February Book Challenge!

As you know I've been keeping up with my New Years Resolution which is to read at least one book per month and for February I've read through three. I couldn't restrain myself and bought Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë, and the other two had been sat on my shelf a while half read.

Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë

I was on my way to the hairdressers (who messed up my appointment that had to be postponed) and realised I'd not brought a book with me, so I thought it was a great excuse to buy a new one and so I set off to The Bookshop in Welwyn. I was after a quick read, something light and to keep me ticking over as I can't stand trashy magazines in the salon, and Agnes Grey was there staring at me. I've loved the other Brontë books and as the sisters are from the same village as me I thought why not! So off to a cafe I went to divulge into another world with some good coffee.
   I read the introduction and it was mentioned that this novel was one of the least imaginative of the other Brontë books. I can see where they were coming from, but sometimes all you need is a light straight forward story, no over complicated story lines, just a good old, down to earth journey of a plain governess. I could see the similarity of Anne's own life in this novel and as I'm a fan of the sisters in general and not just their books, this was really interesting for me to read through the lines.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Haruki Murakami

I've been slowly reading through this book of short stories for god knows how long and I though it was high time I had it finished! Murakami is without a doubt one of my favourite authors, I really enjoyed this collection and I've read most of his other works with 'Sputnik Sweetheart' and 'Kafka on the Shore' being the best. Murakami is out there on his own with his style of writing and imagination, his stories always verge on the edge of reality and the unexplained unknown. Definitely worth a read if you're after fiction that's a bit different.

Poe: Illustrated Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Edgar Allen Poe

This is another book which has been sat on my shelf for a very long time half read. As before, this collection of poetry and short stories is very easy to dip in and out of and it got to the point where I had to finish it. These short stories were very powerful and this was my first encounter with Poe. I'd heard of his work before and now I'm glad I've read them. 'The Pit and the Pendulum' had me on the edge of my seat, as did 'A Descent into the Maelström', and many of the other poems were downright disturbing but brilliant at the same time.

If anyone wants to see my little online collection of books that I've read, books I'm currently reading and books that I want to read, head over to my Goodreads account!