The Reading List - Quarter 1

Can you believe we're already a quarter of the way through the year??
Nope me either!

So this year, I've been putting more and more effort into making time to read.
I've always thought of reading as incredibly important, and it can easily be developed in to a habit which is the perfect form of self-education.
I also find reading really helpful to un-winding before bed, and helps to clear my mind of any anxieties of the day! It's like my own kind of therapy. And with so much of my focus spent on the internet and social media, I think it's so important to have something that is away from all that.

So I've been reading more, and checking out loads of great book instagram accounts, and buying copious amounts of books. So that I can really validate all of my book purchases, I'm going to write quarterly updates on everything I've read in the last three months because I love reading book reviews, so I'm going to try my hand! Plus I'm such an over-sharer.

1. Talking as fast as I can - Lauren Graham
My first book of 2017, and a Christmas present from Dann. After re-falling in love with the Gilmore Girls last year, this book was kind of a must for me. It's fast paced and exactly how you'd expect Lauren Graham to be. As probably my first ever autobiography that I've read I loved it. And it's not too long, so is easy to read in a couple of days.

2. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - JK Rowling
I treated myself to the entire Harry Potter collection after Christmas courtesy of some blog work I did backin December. I read books 1-5 as a teen when they first came out, but never revisited as I went into adulthood, and I thought it was about time I did, as I love the films. I absolutely adore the new cover art, and all the feels from re-reading this classic.

3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J K Rowling
So I flew through the first two books, and this book was always one of my favourites from the series. I was reading this as Trump came into power and it certainly rang some alarm bells!

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
OK this is probably my second cover of the entire collection. I remember this book being my least favourite when I was younger, but I really loved it this time. I think it's the connection between Harry and Sirius that really makes this for me.

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
I think this one was where I really started to notice the differences between the books and the films. Perhaps because so much more was happening behind the main plot line which would have made the film adaptation about six hours long (not that I would have complained). I guess mostly I just became disappointed with some of the changes to the story, that didn't really need to be changed, especially around the final task!

6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling
This book left me feeling all kinds of conflicted. I loved the story, and I wish I'd read it before seeing the films because to be honest the film just strayed from the book too much. I always felt like the scene in the Hall of Mysteries wasn't long enough in the film, a bit anti-climatic,and I was right. The book is far more detailed and interesting. I couldn't put the book down. I'm also 99% certain I've never read this book before, but lots of it, that definitely aren't in the film, felt oddly familiar.

7. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - JK Rowling
My absolute favourite cover, and not just because the spine is bring orange. Also such a fantastic book, but yet again, quite different to the film. And don't even get me started on the end. I was in floods of tears, and I'm somewhat gutted that the films just don't do the ending justice. Also, we need to talk about Kreacher, who is a completely different character in the end than the films portrait and it's such a shame as his character development, and Harry's alongside is really quite important.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling 
My absolute favourite book, but then I knew I'd love it because they're by far my favourite films too. The stories to films are pretty close until the end, which in the films I felt really let down by. I hated Voldemort's death and found it highly unsatisfactory. But the book, oh man, the book was everything! The ultimate ending, and perfectly explains everything. I've always felt like I've missed key information in the films, but the books leave no loose ends. Though the ending are really quite different, basically everything from Hogwarts onwards is told differently, I'm happy with them both because they work on the platform they're on. The films needed lots of action and needed to be faster paced. Basically I'm now a Potter fan through and through! I'ma little sad it's over - though I have some screenplays to read soon!
Pick up the seven book collection here!

9. The Course of Love - Alain De Botton*
This is a love story with a twist. It follows the highs and lows of a "normal" relationship, the story after 'happily ever after'. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't the easiest read. But you kind of want to keep reading just to know what happens as that character really sell the story. Rather than the plot doing all the work, its the people that make this book, and it's very relatable on how real relationships work.

So that's my reading list from January to March!
Nine books isn't too bad going I think! Can I beat that in March to June?

What are your book recommendations?

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