Summer 2016 Reads

One of the things I was looking forward to doing in the longest summer of my life was to FINALLY be able to read the monster pile of books which were piling up on my beside table. Although I've still got a couple I didn't have time for, I got through a fair chunk of them! So here goes.........

The Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafron - this was a bit of a gamble. I never read the blurb or any reviews of this book, so I didn't know what to expect. I just saw who the author was and bought it. Turns out it's a teen fiction book, and it was pretty good! I would recommend this if you like dark, chilling stories.

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - one of the best books I've read this year! (admittedly, there wasn't much competition, but even if there was this book would be up there). The story is so whacky it's almost unbelievable, yet it's just that that makes it almost believable. Definitely recommended.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - this book was okay, but didn't live up to the hype I read about it online. I'm glad I read it, but personally I found it a bit repetitive, and I lost sympathy for the characters throughout the book.

The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson - not as good as the previous book (The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared) but still pretty good.I also found it a little difficult to understand the politics sometimes, but that's just because I'm a bit dense when it comes to politics. However, I absolutely love the way Jonas writes, so even with a not as good plot I still really liked it. 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - this book was huuuuuge, 864 pages! With a small font as well. Probably the longest book I've ever read. And that was the only problem with it- I think some parts were dragged out a bit, but overall it's a pretty amazing book. If you read this, be prepared to become completely and utterly invested in the lives of the characters.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - a friend bought me this book after I said I hadn't read many philosophical books, and I'm so glad he did because I liked it. It's short, and I think that's best- I don't know if I could read a long novel of purely spiritual lessons.

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the best books I've read, so I can't believe how long it took me to get round to reading the sequel! And I was slightly disappointed. Although there are some really good themes running through the book, it was just not as good as TKAM, and I didn't like the way that some of the characters (Atticus in particular) were portrayed. 

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling- I don't think this one needs explaining ☺

So they are the books I've been through this summer. The ones I've got left are Game Of Thrones: A Song Of Ice And Fire (I binged watched the TV series at the beginning of summer and want to see how the book compares), Midnight's Children and the Nought's and Crosses series, which I've read but when I was younger and I feel I would understand the themes better if I re-read it as a young adult.

Hope you all had an amazing summer, although it went SO quickly ☼