Reading Round-Up: January

1. 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac: a slightly disappointing read that got a bit tedious once I passed the halfway point.

2. 'Coraline and Other Stories' by Neil Gaiman: a cute collection of stories including the novella 'Coraline' which I absolutely adored.

3.'Blockade Billy' by Stephen King: the titular novella plus a short story thrown in for good measure. A quick read that kept me entertained.

4. 'Different Seasons' by Stephen King: (Yeah I was on a little Stephen King kick. It happens sometimes.) This collection of four novella's was slightly different to previous King novels. They weren't in his traditional horror vein but they were still chilling in their own way, especially 'Apt Pupil'.

5. 'The Marriage Plot' by Jeffrey Eugenides: a brilliant third novel from Eugenides after a lengthy hiatus. Had me reading obsessively until the very end.

6. 'Beautiful Creatures' by Kimi Garcia and Margaret Stohl: One of the best YA Urban fantasy's I've ever read. 

7. 'Mr Suit' by Nigel Bird: a lacklustre crime novella that wasn't as good as its blurb claimed it to be.

8. 'The Aylesford Skull' by James P. Blaylock: (technically I finished this on 1st February but as the majority of it was read in January I'm including it in this list) A fantastic romp through Steampunk London that has seriously won me over to the Steampunk genre.

So, I managed to read eight books in January. That's six more than in January 2012. I'm impressed with myself and according to goodreads, I'm ahead of schedule by five books. I think I have most of February's books lined up but no doubt that will change. I'm sort of a fickle reader. I decide what to read based on how the last book made me feel. Sometimes I desire something similar, other times a complete diversion from what I've just finished reading.

My favourite book of the month was definitely 'The Aylesford Skull'. My least favourite was 'On the Road'.

What did you read in January?