Sunday Summary – 12th June 2022
I am back with another Sunday Summary update post for you today. First of all, I hope you’ve had a fabulous week!
I started off this week by sharing a book tag post with you. I wanted something that was a lighter topic and so I pulled a book tag out of my bank that I’ve been saving for the occasion. That post was my ‘The Last Book I…’ post, and if you haven’t seen that already you can find a link to this here.
The reason I chose that post earlier in the week is because I was taking part in a blog tour on Friday and sharing a review as part of that. On Friday I shared my thoughts on the Wolf of Mercia by MJ Porter. I signed up to this blog tour having read and loved the first book of the series, Son of Mercia, earlier this year. If you are a fan of historical fiction then I highly recommend this series. If you want to find out more, again, there is a link here to that post.
Books Read
When I drafted last week’s Sunday Summary update post I was just about to start Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. As planned, after my post went live I started reading this and I have read the whole book this week! I really, really loved it! For me, it’s one of those scenarios where you regret not starting it sooner! I have seen very good ratings for this book and I’ve also had recommendations from friends. It’s been on my radar for a very long time and I’m glad I finally taken the plunge into Robin Hobb’s writing.
I’m really excited to delve further into the series, because Assassin’s Apprentice was a fantastic read. It is everything I hoped it could be and more besides! You cannot help but feel sorry for Fitz. He has been down on his luck all his life, and just to rub things in a little bit further, Robin Hobb is not gentle with her characters in this book. That is all I will say, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I started my next book yesterday, which is The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I’ve only just started this book and I’m just over 25 pages in. The story is told through communications between characters (i.e. email, text messages etc). It’s a completely different style to what I’m used to, but it makes you think about the subtext and what is going a bit more than you would have to in traditional prose. I’m enjoying the book so far and this is the read I’ll be taking forward into next week. This is going to be an interesting one!
In my book tag earlier this week, I made a comment about having not listened to much in the way of audiobooks recently. I said it was one of those things that waxes and wanes, and that currently I was in the latter of those stages. Well, I may have jinxed that when I said it! At the beginning of the week I think I was around 25% through the audiobook Knight’s Shadow by Sebastien de Castell. I have listened to most of the book this week and I’m now 80% through it.
More often than not it depends on circumstance and what I’m doing as to whether I listen to them. I found myself getting more involved in crafty projects this week, and listening to an audiobook at the same time is the perfect companion. Previously I found myself physically reading more, but this week there has been more of a balance. I definitely want to finish Knight’s Shadow now that I’m this close to the end, and who knows… maybe this is my break back into an audiobooks phase!
Books Discovered
I’ve added a book to my reading list this week that I’d heard about previously, but didn’t really know what it was about. It was through a top 25 standalone fantasy books video on YouTube that I came to understand the plot of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J Klune. I’d seen people talking about it, but never in enough detail to make me want to pick it up. Until that video. The book has themes of identity, belonging and family – which aren’t particularly common things for a fantasy book to revolve around.
I think this could be an interesting read. I also like the idea of it being a standalone fantasy as well. They are a lot less common than series, and if I go on to enjoy this book I think there are others written by the same author that I can then look at as well, that revolve around different, but just as important, topics.
Coming Up…
I’m conscious of the fact it has been a while since I’ve drafted a discussion post. I’ve had an idea this week that could be a fun post to write and also helpful to anybody if they are considering branching out with reading. I’ve previously written a discussion post about reading diversity in relation to picking up different genres. Along the same lines, I want to share a discussion post about why I think it is important to read outside of your comfort zone now and then… and recommend different ways that this can be achieved.
This week I will be resuming my regular Friday features, and this week it is the turn of a Shelf Control post. In case you aren’t familiar, in those posts I take a look at a book on my TBR, share the synopsis and details and why I’m still interested to read this. In doing these reviews, I have actually found books that I’ve changed my mind about and taken it off the list. It’s a good way to make myself keep this list up-to-date, and I hope that by featuring books I may just pique your interest at the same time.
And as always, I’ll be back with a Sunday Summary update at the end of the week, sharing my reading progress and recapping my news.
That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary update post. What are you reading?
