MONTHLY WRAP-UP | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015

I missed last month's wrap-up on account of being on vacation, so this one's a two-fer! Some exciting things have happened in the past two months, both in terms of books and... not. First of all, I started off the year with a couple of truly fantastic reads - my favourite so far being If I Fall, If I Die. Beautifully written and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Then I went on vacation at the end of January to New Orleans! It was my first time in The Big Easy and I cannot even tell you how much I loved it. I've been adding every book I can find about or set in New Orleans ever since. Here's what I've been up to in the past two months:

 Books read in January:

• The Girl On the Train - Paula Hawkins
• Why New Orleans Matters - Tom Piazza (Not reviewed)
• Just Kids - Patti Smith
• Leaving Before the Rains Come - Alexandra Fuller
• If I Fall, If I Die - Michael Christie

Other things you might have missed in January:

• I recapped the top 2014 releases I wanted to read, but haven't yet
• And I listed the 2015 releases I'm excited to read
• I discussed what the term "well-read" means
• I listed the top ten books I'd love to read if I had a book club
• In honour of my vacation, I chatted about literary tourism

Books read in February:

• The Drop - Dennis Lehane (Review to follow)
• Zeitoun - Dave Eggers
• A Spool of Blue Thread - Anne Tyler
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling (Re-read)
• One More Thing - B.J. Novak 

Other things you might have missed in February:

• I listed the top ten books I can't believe I haven't read yet
• I confessed to bookish voyeurism
• I GIFed my top ten book- and reading-related problems
• I narrowed down my favourite literary heroines
• I started a new weekly feature to replace WWW Wednesdays - My Week On Wednesday
• I discussed whether there's anything wrong with reading only black authors during Black History Month

A few pictures from my trip:

 My first view of the Mississippi - and a paddlewheeler! And some cool trees.

 Jackson Square and an albino alligator called Snowy at the Aquarium.

  A garden in the Garden District and a typical building in the French Quarter.

 Trees in the swamp and the baby alligator called Elvis we got to play with.

 

New Orleans is big on the paranormal, and on the left was one of my 

favourite signs. The other sign speaks for itself!

And because this is a book blog, here are a few of the bookstores I visited:

 Beckham's Bookshop and the lovely cat who lives there, Juniper.

 Crescent City Books - downstairs and up.

 Faulkner House Books, housed in the building where William Faulkner

wrote his first novel.

Inside Faulkner House Books, probably my favourite bookstore in New Orleans.

That's it for the first two months of 2015! Great start to the year, I'd say. What about you guys? Which is the best book you've read so far this year? Share in the comments!