Love of Reading: January 2017

Hi guys! The first love of reading post of 2017 is upon us! My goal for 2017 is to read three books per month, however, rather I’m going to measure this by word count. The average novel is 80,000 pages so I’m aiming to read 240,000 words per month. Since some books are longer than others, I feel like saying “I want to read 3 books per month” inadvertently has me reading shorter books so that I can achieve this. I feel like I missed my goal last year because I read some fairly lengthy books that took forever to finish. Anyways, I’m starting off on a good note as I met my goal!

I See You by Claire Mackintosh

I had mentioned in November that I read Claire Mackintosh’s I Let You Go and that I really enjoyed it. When I saw that Claire wrote another book, I See You, I knew I had to read it. This book revolves around classified ads. When Zoe sees a classified ad with a grainy photograph of herself along with a phone number and a website that sounds like a dating website, she becomes worried. Each day different women appear in these ads and they become victims of increasingly violent crimes. Similar to I Let You Go, I really enjoyed the ride this novel took me on. If you enjoy psychological thrillers you will probably enjoy I See You.

Word Count: 109,000

The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is known for her powerful and emotional novels and The Pact is no different. It is the story of two neighbouring families who have been close and connected for many years. That is, until heartbreak hits both families when the Golds’ daughter Emily dies as a result of an apparent suicide pact between herself and the Hartes’ son Chris, who went from lifelong friends to high school sweethearts. Left behind are two devastated families as the story works its way though the past and the present. Jodi Picoult sure knows how to keep a reader hooked and emotionally invested in her stories. I really enjoyed The Pact!

Word Count: 150,000

Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher

After the devastating news that Carrie Fisher passed away I felt so compelled to read the books that she wrote. I decided to start in the most logical place, her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The novel is set in a world familiar to Carrie: Hollywood. It is the tale of Suzanne Vale, an actress who finds herself in drug rehabilitation. Through her experiences within rehab and then coping with the outside world we see snippets of Suzanne’s fascinating life. While reading this I was hooked and feel even more drawn to reading Carrie’s works of non-fiction as well.

Word Count: 75,000 (estimated)

Total Words Read: 334,000

Did you set any reading goals for the year? Let me know in the comments down below! And as always, I’d love to hear which books you’ve been loving lately!

xoxo,

Robyn