The Books I Read {2017}

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Last year I put on my bucket list to read a book a month and after doing that I wanted to try and continue reading as much as possible. This year I read quite a lot until September when my workload increased and I just didn’t find much time to read. I’ll try again next year but for now, here are the books I read through the last twelve months.

Behind Closed Doors was the first book that I read this year – and I managed to read in one day. I haven’t got into a book as much as this in such a long time.

It was quite psychological and quite real – you could imagine the storyline happening and it was frightening! But, it was so well written, so well thought out and had a realistic ending. A really good read.

I also picked up Jojo Moyes The One Plus One and read it in a couple of days. It wasn’t quite Me Before You but it still had characters you could really relate to, feel for and want good things to happen to. It had a good story and a nice ending. A lovely book.

I picked The Loving Husband up in the supermarket just before we went on holiday and read it in a couple of days. It was a real page turner – some bits were a bit drawn out and a few of the characters were hard to warm to but the story was gripping and with so many plot twists – it kept me guessing right to the very end.

Cecilia Ahern’s The Year I Met You was another I picked up before our holiday as I have loved her previous books but in all honesty this one was slow and seemed to plod along with no real excitement or twists and turns. It was a bit disappointing and nowhere near being another PS I Love You. It was fine, a story of finding out what you really want from life and helping people whilst you achieve it but I didn’t take much else from it and wouldn’t read it again.

I started a new book just before we flew back from holiday – A Summer at Sea. I love Katie Fforde’s books. They’re so easy to get lost in and they always leave me feeling content at the end. All the loose ends get tied up and you’re left knowing exactly what has happened to all the characters – I like books like that.

A Summer at Sea was pretty predictable but lovely to read. It was the perfect holiday book and the main character was a midwife specialising in home births – a topic close to my heart. A really nice read.

The Girl in the Red Coat was about a missing girl, her parents’ quest to find her and what happened to her. It wasn’t a sad ending, like most missing child stories but it was a bit of an odd story, not the most plausible and for that reason I wasn’t massively keen on it. But, it was easy to read and kept me intrigued throughout.

This is Now from Ciara Geraghty was really easy to read. There were so many great characters and their stories were all entwined. I really found myself getting into the characters and hoping everything would work out for the best. It was a lovely story, set in Ireland and full of characters from so many different walks of life.

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon I read in three hours. It wasn’t even that short but I was gripped. It’s based on the story of a girl with ‘bubble syndrome’ where she can’t be in contact with the ‘real’ world for fear of infection but the story takes a huge twist and I had so much love for the main character. Well worth reading and at the top of my recommendations and I am so excited to know there’s a movie in the pipeline too.

The Girls by Emma Cline I picked up on the hotel bookshelf whilst away and it’s billed as ‘the read of the summer’. But, for me it was a book about off the rails teenagers, with no boundaries, no guidelines and no respect for anyone – not even themselves. It was heartbreakingly sad and although I couldn’t put it down I felt empty after reading it.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult was the best book I had read in a long time. It’s taught me so much about different races through the ages. It made me cry in a few places, kept me guessing until the very end and I’m sure I am a better person for reading it. It definitely needs to be made into a movie if it’s not already in production.

The Beta Mum: Adventures in Alpha Land is a book that all bloggers could relate to – and anyone who has ever gone somewhere and felt like they just don’t belong.

I picked up Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty after loving Big Little Lies – both the book and TV show. It’s a book with so many twists, that makes you love, hate and then understand the characters and one where all the loose ends come together right at the very end of the book. A really great read.

Moving on from novels, Read this if you want to be Instagram famous was one of my most inspiring reads of the year. It has pages dedicated to so many great Instagram account with their advice, photos and tips. I don’t think the book would actually make people famous but it definitely helped me feel inspired on Instagram again.

So there is my year in books. Roughly one a month although most read on holiday – I just don’t have the time around school runs and work to dedicate to books but it’s so nice that I’ve now learnt to switch off on holiday.

I’m going to try to read more in 2018, part of aim to get a better balance overall, and I may even read the Harry Potter books again. What’s top of your reading list for next year?