What I'll be reading in July 2017.
July
is here. The month in which Wimbledon takes over our TVs, eating
outside becomes more or less normal, pubs with proper gardens get
their time to shine, the seafront gets mobbed by DFL types, pale legs
get pulled out of jeans and forced into shorts...
But
July is also the time when we bookish folks all start properly
prepping and scheduling for YALC. It's when we fill our suitcases
with the latest bestsellers to read by the pool in Spain, or between
trains in the unfamiliar city. We'll be celebrating Harry Potter's
birthday at the end of this month...and mine, the day after. Obvs.
This
month I will be continuing my YALC prep, which I began in June...turns out 1 month wasn't enough! Surprise, surprise. Over the
next 3 weeks I'll be tearing through (not literally – although I do
sometimes turn pages over...) as many YA novels as possible, or at
the very least those which correspond with the authors I desperately
wanna see in panels or for signings (the YALC schedule is driving me
mad...in a good way).
I'll be mixing it up a bit too. I feel too much YA could make it all
blur in my mind; I would hate to get plots muddled or characters'
names wrong due to excessive young adulting...
My
secondary reading in July will be: Hyped-up Hardbacks!
Snappy title, I know. And you must know what I mean by
that, right? Well, let me explain...
I
hate hype. I really do. I think that's why I've been pretty lukewarm
about 'When Dimple Met Rishi', a recent YA read (I like the story and
the characters, it's super cute, just...not quite worth all the
excitable screeching it's getting on Twitter?! Sorry, guys).
To
this day, I have not read
'Gone Girl' (and probably won't, not now I've seen the film and Ben
Affleck's bits), or 'Girl on the Train' (another hype last summer
seemed to be referring to grown ass women as 'girls'?!), or 'The Da
Vinci Code' (meh).
Now,
these two novels have had a lot of good press lately, and I am
willing to ride the hype with them. They are...
'Eleanor
Oliphant is Completely Fine',
by Gail Honeyman.
Firstly,
I adore the names on the cover – Gail's, and
her
character's! YA books tend to have seriously OTT
beyond-quirky character names, tbh, but adult fiction not so much, I
find. So we're off to a good start – a strong character name. Box
ticked.
'Smart,
warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose
deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible
journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her
heart.' - Goodreads.
I
managed to scoop up this brand
new hardback
in Oxfam Books Winchester (the shop I will
not stop banging on about, soz) for only £1.50!
(Only HALF my haul from Oxfam Books!)
'How
to Stop Time',
by Matt Haig.
I
saw Matt conversing excellently with Bryony Gordon (currently my #1
wannabe friend crush) at Foyles last week, to celebrate the launch of
this book. He then signed my copy, and was lovely as ever. I have
actually only read a little of Matt's work – which isn't
surprising, as he's written about 15 books – but what I've sampled,
I've liked.
This
novel tells the story of Tom Hazard, a man with a unique and arguably unfortunate condition; he ages super slowly. It means he's gotta keep changing identities as time wears on - but at least he has a good gig as a history teacher. Let's hope he can carry on and not fall madly in love, or anything...that'd be so inconvenient.
Right
so, I should end this blog post ASAP really because a) I have
Wimbledon highlights to catch up on, and b) there's reading to be
done!
Is
anyone else preparing for YALC? Any tips for me, as it'll only be my
second time attending...? Also, has anyone read either of these
hyped-up hardbacks? Comment or tweet me, friends!
Hope
y'all enjoy your July reading.
I've got Eleanor Oliphant on the go at the moment - interesting so far, but I mood read & have multiple books I'm reading at any one time, so I'm not sure when I'll finish it.
ReplyDeleteOoh, how do you manage reading more than one at a time?! I have 2 on the go at the mo and it's stressing me out a bit! ;)
DeleteI read Eleanor Oliphant a few months ago, and thought it was good, but not massive hype-worthy. I read Gone Girl early one - one of my friends recommended it - and LOVED it, but The Girl On The Train was a bit more meh, and I haven't seen the film yet.
ReplyDeleteI also have several books on the go at once, and I divide them by consumption method - so I'll have one audiobook, one kindle book, one on iBooks, and probably a paperback all on the go at the same time. But invariably one gets neglected for a long time.