I starting reading "properly" at the end of 2016 and carried on into 2017. At this stage, I was just (mostly) rating my books, but by the end of 2017, I started writing short reviews (mostly for myself).

The boost in reading is almost entirely down to using a Kindle, larger fonts and large line heights.


A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

★★★★☆


Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

★★★★★


Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem by Arthur Miller

★★★★☆


Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

★★★★★


The Song From Somewhere Else by A.F. Harrold

★★★★☆

Beautiful story (and printed paper was so nice).


Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

★★★★☆


Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

★★★★★


A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

★★★★★

I loved this story. It helps that I'm a dad with a son who has some similarities to the characters, but I found this story so warm and loving. I also found myself dragging the ending out just so that I could continue to have these characters in my life a little longer.


The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

★★★☆☆


The Humans by Matt Haig

★★★★☆


Saga, Vol. 7 (Saga, #7) by Brian K. Vaughan

★★★★★


The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

★★★★★


Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

★★★★☆


Jessica Jones, Vol. 1: Uncaged! by Brian Michael Bendis

★★★★★


How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

★★★★★


The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

★★★☆☆


Alan Partridge: Nomad by Alan Partridge

★★★★★


The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

★★★★★

I loved this book. I'm not a fan of the apocalyptic stories, but this is so well told both from the storyline, but also the _way_ the story was written and each chapter is given from the perspective of the character (whilst still being 3rd person)—that I couldn't put the book down. Love it.


The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

★★★★☆


The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

★★★★☆


Paper Girls, Vol. 3 (Paper Girls, #3) by Brian K. Vaughan

★★★☆☆


The '86 Fix by Keith A. Pearson

★★★★★


Beyond Broadhall (The '86 Fix #2) by Keith A. Pearson

★★★★★

Spoiler

Loved it. I happened to read this directly after the '86 Fix, and although it didn't have the same "retro" feel of the first book, it was superb all the same.

Some parts of the storyline were actually quite bleak, with the hard reflective thoughts that go with "what if" - I really enjoyed this.

It ties up a bit overly perfectly at the end, but after following Craig across the two books, and all the hardships he goes through, I was actually quite see Craig have a happy ending!


How Not To Be a Boy by Robert Webb

★★★★☆


Binti (Binti, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

★★★★★


Home (Binti, #2) by Nnedi Okorafor

★★★★☆


A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

★★★★☆


A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

★★★★☆

A beautiful tale, and the detail of the characters, their surroundings and the history throughout the book made me often wonder if it was actually a biography!

The entire story is a eloquently walk through a character's life whose choses to made the best of what they have, and left me wanting to see things the same in my.own daily life.