Sunday Summary – 17th December 2017

Hi everyone!!
December just seems to be flying by!! Is anybody else finding that time runs away from them lately? Between working, blogging and trying to get ready for Christmas (I am comparatively unorganised this year bearing in mind my usual standard), the weeks just seem to be merging in with one another.
I’m normally one of those people who is ready for Christmas by November. Yep, I am one of those. I hate the last minute panic, and yet this year I am doing just that. I have had problems getting presents when I finally do find something suitable and it’s all one giant mess. I held off buying presents early as I went to some Christmas markets at the end of last month but came back more empty-handed than I expected. If I do that again next year, I think I’ll leave the stocking-filler presents for the markets. Is it acceptable to start Christmas shopping in January?! Aha…
 

Books Read

This week I’ve been reading Triple Cross Killer by Rosemarie Aquilina. You’ll remember last Sunday that I had literally just started the book. I had hoped to have this read by now, but with department lunches with work and then the Black Eye Friday Christmas party… I had less free time than usual and it didn’t pan out as I’d hoped. I am about 65% of the way through, so I’ll have to pull my finger out and get this read as my review is due on Thursday.
 

Books Discovered

I decided to treat myself to a couple of books since my last update. Well, it is the season of giving after all, and if I can’t give myself a little gift then who can I… right?!
After my last Sunday Summary, I discovered Merchants of Virtue by Paul Monk. It is a true story of religious persecution experienced by the French under the rule of Louis XIV, aka Louis the Great.
I also discovered The Saint’s Rise by Michael John Grist. His bio quotes that he is an author of “dark and weird science fiction and fantasy books“. The Saint’s Rise involves plague and prophecy, so I was curious. This is also a very new release – it was published on 13th December!
 

 
Following my “Down the TBR Hole post, I’ve also added the books I opted to keep to the reading list from my Goodreads “pile”.
 

Coming Up…

Next week is going to be a busy one in terms of the blog!
On Tuesday you can expect a Top Ten blog post, in which I will be picking my favourite books of the year. This was something I was debating about posting last week, and although I technically haven’t finished the year yet, I think we are close enough!
As I mentioned above, I am reviewing Triple Cross Killer on Thursday as part of a Blog Tour arranged with Fiery Seas Publishing… so I really need to go and finish that book!
I’ll also be posting another review on Friday for Seeker by David Noe and Laura Loolaid. This is the second review request I took on this month and I’m glad they approached me with a copy of the book. It was refreshing to read some pure science-fiction for a change! So, watch this space for Friday.
Setting a provisional date for Saturday, David and Laura have agreed to do some extra material with me about the book. They usually work collaboratively and the recordings of such are posted on their YouTube Channel (I strongly recommend you check it out – I loved their outtakes video particularly). Once the video has been uploaded, I’ll be posting a link and for anyone not able to watch, I’ll be working on transcribing it for you too!
AND THEN after we’ve squeezed in all this madness, it will be Sunday, aka Christmas Eve I’ll be doing a wrap up as usual before taking a very short break for the festive season.
Are you ready for it?