Tag: audiobook

Monthly TBR – June 2022

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Hello and welcome to my June Monthly TBR post!

I had a fantastic month of reading in May and I’m keen for the run to continue. Last month I put one less book on my list, purely because one of the reads I planned to pick up was over 700 pages long in its own right. I’m glad I picked this up and read it though because it has become my favourite read of 2022 so far! It’s going to be a tough one to beat, but I’m not averse to finding something even greater.

I can’t lie, I’ve had a bit of a challenge setting myself a TBR. I had one all planned out that I was excited for, but I’ve changed it several times since. Clearly I’m in a very changeable mood at the moment. I don’t want to stifle myself by committing to a list of books that I then lose enthusiasm for as I pick them up, so I’ve made a decision to have a very flexible TBR this month. So, most of my reads are going to be mood reads. As you know, I normally only set a couple of those a month, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do with my mindset at the moment.

This may also work in my favour. I have an exam to sit at the end of the month that naturally I am revising for more than ever, so having less commitments can only be better for me in that sense.

 

Fixed Reads

Wolf of Mercia

I’m only setting one fixed read this month because I’m taking part in a blog tour for this book on the 10th of June. That’s only really just around the corner, and so I picked this up in the last couple of days already to really try and make progress with it.

So far I’ve been successful and as of writing this post I am just over 70% of the way through this book. I’m really enjoying how it’s going and the character progression that has taken place since Son of Mercia, the first book in the series, that I reviewed earlier this year. I can’t wait to bring my full thoughts on the book to you in my blog tour post on the 10th.

 

Mood Reads

Norse Mythology

I have a bit of a rocky relationship with Neil Gaiman, however I’m going to give him one last try with his retelling of Norse myths. I feel like this is fairly safe territory, but we will have to see. If I don’t get on with this book then I’m pretty much going to swear off Neil Gaiman completely. He is quite a big name in the fantasy genre but the highest rating I’ve ever given him is a three star. I didn’t like another book of his even though I finished it and I’ve DNF’d others. I actually bought this copy of North Mythology several years ago before I went on to read some of the books of his that I didn’t like, so that’s how I ended up having a copy. We’ll see how this goes!

 

Assassin’s Apprentice

Not long ago I shared the First Lines Friday post in which I gave you insight into a book I was going to read later this year. Robin Hobb has been on my radar for such a long time and having sampled Assassin’s Apprentice on more than one occasion, I’ve decided now is the time to read it. I’ve seen a couple of booktubers (book bloggers who review their reads on YouTube, in case you aren’t familiar with the term) talking about later books in the series/universe and that has prompted me to decide to pick this one up now. I always knew I was going to pick it up later this year, but I think it’s going to be sooner rather than later.

As this is a mood read this is subject to change, but I’m hoping not! I’m quite excited for this one! 

 

Skyward

I’m a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson and having copies of both Skyward and Starsight on my bookshelves has prompted me to think about picking up the series.

I’ve also heard a little bit about it recently as well, and I’m ready to give this new one a try. What I really like about Brandon Sanderson so far is that I have enjoyed every one of his wide catalogue of books. They are all different, unique and have their own magic systems and plotlines, but it doesn’t matter. He has a way of writing them in such a way that every single one is enjoyable for their uniqueness and I can’t fault him.

 

The Appeal

The last book I’m going to put on my mood read list is The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I received a copy of this book for Christmas from my sister’s boyfriend Chris and what interests me about this book is that the story is told in different mediums. Rather than the typical prose we are used to, the story is told through the likes of emails, text messages and letters between characters. It’s a unique way to tell a story and I think it will be good for me to have a little bit of change and pick up something different.

 

If I get through all these books this month, then great! I’ll continue with the reading and keep you up-to-date with my Sunday Summary posts as to what I pick up next. I may not though… and that’s fine. I do have the likes of preparing for my exam to think about (and that comes first)! Once that’s done I’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to carry on reading.

I honestly can’t predict how progress with my June TBR is going to go. So far things are looking really great as I’ve nearly read my first book of the month already. That may change depending on what I pick up or what demands I have personally that I need to deal with first. I’ll just have to go with the flow this month. I definitely think that going with a more fluid monthly TBR this time is the way to go… And at the end of the month I can reflect on that and we can see whether this is something I want to adopt a little bit more permanently or not.

For now, that’s all for me in today’s June TBR post. What are you reading this month? Have you read any of the books on this list and if so, did you enjoy them? I’d love to know what you think!

 

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Monthly TBR – May 2022

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Hello and welcome to my Monthly TBR for May! It’s the beginning of yet another month and so it’s time to share what I plan to read over the next few weeks with you! I have some great books on the list and as always, I’m going to try and give myself time to fit in a couple of mood reads. Even just one would be nice. I haven’t managed to get to any over the last couple of months, so I’m setting myself a slightly reduced fixed list in the hope that I can get there this month!

 

Fixed Reads

Crowfall

It feels kind of weird to feature this book in a way, because not only has it been on my last few TBR’s, but also because I am over two thirds through the book as of writing this post. I picked up Crowfall right at the beginning of this month after just finishing Ravencry, its predecessor. We are now a few days into May and I’ve been flying through this book – so much so that I’m hoping to finish this one very very soon!

So yes, it feels a bit strange, because I’m featuring it at a time when I’m about to finish it!

 

The Duke and I

The Duke and I was on my ‘mood read list’ last month, but as you know, I didn’t get round to it. That’s not the end of the world, because what I’ve taken to doing (if I can) is bump my mood reads up onto my fixed list if I still want to read them the following month. And I really do want to give this ago!

I’m still not 100% sure if this will be my cup of tea as it’s more of a romance than I’m used to reading. But, I do enjoy historical fiction and so I’m willing to give it a go for that reason. I have also really enjoyed The Netflix TV shows based on these books, so I’m hopeful that this will be an exception to the rule instead of a DNF! Having not long taken part in a contradictions book tag, that post has reminded me that sometimes we can be surprised by what we like when we don’t expect to, but also vice versa!

 

Empire of the Vampire

Another reason why I am setting a slightly smaller reading list this month is because I am picking up this chunk of a book.

At over 700 pages in its own right, this is going to be a substantial read. Maybe not quite enough to equate to 2 books of average length (for me), but it’s still plenty to be sinking my teeth into. The pun was fully intended!

As a general rule, I’m not big on vampire stories either, but that’s not to say I can’t enjoy them. I have enjoyed elements of them in the past, and frankly, I’m willing to overlook the fact because this is written by Jay Kristoff. I loved his Nevernight series and I autobought this book on that basis – that’s how much I loved them! I’ve also seen reviews that it has a very Patrick Rothfuss-y ‘The Name of the Wind’ vibe about its narration, and I’m all for that too!

 

Mood Reads

Dune Messiah

I just bought myself a copy of Dune Messiah at my local Waterstones the other day (not a spoiler because I’ve already shared it on my Instagram) and I want to read it – soon!

I saw this on a whim, but as I have the first book in paperback, I decided to pick this up, as well as the third book of the series (Children of Dune), with some vouchers I had. Not only have I watched the new film recently, but I did also read that first book of the series earlier this year. And I really enjoyed it, so whilst it’s fresh in my mind I’m thinking this might be my next good book to read. It’s also comparatively short at around 300 pages, so quite digestible. It will be a good one to pick up if I want something more concise.

 

Death of Kings

I’ve started watching the fourth series of The Last Kingdom in the last week, and it’s reminded me that I have the next book in the series yet to pick up. Technically the events in this book cover what occurred at the end of the last series, but I really don’t mind! I want to keep going with the series because I’m really loving the setting, the characters and the overall conflict that keeps rearing its head. As a fan of historical fiction it ticks a lot of boxes for me. And, it’s been awhile since I picked the last one up… so it’s about time I got stuck back in!

 

I may have pencilled in what I think my mood reads are going to be, they are precisely that – mood reads. That means that whilst these are books I want to pick up now, I might change my mind when it comes to it. If I want to pick up something totally different then that’s okay. I find giving myself the time to pick up something on a whim suits me. It keeps my reading motivation up and keeps it fun. It’s only my hobby, after all!

Have you read any of the books on my TBR? What are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments or on social media!

 

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Monthly TBR – April 2022

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Hello everyone and welcome to my monthly TBR for April. I’m really excited to be sharing the books I plan to pick up within the next few weeks! 

I didn’t get through all of my reading list for March. I did set myself an ambitious list and so I’m neither surprised nor disappointed by this fact. I knew when I prepared the list it was very likely I was going to carry some forward through to April – so most of the books on this month’s list have already been shared on last month’s TBR! 

Let’s see what I’m going to be reading very soon!

 

Fixed Reads

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

I will be opening the month with my current read carried over from March, being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I’m currently around halfway through this book and I’m excited to complete my reread of the series! I last read this book around nine years ago now, so I am keen to read this book again and experience it from a more mature perspective!

 

The Thursday Murder Club

I have been loaned a copy of The Thursday Murder Club by my sister’s boyfriend, Chris, to read. I didn’t quite get round to this one last month, but I still cannot wait to pick this up! I’ve heard great things about this book, in particular the characters and the humour!

 

Ravencry & Crowfall

I added Ravencry and Crowfall to my ‘mood read list’ last month, but since I didn’t get round to them I’ve decided I’m adding them to my fixed list for April! I have a couple of other ‘mood reads’ in mind that I’d like to pick up, and so the progression onto my fixed reading list felt natural!

Having recently re-read Blackwing, the first book in the series, I got really excited for the series again. So naturally, I wanted to read it all again as opposed to just the first book! I re-read Blackwing in just a matter of days, and I fully expect Ravencry and Crowfall to be much the same in terms of experience!

 

Mood Reads

The Duke & I

This addition to my TBR is experimental. I’m not sure if it’s a book I’m going to enjoy, however having recently enjoyed watching the second season of the Netflix TV show, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t.

If I do enjoy The Duke and I then I will continue with the book series. However, don’t expect me to suddenly start reading romance all the time; my enjoyment of these books, if indeed I do enjoy them, will be the exception instead of the rule.

What I can say, is having featured this book in a very recent First Lines Friday post, the introduction made a good impression on me! Let’s see how the rest of the book pans out, shall we?

 

The Bone Collector

I’ve also been watching the TV series, Lincoln Rhyme, on Now TV recently. I have a copy of The Bone Collector sat upstairs on my bookshelf, and now feels like the right time to pick this up for myself. I believe my sister has read at least some of this book and enjoyed it. I can’t wait to see how it compares!

 

As in previous months, my indicated mood reads are provisional and I might choose to pick up something else at the time! Last month I didn’t even get round to my mood reads, which is perfectly okay too. I feel like this reading list is a little bit less ambitious, though still plentiful enough to give myself a challenge!

Have you read any of the books on my TBR? What are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments or on social media!

 

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Monthly TBR – March 2022

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Hello everyone and welcome to my Monthly TBR for March. Somehow we are in the third month of the year already and I honestly have no idea where it’s gone!

Last month I decided to combine my wrap-up post for January and my February TBR. And it does make sense, to a degree. However, I thought the post was too long and I didn’t get the chance to include all the content I wanted. So, I’m experimenting with splitting these back out and if you have any feedback on which you prefer I’d love to hear it!

I’m really pleased with last month’s reading progress and I’m keen to keep the momentum going. Therefore, I’ve decided to avoid all historical fiction and non-fiction reads that I’ve had on my radar, mainly because they focus around war. It’s not a particularly pleasant topic at the moment in light of current events, so I’m putting these on hold for a little bit in favour of picking up some alternative topics. I have also chosen books of varying lengths. As some of these reads are a bit shorter, I have more titles on the list this month. 

So, shall we dive into what I am going to be reading?

 

Fixed Reads

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

This book was on my mood read list for February, however I decided to swap it out in favour of a fantasy book at the end of the month in order to experience some escapism. It’s for this exact reason that I make time for mood reads now; I’m glad I made the change!

However, I do still want to read this book and as of writing this post I’m currently around 20% through. I’m interested to see where this book is going to take me. Where I am at the moment, I am feeling pretty neutral about it. It’s perfectly readable, but equally it hasn’t grabbed a hold of me in the same way that some of my recent reads have. I’ll continue reading to give it a chance in the hopes it picks up; even still, if it stays the way it is it’s probably going to be a three star read.

 

Keep You Safe

I’ve had this book on my radar for a few years now. Not only does it sound great in its own right, but I also want to read it as it is written by a local author! I am intrigued by the mystery behind the synopsis and the potential for there to be an unreliable narrator, which I think is hinted at. What I also like is that it’s a very approachable length – it’s long enough to invest into but also not so long that I risk getting bogged down in a detailed and convoluted story. Sometimes that’s fine too, but lighter reads are my preference right now. 

I can’t wait to read this and share my thoughts with you!

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I want to conclude my re-read of the Harry Potter series this month. I’ve been enjoying making progress with the latter books in the series and I am looking forward to picking this last instalment up again.

I last read this book 8-10 years ago now. That’s a scary thought for me! I loved it then and I have every confidence that I will again. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a ‘lighter’ read, as it’s fairly chunky and the subject matter quite dark for a YA fantasy, but I’m looking forward to it all the same! I still find these books engrossing!

 

Lean In

I want to try and read some non-fiction this month, and my sister recently loaned me a copy of this book. It was recommended to her through one of her more senior work colleagues for the purposes of development and I would also like to take something from this. I find myself in the middle in that I wouldn’t necessarily describe myself as a career woman, but I definitely care about my job. I don’t just turn up to get paid.

I’m sure this book has plenty of content and something that I can take away from it in order to develop myself and maybe even progress further!

 

The Thursday Murder Club

As well as Lean In, I’ve also been loaned a book by my sister’s boyfriend Chris. Not only did The Thursday Murder Club get a great review from him, but I’ve also been hearing great things about it in the wider community and it was already on my radar to add to my TBR and read.

I’m looking forward to picking this up because the protagonists are not from the generation you would expect to be sleuthing. I’ve also heard it’s incredibly funny and I hope it will be as intriguing and lighthearted as I’m expecting it to be.

 

The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm

I am also carrying over The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm again. Whilst I did pick this book up a couple of times in February, I didn’t really make that much progress with it. I stand by my decision to chip away at this one again this month, but I need to find more balance between my current reads and also picking this one up regularly. I will continue to read this into March and even if I don’t finish it, I hope to make a lot more progress with it this month.

 

Mood Reads

Ravencry & Crowfall

I started reading Blackwing, the first book of The Raven’s Mark trilogy, on the 26th February. This was the book I decided to swap with One Flew Over the Cuckoo‘s Nest. Three days later, I’d read all 370ish pages. I devoured this book. It was exactly what I needed at the time; an epic fantasy that I could throw myself into and love all over again.

I read this book back in June 2018, so it’s been a while. Given that I loved it so much, I’ve decided that I want to re-read the rest of the trilogy again. Therefore, these are my mood reads for March! It’s not very often I’ll binge read a series like this – but if it’s good enough, I can engage and I’ll love every second of it!

 

As in previous months, my indicated mood reads aren’t set in stone and like last month, so I might choose to pick up something else at the time! Unlikely, given how much I loved Blackwing in February… but never say never!

Have you read any of the books on my monthly TBR? What are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments or on social media!

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Sunday Summary – 13th February 2022

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Good evening and welcome to my Sunday Summary post for this week. As always, I hope you’ve had a great one?

On Tuesday I shared a Top Ten Tuesday post with you. This week‘s topic was around the theme of love. Now you know I’m not a big romance person and so to make this thing work, I decided to cover my top ten books I’d love to re-read. It’s a bit of a flimsy connection, I know. However, I’ve found a lot of books lately that I’ve decided I want to re-read. Therefore, it made sense to me to document these all in one place so I can go back to them later!

My Friday feature this week was a First Lines Friday post. I didn’t set myself a particular challenge or topic from which to choose my book from this week. However, I didn’t struggle to find one. And I’ve been thinking a lot about my reading just prior to setting up my blog, and in particular, Terry Pratchett. He has been a big influence on me and so it felt only natural to feature one of his books in this post.

 

Books Read

This week has been great for reading progress! As of last week‘s Sunday Summary update I was just over 10% through Clockwork Magpies by Emma Whitehall. I really enjoyed this book and I’ve flown through it this week (no pun intended)! It’s a great steampunk fantasy novel and and I really enjoyed the steampunk element. It’s not something I read a lot of, however I do really enjoy it. This book has not long been published and I received an advance reader copy in order to share my thoughts. I can’t wait to do that with you very shortly!

I then picked up Son of Mercia by MJ Porter and of sharing this post, I am around 60% of the way through the novel. Son of Mercia is a historical fiction novel which will appeal to fans of Bernard Cornwell and The Last Kingdom series. It’s because of my love of this that I agreed to sign up to the blog tour, and I’m honestly glad I did! The story is told (at least for a significant majority so far) from a unique viewpoint. I’ll share more of the details of that in my blog tour post on the 21st; it’s not what I was expecting but I think it’s better for that! I can’t wait to finish this over the next few days and to share my post with you in about a week’s time.

I have also picked up The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm one evening this week. I only read a few stories so it’s not a significant contribution, but it is there so I’m documenting it here. Once I’ve got my blog tour read out of the way, I plan to read this before bed a little more to help me get through it. As it’s short stories it’s not a book to read in one big lump. It’s better to pick up and put down little and often in my opinion.

 

Books Discovered

I confess that there are quite a few books added to the list this week! What’s interesting about them is that there is a wide variety of genres and stories represented in the selection. It goes a long way to proving how diverse my reading tastes are.

At the beginning of the week I was listening to a podcast by A Need to Read which featured Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Stolen Focus is a non-fiction book which discusses a number of different causes to the human dilemma of our inability to concentrate. Some of the statistics are quite shocking – teenagers can focus on one task for only 65 seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Isn’t that dreadful? I want to read more about this and the studies that have been done into it, that’s why I’ve decided to pick up this book. Who knows, maybe even I can find ways to improve my own attention span!

The next book on my list was added to my list as a result of an Amazon recommendation (albeit for some reason they recommended the second book of the series to me!) This book is an epic fantasy adventure style novel, but the thing that stood out to me is the sound of the characters, and an author I really like has highly recommended this book. So, I’m really interested to give The Black Hawks by David Wragg a go.

The third book on my list is also a recommendation from a podcast called Currently Reading. Yes, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately! Although Kaytee and Meredith talk about a lot of books in their podcasts, Meredith’s review of The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg really stood out to me. The Kingdom is a theme park, and the protagonist Ana is an AI within the park. However, when a park employee, Owen, is murdered, Ana is accused and an epic trial of the century ensues. One of the interesting things that drew me to adding this to my list is that the story is told through a variety of mediums. Courtroom testimonies, interviews and Ana‘s memories are examples of the way in which the narrative unfolds. It’s very unlike anything I have read before and for that reason, I can’t wait to give this a go!

Last night I went to see a show produced by a local theatre group  – The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was a fantastic performance and hats off to everybody involved. Naturally, it has drawn the bookworm in me to want to pick up the novel by Victor Hugo.

It has also been my birthday this week, and I was very lucky to receive copies of A Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm. A Cuckoo’s Calling was already on my TBR, but I have added The Silkworm to my list as I now have a paperback copy of each sat on my shelf waiting to be read!

 

Coming Up…

This week I am going to be reviewing Clockwork Magpies by Emma Whitehall. Now typically it takes me a lot longer to get round to reviewing books after I’ve read them. However as Clockwork Magpies has just been published, I’m keen to share my thoughts with you whilst the publication launch is still fresh in the minds of anyone who may be interested to read it, or equally to put it on peoples radar if they haven’t heard of it yet. I really, really enjoyed reading this book and I’m sure that will come through in my review!

Later in the week I’ll be back with a Shelf Control post, and I’ll be featuring the next book on my TBR and sharing with you just why I’m excited to read it!

And finally, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary update.

What have you been reading this week?

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Sunday Summary – 6th February 2022

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Good evening and welcome to my Sunday Summary post for this week. As always, I hope you’ve had a great one?

Earlier this week I shared a brief wrapup for January and my TBR list for February. I decided to combine these two posts as more often than not, there is a degree of overlap. The start of my reading list for February is related to my reading progress in January. Naturally, it felt like a good fit and it also saved me from writing a separate post!

My Friday feature this week was a Shelf Control post. The featured book in this week’s post has been on my TBR for quite some time – since 2017. As someone who has been reading more science fiction of late, I’m excited to get around to this particular book. I like the sound of the synopsis (albeit as brief as it is)… and I hope to read it soon!

 

Books Read

 

Reading progress has been very hit and miss over the last couple of weeks. Last week was a complete lull, after the week prior in which I read a hell of a lot.

This week I found a bit more of a healthy balance. My main objective of the week was to finish reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I’m pleased to say I have! I’ve been enjoying my re-read of this series. I haven’t read these books for about 10 years now, and they’ve aged really well. Despite being older, it doesn’t matter. It hasn’t impacted my enjoyment in the slightest. I am particularly enjoying the later books in the series as the plot becomes more developed and a little bit darker. I can’t wait to read and enjoy the last one… and call this re-read complete!

In addition, I have also started Clockwork Magpies by Emma Whitehall. This was an impulse addition to read last month. I had seen the publisher advertising advance reader copies of the book to bloggers like myself, and I really loved the sound of it. I love fantasy and the steampunk element really appealed! I only picked this up fairly briefly one night this week, but I’m already over 10% through! It’s a bit shorter than the books I’ve been reading of late, so I expect I will get through this one quite quickly in the next week or so.

I have also made more progress with A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. I’ve listened to a good few chapters this week, and most probably do an amount to a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, progress is progress! This is a serious I could read and listen to over and over again. I’m in no rush to get through it.

 

Books Discovered

Once again it has been a quiet week on the TBR front with no new books added to the list!

 

Coming Up…

My first post next week is going to be a Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s theme is a ‘love freebie’, and I’ve decided that I’m going to be sharing a post with the topic of ‘Books I’d LOVE to re-read’. As I think you will know by now I am not a romance person by any stretch of the imagination. It’s the only way I can get this thing to work, but I will also be good for me because there are a number of books I have featured recently and said, “Hey, I want to read that again.” It will be handy to have it all in one place for reference later.

On Friday I will be sharing a First Lines Friday post. I’m going to keep it wide open this week so I can feature absolutely anything I want!

And last but not least, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary update.

What have you been reading this week? Do you have any recommendations for me? As always, I’d love to hear from you!

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January Wrap-Up & February 2022 TBR!

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Hello everyone and welcome to today’s January Wrap-Up and February TBR post. I’ve decided to combine these two posts so I can briefly talk about what I have read in the last month, and also share what I plan to read over the next month. More often than not there is some degree of overlap and so I think it makes sense to share both of these. I’ll try to keep it concise so it’s not too long!

 

January Wrap-Up

I’m pleased with the last month’s reading progress. At the beginning of January I was around halfway through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I was kindly loaned this by my sister’s boyfriend Chris to read and I’m glad he shared it with me! It has a great diversity of genres and topics and it was a really interesting read because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up myself. That’s the good thing about recommendations; it encourages you to push the boat out sometimes.

Next I picked up a fairly short read, The Feedback Loop by Harmon Cooper. I deliberately picked up The Feedback Loop next because it is a reasonably short book at just under 200 pages. I’m really glad I did this as it kept up my reading momentum. I read The Feedback Loop in just a couple of evenings – a record for me in the last few months!

After that I went on to read Dune by Frank Herbert. This particular book had been on my TBR for just under five years. I had casually picked it up once before, reading the first 20 odd pages as a means of trying the book out. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to be a light read and I think that’s why I haven’t picked it up since. I’m glad I did in the end however. I was right in that there was a lot to take in at first and I didn’t start off particularly quickly. However, once I got about a third of the way in and I had gotten all the foundation information laid out, I was flying! It was definitely worth the investment and I really enjoyed this book in the end – all 529 pages of it!

I concluded the month of January with two ongoing reads – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm. At the end of the month I was just under half way through Harry Potter and about third of the way through the folk and fairytales. I discovered that The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm was not a book to read on its own and was better to read concurrently with another book. So, this is why I started Harry Potter at the same time.

So, that’s that I got up to in January! And now onto the important bit – what am I planning to read this month?

 

February TBR

Fixed Reading List

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Naturally I’m starting the beginning of this month by finishing off my January reads. I’m currently just over halfway through Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Although it’s a chunky book it’s proving really easy for me to pick up and read. So, I’m hoping to get this wrapped up in the next couple of days!

 

Son of Mercia

As a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell, I was really excited to receive an invite for the blog tour for Son of Mercia. It is set at around the same time period and given that I’ve loved Bernard Cornwell’s series so much, I thought it would be great to read something similar but from a slightly different perspective. I really like the sound of the synopsis and I can’t wait to give you my thoughts on this book on the 21st of February!

 

Clockwork Magpies

Last month I saw a promotion for review copies of Clockwork Magpies and I fell in love with a synopsis immediately. Although I’m not reading too many advanced reader copies at the moment, I decided to make an exception for Clockwork Magpies. It’s a steampunk style of fantasy novel with a strong female protagonist that I think I can get behind. It’s a little bit different and I hope I love this as much as I expect to! It’s also quite a short novel as well at just over 250 pages, so it shouldn’t take long for me to devour at any rate!

 

The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm

Originally I had planned to sit and read throughThe Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm as it is last month. However, I’m finding that it’s easier to pick up in small bursts. A lot of the stories are very short and so in my opinion it makes good companion reader. It’s great if you fancy a little bit of a change of pace, or just fancy something different. So, I will be reading this throughout the month alongside my other reads.

 

Mood Reads

Diary of a Young Girl

I am a big fan of historical fiction and in particular, one of my favourite topics is World War II. Having said that though, I regret to say that to date I have not read the diary of Anne Frank – not in full. Something in the back of my mind tells me I read an extract from it in my history lessons a long time ago. It’s a harrowing story but it’s one that I want to take the time to read. I’ve added it to my list for reading this month as I’m hoping to start reading a lot more. It’s definitely becoming more of a habit again. If I don’t get to it however, it’s not the end of the world.

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

I’ve got the urge to pick up a classic this month and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest particularly catches my eye. I really like the idea of the synopsis; it’s been on my list for a long time (along with plenty fo other books). Again, if I don’t get round to this by the end of February then I’ll carry it through to my fixed reading list in March. If I can take off another book from the TBR then I will be very happy though!

As with last month, my designated mood reads aren’t fixed and I might choose to pick up something else entirely! And, you are always welcome to change my mind; if you have a book recommendation I’d love to hear it!

Have you read any of the books on my TBR? What are you reading this month? Let me know!

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Sunday Summary – 30th January 2022

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Good evening and welcome to my Sunday Summary update for this week. As always, I hope you’ve had a great one?

I began this week by sharing a book review with you. I read Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham just over a year ago, so needless to say my review was a little late in coming to you. However, better late than never… and if you are interested in non-fiction then this might be something for you to check out yourself.

This week’s Friday feature was a First Lines Friday post. For this week’s post I set myself the challenge of featuring a book I read before I started my blog back in 2017. I’m really happy with the book I choose to feature; it’s a book series that I would like to go back and read again. I went on to read a further book by this author, but I wasn’t as keen on that one as I was the original series. If you want to find out what I’m talking about, you can check out my Friday feature using the link above.

 

Books Read

Last week my reading progress was on fire, but this week I’ve done almost the complete opposite. I picked up Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince very briefly, but I didn’t even get through a full chapter this week. Not very good progress I know, but I’ve been doing other things. I have been playing Animal Crossing and Minecraft, knitting my dad a pair of fingerless gloves (and starting a pair of my mum), as well as spending time with family. It’s actually been nice taking a step back for a little bit. I’ve still done a lot of reading this month and if I learned anything from last year, it’s to do it when I want to but equally not force it if I want to do something else. And this week I’ve done other things. That’s fine; my books aren’t exactly going anywhere!

I will be picking up Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince again tonight to make up for some of the lack of reading this week. I am actually in the mood for it too; I like to read as a way of winding down in the evening. I do particularly struggle on Sunday nights, so I think it will be of a benefit to me anyway.

I have managed to listen to more of A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin this week. Although it’s not a huge amount again, I’d actually say it was more than I managed to physically read this week.

 

Books Discovered

It’s been another good week for me here because I haven’t added any more books to the ever-growing list that is my TBR pile. I will count my wins where I get them!

 

Coming Up…

I haven’t really been able to prepare the first of next week’s blog posts in advance, because they depend on part on the reading progress I’ve made to date. At the beginning of next week I’m going to be sharing a wrapup commentary for the month of January, as well as my TBR for February together in one update post. I hope you can join me for that!

Then, on Friday I will be sharing a Shelf Control post. This week’s featured book is one I added to my list in September 2017. It’s synopsis is also quite vague, but in a way that draws your attention and makes you wonder about it. You can find out more about the book and my thoughts on it on Friday!

And last but not least, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary update.

What have you been reading this week? Do you have any recommendations for me? As always, I’d love to hear from you!

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Sunday Summary – 23rd January 2022

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Good evening and welcome to my Sunday Summary update post to round off this week. As always, I hope you’ve had a great week?

I began this week by sharing a book tag post with you all. The Bookaholics Anonymous Book Tag was really fun to get involved in and to share my answers for. I like these posts because they’re quite casual, but also give you the chance to learn a little bit about me. If you haven’t checked out that post yet you can do so using the link above, and if you’d like to take part I’d love for you to link to me so I can see your answers!

My Friday feature post this week was a Shelf Control post. This week’s featured book is one from a genre I don’t read much of. That said, this author is also a bit of a go-to for me and I won’t hesitate to read any of his books even if they’re not normally my cup of tea. He’s a household name and I’m sure if you haven’t read the book yourself, you’ve probably watched a film based on it!

 

Books Read

I don’t know what happened this week, but the amount of reading I’ve done compared to recent weeks is off the charts!

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post I was just over 200 pages into Dune by Frank Herbert, which equates to 38%. I finished the book on Wednesday! I must’ve just hit a point in the narrative where it clicked for me. It was perhaps a little bit slow to start, or at least, there was a lot of groundwork needed before the action began. My progress up until this week was getting through that, but once the action started I was in and hooked! I enjoyed reading this book – it’s been on my shelf for five years nearly and I can finally tick it off the list!

In addition, I have been reading a further two books side-by-side this week. I started with reading The Original Folk and Fairytales of the Brother’s Grimm,  translated by Jack Zipes. This is a collection of the original versions of folk and fairytales collated by the brothers and published in 1812. Even from the few I’ve read so far, the tales have changed dramatically since they were originally published. The majority of these tales were previously passed down orally, which is apparent from the way they’ve been documented. Originally, the brothers aimed to maintain as much fidelity to the oral tales as possible. They lack polish, some of them are incomplete or have alternative endings and there are some significant changes from the fairytales we know today. I like how the book includes well-known fairytales, such as Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel, but equally, there are so many other stories that we don’t know. As of this update post, I’m 79 pages into this book.

I’m finding that it’s a book to pick up in short bursts, however. With that in mind, I have also started reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling. It’s nice to have a blend of short stories that I can pick up and put down very easily, and also a longer story that is easy to take in. This particular book is a re-read so I’m fully familiar with the story, but I’m still enjoying all the same! That is obvious by my progress; I’m 124 pages into this book already.

I have listened to a very small amount of A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin this week. It’s almost not worth mentioning because it’s probably only a couple of chapters, but it’s better than nothing right?!

 

Books Discovered

 

I’ve made two additions to my TBR list this week.

The first book I’ve added is The First Binding by R. R. Virdi. It is due to be published in August this year and I like the sound of the narrative based on the synopsis. To me, the narrative sounds like it could be very reminiscent of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles books. We shall see on that front, but I’m always open to new authors and this sounds like it could be a great fantasy series!

The second addition to my TBR is Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, the sequel to Dune. There are quite a few books in the series and it’s one that I would like to continue with and chip away at over time.

 

Coming Up…

I have prepared a book review to share with you next week. I’ve been looking back through my list of books read and decided that I’m going to share a review of Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. I don’t read much in the way of non-fiction, but I really liked how this book balanced the entertainment of reading element, but also managed to inform and educate me as a reader. I went into this book with very little knowledge of the disaster, but that didn’t matter. If you want to check out that post, that will be going live on Tuesday.

My regular Friday feature is a First Lines Friday post this week. For this post, I’m setting myself the challenge of featuring a book I read as a teenager in my pre-blog days. I’ve read so many great ones and there are several that I would like to go back to again. I feel like this post is probably going to encourage me to do this even more! You’ll have to check out my post on Friday to see which book I’ve chosen to feature.

And last but not least, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary update.

What have you been reading this week? Do you have any recommendations for me?

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Sunday Summary – 16th January 2022

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Good evening and welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary update post. As always, I hope you’ve had a fantastic week whatever you have been up to?

I have been keeping busy this week. I’ve been doing quite well in working towards getting blog posts written a little bit more in advance compared to last year. I have managed to get myself organised nicely so this will be continuing going forward. It’s a little bit more work in the short term, but in the long term, I will be drafting posts in the same kind of frequency, just a week in advance!

The post I shared at the beginning of this week was a book review for Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It’s one of those books that you start to review and honestly question whether you can do it justice! I enjoyed this book and I hope that comes across in my review; if there is anyone who dismisses reading classics because they read them at school or they think they’re boring and stuffy then I’d ask you to please give them a chance. Of all the books I’ve read, I would say Brave New World is a great one to try. It is easy to follow and it’s a relatively short read as well!

My Friday feature post this week was a First Lines Friday post. In that post, I set myself the challenge of featuring a non-fiction novel. This week’s excerpt is deliberately short because the scene depicted gets a little bit graphic after the opening paragraph. In the interest of not upsetting anyone I’ve excluded it, but the first paragraph gives you an idea of the content of the book. I am personally excited to read this one!

 

Books Read

As of last week‘s Sunday Summary update I was 62 pages into Dune by Frank Herbert. Dune has been my main area of progress this week, with a further 140 pages read.

I’m really enjoying the storyline, however in terms of what is going on and the writing style I find it quite dense. It’s the sort of book that is good to read, but is best picked up little and often. I usually find I get about 30 odd pages through before I have to put it down again to digest what I’ve read. It doesn’t detract from the story or anything at all; I am really enjoying it. I just can’t read it in large quantities! Having said that, the last time I picked up the book I think I managed to get around 40 or 50 pages through before I had to put it down. Maybe I’m getting used to it, or maybe it was just an exceptionally good part. I am looking forward to picking this up tonight once this post has gone live and continuing this over the next week!

As well as reading Dune, I’ve also been continuing to listen to A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin this week. I’ll hold my hands up and say that I haven’t listen to as much of this audiobook this week as I wanted to, or should have. That’s okay though! The important thing is to read and listen at a pace I’m happy with and what I have listened to has been really good.

 

Books Discovered

For the first time in a few weeks I can happily say that I haven’t added anything else to my reading list this week!

 

Coming Up…

Early next week I am sharing a book tag on my blog. It’s one that I saw completed by another blogger and I thought it would be fun to take part in! It’s been a little while since I’ve done anything like that. I really enjoy reading these posts because you get to learn a little bit about the person behind the blog. But also, they’re fun to write. This particular tag is called The Bookaholics Anonymous Book Tag and I hope you can check that out in the coming days.

My regular feature on Friday is going to be a Shelf Control post. This week’s featured book is a good one and slightly different from the usual content of my blog. There’s only one author I would read without hesitation who frequents the horror genre – Stephen King. I’m excited to be featuring one of his books later this week – but you’ll have to check my post out on Friday if you want to find out which book I’m talking about!

And as always, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary post.

Until then, I hope you have a great week! Are you currently reading or listening to any interesting books?

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