Author: fantasyst95

Sunday Summary – 26th January 2025

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Drafting my weekly Sunday Summary is always a reminder that another weekend is over. That’s perhaps a bit dramatic given I’m initially drafting this post in the afternoon. But still, the sentiment stands. Weekends fly by far too quickly! How have you spent yours?

Before I jump into a recap of the books I’ve been reading over this week, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared with you so far. The first post I shared this week was a Top Ten  Tuesday. This week I featured the 10 newest books I’ve added to my collection. I bought quite a few lately, and that doesn’t even take into consideration the voucher I received for Christmas yet. That remains unspent, but for how long, who knows?

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control featuring The Whisper Man by Alex North. It’s been a little while since I featured and/or read a police procedural novel. The synopsis gives off thriller vibes and I’m looking forward to reading this soon.

 

Books Read


Firefight

I confess, I was hoping for Firefight to be finished this week. I can’t say I’ve gotten that far, but I have made good progress with this audiobook. Today alone I’ve listened to around three hours! Add that to the two hours I listened to earlier this week and you can see I’ve still made significant progress!

I’m really enjoying Firefight. At this point of the book, I have three hours of audio left and I’m still not sure how things are going to play out. There is clearly going to be a conflict with the Reckoners, hopefully preventing a dangerous Epic from doing something drastic. As to how the other Epics are going to play into that storyline though, remains to be seen.

So far, my experience of the book is that it’s every bit as good as the first book in the series, Steelheart. With so little left of the audio and the conclusion rapidly coming up, I’m sure I will get a completion in the next few days. Hopefully, before the end of the month!

 

Shuggie Bain

Progress with Shuggie Bain has been slower, but I made up for it today and finished the last 100 pages. You think I would have read it sooner, taking into account our book club meeting to discuss the book is in just a few days…

Whilst I have enjoyed the book, the themes and the subject matter can make this a little difficult to sit and read in long bursts. The characters go through some very awful things. One of the main characters is Shuggie‘s mum, Agnes. She struggles with alcohol addiction and depression as well. She’s had marital woes throughout her adult life, and as a result of all these things, most of her children try to avoid anything to do with her. Shuggie is the youngest and is left behind to pick up the pieces.

He is far too aware of what his mother goes through and does his best to try to make things better for her. He’ll even compromise himself to make her feel happier. It’s emotional and heartbreaking to read.


Books Discovered

I’ll think I’ll be off buying any new books for a little while, given I made it perfectly clear I’ve bought plenty in the recent past!


Coming Up…

So, we come to the part of my Sunday Summary posts in which I tell you what’s coming up next.

The first of my blog posts is intended to go live on Wednesday. With my 2025 resolutions in mind, I wanted to draft a post in which I set out which book series I want to finish in 2025. Carrying on with and completing series is one of my reading goals for the year, and this will be a great place to set out my intentions. And to hold myself accountable….

Next, I plan to share my monthly wrap-up post for January on Saturday, the 1st of February. In that post, I’ll recap the books I’ve picked up throughout January in comparison to the monthly TBR I set myself. I know I’m not going to get through the whole monthly TBR at this point, but I’m going to do my best to pick up as much as I can between now and then.

Lastly, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update post to catch you up on my weekly goings-on. As always, I hope you can join me for any and preferably all these posts.

Until then, I hope you have a great week!

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Shelf Control #85 – 24/01/2025

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Good evening readers and welcome to this Shelf Control post – hope you are well? It’s been a wild one here! Today I’ve been relegated to working from home as the office was shut due to storm Éowyn. All things considered, I’ve not suffered badly. Losing half a roof tile is nothing compared to other people. Someone had half their roof ripped off!

Anyway, less of topical commentary and more of what to expect from this Shelf Control. Shelf Control is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and 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.

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

In today’s post, I feature the first police procedural in a good while. I enjoy the genre but don’t read a lot of it. No doubt I’ll be changing that soon!


The Whisper Man – Alex North

Genre: Thriller / Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Celadon Books

Publication Date: 22 Aug 2019

 

Goodreads – The Whisper Man

 

If you leave a door half-open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken…

Fifteen years ago, a serial killer known only as ‘The Whisper Man’ wreaked havoc on the sleepy village of Featherbank.

But with the killer behind bars, the village is now a safe haven for Tom and his young son Jake to make a fresh start.

Until another boy goes missing. It feels like history is repeating itself.

Could the killer still be out there – and can Tom protect his son from becoming the next victim?

 

My Thoughts

I already have a copy of The Whisper Man, so I anticipate I’ll be picking up this police procedural soon. I enjoy picking up books like this, even if I don’t very often. The suspense is already palpable from the synopsis. Once we get into the story, it can only grow from there!

I added this book to my TBR in June 2019 and purchased a copy on Kindle on 2020. Taking advantage of a book being discounted to 99p is always a good idea when you read as much as I do!

Alex North is a new author to me. At the time I added this to my TBR, he had nothing else published under that name. Now in 2025 he has several books out, and another due out in May. What I hadn’t realised is that he’s also published multiple books under the pseudonym Steve Mosby. If I go on to enjoy this book as much as I think I will, then I have plenty more of his to read in future.

Do you like the sound of The Whisper Man? Have you read it and is it worth the positive press it’s received?

Stay safe and I’ll see you in my Sunday Summary in a couple of days!

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Top Ten Tuesday – The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I share my ten most recent additions to my book collection. Between Christmas and my own wanderings into the book store (always dangerous for my bank account), I’ve not had to look far for the features in this post.

Hopefully this Top Ten Tuesday will give you some bookish inspiration for future reads. It certainly won’t do anything to make me feel better about my bank account balance, but that’s my own problem 😅

Just kidding, I have no remorse!

 

The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection


The Earth Transformed

I recently went on a bit of a spending spree in Waterstones, and purchased a copy of The Earth Transformed. It’s not because I’ve discovered the book before; rather, the premise of the book caught my attention there and then. It’s fair to say it was a bit of a ‘whim’ purchase.


A Man Called Ove

Although not officially on my TBR at the point I purchased a copy, I have been eyeing up A Man Called Ove for some time. In fact, I suggested it as one of our work book club’s first reads mid-last year. Having heard what I have about the book, I have high expectations. I love the idea of the character and if the introduction I featured in last week’s First Lines Friday is anything to go by, it should be a cracker.


Ultra-Processed People

I’ve looked at Ultra-Processed People a few times as well before getting my copy a few weeks ago. It seems especially relevant this year as I’m trying to be more mindful of the food I eat.

It’s easier to make better choices when you’re more informed about what is good and what is not, right?

 

This Book May Save Your Life

The book that’s been the longest on my TBR in this Top Ten Tuesday is This Book May Save Your Life.

I actually added this to the TBR in September 2023. The author has created a lot of short-form content on the likes of Facebook and it was through those I discovered the book.

My expectation is that the author’s humour and quirky fact finding fill make for a fun read. I’m sure the book will also be somewhat useful, but it’s for the humour I’m looking forward to reading it.

 

The Anxious Generation

I had added The Anxious Generation to my reading list a few weeks before picking up a copy. It just happens that Waterstones were doing a buy one get one half price feature and included this particular book.

Thankfully, I’m of an age where I just missed out on technology and social media dominating my childhood. I’m glad that it didn’t! I would’ve hated to grow up in today’s society. It’s going to be interesting to read about the impact that’s had on children today.


Julia

I received a copy of Julia for Christmas. I had asked for a clothbound classic edition of 1984 by George Orwell. I also received a copy of this book as a companion to that.

I’m looking forward to reading Julia as it presents a more modern take on the story with a different perspective on events.


1984

As I mentioned above, I received a copy of 1984 by George Orwell for Christmas I have read this book a couple of times before school (with admittedly not a great rating from me then. However, I re-read the book as an adult and in the context of not having to study it for an assignment. The experience was a completely different one and I loved the book!

I expect this is a classic I will re-read time and again. Now I have a fancy edition to pick up…


Shuggie Bain

Shuggie Bain is not the type of book I would have picked up of my own volition. Rather, our book club at work are reading Shuggie Bain at the moment. So, I purchased my copy secondhand ahead of the club meet next week.

It’s been good to pick up something different. One of the reading resolutions I set myself this year is to read out of my comfort zone. This book definitely fits into that category!

It’s a shame that children such a Shuggie have to grow up in the way they do. As a young child, he is far too aware of the unsavoury side of life. He is bullied at the age of 8+ because he is gay. I’m not even sure he knows it yet, but other kids do. He is also aware of his mother‘s depression and dependency on alcohol. It’s proving a difficult read for this reason, but it will also make great discussion in book club.


Eve

I bought Eve, again opportunistically, because I like the sound of the book. There’s quite a lot of these in this Top Ten Tuesday. That fact hasn’t escaped me.

I’m sure readers are all too aware that the impact women have had on society historically has been… downplayed.

Eve sets to set the score straight. Even if the impact of women has been written out of the history books, it cannot be excluded from our biology. The human body has a lot to thank women for. From how the female body helps provide immunisation (and thus survival) to infants to why we’re more likely to get Alzheimer’s, I’m looking forward to this scientific angle on why women are who we are today.


Orbital

Orbital was featured in Waterstones (you can tell where I do a lot of my physical book shopping…) as the Booker Prize winner for 2024. I liked the sound of it, so I bought myself a copy.

I also like that it’s a shorter book. I regularly pick up large fantasy novels. When I need something shorter to break up that reading, Orbital will be perfect.


Summary

Thanks for reading today’s Top Ten Tuesday feature. Have you purchased or received any new books lately?

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Sunday Summary – 19th January 2025

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Happy Sunday, fellow readers, and welcome back to another Sunday Summary post from yours truly. Before we get into it, have you had a good week?

I’ve been back to the usual blog schedule this week. Whilst I had fun sharing posts last week, it’s not a pace I can sustain. I will be doing it a little bit more often though. So, what have I shared this week? Firstly, I put together my review of Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb and published this on Wednesday. Fans will be glad to see plenty of content about her here!

Next, I featured one of my recent purchases in Friday’s First Lines Friday feature. I set this as a challenge for myself in last week’s Sunday summary post; I’m pleased to say I delivered.


Books Read


The Priory of the Orange Tree

I finally concluded this nearly 26-hour audiobook this week. It’s taken a good few weeks, but at the same time, this is probably the fastest I’ve listened to an audiobook for a little while.

When I first started this audiobook, I had reservations about how much detail I would take in. Fantasy is typically a very dense genre in terms of world building, etc. In the past, audiobooks have not been the best format for me to listen to these in. However, The Priory of the Orange Tree debunked that belief.

Maybe I need to give myself some more credit. Perhaps I’m more used to listening to audiobooks now and picking up the content this way. I’m not entirely sure why this worked, but I’m pleased to say it did.

The bulk of the audio left for this week was the epic conclusion. It was every bit as good as I expected it to be, and I rated this book 5 stars without hesitation. Needless to say, Samantha Shannon is going to be a future feature on my TBR with her other books!


Firefight

I’ve made pretty good audiobook progress this week. After finishing The Priory of the Orange Tree, I started Firefight by Brandon Sanderson this weekend.

Picking up Firefight on audio is a change from the first book. I’m pretty sure I read that one on Kindle. However, it worked well to pick this up in audio and continue listening to fantasy.

I always enjoy picking up books by Brandon Sanderson, regardless of the setting or the magic he has created for the book. Firefight is the second of three books in his The Reckoners trilogy. If you like books about superheroes and epic villains with magic, this is the best way I could describe the series to you. In Firefight, we’ve been introduced to a number of new characters, good and evil alike, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they clash over the remaining pages!

So far, I’ve listened to a two and a half hours of this 12-hour-long audio. Admittedly, I’m listening to this at x1.2 speed, so this works out at 7 hours and 45minutes left of actual listening time left.


Shuggie Bain

I left off from last week’s Sunday Summary update having just started the first 50 pages of Shuggie Bain. Over the course of the week, I have read a further 160-odd pages, bringing me to just over 50% progress on the book as of this Sunday Summary.

It’s not the easiest of reads in that the characters go through an awful lot. From poverty and alcoholism to death and adultery, the characters in this book don’t have a lot going for them. At the present time in the book, Shuggie is just a child watching this play out. But he’s not ignorant of what’s going on either. He’s all too aware of his mother‘s faults and it’s heartbreaking to see him try to make her happy or help her cope. As an ten-year-old child, he shouldn’t be responsible or feel responsible for his mother in the way that he does.


Books Discovered

Given the mini-haul I racked up last week, I have firmly put a lid on the purse strings, but also kept my head down. As a result, I’ve not added anything new to the reading list this week. I have enough as it is!


Coming Up…

The first post I plan to share with you next week is a Top Ten Tuesday. The feature of that post will talk about recent additions to my book collection. Even just looking back to last week’s Sunday Summary, you’ll see I have plenty to talk about!

Later in the week, I plan to share another Friday feature with you. This week it’s the turn of my Shelf Control post. So, I hope you can join me to look ahead at a police procedural thriller I’m looking forward to reading.

Lastly, you know the drill. Next Sunday will be the return of my Sunday Summary update post. I’m aiming to have a completion of Shuggie Bain in that post, and maybe even Firefight if I can step up my audio listening. Can I do it? You’ll have to check out that post to find out!

Until then, have a fabulous week whatever your plans are, and I will see you around soon!

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First Lines Friday – 17/01/2025

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Good evening and welcome to this First Lines Friday post! It’s the end of another working week for a lot of people (myself included!) and the weekend is finally here. Do you have any exciting plans?

In last week’s Sunday Summary I set myself the challenge of featuring a book I purchased last Sunday in this First Lines Friday. I checked them all out before I made my decision on which was best. You should be able to guess which one from the opening lines.

Let’s get into today’s First Lines Friday introduction, then I’ll follow with the details of the book:


Ove is fifty-nine.

He drives a Saab. He’s the kind of man who points the people he doesn’t like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman torch. He stands at the counter of a shop where owners of Japanese cars come to purchase white cables. Ove eyes the sales assistant for a long time before shaking a medium-sized white box at him.

‘So this is one of those O-Pads, is it?’ he demands.

 


A Man Called Ove  – Fredrik Backman

Genre:  Contemporary fiction

Pages: 337

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: 15 Jul 2014

 

Goodreads – A Man Called Ove

Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots – joggers, neighbours who can’t reverse a trailer properly and shop assistants who talk in code.

But isn’t it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so?

In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible . . .


My Thoughts…

There is something about a curmudgeonly main character that appeals to me. We all know how hilarious the elderly and outspoken can be at the best of times.

Now more than ever it must be difficult to live in our modern world. With the only constant being change, I can imagine myself being very sympathetic to Ove and his experience of life in these 300-odd pages.

I’m looking forward to reading a refreshing change in perspective. It’s not very often that I read fiction with a protagonist like Ove. I pride myself on reading diversely, and so I should also read more from all characters, perspectives and walks of life.

Lending to my aims of reading more diversely, this book was originally published in Swedish and translated into English a year later. It’s not often I read translated works, but I’m glad to have gotten a copy of this ready to read.

Have you read A Man Called Ove?

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Book Review: Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb

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It’s ironic that the timing of this review coincides with my recent finish of reading Fool’s Errand. I’ve loved being back in the world of Robin Hobb’s The Realm of the Elderlings series. It’s great to be back in the world of Fitz and the Six Duchies. However, Ship of Magic and the ensuing foray into the Liveship traders series was a fun jaunt into a different side of the world!

Let’s take a look at the synopsis, and then I’ll get to my review –

 

Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Pages: 880

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 10 Sept 2015

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Ship of Magic

 

From the author of the classic Farseer trilogy, SHIP OF MAGIC is the first part of the Liveship Traders. Set in a land bordering the Six Duchies, Robin Hobb begins her epic tale of pirates, talking ships, magic, sea serpents, slave revolts, dashing heroes and bloody battles.

On the northernmost point of the Cursed Shores lies Bingtown, a bustling hub of exotic trade and home to a proud merchant nobility famed for its extraordinary vessels.

Only Bingtown liveships can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain Wild River and plunder the riches found upstream, but such vessels are made from the most precious commodity in the world – a material with the ability to become sentient – and so are extremely rare.

The fortunes of one of Bingtown’s oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy. But the fate of Vivacia – and the Vestrits – may ultimately lie in the hands of the dark and charming pirate, Kennit, who lusts after such a ship and has plans of his own . . .

 

My Thoughts


Plot

I confess it took me a little while to get into the world and plot of Ship of Magic. Living and talking ships isn’t exactly a natural phenomenon. The greatest hurdle to my mind was how completely different the world was to what I’d read in The Farseer trilogy. Whilst I knew the focus moved away from the characters I was familiar with, I don’t think I expected to start again, as it were.

The Liveship Traders books are worth the investment, however. It’s a great trilogy overall, and it has quite the page count! If you like a sizeable trilogy, this is certainly for you.

Ship of Magic is the start of a trilogy of conflict and suffering. The fate of the Vestrit family lies at its heart. However, within their tale we see how their infighting impacts their community and beyond.


Characters

Unlike the Farseer trilogy which predeceases The Liveship Traders, Ship of Magic enjoys a varied cast. With multiple perspectives painting the tale of the Bingtown traders and their strife, the book has a completely different feel.

I also attribute this to why getting into Ship of Magic took longer. Characters split off quite early and so it takes a good few chapters to get a rounded view on world events.

I confess I didn’t like all the characters we get perspectives from early in the series. Malta in particular was a difficult character for me to stomach. If anyone feels the same way you’ll be glad to know her character growth arc is both fantastic and somewhat redeeming. However, in Ship of Magic she is quite a bossy madam!

It’s not the only book series I’ve gotten through this before; if you are a regular reader you’ll know how much I love A Game of Thrones. I didn’t like Sansa at the start of that one. These kinds of characters do tend to have good storylines, so they are worth reading!


Setting

Like The Farseer trilogy, events of Ship of Magic span geographical locations that give us an opportunity to explore the map (and differences in the people that live there). At first the populace of Bingtown and their customs seem exotic compared to the Six Duchies… and then we meet Rain Wilders.

The variety of the people and places give us plenty to dive into. Ship of Magic feels less of a ‘fill the gaps’ exercise in world-building and more of an exploration. How much more there is to discover remains to be seen!

The plot of the book very naturally allows us to split off and follow different characters across the map. That’s quite different from the earlier books in the series in that we get multiple perspectives as opposed to a single point of view.


Narrative Style

I generally prefer books with multiple points of view. So, Ship of Magic appealed to me because I get to live in so many characters heads. Admittedly, not all of them were desirable. However, as a reader who likes to discover character motives, I had plenty to chew on.

The pacing of Ship of Magic starts slowly as we are introduced to this new side of the world and its customs. I found this got quicker once the groundwork was laid and the storyline could flourish from there.


Summary

Ship of Magic builds on The Realm of the Elderlings series by taking us to new places and exploring new magic. Ship of Magic is very much a character driven tale. I enjoyed delving into the new conflicts that ebb and flow throughout the plot of the whole trilogy, but for which a solid foundation is laid out in Ship of Magic.

Have you read any books by Robin Hobb, or read any part of The Realm of the Elderlings series?

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Sunday Summary – 12th January 2025

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Good evening friends and welcome to another Sunday Summary update. I have plenty to catch you up on. I have a book completion to talk about and a new start this week. Shall we get stuck in?

So far this week, I’ve already shared three blog posts with you. That’s because I have quite a lot of content to push out at the beginning of the year. I didn’t want to get behind with sharing what my intentions are in 2025. So, my first post of this week was my 2025 resolutions. Some of the resolutions look similar to last year, but there are some new ones too.

Next, I shared my monthly TBR for January. Many of the chosen books in that TBR relate somewhat to my resolutions post; that’s why I wanted to get that post out first. I’ve ambitiously set myself a goal to read seven books in January. Whilst I’m not convinced I will read them all, I’m going to work my damned hardest to get through as many of them as I can!

On Friday, I shared my Shelf Control post. This week’s feature is a book I added to my reading list after enjoying a trilogy written by the same author. I’m also intrigued by this synopsis as it sounds different to most of the books I pick up. But, it does remind me of one other series. One I loved, in fact!


Books Read


The Priory of the Orange Tree


Reading progress with The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon ticks on at a solid pace. I’ve listened to a few more hours of the audio this week and I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion of the book.

With just over three hours of the audio left to listen to, I’m starting to see how characters should slot into place for what I expect to be an epic conclusion. I’m looking forward to seeing how these final scenes play out. I’m undecided as yet as to whether events are going to conclude quite well, or if things are going to go a bit pear-shaped.

The depth of detail in the characters, places, and religion that defines the overall setting of the book amazes me. A lot of thought has clearly gone into this, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t pick up on or appreciate this much detail in audio format. However, that hasn’t proved to be the case at all. Maybe my reservations about listening to fantasy on audio for fear of missing out on this are unfounded.


Fool’s Errand

I am both excited and really saddened to tell you that I finished Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb last night. I shared in last week’s Sunday Summary that I was hoping to finish with this book this week. It’s been an excellent read, and I would say probably my favourite book in the Realm of the Elderlings series so far.

It’s not without its heartache though. Robin Hobb is excellent at tugging at the heartstrings. I feared something would happen in this book, and I was right. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it, but I confess I shed a few tears last night over it. It didn’t even matter that I expected it would happen. The way it was written was both beautiful and emotional.

I’m glad to be back with reading this series. I’ve also enjoyed being back in the world of Fitz and seeing where his story takes him next.  Arguably, I found this book the easiest to pick up and read out of the seven I’ve read so far. With the other books, the amount of detail and worldbuilding has meant that my progress has been quite slow. The writing is dense and there is a lot to take in, so consequently I’ve only been able to read in short bursts. I’ve not felt that way with Fool’s Errand at all. In fact, I sat and read 100 pages yesterday without really batting an eyelid.

I don’t think it’ll be too long before I pick up the next instalment in the series!


Shuggie Bain

Finally, the last book I have picked up and made progress with so far this week is Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. I’m reading this book as part of our book club at work, which is meeting on the 29th of January.

So far I’m a little over 50 pages into the book so I’m only really just getting introduced to the setting and characters. Although I’m quite early into the book, it’s already an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve laughed at crass comments from matriarchal Glaswegian women, yet equally read through characters enduring domestic abuse and suffering from poor mental health.

My feeling is that this narrative is going to take us into some of the darker sides of society and in particular, watch how that colours the lives of specific characters. I’m going to continue reading this more in the next week or so. Then I’ll be able to tell you more in next week’s Sunday Summary update.


Books Discovered

My wallet has been molested this week, but not for all the books I’ve added to my list since my last Sunday Summary update. I read an article on upcoming releases this year that gave me some book recommendations. These I’ve added, but not purchased yet.

The first of these books is a fiction narrative which explores how life can change depending on very small variables. In this particular case, the variable is the name they were given at birth.

Secondly, I discovered Adam Kay is releasing another book this year. Having enjoyed his non-fiction recount of his life as a junior doctor, I want to read more of his writing. So, I have added A Particularly Nasty Case to my TBR.

Lastly, with my goal of reading out of my comfort zone this year, I’m picking up something I have never read before. In this BBC article, I discovered that a Ukrainian writer took on the role of a war crime researcher after the start of the war with Russia. She has since tragically lost her life in the war, but her works have come together and are being published in Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary.

I was doing pretty well, until I went into Waterstones “for a look” this afternoon. That’s where I fell off the wagon. Two of the books I bought are already on my TBR (The Anxious Generation and This Book May Save Your Life). In addition, I also bought and added Ultra-Processed People, A Man Called Ove, and The Earth Transformed.


Coming Up…

As much as I enjoyed putting out the extra content last week, I can’t do it every week. I might do it a bit more often. However, next week I’ll be putting out my usual three posts.

Firstly, I plan to share a book review with you. Next on the list is ironically another Hobb book. Ship of Magic is the first book of the Liveship Trader trilogy, and book four of the wider Realm of the Elderling series. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on it in the next few days.

On Friday, I’m back with another First Lines Friday post. I’m setting myself a challenge this week. Although I haven’t read any of the intros to the books I bought today, I have to share one of them in that post!

Lastly, next Sunday I’ll share another Sunday Summary post. As always, I’ll update you on my current reads, as well as upcoming posts and other bookish updates. I hope to see you there!

Otherwise, that’s enough from me. Thanks for catching up with me in this Sunday Summary.

What is the title of the last book you bought?

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Shelf Control #84 – 10/01/2025

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Happy Friday friends and welcome to today’s Shelf Control instalment. This is my third post this week – but I’ve enjoyed putting out more content. Although it means I have more to do, and I’m busy at work at the moment, I’ve had fun!

I’ve already talked about books coming up in my immediate TBR this week. Today’s post is about looking ahead a little further and getting myself hyped up for future reads. Before we get stuck in, here’s a summary of what to expect from this Shelf Control post.

Shelf Control is a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and 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.

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

The Song of the Sycamore – Edward Cox

Genre: Fantasy/Science-fiction

Pages: 496

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 22 Aug 2019

Goodreads – The Song of the Sycamore

 

On the broken world of Urdezha, Wendal Finn died on the hostile plains of the wasteland, one more casualty in the endless war between the city-dwellers and the clansfolk. But now Wendal has returned to his home city of Old Castle, possessed by something he brought back from the wasteland, something old and best left forgotten. The spirits are calling it Sycamore, an ancient entity out to avenge all victims of murder. And in a city like Old Castle, no one is innocent.

With his mind trapped inside a dead body, Wendal can do nothing but watch as Sycamore turns him into a serial killer. Until the magicians take an interest in him. Preserving Wendal’s body and trapping Sycamore inside it, the magicians now have the perfect assassin at their disposal. Whenever they need an enemy removed, they can set the killer loose on Old Castle. Between these moments of horror, Wendal struggles to piece together the remnants of his former life. He wants to know why his wife died while he was fighting in the war, but no one will tell him, no one wants him to know. Left to his own devices, Wendal picks at the scabs that cover the dark secrets of the magicians and reveals a threat to every city on Urdezha.

The clans are massing. A supernatural storm is raging across the wasteland. It has already destroyed one city, and now it is heading for Old Castle. And the only one who might prevent oblivion is the murderous entity who the spirits are calling Sycamore.

 

My Thoughts

Admittedly, I added The Song of the Sycamore to my reading list because I loved the author Edward Cox’s The Relic Guild trilogy. I didn’t pay too much attention to the premise of this book. His writing captured my attention enough that I want to pick up any of his books regardless.

I still stand by that. However, revisiting and actually paying attention to the synopsis of the book this time has gotten me excited to pick it up. It’s a unique idea, and readers of my blog will know how I feel about assassin protagonists. For those not in-the-know, I’m reading Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb right now.

It’s sounds a completely different style to The Relic Guild, but I’m intrigued. It reminds me a little of Crowfall by Ed McDonald in setting. As to whether it actually is similar, or if it lives up to that expectation, remains to be seen.

Have you read The Song of the Sycamore?

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Monthly TBR – January 2025

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Today’s first monthly TBR of 2025 comes to you with the whiff of a fresh start still in the air. My reading goals are still new and shiny…

Okay, enough of the pretentious rubbish!

Welcome to my first monthly TBR of the year. I’m excited to share my planned reads for January. I’m hoping to kick-start the year with some solid 5* reads and some ticks in the ol’ reading goal boxes. Start as we mean to go on, right?

The first two books on this list are carryovers from 2024. I picked these up in the hopes they’d see me right into 2025 and get me hyped for more great books. From there, I plan to pick up book club’s choice for January and some highly anticipated reads.

Shall we take a look?


Fixed Reads


The Priory of the Orange Tree


My first carryover from December is my audiobook listen of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

It’s been a good while since I listened to fantasy in audiobook format. Despite my reservations about retaining detail given the format of the book, I’m doing pretty well. I suspect it helped that I picked up this audio at a time when I could really dedicate some time to getting introduced to the world and the narrative. Usually, I’m piecemeal with picking up audiobooks. However, I had some time off around Christmas last year and I made the most of it!

As of this monthly TBR post, I have just 7 hours of audio left. This book is nearly 26 hours long, so I’m really getting to the conclusion anyway. I think that’ll help motivate my towards this very close finish!


Fool’s Errand



My second carryover is Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb. This book was my only physical read at the end of the year. It was also a mood read I picked up in the final days of December. Knowing I wanted a pretty much guaranteed 5 star read to start 2025 with, Fool’s Errand made logical sense.

Fool’s Errand is living up to its predecessors in the wider series. I’m really enjoying being back in the world of Fitz. He’s one of my favourite characters so far. Although things have moved on a little since the first trilogy, I’m also loving the familiar surroundings.

As of this monthly TBR post, I’m 400 pages into the book. With less than 200 pages left to completion, I’m again hoping this spurs me into action and another finish.


Shuggie Bain


Next, my plan is to pick up our book club pick, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. We meet on the 29th January, but I don’t want this to be a last minute read. 

To my mind, Shuggie Bain falls into my goal of reading out of my comfort zone. I don’t think it’s a book I’d have discovered and read of my own volition. However, that’s exactly why being part of a book club is valuable. It exposes me to new books and ideas.

To my knowledge, this book addresses a number of social issues. I’m looking forward to seeing what those are and being able to discuss those with our group. When I first put feelers out for members, I thought I might have to be a bit more involved in leading discussions. That’s proven not to be the case at all, which is a bonus. It also means we can dig into topics like this quite easily.


Mood Reads


A Darkness at Sethanon


Whilst finishing series is hot on my resolutions radar, my first intended mood read on this monthly TBR is the final instalment to The Riftwar Saga. I started with Magician back in 2017. It’s been a series I’ve picked up sporadically, so I’m going to have to remind myself on events of the prior books before I jump into this last one.

It’ll be good to give myself a check mark on the completion of series goal nice and early. This one can’t be taken off me later, as the series is published in full.


Firefight

Another series progression pick, although not yet a completion, is Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series.

I first read Steelheart in 2020, but unlike The Riftwar Saga I have a decent recollection of what’s happened so far. No refreshers needed here!

Firefight is the second part of a trilogy. Reading Firefight will then enable me to pick up the last instalment in the near future, and that will be another completion.

I always look forward to picking up more Brandon Sanderson books. It made sense to add one to my first monthly TBR of the year to hype myself up. He’s such a diverse fantasy author; how he’s managed to write so many books in the genre (and overlapping others), all with their own magic systems and rules, amazes me. It’s what I look forward to when reading his books.

What else can he come up with?


Rose Under Fire

In my Top Ten Tuesday – Winter TBR post, I shared that I wanted to read Rose Under Fire. Again, this is another book that’s part of a series. However, I don’t believe these books tie together in the same way that a traditional series does. Each has their own main characters, but there are overlaps.

I loved Code Name Verity, another book in this series. It was the perfect introduction to Elizabeth Wein’s writing. Verity was a character I could get behind even before we got to see all aspects of her. Now, I’m intrigued to read other historical stories! Whilst I’m not so fussed on the sound of The Pearl Thief (book 3), I may be inclined to read book 4 (The Enigma) if I enjoy Rose Under Fire as much!

We’ll have to see… 


The Bone Collector

The last book to feature in this monthly TBR is technically part of a series. However, it’s not one I’ve already started and I intend to read the book as a standalone.

The Bone Collector has been on my TBR for a long time! Of the 211 books on my TBR right now, there are only 12 books that have been on it longer. Even then, some of those only stand as they haven’t been published yet…

I enjoyed watching a TV series featuring the events of this first book a few years ago. It’ll be exciting to see if the book is even better. I hope so!


Summary

This monthly TBR is AMBITIOUS. But, it’s a new year and I’m excited to get reading. Plus, it’s cold and miserable in January. What else have I got to be doing?

Thanks for reading today’s monthly TBR. Are you planning to pick up any particular reads in January?

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My 2025 Reading Resolutions!

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Good evening everyone and welcome to my 2025 reading resolutions post! I’ve been thinking about my 2025 reading resolutions for a couple of weeks now. So, it’s nice that I finally get to talk about what I’ve decided ☺️

If you take a look at my 2024 wrap-up post, you’ll see that I didn’t complete most of the resolutions I sent myself for 2024. Life changed since setting those goals, so it’s understandable why I didn’t.

I’m setting my 2025 reading resolutions around those changes. So, unless something drastic happens yet again, I should be able to meet these goals.

Shall we take a look?


Read 45 Books

In 2024, I completed 42 books in total, with two ongoing reads as at the end of the year. I wouldn’t even call setting a challenge of completing 45 books a stretch goal. It’s more of a maintenance goal.

I read a good amount last year and still had time to enjoy my other hobbies, as well as time with friends and family. What’s most important to me at the moment is keeping all of that going. That’s why I’m not looking to push myself on the book count this year. If I do end up reading more, then great! However, I’m not going to overcommit myself and then feel like I’m missing out on other things I want to do.


Complete Goodreads Challenges Throughout the Year


Goodreads has recently introduced some new reading challenges. I’ve taken a look at the first ones released for this year, and they coincide with another goal I was going to set myself. So, I’ve merged the two to fall under this one!

I want to read a little bit more seasonally this year. As and when themes or topics come up, such as Black History Month in February, I’d like to pick up some books around those themes. It’s not something I’ve really focused on doing before. It’ will either encourage me to focus on existing books on my TBR that fit the theme, or push me to read something different. I’ll talk more about that later.

What’s nice about these challenges is they update every quarter. Even if I don’t succeed in getting all the achievements in a quarter, the counter resets. Then, I’ll have a fresh point to restart from throughout the year. It also means I can’t plan too far ahead, and I’ll need to be a little bit agile when picking my TBRs.


Finish or get up-to-date on 10 series

I’m bringing forward a goal from 2024 as it’s something I really need to focus on. I have a LOT of ongoing series. Unfortunately, I’m not the type of person to read a series in full once I’ve started it. Rather, I benefit from taking a step back and enjoying something else and coming back to the series later.

Consequently, I have a ridiculous number of ongoing series. Whilst I did get myself up-to-date on 7 series last year, which isn’t a bad thing, it wasn’t the intended target of 10. I want to keep existing series I’ve started as a priority; that’s why setting myself the target of finishing or getting up-to-date on 10 series by the end of the year is something I want to keep on my radar.

Checking back to my series tracker, which doesn’t yet include any new series I started in 2024, I still have over 10 series where there are less than three books to completion. This is definitely an attainable target!


Read Out of my Comfort Zone

Lastly, tying in to my Goodreads Challenges goal, I want to read things that I wouldn’t necessarily have picked up before in 2025. If there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s my reading diversity. Even still, there are books that I feel are out of my comfort zone. My final 2025 reading resolution is to change that through exposure to new things.

For example, one of the books I’m planning to pick up for Black History Month in February is The Promised Land by Barack Obama. I have never read a book that entails any kind of political manifesto before. Politics is a subject I try to stay away from, generally. At least, until this year!

I can’t promise I’m going to love each of the books that take me out of my comfort zone. However, I’m sure I can get something out of them nonetheless. In some ways, I don’t want to get too comfortable in my reading. If it helps me keep learning and expanding my boundaries, then reading out of my comfort zone is going to be a worthy goal!


Summary

Some of the goals on this reading list will look familiar, whilst others are a little bit different this year. I’m looking forward to taking on these challenges and letting them shape a great reading year for 2025.

What are your 2025 reading resolutions?

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