My Paper Lungs

Just a quick mini-post here to update you guys on how my January went, and what my plans for February are, through books!

After receiving sooo many books for Christmas, you would have thought my January would have been full of lots of reading and discussion and all-round bookishness. Turns out, nope. That didn’t happen.

January was a month of changes for me. Changes to my daily routine, changes to how I spent my time. On NYE I passed my driving test woo! Which means now, I drive to work which is AMAZING because my commute has been reduced from 2.5/2hrs to 45mins/1hr, but the annoying thing is now I’m struggling to find time to read. I used to use my daily train commutes to read and plan and write blog posts, whereas now, with the extra time I have at home, I find myself scrolling instagram rather than doing anything productive. FFS.

For that very reason, I’ve only read one book this month, and written nothing. NOTHING. I think I need to come to terms with the fact that I’m not a writer, rather a procrastinator…. but maybe not quite yet. Maybe I just need to have a friendlier relationship with my laptop, rather than being distant roommates in separate rooms. February needs to be the month that I read, write and exercise more. One can dream, Harold.

What I read in January

The Investigation by J.M. Lee

So, I only managed to read one book, which was ‘The Investigation’ by J.M. Lee. It wasn’t anything like what I was expecting. I thought sure, a war novel, a prisoner-of-war focused plot. Sure. But NO. That’s just the basis. The means of which to transgress the true story to us as readers – the true story of the power of words, of isolation, of friendship. I posted an Instagram post about this book as I was in the midsts of reading it, saying it made me feel thick with words, and that’s exactly how it ended with me, too. I read it feveriously on the train back from brunch with a friend yesterday, and I just didn’t want to leave the characters just yet, I didn’t want to disconnect with the story of words. This book has made me fall back in-love with the written language, and I can feel my fingers itching to write again.

My TBR in February

Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This has been all over Instagram lately, and it’s been on my radar since about October last year. Remember when I went on my Bookcrawl over my birthday? This was one of the books I was going to pick-up, but at the very last moment I put it back down. Do you ever do that? I regretted it as soon as I got home, but then I never got around to buying it again. Luckily, my buddy knows how much I love these sort of books, so gave it to me as a belated Christmas present and I’m so excited to read it so that’s why it’s first on my list.

Birthday Stories by Haruki Murakami

Someone I work with is currently reading ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ by Murakami which I LOVE. I think I’ve mentioned it on here before, but that book got me through some hard times. At work, we keep discussing Murakami when we shoud be working but shsss, and I’ve just got an itch that no other writer can scratch. After ‘Before the coffee gets cold’, I’m going to hurl myself into this.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

After those two pieces of translated fiction, I think I’m going to fancy something a little bit more relaxed to read. Another book I got for Christmas, I’m excited to see how Dianna Wynne Jones’ ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ compares to the Miyazaki film. Also, how cool is it that these films are now on Netflix?! Our weekends are now sorted, that’s for sure!

First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan

A book that’s been on my TBR pile since I purchased it on my birthday, I thought it would be a good time to actually read this collection of works by another favourite author of mine.

I feel like after the tumulous January of trying to find my feet again after Christmas and driving etc., I feel I’ve finally got my reading routine down and I should be able to read more than one book this month!

More plans for February: I plan to stuff my face silly with pancakes, a mini-trip to Ikea for some possible new bookcases, and then very excitedly maybe a trip to my old stomping ground. What plans do you have for February? Let’s kick winters butt!