February Book Blanket Update

It's that time again - Book Blanket Update time and what better day to post it than on World Book Day!

Has your little one gone to school dressed up today? Oakley has gone as Harry Potter and my little Potterhead heart is very happy. Although we've not yet read the books together he has heard the audiobooks and seen the first two films.

What is your favourite book? Mine is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. It completely captured my heart when I first read it at college (almost 15 years ago!) and I've reread it multiple times since. The unique way in which the story is structured, the time-travel aspect, the characters and of course the love story just suck me in every time. The audiobook is actually really good too if that's something you enjoy.

I think another re-read is on the cards for me soon! What books do you go back to again and again?

Books Read:

This month I read a total of 8 books and DNF'd one. I'm really happy with this total especially given that I have been working a lot this month and have had the boys off school with the chicken pox.

• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - 4 stars (Kindle, non-fiction)

• Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry - 4.5 stars (Kindle)

• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides - DNF (Kindle)

• Find Your Soul Path by Emma Griffin - 4 stars (Non-fiction)

• Eye for an Eye by M J Arlidge - 2.5 stars (Kindle)

• The Traitors by Carissa Ann Lynch - 3.5 stars (Kindle)

• Manifest by Roxie Nafousi - 4 stars (Kindle, non-fiction)

• Priest by Sierra Simone - 3 stars

• Manifest: Dive Deeper by Roxie Nafousi - 4 stars (Kindle, non-fiction)

I read a lot of non-fiction month which is not too unusual for me, I do try to read a range of genres but even so this was quite a lot compared to normal. They all have their own merits and if they're topics that you are interested in then I would recommend them all.

This month was definitely Kindle heavy too! I think this is because I spent a large portion of the month trying to get into A Court of Mist and Fury but I just couldn't get past the first 100pages and I did end up setting it aside. I've not included it as a DNF for now as I would like to come back to it at a later date and try again. Maybe I'll buy it on Kindle as for some reason I seem to read a lot quicker when reading on my Kindle. Are you the same?

Favourite Read:

My favourite read from this month's selection was Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry. There are many trigger warnings for this book (which I won't go into here but please do look them up if you check out the book) and it absolutely would not be for everyone but I got so engrossed in the storyline and what the outcome was going to be that I finished it in 2 days. Pretty good going for a busy mum of 3!

It was dark, twisted, disturbing and kind of car-crash-you-can't-look-away-from-vibes. The story is largely told from the viewpoint of Noah's mum and I think it's that which captivated me the most. You see a mum in the most awful of situations and you can empathise with her whilst at the same time being repulsed by what her son has done.

I would recommend this book to others but with a caveat that you need to be sure that the themes covered are ones that you can deal with and if not then that's okay! I've seen a lot of Lucinda Berry's books being recommended to those who enjoy dark psychological thrillers and I definitely plan on reading more of her work.

Making the Squares

Again, I found it a lot of fun to sit down with my yarn and hook and go back through my Goodreads to see what I'd read over the month and how I'd rated them.

I had originally given Eye for an Eye 3 stars but the more time I'd had to think about I realised that it really didn't warrant the extra half a star just because the last 100pages were pretty good. The first 400 were not.

The mix of colours along with the simple square designs I've chosen seem to be working really well. I'm actually liking how the squares are looking together so far. I definitely need to start joining the squares soon as they're all just loose in the bag and I'm worried I'll lose them. I just need to decide how many squares wide to make the blanket. I'm reading more than I'd anticipated, which is amazing but I'm not sure what to expect for the rest of the year.

Already this is proving to be a much better year-long project for me than a temperature blanket because I've never made it past the 1st of February with a temperature blanket! Be sure to check back next month for my March update!

Remember, if you're doing a Book Blanket too then use the hashtags #BookBlanket2024 and #BramblesandHartReads so that I can follow along.

Shelley x