January: In which I am surprised that I'm on target for my reading list!

Happy January, ya'll. 
I hope everyone's reading challenge, craft challenge or life challenge is going well. With all the snow we've had this month (like the entire winter dumped on us in a single day), you would think I would only have time to read...but I spent most of the weekend knitting. Not ashamed. 

Even if I'm on track for my challenge (yay!) I'm going a little slow with the reading. I'm trying to get lots of knitting done during the winter months because when summer comes around I can't even think about touching yarn. That puts reading on the back burner for a bit. Even so, I managed to get four books read so let's talk about that. 

Luther: The Calling (Neil Cross) was the first book I read finished this year. I almost didn't finish it because even though it was really good, it was kinda creepy and gory. Not really my cup of tea, but the story was so engrossing and strange that I had to finish it. In a remarkable turn of events, this book was written AFTER the BBC series Luther because it had done so well. I find that interesting but doesn't really change the way I feel about the book. The TV series was a little violent and very dark, but intensely engaging. I'm behind on the series (I think I'm just missing season 3) but eventually I will catch up. Let's be honest--Idris Elba is my main reason for watching. Hubba Hubba. I mean, the story is written really well...

Blame (Michelle Huneven) was an office share book. It showed up in my mailbox with a post it saying "Is this yours?" It wasn't but I read it anyway. I didn't love it but it was interesting. What really threw me was the last chapter. Our protagonist gets locked in a gas station bathroom and is stuck for hours. When she gets out, though, nothing really changes. It could have been one of those scenes that gives the protagonist an opportunity to re-evaluate her situation and make changes. But she doesn't. As a reader it really bothers me. As a person, I think, maybe it bothers me more. It was a good vehicle for change and it is completely ignored. 

I am still slogging through The Bright Empires series. I had a hard time getting through book 3. There was a big gap between #2 and #3 for me so maybe that played into it. And even though halfway through each book I promise myself that I won't keep reading the series, that it is taking too much of my time, that there are too many books out there that I want to read...and then for some unknown reason, I request the next book from the library. So I currently have book #4 waiting for me. This is why I usually avoid series. Anyway...

I finished And Furthermore by Judi Dench this month too. It was very conversational, and it made me think that maybe the audiobook of it would have been a better choice. I wonder with autobiography/memoir type books if audio isn't the best way to go. Reading stories are one thing but hearing the author tell their personal stories? Possibly better. I never realized how much theatre Dame Judi was a part of. She is so much more than M (even though I love M) and so much more than any of her movie roles. 

The office is passing around the book Stiff (Mary Roach) about human cadavers. It has been on my reading list for three years so I'm excited to finally get to it. I'm not in love with it yet, but another coworker called it hilarious so I'm still hoping things will improve. 
I GUESS I'm still working on finishing the Bright Empires series. I haven't touched my Hamilton biography in ages. Sigh. Sorry A.Ham.

But the Ravenclaw house scarf I'm working on is looking A++ fabulous. 

How are your new year goals coming? Let me know in the comments!