January wrap up

January was so long, it feels like it was way longer than 31 days. I had a goal to read every day, and only missed a couple of days. Meaning I got a lot of reading done in one month, and if I continued like that, I would be able to read, like, a hundred books this year. I'll try to keep these reviews / comments short.

The Bane Chronicles is a collection of short stories about Magnus Bane, and the fact that there were three writers really kind of shows. Some stories were great and lovely, some interesting, some really stupid and just bad. 3 out of 5 stars.

Around the same time I read Sudenmarja by Reidar Palmgren, which is the book I picked from my tbr jar. It's about a woman who works in a park and is a little different than anyone else. That's really all I knew of this before I started reading it, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was better than I thought it would be. The story was surprising, the characters good, and I thought this was an okay read. 3 out of 5 stars, though I was debating between 3 and 4 stars for a while.

Then I picked up Looking for Alaska by John Green. I had no idea what to expect, other than a boarding school and teenagers. This was really good, better than I thought it would be actually. I really like how John Green writes teenagers, and the story was really good. I gave this one 4 stars.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is written from a dog's point of view, and is him looking back on his life as an old dog. This was really good, which totally surprised me. I cried, because as a dog person, this hit where it hurts, hard. 4 stars.

Then I read Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix, which is about a haunted Ikea-like store called Orsk, where some of the employees decide to spend the night, to find out what is going on. I totally forgot to show this in my book haul, but this is the book I was originally meant to get for Christmas. This was so good! And scary. I don't like horror movies, so almost everything could potentially scare me, and this was one scary moment after another. I had to take breaks after some chapters, because whoa. 4 stars.

After that I needed something happy and not scary, so I started reading the Harry Potter books again, by J.K. Rowling. I read the Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets pretty much back to back, and they are both so lovely. Still, after 15 years. I felt like these were even better now, but it has been years since I last read them, so I can't be sure. Just, lovely books and lovely characters. Both of these have 4 stars. I think I don't have to go into plot with these books, everyone and their mother knows what these are about.

Next I read the Song of Achilles, which I have a review of over here. Loved this book, 5 out of 5 stars, definitely January's favourite.

Then is my favourite Potter book, the Prisoner of Azkaban. I don't really know what to say, I love everything about this book. The characters, the plot, everything. 5 stars.

Aaaand last but not least, I read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is about a girl with an eating disorder, and how she's struggling with relapse and recovery after her friend dies. I found this very true and real, and quite liked this. I liked the writing style a lot, which flowed like the main character's thoughts. A very fast read, too. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars. And I feel like I have to say it again, could be very triggering, so if you have any history with eating disorders, self harm, or the likes, think before you read this. I'm serious.

I also want to share the brilliance that is Pride. I absolutely loved this movie. It's basically about a group of gays and lesbians who start collecting money for the miners that are on strike. It was just lovely, and left me smiling.