Month: August 2021

Sunday Summary – 29th August 2021

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary update post. As always, I hope you’ve had a great week? It’s especially been a good one here as we are in the middle of a super bank holiday weekend. We normally have a bank holiday in June, but this didn’t take place as planned this year as it is associated with a motorbike racing event. This was cancelled due to Covid, so we got Friday this week in lieu.

My blogging schedule didn’t quite go to plan this week. I was hoping to get my review of The Thief Taker by C. S. Quinn out a little earlier than I did, but I eventually got it to a stage I was happy with it and published the post on Thursday.

I was meant to publish a First Lines Friday post this week. However, with having the day off I got stuck into some household jobs, including taming the garden. Long story short, I had quite a busy day and I finally remembered that I hadn’t started drafting this post about 10 pm. By that point, I hadn’t chosen a book to feature and so I decided to postpone the post rather than scramble to get something sub-par ready.

 

Books Read

Reading progress this week has been good. As you guys know, I’m currently reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. I’m now just over 300 pages into the book and it’s so easy to pick up and put down. Even though I haven’t read this book for a long time, there is still a sense of familiarity but equally, it’s keeping me engaged. I love how well these are written and I don’t think it will be too long before I finish the series; I want to try and finish them by the end of the year.

 

Books Discovered

No news to report here once again, so I’m a happy bunny!

 

Coming Up…

I’m going to be taking a brief break over the next week. My sister and her boyfriend are coming over to the island for a visit and so I’m going to be taking time out to spend time with them. My sister was over for the first time in a couple of years back at the end of June; I am looking forward to being able to catch up with her again so soon. I haven’t met my sister’s boyfriend properly yet, so I’m looking forward to that too!

I will be back at the end of next week with another Sunday Summary post, but that’s all you can expect from me next week. Until then I hope you have a good one!

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Book Review: The Thief Taker – C. S. Quinn

In today’s book review post I’m sharing my thoughts on a book that I read around the time I moved house last year. That seems crazy to me because that was well over a year ago! It just goes to show how far behind I am on some of my reviews. Needless to say that after today’s post I can take one more off my list and I hope you enjoy hearing my thoughts on this book.

The Thief Taker appealed to me for its setting. It seemed apt given that we were in the height of our first wave of the pandemic locally at the time I read the book. Maybe that isn’t the best choice for anyone who is superstitious; I am not however and I went on to enjoy this book!

 

The Thief Taker – C. S. Quinn

Goodreads – The Thief Taker

The year is 1665. Black Death ravages London. A killer stalks the streets in a plague doctor’s hood and mask…

When a girl is gruesomely murdered, thief taker Charlie Tuesday reluctantly agrees to take on the case. But the horrific remains tell him this is no isolated death. The killer’s mad appetites are part of a master plan that could destroy London – and reveal the dark secrets of Charlie’s own past.

Now the thief taker must find this murderous mastermind before the plague obliterates the evidence street by street. This terrifying pursuit will take Charlie deep into the black underbelly of old London, where alchemy, witchcraft and blood-spells collide.

In a city drowned in darkness, death could be the most powerful magic of all.

 

My Thoughts…

As I said in my introduction, the main reason I wanted to read this book was to indulge in the setting. British history ironically wasn’t touched on all that much as part of my education. It was there a bit, but I spent most of my time studying the world wars, the Cold War and the economic Boom and Bust in the 1920’s and 30’s. With that in mind, I wanted to try something new. This particular book appealed because in addition it also had an element of mystery – a murder to be solved. It’s a genre that I read from time to time and more often than not enjoy, so I felt it was a safe bet to try something new but equally with a touch of familiarity.

I really enjoyed the mystery element. Can I say that I expected the book and the plot would turn out the way you did? Absolutely not! The story had a far wider scope and I imagined but honestly, I really enjoyed that.

The book is brilliant in its description of London at its worst. If you don’t have a strong stomach then maybe take this with a pinch of salt. The narrative encourages the imagination to run wild with vivid descriptions of just how atrocious conditions were at the time. Imagine bodies rotting in the streets. People hiding themselves away and turning on anyone they think to be sick. The city turns into a cesspit; it’s one thing to have a vague understanding of how things happened in reality, reading a book such as this brings it into perspective.

With society in a state of breakdown and sickness everywhere, the book is full of tension. Where is safe? Who is lurking behind close doors or in the next alleyway – a criminal… or something worse? Our main character finds himself looking over his shoulder constantly and with London being incredibly unsafe, the narrative is full of action to keep us as readers interested.

There is definitely far more that can be added to the series. The plot has been left pretty wide open after this book so it will be interesting to see where the next instalment takes us. For historical fiction, I enjoyed the change of setting and pace and for anyone looking to delve into British history, or at least a very dark side of history, this may just be for you!

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Sunday Summary – 22nd August 2021

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary update post. As always, I hope you’ve had a good one whatever you have been doing?

At the beginning of this week, I shared a Top Ten Tuesday post; this week’s subject was my top ten favourite places to read. As someone who reads a lot, I have no shortage of places I will pick up a book. So, this is quite an easy post for me to write. If you haven’t checked out that post already, I’d be interested to see what your favourite places are by comparison!

On Friday I shared my next Shelf Control post. For those unfamiliar with the series, I use it to review the books on my reading list and I tell you about why I can’t wait to read them. This week’s featured book was a mystery/crime novel by a new author to me. It’s unusual in that it is slap-bang in the middle of the series, however I won’t let that put me off giving it a go! I’m hoping the book can be read standalone, but we’ll see!

 

Books Read

This week’s reading progress has been significantly better than last week. I barely picked up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week but I’ve been making up for that since. I’ve read over 150 pages this week and I plan to take this to bed with me again tonight to continue. I’m really enjoying the book so far. It is a hefty one, but at the same time it’s very easy to pick up and read. It probably helps that I have a rough idea of the story from the last time it read it, but equally the narrative is just really easy to follow and reading doesn’t feel like a chore.

 

Books Discovered

For the second time in a couple of weeks, I can still say that I haven’t made any acquisitions or added anything to my TBR! No complaints here – the list is long enough already.

 

Coming Up…

This week I am going to pick up where I left off with my half-drafted review of The Thief Taker by C. S. Quinn. I made a solid start and I want to pick this back up and get it into a state where I’m happy to publish it. I hope you can join me for that post!

Later in the week, I’ll be sharing my next First Lines Friday post. I’m going to set myself a challenge for this post and choose this week’s featured book is out of my top 10 reads from last year. Naturally, you can be sure that this book comes highly recommended and I hope it will catch your eye as it did for me.

Last, but not least, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary post at the end of the week to share what I’ve been up to and what I’ve been reading.

That is, however, all from me this week. I hope you have a fantastic one and I look forward to seeing you again.

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Shelf Control #34 – 20/08/2021

Happy Friday everyone and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post! Shelf Control is a regular feature here on Reviewsfeed and is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

I try to share these Shelf Control posts regularly. By doing so I can continually review the books on my TBR to decide if I still want to read them, or whether my reading case has changed and it’s no longer for me. I have taken a few books off this list by doing these posts. It’s a productive exercise and gives me some bookish content to share with you. And who knows, by featuring those books I still want to read, maybe I can introduce you to something that will take your fancy as well!

This week’s featured book is: – 

 

Children of the Revolution – Peter Robinson

Children of the Revolution

Goodreads – Children of the Revolution

A disgraced college lecturer is found murdered with £5,000 in his pocket on a disused railway line near his home. Since being dismissed from his job for sexual misconduct four years previously, he has been living a poverty-stricken and hermit-like existence in this isolated spot.

The suspects range from several individuals at the college where he used to teach to a woman who knew the victim back in the early ’70s at Essex University, then a hotbed of political activism. When Banks receives a warning to step away from the case, he realises there is much more to the mystery than meets the eye – for there are plenty more skeletons to come out of the closet . . .

 

My Thoughts…

I’m one of those people who has a bit of a hangup about reading a book from the middle of a series. I just don’t like the idea for the most part. However, Children of the Revolution is the 21st book in this particular series and I’m determined to read it because I love the synopsis. I’m hoping it’s the kind of book where having read around it is beneficial… but not essential. I don’t fancy reading 20 books to even get to this one! I think it will be fine – I will make it fine with me!

As I said, I like the sound of the synopsis of this book. I really enjoy mystery and my attention was caught by the predicament our victim is in from the synopsis. It’s an unusual scenario and it already has me thinking about possible motives and what bearing his history and circumstances have on the event. It’s also set in Yorkshire which has a bit of a personal connection as I have distant family that live there. The few times I’ve been I have enjoyed it and I imagine it will make an interesting setting with colourful characters.

I haven’t read any books by Peter Robinson, however, I’m always willing to try something new and experience a narrative from a new author. Everyone has their unique style and if I go onto enjoy this book, I may just go back and read the previous 20! Who knows – I’ll see how this one goes!

Do you like the sound of this book? Have you read it before, or any other books by Peter Robinson? Let me know in the comments!

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Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Places to Read

Hello and welcome to today’s Top Ten Tuesday post!

I’ve had my eye on taking part in this post for a couple of weeks. When I saw this week‘s topic I knew I wanted to share my top ten places to read. It’s one of those really personal things so not only does it give you the opportunity to learn a little about me, but also I would like to hear what your favourite places are and see how we differ!

Shall we jump into the list?


Home – The Living Room

This is by far my favourite place to read. Sat on my sofa on a cosy evening, cup of tea in hand, candles lit and curtains drawn. Maybe even wrapped in a blanket. This is my ideal reading spot. I don’t know why, but reading always appeals to me more as the nights are drawing in earlier, so September-November is the ideal time of year for me.


Home – In Bed

My second favourite place to read is in bed just before settling down for the night. This is actually where I got back into reading on a regular basis several years ago. It was cold, it was January and with being out for most of the day at that time, I was coming home to a cold flat. As such, I decided rather than putting the heating on for half an hour or so before turning in, I’d just go straight to tucking myself up in bed instead. I wasn’t in the mood to watch anything on TV as I was tired. However, picking up a book could be as much or as little as you wish… And well, the rest is history!

Someone who loves to read before bed, I don’t read in the mornings. For me it’s a ‘before bed’ thing and that’s it.


Home – The Garden

Since moving into my new place I’ve enjoyed going and sitting out on the decking with a book. It’s probably happened more last year with lockdown (ironically when I didn’t have a garden furniture to go and sit out on!) But I still do go and take the opportunity when I feel like it. Over here it’s also severely weather permitting too… And most of the time it isn’t!

This does come with the caveat that as long as I’m not surrounded by bees or wasps I’m comfortable. I have been known on several occasions to put headphones in just to make it a little bit easier to ignore the things. I absolutely hate them!

 

At Work – Lunchtime Reading

One of the ways I like to wind down at lunchtime is to pick up a book. If I want to switch off it’s a good way to distract my mind and enjoy some downtime, even for a short while. And I was reading is more than enough for me. I’m not a marathon reader by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t need to sit for long sessions. So, this suits me to a T.

 

Commuting

A hobby such as reading is great when you have to commute. I must admit I drive most of the time, but I have been known to listen to an audiobook whilst I’m driving.

Reading on buses (or trains for those who have access to them) can be a great way to pass the time. I would only ever do it on a very familiar route however, because I would easily get too engrossed, lose my bearings and inevitably miss my stop. I was born blonde and though looks maybe deceiving, I haven’t lost that trait! The best place for me to commute and read is on the plane – because you really can’t miss your stop!

 

On Holiday

Whenever I go on holiday I can guarantee that my kindle is one of the first things I think to pack. Since getting an e-reader I tend to stick to taking that on holiday, but that’s not strictly the case. Last time I went on holiday (all that time ago…) I took a couple of paperbacks with me as well, because they weren’t too big.

I’m not one for getting in the pool too much, but sitting next to it with a book in hand is one of the most relaxing things that I will do on holiday. And with all that time to do nothing at all, there’s plenty of opportunity to bury my nose and indulge. I go on holiday with my family and whilst others may not read as much as me, we all read on holiday. So, it suits us all.

 

Coffee Shops

If I’m in the right frame of mind, sitting in a coffee shop is a great way to enjoy your book. I say in the right frame of mind because sometimes background noise can be distracting for me. Equally, sometimes it doesn’t bother me at all. I can’t say I frequent coffee shops very often alone (and I won’t read whilst in company), but I do enjoy doing it when I am on my own. I think the last time I visited a coffee shop with a book in hand was around a year ago. I think I was out Christmas shopping if that tells you anything about how long ago it was!

 

Bookshops

There’s something about being in the company of others who appreciate books that makes for a lovely atmosphere in a bookshop. I wouldn’t say I’m a big reader in this sense, but you always have to try but before you buy right? The last time I read in public (as above), was in a café in a coffee shop. Win-win if you ask me!

 

Libraries

If the noise of a coffee shop is offputting then the library is the next best alternative. I like the ability to choose anything to read. It’s a great place to try something new and if you really want the peace and quiet to take your time with it, it’s a great place to go.

 

Airports

Airports are by far not my favourite place to be, but with all that waiting around they are perfect venues for picking up a book. Again, like commuting, I’m very wary about doing this. I’m paranoid about missing my flight so whilst I have been known to read whilst waiting, I am checking the board frequently and listening to every tannoy going. Do you get the vibe I don’t trust myself?

 

So, those are my top ten places to read, and I would love to hear yours! Please let me know in the comments!

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Sunday Summary – 15th August 2021

Good evening everyone and welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary update post. I hope you’ve had a great week?

In terms of blogging, my week didn’t go quite as planned. I was hoping to share a review of The Thief Taker by C. S. Quinn earlier this week. However, whilst I made a good start on it, I wasn’t able to finish it in a way that I was happy to share it. I’ve still got what I’ve done so far and this will be coming to you shortly!

I did manage to find a book to feature for this week’s First Lines Friday post. The book I featured is one I read as a teenager. I really enjoyed the book at the time, however, I didn’t go on to finish the series. I got a good way through it (I was on book 3 I believe) but whether it was because I tried to read it all at once or because it definitely felt targeted to a YA audience, I just couldn’t finish it. I was in the target audience age bracket at the time, but it’s not a genre I read a lot of anyway. And it did feel a little bit… Not childish, but I certainly felt like I was too old to appreciate it. I can’t say if I’d agree now, but it’s worth a look and if you like fantasy then it may just be for you anyway!

 

Books Read

I’ll hold my hands up and admit that reading progress has been very light this week. And by light, I mean that so far, I’ve read a single chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I did that this morning because I felt conscious of the fact that I haven’t picked it up all week.

I will be rectifying that tonight. There isn’t a particular reason why I didn’t pick this up all week; I’ve just been enjoying doing other things. After sharing this post, however, I will be picking this up and even taking it up to bed with me tonight!

 

Books Discovered

For the first time in a couple of weeks, I can say that I haven’t made any acquisitions or added anything to my TBR!

Hoorah!

 

Coming Up…

I like the idea of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic. This week’s post will be all about my favourite places to read. It’s one of those subjects where it’s interesting to see how well other people’s answers compare to your own. So, please take part in the comment section after I share that post because I would love to know what your favourite places to read are!

Later in the week, I’ll be back to sharing another Shelf Control post. In case you aren’t familiar with this series, the aim is to share details of the books on my TBR and why I want to read them.

Last, but not least, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary post to round off the week.

That is, however, all from me this week. I hope you have a fantastic one and I look forward to seeing you around.

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First Lines Friday – 13/08/2021

Hi guys and welcome to today’s First Lines Friday post!

Today’s feature is a book that I read in my teenage years. I didn’t go on to finish the series, however, the first book made a distinct impression on me! If I’m honest I think I felt I had outgrown series by the time I had gotten a few books in. It may just be that I got a little bored of it; I wouldn’t rule out picking this up again! Put it this way, I loved it so much that I frequently spent my break time “monitoring” duties (making sure the younger kids in school behaved) reading at every opportunity.

Here is today’s opening. Any ideas as to what the book might be?

 

Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. A tall Shade lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked human except for his crimson hair and maroon eyes.

He blinked in surprise. The message had been correct; they were here. Or was it a trap? He weighed the odds, then said icily, “Spread out; hide behind trees and bushes. Stop whoever is coming… or die.”

Around him shuffled twelve Urgals with short swords and round iron shields painted with black symbols. They resembled men with bowed legs and thick, brutish arms made for crushing. A pair of twisted horns grew above their small ears. The monsters hurried into the brush, grunting as they hid. Soon the rustling quieted and the forest was silent again.

The Shade peered around a thick tree and looked up the trail. It was too dark for any human to see, but for him the faint moonlight was like sunshine streaming between the trees; every detail was clear and sharp to his searching gaze. He remained unnaturally quiet, a long pale sword in his hand. A wire-thin scratch curved down the blade. The weapon was thin enough to slip between a pair of ribs, yet stout enough to hack through the hardest armour.


Eragon – Christopher Paolini

Goodreads – Eragon

One boy…

One dragon…

A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.


My Thoughts…

Despite not finishing the series at the time, I did enjoy this book. I’ve rated it 5* on Goodreads. In particular, I think this introduction captures our attention. Who are these creatures and who are they after? Why are the stakes so high?

If you are a fan of fantasy novels then I hope this appeals to you. There are some very common fantasy tropes in these books but the nature of the genre is you can’t get away from these very easily. As I’ve grown older and read a lot more of the genre, I find that I can only stand there being two or three common ones. Any more than that just makes the story feel regurgitated and uninteresting. If you like this then it definitely won’t be an issue for you but is something to bear in mind.

If you have read them already then I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the series as a whole. Is this something I should pick up again? I think my problem was that I tried to binge read the lot all in a reasonably short time. There are elements of the story that I felt real little immature and combining that with reading them or ones, I think I just lost interest.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s First Lines Friday post!

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Sunday Summary – 8th August 2021

Good evening everyone and welcome back to another Sunday Summary update post. I hope you’ve had a lovely week, whatever you have been doing! I have had a good one, albeit run-of-the-mill – work, home, eat and sleep… oh, and read!

In addition to that, I have shared a couple of blog posts with you. My first post of the week was my monthly wrap up for July. I can’t believe it’s August already! I feel like I say this all the time but honestly, where is this year going? In that post, I shared all the books I’ve been reading (and there have been a lot more than of late) as well as the posts I shared last month.

On Friday I shared my first Shelf Control post for a little while. It was lovely to go back and look at my TBR and talk about why I can’t wait to read the next book on my list. This week’s featured book was a non-fiction novel called Lunatics, Imbeciles and Idiots, and looks at the history of psychology and how patients were treated in the 19th century.

 

Books Read

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update I was around two thirds of the way through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although longer than its predecessors I didn’t struggle to make progress with this at all. I love these books and the series and I’m glad I took the plunge with reading this one. It’s encouraged me in that I know I can pick up something longer and not lose momentum. You’ll know that I haven’t been reading as much so far this year as I’ve been giving myself a little bit of a break. I’m just now getting back into the habit of reading more regularly and this series is helping me do so!

This book is so good that I finished the final third in one sitting. Yes, you read that right. Around 220 pages were read over a few hours on Tuesday evening to finish the book. It was a bit of a marathon session but it got to the point where I was so close to the end that I didn’t want to put it down! It was brilliant; I love the change in tone from the previous books. It’s a lot darker and a lot more interesting given that I’m now a slightly older audience than I was when I first read the book.

I loved it so much that I have dived into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix already. Again, this is significantly longer than the Goblet of Fire, but I’ve already made a dent and gotten around 75 pages in.

 

Books Discovered

I met up with some friends earlier this week for a catch-up and my friend Natalie has kindly loaned me a book that she has talked about with me before. A few months ago she started reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and she was keen to hear what my opinion was on the book. So, I’ll probably be picking this up shortly so that I can return it to her in good time.

 

Coming Up…

This week I want to share with you a book review for something I read last year. I’m gradually chipping away at the books I still owe reviews for and this week’s feature book is going to be The Thief Taker by C. S. Quinn. I enjoyed the setting of this book and the action within so I hope you can join me for my review and find out all my thoughts on the book.

Later in the week, I will return with another First Lines Friday post. As of writing this post, I haven’t got any particular book in mind, but I will come up with something during the week and fingers crossed this will appeal to you if you haven’t read it already!

Last, but not least, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary post to round off the week.

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Shelf Control #33 – 06/08/2021

Happy Friday and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post! Shelf Control is a regular feature here on Reviewsfeed and is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

I like to share these posts on a regular basis as it gives me the opportunity to continually review the books on my TBR. I can also decide if I still want to read them, or whether perhaps my reading taste has changed and it’s no longer for me. A lot of the early books on my list were added several years ago now; that’s quite a lot of time for my opinion to change. What I have found, since doing the series, is that I have taken a few books off this list. It’s a productive activity, and it gives me some bookish content that I can share with you. And who knows, by featuring those books I still want to read, maybe I can introduce you to something that will take your fancy as well!

This week’s featured book is a non-fiction novel. In the grand scheme I’d say these are in the minority on my list, however there are certain subjects that I will go back to again and again. Psychology is one of them. I studied psychology at school and having really loved the subject, I’ve always kept in touch with a little. It’s not an exact science and I love all the history of the ‘science’ of dealing with mind. That is particularly important for today’s featured book, as it looks at how psychology and mental illness was treated in the 19th century.

 

Lunatics, Imbeciles and Idiots: A History of Insanity in Nineteenth-Century Britain and Ireland – Kathryn Burtinshaw & John Burt

Lunatics, Imbeciles and Idiots

Goodreads – Lunatics, iImbeciles and Idiots

In the first half of the nineteenth-century treatment of the mentally ill in Britain and Ireland underwent radical change. No longer manacled, chained and treated like wild animals, patient care was defined in law and medical understanding, and treatment of insanity developed.

Focussing on selected cases, this new study enables the reader to understand how progressively advancing attitudes and expectations affected decisions, leading to better legislation and medical practice throughout the century. Specific mental health conditions are discussed in detail and the treatments patients received are analysed in an expert way. A clear view of why institutional asylums were established, their ethos for the treatment of patients, and how they were run as palaces rather than prisons giving moral therapy to those affected becomes apparent. The changing ways in which patients were treated, and altered societal views to the incarceration of the mentally ill, are explored. The book is thoroughly illustrated and contains images of patients and asylum staff never previously published, as well as first-hand accounts of life in a nineteenth-century asylum from a patients perspective.

Written for genealogists as well as historians, this book contains clear information concerning access to asylum records and other relevant primary sources and how to interpret their contents in a meaningful way.

 

My Thoughts….

To an extent I touched on some of the topics I expect to be in this book as part of my course. With that in mind, I would say it’s probably not for those of the faint-hearted. Early psychological treatment was barbaric. I’m sure it seemed innovative at the time, but back in the day there was very little understanding of how the mind actually worked and how it could be treated (other than by brute force). I leave it at that, in case any of you are on the squeamish side I don’t want the details!

To think how far along treatment has come in just a comparatively short time, there is a lot that can be covered in this book. It will build upon the topics that I enjoyed at school and I’m also interested to see how changes in the law impacted the subject.

It’s a slightly unusual one, but I’m really interested to see what this book has to offer and I’m looking forward to learning something new!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – July 2021

Hello everyone! I’m back with another monthly wrap-up post. Honestly, where is this year going? I’m not kidding you when I say that as part of the social committee at work I’m starting to make preparations for the big party event at the end of the year (you know the one) and it doesn’t feel like it should be coming round this quickly. But, it is, whether I think it should be or not!

This is my seventh monthly wrap-up, having started taking this approach at the beginning of the year as opposed to sharing a TBR at the beginning of the month. I’ve enjoyed the change of pace and having the flexibility to pick up what I want and when I want. Not only has this suited me was taking a step back, but it also proved not to be a hindrance getting back into it. And it’s fair to say compare to recent months, I’m back in the game. I’m really pleased with the amount of reading I’ve done over the last month, which you can find out below.

 

Books Read

The beginning of this month started with a number of short stories. I was taking part in blog tours for both Clarissa and Ruabon by Karl Drinkwater. In part, I think having the deadlines for each of these helped encourage me to pick up the books quickly, but also being quite short these were very easy to read a as well. I read and loved previous books of the series before, so I was confident these are a safe bet when I signed up for them.

Starting with these two definitely helped motivate me, because I then picked up a short story that I was loaned by our CEO. He is also an avid reader and he wanted my thoughts on the particular book he recommended (and loaned) to me. I’d had it for a little while but as I hadn’t set aside time deliberately to read it, I found I would start it, put it down, not pick it up again for a bit and then consequently end up starting again. After reading two short stories already, I felt I was in the mood and that it was time to set aside time specifically for this book. Not that it took long. I read this within a couple of days too – my reading streak was definitely a record for this year at that point already.

After reading these three short stories, and generally feeling good about my progress, I decided to pick up something a little longer. Having looked at my bookshelves for a bit, and even trying a couple of chapters on a kindle book that I’ve DNF’d before (but then decided against for the sake of preserving my newfound motivation), I decided to pick up The Taking of Annie Thorne by C. J Tudor. I had read and loved a previous book of hers, The Chalk Man, and so I felt it was a reasonably safe bet. This decision paid off as well because I loved this book! It was everything I expected and utterly enthralling. I don’t think I could have chosen better.

And still, after all these books, I’m not quite done. My next read was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. I didn’t quite finish this before month-end, however, I was well over halfway. Given that this portion of the read was about as long as The Taking of Annie Thorne, I’m pleased with this progress! Another book I started and was (and still am) making progress on was Stock Investing for Dummies by Paul Mladjenovic. It’s not the sort of thing that I imagine is everyone’s cup of tea, but given that it loosely relates to my job role and I enjoy reading around the subject, I thought this would be a good place to start. Only got to around 20 odd percent of this one before month-end.

So, as you can see, I’ve definitely read a lot more than in previous months this year. At the end of last month, I set myself a goal to try and pick up reading more regularly again. I used to read nearly every night, but in taking a bit of a break this year, this scaled back quite a lot – maybe to once or twice a week at an absolute push! I’m still not reading every night now, but picking up a book is a more frequent occurrence, and long may that habit continue.

And after all that reading, I can’t forget the audiobook progress I’ve made this month as well! After several months, I finally finished listening to A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. I really enjoyed listening to this as I love the series. I did, however, decide after finishing that audiobook that I needed a break from the series. So, I decided to listen to something completely new – A Suitable Lie by Michael J. Malone. As of the end of July, I was around a third of the way through this audiobook. It’s nowhere near as long as A Clash of Kings, and so progress should be a lot quicker.

 

Blog Posts

As always, I like to recap the posts I have shared over the last month so then if you happen to have missed any, you can check them out with a handy link from here! In addition to all this reading this month, I’ve also shared the following:

 

I hope you enjoyed today’s wrap-up post for July. I feel really good about the progress I’ve made over the last month and how I’m getting back into reading more often. Being able to give myself the freedom to pick up what I want and what I want is really suiting me – and encouraging me to get back into it more. I hope this bit of news excites you, as that means I’m going to have more bookish content to share with you in the long run.

Are there any good books you have picked up in the last month, or is there even something you’re currently reading that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments!

 

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