Monday 11 January 2016

Monthly Wrap-Up | December 2015


This is going up a little later than I hoped it would, but this is everything I got up to in December!






by Lewis Carroll

by Rachel McMillan

by Barbara Jean Hicks and Brittney Lee

by Aaron Blabey

by Holly Martin

by Sarah Waters

by Susan Bordo

by Becky Chambers

by Holly Martin

by Noelle Stevenson

by Agatha Christie

December was quite a varied reading month! I was hoping to fill my December with festive, wintery reads, but the three Christmassy reads I read (two of which I DNF'd) I really, really didn't like, and it just bummed me out. So instead I read whatever I felt like reading, and I ended up reading some really brilliant books alongside the not so great ones. My highlight of the month was definitely The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which now has a firm spot on my list of favourite books.



Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that the new film in the Star Wars franchise was released in December. In all honesty when I first heard they were making a new Star Wars film, I was just indifferent; I don't dislike the franchise, but I'm not obsessed with it either. I have gotten more interested in sci-fi over the years, but I'm still much more of a Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings girl.


Then I was weak for marketing ploys. I kept seeing the trailer and friends of mine kept saying it was a brilliant film, so in the end I figured I might as well go and see it - especially while it's still in the cinema. I have to admit I did really enjoy it! Will I buy it when it's released on DVD? I don't know, but probably. If nothing else it was pretty fantastic to see a leading lady in such a huge franchise; Rey's a brilliant heroine, and I loved Finn.


I also watched the three-part adaptation of And Then There Were None on the BBC, which had a wonderful cast including actors such as Charles Dance, Anna Maxwell Martin and Miranda Richardson. Aidan Turner was also in it, and spent one scene in nothing but a towel. It was a good scene.

hnnnggg
As I also read And Then There Were None in December, I think I may do a Book vs. Adaptation post soon!




by Rachel McMillan

by Barbara Jean Hicks and Brittney Lee

by Sarah Waters

by Susan Bordo

by Becky Chambers










So it was Christmas and New Year in December. Obviously. Thanks for pointing that out, Jess.

I spent Christmas Day with my parents; it was a really nice day with a delicious dinner and lots of lovely presents. I was really pleased that my parents liked the things I gave them, and I got some amazing presents, too, including a pile of new books. I got some wonderful presents from Natalie @ A Sea Change and Mikayla @ Mikayla's Book Shelf, and I recommend checking out both of their blogs!

If you're interested, you can check out the books I got for Christmas here!

I spend every New Year with my best friend, Laura, who I've known since the two us were ten years old. Unfortunately Laura lives in York, which is a beautiful city but one of the cities that was hit by floods at the end of 2015. I spent New Year's with my family instead, which was nice, but it didn't feel like New Year without Laura. Hopefully I can visit her soon!

I also ended up getting offered a new job in December! I'm now a Sales and Marketing Assistant at the University of Wales Press, a temporary position until the beginning of April - I'm pleased to have another job, it means I can keep earning money (and the pay's actually better than my last job) but I'm still hoping to get a job in England as soon as I can. Wales is lovely, but it's not quite home to me.



Mallory @ The Local Muse's A list of Rejected Thesis Sentences

Rinn @ Rinn Reads' I Don't Get 'Book Boyfriends'

Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf's Things I've learned as a book blogger

4 comments:

  1. BOTH Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and Nimona are on my tbr/wishlist! I think I'll really enjoy both :) I love that you read some Xmas themed books- I always want to do so too but I never get around to it for some reason. Like you, I wasn't sure about them putting out a new Star Wars, especially since the newer trilogy largely underwhelmed compared to the original trilogy. I must admit I really enjoyed The Force Awakens and I was thrilled to see Rey be such an amazing heroine :D Sounds like you had a wonderful and bookish Christmas :D Thanks for sharing, happy reading and happy 2016 ♥

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    1. Rey is a brilliant character. :) I hope you get to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet soon - it's so good! Happy 2016 to you, Micheline. ^_^

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  2. I really enjoyed the new Star Wars film! I can't believe there is a female lead for the reboot; that's huge! My younger brother is a huge fan and has been since he was like four, so I grew up in a Star Wars house, glad you enjoyed it! Your rave reviews about The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet has made me really interested in checking it out. Thanks for the shout-out! Hope you had a great holiday season!

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    1. I know, right? And Rey's being so well received, too - it's fantastic! You should definitely check out The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Just drop everything you're doing and read it now. ;) Thanks for stopping by, Mallory!

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