withsomejam

Last year was great for my reading list, which I posted here. I think reading as much as I did last year helped my mental health and the clarity of my mind, especially some of the cognitive symptoms I suffer from with my chronic condition. I should say I’m not advocating for all chronic sufferers to read as much as possible by no means – that is incredibly damaging. I’m merely saying my reading whether it be a few pages of a chunky book, some light poetry or even an audio book on bad days, when I physically couldn’t read or even hold a book, really helped me get through the year. It’s a mixture of this, the escapism books gave me through the year, and some of the books I have received that have got me so excited for this year of reading; and with that I wanted to share some of them here.

Flower Crowns & Fearsome Things, Amanda Lovelace: I recently received this in the post, have had a brief flip through it and I’m so excited to get into this read. I do love a bit of Lovelace’s work so I can’t wait to see what this book has in store.

Catherine de Medici, Leonie Frieda: This has been on my shelf for some time. Long time readers will know that I love a fierce, trailblazing female from history and I do usually have a history read on the go at any given time. Last year I read a few reads like this but I’d say my last big, chunky ‘fierce-female‘ book was probably The Favourite so I think it’s about time we change that. I also have been holding off reading this for a while too as I listen to a lot of podcasts featuring historical women, like Queens Podcast, Vulgar History, & The History Chicks, all of which I think have done episodes on Catherine de Medici so I needed time for that information to kinda fizzle away in my brain to truly enjoy reading this book. I think now is the time!

Mostly Hero, Anna Burns: I love these little books – they are so perfectly sized for my small handbag and so ideal to just pull out to read whenever. I try to look for these little guys whenever I’m in a bookstore but I do have a few on my shelf I need to catch up on reading: this being one of them.

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, Brianna Weist: I have started to read this one. I’m about three or four essays into it and so far it’s an interesting read. The essays do vary in length and subject matter so it looks quite promising.

Pillow Thoughts IV & All Dogs Are Good, Courtney Peppernell: As I have mentioned on this space before, I love Peppernell’s work – especially her Pillow Thoughts Series and I recently read her book Watering the Soul so I’m definitely on a ‘Peppernell-kick‘.

We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights, Amelia Abraham (Editor): This was a total impulse buy. I had never heard of this book but found it in the book section of Tkmaxx and it was reduced. I love the sound of it and I think it’ll be such an enlightening read.

The Gift of Everything, Lang Leav: Having read a few more of Lang Leav’s books I’m definitely noticing that I enjoy and relate to her more recent work more so than her work at the beginning of her career so I’m really eager to read this newest addition.

The Story of Beatrix Potter: Her Enchanting Work and Surprising Life, Sarah Gristwood: Beatrix Potter has been the ultimate role model for me since I was about six or seven. My family has friends in the Lake District who we’ve visited throughout my life and been to the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction quite a few times. I’ve also read so much about her life over that time too, so I feel like this might overlap with a lot of the knowledge I already have about her but I simply couldn’t resist this one. I hadn’t heard of this book until the man queuing in front of me at Waterstones had it and I did kinda pounce on him (…in a socially distanced way) to ask what the title was.

Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, Paul Koudounaris: Odd, I know. I bought this with a Christmas voucher and I’m already half way through the first chapter. It’s such a fascinating read. The title and visual of the cover make it sound a lot more odd than what it actually is. It goes into the Catholic faith and how these figures, believed to be martyrs, were being used as relics after the protestant reformation. I have to say it has been far more interesting than I expected when I first purchased it.

There we have it. A few books that I’m so so so excited to read this year. These are just a handful I have selected, I do have more strewn around my room but these are the ones that immediately come to mind when I think about the books in my year ahead. I also have my eye on a few titles being released this year such as the impending seventh book in the Frey & McGray Series as well as the final book in the you are your own fairytale trilogy by Amanda Lovelace unlock your storybook heart so no doubt those will be mentioned here soon.

Let me know what you’re excited to read this year – I’d love to find some more for my list!

Cheerio for now!