So far, so good. I’ve posted every weekday, done a dragon post, and a theme post. Hopefully I’ll do another theme post later this week, and I’ll finish off this ten day challenge. So far, I’m liking what I’ve been doing over the past week and a bit.

I’ve got a section about reading over here, where there are certainly more than four books I like. And I have talked about some of the books that I’ve read as and when I’ve read them: Six Book Challenge, Reading Continues, 2015. Actually, I should remember that last one more. I’ve read romance and slice of life, and Stephen Fry’s biography has been sitting on my to read pile for a while, but there’s still other genres I want to hit up this year.

Right, because I already have a place for my favourite books, I’ll list four books I’ve read this year that I enjoyed.

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  1. Tooth and Claw. I read this one very recently, only a couple of weeks ago, after a recommendation from a friend. She described it as “pride and prejudice with dragons”, and I have to say, that’s pretty accurate. The patriarch of a family of dragons dies right at the start of the book, some complications happen, and it’s all about the politics of trying to deal with that. I loved the world that the author had created, the social structures felt really immersive, and even the characters that you thought of as secondary or minor had their own stories and roles. I borrowed this one from the library, but I’m considering getting my own copy. Politics I though I might not like, combined with dragons which I love, made for a story I really enjoyed.
  2. The Library Book. I mentioned this little book very briefly back when I had just read it. It’s a collection of short stories or tales from famous/recognised people about their experiences with libraries. Originally I borrowed this book to read from the library, but I was so impressed that I ordered my own copy, and the fact that it’s produced by the reading agency, so all profits go towards their charity was a bonus. There is something about being a librarian that makes me appreciate these types of stories, where people talk about their fond memories and how libraries and librarians helped them, that makes me feel good. Recently appointed Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell has this charming little book about his experiences of a library as well, give it a read.
  3. Terry Prachett. Sadly, we lost this great author earlier this year. Since then, I have been buying his books in The Library Collector’s Edition, with fantastic covers, and re-reading the discworld series. There’s not much to say about it that hasn’t already been said, I talk about him in A – Authors, my A to Z first post this year. The next book on my list is Guards, Guards, so I get to visit the City Watch, Carrot and Vimes. It’ll be good. (And the special edition has an embossed dragon on the cover).
  4. The Humans. Picked up this book from the library after I failed to get anything from the World Book Night to give out. This was actually a selection from 2014’s run, but I’d heard good things about it, it looked interesting, and when I went into the library it was on the display, so I picked it up and I read it. I liked it more than I thought I would, actually. The sense of alienation was very, very strong, and you could really empathise with the alien in human’s clothing who had come down to complete a mission and gets completely sidetracked by earth and all it’s strangeness. And from his viewpoint, we really are a strange bunch. The relationship with the dog is also a nice touch, I feel. World Book Night books are often a good starting point for me to find new books that I might not pick up on my own I find, they have some really good choices.

And there you have four books I have read this year. See, I really am trying to broaden my horizons! Next I think I have to get through my overly large (at least 25 books) to read pile, which includes stuff on librarianship, study skills, science, fantasy and dragons. Although, considering I would in a library, I’m probably going to pick up another book before I do. Let’s see, I still need a sci-fi, mystery, comedy and literary in my books this year. Time to get to the reading!

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My local public library – Norwich & Norfolk Millennium Library