This post is part of Six for Sunday, run by Steph from A Little But a Lot.
Christmas is the time for giving, for sure. If you’re in any way connected to a bookworm, there’s a plethora of books you could put in their Christmas stocking. Whether you’re stuck for a Secret Santa idea, or you just want to give them some new reading material, these books are the perfect gift idea. I’m sure your beloved bookworm would love to see these underneath the tree on the 25th.
This post is part of Six for Sunday run by Steph from A Little but a Lot.
Now it’s December, it’s definitely time to start reading some festive books. I’ve got quite a few lined up on my TBR to see me through to the 25th, and there are some I revisit every single year.
You know me, I love a good bandwagon. So once I saw a couple of people doing the Five Star Books in Five Words Tag, I absolutely wanted in. It’s a tag originally created by Booktuber Matthew Sciarappa, but I’m going to be bold and bring it to the written world.
The idea is pretty simple – take some of the books you’ve given five stars to, and give five words to describe them. I realise it seems now as I’ve just mansplained the task but that really is it.
I’m going to take five of my reads from 2019 (so far, who knows if there are still some to come).
Challenge criteria: A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands.
Image via Goodreads
This is an amazing and insightful look into life on a maternity ward in the UK. I’m not from the UK, nor do I live there, but I think we’ve all heard about the trials and terrors of the NHS at the moment. Adam brings so much humour into the diary it’s infectuous (no pun intended.)
Given the subject matter, and some of the delicate cases in this book, it feels like saying I enjoyed it is wrong. But I did. It’s humour is spectacular, and the footnotes bring a wealth of knowledge about the OBGYN department of your local hospital. Moreover, it will make you despair for the healthcare professionals working there. You’ll see them in a whole new light once you’ve finished this book.
LOTS of squeamish moments in this book. I did read them, but often with my legs crossed or my heart in my mouth. I had some help, though, to prepare for them; I asked Emma from Drinking by my Shelf for her list of particularly hard to read passages. For readers with light stomachs, it’s a godsend.
Has to be a five star read. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year, and totally lived up to the hype bestowed upon it.
This book did not fit any of my challenge criteria
“Memoir is not what this thing is. It is just a true story. Except for the parts that are enormous, staggering lies…”
At once brazen and terrified, Sarah Maria Griffin’s hilarious and beautifully written story opens a doorway into the interior life of the Celtic Tiger cubs who have left Ireland to escape the recession in search of prosperity.
