Category: For Fun

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Want to Read Because of Top Ten Tuesday

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I’m looking forward to today’s Top Ten Tuesday post as I get to share a culmination of books that have made it onto previous Top Ten Tuesday posts!

The theme of today’s post is my top ten books I want to read because of Top Ten Tuesday. I could also have chosen the past tense and featured books I’ve since read. As fun as that would be, I need an additional motivator to pick some books up – I just have so many that it’s better to reflect on those still to read. As some of these earlier posts originally intended, I want to use today’s theme as a means of chivvying myself along to get to these books!

The books I feature today have been included on at least one, but more likely several, Top Ten Tuesday posts previously. I’ll share which posts they made it onto, and why I want to share them again today.

Let’s dive in!

 

Ship of Destiny

Ship of Destiny has made it onto at least two Top Ten Tuesday posts (Spring and Summer 2023 TBR). Robin Hobb, as well as other books in her series, have also featured on lists such as my Top Ten New Authors Discovered in 2022.

After coming up multiple times, I’ll be picking up Ship of Destiny next. I could start reading it as early as later tonight!

 

Yellowface

Yellowface is an anticipated release in 2023 that I’m looking forward to picking up. It makes it to this list as I featured the author with their bestseller Babel in my New Authors Discovered in 2022 post.

I really enjoyed the cultural elements of Babel, and I have no doubt those will come to the fore in Yellowface as well!

 

Wizard and Glass

Aptly, this featured book is on my list as the series featured on my Top Ten Series I Need to Finish post. That’s still the case, although I did pick up an earlier book in the series for the first time in four years back in May.

Wizard and Glass is also on my August TBR, so I’ll be picking up this next book very soon!

 

A Storm of Swords

Another book that also made it onto the Series I Need to Finish post, although by virtue of the series not being finished this time, is A Game of Thrones.

The next in my re-read of the series is A Storm of Swords – the third book and first within the series that is divided into two parts. I’ve initially pencilled in part 1 for next month!

 

A Thousand Ships

I first read Natalie Haynes’ Pandora’s Jar in July 2022. After thoroughly enjoying that book, I added A Thousand Ships to my Top Ten Tuesday Autumn 2022 TBR.

Clearly, I didn’t get around to this book then and as of this post, I still haven’t now. Whilst I haven’t got any concrete plans in terms of timeline for picking up this book, I can’t imagine it will be too long! Then again… who knows; I have so many to read! 

 

If We Were Villains

Another book that featured on my Autumn 2022 TBR, but still have yet to read, is If We Were Villains. This book also featured in my Authors Not Read Yet But Want To list.

With a focus on literature and theatrics, it’s still a book I’m looking forward to picking up in future!

 

The Shining

I’ve read a lot of Stephen King books, and yet, I still haven’t read this classic! I own a copy of the Shining ready on my bookshelf, so I imagine I’ll try and pick this up in October.

Spooky season seems like the best time for it!

 

The Lord of the Rings

A book I recently bought which made it to a Top Ten Tuesday post historically is Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins featured as a top ten bookish character, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an itch to revisit this iconic story.

I last read it in 2017, around the birth of my blog. I bought myself a physical copy of this book recently (it was always intended to be one book rather than a trilogy) as I knew it will be one I’d want to revisit again and again.

I’m sure I’ll give into temptation before too long!

 

The Bone Collector

I couldn’t tell you how long I’ve been intending to read The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver. The book made it to my Authors I Haven’t Read Yet But Want To list in April 2022. Guess what? Still haven’t read it!

Probably doesn’t shock you by now…

 

The Librarian of Auschwitz

The last book in this Top Ten Tuesday also originated from my Authors I Haven’t Read Yet But Want To post.

To date, Antonio Iturbe is still an author I am yet to pick up any books by, but that’s okay. If you can be sure of anything, it’s that a bookworm has a reading list as long as their arm. And I do! I’ll get to it at some point – hopefully not too long to wait!

 

Summary

So, these are my top ten books that I want to read because I’ve featured them in a Top Ten Tuesday previously!

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Have you read any of the books on this reading list? Are any of those shared today on your list?

 

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First Lines Friday – 21/07/2023

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Good evening friends! I’m looking forward to sharing today’s First Lines Friday post as I am featuring the start of a military fantasy trilogy that I can’t wait to pick up and begin!

I have previously read one very well-known book by this author. It was both recommended and gifted to me by my sister’s fiancé. As I’m trying to finish reading ongoing series rather than pick new ones up, I have been resisting temptation to start. I’m not sure that’s going to last much longer, after today’s introduction.

Shall we take a look?

 

“Take your clothes off. “

Rin blinked. “What?“

The proctor glanced up from his book. “Cheating prevention protocol.” He gestured across the room to a female proctor. “Go with her, if you must.”

Rin crossed her arms tightly across her chest and walked toward the second proctor. She was led behind a screen, patted thoroughly to make sure she hadn’t packed test materials up any orifices, and then handed a formless blue sack.

“Put this on,“ said the proctor.

“Is this really necessary?“ Rin’s teeth chattered as she stripped.

 

 

 

The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang

 

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 527

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 01 May 2018

 

 

Goodreads – The Poppy War

 

An epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

 

My Thoughts…

I was first introduced to this author by reading her now very popular novel, Babel, last year. It seems apparent that she is a very diverse author in that she can write very different books. Whilst The Poppy War seems very reminiscent of the fantasy structure I am used to seeing, Babel is quite different in its more historical setting and context. I’m also intrigued to pick up Yellowface, which was published earlier this year.

This introduction has me asking an awful lot of questions and wondering what on Earth is going on! It is definitely a solid hook for a reader in order to get them invested very quickly in finding out what is happening.

Having read the synopsis, I think I’m going to enjoy the underpinning commentary of race, social class and personal background. A lot of this is already alluded to in the synopsis, and based on how similar themes are tackled in Babel, I’m confident that this will add to the book rather than distract from any action.

I have a mixed experience with military fantasy in the past. I have enjoyed books like The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and Red Rising. However, I’ve also had less good experiences… and ironically, that’s with the second book of the Red Rising series, but I’ve just mentioned as a great experience! Overall, my experience has been more positive than negative. My only gripe with Golden Son is that the pacing felt off; there was too much action and not enough world-building. But, that is a specific book problem, rather than a genre problem.

Given my fantastic experience with this author already, and several recommendations, I will be venturing into The Poppy War with high hopes!

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

Have you read The Poppy War or any other books by R.F. Kuang?

 

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Discussion Post – Favourite Fantasy Tropes

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In today’s discussion post, I’m looking forward to sharing some of my favourite tropes in the fantasy genre. As I’m sure you’re well aware by now, I read a lot of fantasy. I would safely say that the genre makes up about half of my reading overall. I started reading as a teenager, and it has been my favourite ever since then. So, I know exactly what I my favourite fantasy tropes are, and why!

 

Realistic Magic Systems

When it comes to magic in fantasy books, I like mine to err on the side of realism. There is nothing more frustrating than getting really into a book to come across a convenience in the plot facilitated by magic because the author didn’t know what else to do to get their main character out of their predicament.

With this in mind, you can probably understand why I am such a fan of Brandon Sanderson. A lot of his books contain magical systems, but they have limits. For example, in his Stormlight archive books, the magic system centres around electrical storm light, which is captured in crystals and stored until used. But, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Likewise, in his Mistborn series, there are physical limitations to the abilities many characters use. Firstly, abilities are limited by what metals individuals have affinity for. And likewise, when it comes to restrictions, they have to ingest the particular metal to be able to harness their powers. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Not only do these physical limitations make for a more realistic story, but more often than not, they provide some tension. The sign of a well thought out magic system, in my opinion, is if an author can deliberately write in these limitations, incorporate them somewhere in the plot to make for a tricky situation, and then have the main character figure out a plausible way of getting themselves out of said tight spot.

 

Reluctant hero / Non altruistic characters

Plenty of narratives throughout history have been written in a structure where characters are either inherently good or inherently bad. Think fairytales, for example. But the reality is, most people are neither. We all have some good, and we have some bad, and that all combines to make us the morally grey people we are.

I like this to reflect in the fantasy I read, and especially so in the protagonist role. There are plenty of books I’ve read with this kind of character in mind. The Raven’s Mark trilogy by Ed McDonald is the first that comes to mind. There are much larger examples of this amongst my reading. Why do you think I’m such a fan of A Game of Thrones? There are no significant characters in that book that come out clean, shall we say.

 

Medieval setting

Whilst I have branched out somewhat in the last 12 months in trying to read more eastern inspired fantasy, I have a read far more that are inspired by a medieval European setting. Think large castles surrounded by vast swathes of villages, farmland and homesteads of the common people. It is very heavily used by Western fantasy writers, and I’m not even mad about it. I really enjoy this type of setting and it’s familiarity.

That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed branching out. In fact, it is something I’m going to be looking to doing more of in future!

 

Those are my top three fantasy tropes!

Are there certain tropes in fantasy you love reading again and again? Are there any fantasy tropes you really don’t like? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

 

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2023 Mid-Year Review!

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Happy Wednesday folks and thank you for checking out my mid-year review post! Today, I’m checking in on new year resolutions I set at the beginning of 2023, weighing in on progress and seeing what action I have to take to set myself up to complete my goals by the end of the year!

I’ll recap my goals in this post, but if you’re interested in going back to my original 2023 Resolutions post, it’s linked here for you.

Let’s get my mid-year review underway!

 

Goodreads Challenge – Read 50 Books

As of the 30th June, I had read a total of 28 books and was mid way through a 29th. I’m sure you can do the maths and work out that I am more than on-track to meet my reading goal!

My current reading pace is really working for me. I’m about back to my 2020 levels of reading, and that’s without being stuck at home because of the pandemic. I still have time to enjoy other hobbies, as well as the blogging obviously. I think it also helps that I’ve signed up to fewer blog tours this year. I’ve been able to pick up and read books that I have wanted to read for a long time. It feels less like a chore and more like the hobby it is!

 

Read >15 non-fiction books

I’m a little behind on my reading goal of picking up more than 15 non-fiction books in the year, but not terribly. As of the midway point of this year, I had read 5 non-fiction books. That’s only a couple behind schedule, so this is easily something I can recover from.

I do have a few non-fiction books on my TBR, but it is something I have to consciously include on my reading lists. I definitely have a bias towards reading more fiction than non-fiction. This is something I am aware of, and so I have been trying to incorporate at least one non-fiction book on most of my monthly reading lists.

To catch up, I’m looking at needing to include at least two non-fiction books on most of my reading lists between August and the end of the year. That’s not the end of the world. If I’m honest, it’s probably won’t be difficult to achieve! The average page count of a non-fiction book could well equal half of the average fantasy novel I read. Swapping out the odd one of these in favour of non-fiction won’t be a problem!

 

Read 30 Minutes Daily

When I set my goal of trying to read at least 30 minutes every day, it was with the intention to make reading a regular habit as opposed to something I binge. I have to say, I’ve never been too bad on that front. Reading is certainly a habit and it’s something I do most days.

I haven’t read every single day in the first half of the year, and that is perfectly okay. Yes, I read a lot. But, between working full time, drafting content for my blog and the odd social event, there are days where it just isn’t feasible. There are days when I’m not in the mood. That’s fine too. Broadly speaking, I read several days in a week and that’s more than enough to make sure that reading is a habit. It’s a habit I’ll continue to foster as much as possible.

 

Finish Book Series

I have only finished (or caught up on) a few series so far this year, but that’s not to say I’m not making progress towards completing others.

I’ve read 10 books in the first half of 2023 that involve continuing series I’ve started, or indeed finishing it. If you’ve read my original 2023 Resolutions post, you will know that I have a lot of ongoing series! A lot of them are lengthy as well. We have everything on this ‘ongoing list’ from duologies or trilogies to multipart part series. The longest is 41, but I have several others that sit closer to the 13-16 book range.

This was never going to be a quick goal to achieve. That said, I’m really enjoying making progress with the series I’ve already started and taking the time to prioritise them this year. They are generally very highly-rated books by me. Some of those I’ve been reading towards are series that I haven’t picked up in several years (The Dark Tower by Stephen King, for example). It’s great to have a reason to go back and revisit them!

 

Summary

I feel like overall, I’m making good progress towards my goals for 2023. I’ll be looking to step up with more non-fiction reads, but other than that, I’m pretty on track!

Thanks for checking out my mid-year review post!

Did you set yourself any resolutions or goals for 2023? Are you on track to achieve them?

 

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First Lines Friday – 23/06/2023

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Welcome to this week’s Friday feature – a First Lines Friday post! I suspect you are going to guess the book that made it to today’s feature.

I set myself a challenge with this post last Sunday. As I wanted to do a topical theme, I decided to feature one of the books that made it to my Summer TBR list. I shared that post on Tuesday. If you want to go and take a look at that before we get into today’s introduction, you can find a link above.

You may well be able to guess today’s book based on the introduction, as it gives the answer away. The book in question is a well-known one, so I would be surprised if anyone hasn’t heard of it before.

 

Having been born a freeman, and for more than thirty years enjoyed the blessings of liberty in a free State – and having at the end of that time been kidnapped and sold into Slavery, where I remained, until happily rescued in the month of January, 1853, after a bondage of twelve years – it has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not be uninteresting to the public.

Since my return to liberty, I have not failed to perceive the increasing interest throughout the Northern States, in regard to the subject of Slavery. Works of fiction, professing to portray its features in their more pleasing, as well as more repugnant aspects, have been circulated to an extent unprecedented, and, as I understand, have created a fruitful topic of comment and discussion.

 

 

 

 

Twelve Years A Slave – Solomon Northup

Genre: Non-fiction/Memoir

Pages: 363

Audience: Adult

Publisher:

Publication Date: 05 Feb 1853

 

 

Goodreads – Twelve Years A Slave

Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, is a memoir by Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson. It is a slave narrative of a black man who was born free in New York state but kidnapped in Washington, D.C., sold into slavery, and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana. He provided details of slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, as well as describing at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana.

 

My Thoughts…

I’ve wanted to pick up Twelve Years A Slave for a number of years, and I am finally making it a priority.

It is one of the oldest books on my reading list in terms of original publication date. As you probably gathered by the introduction, this reflects a lot in the language used in the narrative. It doesn’t necessarily flow in the same way you or I are used to. However, I find that really interesting.

It’s rare to find a memoir of such a harrowing personal experience, so this book has plenty to offer. This part of American history is often glossed over. I’m a firm believer that we need to acknowledge and remember these unpleasant parts of history. That way, we make sure they do not happen again.

Twelve Years A Slave is a classic novel that I intend to pick up very soon, and I’m optimistic that I will enjoy it!

 

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

Have you read Twelve Years A Slave?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I will share the books that I’ll be looking to read over the summer months.

I shared a similar post for my Spring reads, with mixed results. I read six of the ten books I listed in that post. A couple of those I didn’t get to make a reappearance in today’s Top Ten Tuesday.

Personally, I find these posts really useful in planning my future reading. They keep me accountable. I also hope you enjoy them, as you learn what books and content will be coming up on my blog in the near future!

But, that’s enough ramble – I’m sure you want to dive into the list, so let’s get to it!

 

Summer TBR

 

Children of Dune

Children of Dune featured on my Spring TBR list. Whilst I haven’t gotten around to the book as of drafting this post, it is on my June TBR. After I’ve finished my current read (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig), I intend to pick up Children of Dune.

 

Ship of Destiny

Much like Children of Dune, Ship of Destiny is also on my June TBR. It’s also a carryover from my Spring TBR list… and was added to my June TBR because it was still outstanding.

Ship of Destiny is likely to be the last read on my June TBR, and I may end up reading it into July. It’s a hefty read at just over 900 pages. I didn’t shy away from chunky books in my Spring TBR; nothing has changed for this Top Ten Tuesday – Summer 2023 TBR.

 

A Brief History of Time

A Brief History of Time is a book I intend to pick up very, very soon. I recently featured this book on my 30 Before 30 list. If you haven’t checked out that post, it is a list of the books I would like to try and read before I turn 30.

Whilst this isn’t a very long book, it may be a challenge for me in how scientific and mathematical it is. I am not a big science nerd. But, I am interested in the subject and I would like to give it a go.

 

Wizard and Glass

The Waste Lands by Stephen King featured on my Spring TBR. One of my goals for the year is to continue reading ongoing series rather than starting new ones. It had been four years since I picked up this series last, and when I read The Waste Lands (in four days), I vowed I wouldn’t be making that mistake again!

With this in mind, the next book of The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass, has made it to my Summer TBR.

 

Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years A Slave is another book from my 30 Before 30 list that I would like to pick up during the summer. This book would make a great read in 2023 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it helps me make a prompt start on my 30 Before 30 list. Secondly, as a non-fiction memoir, it also contributes towards my goal of reading more non-fiction throughout this year!

 

The Pagan Lord

The Pagan Lord is the seventh book in Bernard Cornwell‘s Saxon Stories series. This is a series that I have been reading for a number of years. I picked it up again earlier this year when I read Death of Kings. With that goal of continuing reading series in mind, I would like to resume this one. Whilst the series and characters are relatively fresh in my mind, it makes sense to pick up the next instalment.

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the outlier on this Summer TBR. However, I do have my reasons for adding it. The first of those is that I already pulled the book out of my TBR jar, and so I will be reading it next month. Secondly, as the book has an emphasis on mental health, and because I’m enjoying The Midnight Library so much, I want to continue exploring fiction with this topic.

 

Three Sisters

Three Sisters is the third book in Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz series. I have listened to the first two books of the series already, and finally listening to Three Sisters will give me a big ol’ tick on my completed series list. I don’t get many of those very often!

It’s been a little while since I last pick up the series, but the events and characters stand out so well that it doesn’t matter. The books don’t overly relate to each other either, so I’m not dependent on being so familiar with what’s already happened in the other books that I can’t pick this one up.

 

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

It’s been five years since I picked up the Legacy of Orisha series. Too long really, but it’s only going to get longer if I continue not to revisit it.

I really enjoyed the start of this series by Tomi Adeyemi back in 2018, and I’m overdue getting back into it. A secondary motive I have for picking this book up soon is that the author is due to publish a third book in the series in September. If I manage to pick up the second book before then, I will very briefly be caught up with the series until the sequel comes out. But, with events fresh in my mind, it would make sense for me to pick up the third book quickly and get caught up again.

 

A Storm of Swords

This year, I am re-reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. A Game of Thrones). With the understanding that the next book is due out soon, I want to refresh my memory before diving into this new instalment. You know me, I will be doing that as soon as it’s physically available!

 

So, those are the books that have made it onto my Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR post.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Have you read any of the books on my list? Are there any that you intend to pick up as well?

 

 

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Shelf Control #66 – 16/06/2023

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Happy Friday and welcome to this week’s Friday feature – my Shelf Control post. This week, I’m excited to feature a book that made it onto my 30 Before 30 list. It’s also a book I plan to pick up very soon!

Shelf Control is a regular feature on my blog – 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.

 

A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking

 

Genre: Non-Fiction / Science

Pages: 226

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Bantam Books

Publication Date: Sept 1998

 

 

Goodreads – A Brief History of Time

A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends?

Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.

 

My Thoughts

Revised and re-published 10 years after the original book, this edition of A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is read that I am looking forward to picking up.

Generally speaking, I’m not an overly scientific or mathematically minded person. However, I’m not going to let that stop me reading this book! I may not be science orientated, but I am always looking to push my boundaries and explore new things. I’m a learner. You don’t have to be smart, brainy, or anything like that in order to be a learner. What’s important is the motivation and drive… And of that I have an abundance.

Stephen Hawking and I may be on completely different planes when it comes to intelligence, but we are clearly both learners. I’m hoping that commonality is something that will help me through this book. Whilst it is not overly long, compared to other reads I pick up, it is going to be a completely different tone from what I’m used to.

A Brief History of Time is a well-known book. Picking this up soon helps with my goal of reading the book from my 30 Before 30 list, and also as a non-fiction read in 2023. There aren’t very many academic non-fiction is on my TBR, so this book will be unique in that sense!

Have you read A Brief History of Time? What did you make of it?

 

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First Lines Friday – 26/05/2023

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The last time I brought you a First Lines Friday post, it was a bank holiday weekend. It just so happens that the same can be said again! If you’re looking for a fantastic author to pick up this weekend, I have a great feature in today’s post.

This week, I set myself the challenge of featuring a medical, non-fiction novel. I had just added one to my TBR when I set this challenge. I teased featuring it here, but that would be boring and lack imagination! Instead, I’m bringing you a book that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from the description of ‘non-fiction medical’. It’s full of humour and wit, yet insightful.

So, let’s check it out!

 

You know what it’s like when you’re cutting up a dead body. No, of course you don’t. It’s a perverse and horrific thing that should only ever be experienced by coroners and gangland criminals. Unless of course you’re one of the 9,000 eighteen-year-olds who sign up to medical school in the UK every year. For them, it’s just what you do each Friday morning.

‘Wear your worst shirt and trousers,’ advised a friendly second year before our first dissection. ‘Underwear too. Put on the same stuff every week, then burn it at the end of the year.’ I imagined this was because they’d be getting sprayed with skull-water or stained by lung fragments, but it was actually around 2 per cent less disgusting than that – it was the stench.

 

 

 

Undoctored – Adam Kay

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 274

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Publication Date: 15 Sept 2022

 

Goodreads – Undoctored

Adam Kay’s secret diary from his time as a junior doctor This is Going to Hurt was the publishing phenomenon of the century. It has been read by millions, translated into 37 languages, and adapted into a major BBC television series. But that was only part of the story.

Now, Adam Kay returns and will once again have you in stitches in his painfully funny and startlingly powerful follow-up, Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients. In his most honest and incisive book yet, he reflects on what’s happened since hanging up his scrubs and examines a life inextricably bound up with medicine. Battered and bruised from his time on the NHS frontline, Kay looks back, moves forwards and opens up some old wounds.

Hilarious and heartbreaking, horrifying and humbling, Undoctored is the astonishing portrait of a life by one of Britain’s best-loved storytellers.

 

My Thoughts…

I have already read a couple of books by the author, Adam Kay.

The first of those I picked up is his better known novel, This Is Going to Hurt. That is the story of how Adam became a junior doctor. I then read the slightly shorter, but equally witty, T’was the Nightshift Before Christmas. They are full of laughter and heartwarming stories. But they also bring tears. These books are as much of an emotional rollercoaster as the job can be in itself. They are candid in their insight into daily trials of being a medical professional.

Although I have yet to read Undoctored, I expect this book to be much the same as its predecessors. If that is the case, then it is a promising five star prediction! Although the genre of the book is non-fiction and set in a medical setting, these books are far from dry. The author has a fantastic way of getting his message across in a way that employs humour to do so.

As always, I’m looking forward to giving this book a try!

Have you read Undoctored, or any of the other books by Adam Kay I mentioned in this post? Did you enjoy today’s First Lines Friday post? Let me know in the comments!

 

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First Lines Friday – 05/05/2023

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It’s the start of a long weekend here, and what better way to kick it off than with a First Lines Friday post?! If you’re looking for a book to pick up this weekend, this week’s feature may just appeal to you.

When I last shared a First Lines Friday post, I featured a book with difficult themes. It is somewhat true about this week’s feature as well. The introduction describes the death of a couple of characters. The event has already happened, but it does describe how it took place. It isn’t overly graphic, so if you read a lot of fantasy like I do, this shouldn’t bother you.

Naturally, today’s featured book is a fantasy novel – one that is a recent addition to my TBR. I have pulled the book out of my TBR Jar to read next month. If you are not familiar, I have a jar (well, an owl-shaped mug) on my bookshelf, full of slips of paper with titles of books on my reading list. Once a month, I pick one of these at random to read.

Enough pre-amble… shall we check out today’s opening lines?

 

Rage. An old man’s rage.

The temple of the sisters in Weshwesh had more than a hundred steps- one hundred and forty-four, in fact, as the old seer had reason to know. But he climbed of them without counting; indeed, without seeing them.

Rage carried him, and as he leapt up the steps, his age and pain with forgotten in an anger that so enveloped him that, even as his old knees trembled, the weight of his daughter’s corpse was nothing; nor the spreading stain of her blood on his embroidered robes, nor the terrible wound where a sword had ripped across her womb and killed her and her unborn child.

Rage.

 

 

Against All Gods – Miles Cameron

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 496

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 23 Jun 2022

 

Goodreads – Against All Gods

The gods play their games, looking down on the mortal realm and moving men as pawns. Sacrificing lives, towns, even civilisations as they make moves against each other, oblivious to and uncaring of the suffering it causes.

They are above it all: worshipped, emulated and admired.

Yet there is one among them who exists to sow chaos, to challenge the way of things, and to stir up trouble. One who sees the gods growing indolent and contented and selfish . . . and who is ready to meddle in the world of men. Not as part of the immortal game, but because they believe it’s possible for men to challenge . . . and even topple . . . the gods themselves.

An epic which draws on the Greek mythology of gods and heroes, this new trilogy is a must read for fans of Dan Simmons and Madeline Miller alike.

 

My Thoughts…

I discovered this book through an email from Gollancz around the time the book was being published. The synopsis caught my eye. Having read a Terry Pratchett book with an interesting similarity (how the gods are described as playing games with the mortal realm), I wanted to look into this book further.

Not only that, but this book also has links to Greek mythology. The excerpt I’ve provided you today is from the first chapter of the book. I also skim read the beginning of the prologue, but this was less first lines Friday worthy. However, upon reading it, I immediately recognised the main character being described as a parallel to Zeus.

I haven’t really explored a book which combines fantasy and Greek pathology before. I have read each genre in their own right (one far more heavily than the other), but so far, not a book that combines the two. I’m interested to see how this plays out.

The one drawback of drawing this book from my TBR Jar is that Against All Gods is the start of a new series. If you read my resolutions post published in January, you’ll know that I’m actually trying to read more sequels and finish series this year rather than start new. However, that’s the look of the drawer. So far, I have made a decent effort in picking up sequels to series I’ve already started. Beginning the odd new one isn’t a hardship!

Have you read Against All Gods by Miles Cameron? If you have, what did you think?

I hope you have enjoyed today’s post and that you have a lovely weekend!

 

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Shelf Control #64 – 28/04/2023

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Happy Friday and welcome to today’s Shelf Control feature post! I’m looking forward to sharing today’s post, as I get to feature a legal thriller by an author that is well-known, but I am yet to try!

Before we get into it, let’s recap what my Shelf Control feature is all about.

Shelf Control is a regular feature – 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 Rainmaker – John Grisham

Genre: Legal Thriller

Pages: 419

Audience: Adult

Publisher: 01 Apr 1995

Publication Date:

 

 

Goodreads – The Rainmaker

In The Rainmaker, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America — and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first “clients,” Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone’s ever seen — and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy’s flat broke, has no job, hasn’t even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys — and powerful industries — in America.

 

My Thoughts

The Rainmaker isn’t the first John Grisham book I have featured in a Shelf Control post. However, as of writing this, I am still yet to read any of his books.

I have heard a lot of good things about John Grisham as an author. In what I have already read of the legal thriller genre, this is also something I enjoy. It’s not something I read a lot of, granted. However, it is a genre that I enjoy reading as something different to the typical books I pick up!

I like the sound of The Rainmaker as the synopsis and storyline is one we can all get behind. It deals with a humanitarian subject. I’m not sure how detailed this plot explores the circumstances of Donny Ray, but I am intrigued to read about his story and circumstances all the same. You may recall that I went out of my way to read Me Before You as it features difficult themes around disability and assisted suicide.

Obviously, those are two very different things. However, I really enjoyed that the subject even made it into a book. A lot of people like to look the other way when it comes to this sort of thing, but I’m not one to shy away. What I’m trying to say is, if we get some gritty detail in The Rainmaker, I’m all for it.

Have you read The Rinmaker or any other books written by John Grisham? 

Thanks for taking the time to check out today’s Shelf Control post, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!

 

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