Orange January Round Up

Well January 31st is slowly fading over the horizon and I have just turned the final page of my last Orange January book. Orange January is over. I thought I would take the time to do a quick round up of the challenge and the books I managed to read.

I originally pledged to read one book as reading books nominated for prestigious awards is not normally my thing. However I am proud to say I managed to read three books by the end of January. I have been trying to broaden my reading horizons lately as I tend to get stuck in my favorite genres if I am not careful.

The Orange Prize Project is run by Jill at The Magic Lasso. The aim is simple; to spend a reading books nominated for, or having won the Orange Broadband Award Prize. Originally this started as the Orange July Challenge, it proved to be very popular the Jill added another month to the calendar and Orange January was born. This was my first time participating in this challenge.

The books I managed to read were

• The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
• The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

The books I picked were a mixed bag for me I loved one, disliked another and thought the other just average.

To start with the most recent read The Night Watch just did not move me the way it has a lot of my Library Thing and blogging friends. Also I had a lot of expectations going in to read this book, which could be why I felt more disappointed with the book then anything. It had interesting themes but I seriously doubt I will read another Sarah Waters book again. Not because it was awful but more her style of writing is not what I generally like.

Case Histories I really did not like and found myself skipping most of it. It did have a surprising ending though which I will give it full credit for.

The Time Travelers Wife however was a joy to read. I could not put it down once I had it and was entranced by the characters and the story unfolding. It was just a beautiful read and very moving. For me it deserved all the rave reviews it has received if not more. Even though it is still early in the year it has been a stand out book.

Jill will also be running an Orange July which I will participate in. Even though two books did not work out to plan I have read three new authors and discovered one author I will continue reading. I already have a few books in mind to read but I will decide closer to July as to which ones I will read (and which ones I can get from the library which will make the ultimate decision for me LOL).