December Book Review

What does a bus and Boris Johnson have in common? This month's stories from a bookclub of course!

I left a book on the bus this month and I think I was more upset about only being halfway through it than I was about it being a library book. Lucikly for me, a lovely bus driver kept his promise and arranged for my book to sent on a very specific bus so I could be reunited with it. There are good people in the world! This is why I love buses.

A few days later on a mid-December evening, I sat damp and cold reading Elizabeth Day's heartbreaking chapter about miscarriage. I felt a hand tapping my arm. I wondered if the tears had spilt out from my heart and were showing themselves in my eyes. Some kind person must be checking up on me whilst my world was blurring and my cheeks grew wet. But no. It was a drunk old man asking me what I was reading. He then preceded to tell me to vote for Boris Johnson. And this is why I hate buses.

Anyway. A little later than planned, here is my round-up of December's book club books! Do you want to join my book club?

How does it work?

I read and review some books each month, trawling through the millions of billions of books in the world, to find some I think you'll enjoy. You pick one you like from the list and read it. We then get to chat on Instagram about all the things you loved and thought about when you read the book. No time pressures. No completed questions. Just two friends reading the same book and chatting through how it made us feel. Sound good?

Here’s the December round-up:

Total books read: 4
Fiction: 1
Non-fiction: 3
Total pages: 1,208

*click on the pictures for links to Amazon

Book #1 - Cold Tangerines - Shauna Niequest.

Non- Fiction: I read another book by Shauna last year called 'Present over perfect' and I honestly believe she wrote it just for me. I loved it so much I brought every book she's ever written. I would recommend the present over perfect book more, but this one had some wonderful essays about celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life. The writing is honest and the stories true. I devoured it in hours.

Read this book if: You need a reminder about why each day is special.

Quotes I loved: "There will be a day when memories are all we have, and I want to know that we have more than we need to us the rest of our lives."

Book #2 - How to Fail - Elizabeth Day.

Non- Fiction: It took me a while to read this book. I talk about how many times I failed to read it in this post, 6 reasons why failure is good for you. When I finally got round to it, I was taken back by Day's honesty and vulnerability when she shared some of her most tragic moments. Nobody really talks about miscarriage, but Day conquers the fears and the unspoken words so eloquently, it was really powerful. Honest writing changes lives. I hope I can write this well one day.

Read this book if: Worry a lot or live inside your head.

Quotes I loved: "Maybe the value is in the task itself, not the execution of it."

Book #3 - The Road - Cormac McCarthy AKA the one that got left on the bus.

Fiction: This book made me feel really sad. I can only think of it as a good though. Writing that moves you and makes you think about the story, days, weeks or years after you've read it, is incredible. I didn't like the film. But reading this book was an experience. I had to out it down a few times because it felt so real. As our world burns today, this book terrifies me even more. The description of the end of the world is incredibly real. With glimmers of hope, this book will stay with me for a while.

Read this book if: You want to read a powerful story about a father and son. You want a book that's scary and sad and wonderfully written.

Quotes I loved: "What's the bravest thing you ever did?
He spat in the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said."

Book #4 - Chase the Rainbow - Poorna Bell.

Non- Fiction: A book about one women's grief for the man she lost. Poorna Bell's husband committed suicide after being unable to deal with his addiction. Although this book is desperately sad, I love how Poorna looks at addiction and how she offers new solutions and demands political change to save and help people, rather than punish them. I love books that make you see the world from a different angle and this was one of them.

Read this book if: You want to learn more about mental health, suicide, drug addiction and different ways of supporting addicts. Trigger warning. This book contains some upsetting parts.

Quotes I loved: "Haven't we somehow, through pure chance, got exactly the kind of love you can make a life out of?"

Let me know what you think of this month's books! Tag me in a picture of you reading them on Instagram or send me an email, I'd love to talk.

As always, I'd love some of your recommendations too.