A simply sensational book, I am not usually an avid reader of non fiction but this one has gripped me. This book is a must read for anyone who has read Conrad‘s “Heart of Darkness” - this book provides a brilliant contextual explanation to Conrad‘s writing. Hochschild describes quite unbelievably how Leopold II managed to gain so much power across the Congo and what he did with that power is simply quite horrifying at times. Highly recommend it.

Created myself a reading tracker to try and get my reading back on track. Been pretty lazy the past year or so with books, have bought some and never made time to read them so hopefully this fixes that! Currently Reading: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Thoughts so far: Alright so far, nothing has really ‘grabbed‘ me yet and I‘m not sure whether it stand up to its Pulitzer Prize but a good read nonetheless :)

What an amazing idea!

Just finished reading “A Game Of Thrones” The first Book in the series “A Song of Ice and Fire” and I loved it even though it was note for note the same as the first season so had to remind myself the book came before the series! Took me 3 weeks which I thinks good for a 780 page book just can‘t wait to crack on with the next one “A Clash Of Kings”. Would highly recommend for both those who have watched the series or not.

I wasn‘t sure about this book, I absolutely loved “The Book Thief” and it‘s one of my favourites. I was interested to see what Marcus did this time considering he wasn‘t writing about anything historical but I just couldn‘t get into it. I found it confusing and hard to keep up with, if anyone has read it or reading I‘d be interested to hear your thoughts and whether I should give it another go?

“Let's not forget The Things They Do To Make Themselves Happy That Actually Make Them Miserable. This is an infinite list. It includes - shopping, watching TV, taking the better job, getting the bigger house, writing a semi-autobiographical novel, educating their young, making their skin look mildly less old and harboring a vague desire to believe there might be a meaning to it all.”

A beautiful book that faces the subject of addiction head on and even though it may be harsh it is true to the bone about what life is like as a child living with addiction, especially when that addiction is alcoholism which is normally not taken into consideration and turned a blind eye when in some cases it is just as devastating as that of drugs. A beautiful and heartbreaking story gripped with emotions that handles a taboo subject in style.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads only lives one” - George R.R Martin