It’s been a pretty eclectic month, reading-wise. There’s been short stories, novels, poetry, work in translation, graphic-novel memoir and more non-fiction of very different kinds. Which I think is an excellent start for a new year.

I did break my book-buying rule very slightly last week, but as Tim bought me tickets to see author Matt Haig as a Christmas present it would have been rude not to buy the book! Haig was a great speaker – warm, funny, intelligent and honest – and I’ve added his older books to my wishlist. I’ve already read the book he was speaking about, Reasons to Stay Alive, and thought it completely brilliant. (Review will follow soon.) And I’ve been to bookshops no less than four times, so only buying one book for myself is frankly amazing, if I do say so myself.

In book-relatedness, I have watched the films of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (great, possibly better than the book, though equally hard to follow to begin with); Push (which is fun if ridiculous and has a comic-book mini-series prequel); and Limitless (pretty good despite the annoying premise and based on the book The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn).

I’m also part-way through Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales, which I am reading slowly in-between other books. They are mostly unusual, lesser-known tales from all over the world, which is proving fascinating.

Books read

Birthday Stories by Haruki Murakami

The Vagabond by Colette

100 Poems by Jen Campbell

Never Goodnight by Coco Moodysson

The American Language by H L Mencken

The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

How was your January, in reading and otherwise? Did you start the year as you mean to go on?