February Reading

I know that this didn't work out too well for me last year, but I have been going a little bit mad with the library lately, and in preperation for Modern March, I feel like I should probably try to get through at least some of the mountain!! In fairness, I've kind of cheated as I've glanced through some already. In case you can't see what's in the awful photo, the pile is thus:- 

(from top to bottom)

• The Library Book - produced in aid of The Reading Agency this is a collection of essays by different people about the importance of libraries to them. I've been dipping in and out of it and so far it is ridiculously great. I have pages and pages of quotes for my eventual review and I'm planning to get somebody to buy me my own copy at some point. 
• My Life in France by Julia Child - I've wanted to read this since watching Julie & Julia a couple of years ago and it just happened to be sitting there in the library the other day when I went to pick up another book...
• The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller - so. much. hype about this last year, and it was on the longlist for the Orange Prize which I usually take as a good sign. Also I'm about to start a course on the Ancient Greeks and this is all about the Trojan War, so it seemed a good fit!
• The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber - part of the Cannongate Myths Series that I've been trying to get through for a couple of years
• A Cat, a Hat and a Piece of String by Joanne Harris - I love Joanne Harris, but I didn't even know that this existed. It's short stories which is super great for my limited attention span at the moment, and I'm looking forward to it!
• Great reading, Weaning. Exciting, I know, but Benji is starting to chew on anything that comes near him and stare at my biscuits longingly, so I figured it was time to find out how to go about feeding him something other than milk... Although they recommend waiting till 6 months, if he's ready I can do it from a couple of weeks time. So we'll see how it goes. 
• The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer - I ordered this in for my Wishlist Challenge and I'm already half way through it, so it should just be a little finish up job. So far it's really great and making me think about all the things, which is great. 
• How Not to F*** Them Up by Oliver James - another parenting book, but this seems really interesting and has lots of stats and stuff so I can read it all and weigh up the pros and cons of being a working mother and then completely ignore all the advice and do what the hell I want anyway :-) 
• The Art of Handmade Living - this is just a kind of cute little crafty book with ideas about how to accessorise things around the home to make them prettier. It's more of a flip through book than one that actually needs to be concentrated on. 

The last one is The Vintage Tea Party Year which I've already had a look through. It is possibly the most beautiful book that I've ever seen, and has some really cute invitations you can photocopy or download from their website. Thanks to it, I've already decided that Benji's 1st Birthday party in October will be Circus themed. Yes, I know he'll be 1 and unable to remember anything or really participate at all, but it will be tons of fun for the adults!!

I am also determined to finish reviews of Snow White and Mirror Mirror and of both book and film of Beastly for the Telling Tales Challenge, plus finishing the draft of my review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce which has been sat in my drafts folder for a few weeks now...