Hello my fellow bookworms, I hope you are happy and well? January has been a very cold and snow filled month. I have spent a great deal of the month tucked up with a hot water bottle, books, and mugs of tea. Don’t be fooled though I have also been a productive lady with clearing out the house a sort of early spring clean plus there have also been some interesting job prospects I have been working on. To top it off I also celebrated my 25th birthday! So all in all January was a good month and a great start to a new year for me.
Fiction: 5 Non-Fiction: 2 Poetry: 0
I started the month by finishing off The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges. Two books I started at the end of 2012 which I have thoroughly enjoyed dipping in and out of over the Christmas and New Year holiday when I had a moment’s peace between all the excitement. I also started The Dragondain by Richard Due the second instalment in his series The Moon Realm right at the end of 2012. I thought this was a delightful children’s fantasy tale that helped me while away a long train journey home which I then finished off one cold night tucked up in bed. By mid-January the weather turned for the worst bringing bitter cold winds and snow! All of which put me in the mood for the Russian historical novel The Mirrored World by Debra Dean, an author I’d been keen to read more of. Dean didn’t disappoint and this novel seemed the perfect match for the weather too. During the snow I also spent a peaceful Sunday afternoon in front of my grandfather’s fire reading Taboo by Tara Maya the second instalment of her dark fantasy series The Unfinished Song. I finished off the month with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Official Movie Guide) by Brian Sibley my one and only book I received for my birthday, but what a book to receive I thought it was fascinating. Then with barely a day to spare I finished the charming children’s classic The Children of The New Forest by Frederick Marryat my thoughts on which are still to come.
Pick of the Month: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
And those are just the books I finished. Through out January I have also been slowly but surely working my way through The Complete Brothers Grimm’s Fairytales which I started after finishing The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I started a re-read of Believing in Faeries by Marcia Zena Mager mid-way through the month but I’m afraid it became sidelined when I received The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Official Movie Guide) for my birthday. On the last day of the month I started Sacrifice by Tara Maya the third instalment in her dark fantasy series The Unfinished Song we’ll see how long this lasts into February.
How was your January? What did you read?
You got some good reading right there. I love Sherlock Holmes stories.
How are you finding the Grimm’s fairytales? It’s something that I think I would enjoy.
Lynn
Thank you Lynn
I haven’t made huge progress into Grimm’s Fairytales yet though I am enjoying them but a little unnerving because a lot of them our darker versions of stories I already know 
What a great month of reading! I read some wonderful things in January, too – my favorite was The Innocents by Francesca Segal.
Thank you Anbolyn
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed what you were reading in January too. I will be popping over to you soon to see your mini thoughts on your recent reads.
Sounds like you’ve been busy! I haven’t quite read as much as you
Nikki-Ann I wouldn’t worry I don’t usually read this much either! My average is about 4 a month, 7 is just brilliant
All you should be worried about is how much you enjoy what you’re reading anyway. I hope you enjoyed everything you read 
It’s great to be able to say that those are just the books you completed in the month, isn’t it
From the looks of it quite a fantasy-filled month, though a good mix of subjects and age ranges. Happy birthday!
Thank you Charlie
I hadn’t really noticed before but I do seem to have preferred more fantasy reads in January while December was much more about the classics and historical fiction. May be watching The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey rekindled my love of fantasy for the new year 
Love that snowy picture! We didn’t have much snow at all in January, which disappointed me. If it is cold out I want the snow to go with it. It has been a weird Jan. with several snatches where temps turned springlike, into the upper 50′s and 60′s only to drop to bitter, bitter cold. Today is the coldest day of the winter here, or so they say on the radio.
Glad you had a great month reading. One thing I love about the cold is the extra pleasure it adds to reading. All the snuggling up in comfy chairs with blankets and hot drinks. Love it!
Thank you Carl
We have had rather unusual January weather too. Mild and wet at the begining, snow in the middle, then back to mild and wet. It would seem most readers enjoy the cold weather for reading though, must be part of our nature to want to curl up with books at any excuse 
Glad to hear you had such a wonderful month and a great birthday! Cold weather is lovely for reading
We had a couple of cold days with snow, but this week it’s gotten mild and wet, but anything goes with tea. You’ve got so much reading done! I managed to read a book each for two events I wanted to take part in and am happy that I didn’t fail 
A happy February to you and good luck with the applications!
Thank you Bina
I agree cold weather is perfect for reading, and tea just tops it off! No more snow for us but it has gone very cold again. Well done for getting the reading done for the events you’ve been taking part in. Happy February to you too 