Read:
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful 2017 filled with lots of great books! I’m excited to see what fun new reads and authors I’ll discover in 2018, but before we get there, let’s chat about what I read in December.
I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t get to read as much as I wanted this month because we did something pretty amazing in the beginning of the month…WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! That’s right we are now homeowners and with that comes me building a library! I actually spent the first day of the new year putting everything together and plan to start showing it off on Instagram soon.
Back to December…I started off the month picking up another Agatha Christie book. This month I chose to go with CROOKED HOUSE, which is a standalone she wrote and is often listed as one of her favorites. I absolutely loved the story and the crazy family it centered on. I also returned to Louise Penny and the #pennypushers book club this month with book four in the series, A RULE AGAINST MURDER. This is now my new favorite in the series! Another dysfunctional family that does not disappoint!
December was my chance to catch up with my classic reading challenge I committed to this year. To recap, I wanted to read one classic book a month listed on this awesome poster my husband bought me from Pop Chart Lab. Since September was out of control crazy with the wedding and honeymoon, I’ve been behind one. I was determined not to miss out on reading twelve classics in 2017, so I picked up two this month. I picked up ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST first and was riveted by the story. I have my Bachelors degree in psychology, so psych wards have always been fascinating to me and I absolutely loved this movie. My second and twelfth classic for 2017 was LOLITA. This one took me a bit of time to get in to, but once I did I was blown away by this tale of the dark side of human nature. I’ve really enjoyed being pushed out of my reading comfort zone and am looking forward to continuing this challenge in 2018!
This month I finally picked up two books that have been glaring at me from my TBR mountain for months. I started off with the 700+ page NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. I’ve been wanting to get more in to horror books for a long time now and this was the perfect place to start. Not only does this book have a Christmas theme, but it is brilliantly written. I will definitely be picking up more Joe Hill in 2018. STILLHOUSE LAKE has been hanging out on my list for months now since it was featured at a Criminally Good Book Club pick that I couldn’t participate in. Rachel Caine created a brilliant story about a family shattered when the patriarch is discovered as a serial killer. I cannot wait to pick back up with this series with book two, KILLMAN CREEK, in January!
December treated me with two absolutely delightful five star reads that introduced me to a new series and a debut author. EENY MEENY is the first in the Helen Grace series by M.J. Arlidge and boy did it not disappoint! I am so excited to keep reading these novels that I went ahead and bought the next four after finishing this one. Finally, there was THE CHALK MAN by debut author C.J. Tudor. I’m a huge fan of Stranger Things and 80’s themed movies and TV shows, so this book was perfect for me!
What did you read in December? Have you read any of these titles?
Here’s to January! Happy reading!
What Jess Reads 