1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah
2. Conn Iggulden, Bones of the Hill (Conqueror series: book 3)
3. Conn Iggulden, Empire of Silver (Conqueror series: book 4))
5. Underground, Haruki Murakami (non-fiction)
6. Margaret Atwood, Positron (Episodes 1-3)
7. Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go
8. Patrick Ness, Ask and the Answer
9. Patrick Ness, Monsters of Men
10. Zadie Smith NW
11. Octavia Butler, Wild Seed
12. Donna Tartt, The Secret History (re-read, possibly one of my favourite books of all time)
13. Kevin Brockmeir, The Illumination
14. Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
I've managed to read loads this month, including two novels that have been on my radar for a while Americanah and NW. Though neither were a disappointment, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel about Black diaspora, identity and love was my favourite of the two. I should do a full review of NW really, but in brief, I found it to be pedestrian and unnecessarily crude in comparison to Zadie Smith's usual standard.
I'm also pleased that I read a non-fiction book, Haruki Murakami's Underground as it is part of my new years reading resolutions. Though as it is about a terrorist attack on public transport, it probably wasn't the best idea to read it on a long train journey- completely freaked myself out.
My least favourite of the bunch was The Chaos Walking trilogy, which may seem a bit weird because I obviously spent a fair bit of time reading all three. I know people rave about this series, but I found it just too problematic, for a full discussion of why, see here.
My highlight this month was Octavia Butler's Wild Seed, as it is startlingly original (again, I should probs do a full-length review of this). The only downside is, her books are really difficult to get hold of in the UK so I might have to wait a while for the sequels.
I've read 42 books so far this year, not bad going at all! For a full list and links to my reviews click on the year in books tab or follow this link
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