Every Book I Read in 2021 | reviewed in 1 sentence (kinda)

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but the 1st January, without fail, always makes me reflect on how much I want to dedicate my time to this blog, (and now my new Youtube channel), and just generally sharing my thoughts on what I read.

If you have taken the time this year to read one of my blog posts, watch one of my videos, subscribe, comment, message me etc. please know that you have filled my heart with so much joy. I wholeheartedly intend to be present on here much more, and keep up with my one video a week schedule throughout the year.

I’m kicking the year off with a review of every book that I read in 2021, of which I read 26 (not my best but not my worst either). It was a pretty mixed bag of reading for me, with only a small number of 5 stars, loads of 3 stars and a fair few 2 stars too. If you’d like to know my condensed thoughts, check out the video below.

I hope that you have a brilliant start to 2022!

Jen x

10 Books I Want To Read Before 2022 | End of Year TBR

Does anyone else have a nearly-the-end-of-the-year reading crisis when it gets to November? Suddenly I have to condense all of the books that I want to read before the year is up into a list that is ACTUALLY manageable!!

So here we are, my top 10 books that I really want to read before 2022 arrives. It’s a mixture of some more light hearted fantasy, some romance (a rarity for me lately) and finishing the books of one of my new favourite authors

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
3. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
4. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
5. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
6. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
8. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
10. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jenson

Watch my newest video below to hear all about these books and why I’m so excited to read them…

Book shopping in Cornwall #1

Come along and let’s go book shopping! I’m taking you around some of my local spots and their quirky bookshops!

I’ve been living in Cornwall now for about a year and a half. After growing up and living most of my life in cities, it was a culture shock in more ways than one when I moved here. Among many other things, something I really missed was the variety of shops!

When I lived in Leicester, I had about 5 second hand bookshops within a 5 minute walk from my house. In Birmingham, a trip to the city centre would take me to two huge Waterstones. Now, I find that I have to look a little harder!

On the flip side, what you get in Cornwall is unique, quirky and so well loved. And you get an ocean view!

Watch my video below for some of my local favourites – and ones to check out if you’re visiting.

P.S. Let me know in the comments what your favourite/best second hand book find was! Mine was a 70s box set of Lord of the Rings (which you’ll see at the end of the video!).

BOOK REVIEW | Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Title: Beautiful World, Where Are You

Author: Sally Rooney

First Published: 7th September 2021

Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

“…but all that really means is that I love my life, and I’m really excited to have it back again, excited to feel that its going to continue, that new things will keep happening, that nothing is over yet.”

Review

Whilst reading this book, I was reminded of my favourite module at university, which ended up shaping my whole dissertation, area of historical interest and niche in my degree. It wasn’t necessarily the content that was brought to mind, but the style of the teaching. Our lecturer didn’t believe in Powerpoint, so he would read to us his scripted insights from written notes on paper. There was no recording to watch back afterwards and no visual aid to nicely condense things for me. Yet, something about this style made me sit up and listen, pay attention, and work hard to understand.

Beautiful World Where Are You does not read like a nicely condensed presentation of visually pleasing bullet points. Instead, the conversations felt a little confusing to follow, the narration a little distant and ominous, the plot fairly cloudy. Yet I could not put this book down. Sally Rooney tangles you up in her reflections, questions and suggestions, in a way that made me pause, listen, and work at understanding them.

This was my first Sally Rooney book, so I don’t really have her other novels to compare this one to, and I didn’t even really quite comprehend the hype surrounding her writing. I was really glad to go into this book without any preconceived ideas about what it was or would be, and that open mind definitely worked in my favour because this book was a whole lot of things!

To me, it felt like it lay somewhere in between a contemporary novel and literary fiction. Sometimes this meant that I was getting lost in a romantic scene, and at other times contemplating conceptual themes. I felt like Rooney created a story that was authentic and relatable to the millennial experience in a deep and reflective way. Despite the ominous narration, I really felt like I got to see and know the parts of each character that would naturally have been revealed to a friend. Yet I also felt the freedom to pick apart their characteristics with an objectivity that a lot of contemporary novels don’t provide.

I appreciated that Sally Rooney doesn’t shy away from talking about things that she hasn’t quite figured out herself. I feel like she engages the reader to question and search along with her, which created a very invitational feel to the whole book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and am sure I will go back and read her other works very soon!

BOOKSHELF TOUR!!!

The time has come to finally show you my bookshelves!!! After finally sorting through them, reorganising them, and moving them all into one place for the first time in YEARS, I can now show you all of my physical book collection.

Check out my youtube video to see the full tour.

How do you organise your bookshelves?

For me, I generally organise them by genre, and then by how they fit/look on each shelf (as I’m currently a little tight for space!).

10 BOOKS FOR AUTUMN/FALL | Cosy, Mysterious & Reflective Reads

A bookworm’s favourite season is finally upon us. This week has brought rainy grey days and I am so in the mood for a day locked up at home reading, drinking hot chocolate, lighting candles, curled up under blankets, and all of the cosy vibes.

During this season, I find myself gravitating towards cosy, mysterious and reflective reads. I like my stories to be atmospheric, strange, and thought provoking. I enjoy a slightly slower paced story, because I am at home a lot more and have more time to dedicate to the books that I read.

Here are 10 of my suggestions for books that I think are perfect for Autumn.

Check out the video below to see what they are…

Organising my Reading Nook | Reorganising my Bookshelves

I moved into my new home a month ago, and I have finally sorted through my books and created a little reading nook. Watch me create this space on my latest video!

Buying my first home has been a big project, and with so many areas needing so much work, I was determined to create a space without buying anything new or doing any major work at the moment. So I used two bookshelves that I had used previously in different spaces, brought in my cosy green chair, and filled the corner with plants!

I hope you enjoy watching me create this space!

Howl’s Moving Castle | Book vs Movie Comparison

I recently read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and LOVED it. I adore the Studio Ghibli movie and had never really believed that the book could match the way I felt about the film. But I was so wrong! This book added so much to the movie for me, and I enjoyed it equally as much, just in a very different way. Here are my thoughts on why you should read this book too. Please let me know your thoughts, as well as any differences you spotted between the book and the movie!

I’ve started a Youtube Chanel

Hey, it’s been a while!

I’ve disappeared a little bit from my blog and from book reviewing in general over the last couple of years. Alongside a billion life changes, my time to read (and particularly to post about what I read) had really dropped. Over the last few months, however, I’ve been reading more again, and the desire to post about what I am reading has come back. I really felt that I needed to do something a little different though, as every time I tried to come back to blogging/bookstagramming it felt a bit flat to me. I’ve had a dream of starting a Youtube channel for years, and now felt like the perfect time.

So…if you want to continue to hear my thoughts on books, as well as watch me renovate my home in Cornwall, do please check out my channel and subscribe if you like! Your support would mean the absolute world to me!

I posted my first video today, which you can watch here:

Thank you so much for all of your support, follows, likes, comments and friendship over the last few years, and I hope you will join me for this next step.

Jen x

BOOK REVIEW | COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE BY HARUKI MURAKAMI

TITLE: COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE
AUTHOR: HARUKI MURAKAMI
AND PHILIP GABRIEL (TRANSLATOR)
PUBLISHED: 12TH APRIL 2013 (FIRST PUBLISHED)
2ND JULY 2015 (THE EDITION I READ)
PUBLISHER: VINTAGE
FORMAT: PAPERBACK

RATING: 4/5 STARS

“We truly believed in something back then, and we knew we were the kind of people capable of believing in something – with all our hearts. And that kind of hope will never simply vanish.”