This month I have been mostly reading - January

I've decided to do a round up of what I've been reading each month. I did think about writing a post for every book, but at the moment I don't feel very inclined to do so. Instead I'll do a post with with a list of books and a few thoughts about them.

1. 'A Prisoner of Birth' by Jeffrey Archer
I'm far from being a fan of the man, but his books are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. This one was another captivating story, I nearly missed my tube stop because I was so engrossed in it. Whilst the story may be a little far fetched in places (though much of it is based in a prison which is a subject matter he now appears to consider himself an expert on) I found myself really caring about the characters and wanting to find out what happened.

2. 'The Truth About Melody Browne' by Lisa Jewell
I was lucky enough to read a preview version of this - for any more on it you'll have to remember to come back once its been published!

3. 'As You Do' by Richard Hammond
The Hamster's latest book, this tells the tales behind his experiences on a number of recent Top Gear adventures, the July 2007 floods, and his trip to meet and interview Evel Knieval. The Top Gear sections brought back wonderful memories of the episodes, his love affair with Oliver the Opal Kadett in particular. Reading about his rescue mission during the floods instantly transported me back to my own experiences. A thoroughly enjoyable read - I got in trouble a number of times for laughing out loud.

4. 'The Torchwood Yearbook'
I have to say this book was a big let down. If you've not read the official magazine then I'm sure its a good buy, but if like me you've stuck with the magazine each month then the only new content comes from the original fiction. Everything else is lifted directly from the magazine. Its a shame really, the fiction is good and left me wishing that they'd modelled the book more on 'The Doctor Who Storybook' and left the other content out.

5. 'The Torchwood Archives' by Gary Russell
Another Torchwood book, but this one I enjoyed. It is written as though it is the collected thoughts and investigations of a journalist desperate to find the secrets behind Cardiff's worst kept secret. It is essentially a glorified episode guide that uses much of the online content (including the James Moran penned Captain's Log from the BBC America website) combined with extra snippets of information. There are really nice touches - the newspaper article containing an interview with the old woman from the beginning of 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' for one, and the guides to each character help to collect the details all in one place.

6. 'Thursdays at Eight' by Debbie Macomber
This came through one of my work book clubs and looked like the sort of fluff that is well suited to times when you really don't have sufficient brainspace for anything deeper, at the princely sum of £4 for it and the author's two subsequent books I was prepared to give it a go. Its a reasonable enough story, it focuses around a journal writing group - each of the four women is making life changing decisions and relying on her 'sisters' for support. Its typically American and manages to hit virtually every cliche known, but it is a fairly endearing, light read.

7. 'Members Only' by Leonie Fox
I really don't know what to say about this book. It is full of characters that its very hard to like, set against a backdrop of a countryside playground of the rich and privileged - essentially a nightmare in book form. However I found that reading it was a bit like the literary equivalent of car crash tv - I kept telling myself it was rubbish, but I just kept on reading. I can't see myself rushing to read another book by this author though.

8. 'The Shop On Blossom Street' by Debbie Macomber
9. 'A Good Yarn' by Debbie Macomber
I've lumped these two together because they're the first two books in Macomber's "Knitting Shop" series. They seem to follow exactly the same pattern as the other book of hers that I read this month - each book centres around 4 women, their problematic lives, and how with the support of their friends they can overcome anything. Definitely not books that are going to set the world alight, but they are strangely endearing.

10. The Doctor Who Storybook 2009
The newest incarnation of the yearly collection of short stories. This year the book featured the Doctor and Donna, by writers including Mark Gatiss, James Moran and Nicholas Pegg. I really enjoyed the mix of stories, there's a good blend of historical stories and alien planets - I will definitely be re-reading them all.

I'm not sure whether I was expecting the list to look like this or not, I think it'll be interesting to see how the months vary.