The Best Books I've Read Recently

The Best Books I've Read Recently...

I'm a big fan of a cosy night in and I try to make my daily evening routine as cosy as possible. To me, there's nothing cosier than wrapping up in a fluffy blanket on the couch and reading a few chapters of a book. After going through a bit of a reading slump last year, I set myself the goal of dedicating more time to reading and it has been so much better for my mental health these past few months to replace a few of my daily phone scrolling sessions to pick up a book instead. You might want to grab a hot beverage and some biscuits for today's post as we're chatting about the cosy reads that have been helping me unwind recently...

1. Caraval & Legendary by Stephanie Garber:

I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into this series, other than the story is centred around a 'once-a-year performance where the audience participates' called Caraval, kind of like a live-action show where they have to solve a mystery to win a magical prize. The story follows two sisters, Scarlett and Donnatella Dragna, who have dreamed about going to Caraval for a long time but when they finally get the chance to go they're involved in the game much more than they had anticipated. 

But it's one of those books where the less you know about it beforehand, the better experience you'll have reading it. There were lots of twists and turns and you don't know if what's happening is true or just a part of the game. Half the time I was confused (in a good way!) and I didn't know who to trust which made reading it so much fun! The author made the story such an immersive experience to read, and I felt like I was in the game myself which made putting it down difficult. The third book in the series was released last month and I can't wait to read it soon!

2. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green:

I've been a huge fan of John Green's books since I was a teenager so I was really intrigued to read Hank Green's debut novel! Although this book was very different from any of John's novels, I thought they both share a similar unique quirky sense of story-telling. Unlike John Green's books, this book is in the adult genre but it's a great bridge between the YA and Adult genres as the plot was fun and whacky like a YA novel but it also had adult characters and themes.

The plot follows twenty-three-year-old April who stumbles upon a giant metal sculpture that resembles a Transformer one evening in New York City. She enlists her friend Andy to help film a video of the sculpture known as Carl to YouTube which ends up going viral. The story addresses the trials and tribulations of internet fame and hate comments which is obviously so relevant at the moment with the fast-paced growth and ubiquity of the blogging / YouTube industry.  

This story was wild, fun, unbelievable but yet believable at the same time and it was such a quick and easy read. I was so glad I read it over the Christmas holidays because I couldn't put it down and I got nothing else done until I had it finished, haha! If you are a fan of John Green's novels then I think you'd love this!

3. The Curated Closet by Anushka Rees:

Last year when I was doing a wardrobe declutter I was quite surprised at how many pieces I never wore or only wore a few times. After discovering too many bad clothing purchases during my declutter that I ended up having to give away to charity because I just knew I would never wear them, I knew I needed to evaluate my style as a whole and become more mindful of what I was buying. I decided to give this book a whirl as it approaches techniques to define your style and ultimately shop less and shop smarter. 

The author assigns tasks for the reader to do at the end of each chapter such as creating a style mood board, writing down your daily activities to assess what type of clothing you need more than others, helpful tips and tricks for the decluttering process as well as a guide to becoming a more mindful shopper and to really evaluate each piece you’re thinking of buying. Overall, I found the book very useful and I’m trying to put the tips and tricks I learned into practice. And the pretty pink cover makes it a great coffee table book that you can have out on display!

4. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling:
I’m sad to say that I’m coming to the end of my time immersed in the magical world of Harry Potter. For years, I put off reading this series because I thought it was overhyped and although I enjoyed the films, I wasn’t completely in love with them the way everyone else seemed to be. However, I’m so glad I finally decided to read the books as they gave me a whole different perspective and magical feeling towards the world and the characters that you can’t get from just watching the films. My favourite books in the series were definitely Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince!

Have you read any good books recently?

Love,

Cliona xx