January 2022 has been a great time for me to catch up with some of the books I’ve been wanting to read for a while. The end of 2021 wasn’t a great time (for anyone really) but I’ve managed to get back to it and wanted to share the books I’ve been reading over the last few weeks.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My first book of 2022 had been on my list for an awfully long time. Of Mice and Men follows two men who work on the ranches in California. George and Lennie travel together with the hope of saving up and making a better life for themselves. The book explores what life was like working on a ranch, but George and Lennie’s relationship is the main focus. They have a very close friendship but the story is not one where they all live happily ever after. There are plenty of well written reviews out there, but I found Of Mice and Men was a much easier read than expected with a hard hitting ending.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
I wanted to read this book after seeing the film and also after a five star review from one of my most trusted book friends. It follows a group of women who are tasked with an expedition into a largely unknown area. There are plenty of untrustworthy characters, and lots of imagery of the strange surroundings they find themselves in. The main dangers in the area are not what you would first expect, and I love the way the author allows the reader to fill in the gaps without a direct look at the dangers within. A great start to a sci-fi trilogy, and I’m looking forward to reading the next two books.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Tin Man had been recommended to me by a number of trusted bloggers. It follows the story of Ellis and Michael from the point they first meet, and through all their major life events. They had two very different personalities and I loved both characters in their own ways. Each takes half of the book to bring the reader into their world, and it was very cleverly written to provide both sides of a shared story. This was an emotional read, with a perspective I hadn’t read much about previously.

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