking about our great book club but if you are not aware, the book discussion and everything else happens over on the Goodreads forums, so feel free to join in there.

While I’m not happy with the amount of books I read, I really did enjoy the three books anyway. Cannot pick a highlight from The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller and Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill; you’ll just have to wait for the reviews. What have you been reading and what have your highlights been?

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This month we looked at the gothic and surprisingly satirical novel The Monk by Matthew Lewis. This was a lot of fun for me; I’m becoming a big fan of Juvenalian satire and was surprised to see what this gothic classic did with its social critique. While it might have been a little difficult for others, it is always great to leave our comfort zones and read something great. Next month we are dipping into some non-fiction when we read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which is considered one of the best books in the true crime genre.

As most might know, I’m currently on vacation so I have scheduled a whole lot of posts. This means, I’m not entirely sure what the next book will be but the theme was Thriller. At the point of scheduling it looked like a race between Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. I have had a good reading month but I as this was written half way through the month I won’t share what I read this month. However I did enjoy The Monk and Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. What have you been reading this month and what were the highlights?

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As we close out the first half of 2014, I thought I might give a quick update on what’s been happening with the Literary Exploration Reading Challenge. I’m really impressed with the book club’s efforts so far, with over thousand books being read by 106 participants with a 39% completion rate so far. This means we have a lot to catch up on; personally I’ve managed to complete 23 of my 36 books and almost tempted to go for another round. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m pleased to see how many people have enjoyed reading out of their comfort zones.

This month’s book club book Divergent had some really interesting reactions; not many liked it but I really enjoyed the discussions. I don’t want to say too much about the book but it was fun live tweeting this book and I was very pleased with my review. Next month we return to book that will probably get a better reaction when we read a gothic classic, The Monk by Matthew Lewis.

I had a very interesting reading month and I think I have to blame two amazing books for this, The Fictional Woman by Tara Moss and Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. Both books have altered the way I view books, especially The Fictional Woman; I tend to pick up on the feminist ideals in most books now and you will notice this will come across in all future reviews. Also you might have noticed that thanks to my book blogging manifesto that I’m writing more non-review posts too. I hope this is a positive change in my blogging and my reviews as well.

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May has been a big month. Firstly, I participated in a 24-hour read-a-thon at the end of April, which put my very behind in my reviewing. I think I went into May with eleven reviews I still needed to write; I know the 24-hour read-a-thon was not the sole reason to be so far behind. I get on a roll with my reading and it is much more fun reading than writing reviews. Also in this month I wrote my book blogging manifesto, which resulted in big changes for myself. I have since started writing every day and this has caused an increase in blog posts. Finally there was Armchair BEA, which I participated in for the third year. All in all, a great month for blogging.

Looking at the Literary Exploration book club, we tackled children’s literature and read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic The Secret Garden. I loved this book, not because it was children’s literature but what it did with the Gothic, the psychological and The Romantic. I’m glad we finally took on children’s literature and look forward to when I do it again. As a reminder next month we are moving onto young adult literature and reading Divergent by Veronica Roth and I’m not looking forward to it but will be reading.

This month has not only been a good month for blogging but also a decent month for reading. I completed 12 books this month and highlights include, not only The Secret Garden but also Young Romantics by Daisy Hay, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P by Adelle Waldman and The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins by Irvine Welsh. However, the book that stuck with me the most was How To Talk To A Widower by Jonathan Tropper, however my review won’t be out for another few days.

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April has been an interesting month; I expected to get heaps of reading done and, to one extent, I have done just that. But also, I got rather sick during my time off and that did limit some of the reading time I was so excited about. Overall April was a great month, with plenty of books read and some extra time off work. I hope everyone else’s April was just as fruitful without any illnesses.

This month our book club read was The Magicians by Lev Grossman as part of our fantasy challenge. This was an interesting selection, more coming of age than fantasy, check out my review to find out what I thought. Next month we are going to dive into The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is a classic novel and is part of our children’s literature theme; I can’t remember what this is about so this will be a new experience for me and I will also be using the novel for The Literary Exploration Reading Challenge. If you’re not aware, the book discussion and everything else will be happening over on the Goodreads forums, so feel free to join in there.

I read some decent books in April included the first Veronica Mars novel The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line plus others along the lines of The Fever by Megan Abbott, The Wives of Los Alamos and Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch. The biggest highlight will have to be The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which will probably get read over and over again. What have you been reading this month and what were the highlights?

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As March comes to a close it is time to look at our reading journey for the month again. This month we took a look at Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, a fascinating look into Greek heritage and intersexuality. I hope everyone has had a wonderful month of reading and had time to fit this award-winning novel into their busy schedule. Still a lot of action happening with the reading challenge as well; looks like two hundred books been added this month. For those who don’t know about the reading challenge, there is still time to join in the fun, so check out my post here.

A reminder that next month’s book will be The Magician by Levi Grossman for our fantasy theme. I haven’t read this novel before but I’ve heard good things. Marketed as Harry Potter for adults, which makes me a little worried. I’ve not read Harry Potter before but always cautious when a book is marketed to be the next of anything.

Highlights for my month’s reading included Middlesex of course but also By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan, and Alif the Unseen by G. Wilson Willow. The biggest highlight was Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, an exciting novella that surpassed all my expectations; heaps better than the movie. What have you been reading this month and what were the highlights?

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