Category: Book of the Month

Happy December! The book of the month for December is The Odyssey, by Homer. Most definitely the oldest book I’ve reviewed so far, the story is originally a set of epic poems, as a sequel to The Iliad, the story of the Trojan War.

The story follows Odysseus, a great commander and strategist, as he tries to make his way home after ten long years of war. Because of the way the story is set out, most of it is in first person, as Odysseus relates his story to the Phaeician king.

“Odysseus’ tale was finished. Held in the spell of his words they all remained still and silent throughout the shadowy hall, till at last Alcinous turned to his guest…”

-Homer, The Odyssey

The style of writing is very different from today, which often made for a more difficult read, along with the differences to modern heroic themes. However, the story was still compelling and interesting, even with moments of humour such as “Nobody.”

I really enjoyed reading this book, though it was a difficult task at times. Reading such an epic story that is both familiar and unknown to modern audiences made the story all the more fascinating. I would recommend this book to anyone undaunted by its reputation.

• Rating: 𝙿𝙶
• Author: Homer
• Review: ★★★★☆

Postscript:

To those wondering why I decided to review the sequel instead of the first in the series, as is my usual rule; I have read Iliad, and my modern, non-academic self could barely stand the boredom. Besides, I read The Odyssey first, and it works fine as a standalone.

G’day bibliomaniacs! The book for November 2025 is Eragon by Christopher Paolini. First published in 2002, Paolini was only 15 years old when he began writing it, and continued the book into the four-book series The Inheritance Cycle.

The story begins as Eragon, a young boy in a remote village, discovers a blue stone that hatches a dragon. With the help of the grumpy village storyteller, Eragon sets off across the empire of Alagaësia, and what’s not to love about dragons, magic, and a quest for revenge, only tempered by the young novice’s lack of supernatural knowledge?

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t … that’s why I’m teaching you, and not the other way around.”

-Christopher Paolini, Eragon

One of the most fascinating things about this series is Paolini’s approach to magic. He gives us a set of rules as vital as the laws of physics, yet explains them in a way easy to grasp. This magic system is admittedly similar to A Wizard of Earthsea, but it approaches certain core ideas of the spell working differently than in Ursula Le Guin’s novels. Paolini’s description of personality, especially that of Brom and the dragon Saphira, makes the reader feel as if they get to know the characters.

The worldbuilding of this book, as well as the depth and detail of the story, was what caught my fancy. I would encourage any bookworm to embark on a journey with Eragon. This book is one of my favourite comfort reads.

• Rating: 𝙿𝙶
• Author: Christopher Paolini
• Published: 2002
• Review: ★★★★☆

Happy October! The book for this month is A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson. Recently a bookstagram craze, the story is worth the hype, and is followed by two equally gripping novels.

The story is that of a Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a British girl who decides to investigate a cold case and local town legend as her end-of-year project for school. She soon finds more than she bargains for, with death threats and unheard secrets bringing the ugly truth of the past to light.

“I’ve already learned my lesson here: when you catch someone lying about a murdered girl, you go ask them why.”

-Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder

Pip’s quirky voice brings the right mood to a fun murder mystery. Her trivia coping mechanism and determined innocence make her an enjoyable protagonist. Jackson’s decision to include Pip’s production log as chapters is an innovative way to provide exposition and let us in on Pip’s thoughts with a first-person perspective in these diary-like entries.

Not only was the mystery itself fun to discover and solve alongside Pip, but her motivations and personality made the story all the more exciting to read. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is an amazing modern murder mystery that is absolutely worth the hype.

• Rating: 𝙼
• Author: Holly Jackson
• Published: 2019
• Review: ★★★★☆

Strap yourselves in, because Angel’s Flight is about to take off! The book of the Month for September 2025 is The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry, by Ransom Riggs. This story is written by the author of Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children.

The book tells the story of Leopold Berry, who discovers the underground magic community of Los Angeles. As described on the blurb, Leopold finds that when you’re not the chosen one, sometimes you have to choose yourself.

“Leopold Berry might’ve been a disappointment to the world, but he’d never again be a disappointment to himself.”

-Ransom Riggs, The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry

The narrative lets us explore this new world alongside Leopold, and the quirks of Riggs’ magical community make the journey all the more fun. Leopold’s own attitude and experiences add another layer of interest to the story, and the contrary idea of the premise, which acknowledges and dismisses the Chosen One trope, while being a bit meta, makes the story refreshing.

I found the characters and worldbuilding to be interesting, and the book was a good dose of action and fantasy – one of my favourite combinations. The Extraordinary Disappointments Of Leopold Berry is a novel I’d recommend to any teenager looking for a fun read.

• Rating: 𝙼
• Author: Ransom Riggs
• Published: 2024
• Review: ★★★★☆

It might be winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, but there isn’t any Christmas! The book for August 2025 is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Although the second in the series, this book was the first of the Narnia books, published in 1950, with the prequel, The Magician’s Nephew, written much later.

The book tells the story of Lucy Pevensie and her three older siblings as they discover a new, fantastical world in the wardrobe of an old mansion. It has a fun, exciting tale, as well as some interesting Christian ideas and symbolism.

…if she [The Witch] could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

This book, while some may say it has a basic storyline, I would argue that it is a classic, and perfectly matches the age range it was written for. Many of the fun elements, such as the lampost and the entrance of Father Christmas, add the element of fun that brings a spark of oddity to the world Lewis wrote.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe works well as both a standalone and as part of the larger chronicles it inspired. Although intended for children, I will certainly have fun reading about the Pevensies even when I am old, and it comes with my highest recommendations to anyone.

• Rating: 𝙶
• Author: C. S. Lewis
• Published: 1950
• Review: ★★★★★

Happy June to the readers, writers, and everyone else! This book of the month for June 2025 is Dune by Frank Herbert. First publish in 1966, Dune is considered to be the Lord of the Rings of science fiction.

At the start of the book, we meet the fifteen-year-old Paul Atreides, who is about to move with his father, the Duke, to Arrakis, the desert planet that is mined for the most precious substance in the world: melange, the spice drug that allows for space travel. But Paul’s family is quickly struck by their archenemies, and he must go into hiding with the desert people, to build up an army and strike back. With this comes discussion of religion and philosophy.

I am like a person whose hands were kept numb, without sensation from the first moment of awareness – until one day the ability to feel is forced into them. And I say “Look! I have no hands!” But the people all around me say: “What are hands?

-Frank Herbert, Dune

Narrated from many points of view, the story is complex and interesting. Many interesting questions can be raised, such as “what is a hero?” and “what is true power?” which are amazing thoughts to discuss. The series continues to a trilogy, in which Herbert is able to expand further in some of these themes. The deep ideas of the story and wonderful struggles that we see some of the characters go through can engage the reader fully.

Dune is definitely a recommendable book for anyone who likes pondering logic and a bit of philosophy. The book does go through some politics and prose that can be difficult to get through, but I found it absolutely worth it, and have reread a number of times.

• Rating: 𝙿𝙶
• Author: Frank Herbert
• Published: 1965
• Review: ★★★★★

Salutions, second-breakfasters! The Book of the Month for May 2025 is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. Published in 1937, it was originally a bedtime story Tolkien told his children, but he had to end up taking notes so it would stay accurate!

The books follows Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit living a comfortable life until he is dragged away to do some burgling for dwarven adventurers. Throughout the book, Bilbo encounters many new people (and animals), and learns more about the world outside Hobbiton.

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Although it is a children’s novel, The Hobbit has a witty prose and some amusing conversations, like the riddles with Gollum. Not every chapter is action-packed, but they are all fun and interesting, with each chapter being split up well to be a good bedtime story for kids that are 8 and up. Tolkien’s style comes through with the rich descriptions – and no book of his would be complete without an epic battle! The fantastic worldbuilding that gave birth to The Lord Of The Rings is evident, though the book is far smaller by comparison.

Tolkien’s grasp of storytelling and words truly make for a wonderful reading experience. I loved reading not only the clever plot, but the fun quirks that come with any well-written childrens novel. However old they are, I’d never hesitate to reccomend this book to someone.

• Rating: 𝙶
• Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
• Published: 1937
• Review: ★★★★★

Let’s welcome April 2025 with a new book of the month: The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. Originally published in 1984, the book is a collection of short stories, three of them following a boy called Mowgli, who was raised in the jungle by wolves.

Mowgli’s stories are called Mowgli’s Brothers, Kaa’s Hunting, and Tiger! Tiger!. The other short stories are as follows: The White Seal, in which a seal hunts for a place to be free of hunting humans, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which is the story of a mongoose that saves a family from two snakes, Toomai of the Elephants, which follows a boy who sees elephants dance, and His Majesty’s Servants, which is a conversation of different animals in the army it night. Each story tells about animals and how they work together or live around one another.

The Law of the Jungle, which never orders anything without a reason, forbids every beast to eat Man except when he is killing to show his children how to kill, and then he must hunt outside the hunting grounds of his pack or tribe.

-Rudyard Kipling, Mowgli’s Brothers

Each story starts with a poem and ends with a song, and contains a clear fable, which is traditional for some children’s stories of this era. The book is more well known for the movie it was made into, but the original stories are fun enough that adults will enjoy reading them to children.

The personification of animals is a classic trope in kid’s stories, but that just adds to the charm of these texts. The book doesn’t only serve as entertainment; with its fables, it can be a good learning oppourtunity for children about how to behave and trreat others. I would reccomend this book to anyone with young children, and I enjoyed reading it on my own as well.

• Rating: 𝙶
• Author: Rudyard Kipling
• Published: 1984
• Review: ★★★★t☆

Here it is: the very first book of the month! The book for March 2025 is Stephen King’s Fairy Tale. Published in 2022, King states in his foreword that he asked himself “What could he write that would make him happy?”.

The book follows Charlie Reade, a highschool student who is tasked by a dying man to descend into another world and save the life of the man’s dog, Radar. Throughout the book, we see a lot of Charlie’s deep thoughts, particuarly about good vs evil, and the influence of stories.

“He had been told the story of the sky-sisters as a child, and as you probably know for yourself, dear reader, it’s the stories of our childhood that make the deepest impressions and last the longest.”

-Stephen King, Fairy Tale

The story, as seen through Charlie’s eyes, has moments of both sarcasm and utter seriousness. Following him as he progresses through the fairy tale world, we can see how he learns not only more about the people and history there, he learns more about himself and his own world. King utterly suceeds with his take on the Chosen One trope, a difficult task to make so refreshing and unique. The rich description and mix of action and slower, more contemplative sections of the book are what make it come alive.

The complexity of the story, along with Charlie’s thoughts, immersed me and made me deeply care about the characters. Fairy Tale is a book that can be the centre for long and interesting discussions about many topics, and I’d highly recommend it to almost anyone I come across.