Sunday Summary – 18th August 2024
It’s Sunday night again, so I can only be back with you for another Sunday Summary update! I hope you’ve all had a great week?
I’ve shared my usual two posts so far with you this week. The first of those was my Favourite Books to Recommend discussion post which went live on Thursday. I shared books I love to recommend to others for a variety of reasons. If you want to find out more, or are looking for recommendations yourself… take a look here!
The second post I shared was my First Lines Friday feature. In this week’s post I featured one of the two new additions to my TBR (which I share below). Take a look to find out which one and what it’s all about.
Books Read
The Power of Habit
I’d temporarily put The Power of Habit on hold as I needed to finish The Midnight Library before Tuesday lunchtime. Once that was completed though, I got stuck back in and finished the book within a couple of days!
I enjoyed the different angles and examples of habit-building at individual, corporate and societal level. Some the examples also go to show that you can start to build habits in unanticipated ways – by starting small or looking at a habit that seems unrelated but has a knock on effect.
Breathtaking
My main audiobook listen this week was Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke. If you watched the four part TV series of the same name, it was inspired by this book.
As of last week’s Sunday Summary I was 60% into the book. This week, I made it to the finish! It’s quite a short read or listen, but no less impactful. Whilst it didn’t make me upset, it is a book of emotional ups and downs.
The perspective is told from that of a hospice nurse who volunteers part time to help on Covid wards between January and April 2020. In the grand scheme, it only covers the early pandemic. However, it is a good insight and commentary on the state of the NHS during one of its busiest periods to date.
The Midnight Library
My reading priority at the beginning of this week was to finish The Midnight Library ahead of our book club meeting on Tuesday.
As of last week’s Sunday Summary I was about 50% into the book. It’s quite a short one, and familiar to me so therefore quick to read. I blitzed the last 50% on Sunday night and Monday so I was able to go to our meet fully prepared.
It was our first club meet and you know what? It went really well! We all enjoyed the book and had a great chat about it.
Wolves of the Calla
I’m including Wolves of the Calla in this Sunday Summary so you know what I’m reading in the next week or so. I’ve only just started the prologue so I have nothing significant to report… just that this is my next read!
Undoctored
Another book I feature in this post as I’ve just started it is Undoctored. I’ve only listened to the first half an hour, but it’s been a good listen.
That’s hardly unexpected! Adam Kay is funny and his humour is shining though already. I’m looking forward to listening to more over the next week or so.
Books Discovered
I’ve added two books to my reading list this week after I read about them and they caught my attention.
I was recommended Curious Tides on Threads by a fellow reader after asking for recommendations for books in the dark academia genre. This also blends with fantasy, so it sounds like a perfect type of book for me!
I read about The Memory Police in an article about translated books. The Memory Police was originally published in Japanese. I like the dystopian nature of the synopsis and I’m intrigued if there are any cultural differences to the narrative given the difference in setting etc.
Coming Up…
On Wednesday this week I plan to share my review of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. I read this back in August 2022 and I can’t wait to share my thoughts on this 5* read!
I would usually share three posts a week and have a regular Friday feature. However, as I’m about to start studying for a qualification for work I’m going to cut the blog schedule from three posts a week to two until that’s done.
So, my next and last post of the week will be another Sunday Summary catch up. Will I feature as many books in next week’s post? Not likely – but I’ll update you all the same.
Until then, happy reading and I hope to see you in the next post!
