Category: sunday summary

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: 9th December 2018

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Good evening everyone! Have you all had a lovely weekend? I can’t believe it’s Sunday evening already… doesn’t the time just fly by!

I’ve started drafting today’s post a little later than usual because I upgraded to the new WordPress editor. I had heard some bad things about it – it appeared a lot more functional than the previous editor. Haha… what a joke. What started out to be a not-so-bad experience turned horrendous. After about 45 minutes of trying to format my post in the new editor I cut my losses, downloaded the classic editor plugin and started again. It’s the best decision I (and 800,000 other users) have made.

So… what have I been up to this week? I had the pleasure of taking part in an exciting Blog Tour organised by Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources on Tuesday. Facing a Twisted Judgment by K. J. McGillick is a thrilling read. After a newlywed woman disappears along with artwork worth millions, her husband is suspect number one. As the evidence stacks up against him, we dig into the investigation through the eyes of Dalia.

On Thursday I wrote about my recent “more relaxed” approach to reading and how it is working out for me. I’ve decided to stick it out for another month and so I have committed which books I’ll be reading in my Reading List for December.

In between all this, as well as my reading, I have desperately been trying to catch up with watching I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! I love the show, but it is very full on. I might normally turn on the TV once a week or so – having to watch at least one episode every day to try to keep up (not even to catch up the week I was already behind) is tough going. Is anyone else watching it? What do you make of this year’s campmates?

 

Books Read

 

The number one priority at the beginning of this week was to finish reading Facing a Twisted Judgment. I’ll hold my hands up and say I left it too late to read it. I don’t like to cut it that fine, but I have been struggling with some other books lately which delayed starting this book. I had the book read by about 9:30pm the night before my tour post was due to go live, so I just went straight in for the review. If there is one positive that comes out of that, is that my thoughts and feelings were very fresh. I finished drafting that post gone 11pm that night… which was not so good for my sleeping pattern. It’s my own fault so I can’t complain.

With the pressure taken off me, I decided to pick up Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Imagine a world in which the media is designed to only make you happy by indoctrination, emotionally detaching you from other people, war, tragedy etc. Can you imagine a world without books? Nope… me neither. I read this book in a matter of a few evenings just before bed. It is so easy to read and so poignant, I’m glad I picked it up; I’ve wanted to for such a long time!

The next read (and my current work in progress) is The Road to Alexander by Jennifer Macaire. Having learned my lesson with Facing A Twisted Judgment, I am starting this book early. I’m due to tour with it in the New Year – no one can suggest I won’t be prepared for this one! I’ve made a respectable start (17%) on this one considering I only picked it up on Friday night. I’ve had quite a busy weekend and so I’m looking forward to delving a bit further into this book next week!

 

Books Discovered

I have been very restrained this week in terms of book buying. Well, it is nearly Christmas after all! I have to leave some present ideas for people, right? I probably won’t get any books anyway – it’s only me that has the book-bug in this family.  That’s the whole reason I started this blog! If I don’t have an outlet to talk about it to, I might just burst!! Okay, slight exaggeration… I’d just bore a lot of uninterested people to death instead.

Instead, I have signed up for a number of blog tours coming up between January-March next year. Watch this space for news of those closer to the time!

 

Coming Up…

It has been a long while since I reviewed a book that hasn’t been part of a blog tour. I was going through a phase of being practically caught up on my reviews, but I have plenty of breathing room now. I initially read the book I‘ll be reviewing back in October. The Silent Patient is an ARC I have been sent for review and I really enjoyed it. Again, this was another book I read extremely quickly. If I had the willpower to forego sleep, I would have done so just to finish this book sooner!

 

 

 

down the tbr holeIt has been a couple of weeks since I published a Down the TBR Hole post, so I also plan to whittle down the TBR a little more next week. I have 188 books on the list – it really isn’t going down all that much! I think I am my own worst enemy…

 

In terms of reading progress, I want to finish The Road to Alexander. I am reading this well in advance but I have also made a few commitments in reading terms for next year, so I’ll thank myself for the head start in future.

In addition to this, I also want to start reading Ewan Pendle and the Castle of Nightmares by Shaun Hume. This is the second book of the series he is writing and he has kindly asked for a review. I really enjoyed the first book, Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith (fun fact –the first book I reviewed on request ever) so I can’t wait to give my feedback on this latest release!

 

That is how my week is shaping up… how about yours?

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 2nd December 2018

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Hey everyone!! Are you having a lovely weekend? I sure have! Not only have I already had my work Christmas party… I’ve also been putting up various decorations at home and for family. It’s official – Christmas is on the way!

 

 

Last week’s Sunday Summary was a little late, so I only published one post this week – a Throwback Thursday review of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle books. As a young teenager, I really enjoyed Eragon and Eldest, but I still DNF’d the series. If you want to find out why you can check it out in my post!

 

Books Read

I finished it! My 2nd re-read of A Game of Thrones is done! As I expected, I really enjoyed reading this again. I find that it is good to go back to the beginning sometimes to refresh your knowledge… especially for a series as epic in size as this one!

I have also made further progress with I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson. This book is so funny and I can see all the general antics and mishaps happening to me if I have kids. I really can. It’s just the right sense of humour I need at the moment.

I have made a start on Facing a Twisted Judgment by K. J. McGillick. It is a book that I am blog touring on really soon too, and I am going to have to cram read some of this tonight in order to get the post together. I have already made good headway and it isn’t a heavy read, so I can do it.

 

Books Discovered

I actually added this book to my Goodreads to-read list a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to tell you all! Shameful, I know. Originally I saw a later book of this series advertised somewhere. From that, I opted to look at Limelight to see where Penny Green’s story begins; a murder of a woman who reportedly died years ago? I’m in for that.

 

Coming Up…

This week is going to be pretty busy blog wise! As I mentioned above, I have a blog tour for Facing A Twisted Judgment coming up soon. Tuesday, in fact. Yes, it’s that soon, so I need to get reading to finish that one!

As it is also the beginning of a new month I’ll be putting together a reading list for the month! I decided to try a new approach in November and not restrict my reading to a set list so much. I’m not entirely decided as to how well that’s working at the moment. I only read one of the two books I set out to, as well as part reading a couple of others. That said, this month was disrupted by a trip away. Things haven’t been the greatest at work either. I’m not writing off the approach yet – I think I need to give it another go.

How has your week been? Are we feeling festive yet?

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 25th November 2018

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Hi guys!

So, some of you may have noticed that I didn’t publish a Sunday Summary post last week. More than likely… no one noticed at all! That’s okay though, I spent some great time with family and got some Christmas shopping done!

Yes, I said it. Christmas. Shopping.

I may have bought myself one or two things whilst away… you know, strictly one or two.

 

I am also a little late in publishing this one. Sorry guys! Unless you have a death wish, going back into the office without treats after a holiday is a dangerous affair. It’s all stares and disgruntled mutterings but you just know you have that black mark against your name. In fairness, it hasn’t been a great week there (not because I wasn’t there – I don’t think THAT MUCH of myself), so I decided to do the best thing I could and baked.

You can see the picture on my instagram – they went down a treat at work. Brownie points for Rebecca!

 

So, personal life antics aside… what else have I been up to?

Well, skipping back over the last couple of weeks, I published a review of Frankenstein that was much overdue. I found myself in a little bit of a writing slump, so I can’t say I’m overly thrilled with the review. It passes (I hope)… but it certainly isn’t my finest work.

I also put together a review for Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor! Whilst I was away I had a couple of hours to myself… so I put them to good use. I really enjoyed reading Muse of Nightmares because there is so much more to it than Strange the Dreamer. I expected the book to be different, I’ll add, but the actual story is far better than I could have EVER imagined. Read it. Seriously.

After getting back home from my jollidays, (yes, I really did just say that) I decided to review the TBR again in another Down the TBR Hole post. It’s the sort of thing that you really need to keep on top of, so I like to chip away at it. By that, I really mean that I try to break even. I keep adding new books to the list all the time!

 

Books Read

My time off work this month has been a lot busier than last month, so I haven’t gotten as much reading done. I have made more progress with reading A Game of Thrones. Having looked back at my last Sunday Summary post, I’ve actually read more than I thought! I have jumped from just less than 50% to 88%. I managed to fit a bit of reading in whilst commuting on my trip, but never really for any length of time. Since I have nearly finished this book, I am going to try to finish it tonight – tomorrow at the latest!

Before my trip away, I was also reading Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski. I don’t really feel I have made a lot of progress with this book so far. I’m finding the pacing to be a little slow at the moment, but it should pick up in time. I haven’t actually touched this book since my return yet; I’ll have another bash at it once A Game of Thrones is ticked off the list.

In the times where a lighter read was required, I have been reading I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson. I have actually read part of this book before; I borrowed it from my school library years ago! It definitely has the laugh out loud humour I’ve needed. The other two books make for quite heavy reading, so needing a break is not unreasonable. I don’t normally read contemporaries/women’s literature. I have to be in the mood for it. I’ve managed just over a hundred pages last week alone, so that isn’t such bad going either.

 

Books Discovered

My self-imposed book ban is now OVER!!!! Thank goodness for that! I was restraining myself knowing that November was going to be an expensive month. Now it’s over, I can spend however much I like on books hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Obviously, that’s a lie. I haven’t finished Christmas shopping yet so I shouldn’t celebrate too early. But, I don’t have flights, hotels, food and spending money to worry about… so I can breathe a little easier.

On Tuesday, the last day of my trip, I decided to use some of my leftover budget to get myself a copy of Fire and Blood. It was publishing Day and half price. The illustrations are beautiful and so is Martin’s writing. I’d have to be daft not too!

 

Coming Up…

It will be good to finally get things back on track! Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time! I hope to be able to go away and see my sister again before too long. But, it’s nice to get back to the familiar, to get back into routine.

So, what am I posting on my blog this week? Well, this week I want to write another Throwback Thursday Review. I started this series so I had the chance to feature books read prior to starting my blog. They have all played their part in making me the bookworm I am today, so it makes sense to make a space for them here. This week’s post will be a mixed review because it is a series I loved initially, but have stopped reading.

 

In terms of reading progress, I am pushing to finish A Game of Thrones tonight. At the latest, I want to finish this tomorrow.  I am also going to try and finish I Don’t Know How She Does It, because I need to start my next read for an upcoming Blog Tour.

How has your week been? What have you been reading?

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 11th November 2018

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Evening all! Today’s Sunday Summary post is being written in a little haste, so I apologise if it doesn’t live up to the usual standard. I don’t really know what’s happened this week, but it’s just felt a little topsy turvy.

I’ll be the first person to admit that I like having a bit of routine. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with that, but it throws you off the minute the routine is out of the window. This week is one of those, unfortunately.

I promised to post two reviews this week – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor. Neither of these happened, and for that I am sorry. I have drafted a review for Frankenstein – I’ve stared at my screen for three nights this week to put it together. I am still not happy with it. That’s why I haven’t published it. I also didn’t want to start writing a review for Muse of Nightmares without finishing Frankenstein. It muddles my head doing that.

Even tonight, I would normally dedicate my time to writing my Sunday Summary post, but instead, I am baking for a charity cake sale at work tomorrow. Half of this post was written this morning ready. You can tell I’m not a baker. My victoria sponge is taking longer to cook than I anticipated and I am literally sat on the edge of my seat, paranoid about leaving it longer. Fingers crossed it turns out okay!

 

Books Read

This week I have been focusing on reading more of A Game of Thrones. As with things going out of the window, my original plan to finish Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski didn’t happen. Next week, I promise. Honestly! Still, I made a lot of progress with A Game of Thrones though. It’s a long book and now I’m just shy of 50% through!

 

Books Discovered

I’m still on my book ban. I’m surprised I have managed to stick to it too! Maybe being busy has helped; if I don’t see books I want I can’t buy them, right?

 

Coming Up…

I am going to fulfill the promises I made earlier last week. I’m going to give myself a kick up the behind and get my review of Frankenstein published! I am nearly there, so it shouldn’t take too much work to complete.

I’ll also publish my review of Muse of Nightmares. I won’t struggle to review this book at all – I think I could gush about it all day!

In addition to these posts,  I want to draft another post in anticipation of next week. Why? Well, I am taking another trip to visit family and I won’t be back until Wednesday. I need to fill the void somehow. My going away means that there won’t be a Sunday Summary post next week! Sorry guys! Hopefully I will have a massive update for you all when I get back!

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 4th November 2018

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Good evening ladies and gents! It’s time for another Sunday Summary post, in which I reflect on a very busy week!

This will be my fourth post of the week; normally I don’t schedule in so many posts, but a couple of reviews and a new reading list for the month were all due at the same time. It has been fun, although I can practically see steam coming off my hands from typing so much!

On Monday I posted my review of The Hidden Face by S. C. Flynn. The author kindly offered me a copy of the book in exchange for review; it’s been the first direct request I have had for a little while, so it made a refreshing change to read.

Then, on Wednesday I shared my (very short) TBR for the month. It’s not that I am not planning on reading this month… don’t be silly. That would be like telling me not to breathe! This month, I decided to give myself a little more freedom in the books I read as opposed to a full, set list.

Friday was my stop on the Blog Tour for Another Kind of Magic, the third and final book of the Caitlin series by Elizabeth Davies. As an avid reader of historical fiction and a great lover of magic, this series was a treat for me. If you haven’t read any of these books, please go and read my reviews… or better yet, give them a try! If you do, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

 

Books Read

Following on from last week’s Sunday Summary post, I began the week by finishing reading The Swan Keeper by Milana Marsenich. I reviewed Copper Sky, another of Milana’s books back in March this year. After doing so, Milana kindly asked if I would accept a copy of The Swan Keeper to read and review at a later date. Naturally, I accepted. I really enjoyed both the plot and the characters.

Also featuring today (and in my Sunday Summary post last week) is Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski. I confess though I have read less of this book than last week. I have made some progress here, so I include it, but not a lot. The majority of my time has been spent on another book this week.

A Game of Thrones – how I love this series! I have already read this book twice over, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s the kind of treasure you could never get bored of. A Game of Thrones is one of two books I have set myself the task of reading this month; considering its size and the fact that I only started reading this on Thursday, I’m impressed that I’m already 25% through. I can, and have, literally sat with this book for hours. I look forward to many more!

There is something else. The desperate urge to include a GoT pun in this post is overwhelming. I apologise in advance.

I decided to take a little break from the book last night by taking up a hobby I haven’t really touched in a year or so. Given that my current woolly hat is a little old, used and is showing its age, I decided to test my crochet skills by making one! I haven’t made anything in a while, but I found a reasonably simple pattern online and I started to make it. Why? Well the answer is simple.

Wait for it…

Source: Giphy

 

I SAID I’M SORRY – Okay!!

But I’m not really…

 

Books Discovered

So, this is one of those rare weeks when I literally have nothing to say in this section! As I think I mentioned in a previous Sunday Summary post, I am on a book ban.

Why do I do this to myself?

 

Coming Up…

Although I had a fabulous week with lots of posts, I’m scaling back to my usual schedule next week. It gives me enough breathing space to produce some decent content.

So, what posts can you expect? Well, I am going to post two reviews this week, because I have a few to catch up on!

At the end of September, I attended an event as part of the local Manx Litfest – a storytelling of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I adored the show so much that I picked up the book as soon as I got home. I’m not even kidding. I had read the book just shy of ten years ago at school, but I wanted to read it again and form a second opinion. To that end, I am going to be sharing my thoughts with you about my re-reading of this book.

 

 

 

 

My second review of the week is going to be for a book I devoured in a matter of days. Muse of Nightmares – what a fabulous read this was! I could read both Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares all over again.

Don’t encourage me, seriously.

Naturally, I’ll conclude the week in the usual manner.

 

 

 

Instead, let’s talk about what I SHOULD be reading! I want to make more progress in reading both A Game of Thrones and Season of Storms this week. Preferably, I would like to finish SoS by Andrzej Sapkowski by the end of the week to keep momentum. A Game of Thrones is going to take longer – it’s a huge book. I’ll keep chipping away though!

 

What are you reading this week?

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 21st October 2018

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It’s Sunday night and the end of another week. Whereas in previous weeks I have been delighting in the fact that I have time off work to enjoy, rest assured karma is biting me right now. Yes, I’m back to work tomorrow.

I can hear you all laughing at me now – and good for you! I would too… were I not in my shoes.

No really, I do enjoy my job. It may come as a surprise, but working with numbers actually strikes up a good balance against my love of reading and writing my blog.

So, what have I been doing with my time off? Well, reading of course! That… and talking about books. On Wednesday I reviewed Breachers by Anthony Thomas for the Blog Tour organised by Fiery Seas Publishing. As I stated in my review, it’s one of the easiest five-star reviews I have given this year! If you haven’t taken a look at that review yet, I’d appreciate it.

On Friday, I published a long overdue review of The Relic Guild by Edward Cox. I read this book back in August, but since I have had so many blog tours on the go, I just haven’t had the time to commit my thoughts to… webpage. You get the idea. This is another positive review and a book I would really recommend for anyone who loves Fantasy (particularly magic).

I’ve also been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on my blog. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. When I migrated my blog to a self-hosted site earlier this year, I came across problems – 260(ish) broken links to media files that didn’t import properly. Yep, it was that big a problem.

Well, those are all fixed now! It took hours of manual changes, but it’s done! I also noticed a lot of the formatting on those pre-migration posts isn’t great so I am fixing a lot of those too. That’s a work-in-progress at the moment, but less urgent. I’m pleased anyway! It’s kept me busy and I had no way of making time to fix the links otherwise.

 

Books Read

Ahead of Wednesday’s blog tour review I was due to post for Breachers, I finished reading this book on Monday. I don’t like to have things so last minute for tours. If there is one thing this worked out well for though, was keeping everything fresh in my head for the review. I think maybe I should be better at making notes as I read, or drafting reviews sooner, because on this occasion this review was incredibly easy to write!

This week also saw me return to reading The Hidden Face by S. C. Flynn. I put this book down about a third of the way through last week to ensure I could review Breachers on time. Once I re-commenced reading this book, I finished it within a few days. It is a fast paced book, whilst still managing to fit in plenty of history behind the events taking place in modern day.

The next two reads this week weren’t on my list for this month. I confess I picked them up rather on impulse. First, I started reading The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I received an ARC of this book from Orion Books a few months ago now, in anticipation of publication in February next year. You have to get a copy. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, no word of a lie. I am so glad I picked it up.

My next unplanned read is Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett. Yes, folks, I’m back to reading Pratchett again. I just love the Discworld series so much that I need to pick up one of these books occasionally. In borrowing an ebook copy of this title, I also got to test out my new Kindle tablet, so it’s a win-win situation really! I’m 90% though this book as we speak, but I’ll finish that tonight no sweat.

 

Books Discovered

After last week’s performance of binge buying books, I have been far more restrained.

I saw an offer for Stephen King’s Bag of Bones, advertising the e-book as only 99p for a limited time. So, I bought it. I justified it by arguing that by using by gift card balance, I wasn’t TECHNICALLY spending my actual money.

Not strictly true I know, but I needed something… okay?!

 

Coming Up…

down the tbr holeThis week I have a little breathing space on the blog tour front – yay! Haha! For a bit of a change, I have decided to take a look at my ever-growing TBR again and potentially weed out some books I no longer want to read. It feels like it’s been a while since my last post, so this is definitely overdue!

I will be posting another book review this week; however, this will be a throwback review of an old book or series. I have so many books that I’ve read before starting my blog – it doesn’t make sense to omit featuring them!

 

 

In addition to the posts I am planning on publishing this week, I’ve decided I am also going to trial setting some reading goals here. I want to see if that works for me anyway. Compared to last year, I have read quite a bit less. I know it isn’t a competition, but I feel I need a little kick up the backside encouragement some weeks. Maybe accountability might work for me!

So, tonight I am going to finish Interesting Times. I’ve already committed myself to that. In terms of reading progress, I am aiming to pick up and finish Another Kind of Magic by Elizabeth Davies. I am reviewing this book in the upcoming Blog Tour, so I want to give myself plenty of time to read this in advance (and make notes!) As the cover isn’t being revealed until the 25th October, I can’t share this with you now. You’ll just have to wait and see!

In addition to Another Kind of Magic, I am also looking to make a start on The Swan Keeper by Milana Marsenich. This is the last book on the list for this month; if I can manage to make a start on this by the end of the week then I’ll be in a good position to read this before the end of the month! It’ll be the first time I’ll have made it through all the books on my list in a month for a little while, not to mention the couple of extras I picked up too!

I look forward to updating you next week! Happy reading!

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 14th October 2018

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Usually, I would be lamenting the fact that it is Sunday night. Not this week.

Call me a bitch if you like (go ahead, I’ve been called worse), but since I’m not at work tomorrow, I don’t care that it’s Sunday!

 

Okay, I know I’m a bitch. I’ll deal with it.

So, what have I been up to this week?

Aside from reading, shopping and just generally dossing around, I’ve been doing some work behind the scenes on my blog. There has been a slight appearance change to bring everything into line; I am pleased with the result! Also, I have been working on some broken links caused by the migration of my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. I still have a way to go on these. I’m hoping to invest more time into this next week, so next weekend it should be resolved!

As a result of this, I only managed one blog post this week. On Wednesday I shared my thoughts on a local event I attended a couple of weeks ago. As part of the Manx Litfest, I saw a re-telling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, performed by Ben Haggarty and Sianed Jones. It was a fabulous performance.

 

Books Read

I’ve made good headway on a few books this week!

I started the week practically devouring the rest of Muse of Nightmares – not surprising really! I finished this on Monday night. It didn’t last long at all!

Next, I moved on to reading The Hidden Face by S. C. Flynn. I am reading this book at the request of the author in exchange for a review. It’s interesting so far! There is a fair bit of history to events, giving depth to the world the novel is set in. The characters are also unusual, and some shrouded in mystery. I’m about a third of the way through the book at the moment and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes!

As I am taking part in the Blog Tour for Breachers by Anthony Thomas next week, I’ve also picked this up this week. I took part in the cover reveal back in February and since then I was hoping to get my hands on a copy! When I was invited onto the current blog tour, I was elated! I have nearly finished this book – I’m at 77%. It’s not an overly long one compared to others I have been known to read, but I am sure as hell enjoying it! You can look forward to my full review really soon!

Last, but certainly not least, I’ve made further progress on Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. As I have had some time to work on a painting project I’m doing, I’ve been listening to Godsgrave at the same time. It’s a combination that works for me – I can’t really explain it. I listened to several hours of the audiobook though, so I can’t complain!

 

Books Discovered

I bought far too many books this week.

Okay, ignore the statement above, because there is no such thing. I bought six though, haha! A bad week for my wallet. Oh well!

On Monday, I was having a crappy day. It was just one of those… we all get them, right? I went into the bookstore “for a look”, which didn’t really go to plan. I came out with a copy of Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. Both of these books were already on my TBR, so I justified it that way…

On Friday, I ventured into the bookstore again, gift voucher in hand. I knew I was going to end up buying a few books on this trip – in fact; I had been looking forward to the chance all week. The weather was absolutely awful, but I still ventured out anyway – #dedication. When I left, it was armed with a copy of;

  • The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
  • Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanagh
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • The Shining by Stephen King

A successful haul, in my opinion! I might have to lay off for a while now though… or not. Best not to make promises I can’t keep!

 

Coming Up…

 

So, as I mentioned above, I am taking part in the Blog Tour for Breachers by Anthony Thomas. My review is going live on Wednesday 17th, so I hope you can take a few moments to read my thoughts on this thoroughly enjoyable book!

 

 

 

 

I am planning on writing a second review this week, as I am aware it is a little overdue. Back in August, I read The Relic Guild by Edward Cox, however, I am yet to share my thoughts about it with you.

 

 

 

 

I’ll also be doing some more work behind the scenes to bring my blog up to speed and hopefully improve the site!

I’ll look forward to seeing you around!

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 7th October 2018

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I’m writing my Sunday Summary. That means another weekend is over. Seriously… they go WAY TOO FAST!!

Not to rub it in… Okay, I am totally rubbing it in, but I have some long overdue time off coming up! So, next week is a really short one for me work-wise. Hopefully my next Sunday Summary will be chock-a-block with progress. I’m going to stay optimistic on that point, okay? We’ll see!

So, back to this week – what has happened? Well, I shared this month’s reading list with you all! I have some exciting books on the list, so if you haven’t taken a look yet, please do! On Friday I took part in a much-anticipated blog tour for A Stain on the Soul by Elizabeth Davies. This is the second book of the Caitlin series. In a few weeks time, I’ll be reviewing the next book – Another Kind of Magic. I received my copy on Monday and I cannot wait to read it at last! A Stain on the Soul leaves us on quite a cliffhanger; I cannot imagine how things are going to pick up.

There is also a little something that didn’t happen – sorry guys! I promised a post about the recent re-telling of Frankenstein on Friday. I’m going to make that up to you next week. If I am entirely honest, I had planned that for Friday, forgetting that was my blog tour date. Next week, I promise!

Now, onto a more positive note: what books have I been reading this week?

 

Books Read

It is hardly surprising that after re-kindling my love for the tale of Frankenstein, I picked up the book. Is it on my reading list? Nope. Oh well, the heart wants what the heart wants. I cannot and will not deny myself. I finished the second half of the book this week, with a little less fire and enthusiasm I’ll admit, but I am glad I read it. It isn’t the easiest book to read, but not having to analyse it to death like I did when I was fourteen is a huge help!

School really knows how to be a killjoy when it comes to reading.

This weekend, I moved on to Muse of Nightmares! I picked this book up on Tuesday after work. I practically ran… but only PRACTICALLY. I don’t run. I was fast walking at a push, really.

 

But anyway, I got it, and I started reading this on Friday and have pretty much been flying through it since! Even though I have been out a lot of the day today, I am still 75% through it. I’ll be highly surprised if I haven’t finished it by this time tomorrow night. I know what I am like, after all…

 

Books Discovered

Technically I acquired my copy of Muse of Nightmares this week, after a long wait, so I’ll include it here. As I’ve already talked about that above, I won’t linger on it here!

I also purchased a copy of The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. Not only is this appropriate for the time of year, but it also features stories from authors I like. George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Stephen King are just three of the contributors. I’ll look forward to reading these!

 

Coming Up…

So, what posts can you expect to come up next week?

Well, as promised, I’ll be writing a post about the recent event I attended, a re-telling of the story of Frankenstein. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I am also determined to finish the Mystery Blogger post I started several weeks ago! Now, I’ll have the time to mull it over, so I am going to finish it… even if it kills me. Overdramatic much!

I am also using my free time to do some work in the background. Most of it probably won’t even be noticed, but I have some tidying up to do. I experienced some gremlins when I migrated by blog a few months ago, so I’ll be batting them over the head with a stick, figuratively speaking of course. I am also hoping to make a slight change to the appearance of my blog, but fixing the problems are priority… and there’s a few of them.

Fingers crossed I’ll have it all fixed soon!

What books are you reading?

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 30th September 2018

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There is no eloquent way I can accurately express how well this week has gone for me!

I don’t know what it is lately, but I have felt a little bogged down. Perhaps it is work in general… or maybe because I have a number of blogging obligations. Either way, things have felt sluggish. I’ll admit I have been a little light on the blog-post-publishing front, but I think I needed those few days. I have no regrets.

This week I have only published one post – a Blog Tour review for Ragis by Donna Migliaccio. I have fallen so hard in love with this series this year; if you haven’t read it yet, I implore you to… you won’t regret it!

I promised a Mystery Blogger post as well. It’s already late (in my eyes anyway) and I haven’t been in the mood to write it. I’m not going to force the issue otherwise it won’t make for an enjoyable post. It’s a work in progress – maybe I’ll publish it one day!

I was having a good week anyway, in reading terms. I’ve also had a bookish event to look forward to, as this week has been the Manx LitFest. Unfortunately, due to other absences at work, I haven’t been able to attend many events. I did, however, attend a re-telling of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” at the Gaiety Theatre on Friday. I loved it; it was the first time I have attended an event like it. I hope I get the chance to again!

After going to see that performance, I feel revitalised. That might sound incredibly bizarre, I know, but it was good to break the norm. There aren’t many bookish events here and I seldom get the opportunity to meet like-minded people. I booked my ticket to attend in May, so I have been looking forward to it for a while! I think I am going to write a separate post about it very soon.

 

Books Read

 

It has been a good reading week, despite one book ending up on the DNF pile. I don’t like doing this, but if I cannot get on with a book, forcing myself to read it is worse.

After last week’s update, I finished A Stain on the Soul by Elizabeth Davies. I recently read and reviewed Three Bloody Pieces; ASoTS follows on from events in book one and I’ll also be reviewing this very soon! I had hoped to move on to the last book in the series next, however, since that book is not touring until November, I haven’t received my copy yet.

I picked up Desolation by Jesper Schmidt instead, although I confess, not for very long. This is the book I, unfortunately, had to resign to the DNF pile. Much of the narrative is spent trying to set up this fantasy world, yet it is difficult to invest into. I couldn’t warm to the writing style. I hate not finishing a book, but I decided quite early on that it wasn’t for me. It isn’t fair to force myself through a book I am not enjoying and even less so on the author when it comes to committing my thoughts to paper.

So, moving swiftly on – with my reading list for September done (as much as possible), I returned to reading The Eye of the World. This book is huge and the plot complicated, so I think I’ll be reading this in dribs and drabs until I get to the end. I have managed to read another 10% of the book, which to my mind is pretty good going. Having taken a break, it wasn’t all that difficult to get back into. I suppose it’s a good job really, given its size!

After going to watch the re-telling of Frankenstein on Friday night, I came home, made myself a cuppa and picked up the book straightaway! If that doesn’t tell you how much I loved it, then I don’t really know what will! I last read the book at the age of 14 and hated it! I have often said this for all the books I studied at school, but changed my mind when reading them again for pleasure. Frankenstein is also proving to be the same. I fell asleep reading this at around 1am on Saturday morning – that’s how unwilling I was to put it down! I am now halfway through the book… it won’t take long to finish either!

 

Books Discovered

Whilst I haven’t *bought* any books this week (which is a miracle, since payday has arrived), I have used some audible credits that I’ve had for a while.

I’ve added my first Phillip Pullman book to the list! I have heard a few things about this author, so when I saw a book by him set in Victorian England, I listened to the sample! This is going to be a really interesting listen and I cannot wait to try this new author!

I have also downloaded Lock In by John Scalzi. I am making a conscious effort to read/listen to more science fiction books, so this is a perfect fit. This will be the first book I have tried from this author too, so I’ll have to see what I make of this. Maybe I’ll be reading more of their books in future!

 

Coming Up…

It’s October tomorrow. The leaves are starting to turn, cold winds are rising and there is a nip in the air. Okay, so I’m being a little dramatic. But, the point is, it’s a new month! You know what that means… a new reading list! It is another busy month of review requests and blog tours, as well as a getting my hands on a much-anticipated release, MUSE OF NIGHTMARES!

Since I enjoyed the re-telling of Frankenstein so much, on Friday I’ll be taking the opportunity to tell you a little about it, as well as those that took part and made the event possible! I hope you can join me for that!

In the meantime, ladies and gents, keep reading!

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 16th September 2018

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Welcome to another Sunday Summary, my wild weekenders! Well, I can only hope you are – someone has to make up for me not being one at all! I hope you have had a good one, whatever you have been doing.

This week, I had hoped to share a post after my recent nomination for the Mystery Blogger award. I found, however, that the post proved difficult to write. To date, I’ve written about half of the post, so fingers crossed, I’ll share that soon. I did get around to sharing a Throwback Thursday post this week though, which is a relief! This week, I decided it was time to talk about a much-loved series that I had the pleasure of growing up with. Like many teens, I dreamt of getting my letter to Hogwarts. Alas, I just have to content myself with the magic in the pages of books!

 

Books Read

This week I finished reading The Barefoot Road by Vivienne Vermes. When I wrote my Sunday Summary post last week, I was halfway through the book. I’m glad that I managed to read this in plenty of time for the now imminent blog tour. I have a lot of deadlines coming up, so this is one to tick off the list! I enjoyed the book and it’s take on some difficult subjects – but more on that in my actual review!

I’ve definitely been a lot better on the reading front this week. Not only have I matched last week’s progress, I have also read half of Ragis by Donna Migliaccio. This is another tour I am taking part in – and sure looking forward to it too! I started this series at the beginning of the year and I am totally in love with it! So far, Ragis is living up to expectation and is proving easy to read (devour)!

Godsgrave is back on the agenda this week too! Gosh, aren’t I doing quite well?! Whilst working on my arty project, I listened to more of this audiobook. Listening in the morning just isn’t working out for me anymore, so I have stopped trying to be honest. Maybe I should try listening on my drive to work instead – I’m usually more awake then. Well, I sure HOPE so…

 

Books Discovered

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you’ll know Sunday treats (aka books) were purchased today! In my defence though… I was unsupervised. I usually spend Sunday’s with family, however, not today! I went shopping by myself, and before I know it, I was in Waterstones.

#sorrynotsorry

I decided to treat myself to another classic… and I chose Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I’m trying to build up my collection slowly, so this is the latest edition! I also purchased the next book in The Gunslinger series, The Drawing of the Three. I bought and read the first book of the series in paperback; it would be sacrilegious not to continue the series that way, especially now I have the shelf space!

 

Coming Up…

I always look forward to this part of the post every week. It makes me look at the diary and temporarily cures my paranoia that I am going to/have missed a deadline! As I said above, I have a lot of deadlines coming up – and two of those are this week!

Starting on Wednesday, I have a Blog Tour review for Three Bloody Pieces by Elizabeth Davies. This is the first book of three; I am reading the next two books shortly for review at a later date! In the meantime, I would love if you could check out my thoughts on this first book when I post this week.

Next, I have another Blog Tour on Sunday! This is for The Barefoot Road, the first book I read this week. This is a standalone book that echoes historical fiction in its treatment of ethnic segregation and themes of witchcraft and religion. If you want to read more on that, check out my blog next Sunday.

 

 

Sunday SummarySo, as I have the Blog Tour scheduled, my Sunday Summary post is going to be slightly late. I’m going to schedule it for first thing Monday morning, so you don’t have to miss out on my weekly update and general musings. I hope to see you around for that!