The Book Family Rogerson Round-Up: January 2019

I had such big aims in January. Did I achieve them? NO! Well that’s not entirely true.  I wrote 8 blog posts (9 if you include this),  read every day,  kept my Instagram account running and hit 120K monthly views on Pinterest.  Work was also pretty stable with some new projects in the pipeline – including some exciting content creation assignments for publishers.

On the family front, it’s been really exciting though as  after years of dreaming about having a dog, we adopted a little pug/border terrier cross called Milo! Aside from general cuteness, he’s encouraged us to start hiking again and we’ve had some great bookish adventures this month.  Here’s the rundown:

Mel

Books Read

• The Blue Salt Road – Joanne M. Harris (4/5)
• Melmoth – Sarah Perry (4/5)
• Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas (3.75/5)
• Muse of Nightmares – Laini Taylor (ongoing)

I also read a fun MG book but am holding that back for March to coincide with publication.

Al

Books Read

• A Maigret Christmas and other Stories – George Simenon (4.25/5)
• The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton (ongoing)

Little M

Books Read

• The Secret of Black Rock – Joe Todd-Stanton
• Winnie and Wilbur: The Midnight Dragon – Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
• Oh No, George! – Chris Haughton
• A Traveller in Time – Alison Uttley (ongoing family read)

Little M wanted to return to picture books this month which is fine by us.  Oh No, George! has been a favourite for a while but it had a revival with the arrival of Milo!

Movies and TV

• The Favourite
• My Cousin Rachel
• Manchester by the Sea
• Me Before You

Seeing The Favourite at the cinema was a real treat.  I really liked it, Al was lukewarm. The cinematography is sumptuous and the acting brilliant.  If I had to choose, I’d say Emma Stone was the stand-out, but this movie definitely won’t be for everyone.  It’s pretty insane.

We were underwhelmed with My Cousin Rachel even though we’re fans of both Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin. For some reason the plot wasn’t compelling enough even though it was beautiful to view. Sam appeared again in Me Before You, which is the type of film I don’t usually watch, but enjoyed in a teary-eyed kind of way. Manchester by the Sea was Al’s top film of the month, although I bowed out of that experience because the subject-matter was too raw.

Family Days Out

January was all about getting some light so we pulled on our boots and completed some amazing local walks with a literary connection. First up was the Jane Eyre Trail, a spectacular circuit of the locations that inspired Charlotte Bronte to write her classic novel. If you get the chance to do this, then go for it!  Most recently, we did the Lud’s Church walk, which took us to a hidden chasm that’s reputed to be the Green Chapel in the Arthurian tale, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

February is already shaping up to be a busy month.  We’ve booked a short trip to Winchester, and have a couple of family gatherings.  Plus of course, a huge pile of books to read! See you on the other side 🙂

Mel, Al & Little M

xxx