This post came a little late but 2012 began with a good start with some great books that have thrilled, perplexed and made me close to tears. Choosing the book that made me close to tears as my favourite and hence rated it 5 stars.
This is also a month that I have trouble counting how many books I have read. The reason is attribute to Murakami’s 1Q84 Book 1 and 2, is it one books or two? Just for argument sake lets say 2, that means I have read 8 books this January. Far exceeded what I have expected because My Cousin Rachel takes a good while to finish for a relatively thin book due to the cold and lethargy, yet I was still at work.
Here’s my reading for January (ever since using this blog theme, my stars seems to be displayed a level higher, not sure why but I guess we have to make do with it! and the link seems to be displayed in black instead of blue when they are actually hyperlinks. Hmphh…. there is no perfect blog theme is there?!!):
- Before I go to sleep by SJ Watson
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
- Why be happy when you could be normal? by Jeanette Winterson
- The Long March Home by Zoe S Roy
- The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
Everyone has a bad day sometimes. What do you do on a bad day? You go out shopping. In my case, I go out book shopping. Although I am suppose to be on book buying ban, I figure that I don’t splurge on handbags, clothes or any luxury items, book buying is my only salvation. Straight out from my spreadsheet here are books that may get me closer to nirvana :
| Book Title | Author | Source |
| War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | Purchased |
| In Arabian Nights | Tahir Shah | Purchased – Have read |
| Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | Haruki Murakami | Purchased |
| Season of Migration to the North | Tayeb Salih | Gift from Amy reads – big thanks! |
| The Corrections | Jonthan Franzen | Purchased |
| Freedom | Jonthan Franzen | Purchased |
| House of Sleep, The | Jonathan Coe | Purchased |
| Women’s Room, The | Marilyn French | Purchased |
Plans for February
Here are what’s plan for February:
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
- I’m Feeling Lucky – Confessions by Google Employee number 59 by Douglas Edwards
- Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong – I promised to read this with Soul Muser@Life Wordsmith
- Bankers for the Poor by Muhammed Yunus
- Inside the Kingdom by Robert Lacey
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- Manituana by Wu Ming
- Desert by J.M.G. Le Clezio
- Liquidation by Imre Kertesz
- Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
- Even the dogs by Jon McGregor
- The Hand that first held mine by Maggie O’Farrell
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
I’m not sure if I can do all 14 but I’ll try at least half of the list.
Does any of the books listed up there that jump out at you? or screaming to be read? It’s snowing on Saturday night in England. Besides playing in the snow, what’s your reading plan for February? I look forward to hear from you. Do keep warm. For those at Southern hemisphere, do take out your sunshades and enjoy the sun. 🙂
JoV's Book Pyramid 
I will put the Jeanette Winterson book on my wishlist since you liked it so much. Whether I’ll ever get around reading 1q84? I reserved it from the library, waited 2 months, then had too much other books to read so cancelled it. Must try again!
I want to read Wolf Totem, though maybe not in February. Maybe I will tag along if I can. The Remains of the Day is such a beautiful book! I hope you’ll appreciate it as much as I did.
Posted by Leeswammes | February 6, 2012, 8:40 pmJudith,
Thanks for your feedback. Looks like we have interest in the same books! Look forward to your 1Q84 reviews.. 🙂
Posted by JoV | February 7, 2012, 9:10 amyou had a good January Jov and brought some lovely books as well ,good luck for feb ,all the best stu
Posted by stujallen | February 6, 2012, 10:22 pmThanks Stu.
Posted by JoV | February 7, 2012, 9:11 amlove your wrap up post.. great books on your list and am tempted to add many of them to mine as well.
I need to work on a wrapup post for the month soon..
Posted by LadyInRead | February 6, 2012, 10:38 pmThanks LadyinRead,
Look forward to read your wrap-up!
Posted by JoV | February 7, 2012, 9:12 amSome good books there in February – ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ is a great (and quick!) read 🙂
Posted by Tony | February 7, 2012, 7:45 amTony,
Thanks! I have no idea the book is sooooooo… thin! 🙂
Posted by JoV | February 7, 2012, 9:12 amI’m looking forward to your thoughts on Wolf Totem – it is a long book, but my opinion of it is actually going up over time. Enjoy!
Posted by farmlanebooks | February 7, 2012, 9:21 amJackie,
Interesting to have read a book and let it sit and grew to like it more and more…
I look forward to that, thanks for sharing Jackie!
Posted by JoV | February 8, 2012, 11:16 amAs always Jo I think you’ve had another great reading month. I definitely need to give My Cousin Rachel a go. I read four books in January which was pretty impressive considering how busy I was that month!
This month I plan on finishing off Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, catch up on another review copy, and would also love to read some more Agatha Raisin 🙂
Posted by jessicabookworm | February 10, 2012, 9:58 amJessica,
I’m intrigued with this Hunger game and Agatha Raisin thing…
Well done for reading 4 books last month!
Posted by JoV | February 10, 2012, 11:25 amI was introduced to The Hunger Games by my boyfriend and my brother, who didn’t stop banging on about it. It is dystopian young agult trilogy, pretty heart racing stuff. As for Agatha Raisin I think you’d like these books, they are my ulitmate cosy crime reads. Look them both up on my blog I’ve banged on about them loads 😛
Posted by jessicabookworm | February 10, 2012, 3:36 pmWilliam Golding: DARKNESS VISIBLE, THE PAPER MAN, THE DOUBLE TONGUE
Posted by Anna | February 11, 2012, 5:06 pmIt’s been a while since I came here, but I’m loving this new look of your blog! 1Q84 should be counted as 4 books! I’m pretty sure the month I read it will have just that one book listed. Hope you’re having a great February!
Posted by Aths | February 11, 2012, 8:25 pmThanks Ath. I bet 1Q84 should be counted as 3 books. 🙂 Hope you get the chance to read 1Q84 soon! Hope you have a great February too.
Posted by JoV | February 18, 2012, 12:57 pm