A Few New Reads

This Christmas I was very fortunate to receive a few books that have been on my literary wishlist for a reeaally long time. Strangely enough, considering all the time I spent at uni studying literature, it's been a while since I've had the chance to properly hunker down with a good read. Even more so, being the introverted little soul I am, not having the time to escape into those books has left me feeling a tad downcast as we enter into the new year.

So, armed with my fresh Christmas haul of literary delights, this year I've resolved to make time to settle down with a few good books and really get back into my reading again. I'm planning on keeping you informed and maybe doing a review for each one as I go, so you can check them out yourselves if you're interested!

Anyway, here's what I was lucky enough to get for Christmas:

My first choice is the Dylan Thomas Omnibus of stories, poems and broadcasts. Dylan Thomas has been my favourite poet for a while now as his work always contains a lovely, peculiar and weirdly comforting mixture of light and dark elements. I have a very peculiar and often surreal sense of humour myself... and for some reason, perhaps because my Grandfather was Welsh, the slightly dangerous and dark yet very melodic Welsh tone of Thomas' writing always appeals to me. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but once you get to grips with his world, Dylan can be ever so enchanting.

   
My second choice is a collection of letters penned by Virginia Woolf. I've read a couple of Woolf's novels before and found her general outlook on life to be fascinating and full of thought-provoking remarks and witticisms about what life was like for an intelligent young woman in the early twentieth century (some of which still apply today btw). Her letters are supposed to be equally as intriguing and, this is perhaps a bit weird and macabre of me, but I'm particularly interested in reading the last letter in the collection... a note she left for her husband before she drowned herself. Woolf is a literary hero of mine and to have this little insight into her life outside of her novels is a really exciting prospect to me.

My third choice is Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird because, unbelievably, even after taking English A-Level and studying English at university, this novel has never been dropped into my lap. I am, however, quite glad of the fact that no one ever forced me to analyse ever page of this classic and that I can now go away and read it at my own pace without having, after finishing it, to write some lengthy, drawn-out essay on its clever use of symbolism and/or colour themes. I've heard marvellous things about this one, so I think it's about time I caught up with everyone else and got round to reading it!

 
My final choice is Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. This is the only Austen I have yet to read and I'm really nerdily excited about being swept away amongst all the usual Austen tropes...ballgowns... ribbons... handsome dark strangers... big country estates...you know the sort of thing. The period-drama world is endlessly comforting to me and I love the weird predictability that comes with a Jane Austen novel- the usual story of the plain but clever protagonist who's not so clever when it comes to blokes but knows how to deliver a serious burn to the nosy aunt or snooty future mother-in-law. It's all just magical to me, so I'll be sure to let you know whether this one delivers on that front! It's also in a glorious new edition- slightly smaller and squarer which makes it the perfect size for slipping into your handbag and whipping out when you fancy a quick read :)

Those are my literary picks for the new year, I'll be sure to keep you updated on my reading progress as I go along! What are your book recommendations for the new year? I'd love to know of anything new and exciting to add to my collection :)

In the meantime,
All the love,

Sian x