Five on Friday: last books I’ve read

Hello there! Welcome to another Five on Friday post. Today I’m bringing you the last five books I’ve read, which happen to be all the books I’ve read this year so far. Here we go.

One

Black Ships Before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Although I had to buy this book for school many years ago, I don’t think we ever read it for our literature class. I read it on my own at home and I liked it so much (partly because of the beautiful illustrations) that this was one book I read again and again. As I was at my parents’ for Christmas, I didn’t miss a chance to revisit its colourful pages and began the year by reading this abridged version of The Iliad. Perhaps some day I’ll dare to read the original text.

Two

Mandelbrot the Magnificent, by Liz Ziemska.

I no longer remember how I came to know of the existence of this novella. But once I knew that it was a fantastic biography of Benoît Mandelbrot I was sold. Besides fantasy, obviously, it has mathematics and the echoes of WWII, thus many of my favourite things are brought together in this short but powerful read.

Three

White Fang, by Jack London.

I read this one for a classics group I joined in Goodreads. I was so excited at the prospect of meeting some other people with a similar interest in classics that I jumped right in. The book was okay; it wouldn’t have been my first choice. In fact, I owned a copy of White Fang since many years ago and I had never read it. Anyway, I read it and I liked it. But I was a bit discouraged by the shallow discussions about it. Maybe it was the book, which wasn’t that interesting for most people; maybe it was the group’s approach; maybe it was the limited possibilities for conversation at Goodreads. Dunno.

Four

Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch.

Now, this is a series I’m liking more and more with every book I read. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little in here, as I have only read the first two books in the Peter Grant series but I really liked this one. There are many things I like about them. First, there’s London. There’s so much trivial information about London and its history, its architecture, its rivers, that these books are a joy to read for any London lover. Besides, I really like the voice of the main character – he’s rather cool and fresh. Yes, I really like how he’s written.

Five

Game of Queens, by Sarah Gristwood.

This one has been under my radar for quite a while and I have been meaning to read it since I bought it last year. But somehow, I always end up shaking up my reading plans and some books get read soon and quick and some others seem to be waiting forever. Anyhow, I finally got to read Game of Queens and I LOVED it. It is definitely one of my favourite reads this year, even if I still have ten more months ahead to read and read and read. There are so many powerful and inspiring women portrayed in Game of Queens that it is impossible not to be in awe of everything they achieved in the 16th century and continue wondering about what cause the subsequent fall in female power throughout Europe. Even today, in the 21st century, such a concentration of women holding power and making history is unheard of. This was really a mind-boggling read and a book that I will reread more calmly at some point. I might even write more about it when I do.

 

And now over to you. What are the last books you’ve read? 

Have a lovely weekend!