Here we go, we're at the quarter mark of 2020 already and our first reading summary of the year. If you caught my 2019 Goodreads Year in Books you'll have read that I didn't do too much reading at the start of the year, the bulk of my total being in the last six months. What with our collection haven grown over the last few months we really needed to crack down to some serious reading...and here is exactly how that all turned out.
January
The Brothers Grimm Folk Tales by Brian Alderson [Translated]
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book Mr H and I had started reading together in December. We'd read each other a story or so while the other was having a bath or something, but only got a couple stories in. I decided to start the reading year with something I knew I would enjoy and of course I did.
The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2) by Eoin Colfer
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read the first in the Artemis Fowl series back in March 2019 to get ready for the Disney movie adaptation coming out. It turned out that the release date got changed and although I didn't extremely care for it, I thought I'd try to read the other two before we see the film. Overall I think I enjoyed this one more than the first, but I wouldn't read it again.
As someone who loves fairies and fantasy it throws me off a little with it coming from a sci-fi perspective.
Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch by Serena Valentino
⭐️
If I could say 'I give up with these books' I would. I own the full series of Disney books from Serena Valentino and I'm determined to get myself through them but man!! This is the second out of six that I've forced myself to read and I just do not enjoy anything about them.
The Tin Woodman of Oz (Oz #12) by L. Frank Baum
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anything from the lands of Narnia or Oz I'm guaranteed to like. I'm coming to the end of the Oz stories but unlike most series that are so many books long, each of these stories still keeps me interested and entertained.
February
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
⭐️⭐️
I've had this book on my shelves for a long time and have to admit that it was another I only picked up after seeing the new movie was being released. I read a couple of 'non-spoiler' reviews before and during reading this and cannot disagree more that this is a book that all dog lovers will adore. I read that review a lot. Maybe other dog lovers like to be sad but this book was just so upsetting and full of horrible themes that I couldn't bare it. Yes, I stuck with it until the end though literally just because others had loved it so much I thought something was going to turn it around. The ending is the only reason I gave this 2 stars otherwise it would be a - 5.
The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In contrast to the previous book, The Toymakers ended up being me second 5 star of the year! I didn't expect it at the beginning as apart from the magic aspect, it really isn't my usual thing. I'm not a fan of things set around war times, I don't like romance or relationships in books. However, it kept me reading! I didn't have to ever force myself to pick it up and although some parts were predictable, other parts I really was excited to find out more. The ending cemented the rating even after all my tears!
The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2) by Lemony Snicket
⭐️⭐️⭐️
For this 'review' I revert to my previous What I Read This Quarter post, to the first Series of Unfortunate Events book I read and I repeat - Meh. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it and it was better than The Bad Beginning but considering my admiration for the film and TV series adaptations I think my expectations were too high.
March
The Magic of Oz (Oz #13) by L. Frank Baum
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It's an Oz story. I'm always going to love it. As for why it isn't a 5 star...I'm not sure. My gut tells me when I close a book whether it has earned complete obsession or just high adoration and although I would of course read and love this again it just didn't quite get the 5.
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read this in the form of an audio-book, my first of the year, and on this occasion I'm pretty sure it was a better experience listening to this book than reading it because the performance added such an extra special touch. Voices included Stephen Fry, Jeffery Palmer, Dame Judy Dench and many more.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Admittedly I originally picked this up because of the cover (but from other reviews I've read so did others). The first chapter or two didn't get my interest at all, however once Mori is introduced I got more into it until I ended up not really wanting to put it down.Usually with books that jump time and place every other chapter I can get a little lost but this was easier to follow, kept me guessing and wasn't as predictable as a lot of things I've read lately. I enjoyed it so much actually that I ordered the next book that Natasha Pulley had written the day I finished this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read the first of this series back in November and the tie-in/prequel/short story collection 'Tales of the Peculiar' in June 2017, so I was more than ready to continue this series. Again, I'm lucky that this month has been filled with good books and my only real thoughts about this book was that it felt like another 'Series of Unfortunate Events'!
The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events #3) by Lemony Snicket
⭐️⭐️⭐️
3rd book of the series, 2nd time I'm going to refer you to the review for the previous of the series and say 'ditto'.
⭐️
Originally on my January TBR list I DNFed it because I just couldn't get into it. Then Audible released a load of free to listen books and as it was on there I thought I'd give it another go. This really cements my dislike for the majority of 'classics' haha.
Check out what I read in the previous quarter by clicking here.
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